Really, first-date-movie-dates are a waste of time. You can’t talk to the person and you spend the entire time contemplating whether or not you should ‘make a move’ (hint: no, you shouldn’t). You gain no rapport and you might ruin everything by picking the wrong film. However, outdoor cinemas are actually a great way to impress your new Tinder match, with an incredible vibe, great movies, easy location and open setting (in case they want to run away, har har). So, if you do want to impress a lady or a fella, you’d do pretty well to pick this as your date night locale. New Farm Park at Brisbane Powerhouse will be the venue again for the 2014/2015 season. Don't forget some delicious snacks and perhaps a few beverages to complete your cinematic experience. It's the perfect way to unwind after a hard day and usher in those balmy summer nights. There's also the option of 'Gold Grass' tickets, which gets you a bean-bed in the front rows and designated waitstaff.
This time two years ago, across the weekends of April 28–30 and May 5–7, 2017, a new music festival was supposed to take place. Spearheaded by the now-incarcerated Billy McFarland, Fyre Festival was slated to take over a Bahamian island, treat attendees with luxury facilities, boast musicians such as Blink-182 and Major Lazer on the bill, and live up to its plethora of celebrity endorsements. Because model-filled viral marketing campaigns can prove to be just that — glossy marketing — we all know what came next. If you didn't read about Fyre Festival when it happened (or, to be more accurate, didn't), you probably discovered its shady tactics, wholesale lack of planning, emergency tent setup, paltry cheese sandwiches and all-round failure via Netflix's documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, which dropped internationally on the streaming platform in January. Rival service Hulu also released their own take, Fyre Fraud, the very same week — but it hasn't been available to watch in Australia until now. Channel 7 has now aired Hulu's doco, and also made it available on its online service 7plus. Prepare to step back into a tale so astonishingly ridiculous that it can only be true, featuring everyone from Ja Rule to Bella Hadid to Emily Ratajkowski. If you're wondering about the difference between Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened and Fyre Fraud, other than being made by competing streaming services (and by different filmmakers, obviously), that's understandable. They cover similar material, of course. Fyre was also co-produced by Jerry Media, who happen to be the social media agency responsible for promoting Fyre Festival, while Fyre Fraud paid conman McFarland to give a lengthy to-camera interview. Each film has its highlights and flaws; however if you just can't get enough of this trainwreck of an event, or want to keep pondering what it says about today's influencer and FOMO-saturated culture, you'll absolutely want to watch both. Check out the Fyre Fraud trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljkaq_he-BU Fyre Fraud is now available to stream on 7plus.
Do you feel like each week flies past in an uncontrollable blur? Friday afternoon comes and you can't remember what you have achieved but you still somehow feel exhausted? If yes, then it's time for a change. Each day you can elevate your life by aiming for just one easy win — even small tweaks to your routine will help take your week up a notch. To help you out, we've teamed up with our mates at Coopers Dry to bring you a list of 'easy wins' — small things that will enrich your life without you needing to stage a full-scale overhaul. MONDAY: CLEAN OUT YOUR CLOSET Kick off the week with a closet cleanse and rid thyself of unnecessary clutter. If it no longer fits, you don't like it or it's in poor condition — donate or chuck it. Those jeans from when you were 19, yeah, they've got to go. Set aside a couple of hours — grab a beer, crank your favourite tunes, channel your inner Cersei Lannister and be merciless. Clearing out the unworn clothes from your wardrobe frees up physical and mental space that you didn't even know you needed. Take your haul to a charity shop to help out the community, reduce waste and give yourself some good karma. TUESDAY: SIP A SMOOTHIE IN THE SUN Forget eating lunch at your desk, at least for today. Instead, head to your local park, let the sun work its magic and get a nice dose of vitamin D. Catching some rays each day can help to clear up your skin and improve your mood — but do it safely, of course. Boost your nutrient intake and add a smoothie to the mix, you'll be smiling for the rest of the afternoon. WEDNESDAY: DISCUSS SOME LITERATURE WITH A FRIEND Tagging your mates in memes is fun, but why not discuss something a little deeper. The aim of the game is simple: both of you choose an article, read the respective pieces, then discuss over an after-work beer. It's like a two-member book club, minus the effort of getting through an entire novel. For inspiration, check out Alex Tizon's 'My Family's Slave' — which is about a Filipino-American family who kept a slave for 56 years — or Gay Talese's 'The Voyeur's Motel' — a creepy true story about a guy who buys a motel just so he can secretly watch his guests. Both are fascinating and somewhat divisive reads sure to generate conversation. THURSDAY: HIT UP A PUB TRIVIA NIGHT An easy win is bonding with your colleagues over a set activity with a built-in competitive element. The team that plays together stays together, and all that jazz. Just make sure you've got someone to cover each element — geography, film, music, history, current events and sport. Get the beer rounds flowing and test your collective smarts. On Thursdays in Sydney, head to the Botany View Hotel in Newtown for trivia with a cash prize. In Melbourne, make your way to The Penny Black for trivia in the beer garden, and in Brissie, you can catch beer garden trivia at The Wickham. [caption id="attachment_691868" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lentil as Anything, Abbotsford.[/caption] FRIDAY: EAT FOR A GOOD CAUSE Cop a tasty feed and support charitable endeavours in the process — it's an easy win for altruism, and your taste buds. The not-for-profit vegan chain Lentil as Anything has four thriving stores in Melbourne and one in Sydney. The restaurants operate via a unique pay-as-you-feel model, with contributions going towards a number of education programs and social projects, as well as keeping the Lentils running. For those in Brisbane, sink your teeth into a slow-cooked beef shank or baked huevos rancheros at Hope Street Cafe. Hope Street employs people who have difficulty finding work and helps them to acquire new skills and gain hands-on experience. [caption id="attachment_659655" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maroubra to Malabar, Sydney.[/caption] SATURDAY: GO FOR AN EARLY MORNING WALK Start the weekend in a wholesome manner with a brisk walk by the water's edge. No matter where the day takes you thereafter, you'll feel good. Honestly, it's just science — exercise releases endorphins, endorphins make you happy —the crisp ocean breeze and stunning views also help. Stroll along the river in Brisbane, check out the stunning headlands on the Maroubra to Malabar coastal track in Sydney or wander along the Yarra in Melbourne. While it's a little too early for beer, find your favourite spot along the track and return later for a few sundowners (provided alcohol is permitted, of course). [caption id="attachment_555015" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Fatto, Melbourne.[/caption] SUNDAY: ENJOY A LONG LUNCH WITH FRIENDS The Ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus spent his days pondering what made life worth living, eventually, he concluded that great food shared among even better friends resulted in a good life. We will happily cosign that. Enjoy an Epicurean moment of your own with a Mexican feast at SoCal Neutral Bay (Sydney), riverside modern Italian at Fatto Bar & Cantina (Melbourne) or head to the grassy courtyard of Lokal & Co for an indulgent Norwegian spread in West End (Brisbane). Daytime hangs are perfect for spring and summer when the weather is beautiful. Kick off your 'easy wins' by enjoying a Coopers Dry, or two, with your mates.
Betty's Burgers just keeps expanding its empire, with the Shake Shack-style joint opening its latest Brisbane outpost at Howard Smith Wharves. The new store — the fast-growing chain's fourth in Brissie — comes less than five years after opening its first eatery in Noosa, and less than two years after finally making the move from the Sunshine Gold coasts. First announced in April, Betty's new location not only pairs the brand with one of the city's best new precincts, but with a river view. Yes, that means tucking into burgs, onion rings and frozen custard while peering out over the water. Given the chain's coastal beginnings, Betty's has always had a beach burger bar vibe, so its new digs are rather fitting. The HSW spot joins existing stores in Chermside, Newstead and Indooroopilly. As always, burg-lovers can expect plenty of their favourite dish, plus thickshakes and five types of 'concretes' — those aforementioned frozen custard desserts. For those keeping count, this makes 11 Betty's stores in southeast Queensland, with further eateries in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. At HSW, Betty's sits alongside an ever-expanding range of places and spaces — a riverside brewery, overwater bar, Greek taverna and cliffside hotel among them. In the coming months, the inner-city spot will also welcome a Japanese bar and a Chinese restaurant. Betty's Burgers is now open at Howard Smith Wharves, 5 Boundary Street, Brisbane. Head to the burger chain's website and Facebook page for further details.
Since Iron Man first flew onto cinema screens back in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has banded its movies together in phases, with each group of films telling a particular part of the broader story. The initial phase ran through until the first Avengers movie, the second spanned Iron Man 3 to Ant-Man, and the third kicked off with Captain America: Civil War and ended with Spider-Man: Far From Home. Now, the fourth phase is upon us — and it includes TV shows as well. So far, you might've been watching WandaVision; however, it's about to have company on streaming platform Disney+. Once the Mouse House is done telling Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision's (Paul Bettany) story (and nodding to classic sitcoms in the process), it's moving on to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Clearly, no one at Marvel and Disney+ has been taxing themselves while naming these series — so you instantly know who this one is about. Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprise the eponymous characters, with their characters teaming up and heading off on a global adventure. That tests their patience — as the initial sneak peek back in 2020 illustrated, and the just-dropped full trailer for the series now shows in more detail. The pair's exploits will span six episodes, and will bring back Daniel Brühl as Baron Zemo and Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter. Wyatt Russell (The Good Lord Bird) will also join the MCU as John Walker. As for when you'll be able to see all of the above in action, the series starts streaming on Friday, March 19, just after WandaVision wraps up its nine-episode run. And yes, the MCU's fourth phase will include more TV shows — such as Loki, which hits in May; Secret Invasion, starring Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury; and a series set in Wakanda. It'll kick off the film side of things with 2021 movies Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals. Check out the new full trailer for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWBsDaFWyTE The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will hit Disney+ on Friday, March 19. Top image: Chuck Zlotnick, ©Marvel Studios 2020. All Rights Reserved.
Less than five years after opening its first eatery in Noosa, Betty's Burgers keeps expanding its empire — and its next Brisbane outpost will pair Shake Shack-style burgers and desserts with one of the city's best new precincts. Come late May, Howard Smith Wharves will be home to Brissie's next Betty's Burgers joint, which means tucking into burgs, onion rings and frozen custard while taking in a river view. Given the chain's coastal beginnings, Betty's has always had a beach burger bar vibe, so its new waterfront digs seem rather fitting. Less than two years after finally making the move from Noosa and the Gold Coast to Brisbane, the fast-growing brand will now boast four across the city, with HSW joining existing stores in Chermside, Newstead and Indooroopilly. As always, burg-lovers can expect plenty of their favourite dish, thickshakes and five types of 'concretes' — those aforementioned frozen custard sweet treats. At HSW, Betty's will sit alongside a huge range of places and spaces — a riverside brewery, overwater bar, Greek taverna and cliffside hotel among them. And for those keeping count, that'll make 11 Betty's stores in southeast Queensland, with further eateries in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Betty's Burgers will open at Howard Smith Wharves, 5 Boundary Street, Brisbane in late May. Keep an eye on the burger chain's website and Facebook page for further details.
Among the wealth of new content that Netflix drops on viewers each and every year, Dead to Me proved one of the streamer's 2019 hits. Taking a few cues from 2018 film A Simple Favour, the show's ten-episode first season told the tale of two women who meet, become friends despite seemingly having very little in common, and help each other with their daily lives — then find themselves immersed in more than a little murky business. Now, the twisty dark comedy is returning for another season — and stars Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini are back as well. The former once again plays a just-widowed woman trying to cope with losing her husband in a hit-and-run incident, while the latter pops up as a positive-thinking free spirit. It has been some time since they initially crossed paths at a grief counselling session, though, so this definite odd-couple situation has evolved to feature more secrets, lies and complications, as well as more than one murder cover-up. When the show's first season ended, it did so with a huge cliffhanger. As the just-dropped full trailer for Dead to Me's second season shows, this new batch of episodes will see Applegate's Jen Harding and Cardellini's Judy Hale dealing with the aftermath of that big event. And, it also reveals that fellow series co-star James Marsden is back — although you'll obviously have to wait for the new season to find out just what that means. Created by 2 Broke Girls writer Liz Feldman, the series marks Applegate's first lead TV role since 2011-12 sitcom Up All Night. For Cardellini, it's a return to Netflix after starring on the streaming platform's drama Bloodline — and she also featured in A Simple Favour, too. Check out the full trailer for Dead to Me's second season below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmU7ylnmn_M Dead to Me's second season hits Netflix on Friday, May 8. Images: Saeed Adyani / Netflix.
Get Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Frances McDormand and more exceptional women in a room, point a camera their way, let the talk flow: Sarah Polley's Women Talking does just that, and the Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar-nominee is phenomenal. The actor-turned-filmmaker's fourth effort behind the lens after 2006's Away From Her, 2011's Take This Waltz and 2012's Stories We Tell does plenty more, but its basic setup is as straightforward as its title states. Adapted from Miriam Toews' 2018 novel of the same name, this isn't a simple or easy film, however. That book and this feature draw on events in a Bolivian Mennonite colony from 2005–9, where a spate of mass druggings and rapes of women and girls were reported at the hands of some of the group's men. In a patriarchal faith and society, women talking about their experiences is a rebellious, revolutionary act anyway — and talking about what comes next is just as charged. "The elders told us that it was the work of ghosts, or Satan, or that we were lying to get attention, or that it was an act of wild female imagination." That's teenage narrator Autje's (debutant Kate Hallett) explanation for how such assaults could occur and continue, as offered in Women Talking's sombre opening voiceover. Writing and helming, Polley declares her feature "an act of female imagination" as well, as Toews did on the page, but the truth in the movie's words is both lingering and haunting. While the film anchors its dramas in a specific year, 2010, it's purposefully vague on any details that could ground it in one place. Set within a community where modern technology is banned and horse-drawn buggies are the only form of transport, it's a work of fiction inspired by reality, rather than a recreation. Whether you're aware of the true tale behind the book going in or not, this deeply powerful and affecting picture speaks to how women have long been treated in a male-dominated world at large — and what's so often left unsaid, too. Stay and do nothing. Stay and fight. Leave the only home they've ever had behind, be excommunicated from their faith and forgo their spot in heaven. When the Mennonite women catch one of their attackers, he names more, arrests follow and the men are sent to the city — the culprits imprisoned, the rest there to bail them out — those three choices face the ladies of Women Talking. To decide which path to take, they hold a secret vote while the colony's males are away. When the results are tied, a cohort within the cohort chat it out in the barn. From elders to mothers and teens, everyone has a different perspective across three generations, or a different reason for their perspective, but the hurt, pain, dismay and distress simmering among the stern gazes, carefully braided hair and surrounding hay is shared. The women's religious beliefs dictate one solution only: absolution. That's the outcome demanded by the scarred Janz (The Tragedy of Macbeth's McDormand, also a co-producer here), so much so that she won't entertain alternatives. But her peers Agata (Judith Ivey, The Accidental Wolf) and Greta (Sheila McCarthy, The Broken Hearts Gallery) see shades of grey in their predicament — shades that Polley and her returning Away From Her and Take This Waltz cinematographer Luc Montpellier highlight in Women Talking's colour palette, even though their viewers will scream internally for the women to immediately leave. While dialogue-driven by necessity, the film also spies the country idyll that sits outside the barn doors, where the kids play contentedly in the crops. This isn't an aesthetically sunny movie — its tones are muted, as its women have long been required to be — but it still sees what departing means on multiple levels with clear eyes. As the debate rages against Hildur Guðnadóttir's (Tár) score of yearning — The Monkees' 'Daydream Believer' also gets a spin, surreally so — Agata's daughter Salome (Foy, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain) furiously advocates for battling. Her toddler daughter was among those attacked, which is understandably something she can't forgive, forget and keep living submissively beside the perpetrators, in a culture that allowed it to happen, afterwards. For Greta's just-as-irate daughter Mariche (Buckley, Men), who is abused by her husband openly aside from the widespread attacks, nothing good can come from running — including with their god. And for Salome's sister Ona (Mara, Nightmare Alley), who is pregnant from being raped, her ideals keep her going. As pros and cons about fighting or fleeing are thrown around, she speaks calmly but passionately about wanting a better community where the Mennonite women have agency and educations, as well as being safe and free. Indeed, because the group cannot read or write, formerly ex-communicated teacher August (Ben Whishaw, No Time to Die) is the lone male permitted to their meeting, taking minutes. More than a decade has passed between Polley's third film and Women Talking, and cinema has been all the poorer for it. How rich and resonant — how raw, sensitive and potent at the same time — her latest directorial effort proves. Compassionate and thoughtful in every frame, it scorches as a based-on-a-true-tale drama and as a state-of-the-world allegory, and says just as much beneath all the feverish utterances. Even with the Mennonite order's rules and conformity, costuming and hairstyles convey plenty about varying personalities. Letting colour seep into the movie's characters as the sun sets parallels the vibrant personalities these ladies are not expected to possess. And when Women Talking peers at the boys of the collective, it does so softly, asking what it takes to turn those innocent faces into men who'd subdue Salome, Mariche, Ona and company with cow tranquillisers to violate them. Such a complex and empathetic feature that's also intense, gripping and wide-ranging — pondering gender inequality, what community truly means and should stand for, religious devotion and the sins permitted in its name, unthinking compliance to any societal order and more — is unsurprisingly packed with performances to match. Women Talking's cast are deservedly up for the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards ensemble prize, while Buckley and Whishaw earned Gotham Awards nominations as well; there's no weak link in this troupe, including with all the rhythmic chatter. Each in their own way, Foy, Mara, McDormand and their co-stars radiate heartbreak, determination, vulnerability and anger. Whishaw is similarly excellent, but also never the film's focus. These portrayals are talking, too, in a movie that wouldn't fantasise about offering easy answers — but dreams of the possibilities spirited conversations and no longer staying silent can and do bring.
When it comes to Australia's annual collection of Jewish cinema, variety isn't simply the spice of life — it's the festival's guiding principle. Showcasing the breadth and depth of Jewish culture and storytelling is this event's aim, and it has the range to match. In fact, 2017's Jewish International Film Festival lineup boasts 65 films from 26 countries, including Danish dramas, Aussie docos, Israeli love stories, restored Polish classics, Russian projects and everything in between. A heartbreaking array of factual efforts? Tick. The sounds of Yiddish? Tick again. Explorations of famous Jewish filmmakers? A Sundance-like range of US indies? Multiple perspectives on Israeli life? Just keep ticking. With the fest making its way around the country between October 25 and November 22, we've chosen our five must-see movies from this year's program. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83UoZcdX__Y MENASHE If you only see one Yiddish-language movie this year, make it Menashe, which has been earning ample praise since it premiered at Sundance back in January. Loosely based on the real life of its Hasidic first-time actor and star Menashe Lustig, writer-director-producer-cinematographer Joshua Weinstein's debut full-length film unravels the story of a grocery store worker desperate to keep custody of his son after his wife's death — but beholden to strict religious tradition that dictates otherwise unless he remarries. For extra authenticity, the film was reportedly shot in secret within New York's ultra-orthodox community. Screening in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. https://vimeo.com/224428115 IN BETWEEN Three female friends cope with life, love and navigating society's standards in In Between, a film that sounds oh-so-familiar — until it comes to its setting and cultural perspective. Screens big and small are filled with similar stories, but this isn't just Girls set in Tel Aviv. Rather, first-time feature filmmaker Maysaloun Hamoud delves into the difficulties confronting her trio of Palestinian protagonists as they try to wade through several layers of oppression, refuse to conform to expectation, and — crucially — fight to be themselves in a world of rules, tradition and control. Screening in Sydney and Melbourne. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjt3J9mM7aE REBEL IN THE RYE For a famous recluse who shunned the spotlight for the bulk of his adult life, the late JD Salinger is rarely far from public attention. Writing one of the most iconic novels of the twentieth century will do that. While Salinger refused to let anyone turn The Catcher in the Rye into a film (not that it stopped the likes of Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio trying), the author's own tale keeps popping up on screen. Documentary Salinger stepped through his story back in 2013, and now Rebel in the Rye dramatises his early years — with Nicholas Hoult as the scribe and Mad Men actor turned writer-director Danny Strong behind the camera. Screening in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. https://vimeo.com/209150832 SCARRED HEARTS After helming the nineteenth century-set Romanian art-western Aferim!, filmmaker Radu Jude once again opts for something far from ordinary with Scarred Hearts. Based on autobiographical writings by Jewish Romanian author Max Blecher, the film tells the story of a twenty-something man's bedridden state as he recovers from bone tuberculosis, falls in love with a recovering former patient, and endeavours to reach beyond his confined state. A tale of living, resting, trying to find small joys, and coping with both illness and Facism, suffice it to say that this isn't the type of film you see every day. Screening in Sydney and Melbourne. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKXAkITImGU BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY She amassed 35 acting credits to her name in both Europe and the US, and starred alongside everyone from Judy Garland to Spencer Tracy to the Marx brothers in her '40s and '50s heyday. That's only part of Hedy Lamarr's considerable true tale, however. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story steps through the smarts behind the screen persona, with the Austrian-born talent not only an actress but an accomplished inventor. Self-taught, she devised a frequency-hopping signal that was used by the Allies during the Second World War, as this Diane Kruger-narrated documentary explores. Screening in Sydney and Melbourne. The 2017 Jewish Film Festival screens at Sydney's Event Cinemas Bondi Junction and Hayden Orpheum from October 26 to November 22, Melbourne's Classic Cinemas and Lido Cinemas from October 25 to November 22, and Brisbane's New Farm Cinemas from October 26 to November 1. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the festival website.
UPDATE, AUGUST 13, 2020: Due to COVID-19 lockdowns, Lennons Pool Terrace & Bar at NEXT Hotel is temporarily closed. Wandering down a bustling Queen Street Mall, you could be completely unaware that an uber chic, uber cool, uber trendy boutique hotel and rooftop bar are but an elevator ride away. That said, NEXT Hotel, the first Silverneedle property in Brisbane, has sure made a splash. And we're not just talking about its stunning rooftop pool. On level four of the hotel, standing at the entrance of Lennons Pool Terrace & Bar, you're a world away from the bargain-hungry shopping crowds and street buskers. Instead, you're presented with a slice of urban paradise. The glistening brilliant blue water of the lap pool, surrounded by green leafy palms and schmick outdoor furniture, is captivating. It feels more like a tropical oasis rather than a city establishment. The vast space of the bar and adjoining hotel guest lounge means you can 'chose your own adventure' when it comes to drinks — take your wine by the bar, sip your scotch and soda in the 'library' or corral the posse into clinking cosmopolitans by the pool. With an extensive Australian and international wine list, local and cult beers and top-notch spirits that can be mixed any which way you choose, the place is refined and ever so slightly Hollywood. Whether it's for a night out, post-work wind-down or a private group function, Lennons Pool Terrace & Bar at NEXT Hotel Brisbane is a choice with an exotic twist and is the perfect spot to stop, sip and savour on a balmy evening.
In a Venn diagram of people who love musical theatre and awe-inspiring acrobatics, the ideal audience for Pippin sits in the centre. The Tony Award-winning revival of the 1972 musical first burst onto Broadway in 2013 and amassed critical attention for its extraordinary stunts — from jumping through hoops to balancing on medicine balls and dangling from death defying heights. Its new look won the production four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival. [caption id="attachment_784142" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Terry Shapiro[/caption] The musical tells the story of Pippin, a medieval prince searching for his place in the world. The play within a play is told by a travelling troupe of actors and acrobats who often address the audience directly. And, in addition to the edge-of-your-seat action, it's also packed with memorable tunes like 'Corner of the Sky', 'No Time at All' and 'Magic to Do', all composed by Oscar- and Grammy Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked and Godspell). This summer, Australian audiences can experience the entertaining Australian production for themselves when Pippin comes to Sydney Lyric at The Star. As we live in uncertain times, there are flexible ticket options available, which might suit those planning to travel to Sydney especially for the show. Sydney Lyric at The Star also has a COVID-19 safety plan in place, in accordance with NSW Health. Pippin is showing exclusively in Sydney from November 24 to January 31. Tickets start at $69.90. Top image: Joan Marcus
If the team behind the Insidious franchise could have their time again, we're betting they'd make a significant change. You don't need supernatural abilities to pick what they'd fix, with their decision to kill off Lin Shaye's parapsychologist Elise Rainier in the first movie something they clearly regret. In the second film, they brought her back via the spirit world, while the series' third and fourth instalments have gone down the prequel route. It's easy to understand why — as the plucky otherworldly expert tasked with helping ordinary folks battle literal demons, Shaye is the best thing the horror saga has going for it by far. Indeed, thanks to the veteran actress, the Insidious flicks deserve a little more credit than they generally get. After all, how many franchises can say they have a 74-year-old woman as their star? A genre veteran with everything from A Nightmare on Elm Street to Critters to the Ouija movies to her name, Shaye remains as committed to her role as Elise as ever, including this time around. That said, pushing a septuagenarian front and centre can't make up for the series' largely by-the-numbers construction, which grows increasingly apparent with each new chapter. It would take serious mystical abilities to breathe life into the formulaic effort that is Insidious: The Last Key, for example. Directed by Shaye's 2001 Maniacs co-star Adam Robitel, this derivative outing keeps its protagonist around by taking a tried-and-tested path: an origin story. Anchored in Elise's childhood, the movie could easily be subtitled "this time, it's personal". As an introductory segment explains, she was once a girl (Ava Kolker) with special abilities, living near a prison, with a stern executioner father (Josh Stewart) who didn't approve. In the modern-day storyline, Elise is called back to her former home by its current resident (Kirk Acevedo), who's having some paranormal troubles of his own. Set in New Mexico's Five Keys and featuring a ghoul by the name of KeyFace, Insidious: The Last Key is anything but subtle. The paranormal villain also has keys for fingers, and doors and locks are prominent throughout the film. Although he created the series and has penned every instalment to date, Australian actor and screenwriter Leigh Whannell appears to be going through the motions with the flimsy narrative, even when he tries to step into more thematically interesting territory. Part of the movie focuses on abuse and the cycles of violence it can create, but it's treated with the same clunkiness as the supposedly-comic romantic subplot that sees sidekick characters, played by Whannell and Angus Sampson, hitting on a couple of much younger women. Of course, depth isn't something the franchise has ever counted among its strengths. Nor, for that matter, is comedy. Other than Shaye's presence, it has always fared best as a genre exercise. When The Conjuring's James Wan was at the helm of the first two films, what the series lacked in smarts and story, it almost made up for with its well-executed bumps, jumps, shadowy images and unsettling atmosphere. Nodding affectionately to (and borrowing liberally from) iconic horror flicks has always been part of the package too, but Wan's handling of demonic spirits and haunted houses still struck a stylistic chord. Sadly, as this trying, generic effort demonstrates, Robitel doesn't have the same talents with aesthetics or with scares. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV7tKm6JCCU
Emily Brontë's much-loved classic Wuthering Heights is the latest story to be celebrated and reimagined through the creative eyes of the Shake & Stir Theatre Co. A love story soured by lust and obsession, Wuthering Heights follows the tale of street rat Heathcliff, who is brought into the care of the Earnshaws and forms an unbreakable bond with daughter Catherine as well as a loathing for her brother, Hindley. As Heathcliff grows more and more passionately obsessed with Cathy, he finds that Cathy is married to another man. Filled with rage and vengeance, Heathcliff desires nothing more than to enact justice upon anyone found to stand in the way of his happiness. Shake & Stir's artistic director Nick Skubij says, "We love the challenge of adapting and presenting much loved classics on the stage, especially one as huge as Wuthering Heights. There is a lot of risk but we are used to that now and don't shy away from it." Previous well-received adaptations of Shake & Stir's include George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm, as well as Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes and Dirty Beasts.
If your end-of-month plans included a trip to the Gold Coast to see Travis Scott, Logic, Chvrches and Carly Rae Jepsen, then we have bad news: Sandtunes, the new festival with all three leading the lineup, has been cancelled. The event has endured a tumultuous run since it was first announced in July, when it was billed as a two-day seaside music fest at Coolangatta Beach. In September, "after listening to responses from the local community", organisers moved the festival to the definitely not-by-the-shore Metricon Stadium. But it seems that patrons weren't impressed with the change of venue, even when ticket prices were slashed to help reignite interest. As the event notes, "without sand between our punters' toes, the very notion of the beachside festival in a stadium meant low sales". As a result, the debut fest won't be going ahead — on its scheduled dates of Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1, or at all. https://www.facebook.com/SandTunesFestival/photos/a.352133325459956/410100329663255/?type=3&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARApmpGdy5jXx8Xi-9m6RCcZxSnRhY1fQxz9d-ZUZpM7EGPBFrtO1wf-gOYL8tJ0qZ-nxEwmhqno3z-rlZM-1sSPnoKyC5l7CHaq6J3pSmrLQJIrBQeGrziAYhbHJ5qYUVDLaE9HMU8sR6BvffsvLOyKj-cqCrTvjyqnZ0tgaCJJGEe_A9cL_17b23XlTQ3vUg5ZYjn2tqg7MInBAQmSmgVc84QzoHWNgXd7QloG2ER7vWs4JS7GH35iCwI9kS34Fj6jcSGwONORmWpmiUJbF3zmmzzTifplLQWUUoq4rAk-chmpA1emaWuC3FsBe-MsT0GUvOHyEE1oq0wZH3r3dGU&__tn__=-R That also means that the fest's plans not just to run this year, but to become an annual part of southeast Queensland's event calendar, have fallen by the wayside. "This whole concept started with bringing a great music festival to the beach which we see happening the world over in major locations like Spain (Barcelona Beach Festival) and Alabama (Hangout Music Festival). I'm disappointed because I believed this could have grown year-on-year into something really big but unfortunately, we weren't even able to get it off the ground here," said Paul Dainty, president and CEO of promoters TEG Dainty. While it's hardly surprising that the change of location away from the beach dampened music fans' enthusiasm, Sandtunes' timing in general wasn't fantastic, with the fest's dates overlapping with part of Schoolies. The rest of event's lineup was also slated to feature Juice WRLD, Dean Lewis, Sampa the Great, Tkay Maidza, Cub Sport, Kait, Kwame, WAAX, Kian, Alice Ivy, Genesis Owusu and Saint Lane. For folks keen to see Scott, it's especially unwelcome news — Sandtunes would've been the Texas-born rapper's only Australian performance this year. It seems that Carly Rae Jepsen's Aussie tour will still go head, just not in Queensland, with tickets for her Sydney and Melbourne shows still on sale at the time of writing. As for Logic, Sydney and Melbourne ticket sales have "been postponed while we work through some tour logistics", although co-presenter Triple J reports that his visit won't be going head. Sandtunes ticketholders who purchased by credit or debit card will receive refunds automatically within ten working days, while those who purchased in an agency will be contacted by phone with a fortnight to make refund arrangements. For more information about Sandtunes' cancellation, visit the festival website.
What do you call a movie filled with giant screaming goats, magic weapons vying for attention like romantic rivals, a naked Chris Hemsworth and a phenomenally creepy Christian Bale? Oh, and with no fewer than four Guns N' Roses needle drops, 80s nostalgia in droves, and a case of tonal whiplash as big as the God of Thunder's biceps? You call it Thor: Love and Thunder, and also a mixed bag. The fourth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to focus on the now 29-title saga's favourite space Viking, and the second Thor flick directed by Taika Waititi after Thor: Ragnarok, it welcomely boasts the New Zealand filmmaker's playful and irreverent sense of humour — and the dead-serious days of the series-within-a-series' first two outings, 2011's Thor and 2013's Thor: The Dark World, have definitely been banished. But Love and Thunder is equally mischievous and jumbled. It's chaotic in both fun and messy ways. Out in the cosmos, no one can swim, but movies about galaxy-saving superheroes can tread water. Thor Odinson (Hemsworth, Spiderhead) has been doing a bit of that himself — not literally, but emotionally and professionally. Narrated in a storybook fashion by rock alien Korg (also Waititi, Lightyear), Love and Thunder first fills in the gaps since the last time the Asgardian deity graced screens in Avengers: Endgame. Ditching his dad bod for his ultra-buff god bod earns a mention. So does biding his time with the Guardians of the Galaxy crew (with Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper and company popping up briefly). Then, a distress call from an old friend gives Thor a new purpose. Fellow warrior Sif (Jaimie Alexander, Last Seen Alive) has been fighting galactic killer Gorr the God Butcher (Bale, Ford v Ferrari), who's on a mission to do exactly what his name promises due to a crisis of faith — which puts not only Thor himself but also New Asgard, the Norwegian village populated by survivors from his home planet, at grave risk. In MCU movies before Ragnarok, many of which Thor has smouldered and smiled his way through, he would've attacked the problem — this time literally — with enchanted hammer mjolnir. It's been in pieces since the last standalone Thor film. Courtesy of the god's ex, it doesn't stay that way for long. Love and Thunder nabs itself two Thors for the price of one, after Dr Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, Vox Lux) hears mjolnir a-calling following a stage-IV cancer diagnosis. Soon, the astrophysicist is also the Mighty Thor, brandishing the mallet, wearing armour and sporting flowing blonde locks. When the OG Thor finds out, he's overcome with post-breakup awkwardness, but there's still a god killer to stop and also kidnapped kids to rescue. Cue a couple of Thors, plus Korg and New Asgard king Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson, Passing), trying to prevent the worst from happening. Love and Thunder is a film where those yelling oversized goats pull a boat into the heavens; where Hemsworth is gloriously in the goofiest mode he has, aka the best mode; and where Russell Crowe (Unhinged) plays a tutu-wearing, lightning bolt-flinging Zeus with the worst on-screen accent this side of House of Gucci (Greek instead of Italian, though). The movie is rarely more than a few seconds from a one-liner or a silly throwaway gag, and it loves colour more than a rainbow does — except when it doesn't, including in the desert-set opening that introduces Gorr and his god-slaying necrosword, and when it follows him into an eerie shadow realm. Love and Thunder also adds Bale, an actor forever linked with helping bring superheroes back to the blockbuster realm via Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, to the ranks of terrific caped crusader foes. This Thor flick contains plenty, clearly; however, for everything that works, something else doesn't. It doesn't help that the narrative is so paper thin, even with so much going on, that either Thor or the Mighty Thor could blast it down with their gazes alone. Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Sweet Vicious) take on scripting duties, and jokes fly quickly and freely along with all the plot points, but little in Love and Thunder feels like it amounts to anything. That's not from a lack of trying, at least in a cursory way — which is how too much that's meant to dive deep, or merely nod in a more substantial direction, comes across. The worst case in point: Jane, her illness and her super-powered change. It's a treat to see Portman not only return to the franchise after sitting Ragnarok out, but also play a hero rather than just the love interest. Alas, some early advice from Star-Lord (Pratt, Jurassic World Dominion) to the original Thor establishes the real reason that her character is back: to push the latter to realise that it's better to have loved and felt shitty about losing it than not to have opened his heart at all. Yes, Love and Thunder primarily uses its female Thor as a catalyst for her male counterpart to learn life lessons. It also uses her battle with cancer in the same way. It's little wonder that nothing that's meant to be poignant lands or sticks — and that all efforts otherwise play like a genre merry-go-round. Sometimes Love and Thunder is a space-opera comedy, sometimes it's a family-friendly adventure, sometimes it dallies with horror. It's an arrested-development comedy, too, and a rom-com. Each swing in a new direction is anchored by weightier matters — spanning unpacking male saviour complexes, the taking of Indigenous children by colonisers, the need to pass traditional knowledge down through generations, the follies of blind religious worship and multiple struggles for identity — but never enough. Like the flying goats, every magic weapon and, in one scene, the OG Thor's clothes, every notion in Love and Thunder that's meant to be meatier zooms off oh-so-swiftly. Wanting to love Love and Thunder comes easily, of course. Ragnarok was an utter delight. Waititi's filmmaking career boasts more hits than misses, with Eagle vs Shark, Boy, What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople also sitting on one side and just Jojo Rabbit on the other. From Hemsworth to Bale, and including Portman and Thompson as well, Love and Thunder is brimming with great performances — albeit all on varying tonal registers, with Bale used too sparingly, and Portman and Thompson not given enough to do. When it's in gleaming, silly, hyperactive and hyper-colour mode, Waititi and cinematographer Barry Idoine (The Mandalorian) go big on all those things and don't hold back. That said, a heap of gags fall flat, the formulaic story choices are glaring, most action scenes prove stock-standard, there's an often-disjointed air and, unshakeably, there's a pervasive sensation that simply following in Ragnarok's footsteps is the only realm aim. Wanting to love something is different from finding something to love, obviously — and while Love and Thunder isn't quite something to thunder at, lightning doesn't strike twice, either. Top image: Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
Punching has never been what matters most in the Creed movies, no matter how fast and furiously fists frequently fly. One of the key things that's always set this boxing franchise apart — with its first instalment landing in 2015 and sequel Creed II hitting in 2018 — is its focus on character and emotion first and foremost, including favouring both above going round for round in the ring. Blows are traded, obviously. Bouts are fought, bruises inflicted, bones broken and titles won. But the Creed saga has kept swinging again and again, leading to latest instalment Creed III, because it's still about its namesake, who he is as a person, and his feelings, demons and conflicts. When you have Michael B Jordan (Just Mercy) leading a series — even when it's a part of the broader Rocky series, or perhaps especially when that's the case — you give him the room to dig deep. You also give him weighty material to bear, as well as the space to bare Adonis 'Donnie' Creed's soul. Jordan gives himself that room, weight and space in Creed III, in the actor's first stint as a director. Notching up a ninth chapter for the overall saga that dates back to 1976's three-time Oscar-winner Rocky, this is also the first film to sport either that character or Creed's moniker but not feature Sylvester Stallone on-camera — or his involvement beyond a producer credit. Creed III is all the better for Rocky Balboa's absence, despite Stallone turning in his best performance yet in the initial Creed film. Understanding what it means to move on and openly unpacking what that truly entails is something else this franchise-within-a-franchise has long gotten right. So, Donnie has moved on from struggling with his father's legacy, and from his need to live in the past. He has another date with history, but Jordan and screenwriters Keenan Coogler (Space Jam: A New Legacy) and Zach Baylin (King Richard) — with a story also credited to the original Creed's director Ryan Coogler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) — aren't just mindlessly repeating the series' pattern. Creed III begins by going back to where Donnie's story started on-screen — actually, by venturing even further back, meeting him as an idolising teen (Thaddeus J Mixson, The Wonder Years). It's 2002, he lives in a group home, and the slightly older Damian 'Dame' Anderson (Spence Moore II, AP Bio) is a best friend as close as a brother, his mentor, and also a boxing prodigy. But a night showered in glory turns traumatic and violent, ending with Dame being incarcerated for the best part of two decades. Jump to the film's present, where Donnie has thrown in the gloves but remains tied to his chosen sport thanks to his Los Angeles boxing gym, plus managing a stable of champions and hopefuls. Jump, too, to Dame (Jonathan Majors, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) resurfacing fresh out of prison, wanting not just to reconnect but a title shot. The Rocky and Creed world sure does love an underdog. That's Dame, with only adolescent boxing achievements on his resume, but a certainty that he should challenge Donnie-managed reigning victor Felix Chavez (IRL pro boxer Jose Benavidez) for the belt. Even with plenty of its attention floating like a butterfly to the past, and stinging like a bee in what it sees, the movie wouldn't progress from there, of course, if its titular figure could himself resist the little guy — in the sport's hierarchy, not in stature. A hallmark of all things Rocky and Creed has always been giving the up-and-comer a go, as happened with Balboa and as he provided Donnie. So, true to the template but never only making itself about that tried-and-tested template, Creed III follows suit. This threequel-slash-ninequel isn't handing over the spotlight to its latest contender, though, no matter how magnetic and compelling Majors reliably proves (see also: The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Da 5 Bloods, Lovecraft Country and The Harder They Fall). He's Hollywood's current go-to for new villains in third efforts, and impressively so — particularly against the fellow heavyweight acting talent Jordan — but it's a touch unfortunate that Creed III drops in such short succession after the third Ant-Man rather than giving his efforts in both time to breathe. Inevitably, getting Jordan and Majors facing off in the ring, and getting Donnie back in the ring to do so, is a matter of when not if. The script obliges after Dame plays nice with Donnie's musician spouse Bianca (Tessa Thompson, Thor: Love and Thunder) and daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent, The Resident), who is deaf, but turns on his childhood pal on dime when he gets a taste of success and years of festering resentment bleeds out. Jordan directs with tension, intensity, energy, heft and a welcome willingness to get trippy with fight scenes, as aided by cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau (The Many Saints of Newark) — and with pace to the requisite training and match montages, with help from editors Tyler Nelson (The Batman) and Jessica Baclesse (Breakwater). Creed III is visually and viscerally immersive and engaging; in the process, Jordan also crafts a movie that plots a showdown between hard work and entitlement. In one corner sits someone committed to the toil, and to earning his rewards. In the other lurks a force driven by believing he's owed, that his wins must be someone else's losses, that his enemies must suffer for him to be happy, and by spite and revenge. The Cooglers and Baylin layer in genuine and complicated reasons for Dame's bitterness towards Donnie, but never justify his unhealthy way of handling his emotions — something that the Creed films have spent two prior instalments working through with his target. If a long-held grudge linked to childhood events sounds familiar, especially with Jordan involved, that's unsurprising. So should a suddenly arriving antagonist desperate to settle a score with someone enjoying power and prominence, plus duels over a throne of sorts. Jordan sparred through them all in Black Panther, which Ryan Coogler helmed after the first Creed (the pair's third collaboration, after 2013's exceptional Fruitvale Station before both). That leaves Creed III moving on from the Italian Stallion by following in footsteps other than its own franchise's — but still following in footsteps. It asks similar questions about masculinity, strength and heroism as Black Panther. It thrives on the dynamic between its two warring men, and on the performances the actors behind them give, too. It nods towards a different future for the saga as Wakanda Forever does as well. Also, it doesn't pack as hard a punch lingering beneath that shadow; Creed III is no knockout it's still a worthy bout.
Suffocating repression and blind religious fervour underscore an atmosphere of stomach-clenching dread, in the much-hyped arthouse horror flick that took last year's Sundance Film Festival by storm. The disquieting debut of writer-director Robert Eggers, The Witch unfolds on the very edge of civilisation, where puritanical devotion inevitably gives rise to the very evil it so desperately fears. The Witch isn't a horror film in the way that modern viewers may expect, with Eggers mostly steering clear of graphic violence and sudden scares. Yet while the film's gnawing brand of terror may not be particularly immediate, its lingering effects are also far less easily dispelled. The film takes place in New England in the early days of pilgrim settlement, and concerns the unfortunate affairs of a family of colonists who find themselves exiled from their community for an unspecified religious offence. Travelling into the wilderness, they establish a farm on the edge of an ominous forest, only for further misfortune to befall them when newborn baby Samuel mysteriously disappears. As winter creeps closer and hope stretches thin, suspicion is cast upon eldest daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), who the rest of the family fear may have made a sex pact with the devil. On a production level, The Witch is immaculate. Close attention to period detail – from the threadbare costumes and setting to the carefully researched era-specific dialogue – lends the narrative an authenticity that in turn makes its supernatural elements feel uncomfortably real. A muted colour palette, dominated by greys, off-whites and faded greens, seems to drive home just how grim the family's situation has become, while leaving little doubt in our minds that evil lurks just around the corner. Combine that with a nerve-jangling orchestral score, and it's clear Eggers wishes to unsettle you from the moment the film begins, and leave you feeling that way for many hours after the house lights come up. He's aided in that eerie ambition by the fine work of his cast. As the family patriarch William, Ralph Ineson embodies the world-weariness and internal conflict of a man who believes it's his duty to provide for his family, but whose pride prevents him from seeing that he is leading them to ruin. As his wife Katherine, Kate Dickie captures the calcified intensity of a woman from whom all pity has been driven. So hard has been her life that even her religious conviction is rooted in bitterness. But it is to 19-year-old Taylor-Joy that all eyes will be drawn, her pale, striking features and compelling performance speaking to the true source of the film's terrifying power. For while Eggers makes it clear that there is indeed a witch lurking in the shadows of the woods, her supernatural powers are far less frightening than the threats – both real and imagined – that lie within the four walls of the farmhouse. The true terror of The Witch is that our family might turn against us, for reasons that are entirely beyond our control. The mere fact that Thomasin is a young woman is enough to make her the subject of suspicion, as Eggers explores in no uncertain terms society's ongoing fear of female sexuality. Tellingly, the film's mesmerising final few moments depict exactly what such a society fears most: a woman unchecked by repression, with full control of her body, finally embracing her dark, seductive powers to the ruin of the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQXmlf3Sefg
Live music is back, finally. Now, every day seems to bring news of another tour or returning festival heading our way before 2022 is out, or arriving over summer. From Arctic Monkeys and Flume to Megan Thee Stallion headlining Festival X and TISM reforming for Good Things — just to name a few — there's no shortage of gigs to look forward to. Something big to add to that list: the return of Queensland Music Trails in 2023. Back in 2021, this statewide event held a trial run, and now it has been locked in for a proper stint next year. That'll mean huge music gigs and festivals held at 25 locations around Queensland — basically turning heading to see live music into a massive road trip. That 2021 trial trail focused on the state's outback, spanning everywhere from Jimbour to Charleville — plus Quilpie as well. They'll all get return events in 2023, alongside Toowoomba, Roma, Blackall, Longreach and Winton. As always initially planned, that outback trail will be joined by three others: in the far north, along the reef and in the southeast. The first will span Paronella Park, Yarrabah, Cairns, Barron Gorge, Kuranda and Mossman/Port Douglas, while the second will hit up Mackay, Proserpine, Airlie Beach, Hamilton Island, Bowen and Townsville. And, Brisbane will sit alongside the Sunshine Coast, Scenic Rim, Gold Coast and Stanthorpe as well. [caption id="attachment_857800" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mitch Lowe[/caption] Exactly what kinds of shows and gigs will feature in 2023, and who'll headline them, hasn't been revealed as yet — but the 2021 trial included opera shows in a homestead, chamber music under the stars, a blend of puppetry and tunes against a scenic backdrop, to name a few. Next year, it's planned to link the trail to some existing events, too, possibly including the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers and Cairns Indigenous Arts Festival. An initiative of QMF (Queensland Music Festival), Queensland Music Trails will return thanks to a $20-million investment by the Queensland Government over the first three years. "Through this program, you'll be able to see some of the world's biggest stars play at some of the most remote and picturesque destinations in the country," said Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, announcing the news. "From country and western in Stanthorpe, to indie rock in the Whitsundays, classic rock in Townsville, opera in the outback or Indigenous artists at Yarrabah Music and Cultural Festival – these events will expose tourists to some of the best experiences Queensland has to offer." [caption id="attachment_857797" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mitch Lowe[/caption] QUEENSLAND MUSIC TRAILS 2023 LOCATIONS: OUTBACK: Toowoomba Jimbour Roma Charleville Blackall Quilpie Longreach Winton FAR NORTH: Paronella Park Yarrabah Cairns Barron Gorge Kuranda Mossman/Port Douglas THE REEF: Mackay Proserpine Airlie Beach Hamilton Island Bowen Townsville SOUTHEAST QUEENSLAND: Sunshine Coast Brisbane Scenic Rim Gold Coast Stanthorpe Queensland Music Trails will return in 2023, hitting up 25 locations around the state. We'll update you with further details when they're announced — and you can head to the event's website for more information in the interim. Images: Katrina Lehmann / Mitch Lowe.
There's never been a shortage of reasons to adore Better Call Saul. It's one of the best shows of the past decade, it's a rare spinoff that's as exceptional as the series it hails from — and, frequently it's even better — and its lets Breaking Bad fans spend even more time with Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk, Nobody) and Mike Ehrmantrout (Jonathan Banks, The Commuter), for starters. It also boasts the phenomenal Rhea Seehorn (Veep) as Saul/Jimmy McGill's girlfriend, never makes an obvious move even though we all know what's coming for its titular character, and continually proves television's greatest tragedy for the same reason. After a two-year break, Better Call Saul will finally return this month to start its sixth and final season — and, from the trailer, it's set to keep ticking all of the above boxes. That said, it is about to do something viewers knew would have to happen one day: bringing Walter White (Bryan Cranston, Your Honor) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul, Westworld) into the story. Better Call Saul showrunner and executive producer Peter Gould confirmed the news at a panel session held at PaleyFest LA, saying "I don't want to spoil things for the audience, but I will say the first question we had when we started the show was, 'are we gonna see Walt and Jesse on the show?' Instead of evading, I'll just say yeah." He continued: "how or the circumstances or anything, you'll just have to discover that for yourself, but I have to say that's one of many things that I think you'll discover this season." Of course, it's worth remembering Mike's words in the season six trailer right now: "whatever happens next, it's not gonna go down the way you think it is," he utters in his inimitable gravelly voice towards the end of this first sneak peek at the new season. So, while we all know now that the thing the show was always heading towards will occur, trust in this outstanding series — and in creator Vince Gilligan — to still deliver oh-so-many surprises. The same is bound to prove true of Jimmy-slash-Saul breaking bad and embracing his "s'all good, man" new persona as a criminal lawyer (and not just because he represents criminals) in Better Call Saul's final season. Again, that doesn't mean that we know exactly how the season will play out. The sixth season will arrive in two parts — with the first seven episodes airing from Tuesday, April 19 in Australia, and the final six arriving from Tuesday, July 12. We'll also see more of post-Breaking Bad Saul's story, where he's known as Gene. Best break out the cinnamon scrolls, obviously, amid all that Pinkman-inspired cheering about science and magnets. Check out the Better Call Saul season six trailer below: Better Call Saul's sixth season starts streaming in Australia via Stan and New Zealand via Neon from Tuesday, April 19. Images: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television.
With The Girl in the Spider's Web, the Dragon Tattoo saga becomes a franchise that mashes up other franchises. It's a little bit Bond, thanks to the series' happy switching of actors playing Lisbeth Salander. It has a dash of Bourne, courtesy of its returning protagonist and her ongoing crusade against many an unseemly conspiracy. And, with violent vengeance firmly placed centre stage in this more action-packed instalment, it nods to John Wick as well. However, blending all of these parts together, there are a few things that The Girl in the Spider's Web definitely isn't: entertaining, thrilling, or anything other than bland and generic, narrative-wise. Even if you haven't read the book that the film is based on, The Girl in the Spider's Web comes with a sense of deja vu. It's a case of new star, new director and new author, but business as usual otherwise. For the uninitiated, Stieg Larsson's initial three novels were published after his death, then adapted into a Swedish film trilogy starring Noomi Rapace. David Fincher remade the first movie in the franchise, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, in 2011 with Rooney Mara as his lead. Then, in 2015 and 2017, writer David Lagercrantz penned two more books that continued the series, starting with The Girl in the Spider's Web. With Claire Foy stepping into Lisbeth's black and leather outfits, the hacker-slash-vigilante once again punishes men who harm women, tries to unravel a murky scheme and finds herself immersed in a plot with links to her past. This time, she's hired by an ex-National Security Agency operative (Stephen Merchant) to steal a computer program he wrote that can access the world's entire nuclear arsenal. Lisbeth's cyber skills get the job done, but another NSA expert (Lakeith Stanfield) is soon making his way around Stockholm and trying to retrieve the software. He's not the only other interested party, thanks to a shadowy group called The Spiders — who also make Lisbeth face her tragic history, including her estranged sister Camilla (Sylvia Hoeks). Franchise devotees will also spot investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Sverrir Gudnason) and his publisher and lover Erika Berger (Vicky Krieps), although that side of the series takes a backseat to Lisbeth's latest antics. Indeed, while it boasts similar story elements, this film isn't really a mystery-thriller with a detective bent like its predecessors. Rather, it uses the same packaging to place Foy's version of Lisbeth in the kind of chasing and fighting situations that are stock-standard in action flicks. There's an uncomfortable sense of conflict within The Girl in the Spider's Web as a result — a sense that what it's saying and what it's doing don't quite work together. The film presents its protagonist as a fiercely individualistic feminist avenger, but fashions the movie she's in after plenty of other action franchises. Whether she's virtually retracing her own footsteps or stepping into those of other no-nonsense on-screen heroes, this iteration of Lisbeth always feels like she's going through the motions. That doesn't give Foy much room to make an impact. Instead, she's largely tasked with mimicking Rapace and Mara – the latter of whom earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in the role. The Girl in the Spider's Web also squanders much of its supporting cast, most of whom have impressed elsewhere, such as Gudnason in Borg vs McEnroe and Krieps in Phantom Thread. Get Out's Stanfield fares best based on his innate talent and charm, rather than as a result of the material that he's working with. Still, the film soars in one area: its visuals. With both his Evil Dead remake and Don't Breathe, writer-director Fede Alvarez demonstrated a distinctive command of style, which translates here to evocative and moody shades of black, white and grey. Other movies in the series have sported a suitably grim, gloomy sheen, but Alvarez makes it look and feel new here. If only the rest of The Girl in the Spider's Web had managed the same feat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QTmNtRpnbU
South Korean cinema has been thrust into the global spotlight in a big way over the past year, all thanks to the enormous success of Bong Joon-ho's Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or-winning, Sydney Film Festival prize-winning and four-time Oscar-winning film Parasite. Of course, the country has been serving up stellar cinema for decades, which is great news for movie buffs — who can either revisit excellent flicks such as the 1960 standout The Housemaid, the Park Chan-wook-directed likes of Oldboy, Thirst and The Handmaiden, and even Bong's own hefty back catalogue; or watch all of the above and more for the first time. Add Yeon Sang-ho's instant classic Train to Busan to the list, too. First hitting screens back in 2016, the frenetic zombie-filled thrill ride became an instant classic, following a father (Gong Yoo) and daughter (Kim Su-an) forced to fend off the shuffling hordes while in mid-transit. Not only did the movie flesh out its protagonists more than most undead flicks manage, but it also painted a probing picture of modern-day South Korean society. And, it's part of a franchise, with fellow 2016 release Seoul Station exploring another aspect of the outbreak in an animated prequel. Now, as promised for years, a sequel to Train to Busan is coming to screens — set four years after the first film. While just when it'll hit theatres hasn't been announced (which is completely understandable given that cinemas around the world are currently shuttered), the action-packed first teaser trailer for Train to Busan presents: Peninsula has just dropped for cinephiles looking for more pandemic-based viewing options. This time around, former soldier Jung-seok (Gang Dong-won) is in the spotlight. With the Korean peninsula devastated by the outbreak, he has escaped overseas — but is given a secret mission to return to retrieve an object. Because that's the way these kinds of tales go, his trip back home throws up plenty of expected zombies, unexpected survivors and grim fights for survival in an abandoned, post-apocalyptic world. That said, with Yeon returning as the film's writer and director, it's unlikely that Peninsula is going to follow an easy formula. Check out the trailer below — and if you need to catch up with Train to Busan, it's available to stream on Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVucSRLLeIM&feature=emb_logo Train to Busan presents: Peninsula doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced. Images: Well Go USA Entertainment
Whoever said bouncy castles were just for kids clearly never encountered The Beast. Clocking in at over 300 metres and boasting 40 different obstacles, this thing is calling itself the world's largest inflatable theme park. Oh, and it's casually touring Australia next summer, hitting up Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Setting up in yet-to-be-announced locations in the hot months of 2020, The Beast is the bouncy castle experience of your wildest kidult dreams. Punters are invited to run, jump, dance and scramble their way through the course, which is opening predominantly for adults (with a limited number of sessions for littluns in each city). The obstacles you'll conquer in the bouncy theme park include a 20-metre Mega Slide and the ominously named Bouncy Cage of Doom. There's also something called the House of Hell, which, while suitably vague, we think may make you fear bouncy castles for life. Attempting to run from clowns, ghosts and ghouls in an unpredictably bouncy corridor is what nightmares are made of. Dates are not yet announced and details are slim, but we do know that the pop-up will be heading to each of the above cities for at least a few days. You can sign up for pre-release tickets here, which you best do because space will surely be limited.
If your idea of a perfect day in the ocean is seeing beautiful reefs and getting insightful connection to the sea, put Dreamtime Dive and Snorkel on your itinerary. Offering a unique experience, this local team will invite you to step into the Great Barrier Reef's Dreamtime. Visiting an array of reefs unique to Tropical North Queensland, you'll be accompanied by First Nations sea rangers who are passionate marine lovers, prioritising reef preservation and sustainable tourism. With Dreamtime you'll spend the day snorkelling in some of the world's best reefs and learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island traditions and cultural connection to the region.
When the final season of Game of Thrones aired, it earned its fair share of detractors. So, around a million people hopped online and signed a petition asking for the show's last batch of episodes to be remade. That might seem like a silly and implausible reaction but, when it happened in 2019, that kind of fan outcry wasn't new. Just a couple of years earlier, DC Comics aficionados had tried to get Rotten Tomatoes shut down when the reviews for Suicide Squad weren't as positive as the'd like — or positive at all. They're just two examples of fan responses to either beloved properties going awry in their eyes, or not getting the treatment they think they deserve — and of entitlement-driven campaigns asking for those supposed misdeeds to be corrected or punished. Another big instance over the past few years involves fellow DC Extended Universe flick Justice League, which wasn't well-received when it first hit cinemas back in 2017, and deservedly so. The superhero team-up movie definitely isn't the best entry in its franchise. It was also plagued by struggles before it reached the screen, including the replacement of director Zack Snyder with Joss Whedon during post-production. Accordingly, there's been an online push for Snyder's version of the movie to be released — and, because that's the kind of world we live in, it's actually happening. The director also filmed new footage for what's now being called Zack Snyder's Justice League, and the four-hour end product is dropping in March. In the US, HBO Max will be streaming the film; however, given that the service isn't available Down Under, just how Australian viewers would get their chance to see the flick hadn't yet been revealed. Until now, that is, with Aussie streaming platform Binge announcing that it'll add Zack Snyder's Justice League to its catalogue at the same time that it drops in America. Whether you actually liked the original and are keen to see what's changed, you completely hated it and you've been eager for a new version, or you're just bemused and/or bewildered by the fact that the Snyder Cut — as it has long been called online — has actually come to fruition after years of internet pleading, you can head to Binge from 6pm AEDT on Thursday, March 18 to check it out. Following on from the events of 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice — including how that film ended for Superman (Henry Cavill, ) — Zack Snyder's Justice League sees Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) join forces with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) to band together DC Comics' superheroes to stop a potentially world-ending threat. As well as Batman and Wonder Woman, Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) all make an appearance, teaming up to try to save the planet from a trio of villains. And, as the trailer shows, Jared Leto's version of the Joker also pops up. Check out the trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r_EQ_8JPyU&feature=youtu.be Zack Snyder's Justice League will be available to stream via Binge from 6pm AEDT on Thursday, March 18.
With photographer Nan Goldin at its centre, the latest documentary by Citizenfour Oscar-winner Laura Poitras is a film about many things, to deeply stunning and moving effect. In this movie's compilation of Goldin's acclaimed snaps, archival footage, current interviews, and past and present activism, a world of stories flicker — all linked to Goldin, but all also linking universally. The artist's bold work, especially chronicling LGBTQIA+ subcultures and the 80s HIV/AIDS crisis, frequently and naturally gets the spotlight. Her complicated family history, which spans heartbreaking loss, haunts the doco as it haunts its subject. The rollercoaster ride that Goldin's life has taken, including in forging her career, supporting her photos, understanding who she is and navigating an array of personal relationships, cascades through, too. And, so do her efforts to counter the opioid epidemic by bringing one of the forces behind it to public justice. Revealing state secrets doesn't sit at the core of the tale here, unlike Citizenfour and Poitras' 2016 film Risk — one about Edward Snowden, the other Julian Assange — but everything leads to the documentary's titular six words: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed. They gain meaning in a report spied late about the mental health of Goldin's older sister Barbara, who committed suicide at the age of 18 when Goldin was 11, and who Goldin contends was just an "angry and sexual" young woman in the 60s with repressed parents. A psychiatrist uses the eponymous phrase to describe what Barbara sees and, tellingly, it could be used to do the same with anyone. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is, in part, a rebuke of the idea that a teenager with desires and emotions is a problem, and also a statement that that's who we all are, just to varying levels of societal acceptance. The film is also a testament that, for better and for worse, all the beauty and the bloodshed we all witness and endure is what shapes us. Life is all the beauty and the bloodshed, inescapably — and in the film's most recent footage, Goldin fights against the latter. In an essay penned in 2017, published in 2018 in Artforum and given voice now, she reveals her addiction. "I survived the opioid crisis. I narrowly escaped," she says of her time taking OxyContin, which was originally prescribed to her as it is for many: for surgery. "Though I took it as directed, I got addicted overnight. It was the cleanest drug I'd ever met," Goldin continues. The damage that this prescription substance has caused is well-documented, in docos and dramas such as The Crime of the Century and Dopesick alike. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed isn't just another popped from the packet, but a feature that inserts Goldin's battle against the wealthy Sackler family, founders and owners of OxyContin-making pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma, into a bigger slideshow. This is a personal fray, again for many reasons; All the Beauty and the Bloodshed's nesting layers exceed any set of matryoshka dolls. The conflict between autonomy and dependence has long been one of Goldin's sources of fascination — given how her sister was treated, how could it not? — and her seminal work The Ballad of Sexual Dependency filters through the film, as well as acts as inspiration. Goldin crusades against the reliance that so-called "miracle drug" OxyContin has sparked, and the rising death toll the opioid epidemic keeps notching up. Co-founding advocacy group PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), she literally rallies against the Sacklers, whose fortune is enormous off the back of the OxyContin's carnage. She directs particular focus to the Sacklers' artwashing, thanks to their hefty donations to galleries and museums, which is where PAIN stages its protests. Many of the cultural institutions accepting the Sacklers' money — many of them bearing the family's name on their buildings, in fact, because that's how much funds such spaces have received— are also intertwined with Goldin's career. An artist's work has to display somewhere, and hers has garnered berths in prestigious spots. PAIN targets them all and more, at considerable risk to Goldin's professional standing, and in a case of an artist firmly putting her principles first. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed begins with action at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and with a "die-in" in its largest gallery space, which is named for the Sacklers. It's a powerful sight, not just filled with prone protestors on the ground but with orange prescription pill bottles scattered around, and bobbing in the room's moat. More such scenes appear throughout the movie, travelling to the Guggenheim Museum and the Louvre — their famous spiral ramp and pyramid, respectively, taken over to make a statement. Poitras could've simply filled a documentary with Goldin's photography or her efforts with PAIN; either way, a gripping film would've eventuated. If she'd just gone with the second option, it could've been another like fellow 2023 Oscar-nominee Navalny that ripples with the tension of a spy thriller, as such scenes do within All the Beauty and the Bloodshed anyway — complete with actual espionage. PAIN's protests are potent to visually behold, Goldin ensuring that they stand out aesthetically and, as the doco sees, photograph well. The passion and piercing emotion of All the Beauty and the Bloodshed wouldn't be what it is without everything around its OxyContin-combating quest, however, because no one action, decision, movement or person is just one thing. This chronicle of the political must also be personal, detailing how Goldin's childhood brought her to life on the fringes, then to photographing it to preserve it, and then to fighting for it. It has to examine how her work is a response to society's marginalisation of women and the queer community, and also crucially a portrait of her own ups and downs, too, showing where her empathy and activism bloomed and why. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed isn't dutifully connecting dots, though, but observing all that makes someone who they are — and makes their deeds, such as Goldin's crusade against the Sacklers, what they are at the same time. It flits backwards and forwards in an act of structural mastery, recreating the feeling of slipping and sliding through memories. Along the way, it gives its marvellous cavalcade of its subject's imagery room to resonate, as it does with her commentary on it, her recollections of her fallen friends like Pink Flamingos star Cookie Mueller and artist/activist David Wojnarowicz, and her constant unpacking of her childhood. It lets court-ordered victim statements to the Sacklers in Purdue's bankruptcy deal echo and linger. Winning the Golden Lion at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival as well, this is a remarkable doco about an individual, and the others who've cast their shadows upon her, as well as a stirring account of the clash between individuals and power — Poitras' frequent topic of interest, after all.
Remember when we used to bemoan the fates of so many young women growing up with Bella from Twilight as a hero? Now we know the same generation has had Katniss Everdeen, and the kids are all right. Plus, those of us well on the 'A' side of 'YA' want in on the flamboyant, ultra-capitalist dystopia and its inadvertent girl revolutionary. Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games is a really developed universe, and the story only gets more compelling with Catching Fire, which in film is a 2 hour 25 minute whirlwind. After the gameplay-based formula of the first instalment, it was hard to figure out where the sequels would go — another fight-to-the-death Battle Royale would be repetitive, but if we don't spend any time in an arena, the premise of the trilogy would look pretty disposable. Suffice to say, Catching Fire has it covered. After the act of subversion Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) pulled off on live TV at the end of The Hunger Games, agitation is spreading in the poorer districts of Panem, and the despotic President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the ruling elite of the Capitol will do anything to quell it. Snow manipulates Katniss into placating the proletariat via a tightly controlled publicity tour — and if she fails, he has a plan B. Following the strategy of his sly new head gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman. Just bear with the name), Snow calls for a special-occasion Hunger Games, for which all the competing tributes are drawn from past victors. This throws our old favourites — Katniss, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), Effie (Elizabeth Banks), Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) — back together, while also introducing a new field of characters fierce in combat and charisma. Just try not to love matter-of-fact badass Johanna (Jena Malone) and sleazy Finnick (Sam Claflin), an arrogant prepster who nonetheless piggybacks his elderly mentor, Mags (Lynn Cohen), about the place. It's all on Katniss to survive, again — while protecting Peeta, her family and her distant love Gale (Liam Hemsworth). This time, she also has to slot in her obligations to all of humankind. Collins' story gives the film excellent bones. The allegories — to reality TV, consumer society and good old fashioned class struggle — sit very near the surface, but that doesn't dull their impact; it's a thrill to see such politics in a dazzling mainstream package. Several key moments of protest are nimbly handled, such that they provoke real empathy and reflection. Director Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) and his team have not dropped the ball. There's no Disneyfication; Catching Fire has a distinct look and sustained dark, gritty mood. The Capitol is made to look both glamorous and repulsive, and comedy is inserted with precision; every time Stanley Tucci does a weird laugh, we do a weird laugh, and Malone kills it in the space of an elevator ride. Of course, The Hunger Games' ultimate weapon is Jennifer Lawrence, and Catching Fire lets her unleash her Jennifer Lawrenciest self, pulling some unpretty faces, cracking a few jokes and being brazenly down-to-earth in the face of Panem-wide 'Girl on Fire' hysteria. We'll follow her into any showdown — including when the final Hunger Games arrives split in two parts, in 2014 and 2015. https://youtube.com/watch?v=MkvUNfySGQU
From the director of Dumb & Dumber, There's Something About Mary and Shallow Hal comes a race-relations drama with five Academy Award nominations to its name. Only a handful of years ago, that would've seemed like one of the most unlikely sentences in the film industry. But Green Book is a Peter Farrelly movie through and through, even if no one gets their tongue stuck to a frosty pole, uses an unconventional type of hair gel or dons a fat suit. It might take its real-life tale seriously, however the same simplicity — and the same penchant for upbeat, easy sentiment — that has characterised the director's filmography remains. Taking to the road across America's Deep South circa 1962, Green Book follows a journey within a journey. As revered classical musician Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his hired chauffeur Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) venture from town to town on a piano recital tour, this odd couple ventures towards an unexpected friendship. Painfully aware of the discrimination of the time, the reserved, refined Shirley understands the need for a chaperone, but is hardly accustomed to some of his driver's behaviour. For the mouthy, uncouth Lip, a New York bouncer who's happy to treat African-Americans the same way he'd treat an unruly bar patron, working for a black man likewise takes some getting used to. Co-writing the screenplay with Brian Currie (also one of the film's producers) and Nick Vallelonga (son of Tony 'Lip' Vallelonga), Farrelly throws up plot developments like his characters throw fried chicken scraps out of the car window. That's one of Green Book's big scenes, and it's tossed in breezily but lands with a thud. The same is true of much of the movie. Simultaneously light and overt, and shot and styled in the same way, this is a picture that ticks all of the obvious boxes, charts all of the predictable developments and services all of the expected messages. It has a heart, as do most of Farrelly's films, yet it always seems like it's expending most of its energy on stressing its feel-good importance. While scenes that show Tony learning to overcome his own prejudice, saving Shirley from violent attacks and teaching him that stereotypical aspects of black culture may have a basis in truth, they also feel carefully calculated to further the picture's overall vibe. A film that makes Lip the protagonist and Shirley the supporting player, Green Book is also a film that's willing to shape the details to suit its smooth angle on reality. That's far from uncommon in the "based on a true story" game, but even if controversy hadn't sprung up about the handling of specific aspects of Shirley's life (with his family contesting some elements), the movie would've still felt massaged for mass consumption. Indeed, Farrelly has a mould that he's trying to fit, earning and thoroughly deserving the label of this year's Driving Miss Daisy. It's also this year's The Blind Side, aka a picture where a person of colour's narrative is framed through their relationship with a helpful white friend, or saviour. Green Book's questionable approach would've always been apparent, but it perhaps cuts deeper because of the film's biggest success: its performances. Oscar-nominated for their respective roles, Mortensen and Ali truly make the best of the material at their disposal. More than that, they exceed it — as you'd expect from both. In Mortensen's case, there's a welcome looseness to his take on Lip that never feels like he's forcefully pushing buttons or hitting marks, even though the script always is. With likely two-time Best Supporting Actor winner Ali, there's soulful elegance, resounding dignity and quiet vulnerability to his portrayal of Shirley, giving the man what he deserves even if the film around him doesn't. Although a great movie could be made starring the pair, this isn't it. Instead, they lift a polite hug of a picture, one that boils down good intentions to the easiest, most conventional elements. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c18JX_RS-Xo
UPDATE, March 30, 2021: Raya and the Dragon is currently screening in Australian cinemas, and is also currently available to stream via Disney+ with Premier Access (so you'll pay $34.99 extra for it, on top of your usual subscription fee). It'll hit Disney+ without any extra fee on June 4. Featuring a vibrant animated spectacle that heroes vivid green and blue hues, a rousing central figure who is never a stock-standard Disney princess and lively voice work from an all-star cast, Raya and the Last Dragon boasts plenty of highlights. The Mouse House's new all-ages-friendly release also embraces southeast Asian culture with the same warm hug that Moana gave Polynesia and Pixar's Coco sent Mexico's way — and it's always detailed, organic, inclusive and thoughtful, and never tokenistic. But perhaps its biggest strength, other than the pitch-perfect vocal stylings of Awkwafina as the playful, mystical half of the film's title, is its timing. Disney first announced the feature back in August 2019, so the company can't have known what the world would suffer through from early 2020 onwards, of course. But a hopeful movie about a planet ravaged by a destructive plague and blighted by tribalism — and a feature that champions the importance of banding together to make things right, too — really couldn't arrive at a more opportune moment. COVID-19 has no place in Raya and the Last Dragon; however, as the picture's introductory preamble explains, a virus-like wave of critters called the Druun has wreaked havoc. Five hundred years earlier, the world of Kumandra was filled with humans and dragons living together in harmony, until the sinister force hit. Now, only the realm's two-legged inhabitants remain — after their furry friends used their magic to create the dragon gem, which saved everyone except themselves. That's the only status quo that Raya (voiced by Star Wars' Kelly Marie Tran) has ever known. Her entire existence has also been lived out in a divided Kumandra, with different groups staking a claim to various areas. With her father Benja (Daniel Dae Kim, Always Be My Maybe), she hails from the most prosperous region, Heart, and the duo hold out hope that they can reunite the warring lands. Alas, when they bring together their fellow leaders for a peaceful summit, Raya's eagerness to trust Namaari (Gemma Chan, Captain Marvel), the daughter of a rival chief, ends with the Druun on the rampage once again. Directors Don Hall (Big Hero 6) and Carlos López Estrada (Blindspotting), co-directors Paul Briggs and John Ripa (both Disney art and animation department veterans), and screenwriters Qui Nguyen (Dispatches From Elsewhere) and Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians) mightn't have had much of a tale to tell if Raya and Namaari had gotten on without a hitch from the get-go. But the latter's early betrayal of the former, and her quest to steal the dragon gem, serves more than a key storytelling function. This is a movie about believing not just in yourself, but in others, and it doesn't shy away from the reality that trusting anyone comes with the chance of peril and pain — especially in fraught times where the world has taken on an every-person-for-themselves mentality and folks are dying (or being turned to stone, which is the Druun's modus operandi). If the narrative hadn't been willing to make this plain again and again, including when it picks up six years later as Raya tries to reverse the devastation caused by Namaari's actions, Raya and the Last Dragon wouldn't feel as genuinely affecting. Rolling around desert wastelands on her giant armadillo-meets-pill bug Tuk Tuk, Raya's mission involves collecting every part of the now-fractured gem — which has been scattered across Kumandra — as well as investigating a legend about Awkwafina's Sisu. It's rumoured that the aquamarine-coloured dragon still lives, and Raya is as intent on finding it as she is on piecing her homeland back together. Tracking down the perennially optimistic Sisu actually happens quickly (it's right there in the movie's buddy-comedy moniker, after all) and the film is all the better for it. So giddily buoyant that she's like a teenage girl, the friendly creature becomes the supportive, exuberant cheerleader encouraging Raya to be her better self and to see the best in others, and their match-up — and the meeting of stellar vocals behind them — works a treat. That said, there is an episodic feel to the pair's jumps from place to place, as they enlist the help of a baby pickpocket, plus orphaned ten-year-old and boat restaurant proprietor Boun (Izaac Wang, Good Boys) and lonely warrior Tong (Benedict Wong, The Personal History of David Copperfield). If you're cynical or even just practical, you can also see how all these characters and settings could give rise to their own toys, other merchandise and spinoffs, too. And yet, this is always a deeply moving feature, thanks to its commitment to recognising the risks as well as the rewards of placing your faith in others, its warmly beating heart, and the complexities of Raya and Namaari's relationship — which is never straightforward, and puts the one-note rivalries between young women so often seen in live-action high school-set movies to shame. A familiar Disney formula is at work underneath, and noticeably, but those easily spotted aspects provide Raya and the Last Dragon with its skeleton rather than driving every detail into well-worn territory. Also hitting the mark: the film's comic notes, especially through Awkwafina's voice performance; its balance of world-building fantasy and epic adventure, and of both hopeful and melancholy tones; and the way it equally plays like a fable and also feels ideally suited to the current moment. Tran, Chan and the rest of the movie's cast, including Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) as Namaari's mother, are just as wonderful, and the feature's finale leaves an imprint. Amid these fine-tuned elements and the always-breathtaking imagery also lingers another message, and one that's just as important as the flick's missive of unity. Clouds of familiarity linger over Raya and the Last Dragon, but they never hide the movie's many charms — because judging something based on its most obvious traits is ill-advised within this touching tale, and when it comes to the film as a whole as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T4GIqEYyNk&feature=youtu.be Top image: © 2020 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
Whoever said bouncy castles were just for kids clearly never encountered The Monster. Clocking in at 270-metres and boasting 30 different obstacles, this thing takes the title of the world's largest inflatable obstacle course. Oh, and it's just casually coming to Melbourne next month, as part of its own three-day 18+ festival of fun. Taking over the Grand Pavilion at Melbourne Showgrounds across the Australia Day long weekend, The Monster is the bouncy castle experience of your wildest kidult dreams. Punters are invited to run, jump, dance and scramble their way through the course, with sessions running from noon–10pm each day. It'll likely take you somewhere between five and 20 minutes to complete, depending on speed, coordination and how indulgent your festive season was. What's more, the fun extends beyond the final bounce, with the festival also pulling together a program of DJs, street food vendors and pop-up bars to see you sticking around long into the night. Melbourne's just the first stop on The Monster's soon-to-launch Aussie tour, with organisers TEG Life Like Touring expected to announce more cities next year. The Monster arrives in Melbourne from January 26–28, with access to the obstacle course from 12–10pm daily. Tickets are $39.90 and available from Monday, December 18. You can buy tickets at themonster.com.au.
Praise be, Handmaid's Tale fans. The series' third season is due to hit the small screen in June, and the first proper trailer has arrived. Blessed be not only the fruit but the sneak peek, obviously. Revolution looks set to sweep the fictional society of Gilead in the two-minute-long clip, which follows on from the teaser released in February during the Superbowl. That fiery preview told us that it's time to wake up, and it looks like that's exactly what's happening when we rejoin this dystopian world, its creepy and oppressive way of life, and the chaotic existence of Offred/June (Elisabeth Moss) and her fellow subjugated women. Of course, meaty details about the third season are as scarce as a happy woman in red — but expect to spot Yvonne Strahovski's Serena Joy, Joseph Fiennes' Fred Waterford, Ann Dowd's Aunt Lydia, Max Minghella's Nick and new series regular Bradley Whitford as Commander Lawrence, as well as plenty of handmaids. Given how the second season wrapped up, expect the story to get even darker, too. The 13-episode series will hit soon, airing on SBS and becoming available to stream on SBS On Demand at 8.30pm on Thursday, June 6, then continuing weekly. Lucky for us Down Under, this is the same time as it'll be dropping on Hulu in the States, so hopefully no spoilers will crop up. And, there's plenty more Handmaid's Tale bleakness to enjoy this year (well, not that enjoy is necessarily the right term). Margaret Atwood, author of the original 1985 novel that started it all, is releasing a long-awaited sequel. Called The Testaments, it'll hit bookshelves comes September. Check out the new Handmaid's Tale season three trailer below — under his eye: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig3h2JdQDI0 The Handmaid's Tale's third season will screen on SBS and SBS On Demand in Australia, airing weekly from 8.30pm on Thursday, June 6.
When you're a mask-wearing superhero, you've made an active choice. Everyone's favourite friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man wanted to keep his web-slinging identity a secret, for instance, which is why he started covering up his face long before the entire world began doing the same during the pandemic. But, in Spider-Man: Far From Home, that decision was taken out of Peter Parker's hands — leaving the Tom Holland (Chaos Walking)-starring, Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the character exposed to the world. Set to arrive two-and-a-half years after that big — and literal — revelation, Spider-Man: No Way Home will pick up with Parker struggling to deal with the fact that everyone now knows who he is, and that he can't now just be an ordinary high schooler when he's not acting the hero. So, as the just-dropped first trailer for the new film shows, he calls in some help. Cue Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Courier), a time- and space-twisting spell, and the beginnings of some multiverse chaos. Wong (Benedict Wong, Nine Days) is also on-hand to warn against messing with the status quo, but obviously if that advice was followed, the movie wouldn't have a plot. Two important things to remember: one, the MCU will keep spinning its interconnected web forever (or so it seems); and two, in March 2022, a little film called Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to drop. It's the next movie in the franchise after No Way Home hits on Boxing Day Down Under, in fact, so expect the two to link closely together. Also popping up in the No Way Home trailer: Zendaya (Space Jam: A New Legacy), Marisa Tomei (The King of Staten Island) and Jacob Batalon (Let It Snow). Behind the lens, Jon Watts returns after previously helming both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home as well. And, there's another familiar face that'll make you think not just about this current iteration of Spidey, but also of past versions that've graced the big screen over the years — because that's what tinkering with the multiverse is all about. No Way Home isn't as likely to get as playful as the phenomenal animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, though, if that's what's just popped into your head. In a nice piece of symmetry, when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness does hit cinemas next year, it'll be directed by Sam Raimi — who also directed the Tobey Maguire-starring Spider-Man movies in 2002, 2003 and 2007. Check out the No Way Home trailer below: Spider-Man: No Way Home opens in Australian cinemas on December 26.
With metropolitan Melbourne currently subject to strict stay-at-home orders until at least mid-August, the city's cinemas have all gone dark — again. But, as it usually does at this time of year, the Melbourne International Film Festival will still be serving up an 18-day feast of movies for Melburnians to enjoy, this time from the comfort of their homes. Cinephiles around the rest of the country will be able to check out MIFF's 2020 program, too, with the festival going both virtual and national with a lineup it's calling MIFF 68 1/2. After cancelling the fest's physical event months ago, back when the first COVID-19 lockdowns were going into effect, the annual showcase of cinema will deliver a sizeable and impressive online program between Thursday, August 6–Sunday, August 23, which is when the festival would've run if it had forged ahead in-person. Mirroring the fest's physical structure as much as is possible in a digital format, that includes exciting opening night, centrepiece and closing night screenings — as well as other program spotlight titles, a selection of world premieres, and movies that have had film buffs talking at prestigious international festivals. In total, 113 features and shorts are on offer, spanning flicks from 56 countries. So, if you were wondering why you might need almost three weeks to work your way through the program, now you understand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRUWVT87mt8 It all kicks off with Kelly Reichardt's First Cow, one of the very best movies of the past year — and a hit everywhere from Telluride to Berlinale. Stepping back to 19th-century America, the Certain Women director spins the story of a cook (John Magaro) and a Chinese entrepreneur (Orion Lee) who start an illicit but highly profitable business making delicious biscuits using milk stolen direct from the titular animal (the first in their region, hence the name) in the dark of night. It's also one of the 49 percent of MIFF 68 1/2's films that's made by at least one female director. MIFF viewers can also look forward to Peter Pan reimagining Wendy, the long-awaited next film from Beasts of the Southern Wild's Benh Zeitlin, which sits in the fest's centrepiece spot. Wrapping things up is closing night's Ema, from Jackie director Pablo Larrain — with his frequent star Gael García Bernal featuring alongside newcomer Mariana Di Girolamo, and the narrative set in Chile's dance world. Also in the high-profile camp: the Aubrey Plaza-starring psychodrama Black Bear, about a filmmaker who gets involved with another couple's squabbles; the Tilda Swinton-narrated, visually stunning Last and First Men, as directed by late film composer Jóhann Jóhannsson; Mogul Mowgli, with Riz Ahmed playing an aspiring British-Pakistani rapper forced to grapple with a sudden illness; and Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt), a queer Aussie rom-com with a ghostly component. From the documentary selection, there's also this year's Sundance US Grand Jury Prize-winner Boys State, which experiments with democracy from the perspective of teenage boys; On the Record, detailing and exploring the allegations against Def Jam mogul Russell Simmons; and 9to5: The Story of a Movement, which sees this year's American Factory Oscar-winners Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar chronicle the fight to end gender discrimination in the workplace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFFvje2A2vE As always with the consistently super-sized MIFF, the list goes on — with Polish drama Corpus Christi, US black comedy Shiva Baby and the distinctively animated Kill It and Leave this Town on the bill as well. So is award-winning documentary Welcome to Chechnya, about the persecution of queer Chechens, and Maddy the Model's insight into the life of Madeline Stuart, a Brisbane-born model with Down syndrome. Staying local, Aussie film fans can reassess Captain Cook's arrival through the eyes of the country's First Nations population via Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky, and watch the Karrabing Film Collective latest work, Day in the Life. If you really feel like settling in for the long haul, Mark Cousins' Women Make Film: A New Road Trip Through Cinema spends 14 hours diving deep into female-directed cinema (and 183 female filmmakers, in fact), while the four-part City So Real surveys Chicago's 2019 mayoral elections. And, if that's not enough, a program of 44 short films will screen for free — and, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Aussie comedy Death in Brunswick, MIFF 68 1/2 is hosting a virtual table read of the movie's script. MIFF 68 1/2 runs from Thursday, August 6–Sunday, August 23. For further details and to buy online tickets from 9am on Friday, July 17, visit the festival's website.
From Mad Max: Fury Road and Girl Asleep to Sweet Country and Breath, the past few years haven't been short on Aussie cinema highlights — and if the local contingent headed to the next Sundance Film Festival is any indication, 2019 looks set to continue that trend. A record six Australian feature films will screen at the Utah festival in January next year, topping the country's previous best of five feature films back in 1997. And, in achievements that are just as impressive, all six feature female protagonists and three are directed by women. Five of the flicks will also enjoy their world premiere at the prestigious fest, including the Mia Wasikowska-led Judy and Punch, about marionette puppeteers; Animals, featuring Alia Shawkat and helmed by 52 Tuesdays' Sophie Hyde; and Little Monsters, the Lupita Nyong'o-starring next effort from Down Under's Abe Forsythe. Filmed in the Northern Territory, Top End Wedding reunites The Sapphires' director Wayne Blair and star Miranda Tapsell, while the Adelaide-shot I Am Mother delves into dystopian sci-fi territory with Hilary Swank, the voice of Rose Byrne and Danish standout Clara Rugaard. If the latter movie sounds familiar, that's because it recently screened a work-in-progress version at the Adelaide Film Festival. Fans of one of The Babadook should add the second film from director Jennifer Kent to their must-see list, although The Nightingale is a very different movie to its predecessor. An award-winner at last year's Venice Film Festival, and one that's set in the wilderness of Tasmania circa 1825, it's a stunning picture about Irish convict Clare (Aisling Franciosi) — who's on a revenge mission against a British officer (Sam Claflin), with Aboriginal tracker Billy (Baykali Ganambarr) as her guide. The Nightingale will also hit Aussie cinemas on January 24 — the day that Sundance kicks off in the US — while local release dates for the rest of the Aussie Sundance slate are yet to be revealed. Images: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Pull out that old Discman, break out the cargo pants and start practising your smoothest 90s and early 00s dance moves — the pop tour of your wildest teenage dreams is hitting Australian shores this summer and it's got more stars than a TV Hits sticker collection. Come Thursday, February 9, the So Pop festival is set to deliver a huge serve of nostalgia to Brisbane's Fortitude Music Hall, pulling together a juicy lineup of old-school icons, starting with none other than Vengaboys — celebrating their 25th anniversary, too. Heading up the show, Vengaboys will bring Cowboy Donny, Captain Kim, PartyGirl D'Nice and SailorBoy Robin to sing their party-starting smash hits like 'Boom Boom Boom Boom!!' and 'We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)' from the Netherlands — and yes, you now have both tunes stuck in your head from reading this. They'll be joined by Danish artist and producer Whigfield, who'll break out 'Sexy Eyes'; the UK's N-Trance, which means hearing 'Set You Free', 'Stayin' Alive', 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy' and 'Forever'; and Reel 2 Real teaming up with The Mad Stuntman, which is where 'I Like To Move It' and 'Go On Move' come in. Dutch trance/pop outfit Alice DJ is also on the lineup, so get ready to hear 'Back in My Life', 'Will I Ever' and 'Better Off Alone'. And, Nick Skitz is on DJing duties — after releasing Skitmix 59 (DJ Mix) in 2021. SO POP 2023 LINEUP: Vengaboys Whigfield Alice DJ N-Trance Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman Nick Skitz
Everyone has fond memories of playing Uno. If you didn't start a fight by whipping out a draw four just as someone was down to their last card, then you didn't really have a childhood. And we all remember the joy of catching someone out when they didn't exclaim "Uno!" while they held one lonely card in their hand. In short: it really is the game of champions. It's also a game that Barbara is rather fond of, so it's dedicating an evening each month to Uno at its most competitive. A word of warning: this isn't for the faint of heart. Some folks take their Uno rather seriously, as you'll see from 7pm on Wednesday, February 27 — and on the last Thursday of each month afterwards. So flex those fingers, prepare to show off your number- and colour-matching skills, and get geared up to sledge, taunt and distract your opponents. All's fair in love and Uno, after all. Bar prizes are on offer for player that emerges victorious. If someone brings a themed deck (and everything from N*Sync cards to a special Sydney 2000 Olympics version really do exist), then we think everyone will be a winner.
Think floral art and the likes of Martha Stewart, Preston Bailey and your aunty who did that flower arranging course might pop into your head. Think refined, disciplined, unique, and delicate floral art, and only one name should come to mind: Lucy Culliton. She’s won the Portia Geach, Mosman and Kedumba drawing prices and is part of the National Gallery of Australia, Australian Parliament House and the Gold Coast Art Centre collections. In 2012, her exhibition Bibbeluke Flowers was a sell-out, and her newest, Weeds of the Monaro and Others, is likely to receive the same reception. The paintings of Culliton stem from an artistic contentment she’s found in her home and garden, and her collections of work reflect everything from it’s blooming beauties to its pests. It was through constant weeding, that Lucy discovered the wonder, intricacy and inherent beauty of the flowers, shrubs and weeds she was pulling out. While paterson’s curse, dandelions, deadly nightshade and thistles were a pest, and had no place next to the petunias, Lucy found a happy home for them in striped milk jugs, chinese vases and jars, they became obvious subject to paint. The Hold Artspace will be hosting Weeds of Monaro and Others for three days only from August 20.
A college student leaps from sorority life to law school, and a group of aspiring performers take the first steps towards a career in singing and treading the boards. Combine the two, and Legally Blonde: The Musical is the end result, as presented by the Brisbane Academy of Musical Theatre. That's right, you'll witness Elle Woods head to Harvard with her cute chihuahua, Bruiser in tow — initially chasing her ex-boyfriend Warner, but eventually following her own path. She'll bring more than just her love of pink to the prestigious institution, and learn more than just legal knowledge. We know that you're probably already quite familiar with the content — perhaps you've watched the 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon, or maybe you've been along to the Tony Award-nominated, Olivier Award-winning production before. You won't be familiar with the players, though, but that might be short-lived. Here, a cult classic gets another on-stage run, and the next generation of talent continues their journey towards becoming stars.
First, there was the Weekend of Darkness. Then came the Weekend of Tartness — aka the sister festival The Scratch just had to have. Where the former has celebrated ales, porters, stouts and other tipples at the dark end of the spectrum since 2013, the latter cartwheels to the opposite end of the extreme spectrum of beer styles. If it is tart and tangy, it is likely to be on the menu. Between Friday, February 10–Sunday, February 12, beers from more than two dozen breweries will take over the taps of the Milton hangout — tipples of the funkiest, sourest, most refreshing beers being produced in Australia and around the world. It might sound like a gimmick, but these biting brews have been around longer than you might think. In fact, historically, all beers used to be sour. Drinking is only part of the fun, and tickets aren't necessary — just show up whenever the need for a sour brew hits over the three days. As for what you'll be knocking back, breweries taking part include Queensland's own Black Hops, Felons, Newstead, Range and Sea Legs, plus Garage Project, Puhaste, Tiny Rebel, Wildflower, Fairweather, Cascade, Batch and Blood Brothers from elsewhere.
One of Australia's favourite lit events, Women of Letters, is doing a slight, temporary rebranding, simply by dropping their first syllable. Men of Letters brings to the Zoo stage a huge selection of Brisbane's, hell Australia's, best male writers as they rediscover the lost art of letter writing. Included on a pretty amazing lineup are local hotshots Matthew Condon and Nick Earls. Condon is a regular contributor to QWeekend and penned two of Brisbane's great nonfiction exposes, Three Crooked Kings and Jacks and Jokers. Nick Earls is Brisbane fiction royalty — ask any local reader. He's the author of Australian classic Zig Sag Street, as well as 48 Shades of Brown, Just a Father, The Fix, recently released The Analogue Men and many other bookshelf staples. Also having a hand in the day's letter writing are James Reyne of Australian Crawl (yes, Australian Crawl!), Federal Member for Moreton Graham Perett, music journo Everett True, country singer James Blundell, author Jack Vening, and comedian Geoffrey Windle. Each will be penning and reading a letter to 'The Woman Who Changed My Life'. Doors open at 3pm, and wine, cheese, stamps and envelopes are provided. Grab your finest quill and head along.
Multiple Man are a little bit primitive, a little bit outrageous and a little bit cheeky – and it makes for a heck of a sound. Brothers Sean and Chris Campion are two of the newest additions to Brisbane’s new-wave, synth-fuelled music scene, taking Australia’s latest demand for fun electro-pop and nailing it to a tee. With stellar tunes like Typecast and Built Wrong, these identical twins have a lot to offer with their angsty, aggressive beats and speaker sullying synths. Don't confuse Multiple Man as just another 'ironically cool' synth-band - these guys legitimately have it going on. To celebrate the release of their debut cassette, Multiple Man will be hosting a launch at Crow Bar with creep musicians Sewers, disco kings Soft Power and swamp rockers Occults. Get your weekly dose of synth-pop from all these outrageous local acts – you deserve a great Thursday to bring in Good Friday.
A sunny getaway favourite for interstate tourists when the weather gets frostier down south, the Gold Coast isn't typically considered a winter wonderland. But that isn't stopping Cali Beach, the rooftop beach club that's usually about everything that Surfers Paradise's sultry climes have to offer, from embracing the dipping temperature with an alpine makeover. In 2022, the venue debuted The Rooftop Lodge, its wintry alter-ego — a place where you can still peer out over the coast, but you'll do so surrounded by snow and ice. The cold-weather revamp is returning in 2023, too, from Saturday, June 3 until the end of August. And this time, it's bringing ice skating with it. Each Friday–Sunday across the pop-up's season, you can head to the 5000-square-metre venue on a fourth-floor rooftop to pretend you're somewhere far less beachy and yet still at the beach. Yes, the bar is taking the concept seriously, with more than 60 snow-topped trees helping to set the mood and even fake snow part of the site. Expect big alpine energy and mountain chalet vibes as you get warm by the open fire pits as well. With this year's $350,000 temporary revamp, the ice-skating rink is a big addition, and has been purpose-built to replace the volleyball courts for winter. For when you're not sliding across its chilled expanse, The Rooftop Lodge will also feature ice-hockey machines, pop-up performances and market food stalls running all day from 11am till late. Cali Beach's VIP cabanas are also being decked out as luxury alpine lodges, with facades that fit the theme, more fire pits and Swiss ski village-style cosy furniture. So, gathering the gang and hanging out in your own space is still on the agenda, just adapting to the season. One key feature, so that you can still enjoy a dip on the coast: hot tubs. And, in partnership with Veuve Clicquot, The Rooftop Lodge will feature snowy igloo experiences for up to seven people, complete with the obvious drinks. Those transparent but warm spaces will also be decked out chalet-style, and whiling away your time in them will involve winter cocktail and food platters — and a $350 price tag. Wherever you decide to get comfy at The Rooftop Lodge, there'll blankets to help lock in the toastiness, plus fondue, marshmallows to roast by the fires, charcuterie boards, snowball martinis and boozy hot cocoas. Or, opt for the wintry dine-in menu at the View Deck.
Striking feats of cinema by Yorgos Lanthimos aren't scarce. Sublime performances by Emma Stone are hardly infrequent. Screen takes on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein have been a constant since the birth of moving pictures. For Lanthimos, see: Dogtooth and Alps in the Greek Weird Wave filmmaker's native language, plus The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer and The Favourite in English. With Stone, examples come in her Best Actress Oscar for La La Land, supporting nominations before and after for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and Lanthimos' aforementioned regal satire (which made him a Best Director contender, too), and twin 2024 Golden Globe nods for their latest collaboration Poor Things as well as TV's The Curse. And as for the greatest gothic story there is, not to mention one of the most-influential horror and sci-fi works ever, the evidence spans traditional adaptations, plus debts owed as widely as The Rocky Horror Show and M3GAN (Blade Runner, The Fly, Re-Animator, Weird Science, Edward Scissorhands, Ex Machina, Upgrade, Little Joe and The Creator are also on the lengthy list). Combining Lanthimos, Stone and Shelley results in a rarity, however: a jewel of a pastel-, jewel- and bodily fluid-toned feminist Frankenstein-esque fairy tale that's a stunning and dazzling creation. As zapped to life with Lanthimos' inimitable flair, a mischievous air and Stone at her most extraordinary, Poor Things isn't just unique despite building on three shining successes — it's a treasure that's as audacious as it is subversive, and as breathtakingly willing to get wild as it is downright brilliant. Emotions, ideas, empowerment, twisting Shelley and Promethean myth into a pointed skewering of the societal expectations placed upon women, a committed ensemble, entrancing touches in every frame, a score that's equally jarring and jaunty, a dreamily macabre vibe, furious fearlessness: this film is alive with them all. That a tale about reviving the dead to grapple with mortality and the yearning to thwart it keeps inspiring new riffs has always been fitting, with each new storyteller undergoing that same process in their way, but this version is a lightning bolt. With cascading black hair, an inquisitive stare, incessant frankness and jolting physical mannerisms, Poor Things' star becomes Bella Baxter in this suitably weird and wondrous adaptation of Alasdair Grey's award-winning 1992 novel, as penned by Australian screenwriter Tony McNamara (The Great, and another Academy Award-nominee for The Favourite). Among the reasons that the movie and its lead portrayal are so singular: as a character with a woman's body that's been resurrected with a baby's brain, Stone plays someone from infancy to adulthood, all with the astonishingly exact mindset and mannerisms to match. Putting her comedic skills to excellent use but ensuring that Bella is never a joke, she does so while making each move, choice and feeling as organic as birth, living and death. The entire scope of Poor Things' protagonist is the kind of wish that actors mightn't realise they have because it's so remarkable. With Bella all impulses and curiosity at first, then buzzing with sexual desire and devotedly pursuing autonomy — and with a frenetic-but-stiff doll-like gait that's a marvel to watch, plus say-anything speech patterns — Stone turns the opportunity into an exquisite masterclass. The time and place when Poor Things kicks off: a fantastical steampunk vision of Victorian-era Europe. Although the film begins in colour as a woman ends her own life, Lanthimos and cinematographer Robbie Ryan (also back from The Favourite, and also with an Oscar nod to his name thanks to that flick) swiftly switch to black and white to meet what becomes of the suicidal person's body. It's due to the London-based, scar-faced Scottish doctor Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe, Asteroid City) that Bella exists; even if she didn't call him God, he's been playing it, including with household pets and other animals. His new human creature toddles around, aiding with his unorthodox surgeries and indulging whatever takes her fancy — smashing plates, smacking visitors, and enjoying new discoveries and sensations with literal childlike glee. But regardless of her father figure's intentions or wants, freedom, horniness, the quest for independence and agency, wanting to know more than the protective world he's left her in and a lust for adventure all beckon. Accordingly, while Godwin tries to marry Bella off to kind and sincere medical student Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef, Ramy), she hatches other plans. With Poor Things joining Call Me By Your Name in its carnal use of fruit, Bella discovers "working on myself to get happiness" and "furious jumping" — that'd be masturbation and fornication, with her debut experience with the latter returning the movie's hues as well — and runs off to the continent with caddish lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) instead. Lisbon, a cruise that stops in Alexandria and Paris await. So does a survey of all that living can hold for women, both for the feature's reawakened force and viewers. Lanthimos' fascination for tearing into humanity's social constructions and pretences to expose its realities gets electrified again, as does his concurrent obsession with battling such structures and systems by forming insular worlds, and the need to escape that then springs. Portugal brings hot air balloons, a bewitching all-timer of a dance scene, just some of the flick's acrobatic thrusting, an attempt to enforce civic niceties and Bella steadfastly refusing to be anything but herself. The boat ride introduces books, friendship and the first real female advice that she's received via Martha (Hanna Schygulla, who came to fame half a century back for her work with Rainer Werner Fassbinder). It also sees cynicism and the world's suffering enter her understanding courtesy of Martha's companion Harry (Jerrod Carmichael, On the Count of Three). In France, a lack of cash finds her in the employ of madam Swiney (Kathryn Hunter, Andor) and leaning into socialism with fellow sex worker Toinette (Suzy Bemba, Everything Is Well). And when the past makes a comeback, it's with bullying and misogynistic power dynamics (and with Sanctuary's Christopher Abbott in a key role). As in The Favourite, the hefty use of fish-eye lenses has it: this lavish, libidinous and happily lewd deadpan delight isn't interested in the same old view of liberation, sex, life's transience and conflicts, defying the accepted order and patriarchal control that everyone has seen before, let alone a regular coming-of-age jaunt or a by-the-book Frankenstein iteration. While it splices together nods to gothic horror nakedly, it isn't routine or a patchwork there, either. As Bella goes on a radical, rebellious, gorgeously rendered, gloriously funny and generously insightful odyssey, Poor Things doesn't sport a standard perspective on anything, in fact. As seen in the efforts of a tour-de-force Stone, her co-stars, Ryan, composer Jerskin Fendrix (a film first-timer), editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis (Lanthimos' go-to since 2005's Kinetta), production designers Shona Heath (another feature debutant) and James Price (The Nest), and costumer Holly Waddington (also The Great), it eschews sticking with the typical everywhere. Richness abounds, then. The only thing that's paltry: even clocking in at 141 madcap and magnificent minutes, that Poor Things doesn't run forever.
This news isn't like rain on your wedding day. It doesn't resemble finding a black fly in your chardonnay. And it definitely isn't anything like hitting a traffic jam when you're already late, either. But, it will have you singing those lines — and it is news that you oughta know, too — because 15-time Tony Award-nominated musical Jagged Little Pill is heading to Australia. The acclaimed production is making its first trip beyond Broadway, in fact, when it hits the Theatre Royal Sydney from Thursday, December 2. And, when the curtains are raised, it'll help mark another milestone, reopening the Theatre Royal five years after it closed its doors in 2016. Inspired by Alanis Morissette's 1995 album of the same name, Jagged Little Pill the Musical weaves a story around songs from that iconic record. So yes, it's a jukebox musical like Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You and Rock of Ages. Famed tracks 'Ironic', 'You Oughta Know', 'Hand in My Pocket', 'Head Over Feet' and 'You Learn' all feature, in a production that boasts music by Morissette and her album co-writer and producer Glen Ballard, lyrics by Morissette, and a book by Juno Oscar-winner Diablo Cody. And, songs such as 'Thank U', 'So Pure', 'That I Would Be Good', 'So Unsexy' and 'Hands Clean' all pop up as well, even though they hail from the musician's subsequent albums. At present, tickets are on sale for shows until Sunday, December 19, all starring Natalie Bassingthwaighte. She'll play Mary Jane Healey, with Jagged Little Pill the Musical telling the Healey family's tale as they struggle with their seemingly idyllic suburban lives after a troubling event in their community. Expect to hear Morissette's tunes — including two new songs written just for the show — used in a story about social issues relevant to today, but also with an overall message of hope, healing and togetherness. Images: Jagged Little Pill the Musical original Broadway cast, Matthew Murphy. Updated September 27.
Artificial intelligence in video games has come a long way in the last few years. Rare now are the days of mindless drones walking pre-determined paths, completely oblivious to the death and destruction around them. In an industry where a single release can pull half a billion dollars in just one day, developers have adapted to an increasingly sophisticated market and pushed AI to a point capable of rivalling the human one. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for action movies, where nameless henchmen continue to run witlessly into hails of bullets like hapless Civil War foot soldiers or extras in Commando. The latest example of this is John Wick, a 'revenge porn' flick starring Keanu Reeves and directed by his former stuntman, Chad Stahelski. Reeves plays Wick, a retired hit man whose wife has just passed away from a terminal illness. On the day of her funeral he receives a pre-ordered puppy from her to ensure he doesn't mourn alone, but during a home invasion the puppy is killed and his beloved car is stolen. In response, Wick unleashes a vengeance-fuelled rampage on New York's Russian mobsters, ratcheting up a body count to rival ebola. It's basically Taken, but with Liam Neeson's daughter played by a foot-long beagle. Is it a dumb premise? Absolutely, but it's also terrifically fun, and let's face it, there have been far worse reasons given for cinematic rampages ("They're going to take you...again"). Stylistically, the action sequences are impressive and exhilarating. Kitted out in bespoke suits, Reeves combines martial arts with gunplay (or 'gun-fu') to despatch his enemies and secure what has to be the record for the most number of consecutive head shots. Stahelski's background in stunts clearly informs his direction, with a greater degree of physicality to the fight scenes coupled with lingering shots that hold longer in the same moment than your average film. The big problem with John Wick, though, is the HS — or 'Henchman Stupidity'. In each of the action sequences, the goons demonstrate a bewildering lack of survival instinct, immediately forfeiting their Darwinian credentials and robbing the scenes of any credibility. The defence raised here is that John Wick is a classic B-movie, but that's too convenient. Yes, it has a lower budget than many of its counterparts, but with a cast that also includes Willem Dafoe, Michael Nyqvist, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, Alfie Allen, Dean Winters, Adrianne Palicki and Bridget Moynahan, it's hard not to think the movie pitched for another capital B: 'Blockbuster'. So no, this isn't the thinking person's action film, but an action film it definitely is. As always, Reeves is a delight to watch in full-borne badass mode. He quips and kicks and does it all with an impossible level of cool. https://youtube.com/watch?v=2AUmvWm5ZDQ
Yass, a small NSW town near Canberra received the signature Queer Eye makeover when the Fab Five descended on the town this week. Well, the whole town didn't, but George — a cattle farmer and former rodeo cowboy — did. As did the local pub. A rundown of the show, for the uninitiated, the original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy show hit screens a whopping 15 years ago — running from 2003 to 2007 — and the reboot Queer Eye returned to Netflix this year. The general premise is that the Fab Five give less-fashion-savvy men (and it seems, establishments) much-needed makeovers. In Yass, while three of the Fab Five, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France and Karamo Brown, were looking after George the cattle farmer, the remaining two — Antoni Porowsi and Bobby Berk — renovated the local pub's bistro and introduced a new signature dish to the menu. Fittingly, the five were also crowned — by Yass Mayor Rowena Abbey — Yass Queens. Yas, queen. If this reference is lost on you, it's a term said to have originated in the 80s ballroom community, but recently surged to popularity thanks to this YouTube video. The Australian mini-episode of Queer Eye will hit social channels on June 22, a week after Season Two premieres on Netflix on June 15.
UPDATE, September 14, 2023: The Little Mermaid is available to stream via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. For anyone without a scaly tail, communing with the ocean can be a routine dip, a refreshing splash or a sail into choppy waters. In Disney's latest dance with merpeople and the humans that its main mythical sea creature yearns for (and desperately wants to learn more about), all three prove true. The next in the Mouse House's long line of live-action remakes — albeit with ample CGI helping to bring its sea-dwelling characters to life, but no hand-drawn animation — the new The Little Mermaid is often content to wade where its beloved 1989 predecessor went before. That's the Disney do-over standard. Sometimes, though, this new effort is its own delightful paddle; when 'Under the Sea' echoes against a literal sea of colour, movement, creatures and energy, it's a dazzling Golden Age Hollywood-esque spectacular. There's no escaping the movie's bloat when it's not merrily floating, however, due in no small part to inflating the storyline from the original's 83 minutes to a hefty 135 minutes. This day at the cinematic beach — glowing highs and waterlogged lows included — keeps the same basic narrative that viewers loved 34 years ago, as loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's 19th-century fairy tale of the same name. A quote from that text opens the film as Alan Menken's revisited Oscar-winning score starts to swell, advising "but a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more". The curious and adventurous Princess Ariel (Halle Bailey, Grown-ish) cries through her siren's song instead, lamenting the strict no-humans rule enforced by her father King Triton (Javier Bardem, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile). And, in rebellious teen-style, she acts out by sneaking off to scour the ocean floor's shipwrecks with her fish best friend Flounder (voiced by Jacob Tremblay, Luca), even when Sebastian the crab (Daveed Diggs, Snowpiercer) is tracking her every move, and stashing trinkets from the world on land in a secret cave. When it's underwater, The Little Mermaid isn't served well by arriving so soon after Avatar: The Way of Water and its stunning beneath-the-waves imagery, or releasing just as Prehistoric Planet 2 is streaming its dive into ancient waters. In director Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns) and cinematographer Dion Beebe's (Gemini Man) hands, plunging into the deep largely appears dark and murky. Indeed, if Bailey and Bardem's hair wasn't shimmering and flowing, it'd just look like a dimly lit set (mostly, it still does). The kaleidoscopic extravaganza that is 'Under the Sea' doesn't only stand out because that's precisely what its bright hues are doing, of course. It's a gloriously choreographed and performed piece amid a coral reef, set to Menken and late, great lyricist Howard Ashman's best (and also Oscar-winning) song, and it's an absolute showstopper. But, as made clear both before and after it drops its calypso-inspired beats, the number sets a standard that the film rarely cares to match elsewhere. When it comes to concern, Ariel has plenty. Her cup runneth over about the boats cruising above, with their sailors shooting fire into the sky, dogs and just humans doing human things — such having feet. As the story still goes, her wistful watching is fortuitous for Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King, The Flatshare). If the mermaid wasn't there to save him when he's knocked overboard, there'd be no romance. Cue a two-way obsession, plus tentacled sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy, Nine Perfect Strangers) offering Ariel a bargain to follow her feelings and taste life out of water. She's given 72 hours in human form to experience true love's kiss, after which she'll be able to stay breathing air. If that went smoothly, and if Ariel's banished aunt wasn't cackling maniacally about taking over from her brother and stealing her niece's gifts, this wouldn't even be a 90-minute flick. Like an unruly sea as a storm blows in, there's turbulence at the heart of The Little Mermaid. While it's easy to see why David McGee's (A Man Called Otto) screenplay has been padded out, it makes for an overextended voyage. Bailey is perfectly cast, and not only when Ariel is singing her heart out. Wanting to spend more time with her is as instinctive as kicking your feet in water. She's an enchanting, luminous, plucky and rousing heroine. She makes the need to know something more than just the pool she's born into feel achingly real. An added sequence where Ariel roams around Eric's library, spying his sea treasures — his equivalent of her own trove — is charming, gives both Bailey and Logan Lerman lookalike Hauer-King standout moments, and is the kind of new material that slips in easily. But the same can't be said for all the feature's new songs (this time with Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda penning lyrics) and even some of its closest recreations. Swooping somewhere new doesn't always pay off, and neither does treading water. Adored in animated form, Sebastian, Flounder and seabird Scuttle (Awkwafina, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) couldn't demonstrate The Little Mermaid's crests and drops more heartily. Diggs' voice acting and singing is unsurprisingly scene-stealing, and Awkwafina is entertainingly lively — but their new tune 'The Scuttlebutt' is instantly forgettable (other than immediately being able to tell that Miranda wrote it). Photorealism doesn't suit their characters, either, bringing The Lion King's eerie uncanny animal valley to mind. That's especially the case for poor Flounder, whose name is more apt here than it's meant to be. Loving the talent but not the execution becomes a familiar sensation throughout this version of The Little Mermaid. So does remembering that Marshall wasn't just behind Chicago and Mary Poppins Returns, but also Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Into the Woods. Back as the 80s came to a close, the first The Little Mermaid was a lifeboat, buoying Disney's animation studio when its fortunes were sinking. In its wash, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King all followed, becoming House of Mouse classics. The new The Little Mermaid marks the last of that quartet to be remade — the tale as old as time, whole new world and circle of life otherwise reappearing in that order — and, towing the company line with these cartoon-to-flesh second efforts, it smacks of playing it safe. When Ariel's latest outing surrenders to the moment and the emotion, whether showing why it's better down where it's wetter with a joyous dash of vibrance, letting Bailey's divine voice convey a lifetime of longing to be part of a different world, or having its swooning lovers dance, discover and deepen their bond, it goes swimmingly. Often, though, it's just like Ursula: biding its time calculatingly and protractedly (that said, McCarthy is having a ball, more so than much of the movie).
The underworld beckons: in 2025, hit musical Hadestown is set to take to the stage for the first time in Australia. Initially premiering as an indie theatre piece in 2006 in Vermont, then reaching off-Broadway in 2016 and Broadway in 2019, the show from musician and playwright Anaïs Mitchell plunges into the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. Audiences at Theatre Royal Sydney can see the production give the ancient Greek myth a new spin from February. The Harbour City is hosting the Aussie debut season of the musical that spent 2019 and 2020 collecting accolades after accolades. From 14 Tony nominations, it won eight awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. At the Grammys, it took home Best Musical Theatre Album. If you're new to the show – which has been seen by more than three-million people and streamed over 350-million times — two love stories get Hadestown's narrative burning. Orpheus and Eurydice share the spotlight with King Hades and Persephone, as Mitchell accompanies their intertwined affairs with a soundtrack of New Orleans-inspired jazz and American folk. The production's Sydney season kicks off on Monday, February 10, 2025. Images: Hadestown Original London Cast.
Whether it's via a post or tweet or message, in a comment or status update, thanks to a Notes app screenshot or in an email, mean words aren't hard to share two decades into the 21st century. Click a few buttons, slide your finger across a touchscreen, then vitriol can be directed virtually instantaneously worldwide. Countless people — too many, all sticklers for unpleasantness — do just that. Such behaviour has almost become a reflex. A century ago, however, spewing nastiness by text required far more effort. Someone had to put ink to paper, commit their hatred to physical form in their own handwriting, tuck it into an envelope, pay for postage, then await the mail service to deliver their malice. Wicked Little Letters isn't an ode to that dedication, but there's no avoiding that sending offensive missives in its 1920s setting was a concerted, determined act — and also that no one could claim just seconds later that they were hacked. Times change, and technology with it, but people don't: that's another way of looking at this British dramedy, which is indeed based on a true tale. Director Thea Sharrock (The One and Only Ivan) and screenwriter Jonny Sweet (Gap Year) know that there's a quaintness about the chapter of history that they're bringing to the screen, but not to the attitudes behind the incident. In Sussex by the sea on the English Channel, spiteful dispatches scandalised a town, with the situation dubbed "the Littlehampton libels". Today, much worse than the swearing and insults initially sent to Edith Swan, then to other villagers as well, can be seen on social media constantly. Someone can fire off unhinged pettiness in seconds. No one in another 100 years will be making a movie about wicked little letters of the 2020s, then — where would they start, or end? Right now, in this flick about disagreeable and distressing communications, contrasting the reality of the human penchant for mud-slinging across a century springs from a well-told story. In Wicked Little Letters' account of the Littlehampton events, Edith (Olivia Colman, Wonka) keeps receiving notes that overuse vulgar terms, and the God-fearing, prim-and-proper spinster, who lives with her strict father (Timothy Spall, The Heist Before Christmas) and dutiful mother (Gemma Jones, Emily), is certain that she knows the source of her unwanted mail. Living next door, Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley, Fingernails) is an Irish single mother to Nancy (Alisha Weir, Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical), has Bill (Malachi Kirby, My Name Is Leon) as her live-in boyfriend, and is fond of a drink at the pub and of sharing her opinion. The two neighbours are as chalk and cheese as women of the time could get, but were once friendly. When Edith blames Rose, the latter's pleas that she's innocent — and that she'd just tell the former her grievances to her face, not send them anonymously — fall on deaf ears among most of the resident police. The reaction from the constabulary isn't astonishing. Papperwick (Hugh Skinner, The Witcher) and his chief Spedding (Paul Chahidi, Chad) think that it's an open-and-shut case, arrogantly and pompously so. Initially, "woman police officer" (as her colleagues insist on calling her) Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan, Black Mirror) shares the same conclusion. But when your very presence as the first female cop is treated as a novelty day in and day out at work, it isn't a leap to spot how preconceived prejudice dictates the use of the law — sparking Gladys into investigating whether there's more afoot, going against Spedding's orders, but with a trio of local women (Saltburn's Lolly Adefope, Boat Story's Joanna Scanlan and Doc Martin's Eileen Atkins) assisting. As Wicked Little Letters spins a whodunnit around its expletive-filled correspondence and lapses in accepted propriety — albeit one with low stakes, given that the culprit is largely obvious regardless of whether you know the real-life details going in — it does so with top-notch casting. Watching any Colman-starring film means seeing one of Britain's best actors put on a show, as everything from The Favourite to The Father attests. Here, it also involves witnessing a layered portrayal, not that that's unusual for the Oscar-winner. Edith is the picture of Catholic piety, but yearns for constant approval (being called a "pretty young Christian woman" gets her beaming with pride) after spending her entire existence under her abusive father's thumb. Envy also clearly courses through her veins towards the former acquaintance that she's sending to jail. Enjoying Colman's turn also means revelling in her ability to sling profanities when the narrative calls for it ("piss" and "foxy-arsed" are high among the scribe's terms of choice). Buckley, also as always, is as spirited as she is earthy — and expertly balances Rose's bold forthrightness with her inner vulnerability as the village witch-hunt keeps pointing its pitchforks Rose's way (primarily for daring to be unmarried, a mother, cohabiting with a man, known to curse and nothing but her irrepressible self). She's having as much of a ball as Colman with her part, in just-as-stellar a performance. The dynamic between Edith and Rose spells out the narrow-minded societal mindset about women at the time, including how such judgements and expectations were internalised, but neither Buckley nor Colman are stuck playing mere symbols or subversions of regressive attitudes. Also excellent is Vasan, in a role that's no less crucial, conveying a process that is never as easy to experience as it is to witness: realising how flawed the status quo is, how your existence has been shaped by it (female police officers weren't even permitted to marry or have children), then challenging it no matter the consequences. As shot with the warm hues typical of period-set English fare by cinematographer Ben Davis (The Banshees of Inisherin), this poison-pen story doesn't send much that's surprising to the screen — as a mystery, a satire, a bundle of character studies, a cop and courtroom drama, or a portrait of the era that it depicts. It also leans heavily on its strong language being entertaining. But Sharrock, comedian Sweet and their cast have such a handle on the scenario, its amusing potential, and everything that this true-crime tale says about the 1920s, 2020s and humanity's worst impulses regardless of the year, that it always works. When Colman and Buckley last appeared in the same movie, The Lost Daughter had them playing the same person; getting them sharing a frame, and swearing in it, is also worth watching.
There's a moment in Netflix documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened that no one will ever forget. While much of the film falls into that category — cataloguing an utter trainwreck of a festival will do that — one scene particularly stands out. When event producer Andy King reveals what he was asked to do to secure bottled water for the fest's stars and patrons (and the fact that he'd resigned himself to doing it), it instantly underlines the scope and shamelessness of Fyre's catastrophic mismanagement. Given that the doco not only became an instant must-watch, but that the similar, Hulu-funded film Fyre Fraud did too, it's safe to say that everyone wants to know more about this story. Australians will be able to get the full details at this year's BIGSOUND, with King himself joining the lineup as a late addition. He'll be heading to Brisbane as one of the four-day conference's keynote speakers, appearing an event called Fyreside Chat with Andy King on Wednesday, September 4. King will likely be offering his advice on what not to do in the music festival industry, and why being willing to go the extra mile for a gig isn't always a good thing. As Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened demonstrates, he isn't shy when it comes to taking about his experiences — and he has a sense of humour about it. He also has a considerable resume that ranges well above and beyond Fyre Festival, spanning more than 25 years in the event business. Expect to hear about that, too, which ranges from hosting the launch of the world's tallest ferris wheel in Las Vegas to running the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation's annual gala. Amusingly, King also oversees a zero-waste event company that focuses on environmental and social impacts, including when plastic bottles of water are involved. Until he makes his way Down Under, revisit King's must-see doco moment via the Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened trailer below. The film itself is available on Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ0KNVU2fV0 BIGSOUND 2019 runs from September 3–6 at various venues around Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. For further details or to buy tickets, visit bigsound.org.au. To discover what to do, see, eat and drink while visiting Brissie for the annual event, check out our weekender's guide to Brisbane during BIGSOUND.
As was the case with recent release The Walk, Lance Armstrong scandal pic The Program is a film burdened by having the documentary that preceded it set a near-impossible standard for anything better. Comprehensive, compelling and absolutely exasperating, Alex Gibney's The Armstrong Lie was an exceptional piece of honest and meticulous journalism in which Lance Armstrong’s own performance proved to be a breathtaking piece of dramatic fiction. What The Program does offer, however, is a peek inside the conversations and moments that not even Gibney could record – despite his unprecedented access. Why? Because even Armstrong knew better than to let his own videographer record all the actual doping sessions and illegal deals. How the steroids were obtained, how they were snuck into France, how the cyclists took possession, used and then disposed of them - all of this is covered in great detail in The Program, as are as the methods used to defeat the drug testing that followed. As Armstrong, Ben Foster is note perfect. Beyond his remarkable physical similarity to the disgraced cyclist, Foster absolutely nails the camera-ready smile and rehearsed laugh used by Armstrong to mask both his rage and unrestrained ego. Practising in front of a mirror, we see Foster repeating again and again that he “has never tested positive for steroids”, a technical truth amidst a monumental lie that perfectly demonstrates the semantic and psychological art behind what officially became “the most successful doping program the sport [had] ever seen”. Perhaps the only great disappointment with The Program is the lack of time given to the largely unheralded role played by David Walsh – the Sunday Times sports journalist who doggedly and almost single-handedly pursued the Armstrong deception amid unbelievable resistance from every imaginable corner. Played by Chris O’Dowd, Walsh endured manifold lawsuits, professional humiliation and even abandonment by his closest friends and colleagues for investigating a fairytale that was plainly too good to be true. But while O’Dowd receives far too little screen time, The Program still does a good job of explaining why few were eager to question Armstrong’s mythic success. Given his contribution to the global expansion of the sport and the inspiration he provided for cancer sufferers via the Live Strong foundation, it's not hard to understand why we were all so keen to believe the lie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXfp859pcM0
