The last year has seen the resurgence of wines in alternative packaging. Instead of the standard 750mL glass bottle, winemakers are packing their beloved grapes into cans, casks, boxes and Tetra Paks. Wines in cans, which used to be a novelty, have been redesigned, and the quality of the wines inside have increased exponentially. They're a responsible way to drink in a myriad of locations where glass might not be permitted, such as campgrounds, festivals and beaches. Packaging quality wines in vessels like bags and casks also protects the liquids from outside air and other influences for longer, which guarantees a fresher and more consistent glass of wine. The smaller packaging has a secondary benefit, too: portion control. You can drink the wine the way it's supposed to be drunk — a glass at a time — without feeling pressured to drink the entire bottle (for fear it will go off). It's also much easier to transport on road trips. One canned beverage that we fully endorse is Sparkke's #TimesUp sparkling white wine. It's predominantly chardonnay, with equal parts pinot grigio and riesling. The chardonnay gives the wine its structure and body, the pinot grigio some texture and tropical fruit flavours and the riesling creates a nice acidity and length. Sparkke is a for-purpose alcohol company, with 10-percent of sales from each of its drinks going to a different cause. The company has previously given to charities supporting refugees, same-sex marriage rights and climate change. And its latest drink — the aforementioned sparkling white wine — is raising money for the International Women's Development Agency, which works toward achieving gender equality across the globe. To help you separate the fads from the flavoursome, we've picked the best wines (and one sake) in alternative packaging — perfect to pack in the esky for your next camping adventure. SHOPPING LIST 1. Sparkke #TimesUp sparkling white wine, Adelaide Hills & McLaren Vale, 250ml can, $35 for four 2. 2017 Elephant in the Room chardonnay, Limestone Coast, 250 mL can, $4.75 or $18 for four Bursting with peach, guava and melon flavours, interwoven with toasty oak elements, this wine has a fresh acidity on the palate that makes way for a pleasant and dry finish. Pair with your favourite pit-stop chicken sandwiches. 3. 2017 Le Chat Noir Rosé, Gers & Aude Valley France, 250 mL can, $5.70 or $22 for four This wine has everything you want from a rosé — a pale colour and a dry palate. Notes of rose petals and strawberries almost jump out of the can, too. The dryness of the wine is well balanced with fresh berry notes, and it has an almost crunchy texture in the mouth. Take a can with you when you're foraging for fresh mulberries. 4. Kunizakari Tanrei Yuzushu, 1L Tetra Pak, $48 Need a break from wine (for a short moment)? We've got you covered. Yuzu is a native Japanese citrus, and when combined with young-style sake it creates yuzushu (think of it as the Japanese version of Italian Limoncello). The drink works well on its own or paired with the above sparkling for a DIY campfire spritz. 5. 2016 Casale Sangiovese Blend, Tuscany, 3L Bag in Box, $70, available from Giorgio de Mara Fun Wines or at P&V Wine and Liquor The gold standard of wine in a box, this red blend is biodynamic wine in large format. It smells like rich soil after a fresh rain and tastes like cranberries covered in dark chocolate. Perfect for any kind of barbecue/campfire/grilled meat combo you throw at it. Its convenient three litre bag will keep you going for a long weekend, too. The Oeno Files is our new bi-weekly wine column keeping you up-to-date with the latest wine trends happening around the country. Samantha Payne is a Sydney based wine consultant, writer and sommelier who has worked in the industry for over a decade. She travels, both locally and internationally, to chat with winemakers (and occasionally lend a hand in winemaking), write wine lists and hosts wine events. Images: Lucia Braham
Trying not to think about Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet is about to become impossible in Australia. So will getting Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' out of your head, where it's dwelled for most people since the Oscar-winning track was released in 1997. The reason: a Titanic exhibition has dropped anchor Down Under and docked at Melbourne Museum until Sunday, April 21. Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition has brought 200-plus items from the shipwreck to the Victorian capital in its Aussie trip after selling out its Paris season and also proving a hit in the US. The pieces on display were legitimately recovered from the vessel's wreck site, too, after the RMS Titanic's ill-fated voyage in April 1912 — aka the events that James Cameron (Avatar: The Way of Water) turned into the DiCaprio (Killers of the Flower Moon)- and Winslet (Ammonite)-starring Titanic more than a quarter-century ago. For everyone bound to exclaim, "I'm the king of the world!" while walking through Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition's Australian-exclusive stop, this is the king of all Titanic exhibitions. In fact, it's the most extensive in the world. As well as seeing the genuine objects from the ship, attendees will wander through full-scale recreations of the vessel's interiors, such as the veranda cafe, first-class parlour suite and grand staircase. In addition to the recovered items and recreations of the Titanic's spaces, the exhibition will tell tales about those onboard the ship that launched its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912, only to sink five days later on April 15, after hitting an iceberg. You'll be able to immerse yourself in the fateful events of that night with interactive exhibits like a touchable iceberg chilled to the temperature of the water the night of the sinking. This exploration of a tragic chapter in history will focus on passengers and crew alike while stepping through the vessel's class divisions and pondering the boat's legacy. Beyond the historical learnings, you can enjoy a Titanic-themed high tea designed by a Michelin-star chef to fully immerse yourself in the era in an elegantly designed lounge. Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition must close on Sunday, April 21. Evening sessions are also available. For more information or to book tickets, visit the website. Images: EMG / Alexandre Schoelcher / Eugene Hyland / Museums Victoria.
Your dream plans for 2025 can now include jetting off to Japan, Hawaii, Bali, South Korea, Thailand, Vanuatu, Singapore and New Zealand, then flying home for free — or, holidaying in Australia while scoring the same deal for getaways to Hamilton Island, Uluru, Cairns, the Gold Coast, Byron Bay and more. For Black Friday 2024, Jetstar has brought back its popular 'return for free' sale. You buy a ticket to your vacation destination, then the carrier covers the cost of you coming home. This time around, in this year's biggest 'return for free' sale, the airline is doing discounted flights across Australia and to a range of international destinations, including to Tokyo, Osaka, Honolulu, Bangkok, Phuket, Seoul, Auckland and Queenstown. Wherever you'd like to head, the key part of this sale is making your way back without paying for the return flight, which'll also make your holiday oh-so-much cheaper. Running from 12am AEDT on Friday, November 29 1–11.59pm AEDT on Sunday, December 1, or until sold out if that happens earlier — with Jetstar members getting an extra 12 hours to access the sale from 12pm AEDT on Thursday, November 28 — it really is as straightforward as it sounds. Whatever flights you opt for as part of the sale, you'll get the return fare for nothing. Prices obviously vary depending on where you're flying from and to, but some include Brisbane to Tokyo from $373, Sydney to Osaka from the same price, Melbourne to Bali from $219, Perth to Singapore from $165, Sydney to Port Vila from $209, Melbourne to Honolulu from $316 and Sydney to Seoul from $349. Domestic fares span deals such as Sydney to Ballina/Byron from $42, Sydney to Melbourne from $51, Melbourne to Hobart from $67, Sydney to Hamilton Island from $109, Melbourne to Uluru from $115 and Perth to Cairns from $189, You'll be travelling within Australia from mid-July to late October 2025, and from mid-February to mid-September 2025 if you're going global. The caveats that are always in place with Jetstar's 'return for free' deal remain this around. So, you need to book an outbound fare, then you'll get the return fare for free — and the deal only applies to Starter fares, and only on selected flights. Also, checked baggage is not included, so you'll want to travel super light or pay extra to take a suitcase. Plus, you have to use the same arrival and departure ports for your flights — which means that you can go from Brisbane to Tokyo and back, for instance, but can't return via another place or to another city. Jetstar's 2024 Black Friday 'return for free' sale runs from 12am AEDT on Friday, November 29–11.59pm AEDT Sunday, December 1 — or until sold out prior. Jetstar members get an extra 12 hours access to the sale from 12pm AEDT on Thursday, November 28. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
It was an incredibly sad day when iconic St Kilda venue Stokehouse burned down in 2014. Now, after a two and a half year hiatus, it's finally coming back, renovated and designated into a 'precinct' of multiple bars and restaurants, set to dominate that seaside like only Stokehouse can. On the ground beachside floor will be Pontoon, a casual bar and eatery, set to open at the end of October. This chic new 350-capacity beach-inspired establishment will be the second venue to open in the new multi-million dollar Stokehouse site, after a fancy new fish and chip kiosk, Paper Fish. The two will open head of the highly anticipated relaunch of Stokehouse St Kilda restaurant in December. The Pontoon menu will be casual and over the counter (think of the kind of food you can eat while standing with a drink in the other hand), and will put their four-metre grill to good use. You can expect a lot of seafood and shared plates, a strong wine list, 18 beer taps and of course, cocktails. In the most southside move ever, they'll also be serving up globally trending anomaly 'frosé' — that's frozen rosé — straight from the tap. Peppered with the furniture and trimmings of local Melbourne designers, the interior has been designed by George Livissianis (the design dynamo behind recent Sydney renos of The Dolphin Hotel, The Apollo and Cho Cho San). Expect a casual layout and a mixture of warm, natural materials (think wood, leather and cane) offset by concrete and brick. "Looking out onto St Kilda beach was a great starting point in considering colours and materials that would compliment the concrete and blackened timber building," said Livissianis. Stokehouse has announced they'll officially reopen on December 6, with Pontoon opening at the end of October. Find Pontoon on the ground floor of the rebuilt Stokehouse building, 30 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda. From October 2016, Pontoon will be open 12pm till late every day, all year-round (except Christmas Day).
A weekend getaway is always sweeter when it's a prize. This one should particularly appeal to lovers of both bourbon and honeybees. We've teamed up with the champions over at Maker's Mark and Beechworth Honey to create an exclusive Beechworth getaway. It's all in celebration of Maker's Mark's new Gold Rush cocktail: a symphony of Australian honey, fresh citrus and the bold flavours of bourbon. At first glance, one might think that there's not much in common between an American bourbon brand and an Australian beekeeping family. Scratch under the surface and you'll find they aren't so different. Two multi-generational family-run businesses with links to gold on both sides of the planet, both work with a natural product, champion craftsmanship and have a shared commitment to sustainable practices. Lucky winners of the competition will receive a two-night stay at the historic Hive Apartment located in the heart of Beechworth — the ideal hub for discovering the town's unique dining, retail and historical streetscape. The building that houses the apartment was originally built in 1865, making it one of the oldest bank buildings in Victoria. It once operated as the 'Gold Office' and stored bars of gold for the bank. Now it is a homage to a liquid gold: honey. Not only will winners stay at the Hive, but they will also take part in a unique one-on-one honey-tasting experience at the Beechworth Honey Shop where they will learn all about honey and the importance of honeybees from the staff. Plus, they will be greeted with a bespoke Gold Rush gift basket with all the ingredients they need to make the cocktail yourself: a bottle of Maker's Mark bourbon, a jar of Beechworth Honey, and a cocktail shaker. You don't even need to worry about travel costs — the prize includes travel (either flights or car hire) up to the value of $1000). [competition]898062[/competition]
Montaigne has graced stages worldwide. They've represented Australia at Eurovision. They've won ARIAs, too. Now, they're the subject of an Archibald Prize-winning painting, with the singer-songwriter depicted in a piece called Head in the sky, feet on the ground — an artwork that just nabbed Sydney-based artist Julia Gutman Australia's most prestigious portrait prize in 2023. Gutman's win at the age of 29, scoring the $100,000 award, makes her one of the prize's youngest-ever winners in its 102-year history. And, she's also the 11th woman to win the acclaimed accolade — doing so for her first-ever Archibald Prize entry. [caption id="attachment_899546" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Winner Archibald Prize 2023, Julia Gutman 'Head in the sky, feet on the ground', oil, found textiles and embroidery on canvas, 198 x 213.6 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter. Sitter: Montaigne.[/caption] "I'm so elated and overwhelmed to have won. Shocked, dumbfounded, but very happy. It's honestly completely surreal. I'm so grateful to be working at a time when young female voices are heard', said Gutman about her win, which was announced at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Friday, May 5. "So much of my practice is devoted to revisiting, critiquing and contending with the histories housed in institutions. It's so affirming for that conversation to be recognised in such a public way." "Montaigne and I have been friends for a few years and there is a lot of alignment in our practices; we are both interested in creating our own forms and approaches rather than strictly adhering to any one tradition. Montaigne's work defies genres, while their mercurial soprano has become an indelible part of the fabric of Australian music," Gutman continued. [caption id="attachment_899549" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visitors in the 'Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2023' exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, featuring Archibald Prize 2023 finalists (left to right) Marie Mansfield, Yvette Coppersmith, Kim Leutwyler, Matt Adnate and Angela Brennan, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter.[/caption] Her subject was just as stoked, unsurprisingly. "It's such an insane honour to be the Archibald Prize-winning sitter. I sure didn't see it coming, not because I don't believe in Julia's incredible talent and warm heart, but because you just never think this stuff is going to happen to you," said Montaigne. Head in the sky, feet on the ground emerged victorious from a pool of 949 entries and 57 finalists, and in a year that broke a pivotal record: for the first time, more women than men made the final list of contenders for the award. Other portraits up for the gong included plenty similarly showing famous faces, such as Claudia Karvan, Sam Neill, Archie Roach, Noni Hazlehurst and Daniel Johns. [caption id="attachment_899552" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Winner Wynne Prize 2023, Zaachariaha Fielding 'Inma', acrylic on linen, 306.2 x 198.5 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter.[/caption] AGNSW pairs the Archibald Prize with two other awards: the similarly coveted Wynne and Sulman prizes. The Wynne received 726 entries, with 41 named as finalists, while the Sulman received 673 entries, naming 45 as final contenders. 2023's $50,000 Wynne Prize, which recognises the best landscape painting of Australian scenery, or figure sculpture, has been awarded to interdisciplinary artist and first-time finalist Zaachariaha Fielding. His winning work Inma depicts the sounds of Mimili, his community, which is part of the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia. The $40,000 Sir John Sulman Prize is presented to the best mural, subject or genre painting, with Doris Bush Nungarrayi doing the honours in 2023. The Luritja artist was a first-time finalist in both 2023's Sulman and Wynne Prizes, and is now the second Aboriginal artist to win the Sulman. In Mamunya ngalyananyi (Monster coming), she focuses on several Mamus — aka the ominous and malevolent spirits that terrify the Aṉangu people. [caption id="attachment_899553" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Winner Sulman Prize 2023, Doris Bush Nungarrayi 'Mamunya ngalyananyi (Monster coming)', acrylic on linen, 198 x 273.5 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter.[/caption] If you'd like to see all of the above, plus the rest of 2023's finalists, they'll all be on display at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney from Saturday, May 6–Sunday, September 3. After that, they'll tour to select venues in NSW and Victoria. Gutman's Archibald Prize win follows Blak Douglas' portrait of artist Karla Dickens in the Lismore floods in 2022, Peter Wegner's portrait of fellow artist Guy Warren in 2021 and Vincent Namatjira's portrait of Adam Goodes in 2020, as well as Tony Costa's 2019 victory with his painting of fellow artist Lindy Lee and five-time Archibald finalist Yvette Coppersmith's first win in 2018. And, Head in the sky, feet on the ground is still in the running for another award, as are all of this year's Archibald Prize finalists. If you don't agree with the judges, you can cast your own vote for People's Choice, which will be announced on Wednesday, August 9. [caption id="attachment_899550" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of the 'Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2023' exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, featuring Archibald Prize 2023 finalists (left to right) Charles Mouyat, Oliver Shepherd, Paul Newton and David Fenoglio, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter.[/caption] ARCHIBALD PRIZE 2023 DATES: Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, NSW — May 6–September 3, 2023 Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria — September 15–November 5, 2023 South East Centre for Contemporary Art, Bega, NSW — November 18, 2023—January 7, 2024 Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, NSW — January 19–March 10, 2024 Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, NSW — March 15–April 28, 2024 Tamworth Regional Gallery, NSW — May 11–June 23, 2024 Glasshouse Port Macquarie, NSW — July 5–August 18, 2024 If you can't make it to any of the above dates, you can check out the award winners and finalists of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes on the Art Gallery of NSW website. Top image: Excerpt of winner Archibald Prize 2023, Julia Gutman 'Head in the sky, feet on the ground', oil, found textiles and embroidery on canvas, 198 x 213.6 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter. Sitter: Montaigne.
A Tasmanian distiller by the name of John Hyslop has created a Willy Wonka version of the mighty whisky. The newly established Deviant Distillery has just released Anthology, a drop they claim tastes like a ten-year-old spirit, yet was made in just ten weeks. Hyslop achieved this wonder by studying what happens when you place whisky in a barrel for a decade. Then he created an environment in which this process was accelerated by manipulating physical elements governing oxidation, esterification and evaporation. The only catch is that, legally, the resulting product cannot be called whisky. It's hand-distilled in a copper pot still with the usual four ingredients — barley, water, yeast and oak — and without any additives, but the lack of conventional ageing process means that only the label "single malt spirit" can apply. "Other than the ageing process, everything about our spirits is what you would expect from an ultra-premium craft whisky — we just can't call it that," Hyslop says. "I explain it like this: instead of putting a supercharged engine into a car and racing it to the finish line, we just remove all the obstacles in its way and let it become what it wants to be." Hyslop sees two major advantages in speeding up whisky making. Firstly, it enables frequent experimentation with various flavour profiles. "With the traditional distilling model, what is bottled today was barrelled 10 years ago," he says. "But now, in theory, we can conduct several centuries' worth of flavour tests and arrive at an ultra-premium drink that no single generation ever could before." Secondly, he considers it greener. On average, when whisky ages, between 30 to 50 percent of the spirit evaporates. However, Hyslop loses only four percent to the air, meaning the distillery uses much less water and ingredients. In addition to this, the distillery produces minimal waste and is working towards carbon neutrality. Right now, the whole operation takes place in Hyslop's mum's garage in Somerset, where he produces about 120 bottles per month. He's hoping to move to bigger, commercial premises in Hobart by early 2018. While Hyslop claims the spirit tastes like an aged whiskey, we're keen to give it test it out ourselves. Anthology is available online for $86 from today and in selected bottle shops in Tassie.
Swing by Hamer Hall after dark, during RISING festival and NAIDOC Week, and you're going to see something very special: a huge, large-scale projection artwork from celebrated Indigenous artist and respected Wurrundjeri and Yorta-Yorta Elder Aunty Zeta Thomson. The new piece is called Spirits Of The Land and is worth a trip into the city this winter. Hamer Hall's iconic façade will be lit up with First Peoples' spirit stories, including Mookies (the Ancestor spirits of Country), Hairy Bekka (a creature that teaches children about safety) and the Min Min lights. "These are the stories and beliefs of my people," Thomson says. "This work is to pass onto our younger generation and I think it is overdue. It's a way of remembering and keeping the stories from my mum, dad and family, and the culture they taught us alive." "Mookie means spirit in Yorta Yorta," Thomson adds. "In our culture, the old people would sing and clap our sticks or boomerangs together as they walked through the bush to let them (the Spirits) know that they were coming back to visit them again. It is important to strongly represent Victorian Aboriginal culture for people to know these ancient stories." You might remember Thomson, and Mookies, from her previous work, Mookies Around the Waterhole, which wrapped several trams in 2021 as part of RISING's Arts Tram series. Spirits Of The Land promises to be on a whole other level, using the entire front of Hamer Hall as a canvas. You can also catch Thomson's work at Flinders Street Station as part of RISING's Shadow Spirits exhibition. "It is an honour to work with esteemed Elder Aunty Zeta Thomson and to animate her stories. Spirits Of The Land is a work that shares belief systems and stories that are not myths or folklore, but very real to First Peoples across the state." Curator and RISING's Artistic Associate Kimberley Moulton says. Spirits Of The Land is free and will run from sundown to midnight between June 7 and July 9. You won't be able to miss it. Top Image: Visit Victoria, Roberto Seba. Images: supplied.
Sounds like a branding exercise, but there really is a brand new vegetable on the block; a teeny tiny new development dubbed lollipop kale, currently under development in Australia, the UK and US right now. And it's possibly the most adorable thing we've seen in many a day — even if it's almost a Brussels sprout. Lollipop kale is indeed a thing — one gaining predictable popularity in the US, UK and now, South Australia and Victoria. Developed as a hybrid by British company Tozer Seeds, lollipop kale is now known as kale sprout (boring) in Australia and kalette (better) in the US. A form of cross-breeding between kale and Brussels sprouts (so you'll actually eat 'em), lollipop kale is currently being developed by a cluey South Australian grower. Adelaide Hills grower Scott Samwell, of Eastbook Farms in Mount Barker, has been upping the ante on his lollipop kale plantings over the last two years. Samwell told the ABC the lollipop kale grows sort of like a Brussels sprout — tiny bunches growing from a central stem, growing to around a metre tall. Apparently the new veggie has been getting good reviews in South Australian and Victorian markets, where the mini-kale has been available. "Everyone we've spoken to who has tried it, especially in the local area, are very keen on it." he told ABC. "It's a different tasting product, compared to green Brussels sprouts, because it's a bit sweeter." According to Grub Street, lollipop kale was the centre of mere whisperings in the food community — and wholly doubted and denied by chefs. GS's Hugh Merwin described it as the Bigfoot of the vegetable world — appearing in fruit exchanges around America and then suddenly becoming unattainable. But now it's here, ready for 'hipster' brandings and total hater ridicule. Being so teeny tiny, lollipop kale is primed for the home roasting — more bite-sized and considerably more adorable than your regular freaky kale chips. Right now, however, growing lollipop kale at home is pretty expensive — GS noted that online vegetable message boards (an actual Thing) criticised the high cost of the seeds; $11 for 40 seeds. So expect to see higher prices on Australian menus for the bite-sized little blighters. Lollipop kale will supposedly be available on the Australian market this year. Via ABC and Grub Street. Image: Hugh Merwin, Grub Street.
There's so, so much more to the Snowy Mountains than skiing and snowboarding. When the ice and snow melt away, a whole wonderland of adventures emerges. If you're into the outdoors, get ready to walk and ride (by bike or horse) some of the most spectacular terrain in Australia. If you're a mad foodie, then gear up to taste a bunch of excellent cool climate wines, linger over schnapps made with local produce and sink into some fine French cooking while overlooking a shimmering lake. Meanwhile, for arty types, there are galleries galore. Here are five jam-packed itineraries that'll keep you busy in the Snowies for days — if not weeks — whatever your inclination. [caption id="attachment_659667" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW.[/caption] FOR FOOD LOVERS The Snowies' pristine mountain streams and unspoilt farming land mean there's an abundance of fresh, local produce to sample — from wild-caught trout to freshly picked berries. For a hearty brekkie, grab a table at Central Road 2625 in Thredbo. If you're still in town by dinner time, there's irresistible Italian fare at Segreto within the Thredbo Alpine Hotel. Alternatively, make tracks east to Lake Crackenback Resort for local, seasonal dishes at Cuisine or a woodfired pizza at the laidback Alpine Larder. And a hop, skip and jump down the road is idyllic Crackenback Farm, where farmhouse-style dishes are served up on a sun-dappled terrace. Most conveniently, it's just around the corner from the Wildbrumby distillery, whose delicious European schnapps are made from local fruit. Another option is to head northwest from Thredbo to Tumbarumba, a cool climate wine region known for its stellar chardonnay and pinot noir. Among the outstanding cellar doors are Courabyra and Tuscany-inspired Tumbarumba Wine Escape. If you're after a coffee, head to Nest Cafe or for a meal, there's Elms Restaurant within the Tumbarumba Motel. [caption id="attachment_659672" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Snowy Mountains.[/caption] FOR ADVENTURE SEEKERS How long have you got? Even a total adrenaline junkie could spend months in the Snowies without running out of things to do. A hike is a good place to start, and the classic is the Main Range Walk, a 22-kilometre loop that swings by several glacial lakes before climbing to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko. Looking for a shorter stroll? There are loads of options, including Nichols Gorge in the northern section of Kosciuszko National Park. If mountain biking's your thing, you have hundreds of kilometres to conquer, covering all standards. Novices can get started on the easy Lake Jindabyne Foreshore Trail, then have a crack at the Thredbo Valley Trail, which offers a mix of beginner and more challenging sections. For experienced riders, the 50-kilometre Cascade to Pinch Trail is an extraordinary adventure, taking in stunning alpine terrain and epic panoramas. Then, of course, there's horse riding, for which the Snowies are legendary, thanks to The Man From Snowy River. Take a brief ride with Thredbo Valley Horse Riding or consider a multi-day escapade with Cochran Horse Treks, which involves staying at homesteads along the way. [caption id="attachment_659657" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lake Crackenback Resort Sculpture Trail.[/caption] FOR ART AFICIONADOS From Banjo Paterson to Prue Acton, numerous writers, artists and musicians have sought refuge and inspiration in the Snowies' dramatic, unpredictable landscapes. Begin your explorations at Raglan Gallery and Cultural Centre in Cooma, set inside a 150-year-old former inn. Next, head to Jindabyne to visit Kunama Gallery, where there's a permanent exhibition of works by Alan Grovesnor, who spent decades painting nearby landscapes before passing away in 2012. Also in Jindabyne is the Snowy Region Visitor Centre; its tiny gallery hosts temporary shows by local artists. Should you happen to be passing through in early autumn, make your visit coincide with Lake Light Sculpture, an outdoor event that fills the shores of Lake Jindabyne with illuminated sculptures and the town with artists from far and wide. Visiting at another time? Despair not. Instead, make your way to Lake Crackenback Resort Sculpture Trail or to Wildbrumby distillery, where co-owner Brad Spalding displays his sustainability-themed works made of recycled materials. Then, continue north to Tumbarumba to check out Artists on Parade. [caption id="attachment_659668" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul Sinclair / Destination NSW.[/caption] FOR HISTORY BUFFS The Snowy Mountains are famous all over the world for being home to the Snowy Hydro Scheme. Built between 1949 and 1974, this engineering feat channelled the energy of the Snowy River and transformed it into hydroelectricity, which today provides 4500 gigawatt-hours per year to the ACT, NSW and Victoria. To find out all about it, drop into the Snowy Hydro Centre in Cooma. While you're at it, pop into the visitors' centre, grab a map and take the Lambie Town Walk, a five-kilometre stroll that passes through three heritage-listed areas. To stay in the 19th-century, visit the Early Settlers Hut built in the 1840s at Delegate and Burnima Homestead, a 32-room mansion in Bombala with a six-acre garden that dates back to 1896. Half-way up Mount Kosciuszko will transport you into the early 20th-century should you visit the Seaman's Hut, a shelter built in 1929 following the deaths of skiers W. Laurie Seaman and Evan Hayes. [caption id="attachment_659675" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW.[/caption] FOR SIGHTSEERS If your trip to the Snowies is all about seeing classic sights at a leisurely pace, then make your first stop Yarrangobilly Caves, a series of limestone marvels in the northern part of Kosciuszko National Park. Here you'll also find a thermal pool, which is a warming 27 degrees celsius all year-round, and a relaxing river walk. Continuing south, stop by Lake Eucumbene, the biggest lake to have been created by the Snowy Hydro scheme, where you can try your hand at trout fishing, and Lake Jindabyne, which appeared in Australian films Somersault (2004) and Jindabyne (2006). Then, it's on to Thredbo where you can get instant mountain views without having to strain a muscle on the two-kilometre-long, 560-metre-high Kosciuszko Express Lift. While you're in town, take a stroll along pretty Thredbo River. Or, to get an even higher perspective on mighty Mount Kosciuszko, book a scenic flight with Heli Fun. Discover all that the Snowy Mountains has to offer outside of winter months, from picturesque hikes to culinary excursions and so much more.
Melbourne sneakerheads can geek out over some of the rarest sneakers, streetwear pieces and apparel on the market when Australia's largest sneaker convention, Sneakerland, descends on the city this spring. On Saturday, November 19, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre will be filled with over 3000 sneakers from different 52 vendors. Expect lots of rare footwear in the mix, including the Jordan 1 OG Chicago (1985) and Nike SB Dunk Low Paris. But this event isn't just for cashed up collectors — there'll be stacks of more affordable sneakers available from both local and international sellers, and the sneaker museum promises to be a huge drawcard, no matter your budget. Sneakerland will also feature a heap of entertainment, setting the vibe as you peruse — and maybe purchase — all that footwear. In addition to the live sneaker auctions, and exclusive sneaker and streetwear drops, visitors will be able to get around some basketball competitions, try their luck in the day's raffles, hit up the tattoo station and listen to DJs. Guest appearances from local celebrities and sporting icons are also on the cards. While general tickets cost $40, if you nab a $100 VIP ticket you're in for some extra swag. You'll score early access to the event, food and drinks, and a private lounge to relax in. There'll also be special live auctions featuring the most sought-after items — so if you're looking to beat all others on the trading floor, this is for you.
UPDATE, December 17, 2022: White Noise screens in Australian cinemas from Thursday, December 8, and streams via Netflix from Friday, December 30. We're all dying. We're all shopping. We're all prattling relentlessly about our days and routines, and about big ideas and tiny specifics as well. As we cycle through this list over and over, again and again, rinsing and repeating, we're also all clinging to whatever distracts us from our ever-looming demise, our mortality hovering like a black billowing cloud. In White Noise, all of the above is a constant. For the film's second of three chapters, a dark swarm in the sky is literal, too. Adapted from Don DeLillo's 1985 novel of the same name — a book thought unfilmable for the best part of four decades — by Marriage Story writer/director Noah Baumbach, this bold, playful survey of existential malaise via middle-class suburbia and academia overflows with life, death, consumerism and the cacophony of chaos echoing through our every living moment. Oh, and there's a glorious supermarket dance number as one helluva finale, because why not? "All plots move deathward" protagonist Jack Gladney (Adam Driver, House of Gucci) contends, one of his words of wisdom in the 'Hitler studies' course he's taught for 16 years at College-on-the-Hill. Yes, that early declaration signals the feature's biggest point of fascination — knowing that eternal rest awaits us all, that is — as does White Noise's car crash-filled very first frames. In the latter, Jack's colleague Murray Siskind (Don Cheadle, No Sudden Move) holds court, addressing students about the meaning of and catharsis found in on-screen accidents, plunging into their use of violence and catastrophe as entertainment, and showing clips. In the aforementioned mid-section of the movie, when White Noise turns into a disaster flick thanks to a tanker truck colliding with a train — because its driver was distracted, fittingly — you can bet that Murray's insights and concepts bubble up again. Before there's a tangible calamity blowing in, life is still mayhem, as Baumbach stresses in White Noise's opening third. The professors natter all at once, with Jack and Murray even joining forces for a rapturous session on Hitler and Elvis Presley's commonalities — Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, this isn't — that's one of the film's tour-de-force scenes. Chatter awaits at home, too, where Jack's fourth wife Babette (Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women) sports important corkscrew hair and mothers a blended brood spanning his kids Heinrich (Sam Nivola, With/In) and Steffie (May Nivola, The Pursuit of Love), her daughter Denise (Raffey Cassidy, Vox Lux), and their shared boy Wilder (debutants Henry and Dean Moore). Recalling Steven Spielberg's fondness for small towns and family dynamics, White Noise is both cosy and intricate in its everyday details (and oh-so-80s). The fact that everyone is always spouting and blasting something, again all at once, speaks volumes; little here, be it good, bad, sudden or expected, can be escaped. Baumbach keeps close to his source material, so much so that DeLillo's voice lingers in the dialogue; however, the director is no stranger to perceptively unpacking intimate bonds himself. Indeed, each one of his features across more than a quarter-century so far — including breakout flick The Squid and the Whale, quarter-life-crisis gem Frances Ha, the similarly arrested development-centric While We're Young, coming-of-age caper Mistress America and the adult sibling-focused The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) — has done just that. Only White Noise boasts "The Airborne Toxic Event", though, which tests its characters and relationships through apocalyptic horror, a frantic evacuation, and detouring ambitiously and hilariously into madcap National Lampoon's Vacation-esque territory. That ominous feathery plume makes the fear of death physical, as scary movies have for a century-plus. And, it makes it unavoidable, no matter how much the film's motley crew would rather divert their attention anywhere else. Also, it briefly turns it comical in a 'what else are you going to do but laugh?' manner. How does humanity, en masse and individually, trick ourselves into forgetting that our time alive is finite, fleeting, fickle and fragile — and that it could fade to black at any second? White Noise is that question in anxious filmic form with a satirical and savage bite. Accordingly, Murray waxes lyrical about grabbing groceries, and also about being someone who either kills or dies, while Jack and the teenage Denise start noticing the usually perky Babette's secret pill-popping. The Gladneys' patriarch and matriarch already proclaim how they couldn't live without each other as bedroom talk, but they're really ruminating on what it'll mean when they simply can't live. Buying and medicating your way away from that train of thought, and ignoring warnings and doctors, are all firmly in the movie's sardonically scathing sights. So is seeing how danger, terror and death inevitably bring people together — and, although set in the 80s, working with a novel penned in the 80s, the striking pandemic-era parallels sting (masks, conspiracy theories and all). In Baumbach's hands, White Noise is anything but unadaptable, but it is jam-packed. The themes, ideas, emotions, neuroses and tones flow as fast as all the talk — itself overflowing with big-thinking yet also screwball dialogue with a zippy rhythm — and then there's the always colour-saturated production design and costuming, the hypnotic choreography of bodies and vehicles, and the dream cast. Both Driver and Gerwig have already shown their sublime talents under Baumbach's guidance before, and both perfect the crucial-but-rare skill of conveying a world of character minutiae via their presence. Driver's size instantly makes him tower over the Gladneys' mania, just not as much as that black cloud, and soar over his college discussions. Gerwig, missed on-screen for six years while directing Lady Bird, Little Women and the upcoming (and Baumbach co-written) Barbie, is the face of soldiering on until you aren't or can't — equally warmly and heartbreakingly so. Impressive turns by Cassidy and Sam Nivola as the eldest two of the precocious children stand out, too, and Jodie Turner-Smith (After Yang), André 3000 (High Life) and Lars Eidinger (Irma Vep) also make an imprint in small appearances. Again, there's a lot to White Noise. Again, that's all by design, stems from the page, happily comes with built-in lurches and veers, and a hefty part of the point. (Life is a lot, death is a lot and confronting is a lot, after all.) As Danny Elfman's (Wednesday) score adapts nimbly to the many changes in mood, and cinematographer Lol Crawley (The Humans) helps make everything a spectacle, bearing life's transience keeps proving wildly careening, spiralling, amusing and entertaining. And when the closing credits roll, fancy footwork breaking out to LCD Soundsystem's 'New Body Rhumba' in an infectiously engaging display, a clear message has beamed in through the static: everything in life, like in supermarkets, has an expiration date, but knowing that fact means enjoying what you have while you have it. Top image: Wilson Webb/NETFLIX © 2022.
If you're Melbourne's NGV International and you've spent the summer filling your walls and halls with fashion by Coco Chanel, how do you follow up come winter? By dedicating your next blockbuster exhibition to Pablo Picasso and the artists, poets and intellectuals he crossed paths with. The iconic Spanish painter, sculptor and printmaker's pieces will sit alongside works by everyone from Salvador Dalí and Henri Matisse to Marie Laurencin and Gertrude Stein at The Picasso Century, which'll take over the St Kilda Road gallery from Friday, June 10. A world-premiere showcase developed exclusively for the NGV by the Centre Pompidou and the Musée national Picasso-Paris, and displaying until Sunday, October 9, The Picasso Century won't skimp on its namesake. From Picasso alone, more than 70 works will be on display. But it'll also surround his pieces with over 100 others from more than 50 of his contemporaries, with the latter sourced from French national collections and the NGV Collection. [caption id="attachment_844954" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pablo Picasso. Spanish 1881–1973. Reclining woman (Femme couchée). 19 June 1932, oil on canvas, 38.0 x 46.0 cm, 55.6 x 63.0 cm (framed). Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d'art moderne - Centre de création industrielle. Donated by Louise and Michel Leiris, 1984. © Succession Picasso/Copyright Agency, 2022 Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM - CCI/Bertrand Prévost/Dist. RMN - GP.[/caption] That means that art lovers will be able to gaze at 170-plus works of art, and chart Picasso's career via his paintings, sculptures, drawings and ceramics in the process — and also see how it developed through his engagement with his peers. And, when it comes to other talents showcased, the hefty list also covers Guillaume Apollinaire, Georges Braque, Alberto Giacometti, Françoise Gilot, Valentine Hugo, Dora Maar, André Masson and Dorothea Tanning. By placing the artist's pieces in context with the works of others around him, The Picasso Century examines the connections that helped make him who he was, and explores how his creations rippled throughout the world. Accordingly, art by Natalia Goncharova, Julio González, Wifredo Lam, Suzanne Valadon and Maria Helena Vieira da Silva will also feature, all talents who've rarely been exhibited in Australia. And, other artists included span André Breton, Georges Bataille, Aimé Césaire and Alberto Giacometti, as well as Kay Sage, Max Ernst and Giorgio de Chirico — plus Francis Bacon and Willem de Kooning as well. [caption id="attachment_844955" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Salvador Dalí. Spanish 1904–89. Invisible sleeping woman, horse, lion (Dormeuse, cheval, lion invisibles). 1930, oil on canvas, 50.2 x 65.2 cm, 74.3 x 89.2 cm (framed). Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d'art moderne – Centre de création industrielle. Gift of the Association Bourdon, 1993 © Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala - Salvador Dali/VEGAP. Copyright Agency, 2022. Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM - CCI/Philippe Migeat/Dist. RMN - G.[/caption] Didier Ottinger, a scholar of 20th century painting and Deputy Director of the Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, has curated the exhibition, which obviously steps through Picasso's distinct artistic periods: his blue period, cubism and surrealism, for instance. In total, The Picasso Century will explore 15 thematic sections that chart the course of Picasso's seven-decade-plus career. If you're fond of his surrealist period, however, it'll be particularly packed with works from then. As Tony Ellwood AM, Director, NGV, explains, "this exhibition offers visitors an extraordinary insight into the development of modern art and the preeminent figure at its centre, Pablo Picasso. Through more than 170 works of art — including many that have never been seen in Australia — audiences will come to appreciate the many ways in which Picasso influenced — and was influenced by — the artistic community that surrounded him." If it sounds big, that's because it is. And, as French Impressionism was in 2021, The Picasso Century is part of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition series. The Picasso Century will be on display from Friday, June 10–Sunday, October 9, 2022 at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the NGV website. Top image: Pablo Picasso. Spanish 1881–1973. Figures by the sea (Figures au bord de la mer). 12 January 1931, oil on canvas, 130.0 x 195.0 cm. Musée national Picasso - Paris. Donated in lieu of tax, 1979. © Succession Picasso/Copyright Agency, 2022. Photo © RMN - Grand Palais (Musée national Picasso - Paris) / Mathieu Rabeau.
Worry not if you didn't manage to get a European summer this year, for the Afloat crew has brought a slice of it to Melbourne — this time modelling its floating bar after Italian beach clubs. This is Afloat's ninth iteration, having drawn inspiration from Mexico in 2023, the Balearic Islands in 2022 and Turkey's Turquoise Coast in 2021. As it was with these past versions, the new Afloat Capri has an entirely new look, food and drink lineup, and music and entertainment program. Now, drop by to find yellow and white striped umbrellas, lemon trees, colourful ceramic planters, terracotta tiled roofs, rosemary plants and sorbet-hued walls covered in hand-painted illustrations. This is clearly one of the top destinations for spritz-sippers in Melbourne this summer. And that's not only because of its new design and watertop location. The drinks menu is sure to hit all the right spots as well, thanks to HQ Group's Head of Cocktails Tom Younger. He has spent many a month dreaming up the new Italian-inspired beverage menu, pumping it full of 25 citrus- and aperitif-driven cocktails. Most of these are said to be "smashable", including the six spritz options — think Aperol, limoncello, pink gin, elderflower, Montenegro and berry. There's even a few special Pidapipo gelato-based cocktails, like the Sgroppino Sour (on tap) made with gin, lemon sorbet and prosecco, and boozy ice cream floats (better known as spiders to many of us). The food menu is also stacked with crowd-pleasing dishes, from pasta and pizza (Neapolitan-style pizza and focaccia-like Sicilian pizzettes) to seafood platters and antipasti medleys. DJs will also be playing tunes every day down by the river, plus the Afloat crew will even be hosting mozzarella-making and pizza-making parties later in the year. Like always, the Arbory crew is opening the floating bar in stages. Right now, the main area of Afloat is free to enjoy, while the Aperol Pool Bar & Deck, and second-storey Peroni Capri Upper Terrazza will open in the coming months. If you want to get the full effect, you might want to wait a little longer — or just keep returning throughout the summer. Images: Kim Canales-Ascui.
Founded as a way to promote happiness and health, this five-kilometre-long run involves splashes of colour to distract you from the fact that you're, you know, exercising. All participants are asked to wear as much white as they can, and then embrace the colour pigment that's blasted at them at various points during the race. This is sweaty exercise disguised as straight-up fun. With plenty of excitement at the beginning, a party at the end, and four colour zones to dance your way through — plus a bubble zone, a foam zone and a DJ zone — the fun never stops, and neither do your legs. The Color Run now takes place in more than 35 countries worldwide, attracting six million runners across the globe. This year it'll run its Melbourne race on Sunday, November 25 at Flemington Racecourse, kicking off at 7am. If you need more motivation, there'll also be free slurpees, a giant swing and a ball pit. Plus, if you'd like to do something for others with your run, you can raise money for the Starlight Children's Foundation.
Becoming something of a winter tradition in recent years, Pidapipo Gelateria's hot chocolate is back again for the season, making it easy to warm up your hands with a drink-meets-dessert creation. Borrowing techniques from the world of pastry, Pidapipo Co-Founder Lisa Valmorbida developed this recipe back in 2023 alongside Head of Production Nicola Totaro, resulting in the ultimate winter comfort. For first-timers, expect a cup of pure indulgence, where rich and silky hot chocolate is crafted from 70% dark chocolate, meaning there's soothing warmth in every sip. Topped with a generous scoop of Pidapipo's signature house-churned fior di latte gelato folded with marshmallows, the hot chocolate is crowned with caramelised hazelnut croccante — ensuring the ideal sweet crunch finish. "We didn't expect our hot chocolate to become such a thing – but it did, and it's been so nice hearing how much you all missed it. So yes – it's back, and we're so excited to share it with you again!" says Valmorbida. While previous years saw Pidapipo's beloved hot chocolate only available at select stores, the good news is that now every location is serving up this heartwarming beverage until the end of August. Featuring an unchanged recipe that resonates with nostalgic goodness, don't miss your chance to order one from the Fitzroy Laboratorio, alongside the Windsor, Degraves Street and Carlton stores. Perfect for a cold snap pick-me-up or just an extra sweet treat, have no doubt that this decadent drink will bring a little more warmth to your chilly bones this winter. Ready to sip? Pidapipo's cult-followed hot chocolate is available now for $10.50. Pidapipo Gelateria's hot chocolate is now available at all locations — Fitzroy, Degraves Street, Carlton and Windsor — until Sunday, August 31. Head to the website for more information.
Fans of huge pop-culture behemoths, we hope you have a comfortable couch, because you're going to be spending a lot of time sitting on it over the next month or so. Not one, not two, but four massive franchises are dropping new streaming series between now and mid-September — and with everyone's queues set to be so busy, one is now arriving a little later than initially planned. That show: Andor, the second Star Wars Disney+ spinoff for 2022, following Obi-Wan Kenobi. Originally set to debut at the end of August, it has just pushed its premiere date out to Wednesday, September 21, arriving after Marvel's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon and the Middle-earth-set The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — so you'll be waiting a bit longer to dive into its tale of espionage and rebellion. The rest of the series' details remain the same, though — including providing a prequel to 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and bringing some spy thrills to a galaxy far, far away. And yes, like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor takes a favourite big-screen character and steps back into their story before the events that viewers have already seen. As its title makes plain, Andor focuses on its namesake — Cassian Andor, again played by Diego Luna (If Beale Street Could Talk). Star Wars fans have already seen him as a Rebel captain and intelligence agent, and also watched how his story ends, hence the show's need to jump backwards. The focus: following Andor as he discovers how he can play a part in fighting the Empire. Indeed, charting the rebellion, and how people and planets joined in, is the series' whole remit. Alongside Luna, Andor sees filmmaker Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Legacy) — who co-wrote the screenplay for Rogue One — return to the Star Wars franchise as the series' creator and showrunner. And, on-screen, Luna is joined by the Genevieve O'Reilly (The Dry) — who is also back as Mon Mothma — as well as Stellan Skarsgård (Dune), Adria Arjona (Morbius), Denise Gough (Monday) and Kyle Soller (Poldark). Oh, and a cute-looking new robot that was first scurrying around in the show's initial trailer, although how big a part it'll play is yet to be revealed. Andor also just dropped its full trailer, which teases the titular figure's quest to make a difference against the Empire — with a big push at first, and with help where he can get it afterwards. Unsurprisingly, the mood is grim and weighty. "The Empire is choking us all slowly. We're starting not to notice," Andor is told by Luthen Rael (Skarsgård). "What I'm asking is this: wouldn't you give it all to something real?" Andor is set to span two seasons, both running for 12 episodes each and adding to Disney+'s ever-expanding array of Star Wars programming. Also on its way: the third season of The Mandalorian, which'll arrive in February 2023; and the recently announced Skeleton Crew, which'll star Jude Law and hit streaming queues sometime next year as well. Check out the full trailer for Andor below: Andor will now start streaming via Disney+ from Wednesday, September 21. Images: ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Kendrick Lamar kicked off his four-city Australian DAMN. album tour on Tuesday, with a standout show in Perth. On top of the tour, which is also heading to Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, the acclaimed hip hop artist is also headlining a sold-out Splendour in the Grass later this month. If that wasn't enough Lamar-goodness for Aussie punters, the Pulitzer Prize-winning artist has just announced that he's bringing his coveted DAMN. Pop-Up stores down under, too. Damn. The first pop-up is happening in Melbourne right now, running from 11am to 7pm today and tomorrow on Brunswick Street. Sydney will get its chance to nab some of Lamar's limited-edition merch later this month on July 24 and 25. While details of what exactly will be stocked at the stores are extremely vague, the rapper's pop-up has already appeared in Europe and across the US, stocking vinyls, tees, caps and hoodies. You can take a look inside his NYC pop-up here. The rapper has also made surprise appearances at many of the pop-ups, so if you're keen to grab a closer-than-row-z sighting of Lamar we suggest heading along. If you are thinking of heading along, however, take this as a warning: there will be long lines. DAMN. Pop Up is open in Melbourne at Doomsday, 195A Brunswick Street, Fitzroy on Friday, July 13 and Saturday, July 14 from 11am–7pm. Sydney's pop-up will be located at Above The Clouds, 205 Oxford Street, Sydney on Tuesday, July 24 and Wednesday, July 25 from 11am–7pm. Kendrick Lamar is playing in Melbourne on July 13 and 14 and in Sydney on July 24 and 25. via Triple J
If Owen Wilson was to comment on Melbourne's newest event, we're guessing he'd offer up a simple answer: "wow." That's actually just what thousands of folks seemingly want to hear — and say. In fact, celebrating the way the Zoolander star utters that one word is what this gathering is all about. Following in the footsteps of last year's 'Scream like Goku' sessions, some particularly keen Wilson fans have conjured up their own version: 'Say Wow like Owen Wilson'. Set to take place on from 6pm on February 26 at Melbourne's Federation Square, it's exactly what it sounds like. People will come together, pretend they're in The Royal Tenenbaums, Wedding Crashers or whichever of his flicks takes their fancy, and unleash their best wow-uttering impersonation. Saying one particular word like a famous actor — it's so hot right now, apparently. Or, it's just something different to do on your way home from work on Monday evening, we guess? Either way, the get-together will include warm-up wows, the main event — that is, a massive group wow — and kick-on wows afterwards. It'll also be livestreamed, for anyone who can't get there, doesn't live in Melbourne or simply needs to see it for themselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlLMlJ2tDkg
If you'd like to raise a glass for International Women's Day, why not make it a nice pint glass filled with a special collab brew crafted in honour of all the women who drink, make and appreciate beer? On Sunday, March 6, Blackheart & Sparrows' new event space Perry's is set to host a froth-filled celebration for women who are making the beer game their own. It'll double as a launch party for a new-release collaboration brew made especially for the occasion — a West Coast IPA brewed with CoConspirators, dubbed The Brewer. Beer-lovers and allies are invited along for an afternoon spent sampling the new drop, while hearing from key females in the biz at a panel chat led by Blackheart & Sparrows' beer buyer Cherry Noble. More sips from the likes of Stomping Ground, Two Birds, Bentspoke and Heaps Normal will be flowing through the afternoon, as will the tunes, courtesy of a lineup of female DJs. Meanwhile, new neighbour Hi-Fi is heading up the food offering, slinging its range of hefty sandwiches and snacks. Tickets are $10, which gets you entry and some excellent company, plus a can of The Brewer. And you'll be sipping for a great cause, too, with a portion of the event's proceeds going to support the Pink Boots Society Australia's scholarship programs for women in beer. [caption id="attachment_844305" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Perry's[/caption]
The duo behind Melbourne's sake brand Toji Sake, Shar and Yuta Kobayashi, brought a new taste of Japan to Richmond in 2019. The 100-seat restaurant on Swan Street is dishing up food inspired by both Australia and Japan, as well as sake cocktails. Kobayashi's Australian-Japanese roots and Chan's experience cooking Japanese fare have both influenced the menu, which focuses on izakaya-style snacks, such as yakitori, and dishes cooked on a hibachi (a Japanese charcoal grill). For yakitori, expect all the chicken parts — thigh, oyster, heart, breast — as well as leek, baby onions covered in miso and okra. Other snacks include the likes of duck gyoza with shiso and salted plum, kingfish sashimi with smoked daikon, smoked beef tartare and short ribs with chimichurri. Bigger items at Eazy Peazy might include okonomiyaki, porterhouse with wasabi, aged dashi eggplant and chicken karaage. Behind the restaurant's long concrete bar, you'll, of course, find a few Toji Sake concoctions. The brand's crisp junmai ginjo and high-grade junmai daiginjo sakes feature in a selection of cocktails, such as Aloe Peaches — with aloe vera juice, peach liqueur and cranberry — and the Shiso Crazy with shiso leaves, rum and soda. A mostly Australian wine list and a lineup of Japanese and local beers in tins, bottles and on tap round out the drinks offering. The Eazy Peazy fit-out, by award-winning Melbourne firm Carr Design, is meant to fuse traditional Japanese elements with modern touches. Think interior walls representing the rice fields of the Niigata Prefecture, a snow-like ceiling reminiscent of the Asahi mountain ranges and doors that look like raked sand in a zen garden. These elements are juxtaposed with projections of Tokyo's famed Shibuya Crossing and Japanese cartoon figurines used as handbag hooks. Images: Carly Ravenhall and Hortenzia.
UPDATE, December 17, 2022: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery screened in cinemas from Wednesday, November 23–Tuesday, November 29, then streams via Netflix from Friday, December 23. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery opens with a puzzle box inside a puzzle box. The former is a wooden cube delivered out of the blue, the latter the followup to 2019 murder-mystery hit Knives Out, and both are as tightly, meticulously, cleverly and cannily orchestrated as each other. The physical version has siblings, all sent to summon a motley crew of characters to the same place, as these types of flicks need to boast. The film clearly has its own brethren, and slots in beside its predecessor as one of the genre's gleaming standouts. More Knives Out movies will follow as well, which the two so far deserve to keep spawning as long as writer/director Rian Johnson (Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi) and Benoit Blanc-playing star Daniel Craig (No Time to Die) will make them. Long may they keep the franchise's key detective and audience alike sleuthing. Long may they have everyone revelling in every twist, trick and revelation, as the breezy blast that is Glass Onion itself starts with. What do Connecticut Governor and US Senate candidate Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision), model-slash-designer-slash-entrepreneur Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon), scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr, The Many Saints of Newark) and gun-toting, YouTube-posting men's rights activist Duke Cody (Dave Bautista, Thor: Love and Thunder) all have in common when this smart and savvy sequel kicks off? They each receive those literal puzzle boxes, of course, and they visibly enjoy their time working out what they're about. The cartons are the key to their getaway to Greece — their invites, in fact — and also perfectly emblematic of this entire feature. It's noteworthy that this quartet carefully but playfully piece together clues to unveil the contents inside, aka Glass Onion's exact modus operandi. That said, it's also significant that a fifth recipient of these elaborate squares simply decides to smash their way inside with a hammer. As Brick and Looper also showed, Johnson knows when to attentively dole out exactly what he needs to; however, he also knows when to let everything spill out. Claire, Birdie, Lionel and Duke share something else: they're all considered "disruptors" by tech mogul Miles Bron (Edward Norton, The French Dispatch), form part of his inner circle and get together annually for one-percenter vacations on his dime. He's behind their unexpected packages and their latest lavish getaway, which takes them not only to a picturesque private island, but also to a sprawling mansion decked out with a glimmering dome he actually calls a glass onion. Also in attendance is Miles' former business partner Andi Brand (Janelle Monáe, Antebellum), with whom nothing ended well, which gives the trip a skin of tension. And, there's the cravat-wearing Blanc, who couldn't be a better addition to the guest list — Miles has corralled this distinctive cohort for a weekend-long whodunnit party, after all. Blanc doesn't quote Sherlock Holmes and proclaim "the game is afoot" in Glass Onion, as he did the first time around, but it is. Several are. Miles wants his visitors to solve his own faux murder, but soon there's a real death slicing into what's meant to be a fun jaunt. Everyone is a suspect, because that's how this setup works. The Southern-drawled Blanc's presence proves mighty handy, swiftly segueing into "world's greatest detective" mode. No one needs him to glean the murder-mystery fundamentals, though. As told with an initially more linear narrative, little is what it seems on this swanky, intricately crafted vacation, including among the mostly high-achieving but secretly spatting group. And yes, as the bickering and backstabbing gets bloody — and the fast-paced story keeps unfurling — everyone has a motive. The Knives Out films can be enjoyed as pure on-screen rounds of Cluedo of the most entertaining kind, and as self-aware, affectionate and intelligent detective puzzles in the Agatha Christie mould. With their sharpness, mischievousness and effervescence, they easily show up the author's most recent page-to-screen adaptations, aka the clunky latest Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. Johnson also has the keenest of eyes for ensuring that every inch of every frame and every detail in every set entices and teases, with impressive help from his now six-time cinematographer Steve Yedlin, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power production designer Rick Heinrichs and returning costumer Jenny Eagan. His whodunnit flicks get viewers gleefully playing along, lapping up surprises and thrills. And yet at the same time, they have audiences happily sitting back for the ride as both Johnson and the never-more-delightful Craig do their best. Everyone's doing stellar work in Glass Onion, especially the killer cast. This is the latest of many, many starry crews with a murderer in their midst —see also: fellow 2022 releases Bodies Bodies Bodies and See How They Run — and it's superbly compiled, including Jessica Henwick (The Gray Man) as Birdie's exasperated assistant, Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks) as Duke's girlfriend and a heap of genre-adoring cameos. As a sweep-you-long feature, the film serves up the sheer pleasure of watching its actors play their parts with such aplomb, and also benefits from fleshing out its characters before there's a body count. There needs to be such meat on this movie's bones, and more than merely one-note pawns on its board, because getting biting and blistering — and also being timely and topical — is another of the series' ongoing highlights. A more-cash-than-sense billionaire making a mess? The entitled, privileged set doing anything for money, and to uphold their status and lifestyles? Yes, the Knives Out franchise is eating the rich again, this time on a The White Lotus-esque holiday. Accusations zip around Glass Onion with frequency, potency and a sting, but no one can accuse Johnson of just repeating himself. As an early reference to Bach's 'Fugue in G minor' nods at, this is an onion of a flick that stacks its layers atop each other to create something new, and shines in a different way with each one. Also, where plenty of sequels to successful pictures rinse and repeat, this instead builds a fresh game out of similar but never identical pieces. A case in point: the decision to set the movie in May 2020, when the pandemic is all that most people were thinking about, and lockdown life was far, far removed from international travel, pool dips and cocktails with a view. That choice brings more sight gags, like Birdie's pointless mesh mask, but more importantly it lets the film dice up its targets with more force. They're squabbling and slaying in luxury while everyone else was staring at their own four walls for months on end, and doesn't this new gem cut them up for it.
Not a whole heap of regular folk can say they love flying. The crying babies, the contortions you perform to try and get comfy, the inevitable sore neck. But, there's something that makes it all a little better: the bar cart. The flight attendant finally rolls that booze-filled trolley to your aisle and you get to pick between a tiny white wine or a tiny red wine. Ah, the life. We're all missing travel at the moment, which, apart from the obvious, we can tell by how quickly Aussies snapped up the Qantas pjs when they went on sale. And to help ease some of that yearning, Qantas is selling 1000 bar carts. Yes, its bar carts. And they come stocked full of those mini bottles of booze, too. The bar carts are from the now-retired Boeing 747 fleet, which have gone to live in the Californian desert, and come in two sizes: a full cart or half. They will set you back a pretty penny, but you do get a lot of booze. The full cart is $1474.70 — or 256,000 points, if that is something you have — and includes 80 187-millilitre bottles of white wine, 80 of red wine, two sleeves of Tim Tams, two full bottles of champagne, four amenity kits, two first-class blankets and four sets of those coveted pjs, plus some smoked almonds and savoury biscuits. The half cart is quite literally half a cart and half of the contents, but not quite half of the price ($947.70). You can also buy the mini bottles individually for $2.99 a bottle. The carts can be delivered to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth metro postcodes. Yes, you could definitely just go and buy cheap wine and pretend you're on a plane — but, would it be as fun? No. So, get your mates to chip in and plan a night of low-altitude revelry. Qantas' bar carts are on sale until Friday, October 9 or until sold out. Snag yours over here.
Tzaki is Alex Xinis' ode to Athens, which brings woodfired food, Mediterranean drinks, and the essence of lively Greek dining to Yarraville. This walk-in-only hotspot is open seven days a week and serves Greek coffee, mezze and contemporary Athenian dishes. From living and working in Athens to being instrumental to some of Melbourne's most well-known Greek restaurants of the past (Hellenic Republic, The Press Club), Alex Xinis knows a thing or two about modern Greek hospitality. For his first independent venture, Xinis set his sights on Yarraville, envisioning "the suburban bustle of Yarraville [to] fit the mould perfectly for Tzaki; an all-day hangout, evoking nostalgia from my lengthy stints living and working in Athens." Part of its attraction is its size, or lack thereof. With only 16 seats indoors and 15 outside, landing a table is an accomplishment you'll feel proud of. Once you're in, celebrate with wines sourced from Greece, Mediterranean beers, or a glass of Ouzo. About the menu, Xinis says Tzaki "showcases Grecian specialities presented in a Melbourne way." With a name meaning fireplace in Greek, it's no surprise the menu relies heavily on the smoky, charry goodness of the woodfired oven. The seasonal Grecian plates change often, but may include the likes of smoked cheese with honey peppered figs, tiger prawns with horseradish dressing, sand crab mousaka and lamb shoulder with lemon thyme potatoes. The allure of the blistered flatbread, served with whatever creation the kitchen has come up with that week (could be whipped cheesy butter, kalamata olive and feta butter, or even kumquat and fennel butter), is enough to draw visitors from all corners of Melbourne to the inner West. And even if you don't snag a table, you can still get a taste of Xinis' Greek fare, with his new takeout chicken shop, Kokoras, just next door to Tzaki, now open. Images: Supplied.
Something delightful is happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are starting to reopen — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made over the past three months, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qn70iqo-4Q MONOS The relentlessness of modern life, the ongoing unrest in Colombia, and the ceaseless trials and tribulations that plague all teens facing adulthood — they all sit at the centre of stunning South America-set thriller Monos. Set in a camp of teen guerrillas, Alejandro Landes' third film follows gun-toting rebels that have barely said goodbye to childhood, but are still tasked with guarding an American hostage (The Outsider's Julianne Nicholson). Unsurprisingly, even with nothing around but fields, jungle, a cow to milk and occasional enemy fire, little goes according to plan. Engagingly lingering between a dark fairytale and a psychological treatise on war, combat and humanity's dog-eat-dog nature, the result is the definite standouts of the past year. From the eye-popping landscape cinematography and the needling tension of Mica Levi's score, to the commanding performance from the young cast, there's a reason that Monos proved a huge festival hit around the globe in 2019 — including winning Sundance's Special Jury Award — before finally releasing in Aussie cinemas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzqevBnUUZU&t=3s THE ASSISTANT After exploring the JonBenet Ramsey case not only with precision, but via a perceptive re-enactment technique that interrogated its impact — with excellent documentary Casting JonBenet the end result — trust Australian filmmaker Kitty Green to turn one of the biggest topics of the past few years into a compelling, unsettling, fiercely searing thriller. The subject: the culture of sexual harassment and sexually predatory behaviour in the entertainment industry. The context: #MeToo, obviously. Following a day in the professional life of an entry-level personal assistant, Jane (Ozark's Julia Garner), as she works for an unseen film production company head honcho, The Assistant unnerves by showing the routine, everyday nature of inappropriate workplace conduct, as well as the powerlessness of those both subjected and witness to it to stop it. As always in Green's films, every element is fine-tuned to evoke a strong and earned response — which, here, includes a grey colour palette, claustrophobic camerawork, a taut script, a commitment to authenticity and a devastatingly stellar performance by Garner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqO25i-XNEU THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD He's skewered British, American and Russian politics in The Thick of It, In the Loop, Veep and The Death of Stalin. This year, in the eerily prescient Avenue 5, he pondered what would happen if a group of people were confined on a cruise of sorts — a luxury space voyage — for an extended stretch of time. But, in period comedy mode, The Personal History of David Copperfield might just be Armando Iannucci's most delightful work yet. Indeed, playfully trifling with a Charles Dickens classic suits the writer/director. Boasting a charming performance by Dev Patel as the eponymous character, and also starring Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw and Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie, this is a fresh, very funny and sharp-witted rendering of the obvious literary source material. Recreating this tale of a Victorian-era young man cycling from wealth to poverty and back again, Iannucci and his frequent co-scribe Simon Blackwell take shrewd liberties with the story, while never letting issues of class, abuse, loss, corruption and the dog-eat-dog nature of capitalism slip from view. And, Iannucci's visual inventiveness — including the use of split screen and rear projection — also leaves an imprint. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVlPl0SXFiE BAIT When a film is described as 'textured', the term typically refers to its narrative, themes and emotional impact, with nothing smooth, shallow or straightforward evident. That applies to Mark Jenkin's Bait as it hones in on feuding Cornish fisherman siblings Martin (Edward Rowe) and Steven Ward (Giles King). Indeed, examining not only family in-fighting, but culture clashes, the growing chasm between tradition and modernity, and the effect of tourism on local residents of scenic spots, this is a rich, tense, complex and mesmerising affair that muses as deeply on blood ties as it does on gentrification. Jenkin's film also boasts ample visual texture, too. It's noticeable from the feature's first moments, is intrinsically linked to its tone, and proves utterly inescapable as the sea, craggy shorelines, twisted nets and gnarled ropes all fill the screen. And, as shot on location with a 16mm Bolex camera — and on black-and-white stock that the director hand-processed — Bait's look and feel is as important to the movie as anything else within its frames. In fact, paired with a noticeable penchant for close-ups that forces the audience to stare firmly at both people and objects, this stunning British feature couldn't make a bigger or more powerful aesthetic splash. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DOiI_zYQrs BELLBIRD Bruce (Cohen Holloway) has long since reached adulthood. And, for all of the garbage dump worker's life, his mother Beth (Annie Whittle) has provided a buffer between him and his stoic father Ross (Marshall Napier). When tragedy strikes, however, they're forced to not only face a future without her — including the minutiae of running their scenic Northland dairy farm — but to truly face and talk to each other in a meaningful way for the first real time. Marking the feature directorial debut of teacher-turned-filmmaker Hamish Bennett, made in the area he grew up in and following the same characters from his 2014 short film Ross & Beth, Bellbird explores a straightforward and well-traversed concept, with mourning no stranger to screens. That said, this patient, understated and gently humorous New Zealand drama is a soulful and thoughtful gem. As well as finding a wealth of depth in two men ill-equipped to confront their complicated emotions but given no choice but to try, this gorgeously shot and weightily performed feature matches Bruce and Ross' taciturn ways with an astute script that conveys more through silence than words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BewCjGqefoQ LOVE SARAH Also focusing on connection and reflection sparked by grief, Love Sarah steps into another family attempting to cope with loss. In this case, the dearly departed is the titular chef — the estranged daughter of ex-circus performer Mimi (Celia Imrie), beloved mother of dancer Clarissa (Shannon Tarbet), and best friend and business partner of Isabella (Shelley Conn). When the latter decides to forge ahead with Sarah's plans to open a bakery, she realises that she can't do it without both Mimi and Clarissa's help. Also lending a hand: Sarah and Isabella's culinary school pal Matthew (Rupert Penry-Jones), who might be Clarissa's father. Directing her first feature, filmmaker Eliza Schroeder lets everything about Love Sarah play out as expected, including its soft hues, appetising cake and pastry shots, and exploration of renewed bonds and new opportunities in the face of life-altering change. The film is suitably sweet, of course, and always palatable; however it's far too happy to stick to the easiest recipe possible — with some plot strands overstressed to add extra drama, and one of the movie's more enticing and interesting narrative elements quickly introduced and then abandoned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tzas-d8MgM THE WRETCHED For part of this year, when US cinemas were closed but some drive-ins were still open, The Wretched topped the American box office. In no other scenario would that have occurred, so consider the attention afforded Brett and Drew T Pierce's instantly familiar but always effective horror film one of the few silver linings of pandemic-inspired lockdowns. Set in a small coastal town, the siblings' slickly crafted feature follows teenager Ben (John-Paul Howard), who's visiting his divorced father Liam (Jamison Jones). As tends to happen in this type of creepfest, his arrival coincides with strange goings-on at the house next door — namely a sinister force that's wreaking havoc on his neighbours and threatening to spread its malevolence even further. Immediately recalling 80s-era spookiness (and clearly the product of writer/directors who've spent much of their lives watching scary flicks from the period), The Wretched perfects the genre's jumps and bumps with ease, as well as the filmmaking nuts and bolts. In terms of its supernatural storyline, though — and its witchy villain — it does lean heavily on cliches. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K4qawhyasA&feature=emb_logo A SON A tragic accident causes a long-kept secret to come to light — and sparks a series of difficult choices for a Tunisian struggling couple — in the tense and moving A Son. Despite that description, however, this isn't just an intimate drama about messy personal lives tested by heightened circumstances, although it definitely fits that bill. As well as chronicling the fallout when Aziz (Youssef Khemiri), the 11-year-old son of Fares (Sami Bouajila) and Meriem (Najla Ben Abdallah), is hit by a stray bullet during an on-the-road ambush by an armed group, debut filmmaker Mehdi Barsaoui examines the societal underpinnings deepening the family's troubles. Aziz is in dire need of a liver transplant in the aftermath of the attack, but the quest to find a donor is complicated due to cultural, religious and political reasons, as well as a revelation that rocks Meriem and Fares' marriage. Playing parents and partners pushed to their limits, Bouajila and Abdallah are superb. And, while some of the movie hits predicable narrative beats, Barsaoui isn't afraid to veer in confronting directions, or to peer intently at the state of Tunisia today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq2n6LJrrZY THE BOOKSELLERS Calling all bibliophiles — whether your bookshelves are bulging, you've spent far too much of your life in bookstores or you've always dreamed about turning your passion for reading into your profession. Focusing on New York's rare booksellers, as well as the ups and downs of their industry, US documentary The Booksellers touches on all of the above. It's also catnip for anyone who's never more content than when they're thumbing through a printed tome, and convincingly evokes the feeling of trawling through shelf after shelf of old, beloved volumes. Cycling through the main players in NYC's antiquarian and secondhand book scene, stepping through the history of dealing in rare texts and contemplating what the future might hold as technology threatens to change everything, this is a meticulously structured, deftly edited, and immensely fascinating ode to the printed word and the happiness it brings. Filmmaker DW Young doesn't make any surprising moves, but he doesn't need to, with his overall topic, his individual subjects and the world they inhabit proving as captivating as any must-read page-turner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VSaaTCrhlU IT MUST BE HEAVEN In It Must Be Heaven, Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman both directs and plays himself. He also doesn't say a single word on-screen. Serving up a slice of observational comedy, he instead bears witness to and satirises the world around him — starting in his hometown of Nazareth, then roaming to Paris, New York and Montreal. In each place, absurdity reigns. Suleiman isn't interested in overt farce, though, but in a comically heightened, expertly choreographed exploration of the type of strangeness and silliness that lingers in ordinary lives, everyday situations and widespread attitudes. Think: run-ins with authority, examples on the increasingly engrained nature of violence, pondering global tourism and ruminating on the way that one's homeland shapes identity. The ebbs and flows of Suleiman's filmmaking career provide the scantest narrative framework, complete with a brief appearance by Gael Garcia Bernal as himself; however It Must Be Heaven favours vignettes, sight gags, soulful reflection, expressive comedy and strikingly staged moments over neat storytelling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w5Ej4SF2LE MASTER CHENG The ability of food to overcome national, cultural and racial bounds — to erase barriers, bring people together and help forge new bonds — is an overused cinematic trope. So too is the healing, happiness-inducing power of a great dish, including in fish-out-of-water and down-on-one's-luck scenarios. That doesn't stop Finnish comedy Master Cheng from giving all of the above a workout, though. Here, the titular Chinese chef (Pak Hon Chu) heads to the European country with his son Nunjo (Lucas Hsuan) in tow, plans to connect with an old colleague, but finds himself forging ties in a remote village instead. Naturally, there's a slow-simmering romantic connection with a local in the form of diner owner Sirkka (Anna-Maija Tuokko). Just as expectedly, the community warms to the newcomer's presence. What helps lift Master Cheng, however, isn't filmmaker Mika Kaurismäki's love of a clearcut (and clearly sentimental) template, but the time and attention he invests in building characters, as evidenced best in the film's fleshed-out central duo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qF-TrY0hBg&feature=youtu.be ROMANTIC ROAD Many a screenwriter has probably tried to pen a similar tale, but the story of Rupert and Jan Grey, their retirement plans and the adventure that followed could've only stemmed from truth. Invited to attend a festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the couple decide to drive Rupert's father's 1936 Rolls Royce across India to get there. The journey proves revelatory and life-changing in a variety of ways; however it's the detail captured by filmmaker Oliver McGarvey and his documentary Romantic Road that couldn't be more authentic. The Greys' road trip hits obstacles, both expected and not-so. That's part of the genre, whether based on fiction or fact. Here, though, McGarvey doesn't just focus on the trek and the ensuing escapades along the way, but spends much of the film unpacking his subjects' 35-year relationship — and their motivation to add this hefty drive to their lifetime's worth of affection and memories. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhwx30NPMY4 THE TAVERNA Setting a film inside a bustling restaurant — here, the White Village Greek Tavern in Melbourne's Elsternwick — almost feels like science fiction at this very moment. With The Taverna, though, it's inspiration for modest laughs, dramas and insights, with this ensemble piece charting the action in its obvious setting across one particularly chaotic night. Owner Kostas (Vangelis Mourikis) has plenty to deal with, including a car accident involving his shady son Angelo (Christian Charisiou), trying to get his his waitress Sally (Emily O'Brien-Brown) to replace his belly dancer Jamila (Rachel Kamath), and troubles with the latter, her ex-husband Arman (Peter Paltos) and his new girlfriend Rebecca (Tottie Goldsmith). Embracing multicultural Australia to an extent that isn't always seen on local screens, the result is a warm, sometimes wavering but generally engaging film from writer/director Alkinos Tsilimidos (Silent Partner, Tom White, Em 4 Jay). From 11.59pm on Wednesday, July 1, until at least Wednesday, July 29, stay-at-home orders have been reintroduced in ten Melbourne postcodes, which means their residents can only leave for one of four reasons: work or school, care or care giving, daily exercise or food and other essentials. For more information, head to the DHHS website.
UPDATE, March 15, 2021: Deerskin is available to stream via Stan, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. You've heard the first words uttered in Deerskin before, but it's unlikely that you've heard them in this specific order: "I swear never to wear a jacket as long as I live". In the film's opening moments, three people exclaim the phrase as they dump armfuls of clothing into a car boot. Watching on, Georges (The Artist Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin) makes sure that they say the sentence in exactly the right way. The film offers no further explanation at this point, as if these dramatic declarations are the most normal thing in the world. Next, though, it shows Georges putting his own brown corduroy jacket in a public toilet, flushing, and leaving the bowl clogged and overflowing. His subsequent destination finally helps clarify what's going on, at least in part — with Deerskin's protagonist buying himself a new secondhand jacket made from the eponymous material. How far would you go for the perfect piece of clothing? And can one ideal fashion item completely change your life? They're two completely relatable questions that Deerskin ponders, after aspiring filmmaker Georges takes a strong liking to said Italian-made vintage fringed deerskin jacket. And, we mean strong. Obsessed, fanatical and passionate, even. In the way that anyone can, but that vain, middle-aged, just-divorced men are stereotypically known to, Georges is certain that this one luxurious object is perfect for him. In fact, he thinks he just can't live without it. It doesn't matter that said coat costs him nearly €8000, a price tag that most would stumble over. Similarly irrelevant: that the jacket looks just a tad too small while he's wearing it. Instead, how it makes Georges feel is far more important than any logical drawbacks — to him, at least. Also pivotal is how it catches the attention of small-town waitress and wannabe film editor Denise (Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Adèle Haenel). The latest feature by the inimitable Quentin Dupieux (also known, in his electronic music guise, as Mr Oizo), Deerskin luxuriates in Georges' devotion to the newest addition to his wardrobe. Again, that's putting it mildly. The film revels in this fixation to a purposefully absurdist, always amusing and even sometimes comically unnerving extent, especially when it comes to the character's ultimate goal: that his will be the only jacket remaining in the world, and he'll be the only person wearing it. When Georges is told that it's the jacket of his dreams before he makes the hefty purchase, it's one of many similar statements to come. When two women at a bar comment on it, he says that "it's no ordinary jacket", for example. Later, when one of them remarks on his overall appearance, he asks "don't you see my killer style?". And in bed that night, playing with the video camera that came with the coat as a package deal, he vocally and effusively lavishes praise upon the inanimate item. The above paragraph stresses the point, but so does Deerskin. If you're going to make a movie about a man's crazed fetish for a jacket, his willingness to do anything for it and his belief that it's the only jacket that should exist from this point forward — and his outlandish, even violent actions to make sure that's the case as well — there's no room for being subtle. This is a concept that requires the same level of commitment as Georges' to his beloved possession, and Dupieux doesn't hold back. That's his nature anyway, with Deerskin the latest of the writer/director's movies to fixate on an inanimate object. If you saw the French filmmaker's 2010 cult hit Rubber, about a homicidal car tyre, then you'll know just what kind of weirdness he both relishes in general and unfurls here. Dupieux makes films that instantly seem ridiculous, yet both express and interrogate their central idea with smarts as well as a sense of humour, and Deerskin couldn't better fit the bill. Still, while this French Alps-set horror-comedy is a typical Dupieux movie through and through, a few things particularly stand out. Indeed, from a resume that also includes 2012's Wrong, 2013's Wrong Cops and 2014's Réalité, this might just be the filmmaker's most accessible film to-date. The deadpan performances, including from a fantastic Dujardin, are a delight. The commentary about consumerism, male egos and the potential brutality of both at their most over-the-top proves as funny as it is astute — and even though it's also rather obvious, it's constantly entertaining. Also, the fact that the movie well and truly knows that it's stretching a thin basic idea to its most overblown extreme means that everything is a joke, and the film is all the better for it. Then there's the visual symbolism, the lingering shots, the beige-hued colour palette and the editing, too, all of which follow their own rhythm as much as anything Dupieux has ever made. But, perhaps the most impressive element of this warped, weird, always beguiling movie is that — despite the all-round offbeat premise — Dupieux never forgets that he's actually fashioning a love story here. Yes, it's a twisted, troubled romance between a man and his jacket (and, later, his deerskin hat, shoes and pants as well), but it's a romance nonetheless. In a feature that'd make a great double with Peter Strickland's In Fabric, every element of this sublimely silly, sometimes savage, 100-percent suede-coveting film is crafted with that in mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_u4YDiGH3k
UPDATE, April 16, 2021: Crawl is available to stream via Netflix, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Part creature feature and part disaster movie, Crawl is a gleeful ripper of a thriller. Not only unleashing a ferocious hurricane upon its father-daughter duo, but a congregation of snapping alligators as well, its premise is simple — what the film lacks in narrative surprises, however, it makes up for in suspense and tension. That's the holy grail of fear-inducing flicks. Regardless of the concept, if a movie can make the audience feel as if they're in the same space as the characters they're watching, enduring every bump and jump, and sharing their life-or-death terror, then it has done its job. By playing it straight, serious and scary, Crawl manages to exceed its Sharknado rip-off status to craft a highly effective battle between humans, animals and the elements. The film introduces aspiring swimming star Haley Keller (Kaya Scodelario) on a wet and windy day, although she initially misses the wild weather warnings while she's doing laps at training. A panicked call from her sister (Moryfydd Clark) doesn't rattle the no-nonsense young woman, and nor does the news that her divorced father Dave (Barry Pepper) isn't answering his phone. Still, thanks to a few unresolved daddy-daughter issues nagging at her conscience, Haley is quickly driving down the blustery highway, flagrantly ignoring police instructions and heading to their old family home. It's no spoiler to say that she discovers more than she bargained for down in their basement, with Haley soon trying to save the injured Dave, stay alive herself, fend off ravenous gators and stay ahead of rising flood waters. In telling this tale, writers Michael and Shawn Rasmussen (The Ward) haven't met a cliche they didn't love, an emotional beat they didn't want to hit, or a convenient twist of the narrative screws that they didn't want to turn. It can't be overstated just how much of Crawl, in a story sense, plays out exactly as expected. Plot developments and character decisions all stick to the usual formula, as does animal behaviour and storm surges (if you're a screenwriter, it's possible to control the very forces that your protagonists can't). But it's worth thanking the cinema gods that Alexandre Aja is sitting in the director's chair — and that he knows a thing or two about creature features and horror movies. While the French filmmaker has both hits and misses to his name (including Haute Tension, remakes of The Hills Have Eyes and Piranha, and the devilish Daniel Radcliffe flick Horns), here he masters the art of conveying an alligator's menace. Of course, it could be argued that much of Crawl's work is easy. Along with sharks, gators already rank among the most frightening beasts on the planet. Courtesy of their teeth, speed, size and power, just thinking about them gives plenty of people the shivers — so, on paper, all that an unsettling film need do is place the scaly critters front and centre. And yet, as too many Jaws wannabes have shown since Steven Spielberg's massive hit created the concept of the blockbuster as we know it, it's not enough just to throw a bunch of attacking animals at some clueless folks. As more comic takes have demonstrated in Sharknado, Snakes on a Plane and the Birdemic movies, it's not enough to write off the whole scenario as simple silliness either. There's an existential basis to the genre's underlying idea, unpacking how humanity truly copes when it's made to face nature. As a species, much of our sense of collective worth stems from our ability to shape and control our world, and yet we can't stop weather systems from morphing into destructive hurricanes, or hungry reptiles from doing what they're designed to do. Mainly lurking in the Kellers' dank, dark, rat-infested crawlspace, Crawl leans into the primal side of pitting people against the environment. Aja takes every chance to emphasise the scampering threats eager to gobble up Haley and Dave. With assistance from his regular cinematographer Maxime Alexandre, he ramps up the unease, deploying tried and tested filmmaking techniques such as low shots, quick cuts, point-of-view perspectives, dim lighting, and ample movement and shadow. A couple of gory kill sequences add to the mood, as does the movie's approach to its swirling winds and rushing water. Indeed, amid the rampant CGI, there's a sense of awe for the havoc that alligators and hurricanes can each wreak, which only heightens the stressful atmosphere. Unsurprisingly, fear and tension radiates through the film as a result — and through its key duo, too. Although Scodelario and Pepper are given about as much room for character development as their cold-blooded foes, they still bring a naturalistic air to their performances, portraying anxious everyday folks just fighting to survive by doing whatever it takes. No matter what's thrown at us, or how, or where, that's what making humanity grapple with our surroundings boils down to, after all. In fact, given the state of the planet, Crawl's central theme not only proves frightening and fuels an effective thriller, but also feels unnervingly prescient. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4WuVXo_XAM
Byron Street's Small Graces is all about the simple enjoyment of food and self, brought to life by husband and wife duo Bec Howell and Diego Portilla Carreño. Here, they've combined an impressive resume of fine dining experience with a vast knowledge of healthy eating habits. The result is a menu of inventive brunch dishes, toasties, and tasty small bites and sides; the latter designed to level-up a meal, or be mixed and matched for a share plate. Menu standouts include the huevos pericos — Colombian-style spiced scrambled eggs teamed with avocado and fluffy corn cakes — and the curried roast chicken toastie with garlic aioli and stuffing. Bread is sourced from Dench Bakers, with coffee from Kensington mainstay Rumble. You'll also find a larger than average selection of fine teas, as well as a number of house-made smoothies and juices. [caption id="attachment_809954" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jess Bicknell[/caption] Images: Jess Bicknell
Set amongst the rolling hills of Wahgunyah in the Rutherglen region, family-owned, heritage-listed winery All Saints Estate is now home to this stellar flagship restaurant. It's named KIN in a nod to the relationship tying All Saints co-owners, siblings Eliza, Nick and Angela Brown. Part of the winery's multimillion-dollar redevelopment, the 120-seat restaurant is housed within a 159-year-old heritage-listed castle, its indoor-outdoor space transformed into a light-filled dining oasis courtesy of acclaimed firm Technē. With stints at the likes of Jackalope and Bistro Guillaume under his belt, KIN's Executive Chef Jack Cassidy is plating up a menu that heroes regional produce and the estate's own wines, drawing inspiration from long-held Brown family recipes. It's also brimming with produce grown onsite. You'll experience it all via a two- or three-course set spread ($75/95) of modern Australian flavours. Perhaps you'll tuck into a kangaroo tartare elevated with black garlic and rye, rainbow trout paired with dill and smoked chilli, or an assembly of roast eggplant, bush tomato and kale. Bone marrow might be served alongside a top-quality piece of striploin with a marble score of four, while pumpkin is teamed with caramelised whey and ricotta salata. And dessert fiends can look forward to creations like the compressed strawberry matched with sorbet made on the All Saints Estate Durif. Wines come courtesy of All Saints' renowned catalogue, as well as fellow Brown family winery St Leonards Vineyard. A crop of local beers and booze-free drops rounds out the fun. Images: Kate Shanasy
UPDATE, September 29, 2023: Cocaine Bear is available to stream via Netflix, Binge, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Killer trailer, filler flick: that's the Cocaine Bear story. This loosely based-on-a-true-tale horror-comedy sports a Snakes on a Plane-style moniker that sums up its contents perfectly, as the sneak peek that arrived at the end of 2022 made enticingly clear. Going heavy on the so-OTT-it-can-only-be-real vibe, that initial glimpse also tasked Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) with exclaiming a couple more sentences to express the utter bewilderment that this story sparks. "The bear, it fucking did cocaine. A bear did cocaine!" he shouts, and with exactly the right amount of infectious incredulity. That is indeed what happened in reality back in 1985, after all, and it's what Elizabeth Banks brings to the screen in her third stint as a director after Pitch Perfect 2 and Charlie's Angels — always playing it, for better when it's at its goriest and for worse when it stretches its idea thinner than a white line, like wild tale that it inescapably is. Yes, almost four decades ago, an American black bear did cocaine when drug smuggler Andrew C Thornton (Matthew Rhys, Perry Mason) dropped a hefty pile of the narcotic from the air. The stash landed in the wilderness, catching the attention of the world's most unlikely coke fiend in Georgia's Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. The creature ripped open the white powder-filled containers, then ingested — and Cocaine Bear endeavours to have fun hypothesising what could've come next. On-screen, a rampage by the critter now-nicknamed Pablo Escobear ensues, with blood, guts and limbs flung around; the body count mounting like Michael Myers is doing the offing (or maybe Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey's other recent ravenous bear); and two words getting screamed over and over. They're just the terms a picture called Cocaine Bear was always bound to focus on: cocaine and bear, obviously. To be fair to the characters in Banks' film, if you came face to face with a bear doing cocaine, you'd likely yell about it loudly and often as well. Here, the folks doing the bellowing are all 100-percent fictional, and mostly disposable. Nurse and single mother Sari (Keri Russell, Antlers) learns of the cocaine bear after her daughter Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project) skips school with classmate Henry (Christian Convery, Sweet Tooth) and ends up in the hopped-up mammal's path. St Louis-based drug kingpin Syd (Ray Liotta, The Many Saints of Newark) has his son Eddie (Ehrenreich) and dealer underling Daveed (O'Shea Jackson Jr, Obi-Wan Kenobi) actively looking for the coke, while Tennessee detective Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr, Da 5 Bloods) is actively looking for them after Thornton's death. And, tourists Olaf (Kristofer Hivju, Game of Thrones) and Elsa (Hannah Hoekstra, Faithfully Yours) just happen to be hiking in the park that day, while Ranger Liz (Margo Martindale, The Watcher) and wildlife expert Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family) are onsite doing their regular jobs. In the leadup to Cocaine Bear's release, a free Pac-Man-style game hit the web — you play as the bear, snorting energy from lines, packets, piles and bags of cocaine, running around a maze and chomping down as many people as you can. Cocaine Bear, the picture, runs on the same simple thrill, just without anyone mashing buttons to make the animal get devouring. Accordingly, when the bear is coked-up and carnivorous, the flick revels in comedic creature-feature bloodlust and slapstick. A mid-movie ambulance chase and its aftermath is highly inspired and highly amusing, and just as gloriously ridiculous as it should be. The sequence's action choreography, pacing (thanks to editor Joel Negron, Jungle Cruise) and cinematography (via John Guleserian, Candyman) vibrates with a buzz, and nails the B-movie tone that Banks and screenwriter Jimmy Warden (The Babysitter: Killer Queen) are overtly pawing at. Do bears shit in the woods? Yes. Does Cocaine Bear struggle with almost everything around its woodland carnage? Yes again. Alas, if someone isn't being torn to pieces — and each death honestly could be anyone, with more and more supporting figures popping up but everyone lucky to be one-note — the film is about as convincing as its clunky CGI. The script strains so hard for low-hanging laughs around the mauling, which is where all those squawks about cocaine and bears come in, that it's a surprise that no one declares "I've had it with this muthafuckin' bear on this muthafuckin' cocaine". And trying to wring emotions out of parent-child bonds and loss just feels pointless; viewers are here for drug-addled ursine attacks in as many inventive ways as possible, not for cheap heartstring-tugging that does the bear minimum. Banks' cast put in as much effort as they're asked to, sniffing up the trashy 80s mood as they navigate all that bear-induced chaos. From Russell as a determined mum, Rhys' brief cameo as the man who starts it all and Martindale as a lovelorn ranger — all The Americans co-stars — through to the late, great Liotta in one of his last roles, the bickering-and-bantering Ehrenreich and Jackson, and Prince and Convery almost doing a Moonrise Kingdom parody, they're all visibly having a good time. Cocaine Bear isn't as much sustained fun for its audience, however, but it sure wants to be. Its trailer is a killer in two ways: supremely entertaining, and also everything it needed to be in less than three minutes, ensuring that a full film, even a concise 95-minute one, was destined to seem bloated in comparison. A silly slasher, but about a high-and-hungry bear getting grizzly: that's Cocaine Bear at its most engaging, and it's easy to see a gleefully absurd direct-to-streaming franchise springing with instalments like Methamphetamine Monkey and Ecstasy Alligator following — all with diminishing returns. Of course, every animal-attack movie will always pale in comparison to the wildest one there is, aka 1981's lion flick Roar, which'll also rumble to mind when anyone attempts to follow in its footsteps. That's the kind of predator pandemonium that Banks doesn't realise you can't set out to make, but becomes a cult film on its own tumultuous and messy merits. IRL, the cocaine bear that inspired Cocaine Bear didn't munch its way through the park's visitors, with the actual creature now stuffed and on display at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall — a far blander fate than Cocaine Bear posits, but one just as padded.
The COVID-19 situation in Australia is changing every day, with the federal government first implementing a ban on non-essential events with more than 500 people and then mandating that everyone arriving from overseas self-isolate for 14 days. In response to the first restriction, events and venues around the country are cancelling and postponing their 2020 plans. This is having devastating impacts on the local hospitality, arts and music industries, with I Lost My Gig Australia reporting that, as of midday on Monday, March 16, 20,000 events have been cancelled, which has impacted 190,000 Australians and equated to $47 million in lost income. And those numbers are continuing to climb. While going out might not be at the top of your to-do list right now, you can continue to support these industries and businesses by buying from artists who've had their shows cancelled, ordering gift cards and merch from venues that are struggling or just booking in a dinner for that birthday a few months away. To keep you abreast of what's been cancelled, postponed and suspended, here's our live list, updated as it happens. [caption id="attachment_710789" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sydney Royal Easter Show.[/caption] SYDNEY All ANZAC Day commemoration services across NSW (April 25): cancelled All City of Sydney aquatic and fitness centres: closed until at least April 3 All non-essential indoor venues, including casinos, gyms, cinemas, places of worship, clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes (can offer takeaway and delivery only): temporarily closed Alliance Francaise Film Festival (March 10–April 8): postponed from March 19 Art Gallery of NSW: temporarily closed Biennale of Sydney: cancelled Bluesfest (April 9–14): cancelled Carriageworks: temporarily closed (Saturday farmers markets will proceed) Comedy Steps Up for Bushfire Relief (March 16): cancelled Download Festival (March 21): cancelled Festival of Dangerous Ideas (April 3–5): cancelled Handa Opera (March 27–April 26): cancelled Happy Place (until May 3): postponed Momo Fest (April 18): postponed No Coal Zone (March 14): postponed Opera Australia's Carmen, Atilla and Great Opera Hits: cancelled until March 28 Palace Cinemas: all locations closed from March 19 Royal Easter Show (April 3–14): cancelled So Pop 2020 (April 25): cancelled Spanish Film Festival (April–May): postponed until August, with new dates TBC Splendour in the Grass (July 24–26): postponed until October 23–25 Sydney Film Festival (June 3–14): cancelled Sydney Writers' Festival (April 27–May 3): cancelled Sydney Opera House: all performances cancelled until June 17 Taronga Zoo: temporarily closed The Other Air Fair (March 20–23): postponed Vivid Sydney (May 22–June 13): cancelled [caption id="attachment_710610" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ability Fest by Alex Drewniak[/caption] MELBOURNE Ability Fest (April 4): cancelled All ANZAC Day Commemorative services across Victoria (April 25): public cannot attend All City of Melbourne libraries, recreation centres and cultural and arts centres: temporarily closed All non-essential indoor venues, including casinos, gyms, cinemas, places of worship, clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes (can offer takeaway and delivery only): temporarily closed Alliance Francaise Film Festival (March 11–April 8): postponed from March 19 Arts Centre Melbourne: closed until April 13 Cirque du Soleil Kurios: suspended until further notice Download Festival (March 21): cancelled Fromage a Trois (March 22): cancelled Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: suspended until April 12 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (March 19–29): postponed until spring Melbourne International Comedy Festival (March 25–April 19): cancelled Melbourne Queer Film Festival (March 12–23): postponed Melbourne Museum: closed until further notice Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: postponed until April 13 (but it is live-streaming select shows) Momo Fest (April 4–5): postponed National Gallery of Victoria: closed until April 13 Open Weekend (March 21–22): cancelled Palace Cinemas: all locations closed from March 19 So Pop 2020 (May 1): cancelled Spanish Film Festival (April–May): postponed until August, with new dates TBC State Library Victoria: closed until further notice Sweetstock (March 28–29): cancelled The Other Art Fair (May 21–24): postponed Wine Machine (March 28): postponed until October 31 World Tour Bushfire Relief (March 13): cancelled Wall to Wall Festival (April 3–5): postponed [caption id="attachment_764598" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Westpac OpenAir[/caption] BRISBANE All non-essential indoor venues, including casinos, gyms, cinemas, places of worship, clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes (can offer takeaway and delivery only): closed All ANZAC Day commemoration services across Qld (April 25): cancelled Alliance Francaise Film Festival (March 18–April 14): postponed The Big Pineapple Music Festival (May 30): postponed until early October — new date TBC Boho Luxe Market (April 17–19): postponed until September 25–27 Brisbane Comedy Festival: cancelled from March 16 onwards Brisbane Gin Festival (April 4): postponed until September 19 Brisbane Night Market (weekly on Fridays): closed until further notice, with all events cancelled Buddha Birthday Festival (May 1–3): cancelled Burgers and Beers (March 21+27): cancelled Cat Cuddle Twilight Market (March 27): postponed — new date TBC Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (March 18–April 19): cancelled Curiocity Brisbane (March 20–April 5): cancelled The Drop Festival Coolangatta (March 28): cancelled Eat Street Northshore: closed until further notice Fish Lane Festival (May 9): postponed until September 5 The Foundry: closed until further notice, with all events cancelled Gigs & Picnics (March 28, April 25, May 30): monthly events postponed until June 27 Gold Coast Film Festival (April 15–26): cancelled Greener Pastures (May 3): cancelled Green Jam Sessions (weekly on Fridays): all sessions cancelled until at least April 30 HOTA, Home of the Arts: closed until March 31 James St Up Late (March 26): cancelled Momo Fest (April 12): postponed — new date TBC Mould: A Cheese Festival (March 20–21): postponed — new date TBC Mov'In Bed Cinema (March 27–May 17): postponed until the last quarter of 2020 — new dates TBC Netherworld: closed from Wednesday, March 18 until at least the end of March, with all events cancelled Noosa Eat & Drink Festival (May 14–17): cancelled Not On Your Rider (March 26 and April 30): cancelled, with events likely to restart in October Palace Cinemas: all locations closed from March 19 The Planting Festival (May 1–3): cancelled The Plant Market (March 29): postponed — new date TBC Puppies and Pints (April 5): cancelled Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art: both galleries remain open, including GOMA's Australian Cinemathque, but all public programs, events and tours have been cancelled Queensland Performing Arts Centre: all theatres closed until at least April 30 Queensland Symphony Orchestra: all performances cancelled until April 30 Stones Corner Festival (May 3): cancelled Water Up Late (March 20–21): cancelled So Pop 2020 (April 24): cancelled Spanish Film Festival (April–May): postponed until August, with new dates TBC Westpac OpenAir (April 5–26): postponed — new date TBC World Science Festival Brisbane (March 25–29): cancelled The Village Markets Stones Corner (March 27): cancelled for March, with a decision about future markets due by March 27 Young Henrys Rock N Roll Circus (March 19): postponed — new date TBC To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Vivid
Thought meditation retreats were all about early wake-up calls and lots of serious silences? Well, not anymore. Say hello to Soundscape, a new three-day sensory experience to be held in NSW's Southern Highlands this March. A wellness getaway that breaks the mould, this one's focused on music, food and great company. It's the brainchild of the team at Surry Hills mindfulness studio The Indigo Project, a progressive practice that runs naptime and mindful pasta-making classes, and relatable courses like Get Your Shit Together. And it's being helmed by a trio that describes themselves as "an experimental chef, a rebel psychologist and an electronic music producer". Over one weekend at Highball House, they'll guide guests through an exploration of sound, designed to help recharge, connect and unravel all that stress. Forget about any 'hippy' stuff — here, you'll take meditative walks through the forest, feel inspired during guided creativity sessions and experience fun sound immersion sessions based around The Indigo Project's popular Listen Up workshops. And with Love Supreme chef Harry Bourne helping to run the show, boring food is definitely not part of the agenda. Instead, enjoy gourmet eats at every meal and have your mind blown wide open during a series of curated food and music experiences. "We felt that it was time to re-imagine your typical meditation retreat format," says The Indigo Project founder and head psychologist Mary Hoang. "People are in for a colourful, deep, creative journey into their minds." If this sounds like your bag, you'll probably be interested in Yoga Cucina, a yoga, wine and pasta-filled retreat that takes place a couple of times a year also in the Southern Highlands. Soundscape will run from March 16–18, at Highball House, Bundanoon in NSW's Southern Highlands. Places cost between $595 and $1390 for the weekend. To book or for more info, visit theindigoproject.com.au.
Become the most mindful version of yourself at Melbourne's new multidisciplinary meditation studio. Now open on Glasshouse Road in Collingwood, A—SPACE is a place where busy professionals can escape from the pressures of everyday life. "It's a nourishing environment," says co-founder Josh Lynch, "that allows people to slow down, take a breath and feel like they're part of a community." Both Lynch and his business partner Manoj Dias have a background in marketing and know full well the difficulties of maintaining work/life balance. "I know what it's like to feel the weight of your working life pile up on your shoulders and not know how to remove it," says Dias. "Drinking more coffee than your body can handle, taking on more and more tasks and feeling like you can't switch off." "We wanted to create a space for people to slow down, breathe and engage in meaningful connections," he adds. To that end, A—SPACE offers a range of classes and workshops, from mindfulness meditation to pranayama techniques to yoga nidra. Classes start at $20, or you can invest in a membership. A—SPACE also has a number of corporate options for employers and their teams. With meditation having been found to make people happier and more productive, it seems like a worthwhile investment. Find A—SPACE at 5 Glasshouse Road, Collingwood. For more information visit www.a-space.com.au
UPDATE: November 23, 2023 — We've arranged an exclusive package to help you make the most of Mona Foma 2024. Book with Concrete Playground Trips and you'll have accommodation, ferry transfers, festival tickets and more all sorted, from just AUD$600 per person. There is only a limited number of packages available, though, so secure your booking here ASAP. Dark Mofo might be taking a breather in 2024, except for a few beloved events, but Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) will still be embracing summer at Mona Foma. The sunny counterpart to the Apple Isle's moody winter fest has locked in its return from Thursday, February 15–Sunday, February 25, 2024 in Hobart, and from Thursday, February 29–Sunday, March 3, 2024 in Launceston. It has also dropped one helluva getaway-worthy lineup. Back in October, Queens of the Stone Age announced an Australia tour for 2024, and were also revealed as the first act on Mona Foma's program for the year. At the latter, they'll have no shortage of company. Also on the music bill: Courtney Barnett, TISM, Paul Kelly, Mogwai, Shonen Knife, and Cash Savage and The Last Drinks, for starters. [caption id="attachment_923480" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pooneh Ghana.[/caption] Making a Tassie stop on her latest tour, Barnett's show features two sets. To begin with, she'll work through album End of the Day — aka the score to the Barnett-focused documentary Anonymous Club — with Stella Mozgawa. After that, she'll dive into the rest of her catalogue of tunes. Now that TISM are back playing live together — something that only started happening again in 2022 after 19 years without gigs — the Australian legends will bust out 'Greg! The Stop Sign!', 'Whatareya' and 'Ol' Man River' at Cataract Gorge. The Ron Hitler-Barassi-led band are part of a free one-day event at the stunning site during Mona Foma's Launceston weekend, as are Cash Savage and The Last Drinks. Head along and you'll also enjoy morning meditations to start the day, and hear from Mulga Bore Hard Rock and FFLORA + Grace Chia. [caption id="attachment_926549" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Moshcam[/caption] Still on tunes, Kelly will be focusing on his 2022 compilation Time, while Mogwai and Shonen Knife are part of the returning lawn-set Mona Sessions — as are fellow overseas talents Holy Fuck, Wednesday, Michael Rother and Friends (playing Neu! songs), and Lonnie Holley with Moor Mother and Irreversible Entanglements. Clearly, there'll be no shortage of musicians to listen to. Darren Hanlon, Bree van Reyk and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra are teaming up; Isaac et Nora, the 14- and 11-year-old French-Korean siblings, will perform Latin-American songs they've learned by ear; and producer Filastine and singer Nova, one based in Barcelona and the other hailing from Indonesia, will provide live tunes on a 70-tonne sailing ship's deck to muse on the climate crisis as part of Arka Kinari. DJs will get spinning beneath James Turrell's Armana at Mona as well, and Mona Foma artists will be hitting up the Frying Pan Studios to jam and record. [caption id="attachment_926554" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wei-Tsan Liu.[/caption] Emeka Ogboh's contribution to the program is also a big highlight, coming via exhibition Boats. Here, the Nigerian artist ponders migration as part of an experience that boasts its own gin — as made with native Tasmanian and West African botanicals — plus snacks, conversation and a sound installation. Also set to impress: Taiwanese artist Yahon Chang getting painting on a 20-metre-by-15-metre canvas at Princes Wharf 1, including using a brush that's human-sized, in a performance that'll blend calligraphy, art, meditation, kung fu and tai chi. [caption id="attachment_926552" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Amy Brown, image courtesy of Street Eats @ Franko Hobart and Mona Foma.[/caption] Other Mona Foma 2024 standouts include the world-premiere of Anito, a solo performance by Justin Shoulder that takes its cues from queer club culture, plus everything from theatre and dance to visual arts and installations; Dancenorth's latest production Wayfinder, which includes Hiromi Tango on design duties and music from Hiatus Kaiyote; party venue Faux Mo returning, but in a new home at The Granada Tavern; and a Street Eats night food and drink market pop-up. "Mona Foma wrangles over 500 performers and artists from places as far flung as Nigeria, Taiwan, Rajasthan and Launceston into a veritable orgy of creativity. If you can't find something to do, then you're dead — but then you wouldn't be reading this," said Mona Foma Artistic Director Brian Ritchie, announcing the 2024 lineup. "So, buy tickets, except for TISM, which is free. One of the most reclusive bands (only three gigs in twenty years) for free in amongst the most unique water feature of any urban environment, qualifies as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Carpe diem." [caption id="attachment_923130" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andreas Neumann[/caption] [caption id="attachment_926548" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ivan trigo Miras[/caption] [caption id="attachment_926545" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nick McKinlay[/caption] [caption id="attachment_926546" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Naomi Beveridge[/caption] [caption id="attachment_926547" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lisa Businovski[/caption] [caption id="attachment_926550" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Akira Shibata[/caption] Mona Foma will take place from Thursday, February 15–Sunday, February 25, 2024 in Hobart, and from Thursday, February 29–Sunday, March 3, 2024 in Launceston. Tickets go on sale at 10am AEDT on Tuesday, November 21 — head to the festival website for further details. Top image: Steve Cook. All images courtesy of the artist and Mona Foma. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Vivid Sydney is always a calendar highlight and, after two consecutive cancellations, we need it more than ever. The 2022 iteration is the first festival helmed by director Gill Minervini and it promises to be bigger, better and brighter. The famous Light Walk now stretches an impressive eight kilometres from the Sydney Opera House to Central Station, new venues have been added to the program and there are city-wide events that celebrate all that makes Sydney great through a lens of creativity. It's practically impossible to narrow down the recommendations to just a handful of events but here are seven highlights that represent the best of Vivid Sydney 2022 and deserve a place on your hit list.
It's the time of the year when the days begin to shorten, the evenings get cooler and your stomach starts grumbling for comfort food. But, while that'll remain true for the next few months, only one particular day will bring free tacos. Tex-Mex giant Taco Bell has been steadily opening stores around the country since 2017, with a new Sydney store in Green Square launching on Tuesday, May 4 — and it's doing a big giveaway nationwide on the same day. If you're a big fan of Mexican-inspired food and you live in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, chances are you've already started to make your way through the brand's extensive menu. If you haven't tried its Crunchy Taco Supreme, though, this is your chance. Or, if you have and you just like freebies, count yourself in as well. Either way, on Tuesday, May 4 , you can pick one up at any Taco Bell location nationwide without paying a cent. There is a catch, though. This free taco day, as Taco Bell is calling it, is themed around the moon — because the chain has decided to name the half-moon the 'taco moon'. So, to get your freebie, you need to mention 'taco moon' or say 'I saw the taco moon' when you get to the counter. Yes, it's a gimmick, but if you've already spent this week obsessing over all things lunar due to the 'pink' supermoon, you'll be in the right mental space for it. Also, there's a limit of one free taco per person, so you won't be able to stuff your stomach full of them. What's a Crunchy Taco Supreme? A crunchy taco, as the name suggests, as filled with seasoned beef, sour cream, fresh lettuce, tomato and cheese — or black beans for vegetarians. If you happen to be one of the first 20 people through the door at each store, you'll also score a taco moon party kit — which includes merchandise. And if you're wondering where to head, Taco Bell has stores in Albion Park, Ballina, Blacktown and Jesmond in New South Wales — plus the about-to-launch Green Square, which'll be the closest venue to the Sydney CBD. In Victoria, the chain is located in Altona North, Hawthorn, Roxburgh Park and South Yarra. For Queenslanders, you'll be going to Annerley, Beenleigh, Cairns, Cleveland, Currajong, East Ipswich, Keperra, Logan Central, Morayfield, North Lakes, Robina and Southport. Taco Bell is offering free Crunchy Taco Supremes to every customer who mentions 'taco moon' on Tuesday, May 4. To find your nearest store, head to the chain's website.
Some travellers can't help but plan every aspect of their trip down to the minute. But if you're keen to skip the calendar reminders and document organisers on your next holiday, Intrepid Travel has the ideal itinerary to help you step into the unknown. Just released, the 14-day 'Uncharted Expedition' departs from Harare, Zimbabwe and ends at the Island of Mozambique, but the 2400 kilometres in between remain a complete mystery to travellers. Hosted by one of Intrepid's most experienced leaders, the Uncharted Expedition is designed to help travellers embrace the unknown and feel more immersed in unexpected experiences instead of an overly curated minute-to-minute journey. On this adventure, guests can expect to travel mostly by overland truck, staying overnight in tents and locally owned hotels. By day, you'll swim in waterfalls, hike to mountaintops and forge connections with locals through varied cultural encounters. "We run trips in over 120 countries and know our travellers always look to us to uncover new and exciting places to travel. This itinerary is intrepid in every sense of the word and I am confident that this will be our best mystery trip yet," says Erica Kritikides, General Manager of Experiences at Intrepid Travel. While the itinerary might be mostly a secret to travellers, the crew behind the trip has got you covered. This being the second Uncharted Expedition, the original adventure saw 34 travellers from around the globe navigate from Kazakhstan to Mongolia through Russia's Altai region, home to soaring mountain ranges and scenic river valleys. The concept harkens back to Intrepid's origins, when the company's co-founders placed ads in newspapers searching for adventurous people to join them on trips to less-visited destinations. Ready to let curiosity guide you? The Uncharted Expedition has just opened for bookings, with 2026 departure dates scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, and Wednesday, August 12. Just note that due to the popularity of this adventure, intrigued travellers must first register their interest, with 21 people randomly selected for each trip. The expedition costs $7250, with travellers requiring a solid fitness level. "This mystery trip taps into the nostalgia of our earliest Intrepid trips, where every journey held an element of surprise and the unknown. It appeals to the most intrepid travellers — those with a sense of adventure who are prepared to take a leap of faith and go well beyond the beaten path," says Kritikides. Intrepid's Uncharted Expedition is now open for expressions of interest, with 21 travellers selected at random for each 2026 departure date. Head to the website for more information.
It's a tough time to be a little guy, with so much of the country in lockdown once again. Many of our local producers rely on farmer's markets to distribute their products, so last year, Sydney's favourite butter churners Pepe Saya Butter Co launched Aussie Artisan Week to encourage Australians to support our nations' small cheesemakers, gin distilleries and mushroom harvesters. After a successful inaugural year, Aussie Artisan Week is back and running from Monday, August 16 until Monday, August 23. Right across the week, Pepe Saya is spreading the local love and encouraging you to check out some of this country's finest artisan producers. The Aussie Artisan Week's Instagram is featuring stories from a raft of its favourite food businesses — and you'll find a growing directory of producers over on its website complete with handy links on where to buy their wares. If you're organising a next-level breakfast for Saturday morning, start with NSW's Crumpets by Merna and Bondi Yoghurt, Northern Territory's Alice Bakery, Queensland's My Berries and of course Pepe Saya Butter Co. Or, if you're planning a fancy night in, you can hit up Cupitt's Estate winery, Kangaroo Valley Olives and Great Southern Truffles. To kick things off, Pepe Saya has also just launched a collaboration with local spread Oomite to create a luxe Vegemite-esque spread that combines Pepe Saya butter, umami and Oomite marble. The Oomite butter is available online in 100-gram wheels.
Sweet or savoury? For Lune Croissanterie customers, that's a regular question. In August, when the world-famous pastry haven serves up its last round of monthly specials, it remains a pressing query. Do you want to tuck into a lolly bag-inspired cruffin or a béchamel-filled lasagne pastry, for instance? Yes, you can go for both — and also coconut pandan croissants, hazelnut puddings and 'turtle' twice-baked pains au chocolat. That's how Lune is seeing out winter 2024, and you've got 31 days to tuck in. If the croissant-muffin hybrids are tempting your tastebuds, they're party pop cruffins, featuring fruit gel, whipped white chocolate custard and apple raspberry pâte de fruits inside — and a raspberry glaze and feuilletine on top, then popping candy. As for the lasagne escargots, this returning Frankenstein's monster of a bakery creation comes stuffed with bolognese and béchamel. There's also shredded mozzarella cheese, because of course there is. And, that pastry is then topped with parmesan before it goes in the oven. The twice-baked coconut pandan croissants feature coconut frangipane and pandan ganache inside, then more coconut frangipane on top with icing sugar and toasted coconut. Grab a hazelnut pudding and you'll taste frangelico caramel, crushed hazelnuts and hazelnut financier, then caramel, praline cream and hazelnuts to garnish. And the pains au chocolat also go nutty, courtesy of roasted pecans within and candied pecans on top — to pair with the pastry's chocolate frangipane, salted caramel, chocolate powder, fudge sauce and salted caramel sauce. Different options are available at different stores — with the lasagne escargot and the pains au chocolat on offer at all Lune spots in Melbourne (Fitzroy, the CBD and Armadale) and Brisbane (South Brisbane and Burnett Lane). You can't get the party pop cruffins, coconut pandan croissants or hazelnut puddings at the Melbourne CBD store, however, and you can't preorder online from there, either. Lune's August specials are available from Thursday, August 1–Saturday, August 31, 2024. Different items available from different stores, with Lune operating at Fitzroy, the CBD and Armadale in Melbourne, and South Brisbane and Burnett Lane in Brisbane — and from everywhere except the Melbourne CBD, you can also order them online. Images: Peter Dillon.
Thought Nutella's time in the limelight was coming to an end? Well, you might want to think again. Tella Balls Dessert Bar — Sydney's temple to OTT Nutella creations — is now open in Melbourne. The self-proclaimed 'king of desserts' launched its first Victorian dessert bar in Melbourne Central on Monday, March 5. The sixth addition to the Tella Balls family, this one comes two years after the original opened its doors in NSW's Dulwich Hill. If you've encountered these Nutella-filled dishes before — possibly on Instagram — you'll know subtlety's not a Tella Balls strongpoint. Instead, expect a menu of very tricked-up treats like a dessert lasagne, doughnut cones loaded with ice cream and Nutella, waffle burgers as big as your head, filled doughnuts, and a fettuccine-like crepe creation dubbed 'pastatella'. There's even a sweet version of 'fish and chips', starring deep fried ice cream and doughnut fries. Australia did go a little crazy over Nutella around 2015, holding a festival dedicated to the stuff and causing a nation-wide shortage — which makes this opening seem a little behind the trend. But Tella Balls' other outlets seem to be going strong, so we'll see if this is enough to rekindle Melbourne's love affair with the humble choc-hazelnut spread. Tella Balls Dessert Bar is now open within Melbourne Central. For more info, visit tellaballsdessertbar.com.au. Images: Bodhi Liggett. Updated: March 27, 2018.
Footy's biggest day is here, and as you might expect, it's taking over the entire city. If you're looking to do more than kick around at home, just about every pub, bar and restaurant puts on a game-day screening with the perks to match. From catching the action in the shadow of the 'G to refined encounters fit for the prawn sandwich brigade, these Grand Final experiences will see you through from siren-to-siren and beyond, whether you're a Cat, a Lion or someone without a dog in this fight. The Posty, Cremorne The Posty has a simple formula: pizza, margs and good times. But for the Grand Final, the crew is switching things up, hosting a laneway party decked out with the only megascreen on Swan Street. Taking over from 10am–late, this live and loud experience will keep rocking long after the siren sounds, with this hallowed strip often the go-to spot for post-match revellers. [caption id="attachment_1021356" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Zennieshia Butts[/caption] Hickens Hotel, CBD Hickens Hotel is a new addition to the CBD pub scene, but it's undoubtedly primed for the last Saturday in September. On Level 2, Abe's Athletic Hall offers wall-to-wall screens, made even better with booth packages, a pair of private viewing rooms and post-game bands. Meanwhile, the ultra-retro Carlton Lounge is ripe for waxing lyrical about the sport's greatest moments. Quarterhouse, Docklands Quarterhouse is another new arrival, offering three levels of top-notch drinking and dining opposite Southern Cross Station. The venue is going sky-high for the Grand Final, presenting an exclusive Rooftop Viewing Party. Featuring a four-metre screen, roaming canapés, bottomless drinks and live entertainment before and after the siren, you're invited to score the basic package for $110 per person. Post Office Club Hotel, St Kilda Sorry, Saints fans, the Premiership drought continues. But at least the Post Office Club Hotel, a much-loved local, ensures those in and around St Kilda catch all the action. Stacked with pre-game specials and elevated pub cuisine for the big occasion, The Posty has Coopers pale ale pints for $10 and schooners for $8 from 12pm until it's time for the first bounce. Marmont, Southbank Punters will flock to Crown on Grand Final day. However, you might skip the gaming floors for the restaurants, as Marmont is complementing its screening with limited-edition bar snacks. Renowned for its Cali-inspired flavours, this is your chance to bypass frozen pies and sausage rolls for slightly more refined options, like buffalo wings with blue cheese dressing and Marmont-style hot dogs. Le Méridien Melbourne, CBD With the MCG within walking distance of Le Méridien, there's a good chance the sounds of footy fever will reach the five-star stay come Saturday. From inside the hotel's luxe Intermission Bar, you'll catch every second of the game on multiple screens, while enjoying $10 beers all day alongside a special siren-to-siren beer, pie and salad combo for $20. Harvey's Sports Bar & Grill, St Kilda Harvey's Sports Bar & Grill is hard to beat when it comes to catching live sports. Yet it's taking things to the next level for the match with Harvey's AFL Grand Party Final. Priced at $110 per person, this four-hour experience features bottomless canapes and drinks. Plus, live DJs, bands and drink specials kick off from the final siren until 3am, making for an all-in final's footy event. Beverly, South Yarra Melbourne goes more than a little mad for the AFL Grand Final. However, not everyone cares about who can kick it through the big sticks best. With this in mind, Beverly is hosting Ladies Lunch — an elevated experience on the 24th floor offering a two-course shared set menu highlighting the venue's most beloved dishes. This way, you can relish the citywide atmosphere without feigning interest in who wins out. Want even more options for catching the game? Check out these beer gardens and bottomless banquets screening the AFL's biggest day.
Big changes are afoot for the Queen Victoria Market precinct, with the area getting an extensive (and expensive) spruce. In the latest news on the renewal, the green light has been given to a planning permit for a multi-million dollar mixed-used development that was lodged last year. Acting Lord Mayor Arron Wood revealed the final plans for the Munro site — which is the building that, up until last year, housed The Mercat — will feature a huge $70 million of community facilities, to keep up with the area's predicted growth of over 22,000 by 2040. "The City of Melbourne purchased this site from the Munro family for $76 million in 2014 to inoculate against inappropriate development and prevent a supermarket or large chain stores or franchises being built on the site, in direct competition to fresh food offerings of the Queen Vic," the Acting Lord Mayor said. The council has contracted PDG Corporation to develop the site under the provision that it will incorporate "vital community infrastructure" alongside commercial property. This means that the Munro site will include a 120-place childcare facility, 56 affordable housing units, a services centre, a gallery, new laneways, a community centre and kitchen and beefed-up customer parking. Perhaps most controversial part of the plan has been the addition of a new high-rise tower that will sit at the eastern end of the development towards La Trobe Street. PDG initially wanted this structure to be 60 storeys, but the council last year imposed a height limit of 125 metres, which would cut it down to around 40 storeys. This will most likely house residential apartments, a hotel and retail spaces. The development's approval comes after Melbourne City Council's original plans for the precinct were challenged by Heritage Victoria this March. As reported by The Age, that proposal suggested temporarily removing four of the market's historic sheds to make way for underground parking and trades service areas, though the heritage authority voiced concerns over whether the buildings could be returned in their original condition. The approved Munro build will instead see underground car parking incorporated elsewhere on the site, with the existing asphalt car park transformed into 1.5 hectares of public open space. It's pegged to be a world-class sustainable development, in keeping with other innovative City of Melbourne projects like the Library at the Dock and the Council House 2 developments. Development of the site is set to start this year.
In cinemas, on TV and on the page, the past decade or so has served up more than a couple of Nordic noir hits. It's also left audiences wanting more. So, when Australia's annual Scandinavian Film Festival rolls around each year — sitting out 2020 for obvious reasons, though — it tends to deliver a few twisty thrillers from that part of the world. In fact, when 2021's fest kicks off in Sydney on Tuesday, July 6 — and plays Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and Byron Bay as well — it'll start with a must-see new entry in the Scandi-noir genre. Hailing from Denmark, opening night's Wildland stars Sidse Babette Knudsen (Borgen, Westworld) as the head of a family crime syndicate. She's charged with looking after her teenage niece and, in a movie that instantly brings Australia's own Animal Kingdom to mind, the latter soon learns more about the family business. Also on this year's Scandinavian Film Festival lineup: Knudsen again in Copenhagen-set psychological thriller The Exception; masterful and engaging Norwegian film Disco, about an evangelical dance champion who finds her faith tested; and surreal mother-daughter drama Psychosis in Stockholm. Or, for fans of Nordic cinema's big names, relationship drama Hope co-stars Stellan Skarsgård (Chernobyl), musical comedy A Piece of My Heart sees Swedish-born actor Malin Akerman (Rampage) back on home turf, and The Country hails from Icelandic filmmaker Grímur Hákonarson — who directed Rams, which was remade in Australia last year. Other highlights include Icelandic box office hits Agnes Joy and The Last Fishing Trip, the latter of which has been compared to The Hangover; Finnish biopics Helene and Tove, about painter Helene Schjerfbeck and visual artist and author Tove Jansson, respectively; Tigers, which tells the true tale of former Inter Milan player Martin Bengtsson; and closing night's 50th anniversary-screening of The Emigrants starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann. Australia's various country- and region-focused film fests have always let cinephiles see the world without leaving their cinema seats — and with trips out of the country (other than New Zealand) off the cards at the moment, that's clearly a big drawcard at this year's Scandinavian Film Festival, too. The Scandinavian Film Festival tours the country between Tuesday, July 6–Wednesday, August 4, screening at Sydney's Palace Norton, Palace Central and Chauvel Cinemas from July 6–28; Melbourne's Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, The Kino and Pentridge Cinema from July 8–28; Brisbane's Palace Barracks and Palace James St from July 15–August 4; Adelaide's Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas from July 13–August 4; and Perth's Luna Leederville, Luna on SX & Palace Raine Square from July 14– August 4. For the full program, visit the festival website.
Underling, you have been summoned. This September, Secret Squirrel Productions — the c̶a̶b̶a̶l̶ c̶o̶v̶e̶n̶ group responsible for Underground Cinema — are tearing open a portal to hell with an immersive dining experience at a secret location in Melbourne. Dinner will be six courses. Pray you aren't one of them. Secret Squirrel, Melbourne's kings of immersive theatre and film experiences, have flung previous audiences back in time to ancient Rome, flogged them through a crash-course in zombie apocalypse survival and set them free inside Hannibal Lecter's debauched mind-palace. This time, Creative Director Tamasein Holyman says she wants to "engross guests in a world of raw, dark beauty and absinthe-fuelled dreams" with a six-course banquet. The Feast of the Deceiver is an ancient and secret ritual — but here's what would-be acolytes of the Order should know. The feast will run over three nights on September 8, 9 and 10 with b̶l̶o̶o̶d̶l̶e̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ performances lasting from 7-10pm. The six-course degustation will combine game-play, problem-solving and live theatre. The dress code is black formal. The location is secret and will only be revealed 24 hours prior to the event. If you've been looking for a way to make the voices stop, this could be your chance. But remember — the demon is a liar. He will lie to confuse you. He will try to trick you. Don't listen to him. But do go to dinner.
Melburnians, prepare for the saddest garage sale ever. But at least it’s a chance to take a little piece of the Palace Theatre home with you, put it on your mantelpiece and reminisce over the days when live music came before hotels and apartment blocks. To all those who fought so hard and for so long after the Palace's dramatic and controversial closure, we salute you. The event is a follow-up to the Palace’s successful rare memorabilia sale, held last weekend. It saw hundreds of music fans nabbing bargains on all manner of music merchandise, from unframed Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds posters to ticket stubs and t-shirts. Some merch might still be hanging around, but you’ll also have the chance to buy bits and pieces of the Palace’s nuts and bolts. We’re talking sound gear, chunks of the bar, assorted fridges, stools, couches, scrubbing brushes, electronic gadgets and even the coffee machine. The coffee machine! The Palace Theatre garage sale will happen on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April at 11 Cromwell Parade, West Footscray. Doors will open and deals will be struck between 10am and 4pm. Just one word of advice: if your eyes are on the coffee machine, you’d better get there early. Fans were queueing for the merch sale for at least an hour before kick-off.
Nearly 100 years after the Titanic plunged into the freezing waters of the Atlantic, artist and inspirationalist Dodo Newman will commemorate the legendary journey and lives lost with the Titanic Project, a tribute that will combine the sorrowful history with the newest marvels of design. The project will erect a monument of the Titanic designed with luxury that the regal ship itself would not match. Newman's vision for the monument has a diamond and Swarovski crystal surface, 300 kg of jewelry and LED lighting all on a pyramid-shaped aquarium base structure. To add to the designer detail, over 50 luxury brands will be incorporated into the monument, the displays intertwined with sea life in the underwater enclosing. Newman has always been fascinated by the story of the Titanic, and has been hoping to finish the plan for the commemorative installation for the past several years. The project is intended to be finally completed by 2012, just in time to honour the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking in 1912. [via Extra Vaganzi]
While many chefs bring a creative force to the kitchen, not all get to realise their ambitions. Residence, a new destination restaurant in Parkville, aims to change that with an annual chef-in-residence format giving inspired culinary thinkers the time, space and resources to make their ideas a reality. Appropriately situated inside the Potter Museum of Art, this inventive concept is on the lookout for its inaugural resident chef. Though it might be nice to think your home-spun spaghetti bolognese is enough to cut the grade, Residence co-founders Nathen Doyle (Sunhands, Heartattack and Vine, Wide Open Road) and Cameron Earl (Carlton Wine Room, Embla, ST. ALi) have put together a three-stage assessment to shortlist only the best candidates. Sure, throw your hat in the ring, but your submission (open until March 21) needs to detail your influences, provide sample dishes and evoke your restaurant concept. Once selected, the new chef-in-residence will step into the business and begin their mentorship under the Residence executive team. Along the way, they'll receive exceptional front and back-of-house support, while tackling their restaurant opening head-on. That means leading a floor team, managing suppliers and, of course, receiving a cut of the venue's profits. After 12 months of culinary exploration, a new steward will be chosen to reinvent the space. "We want to help foster the next generation of industry professionals," says Doyle, adding that the venue is more than just a restaurant but a deliberate move towards a brighter, more forward-thinking hospitality industry. While close to a blank canvas, Residence is already equipped with a few details to help its chef on their journey. Serving as a daytime to evening destination, there's enough room for 40 patrons in the main dining area alongside 20 more in an adjacent espresso bar and private dining room. Designed by Collingwood interior designers, Studio Co & Co, guests should expect rich materials and uncompromising detail. For Earl, helping an early-career chef build their dream venue is an exciting prospect. "It might be a passionate chef who wants to share their personal story in restaurant form and honour the flavours of their heritage. We want the applicant to thrive in a supportive and innovative environment." Residence is set to open in winter 2025 at the Potter Museum of Art, 815 Swanston Street, Parkville. Head to the website for more information.
Booze delivery legend Jimmy Brings really came into its own during lockdown. Not only was it bringing drinks to homes within 30 minutes — allowing punters to have spontaneous lockdown sessions — it also delivered emergency rolls of toilet paper during that TP drought. Now, taking it up a notch, Jimmy Brings is offering you the chance to win six full months of free drinks for both you and your best mate. The prize is valued at a whopping $2000 and the competition has already begun, so best to get your entry in ASAP. To enter, simply post a pic of you (or you and your mate) enjoying a Jimmy Brings delivery on Instagram or Jimmy Brings' Facebook page, tagging @jimmybrings and #JBVibeCheck. The photo must include Jimmy's face, whether it's a delivery box, bag, magnet or internet cutout — anything will do. You can enter as many times as you want, too. The pic with the best 'vibes' will then win six months of loot, along with undying love from one very lucky friend. Jimmy Brings has been a go-to for its range of wine, beer and spirits since way back in 2011. It delivers organic drops, wine bundles and party packs, plus mixers and other extras — like chocolates, bags of crisps, Panadol and Berocca — to homes across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. And, if you're you're still avoiding that midweek bottle shop run, the online bottle-o delivers seven days per week until late. So, go ahead, get your order in and get snapping. The Vibe Check comp will run from Friday, July 17 until 11.59pm on Sunday, August 16. Anyone from NSW, Vic, Qld, WA, ACT or SA can enter. For more information and for full terms and conditions, head to the website. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
In yet another major carbon-reduction move, London has just seen the completion of the world’s biggest solar bridge. The development follows plans to heat homes with the Underground and recycle sewer waste via a ‘fat plant’. Blackfriars Bridge has been covered with 4,400 photovoltaic panels, comprising 6,000 square metres. These will harness energy to power 50 percent of Blackfriars Station's needs, reducing carbon emissions by approximately 511 tonnes annually. That's equal to about 89,000 average trips in a car. In addition, the entire station has been revamped, acquiring four extra platforms and two new entrances, one providing access to South Bank and the other to New Bridge Street on the river's north side. The development is part of the US$10.7 billion Thameslink Programme, the goal of which is to increase the frequency and capacity of London's north-south railway line. "Our work at Blackfriars demonstrates two key benefits of solar," said Frans van den Heuvel, CEO of Solarcentury, the company that delivered the project. "First, it can be integrated into the architecture to create a stunning addition to London's skyline. Second, it can be integrated into the most complex of engineering projects; in this case being built above a construction site, over a rail track over a river. We are confident that future major infrastructure projects can and will benefit from solar.” The bridge was officially launched on January 22, 2014, with a massive hot beverage giveaway featuring Britain's biggest tea cup. Via gizmag.
