Produce-driven menus aren't necessarily a rarity in Melbourne's restaurant scene. What is rare, however, is a venue so visibly devoted to the terroir of the produce it serves — from furniture constructed from recycled materials, to a specials menu displayed on a piece of reclaimed timber. As much as possible, everything in this venue is made either from or for the natural environment that surrounds it. Though one wouldn't necessarily describe From Here by Mike as a fine diner — elevated but grounded is more accurate — that is true of head chef Mike McEnearney's culinary pedigree. Having worked at Michelin-starred venues in London and as executive chef at Sydney's iconic Rockpool, McEnearney is no stranger to a technically complex menu. What makes his perspective unique, however, is his interest in low-waste, sustainable cheffery — his 2017 Real Food By Mike cookbook was explicitly divided into seasons, for instance. [caption id="attachment_1013609" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chef Mike McEnearney[/caption] Though this ethos means the From Here by Mike menu is subject to seasonal change, there are thematic consistencies; the offering would be best described as fusion, spanning European to Asian culinary influences and always ethically and hyperlocally sourced. There's woodfired flatbread with a surprising almond ricotta and shiitake XO twist, a luxurious twice-baked Meredith Dairy Goat's Cheese souffle with baked shallot, and rosemary cream, and roasted porchetta filled with raisin and hazelnut agrodolce. It's a choose-your-own-adventure of culinary influence kind of experience, designed to be mixed, matched and ultimately, shared. Dessert brings an element of nostalgia. In addition to a French-leaning selection of refined sweets, you'll find a little part of McEnearney's heart in recipe form: his grandmother's vanilla rice cream — a vanilla rice pudding topped with a brulee (to add a flourish). [caption id="attachment_1013611" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Meredith Dairy Goat's Cheese soufflé at From Here by Mike[/caption] The From Here by Mike drinks list is similarly curated. You'll find bottles from over 40 Victorian winemakers, in addition to overseas producers. The specifics of how each is produced are so important to McEnearney that the lineup comes with a detailed glossary — "MS" for minimal sulphites, "SP" for sustainable practices, "RM" for Recoltant-Manipulant. The (impressive) list goes on. Organic, grounded and generous are how you'd describe the overall experience. Most importantly, the legitimacy of McEnearney's (and indeed 1 Hotel's) dedication to sustainability is apparent. It's refreshing and authentic — and delicious.
Muggle, rejoice: if you've been hanging out to flex your 'wizarding skills' in the new Harry Potter augmented reality game, your time to shine has arrived. Tapping into the same style of virtual smartphone experience made hugely popular by Pokémon Go, WB Games and Niantic have launched the beta version of their Harry Potter: Wizards Unite game — but only in New Zealand and Australia. Locals with a smartphone can now download the app and start their own Harry Potter adventure, as part of a testing phase that'll help developers shape the final product. It means users might have to put up with a few bugs and off-kilter graphics, but that's a small price to pay for getting to play the game before the rest of the world. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite works a whole lot like Pokémon Go, swapping out the animated monsters and gyms for content and characters from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts franchises. They're featured in an augmented reality 'Wizarding World', which is mysteriously appearing in the muggle world due to some unforeseen calamity. As a player, you'll kick start your adventure as a newbie in the Statute of Secrecy Task Force. You'll be called on to whip up potions, cast spells and use your wand to overcome the traces of magic appearing through your smartphone, popping up in front of real-world locations. You'll collect potion ingredients along the way, and earn special rewards for finding 'Foundables' and returning them to the wizarding world. Scattered through the game, you'll also discover virtual 'inns' where you can recharge your 'spell energy', multi-player wizarding challenges taking place in 'fortresses', and 'portkeys' that can whisk you away into an immersive 360-degree, augmented reality experience, in settings like Ollivanders Wand Shop. The beta version of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is now available to download for free to iOS (via the App Store) and Android devices (via Google Play) if you're in Australia or New Zealand.
We're guessing Jerome Borazio has a bit of a soft spot for Melbourne's inner west. His famed St Jerome's Laneway Festival has called Footscray home for close to a decade, and the nearby warehouse that holds his bar Back Alley Sally's and his pizza joint Slice Girls West has become one of the area's favourite destinations. And in almost the same week as announcing plans to transform the Melbourne Central rooftop into a pool and leisure club, Borazio has lifted the lid on yet another Footscray venture, with the opening of new-school general store Harry and Larry's. Also making its home in the aforementioned well-loved warehouse on Yewers Street, this little charmer is a one-stop pantry shop for the discerning westsider, showcasing local produce and ingredients beneath a glittering, oversized disco ball. It's rocking a cosy fitout of reclaimed timber, similar to its neighbours, the shelves stocked with goodies either sourced from the west or from down on the Mornington Peninsula. The selection features the likes of local fruit and veggies, Meredith Cheese, Remedy kombucha, milk from St David Dairy (inner Melbourne's only micro-dairy), fresh pasta, vegan Jonny condoms and even toilet paper supplies from Who Gives A Crap. Plastic has been given the boot in favour of complimentary brown paper bags, and there are plans in the works to team up with Boomerang Bags — a group that makes reusable bags out of recycled, donated fabric. While you're at Harry & Larry's, you can also grab an Allpress coffee and one of the toasted focaccias and sandwiches named in honour of legendary Footscray folk — maybe the Franco Cozzo, the Captain Katie (named after the Western Bulldogs' captain) or the Julia Gillard. Find Harry and Larry's General Store at 4 Yewers Street, Footscray. It's open daily from 11am–9.30pm. Images: Brendan Coghlan
Tony Nicolini continues his mission to create delicious Italian cuisine — not reinventing pizza, but doing it better. The former part-owner of DOC brings decades of experience to his latest Albert Park venture, Italian Artisans, which has taken over the spot of the old DOC Albert Park. Nicolini's Dad opened his first pizzeria way back in 1969 and this latest restaurant aims to continue the family's passion for the craft of pizza making, with fresh, organic ingredients from, as the name suggests, celebrated Italian artisans. Family producers from Italy and Australia provide the tomatoes, olive oil, mozzarella and more, while the pizza bases are made using traditional methods with alternative grain flours thrown in to make it all easier to digest. The menu is simple — a bunch of traditional pizzas ranging from the classic margherita to tiger prawns, anchovies and the cornuto, with tomato, provolone, soppressa, roasted red pepper and 'nduja ($24). The selection is rounded out with salumi and mozza bars, antipasto, meatballs, lasagne and salads. For those craving something sweet, there is a hazelnut gelato collaboration between Italian Artisans and Pidapipo, dessert pizzas and calzones, and modern takes on the traditional cannoli and tiramisu.
After beginning the year with a devastating bushfire season, then following it up with a global pandemic that rid the area of tourism, the Blue Mountains, it's fair to say, has has a tough 12 months. In response, Mount Tomah's Blue Mountains Botanic Garden has turned to an unlikely partner on its road towards bushfire recovery: gin. In collaboration with Sydney-based gin brand Grown Spirits, the Botanic Garden has released the Blue Mountains Grown Gin in a limited run of just 1000 bottles. All profits from the gin go to supporting the garden's horticultural and scientific staff in their efforts to restore hundreds of specimens and areas of the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden destroyed in the bushfires earlier this year. The Blue Mountains Grown Gin was created by Grown Spirits and Master Distiller Philip Moore at Distillery Botanica in Erina. It combines local eucalypt plant the silver-leaved mountain gum with juniper, valencia orange and liquorice root for a textural gin with a hint of spice. "In creating a gin homage to the Blue Mountains and the Garden, there was one botanical I was immediately drawn to, eucalyptus pulverulenta, or "Baby Blue" as some people call it," Moore said in a statement. "It brings fresh, cooling qualities to the gin much like the mountains themselves." The team recommends serving it in a G&T or a martini with a lime zest. You can also try it at Dead Ringer in Surry Hills, shaken into a cocktail called Evergreen. If you're looking for ethical holiday gifts this time of year, the Blue Mountains Grown Gin fits snuggly into a Christmas stocking. Not a gin enthusiast, but still keen to support the area? You can take a trip to the Blue Mountains — and the Garden — and spend liberally on local businesses. To start planning your adventure, check out our guide to the upper Blue Mountains and these enchanting local stays. The Blue Mountains Grown Gin is now available now for $129 at the Garden Grown Gin website or at select bottle shops across Australia.
When warm weather arrives, the Snowy Mountains transform into an adventurer's playground. Lakes you wouldn't dip a toe into during winter become dazzling, sun-kissed visions, perfect for windsurfing, sailing and fishing. Walking, cycling and horse riding trails buried in snow thaw out, allowing you to wander through twisted snow gum forests, across wildflower meadows and along majestic mountain ridges, surrounded by incredible panoramas. Here are ten ways to spend time in the Snowies during the warmer months — from paddling the legendary Snowy River to catching trout in Lake Eucumbene to camping by tranquil Thredbo River. [caption id="attachment_659671" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW.[/caption] WINDSURFING AND SAILING ON LAKE JINDABYNE Whether you're completely new to windsurfing or a seasoned expert, peaceful Lake Jindabyne, one of the highest lakes in Australia, offers escapades a-plenty. Winds are pretty steady (yet gentle) and there's not too much traffic, so you don't have to continually stress about bumping into someone else. What's more, the mountainous scenery is stunning. There's a bunch of windsurfer hire spots about, including Sacred Ride and Snowy Mountains Holidays. Alternatively, you could consider a sailboat. If you're looking for fellow sailors, check out Lake Jindabyne Sailing Club, which runs a busy program from November to March. [caption id="attachment_659673" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jon Armstrong / Destination NSW.[/caption] PADDLING THE SNOWY RIVER Starting on Mount Kosciuszko's slopes and flowing into the Bass Strait in Victoria, the Snowy River's 352 kilometres provide ample opportunities for paddling. That said, there are rapids and tight spots a-plenty, so, unless you're experienced, it could be a good idea to find a guide. Alpine River Adventures runs adventurous, yet suitable for newbies day trips and multi-day expeditions through the ancient Byadbo Wilderness. Expect to meet platypuses and brumbies, to journey through steep gorges and to rush down grade-three rapids. [caption id="attachment_661863" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] HORSE RIDING IN THREDBO VALLEY Unencumbered by snow, Thredbo Valley is a picturesque garden of pretty snow gums, towering mountain gums and open plains, with the wild Thredbo River running through. To find out what The Man from Snowy River was all about, experience it from a horse's back. Thredbo Valley Horse Riding has been running trail rides since 1993. For a taster, book a one or two-hour ride, or to spend a bit longer in the saddle, go for a half-day adventure. All rides include gear and basic instruction. If you're interested in a multi-day trip, get in touch with Cochran Horse Treks. CAMPING ON THREDBO RIVER It is, of course, possible to camp in the snow, but you've got to be tough and well-prepared. In the warmer months, pitching a tent is a lot more comfortable. There are stacks of stunning campgrounds in the Snowies and one of the loveliest is Thredbo Diggings. Perched right on Thredbo River, this gorgeous spot surrounds you with snow gums, backdropped by mountain ranges. Spend your days lazing about, going for dips, trying your luck at fly fishing and strolling or cycling on the Thredbo Valley Track. If you're in need of a nightcap, Wild Brumby distillery's warming schnapps, made with local fruit, are just up the road. Another camping option along Thredbo River is Ngargio Campground. [caption id="attachment_661864" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] TROUT FISHING AT LAKE EUCUMBENE You won't have any trouble finding a spot to throw in a line at Lake Eucumbene; it's the biggest lake of the many created by the Snowy Hydro scheme. At full capacity, it's nine times the size of Sydney Harbour and 30 metres deep on average. Plus, a total of 145 kilometres of shoreline gives you lots of room to explore. Before getting started, be sure to pick up a NSW Recreational Fishing Licence, usually available at servos and caravan parks. If you don't feel confident fishing on your own, then consider a visit to Eucumbene Trout Farm, where gear and guidance are provided, as is a barbecue for a post-fishing feast. VISITING A WATERFALL There are several waterfalls in the Snowies that'll capture your imagination. One of the easiest to access is found along a walking track that leaves from Kosciuszko Education Centre, about 12 kilometres west of Jindabyne. The six-kilometre loop passes through an impressive diversity of scenery, from heathland dotted with wildflowers to giant granite boulders to mature gum trees. Keep an eye out for echidnas, wallabies and kangaroos along the way. When you reach the waterfall, be sure to wander onto the viewing platform for some beautiful sights. [caption id="attachment_659669" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul Sinclair / Destination NSW.[/caption] CYCLING COOMA TRAILS On the outskirts of Cooma lie 80 hectares of land known as North Ridge Reserve. Speckled with granite boulders, basket grass and bright wildflowers, including native bluebells, everlasting daisies and black anther flax lilies, it's a great spot for mountain bike riding. There's a variety of trails, offering something for everyone, from beginners to pros. And, if you're not keen on cycling, you can always walk. Whichever way you travel, the views are breathtaking — over Cooma, east towards the coast and west towards the Snowy Mountains. If you're looking for a coffee or a bite to eat in Cooma afterwards, head to The Lott Food Store. [caption id="attachment_659675" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW.[/caption] WALKING THROUGH YARRANGOBILLY CAVES The oldest of these limestone spectacles, found in the northern section of Kosciuszko National Park, was formed millions of years ago. Several are accessible by self-guided tour, including the biggest, South Glory, where a 500-metre trail passes vast chambers like the dazzling white Ice Age Chamber, stunning rock formations and a natural skylight 55 metres above the ground. Other caves to check out include Jillabenan, covered in delicate cave coral, stalactites and helictites, as well as Jersey Cave, whose extraordinary grey and black flowstone was created by bushfires thousands of years ago. Round out your visit with a swim in Yarrangobilly thermal pool, which is a toasty 27 degree celsius all year round. [caption id="attachment_658614" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Facebook / Heli Fun.[/caption] TAKING A SCENIC FLIGHT IN A HELICOPTER Regardless of whether you've skied, snowboarded, hiked, cycled or paddled the Snowy Mountains, a scenic flight will give you a whole new perspective. Heli Fun will take you soaring above Australia's highest peaks, including Mount Kosciuszko, Mount Townsend and the Ramshead Ranges — make sure you look out for wild brumbies and familiar landmarks, such as Thredbo ski fields as you're flying high. Choose between 30-minute and 60-minute trips or a speedy ten-minute swoop over Lake Jindabyne. For an even more exciting adventure, book a wilderness picnic. Your pilot will take you on a one-hour jaunt, before leaving you in the middle of nowhere with a gourmet picnic and bottle of sparkling. [caption id="attachment_659674" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW.[/caption] GOING WINE (AND BEER AND SCHNAPPS) TASTING The Snowies' wines might not be as well known as those of the Yarra Valley or McLaren Vale, but there's no shortage of decent drops to try. If you're into beer, get started at Kosciuszko Brewery at the Banjo Paterson Inn in Jindabyne. From there, head to Snowy Vineyard Estate in Dalgety, where Dalgety Brewing Company serves up a variety of ales, including pale, golden and red, as well as a selection of wines. On the other side of the mountain lies Tumbarumba cool climate wine region, which specialises in chardonnay and pinot noir. It's easy to spend an afternoon in the lush, Italy-inspired grounds of Tumbarumba Wine Escape and Courabyra is worth a visit, too. Discover all that the Snowy Mountains has to offer outside of winter months, from jam-packed adventures to culinary excursions and so much more.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch did it. Kimmy vs The Reverend, You vs Wild and Cat Burglar, too. With these four titles and more, Netflix has actively embraced interactive content in recent years. Choose Your Own Adventure books have a lot to answer for, clearly, with being able to select your way through streaming picks — making choices about what happens next within a movie or show, that is, rather than simply deciding what to watch — popping up often enough that it's now just another viewing option. But only the streaming platform's new heist thriller series Kaleidoscope boasts 40,320 different ways to dive in. Here, that vast array of choices is indeed a gimmick, giving a familiar robbery narrative shiny packaging. Picking a route through Kaleidoscope's eight instalments is also automated, at least if you do what Netflix tells you. When each subscriber presses play on the series for the first time, they're given one of seven colour-coded instalments at random. From there, viewers move onto one of six chapters, any of which could roll next, and so on. The only inbuilt rule: White: The Heist, as the episode that shows the heist itself is called, always screens last. That whittles down the options to 5040, which is still a hefty number. Created by author and screenwriter Eric Garcia, whose novel Matchstick Men previously slipped him into the world of grifters — and was turned into a Nicolas Cage-starring film — Kaleidoscope also allows Netflix customers to make their episode choices manually. Whether you stick to the random order the platform throws your way or genuinely choose your own adventure, however, the result is identical. One narrative, eight chapters, thousands of outcomes: that's the show from a storytelling standpoint, with the plot itself remaining unchanged. Does one's interpretation of Kaleidoscope and perspective on its characters differ depending on which order you see its instalments? That's the aim, but the playful series proves ridiculously easy to binge no matter how you move through its Green, Blue, Violet, Red, Pink, Orange and Yellow chapters. Wherever viewers hop in, a crew of thieves awaits, all attempting to bust into an underground vault packed with $7 billion in bonds in the middle of a massive hurricane. Doing the pilfering: veteran criminal Leo Pap (Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul), his lawyer and longtime friend Ava Mercer (Paz Vega, 13 Minutes) and smuggler Stan Loomis (Peter Mark Kendall, Top Gun: Maverick), plus chemistry wiz Judy Goodwin (Rosaline Elbay, Ramy), her safe-cracker husband Bob (Jai Courtney, The Suicide Squad) and driver RJ Acosta Jr (Jordan Mendoza, ZIWE). Their target: SLS, a New York corporate security outfit run by Roger Salas (Rufus Sewell, Old). Kaleidoscope also throws SLS employee Hannah Kim (Tati Gabrielle, Uncharted), her sister and roommate Liz (Soojeong Son, Servant), and FBI agents Nazan Abbasi (Niousha Noor, The Accidental Wolf) and Samuel Toby (Bubba Weiler, Dopesick) into the mix — because family ties and law enforcement are heist genre staples. Anyone who has ever seen a film or show about stealing a big score already knows the drill, and Garcia and his team of fellow writers know it. Accordingly, of course the safe is ultra-secure, and extremely difficult to both get to and break into. Of course the job is also tied to an act of revenge, too. Also, of course Kaleidoscope slots into the eat-the-rich fold that Netflix also worked so well with Squid Game. And, while he doesn't play a fast-food shop owner who's secretly a drug kingpin, of course thinking about Esposito's time on both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul comes quickly as well. Past secrets, new rivalries, love triangles, close calls with pursuing cops, everything that can go wrong definitely going wrong: they all have a part, predictably so even amid all the shuffling. The just-keep-pressing-play hook comes from the overall puzzle, though, which is what Kaleidoscope's delivery gimmick serves up. Non-linear storytelling always involves sleuthing for clues and putting together pieces, which is why the heist genre loves it. It's also why, in these whodunnit-saturated times — Netflix did just gift the world Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, after all, and has another on its way) — this series goes all in. Consequently, Kaleidoscope's audience is instantly keen to know how everything fits together, sifting through each episode for clues and details alike as the show flits between timeframes. With the entire narrative spanning a quarter-century, chapters jump between 24 years, seven years, six weeks, three weeks and five days before the heist, plus the morning after and six months later. Although each instalment is tied to a hue, only Green — which perhaps makes the best entry point — lets its eponymous colour shine visually. That's disappointing albeit unsurprising; Kaleidoscope is slickly shot, but happy sticking to an aesthetic formula. The scrambled storytelling and Esposito do plenty of heavy lifting, and overtly; thankfully, the latter alone always makes for engaging viewing. Playing determined, authoritative but also vulnerable, it's hardly astonishing that the five-time Emmy-nominee is the standout among the cast. Similarly expected: that Courtney comes across as gratingly cartoonish. That said, that's just how one of Kaleidoscope's rotations pans out. Perhaps the other 40,319 (or 5039) treat the bluster-fuelled Bob more kindly — shifting perceptions on heroes and villains, and mysteries and revelations, is all part of the gimmick. That makes an interesting thought experiment, but maybe don't go thinking about how Netflix's algorithm is dictating each viewing path through Kaleidoscope, likely to keep everyone hooked based on their past watchlist, even if it works. Check out the trailer for Kaleidoscope below: Kaleidoscope streams via Netflix. Images: Courtesy of Netflix © 2022.
Maybe the vinyl collectors had it right all along, maybe music does sound better in the physical form. Whether you agree with that or if you're curious to find out, there'll be a gathering of audiophiles, collectors and musicians at Solace Bar to celebrate all things vinyl across an all-day event. This Saturday, October 18, doors will swing open at 1pm for Hotplate, starting with a market of all things vinyl. Stalls from respected selectors, record stores and label heads will be selling thousands of records to eager collectors and listeners. You'll also be able to pick up some limited edition merch. Downstairs, DJs will be on rotation spinning classic funk, disco and house tracks throughout the fair, but at 5pm the vibe will switch gears for full on party mode. Expect a busy lineup of local and interstate heavyweights, label heads, collective founders, record store curators and touring artists all united by a connection to Australia's underground music and vinyl record scenes. There'll be equal opportunity for you to get your groove on once you've picked up your share of goodies. Come early, stay late, and enjoy everything that the good old fashioned style of listening does for your favourite tunes. Hotplate DJ Lineup: Reptant Emelyne Aroma Collette Dawn Again Gracey Hotplate DJs Makoyana Pool Sharks Hotplate Vinyl Fair will run from 1–5pm on Saturday, October 18, with the party from 5pm until late. For more information or to get tickets, visit the website.
Australia's hospitality industry scene has done it tough over the past year — again — but it still boasts some of the best bars on the planet. Don't just take our word for it; according to this year's just-revealed World's 50 Best Bars list, we're home to four of the top 50 watering holes worldwide. Our highest-ranking spot to get sipping in 2021: Sydney's Maybe Sammy. It's the third year in a row that the innovative bar in The Rocks has made the list, taking 22nd place. That's a drop from 2020, when it came in at number 11, but higher than in 2019, when it sat at 43rd. Coming hot on its heels is another World's 50 Best Bars list veteran, Cantina OK!, which moved up from number 28 last year to number 23 in 2021. Next, Melbourne's Above Board earned a spot at number 44, while Sydney newcomer Re jumps in at number 46. So, whether you're a Sydneysider, Melburnian or a future visitor to either city, you now have an excuse to hit up a globally acclaimed venue. [caption id="attachment_714475" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cantina OK!, Kimberley Lo[/caption] For those yet to be acquainted with Maybe Sammy, its luxurious styling nods to old-school Vegas glamour, all blush pink velvet banquettes and lush indoor greenery, while the list of theatrical signature drinks pays homage to the classics. At Cantina OK!, you'll find a pint-sized mezcal bar in an old garage down a service laneway — complete with bright pink and purple walls, Mexican vibes and laneway seating. Collingwood's minimalist Above Board skews super-intimate, boasting only 16 seats and with no standing permitted — while Re, which is located in Sydney's ever-growing South Eveleigh precinct, hails from hospitality stars Matt Whiley (Scout) and Maurice Terzini (Icebergs Dining Room & Bar, Ciccia Bella). The latter also has a zero-waste focus, and nabbed The World's Best 50 Bars 2021's Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award as well. [caption id="attachment_836460" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Above Board[/caption] While Sydney was better represented in the top 50 than Melbourne, the Victorian capital was the only Australian city to feature in the 51–100 list, which was announced late last week. Cocktail haven Byrdi scored a place on the extended rundown for the second year in a row. The annual World's 50 Best Bars awards are voted on by bar industry experts from around the world, including bartenders, consultants, drinks writers and cocktail specialists. And if you're wondering what topped the list worldwide, that'd be London's Connaught Bar, which emerged victorious for the second year in a row — so there's somewhere to add to any future UK itineraries. For the full World's 50 Best Bars 2021 rundown, head to the list's website — and you can check out the 51–100 list online as well. Top image: Maybe Sammy.
What a difference fleshed-out characters and a committed cast can make. This shouldn't really be news, but plenty of movies seem happy to overlook both — especially in the popular sub-genre that is the big night out comedy. "Who needs more than stereotypes when everyone's drinking, partying and acting like a lunatic?" appears to be the usual line of thinking. "And why bother with good performances when the script is a bundle of cliches?" The answer to both questions is on display in Girls Trip, a genuine and largely entertaining film that'll help wipe Rough Night and the recent Hangover sequels from your brain. As certain as it's a fact that no good can come from drinking absinthe, Girls Trip follows a tried-and-tested path involving four friends, a raucous weekend away and a crazy amount of alcohol. It's not hard to predict what will happen as self-help guru Ryan (Regina Hall), gossip columnist Sasha (Queen Latifah), single mother Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith) and wild child Dina (Tiffany Haddish) head to New Orleans for the annual Essence festival. Once close college pals dubbed the Flossy Posse, they've lost touch of late, becoming caught up in their own lives and troubles. A lavish vacation and a let-loose attitude might be just what they need. We're not going to reveal exactly what the gang gets up to, since that would spoil the fun. The point is, the details don't really matter. Viewers have seen most of it before and director Malcolm D. Lee knows it — although to their credit, writers Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver still find a few unique inclusions. Even so, Girls Trip is unmistakably the latest in the recent string of ladies-behaving-badly flick (think Bridesmaids, Bad Moms and Fun Mom Dinner), and it doesn't do much differently, plot-wise. If anything, one of the reasons that the movie stands out is because it isn't pretending to tell a new story. Rather, it's happy evoking laughs while also feeling authentic. And it's that authenticity that's key. Plenty of the gags swing and miss, and some are downright cringeworthy. How much you'll chuckle in certain parts of the film might depend on your threshold for gross-out humour, while other scenes definitely overstay their welcome. Yet there's an energy and intimacy to Girls Trip that's inescapable. As silly, crude and debauched as the antics get, the warmth and joy surrounding the four protagonists continually sets the movie apart from its predecessors. These gals are written and played like real women who are actually friends, instead of bland female figures being humiliated to prove they're just as unruly as men. Kudos, too, to Hall, Latifah, Pinkett Smith and Haddish. Depicting characters who not only seem like they want to hang out with each other, but that audiences want to spend time with, isn't as easy as it sounds. Doing it within a bawdy comedy is all the more difficult still. The quartet repeatedly hit the mark, with Pinkett Smith a particular delight as the tightly wound mum learning to be herself again, and Haddish not only stealing every scene she's in but putting her stamp all over the film. To say that her delivery of bedroom tips will stick with you is definitely an understatement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnqkPpSn94Y
Sorry Sydney. Melbourne is getting the country's first-ever 67 Pall Mall outpost, due to launch some time in mid-2025. This incredibly luxe, global private members club is set up exclusively for wine lovers who want to sample the very best drops out there. It's not for those of us hunting down $15 bottles of ok wine at the local bottle shop; it's for top-tier wine drinkers who are willing to spend big. The joining fee is $3500 per person (being waived for a limited time!) and the current discounted yearly fee for members who sign up early is $2300 on top of that. If this is beyond your spending limits, perhaps shoot this article over to your rich sister or that well-to-do mate who always shouts the good drinks — because they might be able to bring you in as a guest. [caption id="attachment_942250" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 67 Pall Mall Singapore[/caption] So what's the deal with 67 Pall Mall? Memberships for 67 Pall Mall are highly sought after around the world. The group has sites in Singapore, London, Switzerland, France and Hong Kong. The venues are known for being some of the most incredibly designed spaces, filled with the world's greatest wines that are served and chosen by accredited master sommeliers. A huge selling point for wine connoisseurs is the fact that 67 Pall Mall offers an unmatched selection of wines by-the-glass to members — 1000 to be exact — and sells them with very minimal markup. Most of these drops are never offered by the glass so it presents a rare opportunity. What's in store for Australia's first club? The first Australian site is touted for Melbourne's Spring Street. Spread across the top three floors of the 16-story building, the private members club will let folks sip on fine wines while taking in views across the Treasury Gardens, MCG and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Floor 14 will boast a wine bar and all-day dining room with impressive 270-degree views of the surrounding area. One level up, members will get access to private rooms and semi-formal dining experiences. And the top floor will feature an extensive champagne menu, a raw bar, open air balconies, and a secluded whisky bar. This is top-end luxury stuff that's hard to come by in Australia. 67 Pall Mall's CEO Grant Ashton says, "Melbourne was chosen above all other cities as our first outpost in Australia due to its close connection to independent and outstanding wine producers, allowing us to engage with a passionate wine culture and a knowledgeable collector community." Peter Gago, chief winemaker of Penfolds, whose wines are poured in 67 Pall Mall Clubs across the globe, also commented: "From London to Singapore, 67 Pall Mall has evolved into the world's premier wine Members' Club. Now, expanding to a prime site overlooking the MCG in Melbourne, it's truly remarkable. "Melbourne, a strategic gastronomic hub, with Yarra Valley vineyards and Mornington Peninsula nearby, will soon boast 67 Pall Mall as a wine mecca. It'll attract wine enthusiasts and curious minds alike, continuing the Club's tradition." 67 Pall Mall is set to open in mid-2025 at 85 Spring Street and is currently taking applications for new members (at heavily discounted prices). For more information, head to the club's website here.
Legendary vocal-happy label 4AD (Bon Iver, Grimes, The National) has picked up its fourth ever Australian artist. Castlemaine's D.D Dumbo has just signed a big ol' deal to become one of the 4AD family. Celebrated for his minimalist style, mesmerising vocals and ridiculous ability with a 12-string guitar, D.D Dumbo has pricked the ears of the likes of Warpaint, St Vincent and Iron & Wine — picking up invitations for support slots along the way. The Victorian native has landed more support gigs for Daughter and Tame Impala in the UK, along with a debut headline show in London and a highly coveted slot at Latitude Festival. The Castlemaine local will return home in July to support the ever eclectic and straight-up magical Tune-Yards for her Splendour sideshows, working his way from Melbourne's Howler to North Byron Parklands and back to Oxford Art Factory. Jump wholeheartedly on the bandwagon this time around, this kid's going to get expensive. D.D DUMBO AUSTRALIAN DATES: 24 July - Howler, Melbourne (supporting Tune-Yards) SOLD OUT 25 July - Howler, Melbourne (supporting Tune-Yards) 27 July - Splendour in The Grass SOLD OUT 28 July - Oxford Art Factory (supporting Tune-Yards) https://youtube.com/watch?v=qG4DLc9Kotg
The Good Place wrapped up its existential laughs in 2020. The Office and Parks and Recreation have both been off screen for a few years now, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine will soon be coming to an end, too. So, you might be wondering where you're going to get your 20-minute servings of warmhearted comedy from in the future (other than from rewatching all of the above shows again and again, of course). Enter: Rutherford Falls. Each of these sitcoms, including the newcomer that you've never heard of until now, have one thing in common: they involve writer and producer Michael Schur. He held both roles on The Office, co-created Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and created The Good Place. Yes, he has a distinctive brand of humour — and it's a delight. With Rutherford Falls, the man behind a hefty amount of the past two decades' best comedies is reteaming with one of his past stars — and co-stars. Schur also actually appeared in The Office, playing Mose Schrute, cousin to Dwight. Here, he's working with Ed Helms again, who leads the new series as a descendant of the man his town was named after. Helms' Nathan Rutherford runs tours informing the public of his family's history, and his ancestor's founding of Rutherford Falls 400 years ago. He's also proud of the statue, nicknamed 'Big Larry', that sits in a prominent place. But when it is suggested that the sculpture should be moved, he isn't happy — all in a town that borders a Native American reservation and has hardly been respectful of that aspect of its heritage. As well as Helms, in his first ongoing TV part since The Office, the new comedy stars Jana Schmieding (Blast), Michael Greyeyes (I Know This Much Is True), Jesse Leigh (Heathers) and Dustin Milligan (Schitt's Creek). And, you'll be able to see if it lives up to its Schur-penned predecessors when it hits Stan on Friday, April 23, with its entire first season available to binge that day. Check out the trailer for Rutherford Falls below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmSK3XliTk4 Rutherford Falls will be available to watch via Stan from Friday, April 23.
Captaining an eco-friendly boat, sipping biodynamic wines and feasting on farm fresh produce — this is just the very beginning of what a sustainable weekend in Canberra could include. The nation's capital is an ideal location for travellers who want to reduce their environmental footprint while uncovering new sights, tastes and adventures. We've rounded up a list of some of the top eco-friendly eateries and drink purveyors, sustainably powered activities and luxe experiences, plus accommodation options focused on preserving the natural beauty of the territory. Use this as your guide to exploring Canberra's renowned city sights and discovering the region's hidden gems — while staying green. Please stay up to date with the latest ACT Government health advice regarding COVID-19. [caption id="attachment_810977" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Capital Brewing, Kara Rosenlund, VisitCanberra[/caption] EAT AND DRINK Canberra's top farm-to-tote-bag source for fridge and pantry staples — plus, early morning sustenance — is the Capital Region Farmers Market. More than 100 local stalls pop up every Saturday from 7–11.30am at Exhibition Park, offering everything from fresh fruit and veg to flowers, honey, bread, smoked meats, eggs and pastries. Explore it all with a coffee in hand, and get to know the local producers' tips for planet-friendly cooking and growing. For a second breakfast, head to vegan cafe and bakery Sweet Bones to enjoy another caffeine fix and sugar rush. Order a plant-based big brekkie or stock up on sweet wonders from the treats cabinet. Next, make a quick trip southeast to Pialligo Estate. It wears many hats, including cafe, restaurant, grocer, vineyard, smokehouse, small farm plot and children's playground. Enjoy the fruits of the estate over an al fresco lunch, before touring the grounds for a real paddock-to-plate experience. [caption id="attachment_810980" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lark Hill Biodynamic Winery, VisitCanberra[/caption] Ready for a tipple? Start with sustainable malted magic at Capital Brewing Co. This Canberra craft beer baron is well on its way to becoming a zero-waste brewery, sending spent beer-making ingredients to farmers for cattle feed, composting leftovers, minimising water and energy consumption, eliminating unnecessary packaging, and more. Chip in on the environmental effort and order a banana-forward Belgian blonde ale or exquisitely tart pear and elderflower sour from the warehouse taproom. If you prefer vinous varieties on a drinks list, check out Lark Hill Biodynamic Winery. The drops here get gold stars in the organic and biodynamic wine categories, while also hitting the mark on the delicious scale. Regular sippers of riesling, chardonnay and pinot noir will be well served at this lofty location in the hills above Canberra where shale and clay soils let these hardy grapes thrive. Book a $10-per-person tasting by the open fire at the intimate cellar door and work your way through some zesty whites and dark cherry reds. [caption id="attachment_810979" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jindii Eco Spa, VisitCanberra[/caption] DO Reconnect with nature while you enjoy a little self-care luxury at Jindii Eco Spa. This dreamy retreat is hidden within the vibrant Australian National Botanic Gardens, offering spa treatments that utilise wild harvested native ingredients and Indigenous knowledge. Unwind with a massage and mineral bath, allowing botanicals like lemon myrtle, white flannel flower and banksia seed to hydrate your skin while the expert therapists pummel all the stress out of your weary muscles. Add a little retail therapy to the rejuvenation mix and stock up on a few goodies from the spa's signature skincare range after a wander through the gardens. One fun way to explore Canberra is zipping around on an e-scooter. You might have a few childhood memories of tragic scooter tumbles, but these electric beauties are far easier and safer to handle. You can tour Lake Burley Griffin and track down famously transient The Pop Inn, which moves its wine and pizza bar to new locations around the capital most weekends. Hire e-scooters from the Canberra and Region Visitors Centre for an hour at $15 or for two hours for $25, or book the Beam and Neuron scooters via their own apps. [caption id="attachment_810978" align="alignnone" width="1920"] GoBoat, VisitCanberra[/caption] Keen to get out on the lake? GoBoat provides eco-friendly electric vessels that can ferry up to eight inland pirates (and seafaring dogs) around Lake Burley Griffin. You'll be captaining the boat yourself. It's super simple to steer and doesn't require experience or even a driver's license — however, skippers will need to be over 18 years old. Pre-packaged boat picnics and a sensible amount of BYO alcohol for passengers are encouraged, but GoBoat can also supply snacks from local eatery, Bean & Table. If you've got enough steam left for one more activity, make it an epic hike up Mount Gingera, which sits atop the western NSW/ACT border in Namadgi National Park. If you want to conquer the full 15-kilometre return journey from the carpark, expect an intermittently steep but stunning trek with endless mountain views at the summit. There are shorter trails to follow in the area and plenty of opportunities to spot native birds and frogs throughout the carefully preserved park. Keep in mind this peak can be covered by snow in the depths of winter. [caption id="attachment_810983" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nil Desperandum, Australian Capital Tourism[/caption] STAY You can get well and truly off-grid staying in Canberra while maintaining accommodation elegance. The bell tents at Naked Cubby Co provide luxe mattresses and linens you can get lost in, as well as breakfast in bed and easy access to the cellar door at Mount Majura Vineyard, all just a 20-minute drive from Canberra's CBD. Choose between the solar-powered glamping tents perched among the vines and the tiny house on wheels near the pine forest. The facilities are similarly minimal but the nature is top-notch at Nil Desperandum, a heritage cottage in the foothills of the Tidbinbilla Range. You'll need a 4WD to make the last leg of the 45-minute journey here from the centre of Canberra, but intrepid explorers with smaller city wheels can hike the last six kilometres along the dirt roads. The charming two-bedroom cottage has solar lighting, a kitchen with a wood stove, a long drop toilet, and a veranda and fenced yard where you can spend the night cooking on the gas barbecue and reclining by the fire pit. Just remember to bring in your own firewood. Also be aware that there's limited phone reception and no power outlets, so you'll need to be pretty self-sufficient to enjoy a night or two in the reserve. [caption id="attachment_810984" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ovolo Nishi, VisitCanberra[/caption] Alternatively, you can stay within the city limits for access to all the mod-cons you've come to love at Ovolo Nishi. While this CBD hotel is 'plugged in', it does have a clear commitment to sustainability and nature. The retro furnishings and artworks in each room are made from materials like clay, cork, refurbished eucalyptus timber and natural fibres, and the lofty atrium rooms gaze into an internal courtyard of salvaged Tasmanian tree ferns. The in-house dining at Monster Kitchen and Bar also has a sustainable focus, including a 100-percent vegetarian menu for the next year led by local seasonal produce. Discover more experiences to have in Canberra at VisitCanberra and start planning your next city break. Top Image: Mount Majura Vineyard, VisitCanberra
Mensho Tokyo is the relatively new kid on the Melbourne ramen block, and as far as debuts go, it made quite the splash in 2023. Two-hour lines are not hyperbole, they were par for the course if you wanted to nab one of the 28 seats available inside. But thankfully, that's no longer the case. The hype has passed, but the quality of ramen has not. Mensho opened its first store in Tokyo in 2005, and has since gone on to open over 14 more locations spanning the US, Thailand, and India — with Melbourne its first venture in Australia. Once inside, expect to be greeted with the warming collective greeting of "Irasshaimase!" — synonymous with any ramen joint worth its miso. Every seat in the house is a front-row ticket to an exclusive ramen-making masterclass as the kitchen is completely visible to all patrons — unless you happen to be assigned a seat upstairs. Seating is luck of the draw, and while the handful of tables upstairs aren't bad, the atmosphere is not on par with downstairs. If you're willing to wait longer for a spot downstairs, staff are willing to accommodate. The menu features six types of ramen, including the elusive and premium wagyu ramen (limited to 20 bowls per day), the powerful GKO (garlic knockout ramen) which features three types of fried garlic, and, finally, the aesthetically stunning matcha ramen. The menu also features an assortment of classic ramen sides (the karaage chicken and spicy corn 'wings' are to die for).
UPDATE, November 11, 2020: Goldstone is available to stream via Stan, Netflix, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Australian cinema has a new hero — or heroes, to be exact. In case 2013's neo-western crime thriller Mystery Road didn't make that apparent, Goldstone shouts it across the outback. On screen, Indigenous police detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen) stalks through another remote desert town searching for the truth. Behind the camera, writer-director Ivan Sen guides another insightful examination of race, prejudice, inequality and exploitation inextricably linked to the Australian landscape. Indeed, across their two features to date, both the character and the filmmaker confront not only the challenging reality of present day Australia, but the deep scars left by the past. Accordingly, as much as Goldstone is a follow-up, it's also far more than just a narrative sequel to Mystery Road. Instead, the companion piece expands upon its predecessor's themes to explore a host of different topics, including human trafficking and the government-sanctioned mining of resources, in order to further push Sen's ongoing cinematic conversation about the state of his country today. Swan isn't quite the same no-nonsense cop viewers will remember from the previous film. When he's first spied driving drunk on the outskirts of the titular mining community, local officer Josh Waters (Alex Russell) is surprised to find a police badge stashed amongst his belongings. Reports of a missing Chinese woman, possibly linked to the town's brothel, have sparked Swan's visit, but he's hardly given a warm welcome. Josh is reluctant to help, mayor Maureen (Jacki Weaver) oozes malice behind her big smile, and goldmine boss Johnny (David Wenham) is clearly unhappy about strangers rolling into town. Given all that, it's hardly surprising when bullets start flying in Swan's direction. With the narrative also exploring Swan's links to his heritage via Aboriginal elder Jimmy (David Gulpilil), as well as the dynamic between a madam (Cheng Pei-pei) and her reluctant workers, Goldstone dives into complex territory. And yet, with Pedersen always front and centre as the unflappable Swan, the film filters its many threads through a confident, commanding central presence. Amidst an excellent cast, Pedersen demonstrates why he's one of the country's most talented actors, in a portrayal that conveys more through glances and body language than most say with words. His is a performance of quiet determination, and of breaking through pain to find a way forward. In fact, Pedersen is so convincing that Sen's decision to drop back into Swan's story after significant unseen turmoil feels completely natural. And just as the character refuses to give up, the writer-director (who also serves as producer, editor, cinematographer and composer) refuses to underestimate the audience's ability to piece the necessary parts together. Some of the dialogue is a little bit blunt, but sometimes both force and nuance are required to make a strong statement. It's how Sen balances the two that's pivotal. As it alternates between intimate close-ups and vast aerial shots, punctuating a contemplative pace with expertly choreographed gun battles, Goldstone proves a masterclass in maintaining that balance.
Think of Thailand and you probably think of idyllic beaches, excellent food and lovely, welcoming people. But there's one more thing you can add to that list: trash. Specifically, agricultural and industrial waste. In the country's creative and industrial hubs, a group of environmentally conscious Thai brands are creating practical objects out of discarded materials and embodying the ethos of DEWA and DEWI, or Design from Waste of Agriculture and Industry — a method that uses design and creativity to both repurpose waste and minimise pollution. As the old saying goes: one man's trash is another man's treasure. And in this case, the proverbial trash has been repurposed to create treasure in the form of tableware, carry bags and eco-friendly upholstery. Pineapple by-products, unused medical gloves, car parts and even food scraps are all being transformed into products that are useful, eco-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. And as the other old saying goes: waste not, want not. We've teamed up with Thailand's Department of International Trade Promotion to showcase six brands that are solving environmental problems and hitting consumer demand all in one go by turning garbage into gold. THAI NUM CHOKE Thailand has a huge pineapple industry and that mammoth crop leads to a whole lot of pineapple leaves ending up as waste each year. The unwanted leaves are usually discarded via burning, causing an extra kick of waste, too. But it turns out this fibrous material doesn't need to go up in flames. At Thai Num Choke, pineapple leaves are transformed into fibres, yarns and even vegan leather before being reborn as bags, clothing and award-winning fabrics. Blended with industrial materials and hemp barks (another agricultural waste problem), the fabrics make for durable upholstery and beautiful, environmentally responsible leather. Thai Num Choke also uses natural dye sources and is looking at reclaiming other waste products to expand its innovative textile making. LAMUNLAMAI It's no secret that food waste is a big environmental issue. But what if that waste could end up back on the table — think, an egg cup made of eggshells, coffee accoutrements made of coffee grounds and a vase made of carrot pulp. At Lamunlamai, that's exactly what you'll find. Taking waste from individuals, restaurants and industry, Lamunlamai creates artisanal ceramic tablewares, the shapes and subdued natural hues of which are made to echo their source material. Utterly unique and with exquisite attention to detail, each piece is a beautiful work of art for the table which harks back to the company's origins in creating custom pieces and art installations. MUNIE The Delight Collection by Munie has very humble beginnings: weeds and waste. In Thailand, water hyacinths infest city drains and need to be regularly cleared. As it turns out, those tough but elegant masses of weeds can be turned into natural fibres that are light, quick-drying and absorbent. When woven into yarn with cotton scraps, this waste matter becomes a useful and beautiful fabric that can be used to make pillows, slippers, cushions, table-runners, hats and baskets. Munie supports a strong rural economy by investing in local workers, making its fabrics sustainable and socially conscious all the way along the production line. RUBBER IDEA Rubber Idea is a clever concept. In a post-plastic bag era, the 5 billion unused medical gloves that go to waste each year seemed like a golden opportunity to create recycled and reusable carry bags. After all, rubber is waterproof, easy to clean and the latex can be reconstituted and coloured in vibrant hues, giving you a functional and environmentally responsible bag that also provides a solution to a huge waste problem. It's not just bags that Rubber Idea has mastered. It also has a line of pet products including accessories, temperature-adjustable bedding and chewable and snack-dispensing toys. Because why shouldn't your beloved pet live the same environmentally conscious lifestyle as you? CHYWA You probably think about petrol pollution and the fossil fuels that are used to power your car regularly, but what about the environmental impact from the actual car itself? Airbags alone result in tonnes of waste each year across Asia, Europe and the US. But they're a durable material: tough, wrinkle-resistant and made to withstand stress and hard knocks. In other words, ideal for the outdoors. Chywa receives airbags and seatbelts from Thai garages and up-cycles them into outdoor lifestyle products. The range features stylish and functional camping gear including backpacks, folding chairs, shoulder bags and wide-brimmed hats. With tourism being an integral part of Thailand's economy, integrating sustainable practices to improve the ecological footprint of this industry makes complete sense. RENIM PROJECT Producing just one brand-new pair of jeans uses on average 7,600 litres of water and can create up to 60 kilograms of CO2 emissions. And when you think about how many new pairs of jeans are made each year, that's a lot unnecessary usage. With fast fashion being such a big polluter, consumers are wising up and looking for alternatives. The solution? Recycle, reduce and redesign denim via The Renim Project. This Bangkok-based label raises awareness around denim waste through Thai craftsmanship. Using all scrap parts — including zippers, buttons and leather labels — the project reforms waste into stylish new fashion items, such as eye-catching patchwork clothing, bags, accessories and even placemats and table runners. The Renim Project also collaborates on limited-run items that have made their way into LA Fashion Week. Keen to explore more waste-embracing Thai brands? For more information, visit the DITP website, or explore more of Thailand's booming creative scene here.
If a sunny north Queensland holiday sounds like your kind of bliss at the moment, you're not alone. Spring is here, a toasty summer beckons and Australia's tropical region is mighty enticing all year round anyway. So, whether you're a Brisbanite eager to relax at the other end of the state, or you live elsewhere around the country, Tourism Tropical North Queensland has launched a new tour voucher giveaway that'll give you an extra reason to head to the area. Under the Cairns & Great Barrier Reef Travel Bonus scheme, 8000 vouchers worth $250 each are up for grabs for folks spending their holidays in Queensland's tropical north. You will need to fork out at least $1000 on your trip anyway. But, if you do, you can nab a voucher to use on tours while you're there. The scheme is open all through the warmest parts of the year, too, ending on April 20, 2022. And, unlike previous Queensland travel incentives that've been run at the state government level, these vouchers are open to all Aussies. That said, obviously folks in locked-down parts of New South Wales and Victoria won't be able to head north until the rules in their respective areas allow it, and Queensland's border restrictions as well. To take advantage of the deal, you'll need to book through one of Tourism Tropical North Queensland's travel partners, which includes Viva Holidays, My Queensland and Flight Centre. And yes, you can add the scheme to the list of incentives enticing Aussies to make the most of everything the nation has to offer — when and where they're allowed to, of course — with the Northern Territory doing a tourism giveaway this summer as well. Tourism Tropical North Queensland's Cairns & Great Barrier Reef Travel Bonus scheme runs until April 20, 2022. For more information, head to the $250 Tropical Travel Bonus website.
You don't often get a story about Melbourne City Council being really cool. But from this Wednesday, October 1 the council has agreed to change the name of the city's much-loved ACDC Lane to AC/DC Lane, an important distinction made to appease the iconic rock gods and their devoted fans. This move comes on the exact ten year anniversary of the street's initial name change. And, of course, laneway locals Cherry Bar are having a big party to celebrate. Observant Melbournians may remember that this has kind of happened before. In 2004, street artist Knifey installed a cheeky street sign over the original that not only included the soon-to-be-official slash, but an actual lightning bolt in trademark council blue. Unsurprisingly, this was stolen by a diehard fan soon after. Now, the artist (Jayszun Vanderwerff) is working with Melbourne City to officially re-install the sign. "Melbourne City Council has demonstrated time and again its commitment to showcase both the city’s laneways, and the street art that brings so many to visit the City of Melbourne," Knifey said. "They have seen the benefit of encouraging legal street art in the city, and have been incredibly supportive of this project." Of course, this is a win for all fans of both rock and grammar, but it's also a victory for Cherry Bar. The venue owners James Young and Patrick Donovan were the driving force behind the initial name change. Now they're holding a big party to celebrate its official completion as well as the recently implemented Agent of Change principle that transferred soundproofing responsibilities from live music venues to surrounding properties. Head down to Cherry on Wednesday, October 1 to raise a glass to this new era of grammatically correct, noisy, thunderstruck bliss. The beers are on them from 6pm-3am. Via Beat and Blabbermouth.
Some days, you wake up, go about your business as normal, and absolutely nothing unusual or exciting happens. Other days, you're hit with the unexpected announcement that new Rick and Morty has just landed. That's the way the news goes sometimes, including today, Monday, June 21 — because the first episode of the animated comedy's fifth season has just landed on Netflix. Get ready for more interdimensional adventures — and to get schwifty if you want to — because the show's specific brand of chaos is back for another go-around. Once again, Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith (both voiced by show co-creator Justin Roiland) will do what they do best: not just aping a concept straight out of Back to the Future, but wreaking havoc in as many universes as they can stumble across. Also back are Morty's mother Beth (Sarah Chalke, Firefly Lane), father Jerry (Chris Parnell, Archer) and sister Summer (Spencer Grammer, Tell Me a Story) — and, as not one but two trailers have already demonstrated, they're playing a big part in Rick and Morty's dimension-hopping antics this time. Rick and Morty trailers are more about the mood, look and feel than the storylines — so, while you can obviously expect a heap of out-there situations, battles and general sci-fi mania, just what's in store is always best discovered by sitting down and watching a new episode. In season five, though, there'll be nods to and parodies of everything from Voltron to Blade. Rick and Morty will argue, too, because that's one of the thing that this Back to the Future-inspired pair do best. If you're keen to rejoin the smartest Rick and Morty-est Morty in the universe, you can check out the fifth season's first episode now — with new episodes then dropping each week. Now, unless you're a total Jerry, you've got something to look forward to come quittin' time for the next few Mondays. Watch the latest Rick and Morty season five trailer below: Rick and Morty's fifth season will stream weekly from Monday, June 21 on Netflix in Australia and New Zealand.
When Table 19 begins, it would have you believe that there's nothing worse than being stuck at the random table at a wedding. There is. It's watching a film about being stuck at the random table at a wedding. Sure, in both situations you're stranded in a place that you mightn't want to be. But at least one has food, drinks and dancing to help pass the time. For those sitting in the cinema, prepare for an experience that's awkward, tedious, cliched and sappy, as the newly single Eloise (Anna Kendrick) heads to her oldest friend's nuptials. She was once slated to be the maid of honour, but dropped out when she was dumped via text message by the bride's brother (Wyatt Russell). Relegated to the worst berth on the seating chart that she helped plan, she's soon sharing a table with a bunch of guests that "should have known to send regrets, but not before sending something nice off the registry". Eloise's fellow undesirables include an ageing former nanny (June Squibb) thrilled to have even been invited, a hormone-fuelled teen (Tony Revolori) whose mother has told him to look for love, the obligatory weird cousin (Stephen Merchant) who's kindly but has a secret, and a bickering couple (Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson) who don't know why they're there. Obvious revelations and cheesy life lessons follow, flowing as freely as champagne and hors d'oeuvres. We suppose you could commend director Jeffrey Blitz (Spellbound) and writers Jay and Mark Duplass (Jeff Who Lives at Home) for their effective recreation of an unpleasant situation, right down to the stylistic and structural choices that give the audience the same limited view of the main celebrations as the characters. No one should be rewarded for laziness, though, and if Table 19 excels at anything, it's that. The fact that everyone spends much of the movie arguing about what their table assignment means isn't the least bit amusing or entertaining, nor does it offer any real commentary about America's obsession with status. Instead, it simply feels like an attempt to pad out a by-the-book script that jumps between misfit comedy and rom-com, but doesn't stray from the familiar path with either. It won't come as a surprise that this slice of supposed hilarity peddles a message about the joy that can arise from unexpected connections and making the most of a bad situation. Alas, as great as Kendrick, Merchant, Squibb and company have proven in the past, here they're average at best, and in some cases downright awful. Without any signs of character development, Kendrick's signature persona wears thin; you really have seen her do this all before. She fares better than some of her co-stars, however, who might find themselves wishing they didn't RSVP for their parts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BrKGHl5EXQ
Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor isn't just the domain of Robin Hood. In SBS's new six-part series, it's how a 13-year-old Northern Territory kid not only tries to get by, but endeavours to help his friends, family and others in his struggling community. The cheeky, big-hearted, hoodie-wearing teen's name: Robbie Hood. Giving a classic concept a uniquely Indigenous Australian spin, the idea behind Robbie Hood is both simple and ingenious, like many of the best are. Rather than following an adult outlaw attempting to correct the disparity between the wealthy and the less fortunate, the bite-sized show steps into the life of its eponymous hero (Pedrea Jackson) across its ten-minute-long episodes. In an area blighted by poverty, racism and systemic inequities at every turn — sky-high grocery prices that make meat unaffordable, and a foster-care system that does the bare minimum for kids in need, for example — when Robbie flouts the law, it's for a good reason. His light-fingered ways aren't a weapon in a folkloric class war, but a social-realist reflection of suboptimal conditions in Australia's Red Centre Forget Sherwood Forest, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Little John, Will Scarlett and Maid Marion, then. Instead, in Alice Springs' dusty surrounds, Robbie butts heads with kindly Shane the Copper (Dan Falzon), pals around with the always-hungry Little Johnny (Levi Thomas) and ever-sarcastic Georgia Blue (Jordan Johnson), and has a crush on checkout chick Mim (Tiara Doolan). He's always trying to make life easier for his Nana Mary (Audrey Martin), and, while he calls his boozing, guitar-playing dad (Andy Golledge) a dickhead, his love never falters. Robbie takes the same approach to his hometown — sure, he dubs it a shithole mere moments into the series' first episode, but it's still his home. Set in the lead up to Christmas, the show charts sweltering days, attempts to sneak into the local pool, quests to get enough pre-paid power cards to keep the electricity running and trips to the speedway, with writer/director Dylan River finding humour and heart in every scenario. Indeed, the show's ability to pair an upbeat spirit with an unflinching look at reality is one of its unwavering strengths. Robbie Hood's characters, including its irrepressible, irreverent protagonist, are well aware of their situation, and yet they're never defeated or defined by it. Perfecting that balance and happily dismantling stereotypes in the process, River is helped by his fantastic cast, especially the spirited Jackson — a first-time actor who oozes charisma as the titular thief. The series' expressive cinematography also assists, capturing the everyday minutiae of Alice Springs without a hint of sugarcoating, while also surveying its striking, sprawling desert landscape. River, however, is his own MVP. The young Aussie filmmaker crafts an entertaining and insightful exploration of life in the Red Centre, as partially inspired by his own life as well as the experiences of his friends and family. And, in making perhaps the best twist on Robin Hood yet, he also adds a stellar credit to his growing resume. The son of Samson and Delilah director Warwick Thornton, and grandson of pioneering Indigenous Australian figure Alfreda Glynn, River already has documentaries Buckskin and Finke: There and Back to his name, as well as cinematography credits on his father's Sweet Country and upcoming Adam Goodes doco The Australian Dream. All six episodes of Robbie Hood are available to stream now on SBS On Demand.
If you were planning on making jaffles one of your main dietary go-tos this winter, you'll be chuffed to know that you'll be able to do so while also helping out an excellent cause. Non-profit group Society Melbourne has opened the doors to its latest social enterprise hospitality project, dubbed Home.Two. Sibling to the Crêpes for Change food truck and pint-sized Brunswick cafe Home.One, this newcomer has set down roots at the University of Melbourne, where it's slinging Wood & Co coffee alongside an all-vegan, gluten free-friendly lineup of jaffles. You'll find hearty fillings like cauliflower and vegan cheese, mushroom and pesto, a plant-based meat and cheese pie version and even a take on the classic cheeseburger. And they're all going for just $8. The space itself is located in a cheery pocket of the university's New Student Precinct, located across from the tram stop on Swanston Street. It's set up shop inside a converted shipping centre, complete with a patch of turf and minimalist design by Breathe Architecture. You can take a seat on one of the wooden stools or grab a toastie on the run to your next uni lecture. The socially minded venue continues Society Melbourne's fight against youth homelessness, with 100 percent of profits going to its education and employment program. Run in conjunction with charities Launch Housing and Melbourne City Mission, the program offers life-changing employment and training for young homeless Melburnians, as well as a supportive work environment for them to boost their skills and confidence, from front of house to behind the coffee machine. Home.Two's also doing its bit for the environment, with fully biodegradable packaging and discounts encouraging customers to bring their own reusable cups and containers. Find Home.Two in the New Student Precinct, University of Melbourne. It's open from 7.30am–3.30pm, Monday–Friday.
This article is sponsored by our partner lastminute.com.au. Dreaming of a trip to New York? Win NYE in NYC for you and a lucky friend thanks to lastminute.com.au. Stay in the centre of the action. To make the most of your NYC stay, choose digs that are slap bang in the middle of the Manhattan action. Affinia Manhattan is a good mid-priced option or if you're in the market for something special on the Upper East Side The Surrey is fabulous. For all NYC accom check out lastminute.com.au's range here. If you like a spectacle, tap the costume and burlesque scene. Prohibition-era fashion and Gatsbyesque entertainment is the flavour of the decade in NYC, and you can easily get a hit of it by attending one of the regular parties hosted by Dances of Vice, Wit's End or the weekly Floating Kabarette at Galapagos in Brooklyn. Twice a year, Governors Island (a free five-minute ferry ride from lower Manhattan) comes alive with the Jazz Age Lawn Party hosted by Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra. Between Charlestons, you're likely to spot (and be spotted by) photographers like the Sartorialist, Bill Cunningham and many other notables in dapper ensembles (Baz Luhrmann was spotted by a friend last year). A visit to some legendary sources of thrift shopping like Brooklyn Flea, Beacon's Closet and Housing Works will be necessary for your costume. And just for fun. Nowhere does speakeasies like Manhattan. Enter Chinatown's creepiest alley, Doyers Street, and listen for the sound of music behind a pile of trashcans; that’s Apotheke. Concealed deep in a hotdog shop lurks the luxe cocktail bar Please Don't Tell. And you'd easily miss Little Branch but for the line of chic folk loitering outside its low-key entrance on a Saturday night. Dress me up! New York's H & M, Anthropologie, Madewell and Urban Outfitters megastores are fabulous, but blogs are a great resource if you want to get off the beaten track of clothes shopping. Racked and Refinery29 give a heads-up on designer sample sales as well as new store openings and events like the Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show. The East Village, LES and Williamsburg have great boutiques if you like unique, offbeat pieces. Need vintage glasses to complete your Woody Allen vibe? Moscot and Fabulous Fanny's will have just the ones for you. Crafty? Visit M & J Trimmings for sequins and studs galore. People are the key. New York is all about community. As the world's gathering-point, it attracts a very receptive sort of crowd. So make friends at bars. Get on OKCupid and talk to people. You might get invited to a party or find out about something cool happening just round the corner. It doesn't really matter where you end up, because everything that happens in NYC makes for a good story. Prepare to walk. And walk and walk. NYC is truly a pedestrian city, which is fantastic because it puts you in the thick of the action. At the risk of sounding like a grandma, make sure you have sturdy and comfortable shoes. Buy a wallet-sized subway map at a bodega and venture underground — the subway has some of the best buskers in the world, from Mariachi bands to break dancers to elderly beat poets. Brunch! On the weekend, brunch is an NYC institution. The Spotted Pig, Hundred Acres, Kittichai and every trendy restaurant up and down the Westside have special brunch menus, often with bottomless cocktails ahoy, so you can sag out into the sunlight afterward, happy as a clam. Casually go see high-profile musicians play for cheap. Check the line-up at Bowery Ballroom, Le Poisson Rouge and the Rockwood. Midnight diner meals are compulsory. Try Veselka, Seinfeld's Tom's or Katz' Delicatessen. Drunk? Order Disco Fries. Harness the power of social media. From tuning into the Facebook feeds of your NYC-based friends, or friends of friends, to searching Twitter hashtags like #bestofnyc to simply liking a fan page about regular events like the incredible storytelling series The Moth, there's infinite platforms to give you info on what’s happening right now. Walk the High Line and explore its surrounds. On the top of the Standard Hotel you'll find Le Bain, a bar with one of the best views in town plus bartenders dressed as tennis pros, circular pink waterbeds, astroturf and Nutella crepes. It's also a hop from the Chelsea gallery district and many designer flagship stores. If this list doesn't satisfy you, there's always tips from SNL's Stefon.
Of all the things that Kristen Stewart can teach us, what it's like to shout into the void — what we expect to happen, why we do it, and the simple fact that we do it — might be the most surprising. Welcome to Personal Shopper, a ghost film haunted several times over, and haunting in just as many ways. Reuniting Stewart with her Clouds of Sils Maria director Olivier Assayas, this is a movie that takes full advantage of the actress' minimalist acting style. The former Twilight star is known, and has often been lambasted, for seeming distant and fidgety in her on-screen interactions. But in an age when most people spend hours staring at their iPhones waiting for three grey iMessage dots to turn into a connection, aren't we all guilty of the same thing? Here, Stewart is well and truly one of us – distracted and disconnected, glued to her phone, waiting and wondering what comes next. Her character Maureen, a medium who works as the assistant to a celebrity starlet, spends much of the movie texting back and forth with a mysterious unknown number, answering probing questions and slowly revealing her secrets. At the same time, she tries to reach out to her recently deceased twin, who died of a congenital heart defect that she's afflicted with as well. With everything from the not-quite-vampire flick Irma Vep, to the complex crime biopic Carlos, to the melancholy student drama After May on his extensive resume, writer-director Assayas is a master filmmaker attuned to the subtleties and ambiguities of life. Still, no matter how well shot, paced and structured his latest film may be, it'd be a shadow of itself without its lead actress. Stewart is perfectly cast in a role that Assayas wrote specifically for her. Her relatable blend of awkwardness and yearning, as she tackles the existential malaise that spooks us all, is the main reason the movie works so well. Personal Shopper is a moody, enigmatic horror flick; a spine-chiller that unfolds one text at a time. But that's not all it is. It's also a recognisable portrait of how difficult it is to stomach mundane daily tasks when you're grieving, even when you're working in a seemingly glamorous job. It shows what everyday communication is really like, without resorting to cutesy ways of throwing text messages around the screen. Finally, it contrasts physical mortality with the eternal virtual realm. Blend all that together and you're left watching an immersive, intriguing film that demonstrates how modern life has become a conversation with ghosts of the digital variety. That's what a truly contemporary scarefest is really all about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSqMpkGOW9g
If you're going to launch a brand new online school encouraging creativity in girls, it doesn't hurt to have Marina Abramovic's backing. Or Yoko Ono's. Or Pussy Riot's. Or Sia's. Or Every Strong Awesome Wonderful Lady Doing Amazing Things Right Now. The School of Doodle did just that. A brand new, free online school geared to infuse a little creativity into girls' educations, the School of Doodle has launched a Kickstarter campaign with the support of some of the world's most high-fiveworthy women. The Portland-based (of course) SOD team (lead by Melbourne-born expat Kate Johnson) see an unacceptable lack of arts education in US schools, one they've particularly seen as detrimental to young girls' learning processes. "The arts are being cut from schools and yet all the research shows that when teens' creativity and imaginations are fortified, they excel and stay in school longer as well as develop the necessary skills for future success," says the SOD Kickstarter page. "After extensive research and interviews with teens, teachers and education reform experts, we believe that a girl’s imagination is a right and not a privilege. And, if we don’t fight to protect it, the next generation (of women and men) will suffer." The team have pooled their savings and started building their free online high school, but found funds wanting to finish the website (the key to the whole shebang). So the team looked to Kickstarter, bringing quite the flurry of famous friends to the party. Rounding up 28 all-round goal-kicking women like Marina Abramovic, Yoko Ono, Pussy Riot, Sia, Kim Gordon, Yayoi Kusama, Sarah Silverman, half the cast of Orange is the New Black and too many more to list without their inspirational faces, SOD had each fearless female submit an original doodle of their own devising. Kickstarter backers can nab an individual doodle or a colouring book with the whole series. Here's the backing team, it's honestly like scrolling through a glorious tunnel of oestrogen-charged high-fives: Right? What. A. Lineup. So once you've sent your Kickstarter backing funds, what can students actually learn at the School of Doodle? The team describe the whole thing as "part classroom and part content platform original programming, created by both teens and professionals, to engage and inspire imagination." The self-directed, free curriculum is made up of lessons called 'Daily Doodles', which end with a 'Doodle Challenge' each session for students to start putting their sweet knowledge into practice. The whole philosophy runs on creative confidence and 'being loud' through the 'three paths to imagination': Dabble, Dig, Do. If you're lurking in the dreaded so-called 'Dabble' stage (we've all been guilty of Dabbling), the team have put together a library of 'How Do' videos to get your creative juices flowing. And who's teaching these 'Daily Doodles'? This is where shit really gets cray. Salman Rushdie, Kim Gordon, John Baldessari, Yinka Shonibare, even Abramovic herself are all crafting lessons. Free lessons. From these guys: Best looking faculty lounge ever. Sure, there are no grades — students earn 'Doodle Dollars' that can be saved up and spent on live online expert chats, field trips (or 'dream trips') and other bits and pieces that 'aid imagination' (not in the Parklife way). But if Abramovic, Sia and Pussy Riot see value in a free online school boosting girls' creativity, we're on board for Doodle. Throw some cashola at the School of Doodle over here and nab one of those famously-penned doodles. Via Artnet.
Forget the trashy mags conveniently placed just near supermarket checkouts, and forget whatever the real-life royals are up to, too. These days, if you're keen on regal intrigue, then you're hooked on Netflix drama The Crown. And, after two eventful seasons, you're definitely eagerly awaiting the show's third batch of episodes — following the same characters but with an all-new cast. Since 2016, The Crown has peered inside both Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street, unpacking the goings-on behind Britain's houses of power. Set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, the series has charted her wedding to Prince Philip, her coronation and the birth of her children (aka Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward). As well as delving into the monarch's marital ups and downs, The Crown has also explored the romantic life of her sister, Princess Margaret, plus the major political events throughout the late 40s, entire 50s and early 60s. During all this, viewers have become accustomed to seeing Claire Foy as Elizabeth, Matt Smith as Philip and Vanessa Kirby as Margaret. In the third season, however, they've all been replaced to better reflect the passing of time. Fresh from winning an Oscar for The Favourite earlier this year, Olivia Colman steps into ol' Lizzie's shoes, while Tobias Menzies and Helena Bonham Carter do the same with Philip and Margaret. Also joining the show is Josh O'Connor as Prince Charles, Erin Doherty as Princess Anne and Marion Bailey as the Queen Mother. Given the change of cast, and the fact that The Crown's last episodes hit Netflix at the end of 2017, the show's third season has been eagerly anticipated. While neither last month's first teaser nor the just-dropped new sneak peek provide much at all in the way of detail, they both offer a glimpse at Colman as the Queen — with the latest teaser making fun of Her Majesty's transition from young woman to "old bat", in the words of the royal herself. Eventually, a full trailer is bound to drop, giving fans a broader look at the show's new stars. And, hopefully, touching upon the third season's storyline, which'll chart the years between 1964–1977, including Harold Wilson's (played by The Man Who Killed Don Quixote and The Children Act's Jason Watkins) two stints as prime minister. If you're waiting for the Margaret Thatcher era, and the arrival of Princess Diana, they're expected to be covered in The Crown's fourth season. For now, check out the third season's latest teaser below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_TE8yi58S8 The Crown's third season will hit Netflix on November 17. Image: Des Willie / Netflix.
Maybe it was a breakfast staple, sipped as a chaser after a couple of pieces of toast. Perhaps heading home from school, scooping as many spoonfuls as you could into a tall glass of milk and watching whatever was on the ABC was a dedicated part of your daily routine. Either way, if you grew up in Australia, odds are that Milo played a significant role in your childhood — cold, hot, stirred in, left sitting on top or however else you like. Milo makes everything better. Still indulging the odd glass, piled high with that delicious choc-malt powder, now you're an adult? Have a soft spot for a warm Milo on a freezing day? You're not alone. Come the end of July, here's another way to get your Milo fix: via the new, soon-to-release Milo KitKats. Yes, it's a case of one childhood fave joining forces with another — and trust KitKat, the brand known for oh-so-many wild and delightful flavours in Japan (cough drop KitKats, anyone?) to be behind it. The Milo KitKats will indeed combine the former's choc-malt goodness, via a fudge in fact, with the latter's wafers and chocolates. Three varieties are on their way, too: a regular four-finger KitKat filled with Milo, a KitKat Chunky filled with Milo (both retailing at $2 each), and a big KitKat block also packed with Milo ($5). If you can remember the old Milo chocolates that were sold up until the early 2000s — which were basically condensed bars of Milo covered in chocolate — then your tastebuds are probably already watering. For Milo and KitKat lovers that simply can't wait, you can pre-order the new collaboration online now, too. Obviously, you know what to drink with them: a regular ol' Milo, of course, with as much or as little of the good stuff as you prefer. KitKat's Milo bars will hit store shelves from late July, retailing at $2 per bar and $5 per block — or you can pre-order them online in advance.
Under current COVID-19 restrictions in Australia, you can't go on a holiday (locally or overseas). But, you can start dreaming. Bookmark this for when you can explore once again. Winding through the rugged expanse of Victoria's Wimmera Mallee region, lies the country's largest outdoor gallery, where the artworks are metres tall, and grace not walls, but towering grain silos. First dreamt up back in 2016, evolving from a small community art project, the now famed Silo Art Trail unfolds over 200 kilometres, where six large-scale works have transformed structures in Brim, Patchewollock, Lascelles, Rupanyup, Sheep Hills and Rosebery. The mural portraits, painted by a collective of artists in conjunction with Yarriambiack Shire Council and international street art agency Juddy Roller, capture the spirit and history of this unique corner of the world, each work offering a snapshot of its host town. If you're visiting the art trail from Melbourne, the closest silo is in Rupanyup — approximately 3.5-hours' drive from the CBD. From there, it'll take you just over two hours to reach the other end of the art trail in Patchewollock. That's the order we've listed the artworks here, but to design an alternate route, head to the Silo Art Trail website. [caption id="attachment_681273" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nicole Reed[/caption] RUPANYUP, JULIA VOLCHKOVA When you reach Rupanyup, you'll spy a realistic pair of faces by Russian muralist Julia Volchkova, an homage to local youngsters Ebony Baker and Jordan Weidemann. Kitted out in their sports gear and looking bright-eyed and fearless, the characters are a nod to the region's younger generation and the realities of rural life for adolescents. Here, Volchkova has used monochrome tones to capture a spirit of strength, creating a lifelike mural similar to her large-scale works depicting locals across Southeast Asia. [caption id="attachment_681271" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nicole Reed[/caption] SHEEP HILLS, ADNATE Shining a light on the region's indigenous history and community, the 80-year-old GrainCorp silos in Sheep Hills now boast a vibrant portrait of four locals — Wergaia Elder Uncle Ron Marks and Wotjobaluk Elder Aunty Regina Hood, alongside children Curtly McDonald and Savannah Marks — with a bold, dreamtime-inspired night sky as the background. The striking piece is the work of Melbourne artist Adnate, whose creative focus often lies in sharing the stories and cultures of Aboriginal Australians. Here, he has embraced the concept of customs and wisdom being passed down through the generations, and the strong ancestral bonds shared among the area's indigenous community. [caption id="attachment_681276" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nicole Reed[/caption] BRIM, GUIDO VAN HELTEN The striking Guido van Helten mural in Brim is where it all began in 2016, spurring inspiration for the rest of the project after putting this sleepy town on the map. Melbourne-raised van Helten kicked things off strongly with his earthy-toned portrait of four farmers, all varying ages, themed around shifting ideas of community identity. The artist's work using translucent aerosol paints lends a faded, ghostlike quality to the characters, shaking the concept of time. [caption id="attachment_681274" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nicole Reed[/caption] ROSEBERY, KAFF-EINE The latest addition to the Silo Art Trail is a captivating Rosebery mural by lawyer-turned-street artist Kaff-eine. She has set out to embrace the region's past, present and future, with a portrait of a young female sheep farmer, alongside one of a horseman bonding with his four-legged mate. Elements like cowboy boots, Akubra hat and oilskin vest aren't just an unmistakable nod to country life, but capture the strong sense of symbolism that is signature to much of Kaff-eine's work. [caption id="attachment_681275" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nicole Reed[/caption] LASCELLES, RONE Meanwhile, over in Lascelles, there's a sense of quiet wisdom that emanates from the portrait of fourth-generation farming couple Geoff and Merrilyn Horman, wrapped around two decades-old grain silos. Captured by Melbourne's Rone in 2017, this one speaks to a people's deep, long-running connection to the land, with monochrome hues and water-blended paint creating a hazy, ghostly effect through the work. [caption id="attachment_681272" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nicole Reed[/caption] PATCHEWOLLOCK, FINTAN MAGEE In Patchewollock, Fintan Magee's 2016 silo mural was inspired by a stay at the local pub, where he met his portrait subject, local farmer Nick "Noodle" Hulland. The colourful, 35-metre-tall piece is a fitting ode to the hard-working Aussie farming community and its rugged spirit. Hulland's shown gazing to the horizon wearing the classic faded flanny, sun-bleached hair and weathered face that so often go hand in hand with life on the land.
Lena Dunham had her debut hosting gig on Saturday Night Live last night and — because she's Lena Dunham and a camera was present — she got naked. For a debate that was once so fiercely alive in the media, it seems to have reached tipping point and become a joke in and of itself. Like your distant cousin who always gets naked to play in the sprinkler and is maybe, sort of, kind of, a little too old for it. At some point, you just let them run free. All in all, the show has been touted as a success. A visibly nervous Dunham centred her monologue on Girls, its nudity, and the problems she faces when everyone brings their sex problems to her. As the show's preview suggested earlier in the week, breasts and feminism were top priority, and culminated in skits deriding men's rights activists and making pubescent girls seem like the most terrifying thing in the world. Tragically though, there was no sign of Blerta. Haters of her Girls character Hannah Horvath will be both elated and annoyed by the stand-out skit of the night. In a bit titled Girl, Dunham plays Eve in the Garden of Eden as a version of her show's alter-ego. Alongside Taran Killam as Adam (also playing a spot-on version of her on-screen boyfriend Adam), Dunham takes Horvath's grating self-obsession to the extreme with lines like "I may have committed original sin, but at least it's original and I think I deserve credit for that." This is good news for Horvath haters because hey, at least she can laugh at herself. But it's also bad news because you still had to listen to that whiny voice for an extra two-and-a-half minutes of your life.
Hey boy, hey girl — we've got some news. Pioneering electronic music duo The Chemical Brothers is heading Down Under — for its first Aussie tour in six years. Off the back of dropping its ninth studio album No Geography just last month, the pair has just announced it'll be taking a new live show (also called No Geography) around the world this year. Stops include the UK, US and Mexico — and, luckily, also Australia. If you've been lucky enough to catch The Chemical Brothers live before, you'll know its shows aren't your average stand-behind-the-decks-and-play performances. They feature strobe lights, lasers and mind-bending images projected onto huge screens. It's sort of like a trip, without the LSD. If you haven't seen one before, take a peek at one of the psychedelic shows below. As well as new hits off the new No Geography album, including 'Free Yourself' and 'MAH', we're hoping the duo will add some throwbacks to its live performances — the late-90s and early-2000s hits 'Hey Boy, Hey Girl' and 'Galvanize' would be particularly welcome. As an added bonus, the duo will be touring the country with a big-name local: The Avalanches. The Melbourne-born electro group will be playing a live DJ set at all The Chemical Brothers' shows. If you don't know them, you'll definitely know their song 'Since I Left You'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tri7gjlmfdk THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS NO GEOGRAPHY LIVE 2019 DATES Brisbane — Thursday, October 31, Brisbane Riverstage Sydney — Saturday, November 2, The Dome, Sydney Showground Melbourne — Tuesday, November 5, Melbourne Arena The Chemical Brothers No Geography Live pre-sale tickets start at 10am on Tuesday, May 7 with general tickets going on sale at 10am on Thursday, May 9. For more information, and to sign up for pre-sale access, head to the Frontier Touring website.
Have you ever, ever had the theme tune from a 90s Australian television show lodged in your brain for decades? For anyone who watched the first two seasons of Round the Twist when they originally aired — or anytime afterwards, or the third and fourth seasons in the early 2000s as well — the answer is always yes. Audiences have author Paul Jennings to thank for the series, which initially adapted stories from his novels Unreal!, Unbelievable!, Uncanny and more. Musician Andrew Duffield also deserves gratitude, given that he composed the earworm of a main song. In 2024, Paul Hodge and Simon Phillips join the list, too, but for Round the Twist as no one has ever seen it before: as a stage musical. Hodge understands the power of that catchy theme. It's one of the influences, unsurprisingly, for the sound of the stage production from Queensland Theatre and Queensland Performing Arts Centre that's enjoying its world-premiere season at QPAC in Brisbane until Sunday, December 8, 2024. He also knows how deeply that the tune has burrowed into an entire generation of 90s kids' minds. "I said to Andrew Duffield, who wrote it, I said to him just before the rehearsal period 'how do you feel to know that you can just penetrate people's minds simply by them hearing 'have you ever…' and then it's stuck in their head for the rest of the day?" he tells Concrete Playground. "He was like 'oh yeah, it's fun. It's great'." Before he had musical-comedies Clinton the Musical and Joh for PM on his resume — and opera Riot as well — Hodge grew up as a fan of the lighthouse-dwelling Twist family and their supernatural-tinged adventures. If he hadn't, the idea to pen the musical of Round the Twist wouldn't have sprung for the writer and composer, who was inspired by randomly recalling a line from season-two episode 'Smelly Feet'. Phillips describes himself as too old to have known anything about the television series at the time, but helms yet another 90s Aussie classic making the leap from the screen to the stage. Previously, he's directed stage versions of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Muriel's Wedding. "I'm churlish that I missed out on Strictly Ballroom," he jokes. Fans have had since 2021 to look forward to the result of Hodge and Phillips' efforts with Round the Twist, when the musical was initially announced. This wasn't the first time that someone had approached Jennings and the Australian Children's Television Foundation, which produced the TV series, about bringing the Twists to the stage with tunes — but it was the first time that they gave the tick of approval. Hodges credits Jennings' stories first and foremost, including for having fun making the musical, and for a production that he hopes will be both entertaining and moving for theatregoers. "I think what Paul is really good at is that, as well as obviously his stories are fun and silly and bizarre, he understands what it's like to be a kid," Hodges advises. "There's this story of this kid coming to him at one of his book signings saying 'how do you know what it's like to be me?'. And I think that he understands also the not-so-fun parts of being a kid — what it feels like when you're embarrassed or you're scared, and things like first kisses and those kind of things. He looks at those moments and milestones of growing up, and portrays them in a very fun and silly and bizarre way. Because he has that understanding, his stories have a lot of heart in them, and that's what I've tried to maintain in the musical." How did Hodge approach his task as a fan of both Round the Twist and Jennings? "As a kid, I read Paul's short stories and then I watched the TV show, and it's fun going back and doing that again as an adult. The musical is based on the first two seasons, which were the ones that Paul wrote, and so I have now watched those — rewatched them — so many times now," he shares. "If there was any kind of Round the Twist trivia, I'm sure I could win them for the first two seasons." For Phillips, he looked at his perspective as bringing fresh eyes to something so adored by so many. "Initially, it was a long time before I watched the TV programs. I tried to read the script as if it was a fresh new work that no one had ever seen before, which indeed of course it was, but that didn't have the references. And then at a certain point you go 'I'm not quite sure why this is there', and the answer is 'because it's one of the most-beloved moments in the TV program' — and that's a good enough reason," he says. "But it also went through the process of gradually having a few of the favourite moments from the TV program getting lost in the storytelling. Because we realised that for this story to feel coherent, it just couldn't have everyone's favourite bit from the TV program, or it would have been a) four hours long and b) have no individual plot of its own." There were essentials that Hodge absolutely had to include, however. "I think I always knew that the 'Smelly Feet' episode, "up the pong!", would have to be in there, because that was the origin of it. It's interesting that for each of the Twist kids, I knew there was an episode that I felt had to be in there. For Bronson, it was 'Smelly Feet'. For Pete, it was 'Without My Pants'. And for Linda, it was 'Nails'. Those were the ones that had really stood out for me as a kid for each of the Twist kids." Hodge and Phillips also chatted with us about the musical's origin story, getting the green light from Jennings, the adaptation process, whether taking on something with decades of affection behind it was daunting, why Round the Twist endures and introducing it to a new generation — and more. On How Round the Twist The Musical Finally Came About Paul: "Apparently I wasn't the first to have the idea, but the Children's Television Foundation has said no previously. But the way it came about was that I had been trying to think of something that I could write for my whole family to come to, because I have a lot of nieces and nephews, and I wanted something that all the generations of the family could come to — my parents and my siblings and nieces and nephews. There's an episode of Round the Twist where Bronson, the youngest Twist kid, he's trying to save up the smell of his feet, basically, for six months, to then try to use it as a weapon. And when whenever he uses this power — he's using it for a good purpose — then he says 'up the pong!'. About eight years ago, my mum was changing my nephew's nappy one day, and she said 'ohh, that's a pongy nappy'. And my brain immediately went 'up the pong!'. Which, I think, also shows the enduring power of Paul Jennings' stories, for something from my childhood to come back to me in adulthood like that. When happened, then I went 'oh, Round the Twist, that's the thing that I should do'. And so then I then approached the Children's Television Foundation and Paul Jennings about adapting it, and the Children's Television Foundation said 'we've been approached before and said no, but we're going to say yes to you'. I feel very privileged and humbled that Paul and Jenny Buckland of the ACTF and Andrew Duffield, who wrote theme song, have placed their trust in me to tell these stories." Simon: "My analysis would be that it took someone, i.e. Paul Hodge, who had been the right age to watch the show to grow up and sufficiently develop the skillsets to write the musical. Because it was so of its time and of its audience. The 90s was its heyday, and so I feel that both in the writing of it and in the audience space for it, it's great that there's something that is there for the mid-30s to mid-40s generation who grew up on Round the Twist. But I, of course, didn't really know anything about the TV series, because I'm too old. And I think that's another reason why it took a while for the show to find producers — because the people who were in a position to support it financially probably also slightly missed the show, and didn't view it with the same affection as the generation who had really grown up on it. And so I started merely talking to Paul during COVID, who I'd met a couple of times before, when everyone was locked down — and I started really talking to him about the shape of the show and reading it for him and giving him some feedback. Then it started to find its feet after COVID. And indeed, with some fantastic assistance from the RISE funding, which got its workshopping process, that's what managed to get it up from the page to something that we could start really rehearsing on the stage proper." On Getting the Green Light From Paul Jennings and the Australian Children's Television Foundation Paul: "I think it was partly grasping why Paul's stories are so great. I think it was also that I could give a reason of why it should be a musical — not just coming in and going 'ohh, anything can be a musical'. Because I think with any story, the first question you have to ask if you're adapting something into a musical is 'why does this story sing?'. Lots of stories can sing — it's just people need to find the way to make that happen. To me, why I said this story sang was because in the way that Round the Twist works, all the episodes are kind of unrelated, because they're all each based on a Paul Jennings short story. But, over the course of a season, generally there's a thin thread that goes through the season and then pays off in the final episode of the season. In the first season, that thread is that they are hearing mysterious music that's coming from the top of the lighthouse, and then that pays off in the final episode. And in that final episode, they end up singing to resolve the plot. So I said that to me, already this story sang. Music was already a part of it, and singing was an incredibly important part of that finale of the first season. I think that was one of the reasons of why, to me, this story sang — and was one of the reasons that they gave it the green light." On Starting the Adaptation Process — By Watching Round the Twist, Of Course Paul: "I watched and continued to rewatch the show many times. And then, because there's 26 episodes in the first two seasons, it was a decision of going 'okay, what episodes am I going to include in the musical?'. So that was a process of partly going ' well, the finale episodes of the first two seasons are the ones that have an overarching arc to them, and the first episode of the series is obviously important in setting everyone up', so I assumed that I would be incorporating those. The I worked out my own thing of going 'what were my favourite episodes as a kid?'. Also, I trawled the internet to see if my episodes checked out as the same as other people's, what their favourites were. Then it was then trying to work out how to put all those together. And the thing that is holding the other important part of the music side of the musical —also of the TV show — is the theme song. So in the musical, the nursery-rhyme lyrics to the theme song are riddles that the Twist kids are trying to solve — and they are related to the different plots. So that's the thing that's holding these different episodes together as they're trying to work out this mystery. Over the process of writing, it's been a process of pulling all these disparate episodes together and shaving away each of the episode stories to its core element, and then merging different things together. When I sent the first treatment to Paul, then we had a conversation where I was saying 'well, in this episode there's a ghost that haunts a toilet, which is the first episode, Skeleton on the Dunny', and then there's this episode also where there's a ghost that haunts the toilet — and I've merged those two into one, and I've merged them also with this other idea'. And Paul was saying to me, 'well, that's the exact same type of thing that I was doing when I was adapting the books into the TV show'. So it was good to know that we were following the same process." On How to Tackle Directing a Musical with Such Adored Source Material Simon: "You essentially have to approach it in its own terms, based on its own musculature. You have to say 'what is this that we're making?', but you also fly in the face of certain elements from the original show at your peril. And this is that weird combo, because it's been books and a TV show, but the way that people relate to it, the characters have been semi-formed in people's minds via the TV show. Sometimes, I think when you're doing an adaptation of a film or something that has originated in celluloid, and you're putting it on stage, the ghosts of the people who originally played it is very strong in your audience's minds. I guess we have the advantage from the TV show that people also read it in book form and got their own individual images. And the casting changed inside the TV series anyway, so there's no single person where you could say 'that actor is in our minds Pete Twist' because he was a few different actors. So that helps us." On Not Being Daunted by Round the Twist's Page-to-Screen-to-Stage Path — and Huge Fandom Paul: "I think I'm more excited about it. I approach it from the point of view of a fan. Like, I am a huge fan of Round the Twist and that's how I've been writing it. It's as a fan and going 'if I was seeing a Round the Twist musical, what would I want to see on stage as a fan?'. So it's more been a process of going like 'ohh, people are going to love this bit'. It's been fun. And it's been important to me that it maintains the spirit of the original TV show. That's why I wanted to make sure that Paul and the ACTF and Andrew Duffield have been involved in the process as we've gone along." Simon: "It's more a great wave to surf — that you actually feel supported by the energy that its origins give you. And indeed, this is why so very many musicals that are made are adaptations of existing work: it gives the musical a launching pad, it gets it off the starting blocks with a little bit of an advantage, I think." On the Inspiration for the Musical's Songs Beyond the Iconic Theme Paul: "The theme song was the touchstone for the sound of the show in general. I wanted it to feel like it was all one whole and the theme song didn't feel separate from the rest of the score. So I used the feeling of the music in the TV show also a touchstone. And I wanted it to be definitively Australian, so I was listening to a lot of Australian pop and rock music, and I was listening to a lot of Triple J. I remember going back through the Hottest 100 one year, and going 'okay, these songs feel like they're the vibe of what I'm looking for'. I would just be listening to a lot of Australian music to try to make sure that the music in the show felt Australian." On Taking the Audience on a Tonal Rollercoaster Ride, as the TV Show Did Simon: "Part of the challenge, actually an interesting challenge of it, is that its tones are multifarious. So that's a balance, although music always helps with getting those maybe slightly illogical or over-sudden mood shifts that are required in a piece like this. Music is a fantastic tool in terms of immediately changing the audience's emotional sensibility depending on how the music's telling them to feel. In the end, the story is really quite moving, I think. It ends up having a big message about healing and restoring and mending the past. It's kind of a madcap farce in its first half in many ways, and then it becomes quite strong with heartfelt family elements to it in the second half of the show." On Why Round the Twist Struck Such a Chord with Audiences When It First Aired — and Since Simon: "I did have an opinion about that. I've been trying to articulate it a bit. I think there are, as always, many reasons, but I feel like it's very strongly to do with Paul Jennings' particular genius for identifying the inner hopes, fears and ambitions of children and teenagers, and speaking to those things in a way which was uncensored on behalf of saying the right thing for their parents. And so really quite often, the episodes of Round the Twist the TV series are dealing with really quite, in a way, risque or what would now be quite inappropriate ideas. But they're exactly the things that are going through teenagers' heads. And whatever you say, you can't stop teenagers having those anxieties and wishes and hopes, because they're teenagers, and their lives are changing, their bodies are changing. That was part of the real secret of the success, that it dared to be irresponsible about a whole number of different, quite erratic things. And then the other side is the imaginative — you can't help feeling that in another time and another place someone would have said 'but this doesn't make sense'. That was never an issue for Paul Jennings or the people who put his stories into TV. They were perfectly happy for it to have its own sense, its own illogical sense of logic, and stand or fall on that. I feel that was its secret ingredient in a way." On Conveying the Idea That Strange Things Do Happen — and It's Okay for Life to Be Strange, and for You to Be Strange Paul: "That's very important. And that was one of the things that I said to Paul when I was first approaching him and the ACTF about adapting the TV series, I said like that I feel like his stories are all 'weird things happen and it's okay to be weird. It's okay to be different'. One of the other main parts of the musical is, because sometimes it was quite scary in the TV show, there's this idea that I think is quite important that as well as it's okay to be weird, it's okay to be scared. Everyone gets scared. Even adults get scared." On Introducing Round the Twist to a New Generation Paul: "I am very excited by it. I always designed it as something that the whole family could come to, and that's why I think what is exciting to me is that the generation that grew up watching it will now be able to bring their kids and introduce their kids to the musical. So it's very, very exciting to me to have it for a new generation. And I think it shows the importance of telling Australian stories, and that they are good and they are worthwhile, and they should be supported and told — because these stories started out as books, and then they've become a TV show and now a musical. It shows the enduring power of those stories and how they were each passed down into different generations. Now I'm very excited that the new generation's going to get to experience these stories." Simon: "It pains one to say it, but you never really know what you've got as a show until you put it in front of that audience, however much your fingers may be crossed. You've honed it. This is the frustration of anyone who's worked on making a new musical, including the people whose musicals we see coming in from Broadway, fully honed and perfectly resolved — behind every one of those great musicals are three failed musicals and a lot of blood, sweat and tears. I think that you put a musical up there and our hope is that, this coming back to what we're talking about before, my job of trying to think about it as something that people who know nothing about Round the Twist might be coming to see — it has to have an energy and its own compelling narrative that takes them on a new and exciting, and hopefully equally eccentric, ride, as the TV series originally did." Round the Twist The Musical plays the QPAC Playhouse, Cultural Precinct, corner of Grey and Melbourne streets, South Bank, Brisbane until Sunday, December 8, 2024. Head to the Queensland Theatre and QPAC websites for tickets and further details.
Last decade, when Disney started snapping up companies like Pixar, Marvel and LucasFilm, it clearly had huge plans. Not only is the mouse house now home to many of the biggest movie releases each and every year, but to enormously popular properties that it can spread across multiple avenues — its forthcoming streaming platform, for example, and its theme parks. Both are beginning to ramp up, with Disney+ due to release in America this year and the first Star Wars-themed zone now open at Disneyland in California (with a second due to launch at Florida's Walt Disney World in August). Indeed, in the theme park space, Disney also has both Toy Story and Marvel hotels in the works. And, it's planning to add a dedicated Marvel area to Disneyland as early as 2020. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the company has just received permits to begin the necessary building works to bring its first Marvel area to life — and, like the initial Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge attraction, it'll pop up at Disney's Anaheim site. While few official details have been revealed as yet, it's expected to include a microbrewery, a character meet-and-greet area and a 192-square-metre merchandise store. Plus rides, of course, including a Spider-Man attraction that'll sit alongside the existing Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout ride. [caption id="attachment_726218" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout via Disney Parks Blog[/caption] With a heavy focus on the Avengers, the zones have been in the making for a couple of years, and will also join Disney's other parks, too. Both California's Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris will jump into the Marvel fun in 2020, Florida will suit up in 2021 and Hong Kong Disneyland will unleash its superpowers in 2023. Via Los Angeles Times.
From start to finish, Challengers plunges into a tennis match. Holding the racquets: Art Donaldson (Mike Faist, West Side Story) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor, La Chimera). The pair were childhood roommates and best friends, then doubles partners on the court. Meeting Tashi Duncan (Zendaya, Dune: Part Two), a ruthless tennis prodigy destined for big things, changed everything when they were teens — and now 13 years after first crossing her path, Art and Patrick are facing off at a competition that's basically a warm-up for the former, a multiple grand slam-winner is now married to Tashi and also coached by her, but represents Patrick's best route to a chance at big-time professional success. The bout that bounces back and forth throughout Challengers isn't the movie's only bit of tennis, of course. The latest film by Call Me By Your Name, Suspiria and Bones and All director Luca Guadagnino flits between moments in its main trio's life leading up to the pivotal bout, too, games included. So, as Art and Patrick compete in the movie's showcase showdown, years of complexity are batted back and forth alongside the ball — mentally and emotionally for the pair, and for Tashi as she watches on, seeing her husband and her ex-boyfriend do battle, and wishing that her career hadn't been ended by injury; plus literally for viewers quickly hung up on every serve and return. "I felt like we were just shooting this sequence for so long. And you're like 'dang, did we, what day is it? Wait, how is the character feeling at this point?'. Because you're still wearing the same outfits and it's supposed to be one game, but it's like the next week," explains Zendaya in Sydney, where she visited in late March on a promotional tour for Challengers accompanied by O'Connor and Faist. "I remember we had a storm, some weather issues, which ended up prolonging the process and all these kinds of things, but it was really special and cool. Sometimes I'd feel left out because I was sitting on the side watching them play and I was like 'hey guys'. But it was fun." Both in that match and whenever else Tashi, Art and Patrick are donning white and standing on green, tennis isn't just tennis in Challengers, though. "The tennis is the sex scene," notes O'Connor about a film that brings one word to mind over and over: sexy. This is a movie about three athletes in a complicated love triangle who are yearning to connect as much as they're lusting for tennis glory, as set to a propulsive and slinky electronic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Oscar-winners for Soul). Saying that Guadagnino laces the feature with desire is an understatement — and as anyone who has seen his work, especially both Call Me By Your Name and Bones and All starring Zendaya's Dune and Dune: Part Two co-star Timothée Chalamet, will know, it's also one of his talents. [caption id="attachment_951455" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Caroline McCredie[/caption] The result: one of 2024's must-sees, no matter how you feel about tennis going in. It's also a flick with much to discuss, as Zendaya, O'Connor and Faist did when they made the trip Down Under to screen the film, and also get talking at a press conference. Similarly covered: Zendaya doing double duty as a producer on Challengers, the complexity of Tashi as a character, playing such competitive parts, the picture's love triangle and queer themes, its immersive cinematography by Call Me By Your Name and Suspiria's Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, if KC Undercover helped Zendaya prepare for her performance and making "codependency the movie", as she dubs it — and more. On Zendaya's Working Relationship with Luca Guadagnino as an Actor as Well as a Producer Zendaya: "It was really, really special. Producing is something that I'm definitely not new to, but for me it's always been a way to be creative in a different sense. I was always a shy kid, and so the more I do this, the more I love moving behind the camera. I love being able to learn from people and and grow from different directors, whether I'm a producer or not. I just like being on sets and learning and asking questions —and problem-solving and figuring out how things work. And then also I think it's being able to have — I learned quite early, I think, when I was younger, being able to have a real title allows you to be able to protect yourself in a lot of different spaces. It allows for you to be like 'actually, this is what's happening and I can be part of this conversation'. So it also allows me to protect my work and myself and people around me." On Tashi's Complexity and What Zendaya Was Most Looking Forward to Tackling in the Part Zendaya: "I guess the obvious thing to read — I mean, many things these characters do, but to read Tashi, you'd be like 'she's unlikable'. You judge her immediately. You're like 'she's too much'. It's messy. It's whatever. And so I think my job was trying to find her gooey centre, and trying to find her empathy, and why she makes the decisions and what pain it's coming from. And I think ultimately while she's ruthless, which I love, there is something to her that is — I think it's grief, I think it's grief over a career and a life that she never got to live. And I think her true love, her one true love, was always tennis. And she is trying whatever she can to be close to it, to touch it, to do it. And so she uses people to get that feeling, because she can't do it anymore on her own. And she's never really had a moment to just sit with it, and I think that she's never allowed herself a moment to feel bad for herself. She's just like 'moving on, what's next?'. [caption id="attachment_951462" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for Warner Bros[/caption] I think we're watching that become a very real thing for her once her tangibility or her closeness to tennis is threatened by the fact that her husband's ready to be done. And she's like 'what? What do you mean?'. So these people are lifelines for her. It's her holding herself up and keeping herself alive. So yeah, I think it was figuring out her nuance and not just make her just bitchy, because I don't think she is. I think there's a reason behind everything she does, I hope." On the Competitive Nature of the Film's Lead Trio Josh: "I think the competitiveness is also out of an obsession with each other. At the beginning of this film, in terms of the competitiveness, when they're younger that's there but — I don't want speak to their characters, but Art is is on the way of falling out of love with tennis. And I think Patrick is just desperate for connection. I think all three of them are desperate for connection, whether it's Art seeking to restore the the love in his marriage or Tashi to restore this three-way love affair. I think Patrick, likewise, the tennis to him is the the utmost connection. He's always searching for that with Art, and with Tashi, too. And so I think the competitiveness comes secondary to that. But then also there's…" Zendaya: "We're so competitive with each other." Josh: "We are very competitive, but when it comes to tennis, not that competitive because we can't compete. But we were competitive between takes in things like Rock, Paper, Scissors and mini tennis, which I'm actually…" Mike: "Very good." Josh: "…Phenomenal at. That was very competitive." [caption id="attachment_951456" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Caroline McCredie[/caption] On Whether This is a Film About Love, Tennis or the Love of Tennis Mike: "It's kind of this weird thing, because I think we naturally as humans bring whatever thing that we're trying to get out of our work — we fall in love with whatever we do, whether that's storytelling in what you guys do or storytelling in what we do. And we can't help but put a piece of ourselves into that, and we're trying to get something out of that as well at the same time. And so there is this kind of bleeding of lines of that. And so it's probably both, is the truth of the matter." Zendaya: "We say it's 'codependency the movie'. I think that's what it's about. I also think it's about a million things, and I think tennis is the metaphor in which they use, or we use, to express that. What I think is really enjoyable, I think people, I've watched it with family and people who are not tennis people or don't really understand how tennis work, and they still feel like they're like 'ohhhhh' inside the match. And there's something alive in them, they still like they can follow it and it makes sense to them. While hopefully people who do really care about tennis will not be distracted by any of our imperfect forms, and will also be able to enjoy it and feel connected in their own personal way. So I hope it's for everyone." [caption id="attachment_947834" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Euphoria, Eddy Chenn, HBO.[/caption] On Which of Their Previous Roles Helped the Cast Prepare for Challengers Zendaya: "KC Undercover. No, I'm kidding. No, listen, the Disney stuff really does — it's a good training ground." Josh: "I did one sports film a long time ago, very early in my career. I had like one scene with dialogue and then one scene cycling. It was called The Program. Stephen Frears [The Lost King] is the director, it was Ben Foster [Finestkind] playing Lance Armstrong. I did no training, and I was cycling up, I think it's called the 21 turns in the Alps. And I got two turns in, and I always remember Stephen Frears was in a golf buggy going past, and all the other actors had been training for months, like Jesse Plemons [Civil War] and all these guys, and they were way ahead of me. And I was like [gasps] dying, and I was supposed to be one of the best ones. So, that doesn't answer your question, because that didn't prepare me at all." Zendaya: "That trauma." Josh: "Exactly, the trauma, I guess it taught me that I do have to prepare if I'm playing a sports person." [caption id="attachment_951463" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Caroline McCredie[/caption] On Getting Into the Win-at-All-Costs Mindset Mike: "The thing is, that what drew me to the character of Art was this idea of falling out of love with your craft. It's kind of this thing, is this idea I think when you're in your twenties, at least for me, I can speak to myself, is that I'm I moved to New York to become an actor. And I'm just grinding. All you're doing is just working, working, working, working. You're hustling, hustling, hustling. And then you finally get to a place of somewhat success and you've kind of achieved what you thought was the thing, and then you're of left with that idea of 'well, now what?'. And it's that thing — you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. It's almost a curse, almost, that thing when you achieve that monumental moment of success. You start to wonder just for yourself 'well, where else can I actually go from here? What else is there in life? Is this all of who I am? What else does compile a life of a human?'. There's a lot of questions and existentialism that goes within that. And that's honestly what I just connected with, is the truth." [caption id="attachment_951457" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Warner Bros[/caption] On the Way That Guadagnino Portrays Romance and Desire On-Screen, Including Through Tennis Josh: "Luca's always had this eye for, or an instinct to push that desire, and how to tell desire in ways that are less than obvious — and intriguing. I feel like that's just the responsibility of cinema generally, is how do you show something that is going to resonate in a new way, in a way that we haven't seen before? And yet also, Luca displays really classic, inspired-from-classics ways of telling love as well. At the same time, he references other films a lot. And so, he's always pushing it that one step further, I think. It feels exciting. Yesterday we were asked in an interview about the sex scenes. And Z was like 'there aren't any'. It wasn't a stupid question. It was a reasonable question, because it feels so on the edge of that at all times — and actually the tennis is the sex scene. That's their intimacy, and when they're vulnerable." Zendaya: "I do want to chime in real quick and say for someone who had really no idea about tennis and how it worked — because I remember all of us sitting around, and Luca was like, 'wait, so what do the lines, where do they stand like, what is this?'. And we would write out little maps and be like 'okay, so it goes here, and the ball goes here, and what does that mean?'. So for someone who really started, he really, I think, very quickly understood how to capture the the game — really did it in a way that felt very emotional as well. We never are disconnected from any one of these characters throughout their match, and I think it was very exciting how he made us feel like we were sometimes the character. You know, sometimes the camera is the player, sometimes the camera is the ball, and you just feel immersed inside of this this game. You can feel the sweat and you can feel their heartbeat. I think that that was really, really special to watch him map out, really map out shot by shot — it was a long shot list — and figure out how to take an audience on a journey visually, but also emotionally, somehow too." On How the Film Tells Its Tale Visually Thanks to Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom Zendaya: "Sayombhu is amazing. He's such a lovely presence to be around. I think also he's got such a calmness to him, and you can watch him, he'll sit down in his chair and he just looks around, and he's checking the light. Then he'll get up and he'll test something. He'll look, he'll fix it. Then he'll just go sit back down. He's so calm, and and masterful at what he does. Obviously, his previous work, we can see that. I know this is stupid to say, but like I felt like very, I don't know, like I felt like the light kind also played so much into how our characters — it's not stupid to say, I take that back — it played into our characters. He somehow gave us some kind of youthful glow, somehow, and was able to like make us look younger through his lights, and make us feel like we were in a different part of our life with the way that. He illuminated our, I don't know, our skin or colour. I'm not sure the specific technique in which he did so, but I felt like I could see a difference in tonality with the way he chose to to light us when we're younger versus when we're older. And I never actually asked him if he did anything different, or if that was a choice by any means, but I felt it at least watching it. Something feels like when they're younger, the colours feel richer or something, like there's just like the exuberance, and then something he did, he gave us, he contributed, I think, a lot that emotional arc of where the characters go." Josh: "He's also really like such a gift for a cinematographer to allow space, so that when you — it sounds really obvious, but it's actually such a talent, to make you feel like there's not a camera there. He was really good at that creating that environment. So Sayombhu, we saw him a lot in rehearsals, and he was the sweetest, most gentle guy. And then during filming, you just see him run past and be like 'what's he doing? He's doing some magic.'. But really, apart from in the tennis match with the cameras in your face, it generally really felt like we were in our world and left to it, if that makes sense." On Exploring the Film's Love Triangle and Queer Angles Josh: "In some ways, those conversations were never needed to be had, because really it's very apparent from the beginning that love and attraction and lust they have for each other is just unanimous. The point is that the three of them are bound together from the start. The three of us were talking about the first, one of the early scenes when Zendaya comes — oh, Tashi comes — to the hotel room and the three of them are sat there on the floor, which is such a teenage feeling. I think that's captured so well. But it's really funny as well. And I think from that moment on, the three of them are bound. And so that scene where it's a sort of three-way kiss, and then Tashi's enjoying the observation of the two of them, of Art and Patrick, I just think that puts them in this this tornado together — which allows for them to be incredibly nasty to each other, and act badly and act brilliantly, and compete and push each other. And so the undertones of relationships between all three of them go up and down at all times. So it's sort of unspoken, but yeah, I can see that that's that's very much there." Zendaya: "I agree. Also, just Luca is brilliant, and he knows how to carve things out that he wants more of, and nuance. And so much is done in things that I think aren't even on the page. You know, there's the scene that's on the page, and then there's another one that the characters aren't speaking, but they're saying to us and we can all very clearly read what they're saying. I think that's where he's so masterful. I mean, he knows what he's doing. So there's such a trust in in his taste, and what his vision is, also, for the characters. And that was apparent when I had my first meeting with him. He really understood them and their connection and their love and their lust and their everything in a deeper way than was just purely on paper. So yeah, it's definitely there." On Playing Someone Who Exudes Power — and Whether Zendaya Relates Zendaya: "I guess in some ways. I think she enjoys power in a way that I don't think I would ever be comfortable with. I think to me, I have an uncomfortable relationship with that idea. But her, I think it's very clear, I think, from when we first meet her that she's completely unafraid of her power and wielding it over other people, and playing with it and and toying with it, which is what I appreciated about it. It didn't take her injury to turn into this ruthless power whatever. She was like that as a teenager. She was already going into the game like this. She was like 'I'm a winner and I know that, and I know how to control people, through whatever'. It's clear from the beginning, so I appreciated that we weren't trying to reason her personality or trying to apologise for how she is. She just is this way, and we just see her, like I said, we see that strong veneer fall apart. The the decision-making gets a little messier, because I think it's now — when she was younger, it was fun, and now it's for survival. Before she was just toying with them because it was fun. And now it's like, 'no, this is my life now'. So I think the stakes became different. I don't want to relate too much to her now. But I say don't judge them, because I find that upon first viewing, you'll have an opinion — and then you watch it again and I guarantee that opinion will change. And then you watch it again, and it might change again. I feel like every time I watch it, I'm like 'ooh, Tashi girl, what are you doing?'. And then the next thing I'm like 'actually, she didn't do anything wrong and it was Art all along'. And then I'm like 'actually, Patrick, should have never said that'. So every time I'm angry at a different character, or I feel more passionate about a different character. I feel heartbroken for — it constantly changes. So I say don't judge because I feel like your opinions will change every time you watch it. And that's the fun part about the film. You just never really have the answers you want, and that makes you question everything and question yourself. And like 'who do I feel like?' It's just one of those those pieces. That was not to promote or anything — I genuinely mean it, every time I've watched it." Josh: "But also go at least three times. But, seriously, go four times." Challengers opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, April 18, 2024. Read our review. Challengers stills: Niko Tavernise / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Between them, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, JRR Tolkien, Bram Stoker, the Brontë sisters, Virginia Woolf and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are responsible for a wealth of literary treasures. So are Oscar Wilde, Harold Pinter, William Blake, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, Lord Byron, TS Eliot, Thomas Hardy, James Joyce, DH Lawrence, John Keats, William Wordsworth and Rudyard Kipling, plus AA Milne, Beatrix Potter, Dylan Thomas, Sir Kazuo Ishiguro and Zadie Smith. HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast mightn't seem like the usual place to celebrate them all, but it is until the start of August 2025, all thanks to Writers Revealed: Treasures From the British Library and National Portrait Gallery, London. Announced earlier in the year, open since mid-April and running till Sunday, August 3, this exhibition is all about paying tribute to great authors and writers — beyond libraries, bookstores, and your own bookshelf or Kindle. Indeed, getting the chance to revel in the talents behind some of the finest works of literature ever committed to paper in a stunning showcase across a gallery's walls is rare. Writers Revealed is a world-first. What features at an exhibition devoted to wordsmiths? Eager word nerds can see author portraits, plus rare handwritten manuscripts and first editions. More than 100 literary artefacts and portraits span the likenesses of the writers responsible for Pride and Prejudice, Romeo and Juliet, The Lord of the Rings, Dracula, Wuthering Heights, Sherlock Holmes and other masterpieces, as well as texts themselves, with five centuries of literature covered. As the exhibition's full name states, this is a collaboration between the British Library and the National Portrait Gallery, London. If you're wondering why the two institutions are pairing portraits with books, one of the showcase's aims to explore how literature and visual expression are linked. Also in the spotlight: the legacy of influential writers, plus digging into their creative processes. A draft of Dracula, what's thought to be the only Shakespeare portrait to be painted while he was alive, a picture of Austen by her sister, John Milton's publishing contract for Paradise Lost, letters from both Smith and Ishiguro: they're among the highlights that can be found across 1000 square metres in HOTA's Gallery 1. "We are thrilled to collaborate with the National Portrait Gallery on Writers Revealed, a truly unique exhibition that brings together some of the most exceptional objects from our collections. Visitors will experience rare first editions and exquisite manuscripts alongside celebrated portraits of the writers who created them," said Alexandra Ault, Lead Curator of Modern Archives and Manuscripts at the British Library, announcing the exhibition. "Featuring treasures that rarely leave our gallery in London, this major new exhibition will bring HOTA's visitors closer to some of the most-important figures in English literary history," added Catharine MacLeod, Senior Curator of 17th Century Collections at the National Portrait Gallery. "Encountering these displays, visitors will discover what is revealed and what is hidden when life, writing and portraiture intersect." Writers Revealed: Treasures From the British Library and National Portrait Gallery, London displays at HOTA, Home of the Arts, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast until Sunday, August 3, 2025. Head to the gallery's website for further details and tickets.
When Yo came out we thought it was totally ridiculous. A single use app that just sends the word 'Yo' to your friends, it seemed like another sign of the world going app crazy — a new age equivalent of the creepy and superfluous Facebook poke. (Seriously, that thing was solely used by your grandparents and first-time flirters). But, despite our cynicism, the app took off in a big way and has now led the way for something even better. Working in exactly the same as Yo, but bearing a different message, Beer?! has been born. Finally saving your text-tired thumbs from making six separate motions on the keypad, Beer?! allows you to assemble your drinking buds with a single effective motion. There's no ambiguity; no unique invitation to be carefully crafted. Beer?! is as simple as it gets. It's about drinking beer. Soon. Possibly with you. With no emojis, no timestamps and no awkward 'seen' messages, single use apps like Beer?! have a strangely alluring appeal. As people become increasingly confounded with their smartphone's latest fandangled features and constantly evolving uses, simplicity like this is looking pretty good. Available now from the app store, it helps that the service is both free to download and free to use. It also comes with a surprising endorsement from Portugal The Man. So, that's something. Of course, to use the app properly you'll have to arrange some details in advance. Your friend is only able to communicate with the word 'Beer?!' so you'll need to figure out if a reply equals confirmation, and if so, where you'll be heading. There's never been a better time to adopt a pub as your local. We'd advise you to just call them, but really, that would defeat the whole purpose. Via PSFK. Photo credit: Daveybot via photopin cc.
Contemplating a renovation? Before you head to IKEA or the nearest op shop, stop right here. Why settle for standard seating, expected entranceways and simple staircases when you could be installing sandpits under work desks and doors that double as ping pong tables, slides and skate ramps? Interior design is one thing, but home hacking is quite another. Here are ten ways to turn an ordinary house into a carnival ground. Forms in Nature Light Sculpture Turn your room into a scene from Nightmare Before Christmas at the flick of a switch. Ernst Haeckel’s drawings are the inspiration behind this sculpture, created by Danish designers Thyra Hilden and Pio Diaz. A complex, unruly root system surrounds a bright light. "The shadows engulf the room and transforms the walls into unruly shadows of branches, bushes and gnarled trees," the designers explain. "Mirrorings are thrown out upon the walls and ceilings and provide weak Rorschach-like hints of faces, life and flow of consciousness. Dimming the lights transforms the installation and one senses a weak fire burning deep in the center of the forest." Image: Hilden and Diaz Surfing with the sand between my toes Why settle for working from home when you could, simultaneously, be working from the beach? This installation takes the freelancer's freedom to a whole new level. Created by artist Justin Kemp, who's based in Massachusetts (about thirty or so miles from the coast), 'Surfing with the sand between my toes' aims to blur the lines between work and play. "The sand is relaxing, but for me it's more a symbol of my permanent vacation," he explains. "It's the design of a lifestyle where 'work' becomes so satisfying that vacation and retirement become undesirable. It's a permanent state of chill." Image: Justin Kemp The Ping Pong Door Here's a way to create more space, get your daily exercise and maintain a healthy competitiveness with your roommates, especially if you're living in a teeny-tiny apartment: a door that turns into a ping pong table. It's the brainchild of Berlin-based designer Tobias Fraenzel. "Design can and should be fun," he says. "A product that generates positive emotions in people, that brings them together and gets used again and again, that is a good product!" Image: Marcel Koehler Bedroom-to-Pool Waterslide Where Professor Digory Kirke's wardrobe led to Narnia, the cupboard in this proposed country mansion reveals a water slide connected to a pool. Yet to be realised, the plans are the creation of Neil Collins Architects, who specialise in one-off homes. The slide would be part of a £2 million, three-bedroom, underground dwelling entered via a TARDIS-style elevator. Image: Neil Collins Bookshelf-Staircase-Slide Why waste time walking up and down the stairs when you could be sliding? This multifunctional staircase has something for everyone. Architecture firm Moon Hoon came up with it when commissioned to design the Panorama House, a spacious home for a six-piece Korean family. It's one amongst many staircase-slides that are injecting fun into the daily routine. Image: Namgoong Sun The Cloud Sofa If you've never recovered from Neverending Story, here, at long last, is the antidote. Spend a little part of every day floating on your own private cloud. A shiny silver oval on the floor is what makes the Cloud Sofa as magical as Falkor. Its mysterious magnetic force can keep both you and your softest-ever sofa hovering all night long. We have D.K. & Wei Design to thank. Image: D.K. Wei The Skateboard House Welcome to Bart Simpson's dream home. There's not a single surface — inside or outside — that can't be skated on. It's the vision of ex-world champion, pro-skater and CEO of Sole Technology Inc. Pierre Andre Senizergues. He approached architect Francois Perrin and designer-skateboarder Gil Lebon Delapoint to make it happen. La Gaite Lyrique Museum in Paris exhibited a wooden prototype in 2011. Real-life construction is underway in Malibu, California. Image: Pierre Andre Senizergues Pirate Ship Bedroom Do you have a belief, deep-down, that Walt Disney should've cast you, instead of Johnny Depp, in Pirates of the Caribbean? You could see a psychiatrist. But it might well be cheaper to install a pirate ship in your bedroom. Designed by Steve Kuhl, this suspended schooner is entered via rope bridge and exited via secret slide. For miscreants, there's a one-person jail cell. Image: Steve Kuhl Moss Bathroom Mat The ingenious thing about this is that, as long as you shower frequently-ish, you don't need to water it. A latex frame holds together 70 x 6cm pieces of foam, planted with three types of moss: ball, island and forest. Not only do they form a complex microcosmic forest, they also feel super-soft underfoot. It's the creation of Swiss designer Nguyen La Chanh. "The idea was to find a new way of having your plants inside," she explains. "Not only plants in pots quietly standing in the corner of a living room, but alive plants, evolving in the house." Image: Nguyen La Chanh DIY Grass Couch All you have to do is find a piece of furniture, pack the frame with soil, plant some seeds and let them grow. Of course, a regular mowing and trimming routine is part of the deal. Back in 2006, these popped up all over San Francisco as part of the Let's Green this City initiative.
Two entries into their feature filmmaking career, there's no such thing as a bad horror movie from Danny and Michael Philippou. Talk to Me was a smash in every way possible: at festivals, with audiences, at the box office, with awards bodies and at introducing not just Australia but the world to a pair of potent new voices in the genre. With absolutely sign of second-film syndrome creeping in, the Adelaide-born twins' sophomore flick Bring Her Back is also an instant unease-dripping cinema great. While a Talk to Me sequel is also in the works, Danny and Michael have detoured into a different reckoning with loss and death first. And, where their debut movie featured Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim) as its big name, their second enlists two-time Oscar-nominee (for Blue Jasmine and The Shape of Water) Sally Hawkins. There's also no such thing as a dull conversation with the Philippou brothers, either. When Concrete Playground had a date to discuss Talk to Me with them back in 2023, Danny was apologetic that Michael was unexpectedly AWOL — and he was also bubbling with joking ribbing. This time, both siblings are present and keen to natter, but Danny has lost his voice. "Too much excitement. Too much screaming," he advises. It doesn't stop him from engaging enthusiastically and energetically, although that's always this duo's vibe. The brotherly teasing remains as well. They've been dubbed "horror twins" more than once since they've made the leap from RackaRacka's viral YouTube videos to worldwide movie stardom — and while that's a term that normally brings on-screen characters like the Grady girls from The Shining to mind, rather than filmmakers, Danny and Michael can get onboard with it. "I'll embrace the term," says Michael, after first pondering whether it means that he and his brother are horrific. "Horror twins, we're all for it," adds Danny. If the label "horror siblings" was being used instead, it could also apply to key figures in both of their features so far, however. Bring Her Back's version: 17-year-old Andy (Billy Barratt, Invasion) and his younger sister Piper (first-timer Sora Wong), who has a visual impairment. Grief haunts this film from the outset, as Andy and Piper find themselves grappling with a tragedy and in need of a foster home, albeit ideally just for the three months until the former turns 18 and can obtain guardianship for the latter. Enter Hawkins as Laura, who has lost a daughter, and now welcomes orphaned children into her suburban house with an empty pool and an ominous circle surrounding the property. Enter Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips, How to Make Gravy), the withdrawn, non-verbal boy already in her care, too. For Andy, Piper and viewers alike, Bring Her Back then plunges into an atmosphere of festering stress — and an environment within the storyline where anxiety and unshakeable mourning radiates from Laura, Oliver unsettles with just a stare and his presence, both siblings mightn't be equally wanted and not all motives are altruistic. Talk to Me confronted the end that awaits us all via personal loss as well — and embraced the yearning to hold onto loved ones now gone through a severed embalmed hand that, when grasped by the living, acted as a conduit to those who've shuffled off this mortal coil. There's no lopped-off appendage acting as a beyond-the-void communication device in Bring Her Back; however, the Philippous are proving themselves experts in dealing with familiar and frequently explored horror-movie themes firmly in their own ways, and also in new fashions each time. Beating, needling and piercing at the heart of both of their films to date is a truth that everyone knows in their gut but rarely vocalises: that losing someone means never being okay, or at least the same, ever again. Bring Her Back is another stellar feature from the co-director pair, with Danny penning their screenplays with co-scribe Bill Hinzman, that boasts a strong emotional core, then — and with thoughtfully written, resonant and relatable characters, even when they're making dread-inducing and disquieting choices. The Philippous' second film is also blessed with a phenomenal turn from a giving-her-all Hawkins, who certainly didn't navigate the same terrain when she was portraying Mrs Brown and taking in Paddington in that franchise's first two movies. One more Bring Her Back feat: it'll ensure that no one ever looks at kitchen knives and perhaps their own limbs in the same way again, while lingering in everyone's mind whenever diving into coping with grief and complicated families fuels any other future movie. When it gets gory — and it does — this is a film that audiences react to audibly. "We don't want them to faint," says Danny. "If you're prone to fainting, bring a pillow. Gasps are good, but please don't faint," adds Michael. "We apologise to the fainters," Danny pipes back in. As they both explain, they also found Bring Her Back affecting to direct, something that they mostly agree didn't really happen in their RackaRacka days. Cue the brotherly riffing again: "actually, Michael, we once set off a bomb and a stick got lodged into Michael's cheek. I thought I saw some tears from his loser," says Danny; "they were tears of joy," is Michael's reply. After Talk to Me exploded with such success, they were still committed to making Bring Her Back at home in Adelaide — and to original horror. Why? That was also part of our discussion. Plus, among other topics, Danny and Michael chatted with us about how the feature's origin story also involves being inspired by a friend's little sister, plus classic films like What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?; getting Hawkins onboard and then not wanting to let her down; and the pride that comes with being a prime example of how online videos are sparking a new generation of filmmakers, just as video stores in the 80s and 90s did. On How Talk to Me's Massive Success Helped Lead to Bring Her Back Danny: "It was like we had to sign on for the next project straight away, because I could feel the anxiety overtaking my body — and if we didn't sign up for something, I felt like I would have never made another movie again. Because you overthink it, and you're overshadowed by things. And if you're just making something, you can't think about it, you just have to do it. So yeah, that was part of the thing with Bring Her Back — like, let's just sign on. Let's start the process." [caption id="attachment_986977" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jono Searle/Getty Images for AFI[/caption] Michael: "It was being developed at the same time as Talk to Me. So it was a script that was already kind of almost ready to go." Danny: "It was bubbling away." Michael: "It was bubbling away in background." Danny: "It was bubbling away." On Drawing Upon Real-Life People, Classic Films and Personal Experiences to Build Bring Her Back — and Realising When These Pieces Were All Fitting Together Danny: "I think it's once we found some of those ending beats. And once you really solidify those things, building up to that is so much easier when you know where you're going — because a big part of the writing process is just putting together scenes and ideas and moments. And there's no real road map. But once you have a final destination, that's where you're like 'oh gosh, this is really powerful. This sort of speaks to everything that we've been writing'. And the build up to that just felt like, yeah, it was solid." On Finding New Ways Into Interrogating Grief and Death, Two Frequently Explored Horror Themes Danny: "It's still something that we haven't fully expressed yet. And naturally when you're writing, you're writing about things that have happened to you or are happening to you in that moment, and it didn't feel like we fully explored that subject yet. And we couldn't go into it thinking 'there's been all these films about grief already, we can't make another one'. We just had to make sure it was personal to us, and it was drawing from our own experiences, so that way it could feel more unique. We can't go into it overthinking what people are going to think or how it's going to be received. You just have to make something that's true to you." On Tapping Into the Truth That Losing Someone Never Means Being Okay — or At Least Never Being the Same Again Danny: "It was weird because we had a loss at the start of pre-production, and the film became our way of dealing with it and figuring that stuff out. And the script changed because of it. And there was a scene in the pool shed towards the end of the movie where it felt like we were saying goodbye to somebody, and it was directed through tears. So it was never a strategised thing. It was just something we were dealing with and expressing." Michael: "Yeah, some of the scenes are supposed to be horror. And then they turned out sad. I've never cried before directing, but I did in that scene." Danny: "Yeah, yeah. And my co-writer, when he saw the film, he's like 'what? What movie is this? What? What is this? We didn't write this'. And I was like 'we were just responding to what was happening, so it changed'." On Never Being Afraid of Horror Tropes, But Always Grounding Them in Character Danny: "There's something exciting about existing within the horror tropes. And some people deny that they're making a horror film. We do try to work it at a drama level and have it work as a horror film, too, but we're not afraid of those tropes — and embracing those tropes. And then doing your own spin on those tropes is always a fun thing. It's always about grounding it with our characters and in this place. And there's something about having the Australianisms of some of those moments and those beats, I think, that automatically puts it in a different lens from other films, if that makes sense." On the Key Aim When It Comes to Putting a Strong Emotional Core and Thoughtfully Written Characters at the Heart of the Philippous' Films Michael: "For them to work as real human beings. And even, say Laura, she's not outrightly evil — she's driven to madness from grief. It's swallowed her. So it's the world that has made it this way, and she was unable to let go, and what does that look like? It's the spiral. It's a lot about what the circle represents as well. So it's those things that, hopefully, you can empathise with certain characters — even if you don't agree with what they're doing, you understand why they're doing it." On Making Another Firmly Australian Horror Movie, and Doing So at Home, After All of the Offers That Came Following Talk to Me Danny: "There's something that just felt right about it. And we had so many offers, like dozens and dozens. And the budgets were mind-blowing. And the idea of doing it was so, it felt — yeah, that just seems so impossible to even to be offered that. But it didn't feel right. It didn't feel natural. And it didn't feel real. This feels real. This feels personal. And this is a proper expression — and we have full control over these characters and this narrative. [caption id="attachment_1007259" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Scott Ehler[/caption] And A24 is a studio that allows us to go wherever we want with the script and with the edit. And they're not sitting there — it's not filmmaking by committee. It's filmmaker-driven. So it just feels like — it just felt right." On the Pitch to Get Two-Time Oscar Nominee Sally Hawkins Onboard Michael: "She was the first person on our list, and we were thinking 'there's no fucking way Sally Hawkins is going to say yes to working with us'. But we sent them the script, we sent her people the script. And she read it, and we heard back and she said that she loved it, and wanted to jump on a zoom. And we had one meeting with her. And I was kind of afraid with the big Hollywood name, of an ego or something. I don't know, I don't know what I was picturing. But when we spoke to her, she's so down to earth. So amazing. She understood all the nuances in the script that no one else had, and she connected with it not because it was a horror film, but from a character point of view. She really understood Laura. And she was a bit intimidated by playing her as well. I don't know if she was wondering whether she could pull it off. But so, that was the first person that we reached out to, and it was who we got, which was incredible. And she blew everyone away. She's amazing." On What a Performance Like Hawkins', Including in Such a Complicated Part, Gives You as a Director Danny: "It was like the biggest fear of this movie was letting Sally Hawkins down. We didn't want to, us, put together this piece of crap when she's given a part of her soul for this performance. So that was always a thing in the back of your mind. You're like 'oh, please, we can't let Sally down. Please'." Michael: "And the film was structured to be in chronological order as much as possible. So you know these big scenes are coming, and you're so excited because you know Sally's going to go there. So there's those scenes, and you're watching it on the monitor, and there's this magic in front of your face. It's the most-unbelievable experience. And then you can just say little things to Sally, just one or two words, and she just understands. And she will just do another take with these subtle changes, but still in that character. It's unbelievable. It's so, so amazing to watch." On What Inspired the Scenes in Bring Her Back That'll Ensure That Audiences Never Look at Kitchen Knives or Their Limbs in the Same Way Again Danny: "It's just about tapping into stuff that makes you uncomfortable, especially when you're writing horror and stuff. Like metal on teeth, that is so upsetting to me, and so it's about tapping into that and writing about it, and finding a visual that surrounds that. And then when you go back through it, it's about finding a way to tie that back into character, back into theme." Michael: "And grief is all-consuming." Danny: "But also, all of it represents more than just that." Michael: "I know, I know, but I'm saying that's one part of it. And then when you have things like that that go into those ideas, what is the physical representation of the themes and what we're talking about from a character point of view? And those scenes, just they come — and it's one of those things. We didn't want to shy away from it, when that stuff does happen. And I don't think we did." Danny: "I don't think we did." On How It Feels to Be an Example of How YouTube Can Be a Launchpad for Filmmakers to Hone Their Skills, Find Their Voice, Then Make the Leap Into Features Danny: "Just so proud, because filmmakers or storytellers can exist in all platforms and can come from anywhere. They could be — like the future Steven Spielberg, he could be there, or she could be there, right now, just only having access to their phone, and that doesn't make them any less of a storyteller. So I like that. Even when we're in meetings now, we're really pushing creators and different people, and letting them know that this is the next gen. [caption id="attachment_1007252" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Scott Ehler[/caption] These people want to be able to express themselves, and they've got different mediums to use it. That doesn't make them any less of an artist. Yeah, I feel very proud of that." Bring Her Back released in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, May 29, 2025. Read our review of Talk to Me, and our interview with Danny Philippou about Talk to Me.
Before the pandemic, when a new-release movie started playing in cinemas, audiences couldn't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the past few years forcing film industry to make quite a few changes — widespread movie theatre closures will do that, and so will plenty of people staying home because they aren't well — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Perhaps you've been under the weather. Given the hefty amount of titles now releasing each week, maybe you simply missed something. Film distributors have been fast-tracking some of their new releases from cinemas to streaming recently — movies that might still be playing in theatres in some parts of the country, too. In preparation for your next couch session, here are ten that you can watch right now at home. BARBIE No one plays with a Barbie too hard when the Mattel product is fresh out of the box. As that new doll smell lingers, and the toy's synthetic limbs gleam and locks glisten, so does a child's sense of wonder. The more that the world-famous mass-produced figurine is trotted through DreamHouses, slipped into convertibles and decked out in different outfits, though — then given non-standard makeovers — the more that playing with the plastic fashion model becomes fantastical. Like globally beloved item, like live-action movie bearing its name. Barbie, the film, starts with glowing aesthetic perfection. It's almost instantly a pink-hued paradise for the eyes, and it's also a cleverly funny flick from its 2001: A Space Odyssey-riffing outset. The longer that it continues, however, the harder and wilder that Lady Bird and Little Women director Greta Gerwig goes, as does her Babylon and Amsterdam star lead-slash-producer Margot Robbie as Barbie. In Barbie's Barbie Land, life is utopian. Robbie's Stereotypical Barbie and her fellow dolls (including The Gray Man's Ryan Gosling as Stereotypical Ken) genuinely believe that their rosy beachside suburban excellence is infectious, too. And, they're certain that this female-championing realm — and the Barbies being female champions of all skills, talents and appearances — has changed the real world inhabited by humans. But there's a Weird Barbie living in a misshapen abode. While she isn't Barbie's villain, not for a second, her nonconformist look and attitude says everything about Barbie at its most delightful. Sporting cropped hair, a scribbled-on face and legs akimbo, she's brought to life by Saturday Night Live great Kate McKinnon having a blast, and explained as the outcome of a kid somewhere playing too eagerly. Meet Gerwig's spirit animal; when she lets Weird Barbie's vibe rain down like a shower of glitter, covering everything and everyone in sight both in Barbie Land and in reality, the always-intelligent, amusing and dazzling Barbie is at its brightest and most brilliant. Barbie is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. TALK TO ME An embalmed hand can't click its fingers, not even when it's the spirit-conducing appendage at the heart of Talk to Me. This is an absolute finger snap of a horror film, however, and a fist pump of a debut by Australian twins Danny and Michael Philippou. As RackaRacka, the Adelaide-born pair have racked up six-million-plus subscribers on YouTube via viral comedy, horror and action combos. As feature filmmakers, they're just as energetic, eager and assured, not to mention intense about giving their all. Talk to Me opens with a party that's soon blighted by both a stabbing and a suicide. It segues swiftly into a Sia sing-along, then the violent loss of one half of the Aussie coat of arms. A breakout hit at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it sparked a distribution bidding war won by indie favourite A24, it's constantly clicking, snapping and ensuring that viewers are paying attention — with terror-inducing imagery, a savvy sense of humour, both nerve and the keenness to unnerve, and a helluva scary-movie premise that's exceptionally well-executed. The picture's outstretched mitt is the Philippous' Ouija board. That withered and scribbled-on paw is also a wildly unconventional way to get high. In a screenplay penned by Danny with fellow first-timer Bill Hinzman, but based on Bluey and Content executive producer Daley Pearson's short-film concept — yes, that Bluey — shaking hands with the distinctive meat hook is a party trick and dare as well. When the living are palm to palm with this dead duke, in flows a conjuring. A candle is lit, "talk to me" must be uttered, then "I let you in". Once heads are kicking back and the voices start, no one should grasp on for more than 90 seconds, as Hayley (Zoe Terakes, Nine Perfect Strangers) and Joss (Chris Alosio, Millie Lies Low) explain. But, as she navigates the anniversary of her mother's death, Mia (Sophie Wilde, The Portable Door) is up for going as far as she can. Here, being consumed by sinister spirits, not consuming booze, is an escape. That, and filming whatever twisted chaos happens when you connect with the otherworldly. It isn't all fun and frights and games, though; when her best friend Jade's (Alexandra Jensen, Joe vs Carole) 14-year-old brother Riley (Joe Bird, First Day) takes part, traumatic consequences spring. Talk to Me is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Danny Philippou. THE NEW BOY Warwick Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis: name a better Australian quintet. The director of Samson & Delilah and Sweet Country, the two-time Oscar-winner and recent Tár tour de force, the local screen mainstay, and the Bad Seeds bandmates and seasoned film composers all combine not for the ultimate Aussie dinner party, but for The New Boy. None are debuting in their jobs. All are exceptional. They're each made better, however, by the luminous and entrancing Aswan Reid. As well as playing the titular part, the 11-year-old first-time actor lives it among such a wealth of acclaimed and experienced talent — and he's such a find in such excellent company, while saying little in words but everything in every other way, that Thornton's third fictional feature owes him as much of a debt as its applauded and awarded household names. There's a spark to Reid from the moment that he's first spied grappling with outback law enforcement under blazing rays as Cave and Ellis' (This Much I Know to Be True) latest rousing score plays. His sun-bleached hair couldn't be more fitting, or symbolic, but it's the confident way in which he holds himself as New Boy, plus the determined look on his face, that sears. Wily and wiry, the feature's eponymous figure is toppled by a boomerang, then bagged up and transported to the remote Catholic orphanage doted on by Sister Eileen (Blanchett, Nightmare Alley) in the 1940s. The cop doing the escorting notes that the kid is a bolter, but the nun is just as fast in her kindness. She sees what Thornton wants his audience to see: a boy that beams with his presence and through his sense of self, even though he's been snatched up, taken from his Country and forced into a Christian institution against his will. Sister Eileen is as drawn to him as the movie, but — and not just due to the red wine she likes sipping and the subterfuge she's keeping up about the resident father's absence — she isn't as certain about what to do. The New Boy is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Warwick Thornton. RED WHITE & BRASS Watch Red, White & Brass and you'll never see the pre-game or half-time entertainment at a big sporting match the same way again. Of course, if Rihanna, or Beyoncé with Destiny's Child, or a heap of hip hop and rap legends are taking to the stage at the Super Bowl, you won't question it — but if there's a community band on the turf, you might start wondering when they first picked up their instruments, why and if it was only four weeks ago to make it to this very gig. Are they just out there because they were that desperate to see their team play? And, because they missed out on expensive and instantly sold-out tickets? Were they so eager, in fact, that they bluffed their way into a gig by claiming to already be a musical group, then had to speedily do anything and everything to learn how to get melodic, and obviously not embarrass themselves, in a passion-fuelled whirlwind of pretence and practice? A band solely forming to score access to a rugby game sounds like pure screenwriting confection. Often enough, though, when tales like that make it to the silver screen, it's because they're so wild that they can only be true. Such is the case with Red, White & Brass' premise, as it notes at the outset, with co-writer Halaifonua (Nua) Finau scripting the story with first-time feature director Damon Fepulea'i from his very own experiences. Back in 2011, New Zealand hosted the Rugby World Cup, which was a source of particular excitement to Aotearoa's Tongan population, and especially to avid aficionados at a Wellington church. The kind of fans that were showing their devotion by decking out their homes in the Tongan flag top to bottom, hitching the red-and-white cloth to every free space on their cars and carrying around the symbol on their phone cases, they were determined to see Tonga play France in their own home city, and willing to whatever it takes to do so — wholesomely, in the type of underdog story about fervour, ingenuity, self-belief and luck that engagingly makes for an easy and warm-hearted cinema crowd-pleaser. Red, White & Brass is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with John-Paul Foliaki and Damon Fepulea'i. CARMEN Breaking down a classic tale best known as an opera, rebuilding it as a lovers-on-the-run drama set across the US–Mexico border and making every moment burst with emotion, Benjamin Millepied's Carmen is a movie that moves. While its director is a feature debutant, his background as a dancer and choreographer — he did both on Black Swan, the latter on Vox Lux as well, then designed the latest Dune films' sandwalk — perhaps means that the former New York City Ballet principal and Paris Opera Ballet Director of Dance was fated to helm rhythmic, fluid and rousing cinema. His loose take on Georges Bizet's singing-driven show and Prosper Mérimée's novella before it, plus Alexander Pushkin's poem The Gypsies that the first is thought to be based on, is evocative and sensual. It's sumptuous and a swirl of feelings, too, as aided in no small part by its penchant for dance. And, it pirouettes with swoon-inducing strength with help from its stunningly cast leads: Scream queen and In the Heights star Melissa Barrera, plus Normal People breakout and Aftersun Oscar-nominee Paul Mescal. When Mescal earned the world's attention in streaming's initial Sally Rooney adaptation, he had viewers dreaming of fleeing somewhere — Ireland or anywhere — with him. Carmen's namesake (Barrera) absconds first, then has PTSD-afflicted Marine Aidan (Mescal) join her attempt to escape to Los Angeles. Carmen runs after her mother Zilah (flamenco dancer Marina Tamayo) greets the cartel with thunderous footwork, but can't stave off their violence. Aidan enters the story once Carmen is smuggled stateside, where he's a reluctant volunteer border guard in Texas alongside the trigger-happy Mike (Benedict Hardie, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson). As the picture's central pair soon hurtle towards California, to Zilah's lifelong friend Masilda's (Rossy de Palma, Parallel Mothers) bar, they try to fly to whatever safety and security they can find. That may be fleeting, however, and might also be in each other's arms. Carmen is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Benjamin Millepied. HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE Every story is built upon cause and effect. One thing happens, then another as a result, and so a narrative springs. Inspired by Andreas Malm's non-fiction book of the same name, How to Blow Up a Pipeline isn't just strung together by causality — it's firmly, actively and overtly about starting points, consequences and the connections between. Here's one source for this impassioned tale about determined and drastic environmental activism: the warming world. Here's an originator for that, too: fossil fuels, humanity's reliance upon them and the profits reaped from that status quo. Now, a few outcomes: pollution, catastrophic weather changes, terminal illnesses, stolen and seized land, corporate interests prioritised over ecological necessities, and a growing group that's driven to act because existence is at stake. Turning a text subtitled Learning to Fight in a World on Fire into a fictional feature, How to Blow Up a Pipeline joins all of the above, stressing links like it is looping string from pin to pin, and clue to clue, on a detective's corkboard. In his second feature after 2018's smart and effective camgirl horror Cam, writer/director Daniel Goldhaber isn't trying to be subtle about what dovetails in where. With co-screenwriters Jordan Sjol (a story editor on Cam) and Ariela Barer (also one of How to Blow Up a Pipeline's stars), he isn't attempting to rein in the film's agenda or complexity. This movie tells the tale that's right there in its name, as eight people from across America congregate in Texas' west with a plan — an octet of folks who mostly would've remained loosely connected, some strangers and others lovers and friends, if they weren't desperate to send a message that genuinely garners attention. Goldhaber's latest is explosive in its potency and thrills, and startling in its urgency, as it focuses on a decision of last resort, the preparation and the individual rationales before that. How to blow up hedging bets on-screen? That's also this tightly wound, instantly gripping, always rage-dripping picture. How to Blow Up a Pipeline is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. SISU Lean, mean and a Nazi-killing machine: that's Sisu and its handy-with-a-hunting-knife (and pickaxe) protagonist alike. This stunningly choreographed Finnish action film's title doesn't have a literal equivalent in English, but writer/director Jalmari Helander's (Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale) latest effort means stoic, tenacious, resolute, brave and gritty all in that four-letter term; again, both the movie and the man at its centre fit the description. Former soldier Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila, also Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale) has one aim. After he strikes gold and plenty of it in Lapland's far reaches, he's keen to cash in. For someone who has already lost everyone and everything to World War II, that requires transporting his haul; however, the year is 1944 and German troops still lurk even as the combat winds down. Accordingly, getting those gleaming nuggets from the wilderness to a bank means facing a greedy and unrelenting platoon led by Helldorf (Aksel Hennie, The Cloverfield Paradox), who can spy a payday and an exit strategy for himself. Before anything yellow shimmers, Nazi-filled tanks are sighted, a single shot is fired or a blow swung, Sisu explains its moniker as "a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination". Text on-screen also advises that "sisu manifests itself when all hope is lost." As a film, Sisu may as well be shorthand for John Wick meets Inglourious Basterds meets Django, the iconic 1966 spaghetti western that Quentin Tarantino riffed on with Django Unchained, too — plus all of that meets the work of legendary spaghetti western director Sergio Leone as well. The carnage is that balletic. The Nazi offings are that brutal, roguish and inventive. And valuing deeds over dialogue as a lone figure dispatches with nefarious forces against an unforgiving landscape, and no matter what they throw at him, is firmly the setup. Sisu is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY Old hat, new whip. No, that isn't Dr Henry Walton 'Indiana' Jones' shopping list, but a description of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. While the fifth film about the eponymous archaeologist is as familiar as Indy films come, it's kept somewhat snapping by the returning Harrison Ford's on-screen partnership with Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge. When this 15-years-later sequel to 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull begins — swinging into cinemas after 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, too — Indy's trademark fedora and strip of leather have already enjoyed ample action. So has the George Lucas-created franchise's basic storyline. If you've seen one Indy outing in the past 42 years, you've seen the underlying mechanics of every other Indy outing. And yet, watching Ford flashing his crooked smile again, plus his bantering with Waller-Bridge, is almost enough to keep this new instalment from Logan and Ford v Ferrari filmmaker James Mangold whirring. Across the quintet of Indy flicks — a number contractually locked in at the outset, even if it took almost half a century to notch them all up — a trinket always needs recovering. Whether it's a relic, stone, cup, carving or, as here, a device by Ancient Greek mathematician, philosopher and inventor Archimedes that might facilitate time travel, nefarious forces (typically Nazis) always want said item as well. Also, only antics that've influenced the likes of Tomb Raider, National Treasure and Jungle Cruise can ensure that whatever whatsit is at the heart of whichever picture stays out of the wrong hands. The object in question falls into those mitts at some point, of course. Indy goes globetrotting and cave diving to save it, and skeletons and creepy-crawlies tend to get in his way. Reliably, he has female company. Frequently, there's a young offsider tagging along. A constant: the whole escapade bounding to the tune of John Williams' rousing theme, which is now acoustically synonymous with adventure. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE BOOGEYMAN Teenagers are savage in The Boogeyman, specifically to Yellowjackets standout Sophie Thatcher, but none of them literally take a bite. Grief helps usher a stalking dark force to a distraught family's door; however, that malevolent presence obviously doesn't share The Babadook's moniker. What can and can't be seen haunts this dimly lit film from Host and Dashcam director Rob Savage, and yet this isn't Bird Box, which co-star Vivien Lyra Blair also appeared in. And a distressed man visits a psychiatrist to talk about his own losses, especially the otherworldly monster who he claims preyed upon his children, just as in Stephen King's 1973 short story also called The Boogeyman — but while this The Boogeyman is based on that The Boogeyman, which then made it into the author's 1978 Night Shift collection that gave rise to a packed closet full of fellow movie adaptations including Children of the Corn, Graveyard Shift and The Lawnmower Man, this flick uses the horror maestro's words as a mere beginning. On the page and the screen alike, Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian, Boston Strangler) seeks therapist Will Harper's (Chris Messina, Air) assistance, reclining on his couch to relay a tragic tale. As the new patient talks, he isn't just shaken and shellshocked — he's a shadow of a person. He's perturbed by what loiters where light doesn't reach, in fact, and by what he's certain has been lurking in his own home. Here, he couldn't be more adamant that "the thing that comes for your kids when you're not paying attention" did come for his. And, the film Lester has chosen his audience carefully, because Will's wife recently died in a car accident, leaving his daughters Sadie (Thatcher) and Sawyer (Blair) still struggling to cope. On the day of this fateful session, the two girls have just returned to school for the first time, only for Sadie to sneak back when her so-called friends cruelly can't manage any sympathy. The Boogeyman is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. MEG 2: THE TRENCH Jaws, but bigger. Jurassic Park but sharks. Like a prehistoric underwater predator scooping up a heap of beachgoers in one hefty mouthful, describing what The Meg and its sequel Meg 2: The Trench are each aiming to be is easy. Ridiculous big-screen fun that sets Jason Statham (Fast X) against multiple megalodons, his scowl as shiny as their razor-sharp teeth: they're the type of waters that this creature-feature franchise also wants to paddle in. Since debuting in cinemas in 2018, all things The Meg have always had a seriousness problem, however. They're at their best when they're also at their silliest, but they're rarely as entertainingly ludicrous as they're desperate to be. This five-years-later follow-up might task Statham with shooting harpoons while riding a jet ski at a tourist-trap holiday destination called Fun Island — and also busting out the line "see ya later, chum", which lands with such a sense of self-satisfaction that it feels like the entire reason that the movie even exists — but such gleeful preposterousness is about as common as a herbivore with a meg's massive chompers. Again based on one of author Steve Alten's books — he's penned seven so far, so more flicks are likely — Meg 2: The Trench doesn't just want to ape the Jurassic series. It does exactly that overtly and unsubtly from the outset, but this film is also happy to brazenly treat multiple movies from a few decades back as fuel for its choppy antics. When the feature starts, it's 65 million years ago, dinosaurs demonstrate the cretaceous period's food chain, then a megalodon shows who's boss from the water. Obviously, life will find a way to bring some of this sequence's non-meg critters into the present day. Next comes a dive in The Abyss' slipstream, before embracing being a Jaws clone again — even shouting out to Jaws 2 in dialogue — but with a Piranha vibe. Before it's all over, Meg 2: The Trench also flails in Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus' direction, just with a visibly larger budget. Meg 2: The Trench is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Looking for more at-home viewing options? Take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows — and fast-tracked highlights from January, February, March, April, May, June, July and August, too. You can also peruse our best new films, new TV shows, returning TV shows and straight-to-streaming movies of 2023 so far
If you think that climbing Mount Everest is a massive endeavour, then wait until you hear about the latest venture from ex-Noma chef James Sharman. As part of his One Star House Party project, he's taking 15 adventurous diners on a 14-day trek of the mammoth Himalayan mountain, complete with a pop-up fine-dining restaurant. Participants will hike to base camp for the meal of a lifetime, setting off on December 10 and returning on December 23. Just what Sharman will whip up when they get there is yet to be revealed; however, given that his roving culinary party aims to showcase the cuisines of each country that he visits and make meals out of ingredients he discovers along the way, inventive takes on Nepalese fare is more than likely. Now that's how you celebrate scaling the world's highest peak above sea level — but, of course, the catch is that attendees have to do the hard work to get there first. And it doesn't come cheap, unsurprisingly. The eager climbers each pay US$1050 per person, which includes accommodation in guest houses along the way and other necessities for the trip. Nepal marks Sharman's fourth stop in his 20-month plan to host 20 restaurants in 20 countries, after starting in Beijing in September, then visiting Ho Chi Minh in October and Bangkok in November. Mumbai is next on the agenda, with the delicious escapade also touching everywhere from Nairobi, Berlin and Reykjavik to Santiago, Vancouver and Kyoto. Yes, Australia is included, with a Tasmanian stopover slated for June 2018. For more information about One Star House Party, visit www.onestarhouseparty.com. Image: Nick Taz.
It has been 13 years since Planet Earth, the 11-part documentary series that combined stunning high-definition images of this place we all call home with David Attenborough's inimitable narration. It has been three years since Planet Earth II, the show's six-part sequel, did the same too. A third program, Planet Earth III, is slated to join them in 2022 — but you don't need to wait that long for your next Attenborough-voiced nature doco fix. Four years in the making, Netflix's Our Planet will help fill the gap. Releasing in April, it isn't related to BBC's Planet shows — which also include The Blue Planet and Frozen Planet — but it does still feature Attenborough's informative tones. Across eight episodes, the iconic broadcaster and natural historian will talk viewers through the planet's remaining wilderness areas and their animal inhabitants. The series is made in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, so expect to see plenty of astonishing and majestic critters. And we do mean plenty. Our Planet was filmed in 50 countries across all the continents of the world, heading everywhere from the remote Arctic wilderness to the South American jungles — and to sprawling African landscapes and the depths of the ocean, as well. In total, it took 600 crew members to shot the series, who helped capture a plethora of never-before-filmed sites over more than 3500 filming days. It's also filmed in ultra high-definition at 4K resolution, so should your TV support it, you'll be in for quite the detailed glimpse at the natural world. Check out the full trailer below: Our Planet starts streaming on Netflix on April 5. Image: (c) Ben Macdonald/Silverback Films.
A small, rotating cast of volunteer musicians come together as The String Orchestra of Brooklyn (SOB) to produce site-specific musical experiments and collaborations with other New York area musicians. According to executive director and founder Eli Spindel, the strength of SOB lies in the orchestra's versatility. "We have the flexibility to take risks and follow our musical curiosity wherever it might lead," he said. Recently, SOB's "musical curiosity" led to a collaboration with ISSUE Project Room on the March 17 production of String Theories 2012. Held in St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn, String Theories featured the works of four commissioned composers: Anthony Coleman, Eric Wubbels, Spencer Yeh, and MV Carbon. The goal of the project was to create performances on a larger-than-realistic scale, playing on the physicality of the orchestra members and adopting new musical techniques. "It will definitely get a bit rowdy," Spindel said pre-performance. Upcoming events include the 2012 Parks Concert Series, where SOB, in collaboration with The Fort Greene Park Conservatory, has joined the outdoor concert lineup. https://youtube.com/watch?v=UU6VdE35Htg
What does a group of pink guards do when they hit an Australian beach? That isn't likely to be a storyline in Squid Game when it returns for its second season on Boxing Day 2024, but we have been given the answer in the lead up to the show's much-anticipated comeback anyway. In Melbourne on the morning of Tuesday, December 10, 2024, St Kilda Beach welcomed 200 visitors, all kicking back on the sand — on towels, reading, sitting under umbrellas, throwing balls, flying kites and more — in eye-catching Squid Game attire. As announced on Monday, December 9, Netflix sent a continent of pink guards to the seaside patch of the Victorian capital to remind everyone that the show's second season is on the way — and soon — in an eerie fashion. There wasn't a green tracksuit in sight, but there were plenty of jumpsuit- and mask-wearing folks enjoying a morning out. This isn't the first time that the streaming platform has brought the South Korean sensation Down Under. When season one proved a massive success, the creepy Red Light, Green Light doll from the show towered over Sydney Harbour. Up at Sydney's Luna Park, you'll have another chance to get some IRL Squid Game action — without any murder, of course — when an immersive experience hits the tourist attraction to get you playing Red Light, Green Light from Monday, December 16, 2024. Three years have passed since Squid Game became an award-winning Netflix sensation — for viewers and, in the show itself when new episodes drop, for Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae, The Acolyte) as well. Audiences and Player 456 are alike are in for a new round of life-or-death matches when the streaming smash finally returns, although only the series' protagonist will be fighting for survival again while on a quest to shut down this chaos forever in season two. No one watching should ever want Squid Game to end; however, the show itself will wrap up in 2025 with season three. First comes the long-awaited second season to end 2024, though, where Player 456 is back in the game with new fellow competitors for company. Netflix has been dropping multiple early looks at season two, including a teaser trailer to kick off November — and it finished off the month with a new glimpse at what's to come. As the show's protagonist dons his green threads once more for the new season, his new fellow competitors are wary of his motives. Also part of the recent teases: Lee Byung-hun (The Magnificent Seven) as Gi-hun's nemesis Front Man, plus Wi Ha-joon (Little Women) also back as detective Hwang Jun-ho. For season two, Gong Yoo (Train to Busan) also returns as the man in the suit who got Gi-hun into the game in the first place; however, a show about a deadly competition that has folks battling for ridiculous riches comes with a hefty bodycount. Accordingly, new faces were always going to be essential — which is where Yim Si-wan (Emergency Declaration), Kang Ha-neul (Insider), Park Sung-hoon (The Glory) and Yang Dong-geun (Yaksha: Ruthless Operations) all come in. Squid Game's pink guards took over St Kilda Beach in Melbourne on the morning of Tuesday, December 10, 2024. Head to Netflix's social media for more details. Squid Game season two streams via Netflix from Thursday, December 26, 2024. Season three will arrive in 2025 — we'll update you when an exact release date for it is announced.
How many ways can Melbourne go dotty for Yayoi Kusama? Everyone is about to find out. The National Gallery of Victoria's big summer 2024–25 exhibition is dedicated to the Japanese artist, complete with a five-metre-tall dot-covered Dancing Pumpkin sculpture in NGV International's Federation Court, plus a world record-breaking number of infinity rooms and other immersive installations, many featuring spots. There'll be polka dots inside and out around the venue, including on the plane trees on St Kilda Road. On Wednesday, November 27, 2024 — in the lead up to the exhibition's run from Sunday, December 15, 2024–Monday, April 21, 2025 — the NGV has unveiled the beginnings of Kusama's latest artwork. A version of Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees is being staged in Melbourne, with more than 60 trees outside the gallery having their trunks covered in pink-and-white polka-dotted material. The first row has been completed, which anyone in the vicinity can now check out — and by early in the week commencing Monday, December 2, 2024, all four lanes of St Kilda Road in front of the NGV will be brightly wrapped. With over 180 works set to feature, in what'll be the largest Kusama retrospective that Australia has ever seen — as well as one of the most-comprehensive retrospectives devoted to the artist to be staged globally, not to mention the closest that you'll get to experiencing her Tokyo museum without leaving the country — stepping foot inside the NGV will still be mandatory for art lovers. But Kusama is also livening up the road for everyone to enjoy all day and all night long. In the past, including when Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees debuted at the Kirishima Open Air Museum in Japan in 2002, a red-and-white colour scheme has been used; however, Melbourne has scored its own bold-pink iteration. Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees is obviously free to view, joining several other artworks that won't cost anyone a cent to see during the exhibition. The aforementioned Dancing Pumpkin is already on display. NGV International's glass waterwall is also going pink, but with black rather than white dots. Kusama's new version of Narcissus Garden, which dates back to 1966 and will feature 1400 30-centimetre-diameter silver balls this time around, is set sit in front of the waterwall and in parts of Federation Court. Plus, the yellow-and-black spheres of Dots Obsession will hang over the Great Hall. Then there's the artist's sticker-fuelled, all-ages-friendly The Obliteration Room, where audiences young and old pop coloured dots everywhere — 'obliterating', as Kusama calls it — to cover an apartment interior that's completely white otherwise. Overall, Yayoi Kusama will step through the 95-year-old artist's eight decades of making art via a thematic chronology. Some pieces hail from her childhood. Some are recent. Her output in her hometown of Matsumoto from the late 30s–50s; the results of relocating to America in 1957; archival materials covering her performances and activities in her studios, especially with a political charge, in the 60s and 70s; plenty from the past four decades: they'll all appear. [caption id="attachment_950480" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yayoi Kusama, 2022 © YAYOI KUSAMA[/caption] Yayoi Kusama displays at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne from Sunday, December 15, 2024–Monday, April 21, 2025. Head to the NGV website for more details and tickets. Images: Yayoi Kusama's Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees, 2002/2024, on display along St Kilda Road, Melbourne for the National Gallery of Victoria's Yayoi Kusama exhibition until 21 April 2025. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Photo: Tobias Titz.
Playing fictional movie star Vincent Chase in eight seasons of Entourage — and in the forgettable Entourage movie, too — Adrian Grenier got pretty comfortable playing someone who was constantly in front of the camera. That trait remains in his latest project, twisty new Netflix thriller series Clickbait. This time, Grenier steps into the shoes of a man who disappears suddenly, leaving his loved ones distraught. Then, when he pops up afterwards, it's in an online video that makes a shocking claim. In the clip, Nick Brewer (Grenier, Stage Mother) holds a card that says "I abuse women. At 5 million views, I die." His sister (Zoe Kazan, The Big Sick) and wife (Betty Gabriel, Get Out) are already distressed, but their nightmare only worsens once the video starts doing the rounds — unsurprisingly. Across eight episodes, the show then follows their efforts to find and save him, as well as the information they uncover along the way about the man they thought they knew. Swapping between different perspectives throughout its run, and stepping up the stakes in the process as well, Clickbait ponders the big, broad, important and constantly relevant intersection between our identities and our increasing use of social media. Just how our online and real-life selves can differ — and what types of behaviours we might indulge virtually that we wouldn't IRL — is only going to continue to garner the world's attention, which this Melbourne-shot series clearly attempts to tap into. Yes, if you spot any familiar sights while you're binging Clickbait from Wednesday, August 25 — or while you're watching the suitably tense just-dropped first trailer for the series — that's because it was filmed in the Victorian capital. It's a big month for high-profile shows that were made in Australia and are now hitting streaming, actually, with Amazon Prime Video dropping the Byron Bay-shot, Nicole Kidman-starring Nine Perfect Strangers as well. Check out the trailer below: Clickbait will be available to stream via Netflix from Wednesday, August 25. Top image: Ben King/Netflix.
Fancy scoring some new Aussie-made threads at the price of your choosing — and earning some much-needed funds for an eco charity in the process? Well, for the next few days, you can, thanks to a clever new initiative by local brand Assembly Label. The Sydney-based brand is best known for its minimalist aesthetic, but now it's also hoping to help minimise ocean pollution by adding a 'choose what you pay' option to its online store between June 20 and 23. It works like this. A range of Assembly's designs (both womens and mens) are currently available at up to 50 percent off. When you go to add something to your cart, you have the option of adding on a donation — you can pay what's on the pricetag, or add on $5, $10 or $15 more. Any extra amount is then donated to the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), with each customer donation matched equally by Assembly Label. So, if you fork out an extra $15 for those linen pants, $30 will go to the charity. View this post on Instagram Beachside essentials, our Crossover Pool Slide will be included in our Choose What You Pay promotion alongside a selection of men's and women's apparel and accessories. Online tomorrow from 9am and proudly supporting @marineconservation.au A post shared by Assembly Label (@assemblylabel) on Jun 19, 2019 at 12:21am PDT AMCS is an independent charity focused on the big issues affecting the sea, from improving the sustainability of Australia's fisheries, to protecting threatened species. The extra funds raised through the 'choose what you pay' program will go towards supporting its campaign against plastic pollution in the ocean. The sale is the latest in a number of moves Assembly Label is making to reduce its environmental impact and encourage others to jump on board. It's now using 100 percent biodegradable material for its packaging, has cut down on plastic waste wherever possible, and is working towards full transparency with all of its manufacturing processes. Assembly's also aiming to become a certified B Corporation, which'll require hitting the highest standards of ethical measurement across all aspects of its business. Needless to say, if you're in need of some new basic tees or a labelled sweater, now is the time to grab them. Assembly Label's Choose What You Pay sale will run from June 20–23 through its online store.
If you're a vegetarian, worshipper of eggplant or just a keen home cook, chances are Yotam Ottolenghi has had some impact on your life. In fact, we bet you've got at least one of his bestselling cookbooks in your cupboard. Next year, you'll be able to learn a few more tips and tricks from the renowned Israeli chef as he heads to Down Under for a speaking tour. The trailblazing chef, author, TV personality and restaurateur whose name has become its own cooking style is touring the country in 2023 off the back of his book Ottolenghi Flavour, which builds on his love for innovative vegetable-based recipes. And yes, this'll sound familiar, as he was planning to head Down Under in 2021 and at the beginning of 2022 — but we all know what got in the way. [caption id="attachment_864021" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Stuart Simpson[/caption] Yotam Ottolenghi — Flavour of Life will hit Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Auckland and Wellington in January — and, as well as dishing up a few spicy secrets behind mouthwatering hits like miso butter onions and spicy mushroom lasagne, the show will provide an opportunity to hear directly from the man himself about his influences and experiences. It also promises to delve into Ottolenghi's experience as the owner of famed London restaurants Nopi and Rovi, how he approached home cooking during the COVID-19 pandemic and how you can dial up the flavour in your own kitchen. [caption id="attachment_768174" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Flickr/Stijn Nieuwendijk[/caption] YOTAM OTTOLENGHI 2023 AUSTRALIAN TOUR: Saturday, January 21 — Canberra Theatre Centre Sunday, January 22 — ICC Sydney Monday, January 23 — Adelaide Convention Centre Wednesday, January 25 — Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland Friday, January 27 — Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington Saturday, January 28 — QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane Sunday, January 29 — Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne The Yotam Ottolenghi — Flavour of Life will tour Australia and New Zealand in January 2023. For further details or to buy tickets, head to the tour website.
Since the Australia Government introduced an effective and indefinite ban on international travel back in March to help stop the spread of COVID-19, no one has been heading overseas for a holiday. There has been plenty of talk since about what the future of global trips might hold over that time, of course. It's expected that the country's international borders unlikely to reopen until next year, for instance, while the entire international tourism industry isn't predicted to return to normal until 2023. If you plan to jet overseas via Qantas once you're able to, the airline's chief has advised one requirement you'll have to adhere to as well: you'll need to have had a COVID-19 vaccination. Speaking on A Current Affair on Monday, November 23, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said that the airline is "looking at changing our terms and conditions to say, for international travellers, that we will ask people to have a vaccination before they can get on the aircraft". "Certainly for international visitors coming out and people leaving the country, we think that's a necessity," Joyce said. But when asked if the requirement would also apply for local flights, he wasn't certain. "Whether you need that domestically, we'll have to see what will happen with COVID-19 and the market," he advised. https://twitter.com/ACurrentAffair9/status/1330788260856131584 That means you'll need to add one more thing to your pre-travel checklist — with Joyce's statement coming at a time when a COVID-19 vaccine looks closer to becoming a reality. In the past few weeks, the companies behind three different vaccine candidates have announced positive results from their ongoing clinical trials, covering potential immunisations developed by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. As a result, there is currently hope that vaccines might be able to start being rolled out in the new year. When you are able to receive a jab, it won't cost you a cent, as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison flagged back in August. Obviously, the government won't provide further details about how everyone will get vaccinated until a working vaccine actually exists. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Australia, visit the Australian Government Department of Health website.
