Prefer a sophisticated sort of Sunday session to basic brews at the pub? Well, you're in luck because Poodle Bar & Bistro is here to elevate your weekend with a fresh edition of its ever-popular bottomless brunch. The Fitzroy eatery will be serving up the goods once again this Sunday, July 3. Across one of two sittings (11.30am and 2pm), you'll tuck into a parade of swanky brunch plates courtesy of legendary chef Josh Fry — think, house-made chicken liver parfait, delicate vol au vents crowned with Yarra Valley caviar, roast lamb rump with shallot jus, and a silky fig leaf panna cotta. While you feast, the drinks will be flowing just as easily — and with just as much style. Your $85 ticket pairs those eats with two hours of bottomless bevs, from bubbly and bellinis, to white wine spritzes and blood orange seltzers. [caption id="attachment_774766" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Poodle Bar & Bistro[/caption]
First it was the Cheese Festival, then the Sausage Fest, and now Prahran Market is completing the holy trio of meats, cheese and chocolate with — you guessed it — a chocolate festival. The Wicked Chocolate Festival will be held at Prahran Market on Saturday, May 7. As well as on-stage talks about the stuff, a kitchen where you can see how it's made and tasting events, Melbourne's finest will be pulling out their best chocolate creations at the Pop-Up Chocolate Precinct. This will include — are you ready for this? — chocolate doughnuts from Doughboys, chocolate cookie sandwiches by Butterbing, Nutella pizzas from A25 Pizzeria, as well as treats from Burch & Purchese, Bibelot, Fritz Gelato and Pana Chocolate. There'll be everything from hot chocolate to cold chocolate (read: ice cream), and rich chocolate mousse to raw vegan Snickers bars. The market is known for their decidedly delicious events, and this one is set to be just as epic and coma-inducing — especially if you enter the chocolate eating competition. More details to come on how you can enter that one, but we suggest you start practicing with a some blocks of Cadbury Dairy Milk and a few rounds of The Chocolate Game. Fingers crossed you roll a few sixes. The Wicked Chocolate will be held at Prahran Market on Saturday, May 7 from 10.30am. For more info, visit their website.
There’s nothing the Oscars love more than an inspiring true story. Every year in the lead-up to Hollywood’s most self-congratulatory night, our theatres with filled with biographical dramas: handsome, well-acted and totally inoffensive. This year’s crop includes The Imitation Game, American Sniper and The Theory of Everything, all of which attempt to rouse us with their stories of courage in the face of adversity. And yes, sure, their protagonists are all white guys. But hey, at least Alan Turing was gay. Also on the list of this year’s would-be contenders is Unbroken, the sophomore directorial effort from one Angelina Jolie. The film is a wartime biopic (of course) about Olympic marathon runner and WWII bombardier Louie Zamperini, whose B-24 aircraft crashed down in the North Pacific and who spent the last two years of the conflict as a prisoner of war in Japan. The film is based on Laura Hillenbrand’s book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption. With a title like that, it’s hardly surprising that the story leans towards hero worship. As depicted by Jolie and actor Jack O’Connell, Zamperini is less a man as he is a pillar of bravery and virtue; a genetically engineered combination of Jesse Owens and Captain America. Flashbacks to before the war come complete with stock-standard motivational quotes. “A moment of pain,” we’re told, “is worth a lifetime of glory.” I’m not trying to diminish Zamperini’s sacrifice. But while he may have been a hero, he’s not an interesting protagonist. Tales of wartime valour have been done to death, and frankly Unbroken brings nothing new to the table. Jolie portrays America’s enemies with about as much dimension as the Nazis in Hogan’s Heroes, although admittedly they’re not nearly as funny. The only Japanese character they bother naming is the sadistic Corporal Watanabe (played by musician Miyavi), whose cartoonish villainy prevents any exploration of the psychology behind wartime abuse. And yes, atrocities were committed in POW camps, and it’s important that we continue to remember that. At the same time, this story has already been covered. Instead, why not make a movie about the 100,000 Japanese Americans forced into prison camps by President Roosevelt? Where’s the film about the moral quandary behind dropping the atomic bomb? Hell, what about telling the story of Zamperini’s life after the war, when post-traumatic stress disorder drove him to alcoholism until he became a born-again motivation speaker? Those would be interesting stories. But I guess they’re not to Oscar’s tastes. Unbroken is by no means a terrible film. Jolie is a solid director, her cast does good work and the narrative – shallow and conventional as it is – isn’t necessarily unengaging. It is, however, disappointingly safe; the sort of adequate time killer you won’t necessarily regret seeing, assuming you remember seeing it at all.
Considering a foray into yoga, but feeling a little overwhelmed about where to start? Well, the folks at I Am That Yoga in Collingwood are here to make the whole thing way less daunting and a lot more fun, with their open day on Thursday, June 14. The new Emma Street studio will be throwing open its doors to host a range of free classes, giving you the chance to roadtest a few to see which styles take your fancy. Perhaps you'll give the morning Power Flow class a whirl, or maybe the yin-yasa hybrid session is just what your muscles have been looking for. All seven of the day's classes will be offered for free, including a 12.15pm guided meditation, though you'll have to book in advance to secure your spot. Studio founders Victoria Csarmann and Sébastien Nicolas will also be on hand to help you out with finding your ideal yoga style, and there'll be a pop-up wellness market from 5pm, with a range of goodies to sample and buy.
With International Margarita Day landing on Wednesday, February 22, bars and tequila brands across the country have received the memo that it's time to celebrate everyone's favourite salt-rimmed cocktail and run with it. In fact, they've been marking the whole of February as Margarita Month. From free margs to multi-venue festivals celebrating the drinks, there are plenty of ways patrons can get in on the action. One of the more tongue-in-cheek promotions is a cocktail giveaway popping up at two of Australia's most beloved bars, Tio's Cerveceria in Sydney and Los Amantes in Melbourne. The pair of tequila-loving venues have teamed up with El Jimador to give away free margaritas, but only to a select few. Playing on the longstanding tequila maker's name, anyone named El or Jimmy can claim one free cocktail. Just show your ID and you'll be presented with a margarita on the house. The promotion does extend to anyone with Jimmy- and El-adjacent names including James, Jim, Elle, Ella and Ellie. El Jimador has also populated a helpful map on its website to make sure you can always find a margarita around the corner. The venue finder shows partnered venues that you can hit up during Margarita Month for the cocktail of the moment. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Rarely seen and utterly breathtaking, the ambitious contemporary ballet Kunstkamer is arriving in Melbourne for a two-week run of performances by The Australian Ballet. Created by pioneering Dutch dance company Nederlands Dan Theater (NDT), the ballet had never been performed by another theatre company until the Australian premiere at the Sydney Opera House on Friday, April 29. Now it's Melbourne's turn. The work of NDT House Choreographers Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, and Associate Choreographers Marco Goecke and Crystal Pite, Kunstkamer is an eclectic, hugely entertaining and boundary-pushing two-part ballet that draws its inspiration from the 1734 book The Cabinet of Natural Curiosities by Dutch pharmacist, zoologist and collector Albertus Seba. The Australian Ballet Artistic Director David Hallberg calls this ballet "truly an immersive experience" and has even come out of retirement to perform as part of the run of shows including the Melbourne premiere. "Sol León, who's one of the four choreographers, asked me to come on board in this role," Hallberg told Concrete Playground. "It took a little enticing because obviously I have said goodbye to the stage and I wasn't looking for opportunities to return to the stage, but I found that in this role, in this experience, in this opportunity with the dancers, in this work, it was the right time." Hallberg is not the only special guest dancer to be taking part in The Australian Ballet's Kunstkamer. The ensemble has also been joined by NDT member Jorge Nozal, who is reprising his role from the 2019 world premiere season in the Netherlands for the full run of shows down under. "Jorge is the first guest artist of my directorship, and I am really excited that it will be someone unexpected for the audience and enriching for the company," explains Hallberg. "Jorge is admired by our dancers and artistic team and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce him to our audience, alongside the dancers of The Australian Ballet, in the role that was created for him by Sol León." You can catch the performance at Arts Centre Melbourne from Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 11. [caption id="attachment_852138" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] Top image: Daniel Boud
Are you feeling lost amongst the floral dresses and carnival fascinators of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week? Are you a little more Sporty Spice than Posh or Baby? Allow us to introduce you to the world of sports luxe — a recently forged mid-ground that deems it acceptable to wear a hoodie and sneakers while out on the town. If you listen closely, you can women all over the city sighing with relief and pumping their fists. To bring this effortless style to the masses, Nike have set up a cafe, studio and store at 325 Collins Street as part of MSFW. Featuring apparel from their eponymous 2013 collection, the Nike Tech Pack Studio will be a hub of activity for the next two weeks. And better yet: it's all free. Leading local stylists will be on hand to offer intimate style sessions most days, and there will also be a panel-style workshop that bring together thinkers and creators from the realms of sport, design, fashion and music. If you're more interested in the practical elements of the outfits, feel free to join in on the urban run club or free training session. Book your place here before spots run out (pun absolutely intended). The Nike Tech Pack Studio is located at 325 Collins Street from September 1-14. It will be open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 10am-4pm on weekends.
Whether you're keen to sharpen your own culinary skills, or just rub shoulders with a few of your idols, MFWF's House of Food and Wine hub is a must. It's set to whip the Malthouse Theatre into a frenzy of feasts, masterclasses, talks and parties, and a day pass is your all-access ticket to enjoying the best it has to offer. Those venturing in on Day 1 (Saturday, March 9) will catch the likes of Dan Hong (Sydney's Mr Wong, Ms G's) and Jowett Yu (Ho Lee Fook, Hong Kong) in a chef-to-chef onstage chat for the Theatre of Ideas. The series also features insights from Lune Croissanterie's Kate Reid, and a panel discussion on the future of women in food, led by Fully Booked Women's Sharlee Gibb and Maria Kabal of Añada. Culinary tips and tricks will be flying as names like Momofuku Seiobo's Paul Carmichael and dessert queen Kirsten Tibballs whip up their signature dishes during a series of masterclasses. And you'll find a mix of old favourites and one-off creations being plated up by the day's food truck ensemble — a star cast that includes Mamasita, Belles Hot Chicken and Sundae School Ice Creamery, as well as Morgan McGlone and Christian Robertson's low-waste-focused, natural wine-slinging pop-up bar, The Kyoto Protocol. House of Food and Wine is part of Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Check out more of the festival's events here. Image: Lune CBD, Marcie Raw.
Starting in April, Federation Square will get a little more animated, thanks to a world-first exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image showcasing the work of DreamWorks Animation Studios. Inspired, no doubt, by the success of previous ACMI shows focused on Pixar in 2007 and Disney in 2010, the new exhibit – the centre's biggest ever – will honour the animation company’s rich 20-year history, one defined by imagination, innovation and wise-cracking, pop-culture referencing animals who sound suspiciously like your favourite Hollywood celebrities. With over 400 items from concept drawings and animation tests to interviews with artists and animators, patrons will be taken inside the creative process behind modern day classics including Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and How To Train Your Dragon, as well as less fondly remembered efforts like Shark Tale and that one where Jerry Seinfeld plays a bee.
After a sold-out season in Sydney last year, Muriel's Wedding The Musical is coming to Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre for a limited season in 2019. A co-production between Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures, the musical adaptation of Muriel's Wedding is like a perfect high school reunion — maximum 80s nostalgia without having to tell any of your old friends you're in HR now. When Muriel Heslop realises that the small town of Porpoise Spit has nothing in store but grim futures, she decides to take off, with only her parents' chequebook, a couple of ABBA albums memorised note for note and a vague sense that the wider world has something that she is hungry for. PJ Hogan, who wrote and directed Muriel's cinematic adventure, has adapted and updated the script for the stage, while Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall have built the music around ABBA's towering back catalogue. There's a real buzz around Muriel. Sure, it's a chance to re-immerse yourself in the unadulterated joy of Muriel's hijinks, but it's also because Muriel hasn't stopped holding the mirror up to our desperate, fame-hungry society since she first hit the screen. As director Simon Phillips points out: "Muriel's governing delusion is becoming a celebrity and becoming famously married. The world has caught up with Muriel." The Melbourne season comes after the show won a slew of awards at 2018's Helpmann Awards, Australia's annual awards for live entertainment and performing arts. Muriel's Wedding The Musical picked up five gongs across the two nights of awards, including Best Original Score, Best Music Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Design and Best Choreography in a Musical. It will run a limited Melbourne season between Tuesday, March 12 and Sunday, May 19 before heading back to Sydney for a month in June. Image: Christine Messinesi.
Aussie art royalty is headed our way this spring, with one of Australia's best-known contemporary art galleries revealing it's opening a Melbourne outpost from October. Founded in Sydney in 2005, Sullivan+Strumpf has earned a huge name for itself both here and internationally, even becoming the first Aussie gallery to establish a permanent presence in Asia when it expanded to Singapore in 2015. Now, it's Melbourne's turn, as Ursula Sullivan and Joanna Strumpf gear up to open a 300-square-metre Flack Studio-designed gallery in Collingwood. It'll launch with a major solo exhibition by renowned multidisciplinary artist Tony Albert, off the back of his smash-hit 2021 show, Conversations with Margaret Preston. Moving forward, the new gallery will be tapping into Sullivan+Strumpf's impressive lineup of contemporary artists from across Australia and the Asia Pacific, showcasing works from names like Lindy Lee, Yvette Coppersmith, Polly Borland, Dawn Ng, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Darren Sylvester. [caption id="attachment_867230" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dawn Ng in her Singapore studio, photo by Sean Lee.[/caption] "We look forward to building on the valued relationships we have established in Melbourne over the years, to developing new ones," the founders said. "And to providing an exciting new platform for our artists and contemporary art in Australia." The Sydney gallery currently hosts over 25 live exhibitions each year and its new Melbourne sibling is set to follow suit, with a year-round program of shows, talks and events on the cards. Last year, Sullivan+Strumpf oversaw the largest single living artist commission in the history of the National Gallery of Australia with Lindy Lee's $14 million sculptural installation Ouroboros, while in 2022 it's facilitating the history-making Art Gallery of NSW commission of Wiradjuri artist Karla Dickens. [caption id="attachment_867232" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yvette Coppersmith in her studio working on 'Presage', photo by Mel Savage.[/caption] Find Sullivan+Strumpf's new Melbourne gallery in Collingwood from October. We'll share more details as they drop. Top Image: Sullivan+Strumpf directors Ursula Sullivan & Joanna Strumpf, photo by Anna Kucera.
When Anchovy co-owners Jia-Yen Lee and Thi Le first started slinging khao jee pâté — the Lao cousin of the Vietnamese banh mi — during last year's lockdown, it was never meant to become a permanent venture. But as lockdowns and restrictions continued, and the duo's street food offering earned itself a loyal following, it became clear the Ca Com pop-up was here to stay. Now, it's set to spawn its own standalone shopfront next door. Named after the Vietnamese words for 'anchovy', Ca Com first made an appearance at the front window of Anchovy in May 2020. The restaurateurs were keen to keep busy while Anchovy was closed to dine-ins, and a rotating menu of banh mi was exactly the kind of accessible, lockdown-friendly fare the neighbourhood needed. The pair have been running the pop-up on and off ever since, using a hibachi on the window sill to barbecue proteins and ramping up opening hours whenever Melbourne goes into a snap lockdown. The concise banh mi menu changes regularly depending on the availability of meat cuts and other ingredients, giving the team a chance to flex their creativity and test out new flavour combinations for its dedicated Melbourne fans. Wood-grilled elements are the stars of this show, with recent creations featuring the likes of barbecued turmeric chicken, Manchurian-spiced roast pumpkin, crumbed garfish stuffed with prawn mousse, and a jungle spice pork sausage. [caption id="attachment_526726" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Anchovy Restaurant[/caption] These days, you'll normally find the Ca Com window in action from 11am Wednesdays through Saturdays, though during lockdown that expands to almost daily — keep an eye on Instagram for the most up-to-date details. Ca Com's future home will be a standalone shopfront complete with a massive hearth, set to launch in the coming weeks. If all goes to plan, it'll be grilling up a storm six days a week, serving a lunchtime-friendly offering of banh mi, noodle bowls and salads. For now, find Ca Com at 338 Bridge Road, Richmond. We'll share details about the new store next door at 336 Bridge Road, Richmond, closer to its launch.
No one usually knows what they want to do for their 32nd birthday. For most of us, it isn't a big milestone. But when you're the Melbourne Queer Film Festival and you have a whole new array of LGBTIQA+ movies to show, every go-around is worth celebrating. On the just-announced lineup for 2022's MQFF: Billy Eichner-starring gay Hollywood rom-com Bros, a Pink Flamingos 50th-anniversary showing and a spotlight on Brazil — and that's just the beginning. In total, over its 12-day run from Thursday, November 10–Monday, November 21, the fest will screen 49 features and 12 short film packages, including 35 Australian premieres. Taking place at ACMI, Village Cinemas Jam Factory and Cinema Nova, and with eight screenings taking place on the Victorian Pride Centre rooftop for the first time, the 2022 program arrives after a couple of years of pandemic-fuelled chaos — including back in 2020, its 30th year, when COVID-19 meant that festivities couldn't go as planned. MQFF has has run online and in hybrid formats since, and popped up with a mini fest as well; however, 2022's main event is all in-person. A virtual lineup will follow, but there's nothing like the physical MQFF experience. Other highlights include the Brazilian titles both launching and wrapping up the fest: opening night's Private Desert, about a genderfluid blue-collar worker in an online relationship who goes missing; and closing night's Uýra: The Rising Forest, focusing on trans-indigenous artist Uýra. The latter will take one of the rooftop slots, as will MQFF's official Australian feature of the year The Longest Weekend, about three siblings in Sydney's Inner West. Or, movie lovers can look forward to Blitzed!, about the eponymous London nightclub, with Boy George, Princess Julia and Spandau Ballet sharing their memories; Black as U R, a documentary about the lack of attention paid to the black queer community; and Mini-Zlatan and Uncle Darling, 2022's Rainbow Families session for MQFF-goers of all ages. Plus, Finland's Oscar submission Girl Picture focuses on three young women and Icelandic comedy Cop Secret charts a police officer falling for his partner — while Youtopia explores the inadvertent formation of a hipster cult, In From the Side is about an affair between two members of a fictional South London gay rugby club, and My Emptiness and I hones in on a young trans call-centre worker. And in the retro category, alongside John Waters Divine-starring Pink Flamingos, is iconic 90s flick But I'm a Cheerleader — the director's cut, and one of Natasha Lyonne's (Russian Doll) best-ever roles. The 2022 Melbourne Queer Film Festival runs from Thursday, November 10–Monday, November 21 at ACMI, Village Cinemas Jam Factory, Cinema Nova and the Victorian Pride Centre Rooftop. For more information or to buy tickets — with members tickets on sale from Thursday, October 13 and general sales from Saturday, October 15, head to the festival website.
Hunting for a few spots to wine and dine in Melbourne across the long weekend? Luckily this city has no shortage of cafes, restaurants and bars that are dishing up the goods in celebration of the Queen's birthday. Here are a few spots that are open and ready to whet your whistle and fill your belly. [caption id="attachment_764366" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Firebird by Parker Blain[/caption] EATERIES ARBORY Saturday — Monday: 11am-9pm BABY PIZZA Satuday–Monday: 12–10pm BKK Saturday — Monday: 11.30am-1am CHANCERY LANE Saturday: 6pm–until late CHIN CHIN Saturday: 11am-11.30pm, Sunday, Monday: 11am-11pm ESTELLE Saturday, Sunday: 12–65pm and 6pm–until late, Monday: 6pm-11pm FIREBIRD Saturday and Sunday: 12–4pm and 5.30pm–11.30pm GOOD TIMES MILK BAR Saturday, Sunday: 8pm - 4pm, Monday: 8am - 3pm GRILL AMERICANO Saturday, Monday: 12pm-10pm HAWKER HALL Saturday, Sunday: 12pm-11.30pm, Monday: 12pm-10.30pm HER Saturday— Monday: 7am - 3am HELLA GOOD Saturday: 10am-9pm, Sunday: 10am-7pm, Monday: 10am-5.30pm KING & GODFREE Saturday, Sunday: 9am-11pm, Monday: 9am-10pm MAMMOTH ARMADALE Saturday — Monday: 8am-3pm MATILDA Saturday and Sunday: 8.30am–3pm and 6–8pm, Monday: 6pm-10pm MJOLNER Friday: 5–11pm, Saturday and Sunday: 5pm–late NEW QUARTER Saturday: 12pm-11pm, Monday: 12pm-10.30pm REPEAT OFFENDER Saturday, Sunday: 8am-11pm, Monday: 5pm-10pm STALACTITES Saturday: 11am-2pm, Sunday, Monday: 11am-12am STOKEHOUSE Saturday — Monday: 12pm-12am YAKIMONO Saturday — Monday: 12pm-11.30pm [caption id="attachment_744580" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Moon Dog World, Kate Shanasy[/caption] BARS AND PUBS AGOSTINO Saturday, Sunday, Monday: 12pm-10pm ALBERT PARK HOTEL Saturday — Monday: 12pm–late ARBORY AFLOAT Satuday–Monday: 11am–late ARBORY BAR & EATERY Saturday–Monday: 11.30am–late BAR CAROLINA Saturday and Sunday: 11.30am–late BURNLEY BREWING Saturday–Monday: 12pm–late THE EVERLEIGH Saturday, Sunday: 5pm–1am GLAMORAMA Saturday: 7pm–5am, Sunday: 7pm-5am HARLOW Saturday: 12pm–1am, Sunday, Monday: 12–10pm HEMINGWAY'S WINE ROOM Friday and Saturday: 12pm–late JOHNNY'S GREEN ROOM Saturday: 12pm-12am, Sunday, Monday: 12pm-11pm MOON DOG WORLD Saturday: 11.30am–12am, Sunday, Monday: 11.30am–10pm TETTO DI CAROLINA Saturday: 3pm–1am, Sunday: 3pm–11pm WELCOME TO THORNBURY Saturday: 12pm–12am, Sunday: 12pm-10pm [caption id="attachment_801858" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Queen Victoria Market[/caption] MARKETS PRAHRAN MARKET Saturday: 7am–5pm, Sunday: 10am-3pm PRESTON MARKET Saturday, Sunday: 8am–3pm QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET Saturday: 6am–4pm, Sunday: 9am–4pm SOUTH MELBOURNE MARKET Saturday and Sunday: 8am–4pm Top image: King & Godfree
Melbourne’s largest free street festival, which has been running for over 30 years, is back once more to celebrate all over the St Kilda precinct. While it is certainly worth checking out the festival over the nine days, the highlight is definitely Festival Sunday, where 5 stages will be set up and the streets will be closed down so punters can freely wander between venues. Here, you can expect to look forward to the likes of Art vs. Science, The Bamboos, Mat McHugh from The Beautiful Girls, Busby Marou and Kingswood all performing on the main stage. Alison Wonderland will be closing the main events with a killer DJ set, so make sure you’re in it for the long haul too. Alternatively, if you want to see some fantastic young guns, check out King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Gold Fields, Dustin Tebbutt and Wave Racer, who will be playing at the O’Donnell Gardens Stage. For something a little more chilled out make your way to Bob Evans and Mama Kin on the Alfred Square stage. The lineup is big enough to challenge some of the main festivals this summer, and better yet — it's all free. For more information including the full lineup, check the St Kilda Festival website.
Practise your Cockney accent, rehearse your favourite drunken London tale and prepare for high tea: the British Film Festival has arrived in Australia for the first time ever. There'll be a dozen contemporary features, five 20th-century classics (The Third Man and Lawrence of Arabia among them) and a chance to quiz Eric Bana during a live Q&A session, and a simply smashing closing night party. Here are five of our must-sees: Jump A massive hit at the Toronto International Film Festival and winner of the Palm Springs Festival's Bridging the Borders Award, Jump is a comic thriller set on New Year's Eve in Derry, Northern Ireland. A witty, fast-paced script captures the stories of three troubled individuals, who find themselves entangled by doomed romance, theft and revenge. Good Vibrations This eccentric, unstoppable rock movie comes to the British Film Festival following sold-out sessions at the 2013 Melbourne International Film Festival. Set against Ireland's Troubles of the 1970s, it follows the story of rebellious, maverick music lover Terri Hooley, Belfast's 'godfather of punk', and his determination to show the world the power of the seven-inch single. Dom Hemingway A gangster film in the style of Sexy Beast, Dom Hemingway stars Jude Law as the outrageous, volatile Dom, and Richard E. Grant as his best friend, Dickie. Following Dom's release after 12 years of imprisonment, the two travel from London to the south of France, encountering all number of misadventures along the way, from a car accident to an inevitable femme fatale. Mission to Lars How far would you go to meet your favourite rockstar? In this quirky documentary, siblings Kate and Will Spicer find out when they take their autistic brother, Tom, to Los Angeles to pursue Metallica's Lars Ulrich. Still Life The latest offering from Uberto Pasolini (producer of The Full Monty), Still Life is a drama in the British humanist tradition. A calm, meticulous ex-councillor, John May (Eddie Marsan) enters the lives of a mischievous adventurer, Billy Stoke, and his abandoned daughter, Kelly (Joanne Froggatt). Check out the full program here.
Illustration, beauty, photography and nature come together in Darkness of Noon, a new exhibition and book to launch at this year’s L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Week. Photographer Derek Henderson focuses on capturing life in its true essence, whilst illustrator Kelly Thompson showcases her deep understanding of creating the female form, with both artists drawing on the delicate and subtle beauty of model Zippora Seven. The nude likenesses of Zippora are tasteful, natural and have an element of fantasy about them, creating a world that one wants to lose some time in. The exhibition will showcase a portion of what can be found in the coffee table style book designed by Australian based designer Fabio Ongarato, who has worked with the likes of Baker D. Chirico and Country Road. Only 1000 copies will be printed. Image credit Derek Henderson and Kelly Thompson.
Watching a cursor move around a computer screen doesn't sound very exciting, let alone frightening. There's only so much intrigue to be found in basically watching over someone's shoulder as they flick between YouTube, Skype, Facebook, Spotify, Gmail and iMessage — or is there? It depends what they're up to, of course, and in these always-online times, that could be anything. In Unfriended, the MacBook user in question, high schooler Blaire Lily (Shelley Hennig), is doing quite a few things. First, she's watching shocking footage of her friend, Laura Barns, committing suicide exactly a year earlier, as well as the embarrassing video that drove her to her death. Next, she's cyber flirting with her boyfriend, Mitch (Moses Jacob Storm). Then they're both video chatting with pals Adam (Will Peltz), Jess (Renee Olstead), Ken (Jacob Wysocki) and Val (Courtney Halverson). They're not the only ones taking part in the conversation, as they soon realise. Their Skype call also includes an unknown party, but hanging up on the unpleasant troll isn't as easy as it should be. At the same time, Blaire starts receiving strange Facebook messages from Laura, despite her dearly departed status. Mitch suggests that their virtual gatecrasher is Laura's ghost in the machine, a prediction that seems laughable at first, but less so as the interloper's taunts get increasingly violent — and personal. Yes, this is a supernatural revenge film. Yes, it swaps a handheld camera for a computer screen in the next evolution of the found footage genre. Yes, that means that the entirety of Unfriended unfolds on a laptop, as scared teens are taunted by an unseen foe. Director Levan Gabriadze, writer Nelson Greaves and producer Timur Bekmambetov — the helmer of Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, as well the most famous name involved with the ultra low-budget production — simply toy with the usual horror narrative in the same way their villain plays with the characters. It's both obvious and ingenious, and it mostly works. Setting the movie within an overlapping cascade of constantly minimised and maximised application windows places the potential victims in an immensely relatable situation — i.e. staring at a computer for hours on end. More than that, it also ramps up the suspense. A couple of bloody set pieces aside, the usual jumps are largely absent, with few scares to be found in pixilated video that keeps the characters' fearful faces on screen as much as possible. However, tension ripples through every typed then deleted message and every mouse move to the wrong place. Blaire and her friends are on the edge of their keyboards, and the audience is inching towards the edge of their seats. Unfriended also offers a critique of online interaction from bullying to shaming, though there's nothing new in its exposé of the awful ways people behave when they think they're anonymous. There's nothing new in the cast's performances as self-absorbed, fighting and terrified teens, either, other than accurately reflecting the right age and behaviour. Innovation doesn't matter here, though; the movie only ever promises a modern update. When it clicks, it clicks. When it doesn't, it's still not enough to make you want to log off.
If you're a vegetarian, keen home cook or worshipper of eggplant, chances are Yotam Ottolenghi has had some impact on your life. Now, it's time to meet him in the flesh. On Friday, February 1 the influential Israeli chef will appear at Melbourne Town Hall for a long chat about food. The date marks the release of Ottolenghi's latest book Simple filled with 130 easy-to-make yet super-tasty dishes, but, he'll be talking about much more than that. Firstly, there are all his other books, like the Middle Eastern-inspired Jerusalem, the vegetarian-friendly Plenty and the dessert bible Sweet, a collaboration with Melbourne pastry chef Helen Goh. Then, there are his documentaries and his regular writing gigs: a weekly column in Feast magazine and a monthly column in The New York Times. Before becoming a world-famous chef, Ottolenghi worked as a journo in Amsterdam. On deciding to delve into food, he trained at the Cordon Bleu, as well as a bunch of Michelin-starred restaurants in London, before taking on the role of Head Pastry Chef at Baker and Spice, where he befriended Palestinian chef Sami Tamimi. The two teamed up to found the Ottolenghi deli in Notting Hill — the first of many, many projects. Image: Prudence Upton, courtesy of the Sydney Opera House.
UPDATE Tuesday, June 14: Cucinetta's parmesan wheel pasta special has proved so popular, it's been extended for another two weeks, now running until Sunday, June 26. The following has been updated to reflect the change. Pasta and parmesan are one of Italian cuisine's perfect pairings. Eat the former without the latter, and your tastebuds will know the difference. And while sprinkling your spaghetti with fine shavings of hard cheese is all well and good (and delicious), that's nothing compared to devouring a bowl of pasta that has been prepared inside a parmesan wheel. If it sounds like all of your culinary dreams come true, that's because it is — and it's the dish in the spotlight at Cucinetta's returning Parmesan Wheel Week. After a swag of successful previous events, the South Yarra restaurant is bringing this cheesy situation back for 2022, once again serving up the Italian specialty pasta cacio e pepe straight out of a wheel of 24-month Parmigiano Reggiano. And, despite the name, the $39.99 special is actually running across four whole weeks, after being extended due to popular demand. Given that cacio e pepe is a pasta concoction made with parmesan and pepper — think fancier, tastier mac 'n' cheese — the results promise quite the cheesy meal. It will be available at Cucinetta for lunch from 12–3pm and dinner from 5–9pm between Tuesday, May 31–Sunday, June 26. We'd tell you to arrive hungry, but we're sure that just thinking about it already has you feeling ravenous.
2020 was especially quiet on the arts and live performance front, but this year's edition of the First Nations Yirramboi Festival is making up for lost time. Returning for its third citywide outing between Thursday, May 6–Sunday, May 16, the multi-disciplinary festival is dishing up a huge program of over 150 different events — and celebrating Indigenous arts and culture in a very big way. Highlights from the genre-tripping lineup include Coconut Woman, a touching celebration of belonging from Maryanne Sam; the Deadly Funny Showcase as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival; and rapper Ziggy Ramo playing his debut album Black Thoughts live on the Melbourne Recital Centre stage. Or, you can check out Ronald Edwards Pepper's transformation of the Metro Tunnel; watch Bred, Briefs Factory International's exploration of First Nations history; and see Ngioka Bunda-Heath's new dance piece and photographic exhibition, both of which are called Birrpai. And, there's also Seasons in Black Box, which also forms part of this year's new Rising festival. Running until Saturday, June 5, the multi-part sound work takes over its own sound pavilion in the Royal Botanic Gardens, and explores the important role of plants in the Kulin seasonal calendar. Top image: Teresa Tan.
Take a road trip down to the Four Pillars Distillery and spend your Australia Day knocking back more than just VB. Located in Healesville about an hour out of Melbourne, the distillery will be open from 10.30am to 5.30pm. The team from Fancy Hank's will be there from noon to make sure you get your fill of pulled pork sandwiches, wings and chilli fries. Also on hand from 1pm will be former Black Pearl bartender and Four Pillars ambassador Sam Ng, whipping up a variety of gin-based cocktails. Just make sure you don't enjoy yourself too much, unless you're planning on spending the night in the valley and driving home in the morning. Which would be an excellent decision.
As Glen Huntly residents will no doubt be aware, local café Workshop Brothers Specialty Coffee is a rare hybrid of both substance and style. The minimalist, super Instagram-worthy space belies some serious coffee know-how and the enterprise has been so successful — nestled out in the 'burbs as it is — that the second Workshop Brothers has just opened in the heart of the CBD. For those of you not acquainted with Workshop Brothers, the café does a great brew — and has become a staple coffee stop out east. But despite their success, owner Nolan Taing knew opening in the CBD (otherwise known as the hospitality deep end) was a risk. "Expanding to the CBD was always a dream. But so many factors had to be in place first, as the CBD can make or break you," he says. "With high rentals and very good competition, luck wasn't the only thing we needed. It's taken a while to gain the respect and trust from fellow roasters and operators, but with the support from [local roasters] Axil and Monk Bodhi Dharma, we knew the timing was right." The team — which includes Nolan, Brian Taing and Joe La — have been planning the new venue for over a year now and so, when they threw the doors open last week, it was with little fuss and no ceremony, just a get-on-with-it attitude. Along with excellent cups of joe, they also sell their own beans, bottled cold coffees, a selection of pastries and doughnuts from Doughboys. Workshop Brothers is located at 190 Queen Street, Melbourne. For more info, visit workshopbrothers.com.au.
For the past five years, Pierre Roelofs and his team have taken over Café Rosamond on Thursday nights to create a new three-course dessert menu each week. While this isn’t a particularly new event on Melbourne’s culinary scene, it is undoubtedly a popular one, and one that is close to finishing forever. The very last Dessert Evening will be on December 18, but you absolutely shouldn’t wait until the eleventh hour to sample the goods. As well as the three courses, Roelofs also throws in a 'dessert tube' which can range from anything to Snickers-flavoured to Eton Mess. To get those taste buds tingling, last week’s menu included flavour combinations such as grape, oat, orange and passionfruit; spiced apple, custard and coconut; bubblegum, strawberry and vanilla. Intrigued? Salivating? You should be. To book a table, grab five of your sweet-tooth mates for a night of decadence, or you can try your luck as a walk-in if you haven’t quite got the numbers. We can't think of a better way to spend four hours (and a mere $50) on a Thursday night. See you there.
Just because you haven't got a big Greek family of your own, that doesn't mean that you have to miss out on the fun (and fine food) of a classic Greek Easter celebration. On Sunday, April 24, St Kilda's Stokehouse restaurant is marking the Orthodox Easter season with a festive dinner to remember, spiked with plenty of traditional flavours and a few modern twists. Joining Executive Chef Jason Staudt in the kitchen will be seafood king Matt Germanchis from Anglesea's Fish by Moonlite, so you can expect plenty of ocean-fresh elements starring throughout the evening's menu. It's set to be a truly share-friendly spread, with bookings available for large tables, at a cost of $160 per person. Gather the family or a few mates and get your tastebuds ready for dishes like charred Murray cod with rice and avgolemono (Greek lemon soup), slow-cooked lamb shoulder and Andean potatoes finished with an oregano brulee. And, for dessert, Pastry Chef Ash Smith will unveil his own riff on the traditional Greek Easter red eggs (or kokkina avga). For a special Easter addition this year, Pontoon will be getting involved just downstairs at St Kilda Beach. If you're after a more casual celebration, there'll will be an array of Fish x Moonlite's signature dishes to enjoy at the bar and eatery. Expect smaller eats such as potato cakes with taramasalata, fried calamari with skordalia, and a limited edition orange and ouzo sorbet — and live music from 4pm.
What Melbourne Music Week would be complete without a gig in a top-secret warehouse somewhere? The Lost Children's Project will be setting up their stage, along with a pop-up dining space and a stocked bar filled with Thunder Road Brewing Company and Starward Whisky. The Lost Children's Project supports African children and communities in need, and all profits from the evening will go towards building and running a children's refuge and education centre in Kenya. So the more you spend on making it a great night, the more money you will be contributing to a good cause. The lineup is absolutely gangbusters too, with Worlds End Press headlining the shindig, as well as performances from Tiny Little Houses, The Hounds Homebound, Neighbourhood Youth, Little Shock and Foreign National.
What's better than one queer-focused film festival each year? Two, of course. That's always been the motto of the the Sydney-based Queer Screen, which puts together the Mardi Gras Film Festival during the first half of every year and then gives cinephiles the Queer Screen Film Fest to close out the annual calendar. Two fests are still on the agenda in 2021 — but, after MGFF paired in-cinema sessions with an online program, QSFF will only be screening online. Running from Thursday, September 16–Sunday, September 26, the latter is popping up while Sydney is in lockdown, so you'll have plenty of viewing options from your couch. And, it'll be playing virtually nationally, letting fans of LGBTIQA+ flicks tune in Australia-wide. More than 40 films are on the bill, spanning new highlights and a few favourites that've graced Queer Screen's two fests in previous years. Among movies from 17 countries and in 18 languages, new standouts include François Ozon's 80s-set Summer of 85, about a two teens and their summer fling; Taiwanese drama Dear Tenant, which explores the experience of being a gay man in the country today; Lola, an award-winner that focuses on a trans girl and her estranged father on a trip to the Belgian coast; and A Sexplanation, which ponders the stigma that still surrounds talking about sexuality. And, from the past standouts, lesbian rom-com Signature Move, Germany's acclaimed Free Fall and Wild Nights with Emily, about poet Emily Dickson, all feature.
"Weird", "inscrutable" and "alienating". These are just a few of the words you'll find when googling Biophilia, the eighth studio album of Icelandic singer Björk. And those are just the positive reviews. It's hardly surprisingly then that her newly released concert film is every bit as bizarre as her music. Part live performance, part abstract nature doco and part Space Odyssey-style psychedelic mindfuck, Biophilia Live isn't exactly the sort of movie you'd want to watch on any regular sort of basis — not without the assistance of mind-altering chemicals, anyway. Still, as a one-off big-screen experience, it's definitely a trip. The film begins with a narrated introduction by the voice of science himself, Britain's national treasure David Attenborough. With perfect enunciation, he welcomes us to Biophilia, describing it as the intersection of nature and technology. It's all a bit grandiose, particularly given that the film consists primarily of Björk lurching around a stage in a frizzy orange afro and bulbous rubber dress. Is the outfit meant as a critique of the unrealistic expectations of female beauty? Perhaps. Or maybe she just really likes clowns. In front of a sold-out London crowd, the singer squeaks her way through the tracks on her latest album. She's joined on stage by a gaggle of collaborators including percussionists, audio engineers and an Icelandic women's choir, as well as a Tesla coil, a gigantic pendulum "that creates musical patterns by harnessing the Earth’s gravitational pull," and several other bizarre instruments, musical and otherwise, whose exact function is never quite clear. Cut over the footage is what could best be described as the B-roll recordings from an episode of Planet Earth. Volcanoes spew lava into the air, mushrooms spring from the earth, and starfish shimmy across rock pools in 100x speed. The mind-bending images, combined with the strange noises emanating from the stage, leave you feeling like you've stumbled into some impossible alternate world, one where the masses all worship at the temple of Björk. Certainly, co-director Peter Strickland is no stranger to intoxicating his audience with exotic sights and sounds. His previous film was Berberian Sound Studio, a luscious homage to '70s Italian horror movies. His newest work, the BDSM-themed lesbian love story The Duke of Burgundy, will hopefully screen in Australia at some point next year. Trust me when I tell you, it's every bit as good as it sounds. But regardless of Strickland's pedigree, the success of a concert film lies less with the filmmaker than it does with the musician. Those who love this movie will be the ones who love Björk already, while anyone who hates her will have an equally predictable reaction. For the rest of us, the appeal of Biophilia Live is its unapologetic strangeness. It's the sort of film that's worth seeing just to say that you have.
UPDATE, December 9, 2020: McQueen is available to stream via Stan, Doc Play, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Glamour meets the grotesque in the couture of designer Alexander McQueen. Indeed, it's not by accident that a recent hit museum retrospective showcasing his work took the moniker Savage Beauty. For two decades as the enfant terrible of British fashion, he crafted clothing that didn't just make a statement, but screamed it down the catwalk, splashed it across glossy magazine pages and shouted it at the world at large. "I don't want to do a show that you walk out feeling like you've just had Sunday lunch," he once said. "I want you to walk out feeling repulsed or exhilarated — as long as it's an emotion." That telling soundbite joins many others in McQueen, the film that ostensibly unpacks the life, career and death of its titular working-class lad turned tailoring apprentice turned provocative toast of the town. But, making their first full-length documentary, directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui do much more than that. Theirs is a movie made in McQueen's image, keen to show more than tell even though it doesn't shy away from talking heads. The filmmakers are well aware that everyone already knows its rise-and-fall story, with the man called Lee by his friends ultimately committing suicide in 2010. Instead of pretending that it's telling viewers something new, the movie focuses on how it approaches its subject as much as it does the specific details of McQueen's story. Cue chapters that take their names from his famous runway shows, in a segmented yet still cohesive film that takes its concept from another of McQueen's own comments. (In one of his trademark displays of cheek, he dubs his own candid home videos 'The McQueen Tapes'.) Each part stitches together a narrative about his fashions — from both his own label and his time at Givenchy — and the context surrounding each highlighted collection. The end result isn't as obvious as it might sound, of course. McQueen refuses to simply state that one particular aspect of McQueen's experiences gave rise to a specific element in his work. Rather, it explores the fabric of his life while demonstrating how he wrangled fabric in bold ways in his designs. The documentary doesn't need to blatantly connect the dots, as each sartorial series makes its own statement. With names such as Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims and Highland Rape, and challenging pieces within each collection to match, how could they not? Throughout it all, McQueen remains a constant presence thanks to archival footage, while his family members, friends and colleagues offer their intimate recollections and reflections. Even for those unfamiliar with the minutiae, there's much that's recognisable. Never seeming the typical fashionista, McQueen parlayed his talent, artistic eye and hard work into a thriving career from the early 90s onwards. But with success, attention and notoriety came drugs, depression and despair, matters that the movie perhaps doesn't touch on in as much depth as it could've. Still, even when it somewhat skirts over a few areas, the documentary proves revelatory in how it captures McQueen's complicated essence. The designer's clothing pieces were always going to feature prominently, but with its incredible detail, intricate construction and willingness to get dark, the film they're in feels like it was cut from the same cloth. If one scene in McQueen particularly stands out, it's one that's all McQueen's doing. More than that, it's one that he staged with as much theatricality, spectacle and flair as he ever displayed: his 1999 spring show. In a stunning sight to behold, model Shalom Harlow wears a white strapless dress made voluminous with layers of tulle, spins on a rotating platform like a jewellery box ballerina, and is sprayed with paint by two adjacent robots. As a depiction of life splattering and changing something luminous, it's vivid, almost violent and certainly intoxicating, all as its creator intended. McQueen was clearly relaying a message and, in both featuring the runway moment within the film and adopting its attitude, Bonhôte and Ettedgui ensure that McQueen sports the same force and power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKwCd6WLPdE
UPDATE, September 29, 2023: Cocaine Bear is available to stream via Netflix, Binge, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Killer trailer, filler flick: that's the Cocaine Bear story. This loosely based-on-a-true-tale horror-comedy sports a Snakes on a Plane-style moniker that sums up its contents perfectly, as the sneak peek that arrived at the end of 2022 made enticingly clear. Going heavy on the so-OTT-it-can-only-be-real vibe, that initial glimpse also tasked Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) with exclaiming a couple more sentences to express the utter bewilderment that this story sparks. "The bear, it fucking did cocaine. A bear did cocaine!" he shouts, and with exactly the right amount of infectious incredulity. That is indeed what happened in reality back in 1985, after all, and it's what Elizabeth Banks brings to the screen in her third stint as a director after Pitch Perfect 2 and Charlie's Angels — always playing it, for better when it's at its goriest and for worse when it stretches its idea thinner than a white line, like wild tale that it inescapably is. Yes, almost four decades ago, an American black bear did cocaine when drug smuggler Andrew C Thornton (Matthew Rhys, Perry Mason) dropped a hefty pile of the narcotic from the air. The stash landed in the wilderness, catching the attention of the world's most unlikely coke fiend in Georgia's Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. The creature ripped open the white powder-filled containers, then ingested — and Cocaine Bear endeavours to have fun hypothesising what could've come next. On-screen, a rampage by the critter now-nicknamed Pablo Escobear ensues, with blood, guts and limbs flung around; the body count mounting like Michael Myers is doing the offing (or maybe Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey's other recent ravenous bear); and two words getting screamed over and over. They're just the terms a picture called Cocaine Bear was always bound to focus on: cocaine and bear, obviously. To be fair to the characters in Banks' film, if you came face to face with a bear doing cocaine, you'd likely yell about it loudly and often as well. Here, the folks doing the bellowing are all 100-percent fictional, and mostly disposable. Nurse and single mother Sari (Keri Russell, Antlers) learns of the cocaine bear after her daughter Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project) skips school with classmate Henry (Christian Convery, Sweet Tooth) and ends up in the hopped-up mammal's path. St Louis-based drug kingpin Syd (Ray Liotta, The Many Saints of Newark) has his son Eddie (Ehrenreich) and dealer underling Daveed (O'Shea Jackson Jr, Obi-Wan Kenobi) actively looking for the coke, while Tennessee detective Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr, Da 5 Bloods) is actively looking for them after Thornton's death. And, tourists Olaf (Kristofer Hivju, Game of Thrones) and Elsa (Hannah Hoekstra, Faithfully Yours) just happen to be hiking in the park that day, while Ranger Liz (Margo Martindale, The Watcher) and wildlife expert Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family) are onsite doing their regular jobs. In the leadup to Cocaine Bear's release, a free Pac-Man-style game hit the web — you play as the bear, snorting energy from lines, packets, piles and bags of cocaine, running around a maze and chomping down as many people as you can. Cocaine Bear, the picture, runs on the same simple thrill, just without anyone mashing buttons to make the animal get devouring. Accordingly, when the bear is coked-up and carnivorous, the flick revels in comedic creature-feature bloodlust and slapstick. A mid-movie ambulance chase and its aftermath is highly inspired and highly amusing, and just as gloriously ridiculous as it should be. The sequence's action choreography, pacing (thanks to editor Joel Negron, Jungle Cruise) and cinematography (via John Guleserian, Candyman) vibrates with a buzz, and nails the B-movie tone that Banks and screenwriter Jimmy Warden (The Babysitter: Killer Queen) are overtly pawing at. Do bears shit in the woods? Yes. Does Cocaine Bear struggle with almost everything around its woodland carnage? Yes again. Alas, if someone isn't being torn to pieces — and each death honestly could be anyone, with more and more supporting figures popping up but everyone lucky to be one-note — the film is about as convincing as its clunky CGI. The script strains so hard for low-hanging laughs around the mauling, which is where all those squawks about cocaine and bears come in, that it's a surprise that no one declares "I've had it with this muthafuckin' bear on this muthafuckin' cocaine". And trying to wring emotions out of parent-child bonds and loss just feels pointless; viewers are here for drug-addled ursine attacks in as many inventive ways as possible, not for cheap heartstring-tugging that does the bear minimum. Banks' cast put in as much effort as they're asked to, sniffing up the trashy 80s mood as they navigate all that bear-induced chaos. From Russell as a determined mum, Rhys' brief cameo as the man who starts it all and Martindale as a lovelorn ranger — all The Americans co-stars — through to the late, great Liotta in one of his last roles, the bickering-and-bantering Ehrenreich and Jackson, and Prince and Convery almost doing a Moonrise Kingdom parody, they're all visibly having a good time. Cocaine Bear isn't as much sustained fun for its audience, however, but it sure wants to be. Its trailer is a killer in two ways: supremely entertaining, and also everything it needed to be in less than three minutes, ensuring that a full film, even a concise 95-minute one, was destined to seem bloated in comparison. A silly slasher, but about a high-and-hungry bear getting grizzly: that's Cocaine Bear at its most engaging, and it's easy to see a gleefully absurd direct-to-streaming franchise springing with instalments like Methamphetamine Monkey and Ecstasy Alligator following — all with diminishing returns. Of course, every animal-attack movie will always pale in comparison to the wildest one there is, aka 1981's lion flick Roar, which'll also rumble to mind when anyone attempts to follow in its footsteps. That's the kind of predator pandemonium that Banks doesn't realise you can't set out to make, but becomes a cult film on its own tumultuous and messy merits. IRL, the cocaine bear that inspired Cocaine Bear didn't munch its way through the park's visitors, with the actual creature now stuffed and on display at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall — a far blander fate than Cocaine Bear posits, but one just as padded.
Melburnians, prepare for the saddest garage sale ever. But at least it’s a chance to take a little piece of the Palace Theatre home with you, put it on your mantelpiece and reminisce over the days when live music came before hotels and apartment blocks. To all those who fought so hard and for so long after the Palace's dramatic and controversial closure, we salute you. The event is a follow-up to the Palace’s successful rare memorabilia sale, held last weekend. It saw hundreds of music fans nabbing bargains on all manner of music merchandise, from unframed Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds posters to ticket stubs and t-shirts. Some merch might still be hanging around, but you’ll also have the chance to buy bits and pieces of the Palace’s nuts and bolts. We’re talking sound gear, chunks of the bar, assorted fridges, stools, couches, scrubbing brushes, electronic gadgets and even the coffee machine. The coffee machine! The Palace Theatre garage sale will happen on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April at 11 Cromwell Parade, West Footscray. Doors will open and deals will be struck between 10am and 4pm. Just one word of advice: if your eyes are on the coffee machine, you’d better get there early. Fans were queueing for the merch sale for at least an hour before kick-off.
Booze delivery legend Jimmy Brings really came into its own during lockdown. Not only was it bringing drinks to homes within 30 minutes — allowing punters to have spontaneous lockdown sessions — it also delivered emergency rolls of toilet paper during that TP drought. Now, taking it up a notch, Jimmy Brings is offering you the chance to win six full months of free drinks for both you and your best mate. The prize is valued at a whopping $2000 and the competition has already begun, so best to get your entry in ASAP. To enter, simply post a pic of you (or you and your mate) enjoying a Jimmy Brings delivery on Instagram or Jimmy Brings' Facebook page, tagging @jimmybrings and #JBVibeCheck. The photo must include Jimmy's face, whether it's a delivery box, bag, magnet or internet cutout — anything will do. You can enter as many times as you want, too. The pic with the best 'vibes' will then win six months of loot, along with undying love from one very lucky friend. Jimmy Brings has been a go-to for its range of wine, beer and spirits since way back in 2011. It delivers organic drops, wine bundles and party packs, plus mixers and other extras — like chocolates, bags of crisps, Panadol and Berocca — to homes across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. And, if you're you're still avoiding that midweek bottle shop run, the online bottle-o delivers seven days per week until late. So, go ahead, get your order in and get snapping. The Vibe Check comp will run from Friday, July 17 until 11.59pm on Sunday, August 16. Anyone from NSW, Vic, Qld, WA, ACT or SA can enter. For more information and for full terms and conditions, head to the website. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Stanley Kubrick's cinematic work was made for the big screen. Whether it be the blockbuster Spartacus, painstakingly perfect A Clockwork Orange, or genre transforming 2001: A Space Odyssey, the grandeur, creativity, atmospheric scores and meticulous attention to detail that are the markers of his masterpieces demand the silver screen. Thankfully whoever is calling the shots at the Astor Theatre agrees — the grandiose 1,150 seat theatre is showcasing a Stanley Kubrick Retrospective until Monday June 17, featuring the extended version of The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut, as well as the aforementioned classics. You can even take the kids along for a lesson in cinematography, with the G rated candle-lit classic Barry Lyndon screening on Saturday June 8. Most of the films will be aired individually, but penny pinchers with long attention spans will appreciate the $16 double feature of A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket. Take your droogs or devotchka, grab some popcorn and get ready to yell "Here's Johnny!" or my personal favourite, "I'm Spartacus!".
Fists fly in Polite Society. Feet as well. When the latter aren't suspended in mid-air attempting to execute stunning kung-fu stunts, they just might be busting out their best Bollywood dance moves. Words are screamed and shouted, often between sisters Ria (Priya Kansara, Bridgerton) and Lena Khan (Ritu Arya, The Umbrella Academy), who are thick as thieves until they suddenly aren't. Schoolyard fights rumble like they've spilled straight out an action movie, which budding stuntperson Ria dreams of being in. Showdowns with Lena's future mother-in-law Raheela Shah (Nimra Bucha, Ms Marvel) could've burst from a Quentin Tarantino film. Espionage missions are undertaken by high schoolers, as are heists at a spectacular Muslim wedding in a lavish London mansion. Lena scoffs down a whole roast chicken on a public footpath like it's the only thing she's ever eaten. Ria and Lena free themselves from their angst by letting loose in their living room to The Chemical Brothers' dance-floor filler 'Free Yourself'. And being a dutiful member of her community is the absolute worst fate that could await an ass-kicking British Pakistani teenage girl. In other words, a little bit of everything happens in Polite Society, the anarchic and eye-popping debut feature from We Are Lady Parts creator Nida Manzoor. That includes nods to Jackie Chan movies and The Matrix, plus Bond-style antics and Ennio Morricone-esque music drops. Add in riffs on Get Out, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-inspired wuxia, video-game flourishes, musical dance numbers, and nudges in Jane Austen and Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan's directions. Scott Pilgrim vs the World and Kill Bill leave imprints. When it examines intergenerational pressure, so do Everything Everywhere All At Once and Turning Red. Whatever this high-energy charmer throws at the screen, it always serves the narrative. It also showcases Manzoor's lively and bold filmmaking eye. But more importantly, Polite Society is the spin-kicking whirlwind it is because that's what it feels like to be a schoolgirl training in martial arts, yearning to pack a literal punch, desperate to become anything but what society demands and tired of being dictated to — and saddled with cultural expectations but determined to propel along one's own path in general, too. At school, Ria is told that she should go into medicine. Other than her best friends Clara (Seraphina Beh, Top Boy) and Alba (Ella Bruccoleri, Call the Midwife), her classmates mock her stunt-performer ambitions. Bully Kovacs (movie debutant Shona Babayemi) even gets brawling over them. Ria's parents Fatima and Rafe (We Are Lady Parts alumni Shobu Kapoor and Jeff Mirza) advocate for a more practical life goal, not just for her but for aspiring artist Lena. And yet, Ria is certain that she's going to make stunts her career, so much so that there's only two other things she believes in as passionately. She has zero doubts that Lena is meant to be a great painter, ignoring the fact that she's just dropped out of art school. Then, when a surprise invite to the Shahs' Eid soirée sees Lena start dating Raheela's doctor son Salim (Akshay Khanna, Chloe), the most lusted-after bachelor in their family's social circle, and get engaged amid plans to move to Singapore, Ria couldn't be more convinced that the whole situation is 100-percent shady. When We Are Lady Parts hit TV screens in 2021, it did so with a clear understanding of complicated sisterly relationships. Focused on all-female, all-Muslim punk rockers, the gem introduced the titular Lady Parts with quite the track: 'Ain't No One Gonna Honour Kill My Sister But Me'. In Polite Society, the film's central sibling feud gets physical — when Ria and Lena throw down in one frenetic fray, "Khan vs Khan" is emblazoned across the frame like this is Street Fighter — and, whether they're flinging limbs or hugging it out, their clash is complex. Battling sisters is a nice shorthand for one of writer/director Manzoor's key messages, stressing that there's no such thing as just one type of Muslim woman. Ria and Lena couldn't be closer before Salim's charisma splinters their bond, but even they don't know everything that each other is, wants, hopes for or fantasies about. There's no one straightforward description for Polite Society either, with its kaleidoscope of genres, bouncing between capers, coming-of-age journey, comic tone, sibling celebration and arranged-marriage satire — and its Bend It Like Beckham-influenced narrative, swapping soccer for stunts. As it bounds through Ria's world, as well as her fears about not realising her only dream and losing Lena to a conventional existence, it manages to sprinkle in horror and science fiction. Manzoor also pays loving tribute to Ria's passion not only by staging dazzling stunts, but by having her protagonist idolise real-life stunt professional Eunice Huthart. The British ex-Gladiators star sports a resume that boasts GoldenEye, The Fifth Element, Titanic, 28 Days Later, Children of Men, Maleficent, Justice League and Eternals, as well as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Fast and Furious, Terminator, Pirates of the Caribbean and Tomb Raider titles, and Polite Society finds room to wink at many of them. Ensuring that the style of a film so utterly suits its story isn't easy, and nor is having every aspect of a movie's look and feel epitomise the statement it's making — then also doing both in a way that makes it plain that no other approach could've done the flick justice. That's a feat that Manzoor smashes, and repeatedly, with equally dynamic help from cinematographer Ashley Connor (Night Sky), editor Robbie Morrison (Starstruck), inspired sound effects and a thumping global soundtrack. The camerawork has as much of a spring in its step as Ria, as does Polite Society's happily hectic pace, vibrant use of colour and everything that echoes from the cinema speakers. All movies should be acts of immersion, but rare are the films that so deeply plunge their audience into their lead character's head and heart with everything it can, let alone so committedly, creatively, convincingly and compellingly. Rare are the on-screen finds like Kansara, too, who is as expressive and exuberant as the picture she's in. Polite Society doesn't idealise Ria at any moment — a film so devoted to shattering stereotypes and destroying any possibility of Muslim women being seen as a monoculture was never going to avoid her impulsiveness and hot-headedness — instead giving Kansara ample room to have a helluva lot of fun in her fleshed-out main part. She's playful, enterprising and heartfelt while operating at a mile-a-minute speed. She isn't afraid to make big leaps and stay spirited from the get-go, and to both unpack and lean into Ria's main-character syndrome. She's also a winning blend of pluck and spark in a roundhouse kick of a joyously entertaining flick that makes every single jab and strike matter.
World Chocolate Day (Wednesday, July 7) is on the horizon, so what better excuse for two of the country's top dessert masters to join forces? Aussie chocolate brand Koko Black and the ever-innovative, Sydney-born cake maestros Black Star Pastry have dreamed up some sweet-toothed magic, available for one day only this July. The Meteor Cake is the brainchild of Koko Black Head Chocolatier Remco Brigou and Black Star's Group Head Pastry Chef Arnaud Vodounou. First up, there are the neat layers of dark chocolate financier, caramel-infused chocolate, muscovado sponge, dense hazelnut cremeux, choccy mousse and praline. Crowning that delicious tower is a flying 'meteor' — a hazelnut truffle coated in black cocoa nibs — trailing a blazing edible flame crafted from luxe Sao Thome chocolate. There's even a pile of meteor 'rubble', made of crumbled cocoa nibs. It's here for a good time, but a very fleeting one, hitting stores for one day only on (you guessed it) Wednesday, July 7. The Meteor Cake comes in at $15 a slice, available to purchase only from select Koko Black stores in Melbourne. After the first half of this year, you bloody well deserve it.
'Be Brave. Make Change.' That's the theme guiding this year's National Reconciliation Week, which Melbourne Quarter is celebrating with a suite of activations and events from Friday, May 27–Friday, June 3. The inner-city precinct, set on land that was once a significant meeting place for the Woiwurrung people of the Kulin nation, will champion the spirit of reconciliation via a diverse program of happenings. It kicks off on May 27 with a smoking ceremony led by First Nations elders in the forecourt, before Melbourne Quarter launches the first episode of its new podcast, featuring Brotha Black in conversation with Clothing the Gaps' Head of Impact Lena Charles. It'll be available to listen to via Soundcloud. From May 31–June 2, the main lobby will play host to a retail pop-up showcasing threads and homewares from celebrated First Nations businesses including Gammin Threads, Clothing the Gaps, Haus of Dizzy and Our Dilly Bag. Meanwhile, Wurundjeri artist Simone Thomson has created a stunning mural along Gunpowder Walk, plus you can catch live acoustic sets by local First Nations acts from 12–2pm daily between May 31–June 2. And in the Two Melbourne Quarter lobby, check out 11 striking floral installations by Melbourne studio Alchemy Orange, each representing one of Victoria's First Nations groups. Top Images: Melbourne Quarter live music. Clothing the Gaps.
In 2013, 300 people danced to Kate Bush's' Wuthering Heights in a field — and in 2019, the idea is back and bigger than ever. The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever is happening in Melbourne on Saturday, July 13 in Edinburgh Gardens. Yes, everyone should be dressed as Kate Bush, complete with a red dress, red stockings and black belt (men, that means you as well). On the day, a clowder (that's the collective noun for Kate Bushes, just FYI) will descend up the gardens and dancing the swaying, kicky dance in unison to the Wuthering Heights song for the pure joy of it. Support for this weird and wonderful outing has been widespread and Kate Bush fans from around the world have been inspired to create events in their home cities. So get your gear together (dress-makers are being flooded with orders for the day, check it out here) and ready yourself to roll and fall in green, out on the wily, windy moors of Edinburgh Gardens. If you need an incentive — other than the event itself, of course — it's now 41 years since the song was first released.
Thanks to the franchise's increasingly over-the-top sequels, it's easy to dismiss John Rambo as an idiotic and cartoonish action hero whose movies readily employ more bullets than brain cells. That would be to forget how pointed and politically charged First Blood was when it came out in 1982. Grappling with issues such as the hidden wounds of post-traumatic stress disorder and the disenfranchisement of Vietnam vets, the original film presented Rambo as a tragic figure simply trying (and failing) to slip silently through society's cracks as a harmless and withdrawn loner. In the original cut, he actually committed suicide, only for test audiences to declare the ending too disheartening and morose — hardly the stuff of action heroes. So it was that a franchise was born — one in which Rambo was slowly reinvented as a one-man killing machine and poster child for US military might. Politics and social themes were still in there, but the emphasis shifted with each instalment. First Blood Part II held mostly true to its origins, showing the secret abandonment of American prisoners-of-war and the disposability of assets like Rambo by the very government they vowed to serve. By Rambo III, however, the villain was now the Soviet Union, with the film concluding with a dedication to "the gallant people of Afghanistan". Yet even with the third movie's souped-up action, Stallone continued to present Rambo as a tragic figure, suffering in silence, tormented by demons, seeking penance wherever opportunity presents and as uncomfortable as ever over his god-given gift: dealing death better than anyone else. Rambo, coming out 20 years after its immediate predecessor in 2008, focused its politics on the atrocities of the army in Myanmar, however it also introduced a level of violence and gore that went far beyond anything previously seen in the franchise. There was a bloodlust to it, taking it out of harmless action-movie fun, and into something uncomfortable and almost voyeuristic. There were still some great moments, but it was clear that the franchise and character had changed forever. Which brings us to Rambo: Last Blood — a film that aspires to be Logan, yet lands somewhere closer to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Plot-wise, the trailers intimated something to do with hidden secrets coming back to claim their dues. Not so. Co-written by Stallone and directed by Adrian Grunberg (Get the Gringo), this is essentially Taken, Mexico-style. Rambo's niece Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal) is drugged, kidnapped and groomed as a sex slave south of the border, compelling him to use his "very particular set of skills, skills... acquired over a very long career, skills that make [him] a nightmare for people like [cartels]" (as Liam Neeson would put it) until he baits his new enemies to chase him back to Arizona. It's a bizarre mishmash of storylines, all trying to ground themselves in Rambo's ongoing PTSD. Sometimes that's done well, revealing that he sleeps underground in a Viet Cong-styled network of tunnels beneath his family ranch — or when he admits he never got better, but rather he's just trying to "keep a lid on it". Most of the time, though, the film feels rushed and clumsy. Cheap, even. Rambo is still softly spoken and withdrawn, but the nuance is no longer apparent. He abhors violence, yet maintains a terrifying arsenal of knives, guns and explosives. And beneath that picturesque ranch is a straight-up house of horrors, physically and psychologically. But is the film still enjoyable? Mostly, no. Last Blood's quiet moments feel forced compared to the surprisingly tender or revealing offerings from earlier instalments, and the action is heavily abbreviated for most of the movie — no doubt because Stallone is now 73. The ending, however, is a different story. It's at once insanely silly and confessedly satisfying: a veritable smorgasbord of gruesome deaths packed into a tight 10-minute sequence, culminating in one of cinema's most gory finishes. Suffice it to say, the audience in the press screening was both hiding behind its hands and cheering amidst horrified laughter. It's one of those rare cinematic experiences that brings a room of strangers together in a weird but wonderful way. And as for this being Rambo's Logan moment... we'll save the spoilers and leave it up to you to find out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83nGns3pErk
"Movies are dreams that you never forget," says Mitzi Fabelman (Michelle Williams, Venom: Let There Be Carnage) early in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans. Have truer words ever been spoken in any of the director's 33 flicks? Uttered to her eight-year-old son Sammy (feature debutant Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord), Mitzi's statement lingers, providing the film's beating heart even when the coming-of-age tale it spins isn't always idyllic. Individual pictures can come and go, of course. Only some — including on America's most populist filmmaker's own resume, packed as it is with Jaws, Indiana Jones, E.T., Jurassic Park, West Side Story and the like — truly stand the test of time. But as Mitzi understands, and imparts to her on-screen Spielberg boyhood surrogate, movies as an art form are a dream that keeps beaming in our heads. We return to theatres again and again for more. We glue our eyes to films at home, too. We lap up the worlds they visit, stories they relay and fantasies they incite, and we eagerly add our own. To everyone that's ever stared at the silver screen in awe and wonder, The Fabelmans pays tribute far more than it basks in the glow of its director. Because everyone is crafting cinematic autobiographies of sorts of late, Spielberg adds this tender yet clear-eyed look at his childhood to a growing list of similarly self-reflective flicks; however, he's as fascinated with cinema as a dream-sparking and -making force as is he with fictionalising and mythologising his own beginnings. Slot The Fabelmans in alongside James Gray's Armageddon Time, Kenneth Branagh's Belfast, Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza and Alejandro González Iñárritu's Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths from the past year or so, then, and easily. Don't consider it merely Spielberg jumping on a trend, though. This is a sincere, perceptive and potent movie about how movies act as a mirror — and a vividly shot and engagingly performed one, complete with a pitch-perfect late cameo that's pure cinephile heaven — whether we're watching or creating them. First comes the viewing, as it does with us all no matter if we end up picking up a camera. While The Fabelmans charts Sammy's film fixation as it quickly expands from devouring celluloid dreams to fashioning them — giving Spielberg's career an origin story, clearly — that initial dalliance with the big screen in the 1950s couldn't be more pivotal. Heading to catch Cecil B DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth with Mitzi and dad Burt (Paul Dano, The Batman), the boy is anxious. And, when his debut experience with cinema involves witnessing a train crash in the movie, he's haunted afterwards. The Fabelmans makes that obsession the source of nightmares as well as inspiration, but once Sammy begins working through and rewriting his feelings by restaging the scene using a model train set, plus capturing it on Burt's Super-8 camera, the latter wins out. Both before and after Sammy hits his teen years (where he's played by The Predator's Gabriel LaBelle), The Fabelmans adores staging the wannabe filmmaker's DIY shoots. The horror of the dentist, mummies wrapped in toilet paper, westerns, war flicks: enlisting his sisters Natalie (Sweet Magnolias' Alina Brace as a kid, then Hunters' Keeley Karsten) and Reggie (Pivoting's Birdie Borria, then Once Upon a Time in Hollywood's Julia Butters), and his Boy Scout troupe, he's constantly filtering what he spies in darkened rooms into his enthusiastic work. There's a touch of Be Kind Rewind to these moments, joyously, but Spielberg highlights technique, too, such as Sammy's genius idea to make gunfights look more realistic. Cinema isn't just about storytelling, he reminds, but also science — even if career-minded computer engineer Burt can't see past the art, disapprovingly and to Mitzi's dismay, to the technique behind dolly tracks, camera angles that convey meaning and careful editing. Every filmmaker wants their audience to forget they're watching a movie, getting so immersed that everything else fades from mind while the projector whirls, but Spielberg loves the dream as well as the method behind it. He highlights the push and pull between the two into The Fabelmans from the outset, from the instant that the young Sammy stands in the middle of the frame outside the cinema, putting his creative, emotive, ex-concert pianist mum on one side and his analytical, data-driven, workaholic dad on the other. That's a gorgeous and intelligent touch, benefiting from luminous lensing by Janusz Kamiński, Spielberg's regular cinematographer. As built into the screenplay co-penned with fellow returning collaborator Tony Kushner — the helmer's first script since 2001's A.I. Artificial Intelligence — it also speaks to the family chaos that keeps thrusting Sammy and the Fabelmans in an array of directions. This movie isn't called Sammy, after all. Filmmaking is a communal experience — again whether you're enjoying the end result or toiling for it — and Sammy's pursuit of it doesn't occur in a vacuum. That maiden cinema visit wouldn't have happened without his mother and father. His response to it, right through to wanting to make the pictures his career, couldn't have either. Just like the nocturnal kind, cinema's reveries flow from an everyday reality, with The Fabelmans deeply invested in Sammy's. That spans hopping around the US following Burt's work, from New Jersey to Phoenix and then California; Mitzi and Burt's fragile chalk-and-cheese pairing, plus her obvious fondness for his best friend Bennie (Seth Rogen, Pam & Tommy); fitting in as a Jewish family amid antisemitism; words of wisdom from a long-lost uncle (Judd Hirsch, The Goldbergs) with a Hollywood background; high-school romances, bullying and other dramas; and sibling rivalries and complicated parent-child bonds. As a memoir, The Fabelmans isn't nostalgic about anything except cinema's undying allure — crucially so for the film's performances. Spielberg's mother was a pianist. His dad was an engineer. They moved to same spots seen in the movie, and their relationship didn't survive the director's childhood. Every choice in The Fabelmans is warm, including the John Williams score, but that doesn't mean sweeping past Mitzi's unfulfilled professional and romantic desires, overlooking Burt's work focus or ignoring the restlessness simmering within the family. Embracing those complexities gives Williams, Dano and LaBelle ample fuel for thoughtful, moving and multi-layered portrayals that always feel personal. Playing your director's mum, dad or younger self isn't guaranteed to have that impact, but Spielberg's compassionate direction makes it a given. His clever, insightful, funny and oh-so-astute ending here also makes The Fabelmans unforgettable; "how would you like to meet the world's greatest director?" indeed.
Great news, Melbourne. Apparently the current 'feels like' temperature is a beautiful zero degrees. Time to rise and shine, bury your hands in your pockets and make take that horrid power walk from front door to tram stop and bloody well hope there's one coming ASAP. Although we complain about the weather every other day, today we're 100 percent justified in making it the topic of water cooler conversation. As of 8am this morning the temp was a cool five degrees, but — according to our weather app — it 'felt like' zero. That's literally freezing. It was so cold overnight that snow fell in Woodend, Gisborne and Mt Macedon, which are only one hour northwest of the city centre. Here's what it looks like: A video posted by Brad Clark (@bradclark) on Jul 12, 2016 at 2:36pm PDT A photo posted by Matt Anderson (@mattriand) on Jul 12, 2016 at 2:41pm PDT A photo posted by S A M A N T H A C O O K E (@sammi_cooke) on Jul 12, 2016 at 3:02pm PDT This pup is so excited. A video posted by Scout - thanks 4 following me! (@mydogeatsapples) on Jul 12, 2016 at 2:44pm PDT So, yeah, it's freezing. If you can't work from home today, well...godspeed. Top image: Matt Anderson via Instagram.
The World Rice Festival is headed to Melbourne from December 7–9 to celebrate the diversity of this global food staple. Rice-heavy dishes are found all over the world, from the Philippines and Thailand to India and Spain — and you'll get to taste it all under one roof here, alongside cooking demonstrations, live music and cultural performances. Expect around 20 vendors to set up at Birrarung Marr — think lamb ribs and pork belly (with rice, of course) from Rice Paper Scissors, Thai sticky rice boxes from Farang Thai Issan BBQ, and Filipino lechon cebu from Hoy Pinoy, plus stalls selling dosas, paella and rice paper rolls. Each stall will serve a special rice dish for the occasion, along with other signature menu items. The cherry on top is dessert from like torched rice pudding from the Brûlée Cart and rice flour durian mochi from Duria. The drinks will be supplied by HWKR, which will have its own 'chill out' lounge, serving cocktails, sushi and other snacks. The A'Beckett Street food hall will also host the launch party on Wednesday, December 5. For $41, you'll get five mini rice dishes, one dessert and a boozy beverage. Entry to the festival itself is free, and will be open from 5–10pm on Friday, 10–10pm on Saturday and 12–5pm on Sunday.
As digital accessibility continues to erode traditional methods for the communal experience of artistic events, more and more creatives are coming up with new ways to keep old-school activities relevant. Underground Cinema is one of the champions. No more checking schedule times, reading reviews to determine the pick-of-the-programme, queuing for tickets or choosing between popcorn and choc tops. Underground Cinema (or UGC for short) doesn't involve merely seeing a film; it's an immersive experience. Participants purchase tickets online knowing only the theme, date and time of the event. They're clueless as regards to where they're going to meet, what they're going to see or who's behind the programme. Upon receiving notice of a top-secret location (anywhere from a parking lot to a disused ballroom to an abandoned warehouse), they turn up to enter not a cinema but an alternate universe, arranged according to the ethos of the movie they're about to see. That means live performances, music, costumes and who knows what else. The next UGC event intends to transport attendees to 1950s Hollywood. "It's swinging, saucy and sexy," reads the site. "We've got big bands, colour TV and stars in our eyes. It's a world of glitz and glamour, allure and attraction, but beware — all that glitters is not gold." https://youtube.com/watch?v=3UMG2fXsyAU
Cleveland-based, alt-punk trio Cloud Nothings is set to head our way this week, armed with brand new album Here and Nowhere and ready to play Meredith Music Festival — as well as a bunch of sideshows. Since starting out jamming around singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi's basement, Cloud Nothings' trademark sound has become bigger, bolder and more powerful; nostalgic in its references to the Buzzcocks, Husker and Blink-182, yet very much its own thing. It's been an unexpected year for Cloud Nothings. After moving from a quartet to a trio in early 2014 (former guitarist Joe Boyer can't actually leave Ohio for legal reasons), the band's blistering live shows — including recent appearances at Pitchfork Music Festival and Primavera — have played a huge role in boosting their fanbase. In fact, you'll probably want to nab yourself a ticket super-fast: their 2013 Australian tour was a sell-out. In addition to Meredith, Cloud Nothings will play Sydney's Oxford Art Factory on Wednesday, 10 December, supported by Palms and Bed Wettin' Bad Boys; Melbourne's Corner Hotel on Thursday, 11 December, supported by Palms and Power; and Brisbane's The Zoo on Sunday, 14 December.
By now, you know there's only one true way to celebrate a national or international food day — and that's by enjoying a huge giveaway dedicated to said food, whether it's doughnuts, burgers or gelato. The question is, who's feeding you with freebies this month when National Fried Chicken Day rolls around? The answer, my friends, is Gami Chicken & Beer — the Korean-style fried chook chain that has grown to include 32 restaurants across Australia and is a regular among our top fried chicken picks. On Wednesday, July 6, these crispy chicken experts are getting into the spirit of the USA's National Fried Chicken Day (hey, any excuse, right?) and giving away literally thousands of wings. Rather than handing out actual chicken, the group's East Coast stores are giving away 5000 vouchers, each redeemable for an eight-piece wings pack. That equates to a huge 40,000 Gami wings, going for free. To nab your voucher, simply order something dine-in, or via takeaway or delivery, from any Gami store in NSW or Victoria on July 6 — you can check where your local outposts are online. The wings vouchers can then be used on a dine-in Gami feast up until August 31.
Given the hefty backlash copped by Lost Picnic's 2017 edition, you'd be forgiven for thinking the boutique Sydney festival might not live to see another day. But organisers have announced the event will return this October, promising to address last year's raft of issues and even throwing a debut Melbourne date into the mix. Taking over Melbourne's Flemington Nursery on October 7 and Sydney's Domain on October 13, Lost Picnic 2018 is out to dish up a family-friendly serve of live entertainment and top local eats. Taking the stage this year will be legendary young-gun Tash Sultana, off the back of releasing her debut album, joined by Meg Mac, New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams, Sydney's Odette and brass ten-piece Hot Potato Band. A finely-tuned food offering will show off some of the best of each city — think, Milky Lane and The Dolphin in Sydney, with Burn City Smokers and Pho Nom flying the flag down south. Lost Picnic's last outing suffered more than a few hiccups, with punters complaining of lengthy wait times, food and drink stalls running out of stock early, and a somewhat disastrous forced recycling system. But this time around, Simon Beckingham — co-founder of Finely Tuned, the group that organises both Lost Picnic and NYE bash Lost Paradise — says festival goers can expect a much smoother affair. "Since last year's event wrapped up, we have been working hard to vastly improve the customer experience for 2018," he told Concrete Playground. After taking "all feedback on board", Beckingham had confirmed that there will be double the food stalls and an increased number of toilets, bar staff and tills — and those keen to skip the food queues altogether will be able to bring in their own picnic snacks. It's unclear if the capacity of the festival has been reduced or not. And instead of last year's compulsory recycling system, which forced punters to put down a $1 deposit for cups and then line up again to get a refund, there'll be a more user-friendly $10 cash-back incentive for those recycling their empty wine bottles. Tickets are going for the same price — $89 a pop — so here's hoping all the changes make the ticket price worth it. Lost Picnic will be in Melbourne at Flemington Nursery on October 7 and in Sydney at The Domain on October 13. Grab early bird tickets here for $89.
Look out, Prahran. Your newest hang has arrived in town and it's a glitzy, glamorous creature, draped in pink, emerald and gold and inspired by the Riviera. Opening on Friday, December 7, The Greville hopes to take care of all your weekend needs — namely, drinking, eating and dancing. Walking in, you'll find yourself in the Champagne Bar. Grab a glass of Dom Perignon or a signature cocktail created by Bar Manager Alan Coop,such as the Mid Summer Night (Four Pillars gin, blood orange syrup, ginger juice and sambuca) or the Smoke & Mirrors (Vida Mezcal, Laphroaig whiskey, honey and Angostura Bitters), then sink into a pink velvet armchair, surrounded by pink velvet walls. When you've worked up an appetite, continue into the restaurant. In this lush space — splashed with gold, emerald and marble — you'll be feasting on the dishes of Head Chef Casey Norman (ex-Cumulus Inc. and Baby). Among her share plates are beef tartare with capers, radish, cornichons and croutons; grilled calamari with smoked ricotta, and king prawns with spicy remoulade, apple and quinoa crisp. Next up, it's time to dance. On Friday and Saturday nights, the staircase upwards will lead you to the first floor, where you'll be making shapes to some of Melbourne's favourite DJs. Alternatively, collapse into a booth, wait for a waiter and content yourself with being a wallflower. Find The Greville at 132–134 Greville Street, Prahran. It's open Wednesday and Thursday from 5pm until late, and Friday–Sunday, from midday until late.
What does the soundtrack to your life sound like? Music can so often bring memories flooding back to a time and a place, and by acknowledging that we can see how certain songs or artist have influenced the people we are today. The same can be said for influential literature; whether it’s a short story, poem or a classic novel, we develop connections to those writers who have (even if only in a small way) influenced the way we think and view the world. 'Words and Music' allows musicians and writers to share the artistic work that has influenced them on a creative level with a captive audience. This new series of events is a rare chance for artists to explain the connections they have with other musicians and writers, and how they have arrived at their own methods of storytelling. For this instalment, artistic director and serial collaborator, Genevieve Lacey, will host two celebrated Australian creatives on stage. Author Hannah Kent will be bringing in two pieces of music that have inspired her written work. Kent has just released her debut novel Burial Rights and is the co-founder and deputy editor of Australian literary journal Kill Your Darlings. ARIA-nominated folk singer/songwriter Lior will, in turn, bring in two pieces of writing that have influenced him when creating music. His debut album, Autumn Flow, is still as impossibly captivating and beautiful as it was when it first came out in 2005 — who did he listen to in order to get there?
With a loaded three-night program, this year's White Night Reimagined festivities call for some extra sustenance to fuel those extended late-night wanderings. Luckily, a couple of Sydney legends are more than happy to help. Once Leonardo's Pizza Place wraps up service on Saturday, August 24, it'll be handing over the reins to Sydney favourite Mary's Pizzeria and natural wine shop P&V Merchants, for a one-off session of after-dark revelry. The wine and pizza party kicks off at 10pm and will run all the way through to 2am, thanks to a special extended trading licence. On the menu, you'll catch a range of Mary's signature Detroit-style square pizzas, starring the likes of a classic pepperoni and the Mushroom Fucker, alongside party snacks and sides. Meanwhile, P&V Merchants' wine list will have lots of fun and funky drops, featuring a mix of Italian and Aussie bottles, and even a few cheeky magnums (1.5-litre bottle) and jeroboams (4.5 litres). It's all served with a side of raucous rock 'n' roll tunes to see you happily through until the wee hours. White Night at Leonardo's Pizza Palace runs from 10pm–2am with walk-ins only (no bookings). Image 1-2: Leonardo's Pizza Palace by Kate Shanasy.
The ninth annual CherryRock festival is kicking off this weekend with both local and international acts throwing down and leaving it all on the stage. As in the past, there will be two stages set up for the day and no clashes with the set times; as 13 acts are set to rock out. Headlining the weekend will be Portland stoner-rock icons Red Fang. Also performing is New Zealand’s very own Beastwars, Brisbane band HITS, as well as Child, My Left Boot, Fuck the Fitzroy Doom Scene, Dr. Colossus, Los Hombres Del Diablo and more. Many punters feared that they had seen the end of CherryRock when it did not go on as planned last November, however the grumpy neighbours are just going to have to suck it up for a night. Pastuso are also taking the night off to have their annual staff party early this year, so it’s all systems go for AC/DC Lane.
