Summer means long days, beach outings and lively nights, but when the heat makes it unbearable to even venture outside, create your own slice of paradise in the comfort of your home. With the festive season around the corner and no sign of the cost-of-living crisis slowing down, turn your balcony into a vibrant destination for leisurely catch-ups over home-cooked spreads and refreshing tipples. With the help of Weber, we've pulled together five ways to elevate your outdoor living space, so you can while away the hot summer days without working up a sweat. The Weber Lumin A good barbecue is a quintessential summer experience, but it's often too tricky to turn that dream into a reality when you're stuck on an apartment balcony. Legendary barbecue brand Weber has you covered with the Lumin — a compact electric barbecue designed to be set up in smaller spaces. Don't let its size or lack of gas fool you. The multi-functional Lumin packs a punch and is able to deliver a range of cooking methods, from grilling to steaming and smoking. Simply plug the barbecue into any electrical outlet and you're ready to don your apron, crack open a cold one and get barbecuing. Pillow Loungers If you're living in the vicinity of the city, it's unlikely that you'll have space for anything bigger than a single recliner (if you're lucky). But you can still bring the beach to your balcony with Business & Pleasure Co's pillow loungers. Crafted from UV and weather-resistant Pleasuretex fabric, the Reclining Pillow Lounger boasts five adjustable settings and is easily transportable for any picnic, pool or beach needs. If you have a little more room to play with, the Modular Pillow Stack is the versatile hero to solve all your outdoor comfort needs. Arrange the pillows to suit any occasion, whether it's a cosy sofa, reading nook, sun-bathing deck or additional seating for guests. Both loungers come in a variety of sunny colours to bring a dash of Euro summer to your home and can be folded flat for storage. Cocktail Trolley Between cooking and lounging, you won't want to make the long trek back into your apartment for drinks. Round out your outdoor set-up with a cocktail trolley, which can double as storage, a counter for meal prep or a display shelf. Brighten up your aperitivo hour with Fenton & Fenton's all-weather aluminium and powder-coated outdoor bar cart, or keep things fresh with the Heller Alfresco Cooler from Temple & Webster. The latter comes complete with an 80-litre capacity for ice and drinks, as well as a drainage plug and tube for easy cleaning. To really impress your guests, we'd even recommend grilling or smoking fruit on your Lumin to create a seasonal cocktail with a smoky twist. Outdoor Rugs An outdoor rug might seem counterintuitive, but Ruggable's garden and patio rugs are a colourful way to tie your space together. The outdoor range is stain, water, fade, mould and mildew-resistant. The best part? Your rug can be thrown into the washing machine when it inevitably gets a little dirty. Whether you're looking to create a Mediterranean escape, jungle oasis or coastal haven, there's a print and style to suit every aesthetic. Greenery Experience the great outdoors, no matter your outdoor dimensions. Make even the smallest balcony feel ever-so-slightly bigger with some lush greenery. Don't have any semblance of a green thumb? Opt for artificial plants, like these click-and-fix artificial turf tiles from IKEA, luxe faux botanicals from Pottery Barn, or smaller hanging plants from The Plants Project. You won't ever have to worry about killing a fiddle leaf again. Find out more about the Lumin at the Weber website.
The Melbourne International Film Festival will donate a portion of proceeds from this year's closing night gala to charity, in honour of late Indigenous music icon Dr G Yunupingu. MIFF organisers had previously announced that the festival would close with a screening of a documentary about Yunupingu's life, but temporarily halted ticket sales following the musician's tragic passing late last month. Dr Yunupingu's family has asked that the media refrain from sharing his full name or image, raising questions over whether the closing night film should be changed. However, the documentary makers have since sought the advice of senior Gumatj elder David Djunga Djunga Yunupingu, and on his direction have confirmed that the screening will go ahead, with ten percent of ticket sales going to Dr Yunupingu's foundation, which supports Indigenous youths in remote communities around the country. David Djunga Djunga Yunupingu will introduce the screening alongside director Paul Williams. MIFF's closing night screening of the documentary of Dr G Yunupingu's life will take place on the evening of Saturday, August 19. To book tickets, go here.
One of the world's most iconic paintings has come to Australia, as part of a cultural exchange with the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. Painted by James McNeill Whistler in 1871, Portrait of the artist's mother, otherwise known as Arrangement in grey and black no. 1 or more commonly as Whistler's Mother, is on display at the National Gallery of Victoria, forming the centrepiece of an exhibition about the painting's social and historical impact. "Alongside Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Munch's The Scream sits Whistler's Portrait of the artist's mother as one of a handful of artworks which enjoy universal recognition and admiration," said NGV Director Tony Ellwood in a statement that accompanied the announcement in January. The exhibition marks the first time the painting has travelled to Australia. In return, the NGV will loan the Musee d'Orsay Pierre Bonnard's 1900 work Siesta. The NGV exhibition, which will run until June 19, will aim to explore Whistler's iconic work from a number of different perspectives, chronicling its initially poor reception at the Royal Academy in London, its rise in popularity over the subsequent decades, and its influence on countless prominent artists including many here in Australia. It will also delve into the life of both the artist and his mother, Anna, who is depicted in the painting. The gallery has produced a short film about the significance of the work, and will also present a number of related public programs including a floor talk series and an illustrated panel discussion. Just whatever you do, when you're visiting the exhibition... try not to sneeze. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWqVoaYxgRs Image: Brooke Holm.
If George Clooney can float around in space in Gravity and Matt Damon can get stranded on Mars in The Martian, then Brad Pitt can race buggies on the moon in Ad Astra. Another Ocean's 11 star, another intergalactic movie — and another big-screen sci-fi spectacle, obviously. Pitt plays Roy McBride, an Army Corps engineer who is determined to soar into the stars and beyond, all to follow in his father's (Tommy Lee Jones) footsteps. His dear old dad went missing on his own space mission in mysterious circumstances, and if Christopher Nolan's Interstellar taught us anything a few years ago, it's that searching for family and blasting out of this world seem to go hand-in-hand. Donald Sutherland, Liv Tyler and Loving's Ruth Negga also feature, with Ad Astra marking the latest release from The Immigrant and The Lost City of Z filmmaker. The latter is definitely cause for celebration, with the director's previous movies proving thoughtful, detailed, exquisitely performed dramas. Take all that to space — in a film that's been delayed a few times due to the extensive visual effects work required — and hopefully it'll soar. For a while, it's been a good time to watch great movies about big-name stars in space; just this month, Robert Pattinson blasts off in High Life, too. But if you're a Pitt fan, the next few months are shaping up to be particularly exciting — before he rockets to the outer edges of the solar system in Ad Astra, he'll be stepping back to the 60s in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Watch the first trailer for Ad Astra below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm3h6iWmIEw Ad Astra releases in Australian cinemas on September 19.
Grab a bite, hunt down a bargain or sit back under the twilight sky and enjoy a show. The Southside’s favourite market-cum-cultural festival is back for another year. Starting at 5.30pm on January 15 and running every Thursday evening for the following seven weeks, The South Melbourne Night Market features dozens of merchants and stalls selling clothes, crafts and everything in-between. There’s also a plethora of dining options, with many of Melbourne’s favourite food vendors including Chingon Taco Truck, Nem N Nem Vietnamese and 196 Below Ice Cream setting up shop along the Coventry and Cecil Street strips. Each week will also feature a different live music act. First up is the La Ramba Flamenco Band along with local singer-songwriter Sarah Carnegie. Other standouts include Geelong funk-rockers The Kite Machine, Queensland folk singer Davy Simony and home-grown indie kids The Black Harrys.
Game of Thrones was always going to spark spinoff shows. Indeed, when HBO started thinking about doing a prequel five years ago, before the huge fantasy hit had even finished its run, it was hardly surprising. And, when the US network kept adding ideas to its list — including a Jon Snow-focused series with Kit Harington (Eternals) reprising his famous role, novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg and an animated GoT show, to name just a few prequels and spinoffs that've been considered, but may or may not actually come to fruition — absolutely no one was astonished. So far, just one fellow GoT-related series has hit screens: House of the Dragon, which jumps back into House Targaryen's history. When it arrived in 2022, it became an instant success. Accordingly, it was quickly renewed for season two. But if you've been hanging out for the next part in its story, and hoping to see it in 2023, you might have to wait a little longer. In an interview with Variety, HBO and HBO Max content CEO Casey Bloys has advised that viewers likely won't be returning to Westeros until sometime in 2024. He said that timing for House of the Dragon season two's debut "is a good guess", and that it probably won't be eligible for the Emmys held that year — which means that new episodes might be coming in winter Down Under, fittingly. The first season also started screening and streaming during Australia and New Zealand's winter, so that'll mean a two-year gap — or thereabouts — between the show's maiden go-around and its second effort. And, it means thinking "winter is coming" to yourself all over again, amid pondering the GoT realm's relationships, flowing long blonde hair, dragons, stabbings and fights for the Iron Throne (whether or not you turn watching House of the Dragon into a drinking game, as we did). The series kicked off 172 years before the birth of Daenerys and her whole dragon-flying, nephew-dating, power-seeking story, and gave HBO its largest American audience for any new original series in its history when it debuted. Yes, House of the Dragon is basically a case of new show, same squabbles, as it was easy to foresee it would be. Yes, it's pretty much Game of Thrones with different faces bearing now well-known surnames — and more dragons. If you haven't yet caught up with the series, it dives into the battle for the Iron Throne before the one we all watched between 2011–19. Paddy Considine (The Third Day) plays King Viserys — and it's exactly who should be his heir that sparks all the Succession-style fuss. The words "succession" and "successor" (and "heir" as well) get bandied around constantly, naturally. The king has a daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (played by Upright's Milly Alcock, then Mothering Sunday's Emma D'Arcy), who is also his first-born child. But because putting a woman on the throne isn't the done thing, the King's younger brother Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith, Morbius) considers that spiky iron chair his birthright. And, this wouldn't be Westeros if plenty of other people didn't have an opinion, including Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans, The King's Man), the Hand of the King; his own daughter Alicent (The Lost Girls' Emily Carey, then Slow Horses' Olivia Cooke); and Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint, It's a Sin), who is married to Princess Rhaenys Velaryon (Eve Best, Nurse Jackie), who had a better claim to the throne when Viserys was named king instead. Also yes, this latest adaptation of George RR Martin's popular fantasy books is bound to continue on for more than just two seasons, but that's all that's confirmed for the moment. Check out the full House of the Dragon trailer below: House of the Dragon streams Down Under via Foxtel and Binge in Australia and SoHo, Sky Go and Neon in New Zealand. Read our full review of season one. Via Variety. Images: Ollie Upton/HBO.
When season five of Stranger Things arrives, it'll bring with it a big ending, wrapping up the Netflix hit for good after the next batch of episodes. Yes, everything from Succession to Barry is also saying farewell these days, but Stranger Things won't be completely dropping off the radar — it has spinoffs to slip into your streaming queue, including a just-announced new animated series. Back in 2022 when Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer revealed that their sci-fi show was working towards its endgame, they also said that they had more stories to tell in this fictional — and sometimes Upside Down — realm. Instantly, we all knew what that meant. Netflix doesn't like letting go of its hits easily, after all, so the quest to find a way to keep wandering through this franchise was about as surprising as Jim Hopper's (David Harbour, Violent Night) usual gruff mood. "Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things. At the time, we predicted the story would last four to five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four, but — as you'll soon see for yourselves — we are now hurtling towards our finale. Season four will be the penultimate season; season five will be the last," the Duffers said at the time. "There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things; new mysteries, new adventures and unexpected heroes," the Duffers continued. Cue the upcoming Stranger Things cartoon, which doesn't yet have a name, but will boast the Duffer brothers as executive producers. Obviously, it's headed to Netflix. "We've always dreamed of an animated Stranger Things in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving, and to see this dream realised has been absolutely thrilling," the siblings said, announcing the new show. There's no word yet on when the animated series will arrive, what it'll focus on and who'll be among its voices. If you're devoted to the OG cast, start crossing your fingers that some or all of Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown (Enola Holmes 2), Finn Wolfhard (Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio), Noah Schnapp (Waiting for Anya), Winona Ryder (The Plot Against America), Charlie Heaton (The Souvenir: Part II), Joe Keery (Free Guy), Gaten Matarazzo (The Angry Birds Movie 2), Caleb McLaughlin (Concrete Cowboy), Sadie Sink (The Whale), Natalia Dyer (Things Seen & Heard) and Maya Hawke (Do Revenge) are involved. Netflix did just reveal that it's getting the Scott Pilgrim vs the World cast back together to voice an anime continuation of that beloved flick, after all. There's no sneak peek at the animated Stranger Things series as yet, either, but you can check out the trailer for season four below: The Stranger Things animated series doesn't yet have a release date, but we'll update you when one is announced. You can the OG series via Netflix. Read our review of season four. Images: courtesy of Netflix.
Road trips are an idealised summertime activity. If you do it right, you come away with good friends and esoteric stories which will never be understood properly by people who weren't there. But it's equally possible for road trips to turn hellish and monotonous. That's not what you want - that's not what anybody wants. So Concrete Playground has compiled a list of tips to help you on your way and make sure you have the kind of road trip which will remind you of the wind and sunshine in your hair, shared memories and in-jokes. Some of it might seem like common sense, but common sense can sometimes be what first deserts you when somebody suggests driving ten hours across the country to go to a music festival or a particularly nice beach. 1. WheelsSo this seems a superfluous point, but if you're going to go on a road trip you need a car, and if you don't have one then you've got yourself a problem. Once you've got the car, make sure it's one that everybody knows how to drive. Nobody likes being the only manual driver in a car full of stricken automatic-only drivers. You should also do all the practical things like get the oil, tyres and water checked before you leave, and make sure you've got back-ups in case of emergency, especially if you're trying to look like you know your stuff about cars. Bigger cars are better for road trips, especially if you've got friends with ample hips or ridiculously long legs. And for the love of God make sure the car has air con. Otherwise everybody is going to be sweaty, sunburnt and have a mouth full of insects every time you drive through a field. 2. A Worthwhile DestinationJumping in a car and heading nowhere might sound very Kerouac-esque for an hour or so, but in the end you're going to want to be heading somewhere. Holiday houses and camping grounds are all good, although there's a high likelihood a music festival might be your destination this summer. If that's the case, be patient and anticipate that you will have to wait in a queue for six hours on a backed up country road and be forced to pee in the bushes in direct view of many headlights. However, the best destination of all is a beach, one of the pristine and near unpopulated ones which grace our fair coast. 3. MapsGetting lost is not half the fun. The person who claims this needs to be ejected immediately from the vehicle. You probably have a GPS, but bear in mind that the GPS is not infallible. Let me present you with an example: on a road trip last year, we in the car got bored with the standard GPS and, just outside the Gold Coast, switched our guide to a New Zealander named Paul. All was going well until Paul started sabotaging our trip with his crafty non-instructions and we ended up taking a two hour detour through peak-hour Brisbane. Paul was not our friend after that and shameful slurs against New Zealand ensued. In these situations you need a map. A map in this instance is defined as a proper map you purchase from anywhere good maps are sold, not a scrawled set of lines copied from Google Maps your barely literate friend drew on the back of phone bill. 4. CrewBe wise and consider precisely which of your friends and loved ones you're going to enjoy being in a cramped confined space with for potentially several days. There's nothing more tedious and depressing than realising you can't stand the people you're friends with. It's also a good idea to make sure there's not going to be anybody overly-familiar with their sense of personal space, particularly if they have personal hygiene issues. Once you've got that down, make sure that there's not going to be any major conflict before you start, because there's nothing more awkward than finding yourself on a road trip with a couple who have recently broken up and still have unresolved issues. Solve all those problems, and you're cool. 5. ConversationOnce you've exhausted your witty high school stories, politics, childhood traumas and the ever-fascinating subject of who's having sex with whom, complex philosophical questions are always a good bet. Questions such as 'which of your legs could you do without' and 'would you rather punch Kyle Sandilands or Miranda Devine in the face' are good starting points. For those who are not on driving duty and decide the time has come to pilfer beers from the esky, be aware that the designated driver will soberly wish for your death if you do anything crazy-drunk like throw up, sing repetitively for more than ten minutes or attempt to give a ride to a stranger with no shoes. 6. MoneyMoney is a general necessity in all areas of life, but when we say 'money' here we mean the multi-coloured pieces of paper marked with numbers the ATM is wont to dispense. This is crucial because ATMs can be scarce on the ground in the bush, and on a road trip sharing is of the utmost importance. Assign the most organised member of your group the job of keeping an account of how much petrol and food everybody is paying for, and bear in mind that if you haven't chipped in for all the Tim Tams then you do not deserve to eat all the Tim Tams and then subsequently complain about a sore stomach. 7. SnacksIt's a given that everyone is obliged to bring a lot of sugar on a road trip. Minties, Snakes and all things that once delighted you in children's birthday party bags are right and necessary when on the road. Hop chips with tomato sauce sold by old ladies with facial hair in country towns are also awesome. Eating options on the highway tend to be a choice between Maccas or Maccas, so if that's going to bother you, pre-make some delicious healthy things which won't spill too badly and stop every hour or so to picnic. Otherwise, it's uncanny how the shops saying 'Best Pies in Grafton' actually do sell the best pies in Grafton. Moreover, if you're going a long distance you're going to be in dire need of caffeine. Somebody could be really organised and bring instant coffee, a saucepan, a makeshift stove and water, or you could just take a thermos. 8. MusicIf you've got one of those whatsits that plug your iPod into the car's stereo system, you're sweet. If you don't have one of those, however, you're going to want a couple of good mixtapes, or, more accurately, mix CDs. The person in charge of making mixtapes should keep in mind what everyone else will like, what is easiest to sing along to, and attempt not to impress others with their obscure tastes because it never works out as well as you'd hope. Sixties pop songs, eighties power ballads and nineties rap should all be considered in the choice of music. Most importantly, don't make too many tapes. Fifteen hours worth of music is just tiring. You want to have songs that are going to remind you of the trip for years to come, an underlying theme for your future reminiscing, if you will. Anything more and you may as well just put the radio on. 9. Ridiculous ApparelQuestionable fashion choices are a mandatory on the road. Nothing makes you feel more alive than climbing out of the car at a truckstop wearing something outrageously fluoro and swaggering inside to get yourself a rainbow Paddlepop. Furthermore, there is no more appropriate occasion for a man to sport short shorts. Stupid sunglasses and hats are fun, but bear in mind they might enrage Mick Taylor-types on the roads. And remember that while no shoes are alright in the car, you don't want anything on the floors of country rest stops and bathrooms touching your bare skin. 10. SunscreeenOften overlooked when in the relative shelter of a moving car, sunscreen is necessary for anybody with an arm in close proximity to a window. You don't want to get sunburnt, and unevenly sunburnt at that, while sitting in the car. More to the point, nothing will ruin your holiday more than being so sunburnt you have to wear shapeless kaftans with long sleeves and not being able to sleep at night because it hurts so bad.
It may have been violent, sexist and brainless, but when Sin City hit theatres in 2005, it was like nothing we'd ever seen before. Adapted by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez from Miller's pulpy anthology comic-book series, the lurid homage to hard-boiled noir stories was one of the first Hollywood movies to fully embrace digital technology — the directors filmed in front of a green screen using high-def digital cameras before converting to black-and-white in post-production. The content was still tasteless and juvenile of course, but at least it was interesting to look at. Nine years later, they've gifted us with a follow-up. Subtitled A Dame to Kill For, this part prequel, part sequel is certainly a fitting companion piece; equally stylised, equally sadistic and equally dumb. And had it come out in 2006 or 2007, it probably would have been embraced. But it didn't. Revolutionary a decade ago, digital cinematography and effects are now the norm, as are slavish graphic novel adaptations full of manufactured grit. Sin City 2 isn't a particularly inferior film to its predecessor. It's just that, after all this time, the novelty is no longer there. It also doesn't feel as though either Miller or Rodriguez have any interest in pushing the envelope further. Fleeting flashes of colour punctuate the vivid monochrome frame, looking every bit as striking as they did the first time. But the duo never attempts to really build upon the aesthetic of their original — and without the element of surprise on their side, the results are inevitably diminished. The same goes for script, again steeped in sex and vengeance but never actually covering any new ground. In the longest story, Mickey Rourke returns as brutish good guy Marv, who along with two-bit private eye Dwight (Josh Brolin), gets caught up in the machinations of a murderous femme-fatale (Eva Green, unfortunately camp). Then there's Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a smooth-talking card-shark with a grudge against the vicious Senator Roarke (Powers Boothe). Roarke is also the antagonist in the final vignette, one that sees exotic dancer Nancy (Jessica Alba) out to avenge the honest cop who saved her life. It should go without saying that the stories are all varying degrees of stupid. If you're not willing to suspend your disbelief every time Johnny gets dealt an impossible poker hand, or when Nancy takes out an entire battalion of body guards, then the movie falls apart before it even begins. What's harder to accept is Miller's flaccid dialogue. Gordon-Levitt is an immensely talented actor, but no-one can make the word 'ambidextrous' sound cool. There's also no skirting around the movie's attitude towards women, which is unfortunately misjudged at best and flagrantly misogynistic at worst. There is not a single named female character in A Dame to Kill For who isn't either a stripper or a prostitute — and despite what Miller apparently thinks, giving a hooker a bazooka doesn't really mean she's empowered. For the most part, the film is just immature in a boring way. On this issue specifically though, it's genuinely quite unpleasant. https://youtube.com/watch?v=6iFdPcx0W2w
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many things, and reminded us of plenty of advice that we've all heard for years. We're all now well and truly aware that any situation can change quickly, for instance. In the latest example to prove those words accurate, the Australian Government has moved forward its vaccine rollout plans — just a day after announcing its last fast-tracked inoculation schedule. Yesterday, Wednesday, January 6, Minister for Health Greg Hunt said that COVID-19 vaccinations would begin at the beginning of March, which was earlier than the previous date of late March (which, in turn, had been brought forward from the second quarter of 2021). Then today, Thursday, January 7, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced in a press conference that the timeline for kicking off vaccinations has now been shifted to February. First in the queue when jabs start being administered mid-to-late next month (with an exact date yet to be revealed): frontline workers — particularly those working at hotel quarantine sites and international border checkpoints — as well as health workers and residential aged care facility residents. They'll comprise the first of five priority groups, with elderly Aussies aged over 70, Indigenous Australians over the age of 55, other health care workers, younger adults with an underlying medical condition, and other critical and high-risk workers falling into the second group. From there, adults aged 50–69, Indigenous Australians over 18 and the next tranche of critical and high-risk workers will receive the vaccination, followed by the balance of the adult population. Department of Health Secretary and former Chief Health Officer Brendan Murphy noted that children will fall into the last group. The Prime Minister also advised that that the rollout will begin with a target of giving 80,000 vaccinations per week, starting with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. By the end of March, it's expected that four million Australians will have been vaccinated — with capacity ramping up once the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is approved. Several vaccines have not only been created over the past year — much faster than the usual timeline — but have started being used in countries around the world. The latter is happening in places such as the UK and the US, where coronavirus case numbers have remained at enormous levels. In Australia, where the situation thankfully hasn't reached the same scale, the federal government has decided on a different approach. Vaccines need to be evaluated and approved locally by the Therapeutic Goods Administration before they can be rolled out anyway, and that process is currently underway for multiple different vaccines, including from Pfizer-BioNTech and University of Oxford-AstraZeneca. As the Prime Minister announced in mid-2020, vaccines will be provided to every Aussie for free when they are available. Australia currently has agreements to receive ten million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which will be manufactured overseas, and 53.8 million doses of the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, with production of the latter already starting locally. Both require two doses per person to be effective — and you have to get two doses of the same vaccine (so you can't mix and match them). If you're wondering how it'll all work logistics-wise, there'll be specific hubs to deliver the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine — at 30–50 hospitals around the country — first up. After that, when the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine becomes available, vaccinations will be available at other sites, such as GPs and respiratory clinics. Obviously, it's expected that specific details about sites and dates will be revealed before vaccinations start in February. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Australia, visit the Australian Government Department of Health website.
Chapel Street is in for a taste of old-world European romance when Matteo Bruno (Hana, The Meatball & Wine Bar) opens the doors to his latest project next week. Named after Bruno's 93-year-old nonna, Ines Wine Bar looks set to become one of the most charming watering holes around, Euro-style street seating and all. Inside, the team at Techne Architecture have pulled together a warm, laidback mix of walnut, Italian marble and aged brass accents, to match a soundtrack of classic tunes from the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles. In short: it's a space designed for unwinding. Having most recently honed his smarts at Ides and intimate Japanese spot Kappo, sommelier Raffaele Mastrovincenzo has designed a wine list of around 80 Italian, French and local varieties, with a Coravin system allowing for more interesting by-the-glass sessions. That said, Ines' cocktail game is equally strong, with Italian mixology whizz Stefano Cinelli showing off his knack for the classics — you're just as likely to find yourself dropping in for a sazerac or old-fashioned. Plus, buy a bottle of your favourite spirit and they'll even keep it safe behind the bar for your subsequent visits. Meanwhile, in the culinary corner, it's Euro accents all the way. Think a daily-changing selection of crostini, cheese and charcuterie boards, freshly shucked oysters and the croque signore, riffing on a French classic with the addition of aged prosciutto. Find Ines Wine Bar at 150 Chapel St, Windsor from May 15. It'll open for dinners Tuesday through Saturday.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE What a difference Mads Mikkelsen can make. What a difference the stellar Danish actor can't, too. The Another Round and Riders of Justice star enjoys his Wizarding World debut in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, taking over the part of evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald's Johnny Depp — who did the same from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them's Colin Farrell first, albeit in a scripted change — and he's impressively sinister and engagingly insidious in the role. He needs to be: his fascist character, aka the 1930s-set movie's magical version of Hitler, wants to eradicate muggles. He's also keen to grab power however he must to do so. But a compelling casting switch can't conjure up the winning wonder needed to power an almost two-and-a-half-hour film in a flailing franchise, even one that's really just accioing already-devoted Harry Potter fans into cinemas. Capitalising upon Pottermania has always been the point of the Fantastic Beasts movies. Famously, this series-within-a-series springs not from a well-plotted novel, where the eight Boy Who Lived flicks originated, but from a guide book on magical creatures. That magizoology text is mentioned in the very first HP tome, then arrived IRL four years later, but it was only after the Harry Potter films ended that it leapt to screens. The reason: showing the Wizarding World's powers-that-be the galleons, because no popular saga can ever conclude when there's more cash to grab (see also: Star Wars and Game of Thrones). For Fantastic Beasts, the result was charming in the initial movie and dismal in its followup. Now, with The Secrets of Dumbledore, it's about as fun as being bitten by a toothy textbook. Nearly four years have passed since The Crimes of Grindelwald hit cinemas, but its successor picks up its wand where that dull sequel left off. That means reuniting with young Albus Dumbledore, who was the best thing about the last feature thanks to Jude Law (The Third Day) following smoothly in Michael Gambon and Richard Harris' footsteps. Actually, it means reuniting Dumbledore with Grindelwald first. And, it involves overtly recognising that the pair were once lovers. The saga that's stemmed from JK Rowling's pen isn't historically known for being inclusive, much like the author's transphobic statements — and it's little wonder that getting candid about such a crucial romantic connection feels cursory and calculating here, rather than genuine. The same applies to The Secrets of Dumbledore's overall message of love and acceptance, which can only echo feebly when stemming from a co-screenwriter (alongside seven-time HP veteran Steve Kloves) who's basically become the series' off-screen Voldemort. Referencing Dumbledore and Grindelwald's amorous past serves the narrative, of course, which is the real reason behind it — far more than taking any meaningful steps towards LGBTQIA+ representation. Years prior, the two pledged not to harm each other, binding that magical promise with blood, which precludes any fray between them now. Enter magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne, The Trial of the Chicago 7) and his pals. Well, most of them. Newt's assistant Bunty (Victoria Yeates, Call the Midwife), brother Theseus (Callum Turner, Emma), No-Maj mate Jacob (Dan Fogler, The Walking Dead), Hogwarts professor Lally (Jessica Williams, Love Life) and Leta Lestrange's brother Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam, Stillwater) are accounted for, while former friend Queenie (Alison Sudol, The Last Full Measure) has defected to Grindelwald. As for the latter's sister Tina (Katherine Waterston, The World to Come), she's spirited aside, conspicuously sitting Operation Avoid Muggle Genocide out. Read our full review. AMBULANCE Michael Bay movies, Michael Bay movies, whatcha gonna do? Since the action-film director leapt from commercials and music videos to his big-screen debut Bad Boys more than a quarter-century back, there's only been two options. Slickly and unsubtly dripping with gleeful excess, his high-concept flicks embrace explosions, chases, heists, shootouts, jittery chaos and perpetual golden-hour hues with such OTT passion that you surrender or roll your eyes — having a blast or being bored by the bombast, basically. Too often, the latter strikes. That proved true of all five of his Transformers films, which are responsible for more cinematic tedium than any filmmaker should legally be allowed to crash onto screens. That his pictures are lensed and spliced as if lingering on one still for more than a split second is a heinous crime usually doesn't help, but it's what Bay is known for — and yet when Bayhem sparkles like it mostly does in Ambulance, it's its own kind of thrilling experience. Following a high-stakes Los Angeles bank robbery that goes south swiftly, forcing two perpetrators to hijack an EMT vehicle — while a paramedic tries to save a shot cop's life as the van flees the LAPD and the FBI, too — Ambulance is characteristically ridiculous. Although based on the 2005 Danish film Ambulancen, it's Bay from go to whoa; screenwriter and feature newcomer Chris Fedak (TV's Chuck, Prodigal Son) even references past Bay movies in the dialogue. The first time, when The Rock is mentioned, it's done in a matter-of-fact way that as brazen as anything Bay has ever achieved when his flicks defy the laws of physics. In the second instance mere minutes later, it's perhaps the most hilarious thing he's put in his movies. It's worth remembering that Divinyls' 'I Touch Myself' was one of his music-clip jobs; Bay sure does love what only he can thrust onto screens, and he wants audiences to know it while adoring it as well. Ambulance's key duo, brothers Will (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, The Matrix Resurrections) and Danny Sharp (Jake Gyllenhaal, The Guilty), are a former Marine and ostensible luxury-car dealer/actual career criminal with hugely different reasons for attempting to pilfer a $32-million payday. For the unemployed Will, it's about the cash needed to pay for his wife Amy's (Moses Ingram, The Tragedy of Macbeth) experimental surgery, which his veteran's health insurance won't cover — but his sibling just wants money. Will is reluctant but desperate, Danny couldn't be more eager, and both race through a mess of a day. Naturally, it gets more hectic when they're hurtling along as the hotshot Cam (Eiza González, Godzilla vs Kong) works on wounded rookie police officer Zach (Jackson White, The Space Between), arm-deep in his guts at one point, while Captain Monroe (Garrett Dillahunt, Army of the Dead), Agent Anson Clark (Keir O'Donnell, The Dry) and their forces are in hot pursuit. Everything from Armageddon, Pearl Harbour and The Island to 2019's Netflix flick 6 Underground has trained viewers in what to expect from Ambulance — plus the movies name-checked in Ambulance's frames, obviously — but Bay is also the filmmaker who gave cinema 2013's exceptional Pain & Gain. His latest doesn't reach the same savvy heights, and it's both boosted by its hearty embrace of Bayhem and occasionally a victim to it, but it's rarely less than wildly entertaining. As the director's best efforts have long shown, he boasts a knack for heist-style films. Capers about break-ins of various sorts, even into Alcatraz, suit Bay because they're typically about chasing hefty scores no matter the cost. Ambulance was made for only $40 million, which is a fifth of most Transformers movies and somehow around half of non-Bay-directed recent release Morbius' budget, but bold moves with eyes on a big prize aren't just fiction in Bay's orbit. Read our full review. MEMORIA When Memoria begins, it echoes with a thud that's not only booming and instantly arresting — a clamour that'd make anyone stop and listen — but is also deeply haunting. It arrives with a noise that, if the movie's opening scene was a viral clip rather than part of Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul's spectacular Cannes Jury Prize-winning feature, it'd be tweeted around with a familiar message: sound on. The racket wakes up Jessica Holland (Tilda Swinton, The Souvenir: Part II) in the night, and it's soon all that she can think about; like character, like film. It's a din that she later describes as "a big ball of concrete that falls into a metal well which is surrounded by seawater"; however, that doesn't help her work out what it is, where it's coming from or why it's reverberating. The other question that starts to brood: is she the only one who can hear it? So springs a feature that's all about listening, and truly understands that while movies are innately visual — they're moving pictures, hence the term — no one should forget the audio that's gone with it for nearly a century now. Watching Weerasethakul's work has always engaged the ears intently, with the writer/director behind the Palme d'Or-winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and just-as-lyrical Cemetery of Splendour crafting cinema that genuinely values all that the filmic format can offer. Enjoying Memoria intuitively serves up a reminder of how crucial sound can be to the big-screen experience, emphasising the cavernous chasm between pictures that live and breathe that truth and those that could simply be pictures. Of course, feasting on Weerasethakul's films has also always been about appreciating not only cinema in all its wonders, but as an inimitable art form. Like the noise that lingers in his protagonist's brain here, his movies aren't easily forgotten. With Weerasethakul behind the lens and Swinton on-screen, Memoria is a match made in cinephile heaven — even before it starts obsessing over sound and having its audience do the same. He helms movies like no one else, she's an acting force of nature, and their pairing is film catnip. He also makes his English-language debut, as well as his first feature outside of Thailand, while she brings the serenity and magnetism that only she can, turning in a far more understated turn than seen in the recent likes of The French Dispatch and The Personal History of David Copperfield. Yes, Weerasethakul and Swinton prove a beautiful duo. Weerasethakul makes contemplative, meditative, visually poetic movies, after all, and Swinton's face screams with all those traits. They're both devastatingly precise in what they do, too, and also delightfully expressive. And, they each force you to pay the utmost attention to their every single choice as well. As Jessica, Swinton plays a British expat in Colombia — an orchidologist born in Scotland, residing in Medellín and staying in Bogota when she hears that very specific din. After explaining it in exquisite detail to sound engineer Hernán (Juan Pablo Urrego, My Father), he tries to recreate the noise for her, but only she seems to know exactly what it sounds like. At the same time, Jessica's sister Karen (debutant Agnes Brekke) is in hospital with a strange ailment. Also, there's word of a curse that's linked to a tunnel being built over a burial ground, and Jessica consults with an archaeologist (Jeanne Balibar, Les Misérables) before heading from the city to the country. Grief echoes as strongly through Jessica's life as the bang she can't shake, and she wanders like someone in a dreamy daze, whether she's roaming around an art gallery or crossing paths with a rural fisherman also called Hernán (Elkin Díaz, Besieged). Read our full review. NOBODY HAS TO KNOW Before Belgian actor and filmmaker Bouli Lanners started gracing screens big and small — writing and directing projects for the former as well — he trained as a painter. If you didn't know that fact, it'd be easy to guess while watching Nobody Has to Know. He helms and scripts, as he did 2011 Cannes award-winner The Giant, plus 2016's The First, the Last. He acts, as he has in everything from A Very Long Engagement and Rust and Bone to Raw and Bye Bye Morons. But it's the careful eye he brings to all that fills Nobody Has to Know's frames that immediately leaves an impression, starting with simply staring at the windswept Scottish scenery that provides the movie's backdrop. It's picturesque but also ordinary, finding visual poetry in the scenic and sweeping and yet also everyday. That's what the feature does with its slow-burning romantic narrative, too. On a remote island, Philippe Haubin (Lanners) has made a humble home. Working as a farmhand, he stands out with his arms covered in tattoos and his accent, but he's also been welcomed into the close-knit community. And, when he's found on the beach after suffering a stroke, his friends swiftly rally around — his younger colleague Brian (Andrew Still, Waterloo Road), who spreads the word; the latter's aunt Millie (Michelle Fairley, Game of Thrones), who ferries him around town; and her stern father Angus (Julian Glover, The Toll), who welcomes him back to work once he's out of hospital. But Phil returns with amnesia, which unsurprisingly complicates his daily interactions. He doesn't know what Brian means when he jokes about Phil now being the island's Jason Bourne, he has no idea if the dog in his house is his own, and he has no knowledge of any past, or not, with Millie. As a filmmaker, Lanners splits Nobody Has to Know's attention between Phil and Millie as they're drawn to each other — through natural chemistry, thanks to her kindness in helping him learn to navigate his life again, and courtesy of secrets and twists that speak to emotional truths even if they involve lying. And, it's due to finessed performances on both parts that the film always resonates with both tenderness and authenticity, befitting its restrained but still affecting tale of pain, guilt, regrets, isolation, identity and yearning. He plays a man who quickly made an imprint in a new place, but has a past he's been fleeing, and now finds himself facing them both anew. She plays a woman cruelly nicknamed 'the Ice Queen' because she's single, quiet and of a certain age, and remains just as eager to unearth her true self. Indeed, as she copes with Phil's new situation, she makes a bold leap to follow her heart. In lesser hands — with lead actors who weren't so adept at understatement, or didn't possess as convincing natural chemistry; with a writer and/or director more fond of leaning into melodrama; with a cinematographer other than the poised Frank van den Eeden (Patrick, Girl), too — Nobody Has to Know could've been relegated to a movie-of-the-week-style weepie. Thankfully, that isn't Lanners' film, which cannily eschews the easy for the deep and evocative. He takes as much care with the feature's sensitive pace, reflecting how tentatively his characters have been willing to embrace their real feelings, as he does with that painterly scenery that makes the utmost of the Scottish islands of Lewis and Harris, and with key performances that convey a lifetime of worries without uttering a word. His is a picture that builds in impact, quietly but unmistakably, like taking the time to truly stare at and soak in everything about a piece of art hung on a gallery wall. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on January 1, January 6, January 13, January 20 and January 27; February 3, February 10, February 17 and February 24; and March 3, March 10, March 17, March 24 and March 31. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci, The King's Man, Red Rocket, Scream, The 355, Gold, King Richard, Limbo, Spencer, Nightmare Alley, Belle, Parallel Mothers, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Belfast, Here Out West, Jackass Forever, Benedetta, Drive My Car, Death on the Nile, C'mon C'mon, Flee, Uncharted, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Cyrano, Hive, Studio 666, The Batman, Blind Ambition, Bergman Island, Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, The Souvenir: Part II, Dog, Anonymous Club, X, River, Nowhere Special, RRR, Morbius, The Duke and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Top image: ©Kick the Machine Films, Burning, Anna Sanders Films, Match Factory Productions, ZDF/Arte and Piano, 2021.
Crap in a suitcase and you too might win an Emmy. Actually, don't try that at home. It worked well for Australian actor Murray Bartlett, though, after he just nabbed one of TV's most prestigious awards — and gave his mum back home Down Under a shoutout in the process — for the all-round phenomenal first season of The White Lotus. In 2022, the Emmy Awards did what the Emmy Awards always do: gave a heap of gleaming trophies to a heap of ace TV shows, and the folks who make them, of course. Oh, and it also had people dancing to the Law and Order theme, among other classic television tunes; enlisted Oprah to stress how massive the odds are of anyone ever winning; and paid tribute to the one and only Geena Davis as well. The winners, which included frontrunners Succession, The White Lotus, Ted Lasso and Squid Game, all showed that it really has been an exceptional time for TV lately. The nominees list illustrated that anyway — and even if Severance, Better Call Saul, Yellowjackets, What We Do in the Shadows,Only Murders in the Building, Barry, Station Eleven and Scenes From a Marriage didn't end up emerging victorious, they're all still among the absolute best shows that graced the small screen over the past year. That's the ceremony done and dusted. Looking for a rundown of how it all went down, as well as a list of winners? We've got that taken care of. Now, here comes the next part for all of us at home: celebrating all of the series that earned Emmy recognition this year by getting watching or rewatching. Here's ten you should check out ASAP. THE WHITE LOTUS With Enlightened, his excellent two-season Laura Dern-starring comedy-drama from 2011–13, writer/director Mike White (Brad's Status) followed an executive who broke down at work. When she stepped back into her life, she found herself wanting something completely different not just for herself, but for and from the world. It isn't linked, narrative-wise, to White's latest TV miniseries The White Lotus. The same mood flows through, however. Here, wealthy Americans holiday at a luxe Hawaiian resort, which is managed by Australian Armond (Murray Bartlett, Tales of the City) — folks like business star Nicole (Connie Britton, Bombshell), her husband Mark (Steve Zahn, Where'd You Go, Bernadette), and the teenage trio of Olivia (Sydney Sweeney, Euphoria), Paula (Brittany O'Grady, Little Voice) and Quinn (Fred Hechinger, Fear Street); newlyweds Rachel (Alexandra Daddario, Songbird) and Shane (Jake Lacy, Mrs America); and the recently bereaved Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge, Promising Young Woman). From the outset, when the opening scene shows Shane accompanying a body on the way home, viewers know this'll end with a death. But as each episode unfurls, it's clear that these characters are reassessing what they want out of life as well. In The White Lotus, a glam and glossy getaway becomes a hellish trap, magnifying glass and mirror, with everyone's issues and problems only augmented by their time at the eponymous location. In terms of sinking its claws into the affluent, eat the rich-style, this perceptive, alluring and excellently cast drama also pairs nicely with the White-penned Beatriz at Dinner, especially as it examines the differences between the resort's guests and staff. EMMYS: Won: Outstanding Limited Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series of Television Movie (Murray Bartlett), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series of Television Movie (Jennifer Coolidge), Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Mike White), Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Mike White) Where to watch it: Binge. Read our review of season one. SUCCESSION Fans of blistering TV shows about wealth, power, the vast chasm between the rich and everyone else, and the societal problems that fester due to such rampant inequality, are living in a golden time. Just in the past 12 months or so, The White Lotus has fit the bill, as has Squid Game; however, Succession has always been in its own league. In the 'eat the rich' genre, the HBO drama sits at the top of the food chain as it chronicles the extremely lavish and influential lives of the Roy family. No series slings insults as brutally; no show channels feuding and backstabbing into such an insightful and gripping satire of the one percent, either. Finally returning in 2021 after a two-year gap between its second and third seasons, Succession didn't just keep plying its astute and addictive battles and power struggles — following season two's big bombshell, it kept diving deeper. The premise has remained the same since day one, with Logan Roy's (Brian Cox, Super Troopers 2) kids Kendall (Jeremy Strong, The Trial of the Chicago 7), Shiv (Sarah Snook, Pieces of a Woman), Roman (Kieran Culkin, No Sudden Move) and Connor (Alan Ruck, Gringo) vying to take over the family media empire. This brood's tenuous and tempestuous relationship only gets thornier with each episode, and its examination of their privileged lives — and what that bubble has done to them emotionally, psychologically and ideologically — only grows in season three. It becomes more addictive, too. There's no better show currently on TV, and no better source of witty dialogue. And there's no one turning in performances as layered as Strong, Cox, Snook, Culkin, J Smith-Cameron (Search Party), Matthew Macfadyen (The Assistant) and Nicholas Braun (Zola). EMMYS Won: Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Matthew Macfadyen), Writing for a Drama Series (Jesse Armstrong) Where to watch it: Binge. Read our review of season three. SQUID GAME Exploring societal divides within South Korea wasn't invented by Parasite, Bong Joon-ho's excellent Oscar-winning 2019 thriller, but its success was always going to give other films and TV shows on the topic a healthy boost. Accordingly, it's easy to see thematic and narrative parallels between the acclaimed movie and Netflix's highly addictive Squid Game — the show that's become the platform's biggest show ever (yes, bigger than everything from Stranger Things to Bridgerton). Anyone who has seen even an episode knows why this nine-part series is so compulsively watchable. Its puzzle-like storyline and its unflinching savagery making quite the combination. Here, in a Battle Royale and Hunger Games-style setup, 456 competitors are selected to work their way through six seemingly easy children's games. They're all given numbers and green tracksuits, they're competing for 45.6 billion won, and it turns out that they've also all made their way to the contest after being singled out for having enormous debts. That includes series protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae, Deliver Us From Evil), a chauffeur with a gambling problem, and also a divorcé desperate to do whatever he needs to to keep his daughter in his life. But, as it probes the chasms caused by capitalism and cash — and the things the latter makes people do under the former — this program isn't just about one player. It's about survival, the status quo the world has accepted when it comes to money, and the real inequality present both in South Korea and elsewhere. Filled with electric performances, as clever as it is compelling, unsurprisingly littered with smart cliffhangers, and never afraid to get bloody and brutal, the result is a savvy, tense and taut horror-thriller that entertains instantly and also has much to say. EMMYS: Won: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Lee Jung-jae), Directing for a Drama Series (Hwang Dong-hyuk) Where to watch it: Netflix. TED LASSO A sports-centric sitcom that's like a big warm hug, Ted Lasso belongs in the camp of comedies that focus on nice and caring people doing nice and caring things. Parks and Recreation is the ultimate recent example of this subgenre, as well as fellow Michael Schur-created favourite Brooklyn Nine-Nine — shows that celebrate people supporting and being there for each other, and the bonds that spring between them, to not just an entertaining but to a soul-replenishing degree. As played by Jason Sudeikis (Booksmart), the series' namesake is all positivity, all the time. A small-time US college football coach, he scored an unlikely job as manager of British soccer team AFC Richmond in the show's first season, a job that came with struggles. The ravenous media wrote him off instantly, the club was hardly doing its best, owner Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham, Sex Education) had just taken over the organisation as part of her divorce settlement, and veteran champion Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein, Uncle) and current hotshot Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster, Judy) refused to get along. Ted's upbeat attitude does wonders, though. In Ted Lasso's also-excellent second season, however, he finds new team psychologist Dr Sharon Fieldstone (Sarah Niles, I May Destroy You) an unsettling presence. You definitely don't need to love soccer or even sport to fall for this show's ongoing charms, to adore its heartwarming determination to value banding together and looking on the bright side, and to love its depiction of both male tenderness and supportive female friendships (which is where Maleficent: Mistress of Evil's Juno Temple comes in). In fact, this is the best sitcom currently in production. EMMYS: Won: Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Jason Sudeikis), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Brett Goldstein), Directing for a Comedy Series (MJ Delaney) Where to watch it: Apple TV+. Read our review of season two. ABBOTT ELEMENTARY The Office did it, in both the UK and US versions. Parks and Recreation did it too. What We Do in the Shadows still does it — and, yes, there's more where they all came from. By now, the mockumentary format is such a well-established part of the sitcom realm that new shows deciding to give it a whirl isn't noteworthy. But in Abbott Elementary, the gimmick is also deployed as an outlet for the series' characters, all public school elementary teachers in Philadelphia, to help convey the stresses and tolls of doing what they're devoted to. In a wonderfully warm and also clear-eyed gem created by, co-written by and starring triple-threat Quinta Brunson (Miracle Workers), that'd be teaching young hearts and minds no matter the everyday obstacles, the utter lack of resources and funding, or the absence of interest from the bureaucracy above them. Brunson plays perennially perky 25-year-old teacher Janine Teagues, who loves her gig and her second-grade class. She also adores her colleague Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph, Ray Donovan), the kindergarten teacher that she sees as a mentor and work mum. Actually, Janine isn't just fond of all of the above — she's so devoted to her job that she'll let nothing stand in her way. But that isn't easy or straightforward in a system that's short on cash and care from the powers-that-be to make school better for its predominantly Black student populace. Also featuring Everybody Hates Chris' Tyler James Williams (also The United States vs Billie Holiday) as an apathetic substitute teacher, Lisa Ann Walter (The Right Mom) and Chris Perfetti (Sound of Metal) as Abbott faculty mainstays, and Janelle James (Black Monday) as the incompetent principal who only scored her position via blackmail, everything about Abbott Elementary is smart, kindhearted, funny and also honest. A second season is on its way, too. EMMYS: Won: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Sheryl Lee Ralph), Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Quinta Brunson) Where to watch it: Disney+. EUPHORIA From the very first frames of its debut episode back in June 2019, when just-out-of-rehab 17-year-old Rue Bennett (Zendaya, Spider-Man: No Way Home) gave viewers the lowdown on her life, mindset, baggage, friends, family and everyday chaos, Euphoria has courted attention — or, mirroring the tumultuous teens at the centre of its dramas, the Emmy-winning HBO series just knew that eyeballs would come its way no matter what it did. The brainchild of filmmaker Sam Levinson (Malcolm & Marie), adapted from an Israeli series by the same name, and featuring phenomenal work by its entire cast, it's flashy, gritty, tense, raw, stark and wild, and manages to be both hyper-stylised to visually striking degree and deeply empathetic. In other words, if teen dramas reflect the times they're made — and from Degrassi, Press Gang and Beverly Hills 90210 through to The OC, Friday Night Lights and Skins, they repeatedly have — Euphoria has always been a glittery eyeshadow-strewn sign of today's times. That hasn't changed in the show's second season. Almost two and a half years elapsed between Euphoria's first and second batch of episodes — a pair of out-of-season instalments in late 2020 and early 2021 aside — but it's still as potent, intense and addictive as ever. And, as dark, as Rue's life and those of her pals (with the cast including Hunter Schafer, The King of Staten Island's Maude Apatow, The Kissing Booth franchise's Jacob Elordi, The White Lotus' Sydney Sweeney, The Afterparty's Barbie Ferreira, North Hollywood's Angus Cloud and Waves' Alexa Demie) bobs and weaves through everything from suicidal despair, Russian Roulette, bloody genitals, unforgettable school plays, raucous parties and just garden-variety 2022-era teen angst. The list always goes on; in fact, as once again relayed in Levinson's non-stop, hyper-pop style, the relentlessness that is being a teenager today, trying to work out who you are and navigating all that the world throws at you is Euphoria's point. EMMYS: Won: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Zendaya) Where to watch it: Binge. HACKS In 2021, Hacks' first season quickly cemented itself as one of 2021's best new TV shows — one of two knockout newbies starring Jean Smart last year, thanks to Mare of Easttown as well — and it's just as ace the second time around. It's still searingly funny, nailing that often-elusive blend of insight, intelligence and hilarity. It retains its observational, wry tone, and remains devastatingly relatable even if you've never been a woman trying to make it in comedy. And it's happy to linger where it needs to to truly understand its characters, but never simply dwells in the same place as its last batch of episodes. Season two is literally about hitting the road, so covering fresh territory is baked into the story; however, Hacks' trio of key behind-the-scenes creatives — writer Jen Statsky (The Good Place), writer/director Lucia Aniello (Rough Night) and writer/director/co-star Paul W Downs (The Other Two) — aren't content to merely repeat themselves with a different backdrop. Those guiding hands started Hacks after helping to make Broad City a hit. Clearly, they all know a thing or two about moving on from the past. That's the decision both veteran comedian Deborah Vance (Smart) and her twentysomething writer-turned-assistant Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder, North Hollywood) had to make themselves in season one, with the show's second season now charting the fallout. So, Deborah has farewelled her residency and the dependable gags that kept pulling in crowds, opting to test out new and far-more-personal material on a cross-country tour instead. Ava has accepted her role by Deborah's side, and is willing to see it as a valid career move rather than an embarrassing stopgap. But that journey comes a few narrative bumps. Of course, Hacks has always been willing to see that actions have consequences, not only for an industry that repeatedly marginalises women, but for its imperfect leading ladies. EMMYS: Won: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Jean Smart) Where to watch it: Stan. Read our full review of season two. THE DROPOUT Dramatising the Theranos scandal, eight-part miniseries The Dropout is one of several high-profile releases this year to relive a wild true-crime tale — including the Anna Delvey-focused Inventing Anna, about the fake German heiress who conned her way through New York City's elite, and also documentary The Tinder Swindler, which steps through defrauding via dating app at the hands of Israeli imposter Simon Leviev. It also dives into the horror-inducing Dr Death-esque realm, because when a grift doesn't just mess with money and hearts, but with health and lives, it's pure nightmare fuel. And, it's the most gripping of the bunch, even though we're clearly living in peak scandal-to-screen times. Scam culture might be here to stay as Inventing Anna told us in a telling line of dialogue, but it isn't enough to just gawk its way — and The Dropout and its powerful take truly understands this. To tell the story of Theranos, The Dropout has to tell the story of Elizabeth Holmes, the Silicon Valley biotech outfit's founder and CEO from the age of 19. Played by a captivating, career-best Amanda Seyfried — on par with her Oscar-nominated work in Mank, but clearly in a vastly dissimilar role — the Steve Jobs-worshipping Holmes is seen explaining her company's name early in its first episode. It's derived from the words "therapy" and "diagnosis", she stresses, although history already dictates that it offered little of either. Spawned from Holmes' idea to make taking blood simpler and easier, using just one drop from a small finger prick, it failed to deliver, lied about it copiously and still launched to everyday consumers, putting important medical test results in jeopardy. EMMYS: Won: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series of Television Movie (Amanda Seyfried) Where to watch it: Disney+. Read our review. DOPESICK 'Eat the rich' dramas have been having their day across small screens and streaming queues (see: Succession, The White Lotus and Squid Game above), inescapably so. That said, shows in another big current trend are everywhere, too. Dramatised true tales just keep enlisting stacked high-profile casts to wade through murky IRL details, Dopesick included — which adapts Beth Macy's non-fiction book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America. You don't need to have read that text to instantly know that it's about the impact of opioids throughout the US. Everyone has heard of painkiller OxyContin, which originated from US pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma. Everyone now knows that it is highly addictive, and that that simple fact is the cause of too many woes. If you aren't aware of all the details — or even if you are — prepare for grim viewing via this eight-part affair. The names don't mirror real life, but the story is factual — and infuriating. Michael Keaton (Morbius) plays Samuel Finnix, a mining town doctor who is convinced by Purdue rep Billy Cutler (Will Poulter, Midsommar) to begin prescribing the then-new OxyContin to patients — such as Betsy (Kaitlyn Dever, Dear Evan Hansen), who has a back injury. Also covered: the legal efforts by assistant US attorneys Rick Mountcastle (Peter Sarsgaard, The Lost Daughter) and Randy Ramseyer (John Hoogenakker, Castle Rock) to make Purdue accountable, with the series never holding back about the ills that the drug has caused. The word for the end result: harrowing in oh-so-many ways and for oh-so-many reasons, and also empathetic towards the people affected by opioids. EMMYS: Won: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series of Television Movie (Michael Keaton) Where to watch it: Disney+. OZARK In 2022, Julia Garner schemed her away into New York's upper echelons in the instantly addictive Inventing Anna, playing IRL faux socialite Anna Delvey — and won the unofficial award for wildest accent on TV, too. She didn't end up nabbing an Emmy for her part, despite being nominated; however, the acclaimed actress didn't go home empty-handed. The reason? Fellow Netflix series Ozark. Not for the first time, The Assistant star picked up the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series gong for the crime drama. Actually, this marks her third win, all for her blistering performance as Ruth Langmore. When the show started back in 2017, Garner wasn't in its top-two biggest names, thanks to Jason Bateman (The Outsider) and Laura Linney (Tales of the City), but she's turned her part into an absolute powerhouse. Ozark's focus: a financial advisor, Marty Byrde (Bateman), who moves from Chicago to a quiet Missouri town — yes, in the titular Ozarks region — after a money-laundering scheme goes wrong in a big way. That's a significant shift for his wife Wendy (Linney) and kids Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz, What Breaks the Ice) and Jonah (Skylar Gaertner, Daredevil), but it doesn't see Marty change his ways. Instead, more laundering is in his future, as well as crossing paths with Ruth, who hails from a criminal family. Across its four-season run, Ozark has always been lifted by its performances, which is unsurprising given that Bateman, Linney and Garner are all at the top of their games. It's a masterclass in tension, too, and in conveying a relentless feeling of dread. EMMYS: Won: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Julia Garner) Where to watch it: Netflix. Top image: Mario Perez/HBO.
It has finally happened again, Melburnians. The city's projectors remained silent, its theatres bare and the smell of popcorn faded over the recent almost two-week lockdown; however, Melbourne's picture palaces are now back in business. Under stay-at-home restrictions, no one is ever short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made over by now, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent more time than usual over the past 18 months glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that. And, we've rounded up, watched and reviewed the new movies that have just arrived in theatres now that Melbourne's latest stay-at-home stint is over. OLD Ageing in a privilege. It's certainly better than the alternative. But what if life's physical ravages were condensed and accelerated? What if you were a six-year-old one moment, a teenager a few hours later and sporting middle-aged wrinkles the next morning? That's the premise of the insidious, moving, effective and also sometimes too neat Old, which boasts a sci-fi setup that could've come straight from The Twilight Zone, a chaotic mid-section reminiscent of Mother!'s immersive horrors, and a setting and character dynamics that nod to Lost. It slides in alongside recently unearthed George A Romero thriller The Amusement Park as well and, with M Night Shyamalan behind the lens, indulges the writer/director's love of high-concept plots with big twists. No one sees dead people and plants aren't the culprits — thankfully, in the latter case — however, surprise revelations remain part of this game. That said, unlike earlier in his career, when the filmmaker might've made the rapid passage of time the final big shock, Shyamalan isn't just about jolts and amazement here. Old has another sizeable reveal, naturally. Shyamalan is still the director behind The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, The Visit, Split, Glass and more, and he likes his bag of tricks. This time, though, he wants to play with and probe his scenario, and the emotions it inspires, rather than primarily tease his audience and keep them puzzling. That's what echoes as the about-to-separate Guy (Gael García Bernal, Ema) and Prisca (Vicky Krieps, Phantom Thread) arrive at a luxe resort on a remote island with six-year-old Trent (Nolan River, Adverse) and 11-year-old Maddox (Alexa Swinton, Billions). Their kids have conflicting ideas about how to spend the getaway, but the hotel's manager (Gustaf Hammarsten, Kursk) tells the family about a secret beach, which they're soon heading to by mini-bus (driven by Shyamalan, in one of his regular cameos). Alas, with arrogant surgeon Charles (Rufus Sewell, The Father), his younger wife Chrystal (Abbey Lee, Lovecraft Country), their daughter Kara (debutant Kylie Begley) and his elderly mother Agnes (Kathleen Chalfant, The Affair) — and with famous rapper Mid-Sized Sedan (Aaron Pierre, The Underground Railroad), and couple Patricia (Nikki Amuka-Bird, The Personal History of David Copperfield) and Jarin (Ken Leung, a Lost alum) as well — Guy, Prisca, Trent and Maddox quickly discover that time ticks by at a much speedier pace on this supposedly idyllic patch of sand. The bulk of Old charts their reactions, plunging viewers into the confusion and heartbreak that results. Not only do the kids grow up fast (which is where Jojo Rabbit's Thomasin McKenzie, Jumanji: The Next Level's Alex Wolff and Babyteeth's Eliza Scanlen come in) in this vividly shot film, but any of the beachgoers' ailments are expedited, too. Read our full review. NINE DAYS Androids may dream of electric sheep, or they may not, but that isn't the only metaphysical question that cinema likes to contemplate. Do souls yearn and strive for — and fret and stress over — their chance to shuffle onto this mortal coil? That's the query that Pixar's Soul pondered so thoughtfully and enchantingly, and it's one that Nine Days, which actually predates its animated counterpart but is only reaching Australian cinemas now, masterfully explores as well. "You are being considered for the amazing opportunity of life," a bespectacled, suspender-wearing, serious-faced Will (Winston Duke, Us) tells the candidates hoping to soon live and breathe. They're far more enthusiastic about the process than he is, although he values their prospective existence much more than they can fathom in their wide-eyed eagerness and excitement. Will has seen what can happen next, because it's his job not only to select the best souls to embark upon this thing called life, but to monitor their progress in all the days, months and years afterwards. He's observed the success stories; however, he's also witnessed the heartbreaks as well. In this stirring and fittingly soulful debut feature from writer/director Edson Oda — a movie that won the dramatic screenwriting award at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, and that's memorably and evocatively about the texture, experiences, feelings and enigmas that comprise every soul, and every life — Will surveys his next troupe of contenders fresh from viewing the unhappy end that met one of his previous favourites. He's already adrift from existence as we know it, and from almost everyone else who resides in the picture's ethereal yet also earthy pre-life realm, but he's now burdened with a renewed sense of solemnity. His colleague Kyo (Benedict Wong, The Personal History of David Copperfield) tries to get him to see the lighter side — the more human side — of the path his next chosen candidate will take. He emphasises the ebbs and flows that Will, who has become more rigid in his thinking and feelings the longer he's in the role, now fervently discounts. But among a roster of new applicants that includes Kane (Bill Skarsgård, IT Chapter Two), Alex (Tony Hale, Veep), Mike (David Rysdahl, Dead Pigs) and Maria (Arianna Ortiz, Rattlesnake), all of which are given nine days to demonstrate why they should be born next, it's actually the calm, passionate and inquisitive Emma (Zazie Beetz, Atlanta) that challenges the way Will perceives his work and what it means to be alive. Read our full review. GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE Cutesy name, likeable stars, stylised brutality, a familiar revenge scenario: blend them all together, and that's Gunpowder Milkshake. There's one particular ingredient that's missing from this action-thriller's recipe, though, and its absence is surprising — because much about the film feels like it has jumped from the pages of a comic book. That's one of the movie's best traits, in fact. The world already has too many comics-to-cinema adaptations, but although Gunpowder Milkshake doesn't stem from a graphic novel, it actually looks the part. Its precise framing and camera placement, hyper-vibrant colours and love of neon could've easily been printed in inky hues on paper, then splattered across the screen like the blood and bullets the feature sprays again and again. Writer/director Navot Papushado (Big Bad Wolves) and cinematographer Michael Seresin (War for the Planet of the Apes) have made a visually appealing film, and a movie with evident aesthetic flair. All that gloss is paired with a generic assassin storyline, however, and a half-baked feminist thrust. It's Sin City meets John Wick but gender-flipped, except that the Kill Bill movies and Atomic Blonde have been there and done that. Crafting a film that's entertaining enough, but largely in a mechanical way, Papushado and co-scribe Ehud Lavski (a feature first-timer) attempt to complicate their narrative. The basics are hardly complex, though. As skilled killer Sam (Karen Gillan, Avengers: Endgame) notes in the movie's opening narration, she works for a group of men called The Firm, cleaning up its messes with her deadly prowess. It's an inherited gig, in a way. Fifteen years earlier, she was a fresh-faced teen (Freya Allan, The Witcher) with a mum, Scarlet (Lena Headey, Game of Thrones), who did the same thing. Then her mother abandoned her after a diner shootout, leaving Sam to fend herself — and, to ultimately get her jobs from Nathan (Paul Giamatti, Billions), one of The Firm's flunkies. It's on just that kind of gig that Sam kills the son of a rival crime hotshot (Ralph Ineson, Chernobyl), and he wants revenge. Soon, her employers are also on her trail, after she takes another assignment in an attempt to sort out her first problem, then ends up trying to save eight-year-old Emily (Chloe Coleman, Big Little Lies) from violent kidnappers. The cast also spans the impressive trio of Angela Bassett (Black Panther), Michelle Yeoh (Last Christmas) and Carla Gugino (a Sin City alum), albeit sparingly, with all of Gunpowder Milkshake's female figures solely tasked with navigating an inescapably clear-cut scenario. Read our full review. SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY In the misfire that's always been 1996's Space Jam, basketball superstar-turned-unconvincing actor Michael Jordan is asked to hurry up. "C'mon Michael, it's game time! Get your Hanes on, lace up your Nikes, grab your Wheaties and your Gatorade, and we'll pick up a Big Mac on the way to the ballpark," he's told. Spoken by go-to 90s schemester Wayne Knight (aka Seinfeld's Newman), this line couldn't better sum up the film or the franchise it has now spawned. The Space Jam movies aren't really about the comedic chaos that springs when a famous sportsperson pals around with cartoons. That's the plot, complicated in the original flick and now 25-years-later sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy by evil forces that turn a basketball game into a battle ground; however, it's also just a means to an end. These features are truly about bringing brands together in a case of mutual leveraging, as product placement always is. Connect Looney Tunes with the NBA, and audiences will think of both when they think of either, the strategy aims. It has worked, of course — and with A New Legacy, the approach is put to even broader and more shameless use. Everyone who has ever even just heard of Space Jam in passing knows its central equation: Looney Tunes + hoop dreams. The first Space Jam's viewers mightn't also remember the aforementioned product name-drops, but Warner Bros, the studio behind this saga, hopes A New Legacy's audience will forever recall its new references. All the brands shoehorned in here are WB's own, with its other pop culture franchises and properties mentioned repeatedly. The company also has Harry Potter, The Matrix, the DC Extended Universe flicks such as Wonder Woman, and Mad Max: Fury Road in its stable. Its catalogue includes Game of Thrones, Rick and Morty, The Lord of the Rings, and Hanna-Barbera cartoons like The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo, too. And, it holds the rights to everything from The Wizard of Oz, Metropolis and Casablanca to A Clockwork Orange and IT. A New Legacy wants to forcefully and brazenly impress these titles into viewers' minds so that they'll always equate them with the studio. In other words, this is just a Warner Bros ad with LeBron James and Looney Tunes as its spokespeople. You don't need to be a cynic or have zero nostalgia for the OG Space Jam to see A New Legacy as purely a marketing exercise, though, because corporate synergy is literally what the movie's villain, an algorithm named Al G Rhythm (Don Cheadle, Avengers: Endgame) that runs the on-screen Warner Bros, aims to achieve in this shambles of a film. Read our full review. ROSA'S WEDDING The idea that a middle-aged woman might put her own interests first shouldn't be worthy of a movie. It should just be a given, as it is with men. But that still isn't the world we live in, so films like Rosa's Wedding keep offering cinematic slices of empowerment — here, in a feel-good, crowd-pleasing, but still smart and enjoyable way. This Spanish two-time Goya Award-winner gets savvy and playful with its title, too. Writer/director Icíar Bollaín (Yuli) and her coscribes Alicia Luna (Viva la vida) and Lina Badenes (also one of the feature's producers) know that mentioning matrimony usually brings a certain kind of rom-com to mind, because countless other flicks have gone down that path. And, there is indeed a ceremony in Rosa's Wedding. An extended family descends upon a scenic spot, relatives fuss and stress, and almost anything that can go wrong does, all in classic wedding movie style. The difference: 45-year-old Rosa (Candela Peña, Kiki, Love to Love), a constantly put-upon seamstress who is taken advantage of at her film industry job, always asked to watch her brother Armando's (Sergi López, Perfumes) young kids, tasked with keeping her widowed dad Antonio (Ramón Barea, Everybody Knows) company, and expected to always be at her daughter Lidia's (Paula Usero, Love in Difficult Times) beck and call, has decided to move back to the coastal town Benicassim that she grew up in to start her own dressmaking business. Also, to cement her commitment to her new future, she's also going to marry herself. When they receive her wedding invite, Rosa's nearest and dearest are shocked and surprised to learn that she'll be walking down the aisle, but no one registers that she'll be the sole focus of the ceremony. Given how reliant they are on Rosa to run their errands and keep their messy lives in order — Armando is on the verge of divorce, Lidia has two newborns and an unhappy life in Manchester, and Rosa's sister Violeta (Nathalie Posa, Julieta) is an interpreter with a penchant for a drink — they couldn't fathom that she might be unhappy with the status quo anyway. Rosa's Wedding isn't subtle about how women of a certain age are thrust into set roles, even by those closest to them. It isn't big on nuance as it watches its titular figure claim her life back, either. But it's always spirited and astute regardless, not to mention likeable and engaging. And, there's also zero point in holding back when it comes to celebrating women breaking outdated and oppressive boundaries. Also, there's understatement in Peña's wonderful performance. It takes strength and courage for Rosa to first realise how miserable she is, then pledge to make a change, and finally to follow through. As shot in warm, naturalistic tones against its picturesque but never glossy backdrop, Rosa's new future isn't always assured, either, especially when everyone turns up for her big day and brings their baggage with them, and the misunderstandings and chaos only multiplies. SNAKE EYES: GI JOE ORIGINS Every film doesn't have to spawn a franchise, and most shouldn't; however, when a Hollywood studio teams up with a toy manufacturer to turn action figures into a movie, and then wants to keep using the latter to sell the former, apparently that stops being the case. That's why cinema audiences have been forced to suffer through the Transformers movies over the years, and why we also now have Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins, the latest addition that no one wanted to a dull saga that started with 2009's GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra and then continued via 2013's GI Joe: Retaliation. Channing Tatum isn't part of the story this time around, with the focus shifting to the eponymous Snakes Eyes (Henry Golding, Monsoon). Before the character becomes a member of the GI Joe team, he's a man out to avenge the murder of his father (Steven Allerick, Westworld) from back when he was a kid. That quest first leads him into the employ of yakuza kingpin Kenta (Takehiro Hira, Girl/Haji), where he helps smuggle guns in giant dead fish. From there, he gets his shot with the Arashikage clan — a family-run enclave of Japanese powerbrokers that the ambitious Tommy (Andrew Koji, Warrior) thinks he'll lead next, is unsurprisingly wary of outsiders, but eventually and after much suspicion from head of security Akiko (Haruka Abe, Cruella) lets Snake Eyes undertake its secretive testing process to become a member. It's a credit to director Robert Schwentke (Insurgent and Allegiant), and to writers Evan Spiliotopoulos (The Unholy), Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse (Rebecca), that Snake Eyes isn't obsessed with obnoxiously stressing its franchise ties. It does all lead up to uttering a well-known GI Joe adversary's name, other recognisable characters such as Scarlett (Samara Weaving, Bill & Ted Face the Music) and Baroness (Úrsula Corberó, Money Heist) pop up, and nefarious terrorist organisation Cobra plays a part, but none of these links ever feel like the movie's primary purpose. Still, that half-heartedness speaks volumes about a movie that displays that trait again and again, is fine with remaining a generic Tokyo-set ninja revenge movie — complete with gratingly obvious shots of Mount Fuji, the Shibuya scramble crossing and Tokyo Tower — and also works giant snakes rendered in visually abhorrent CGI into the mix. The best element: Golding, who has never been less than charismatic in any of his on-screen roles (see also: Last Christmas, A Simple Favour and Crazy Rich Asians). He can't lift this formulaic franchise-extending slog, though, and neither can his rapport with both Koji and Abe, Schwentke's eye for his settings or the movie's often eye-catching costuming. The film's unenthused action scenes prove an apt weathervane, because they're by-the-numbers at best, even when The Raid's Iko Uwais is involved. SIR ALEX FERGUSON: NEVER GIVE IN Even among sports agnostics who know next to nothing about football of any code, and don't want to, Sir Alex Ferguson's name still likely rings a bell. The prodigiously successful soccer manager was synonymous with equally prosperous English Premier League team Manchester United for almost three decades between 1986–2013, leading them to 38 different trophies — including 13 EPL titles. He oversaw an era that featured star players such as David Beckham, Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, all famous names that are also known beyond sports fans. Accordingly, Ferguson is a highly obvious candidate for a documentary, particularly an authorised film directed by his own son Jason. But the best docos don't just preach to the already celebratory and converted. A piece of non-fiction cinema has the potential to turn any viewer into an aficionado, and to get everyone watching not only paying attention, but wholly invested. As the vastly dissimilar, not-at-all sports-related The Sparks Brothers also does, that's what Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In achieves. It steps through its eponymous subject's life story, all with the man himself narrating the details, sharing his memories and musings, and looking back on an extraordinary career. Helpfully when it comes to standing out from the crowded sports doco crowd, Never Give In has an angle: in 2018, Sir Alex was rushed to hospital and into surgery due to a brain haemorrhage. At the time, his biggest fear was losing his memories, which the younger Ferguson uses as an entry point — and as a touchstone throughout the birth-to-now recollections that fill the film otherwise. This approach helps reinforce exactly what Sir Alex has to recall, and what it all means to him. It also makes his plight relatable, a feat his footballing achievements were never going to muster (we can all understand the terror of having our lives' best moments ripped from our consciousness, but few people can claim to know what his level of professional success feels like). In his Scottish brogue, the elder Ferguson proves a lively storyteller, talking through his upbringing in Glasgow, his childhood adoration of Rangers Football Club, his ups and downs as a player — including taking to the pitch for Rangers and against them — and the path that led him to coaching first in Scotland, then for Manchester United. A wealth of archival footage assists in fleshing out the tale, as do interviews with players such as Cantona and Ryan Griggs. The result: an easy win of a film, but a nonetheless compelling and skilful one, too. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately before lockdown — check out our rundown of new films released in Melbourne on January 1, January 7, January 14, January 21 and January 28; February 4, February 11, February 18 and February 25; March 4, March 11, March 18 and March 25; and April 1, April 8, April 15, April 22 and April 29; May 6, May 13, May 20 and May 27; June 3, June 10, June 17 and June 24; and July 1. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Chaos Walking, Raya and the Last Dragon, Max Richter's Sleep, Judas and the Black Messiah, Girls Can't Surf, French Exit, Saint Maud, Godzilla vs Kong, The Painter and the Thief, Nobody, The Father, Willy's Wonderland, Collective, Voyagers, Gunda, Supernova, The Dissident, The United States vs Billie Holiday, First Cow, Wrath of Man, Locked Down, The Perfect Candidate, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Ema, A Quiet Place Part II, Cruella, My Name Is Gulpilil, Lapsis, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Fast and Furious 9, Valerie Taylor: Playing with Sharks, In the Heights, Herself, Little Joe, Black Widow and The Sparks Brothers.
UPDATE, September 1, 2023: Aftersun is available to stream via Binge, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. The simplest things in life can be the most revealing, whether it's a question asked of a father by a child, an exercise routine obeyed almost mindlessly or a man stopping to smoke someone else's old cigarette while wandering through a holiday town alone at night. The astonishing feature debut by Scottish writer/director Charlotte Wells, Aftersun is about the simple things. Following the about-to-turn-31 Calum (Paul Mescal, The Lost Daughter) and his daughter Sophie (debutant Frankie Corio) on vacation in Turkey in the late 90s, it includes all of the above simple things, plus more. It tracks, then, that this coming-of-age story on three levels — of an 11-year-old flirting with adolescence, a dad struggling with his place in the world, and an adult woman with her own wife and family grappling with a life-changing experience from her childhood — is always a movie of deep, devastating and revealing complexity. Earning the internet's Normal People-starring boyfriend a Best Actor Oscar nomination, and deservedly so, Aftersun is a reflective, ruminative portrait of heartbreak. It's a quest to find meaning in sorrow and pain, too, and in processing the past. Wells has crafted a chronicle of interrogating, contextualising, reframing and dwelling in memories; an examination of leaving and belonging; and an unpacking of the complicated truths that a kid can't see about a parent until they're old enough to be that parent. Breaking up Calum and Sophie's sun-dappled coastal holiday with the older Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall, Vox Lux) watching camcorder footage from the trip, sifting through her recollections and dancing it out under a nightclub's strobing lights in her imagination, this is also a stunning realisation that we'll always read everything we can into a loved one's actions with the benefit of hindsight, but all we ever truly have is the sensation that lingers in our hearts and heads. That aforementioned question arrives early in Aftersun: "when you were 11, what did you think you'd be doing now?" Sophie asks. A query that's been uttered many times to many people, Wells does indeed mean to get Calum taking stock, remembering his youthful hopes and dreams, and seeing the chasm between what he once wanted and where adulthood has brought him. She also wants viewers sharing the train of thought with him, in a movie that doesn't just feel personal in every second — the filmmaker has called it "emotionally autobiographical" — but gets its audience feeling that it is personal to them. That's a remarkable skill, making a piece of fiction drawn partly and loosely from someone's facts feel as vivid to you as if you'd lived it yourself. And, for 90s kids like Sophie, it doesn't just spring from the meticulous period detail in the sets, wardrobe choices, and 'Macarena', 'Losing My Religion' and 'Tubthumping' on the soundtrack. Consider Calum's quietly, subtly shaken response to Sophie's innocent inquiry — the unsettled look on his face momentarily, owning the brief but loaded pause, before he remembers that he needs a dad's reaction — Exhibit A among the evidence that Mescal is doing career-best work. The actor still only has a handful of screen credits to his name, scoring his Academy Award nod in just his third movie role. He's never been anything less than phenomenal in anything he's been in. Earthy and charming, gentle and fragile, stoic and raw, so wounded inside and so reluctant to share it, and sporting a vulnerable gaze and a cast over one wrist, Mescal is simply heartwrenching in Aftersun, however, as it keeps diving into Sophie's remembrances of her oft-smoking, always supportive, tai chi-practising, playfully bantering, tenderly doting but also silently depressed dad. Understanding why the adult Sophie is scouring VHS tapes and her mind's eye for far more than mere nostalgia involves doing what everyone on a resort getaway does: hanging out. Aftersun spends much of its time in the simple holiday moments, including by the pool, at dinner, singing karaoke, day tripping, and in Sophie and Calum's room — and lets these ordinary, everyday occurrences, and the details that flow from them, confess everything they can. With a blue hue, the film pieces together the pair's history along the way, with Sophie living in Glasgow with her mum, Calum based in London but hardly settled or happy, and this vacation a rare chance for the two to enjoy quality time alone. It also hears the instances where he's mistaken for her older brother and, not unrelated, sees her yearning to be liked by the older kids staying at the same hotel as they drink, banter, party and represent a step closer to her dad's existence. Mescal gets a tilt at Hollywood's night of nights for his efforts, but Corio is just as extraordinary — perhaps more so given that it's her first acting role. Watching the duo together is a marvel and, befitting the wistful sensation that washes through the feature about its central voyage, a rarity. Aftersun is sensual and dreamy in its structure and texture, elaborately constructed to look and feel that way, and anchored by two sensationally naturalistic performances and one sublimely authentic rapport. Everything about the picture ripples with a lived-in air: Mescal and Corio alone and combined alike, the emotions so tremendously conveyed in their portrayals, the genuine rather than fetishised 90s minutiae, Catatonia's 'Road Rage' and All Saints' 'Never Ever' echoing among the pitch-perfect music choices, and those flashes of hazy lose-yourself-to-dance reverie that include the grownup Sophie as well as her vision of Calum. Sophie, Calum and the inescapable aching that haunts both make an unforgettable trio, but Aftersun adds more names to that list, Wells chief among them. One of her great feats in penning and helming a movie that itself is a great feat is ensuring it resembles a flickering memory, complete with making it look and play that way — aided by cinematographer Gregory Oke (Raf) and editor Blair McClendon (The Assistant) — with its faded, glitching videotape aesthetic. Her sense of pace, feel and emotional storytelling, and her ability to build layers everywhere, is as engrained as Mescal and Corio's easy vibe. Her way with all the details revealed in all those small things, and with music drops that say everything (the use of David Bowie and Queen's 'Under Pressure' is majestic and dazzling) is as well. There's nothing tiny about the talents on show here, or the story shared, or one of the most resonant, intelligent and shattering final shots any film has ever managed. "Wish we could've stayed for longer," Sophie says before that. When Calum replies "me too", he's speaking for all of us.
Escape to the South of France with a visit to this chic bistro located in the heart of Richmond. Headed up by chef Peter Roddy, Noir is a charming neighbourhood gem with a buzzing energy and seriously good French fare. Kick things off with a few oysters ($5 each) and a French 75 ($24) before tucking into entrees like chicken liver parfait ($20), beef tartare ($19) and Mooloolaba prawn tortellini with shellfish bisque ($24). For mains, expect dishes like caramelised Atlantic scallops with squid ink and cuttlefish risotto ($36), confit duck with cider potato fondant and spiced lentils ($40) and scotch fillet with frites and sauce au poivre (peppercorn sauce) for $45. Or, opt for the ever-changing tasting menu displayed on the blackboard, priced at $80 per person. While Noir is known for its contemporary (and fairly pricey) French dishes, it does have one affordable feast that's hard to pass up. The super-popular seafood lunch special will see you sitting down to two courses, plus a glass of top-quality wine, for just $45. If you've got a little time (and a few extra dollars) to spare, you can bump that up to two hours of free-flowing wine for an additional $30 per person. For drinks, there's a concise cocktail list and some local beers on offer. When it comes to wine, though, you can expect a lengthy list of Aussie and French drops, including a few amber and skin-contact vinos.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS Somewhere in the multiverse, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is terrific. In a different realm, it's terrible. Here in our dimension, the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe teeters and twirls in the middle. The second movie to focus on surgeon-turned-sorcerer Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog), it's at its best when it embraces everything its director is known for. That said, it's also at its worst when it seems that harnessing Sam Raimi's trademarks — his visual style, bombast, comic tone and Evil Dead background, for instance — is merely another Marvel ploy. Multiverse of Madness is trippy, dark, sports a bleak sense of humour and is as close as the MCU has gotten to horror, all immensely appreciated traits in this sprawling, box office-courting, never-ending franchise. But it stands out for the wrong reasons, too, especially how brazenly it tries to appear as if it's twisting and fracturing the typical MCU template when it definitely isn't. Welcomely weirder than the average superhero flick (although not by too much), but also bluntly calculating: that's Multiverse of Madness, and that's a messy combination. It's apt given its eponymous caped crusader has always hailed from Marvel's looser, goofier and, yes, stranger side since his MCU debut in 2016's plainly titled Doctor Strange; however, it's hard to believe that such formulaic chaos was truly the plan for this follow-up. Similarly, making viewers who've long loved Raimi's work feel like their strings are so obviously being pulled, all for something that hardly takes creative risks, can't have been intentional. It's wonderful that Multiverse of Madness is clearly directed by the filmmaker who gave the world Army of Darkness and its predecessors, the Tobey Maguire-starring Spider-Man movies and Drag Me to Hell. It's fantastic that Raimi is helming his first feature since 2013's Oz the Great and Powerful, of course. But it's also deeply dispiriting to see the filmmaker's flourishes used like attention-grabbing packaging over the same familiar franchise skeleton. Multiverse mayhem also underscored Multiverse of Madness' immediate predecessor, for instance — aka 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home. That's the last time that audiences saw Stephen Strange, when he reluctantly tinkered with things he shouldn't to help Peter Parker, those actions had consequences and recalling Raimi's time with Spidey came with the territory. Strange's reality-bending trickery has repercussions here as well, because Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen, Sorry for Your Loss) isn't thrilled about her fellow super-powered pal's exploits. Yes, Multiverse of Madness assumes viewers have not only watched all 27 past MCU movies, but also its small-screen offshoots — or WandaVision at least, where the enchantress that's also Scarlet Witch broke rules herself and wasn't still deemed a hero. Multiverse of Madness begins before its namesake and Wanda cross paths after their not-so-smooth moves, actually. Strange's latest escapade kicks off with monsters, moving platforms, a shimmering book, and a girl he doesn't know and yet wants to save. It's a dream, but said teen — America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez, The Babysitters Club) — is soon part of his waking life. Hailing from another dimension and possessing the ability to hop through the multiverse, she's still being chased. Interrupting Strange's brooding at his ex-girlfriend Christine's (Rachel McAdams, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) wedding, rampaging critters reappear as well, while a sinister tome called The Dark Hold also factors in. The mission: save the girl and all possible worlds, aided by Strange's old friend and now-Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong, Nine Days), and via a run-in with nemesis Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Locked Down). Read our full review. PETITE MAMAN Forget the "find someone who looks at you like…" meme. That's great advice in general, and absolutely mandatory if you've ever seen a Céline Sciamma film. No one peers at on-screen characters with as much affection, attention, emotion and empathy as the French director. Few filmmakers even come close, and most don't ever even try. That's been bewitchingly on display in her past features Water Lillies, Tomboy, Girlhood and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, any of which another helmer would kill to have on their resume. It's just as apparent in Petite Maman, her entrancing latest release, as well. Now 15 years into her directorial career, Sciamma's talent for truly seeing into hearts and minds is unshakeable, unparalleled and such a lovely wonder to watch — especially when it shines as sublimely and touchingly as it does here. In Sciamma's new delicate and exquisite masterpiece, the filmmaker follows eight-year-old Nelly (debutant Joséphine Sanz) on a trip to her mother's (Nina Meurisse, Camille) childhood home. The girl's maternal grandmother (Margot Abascal, The Sower) has died, the house needs packing up, and the trip is loaded with feelings on all sides. Her mum wades between sorrow and attending to the task. With melancholy, she pushes back against her daughter's attempts to help, too. Nelly's laidback father (Stéphane Varupenne, Monsieur Chocolat) assists as well, but with a sense of distance; going through the lifelong belongings of someone else's mother, even your spouse's, isn't the same as sifting through your own mum's items for the last time. While her parents work, the curious Nelly roves around the surrounding woods — picture-perfect and oh-so-enticing as they are — and discovers Marion (fellow newcomer Gabrielle Sanz), a girl who could be her twin. The Sanz sisters are identical twins IRL, and why they've been cast is right there in Petite Maman's name. Spelling out anything further would be saying more than is needed going in; flitting through the story's intricacies alongside Nelly is one of its many marvels. Like all kids, she's naturally inquisitive about her parents' upbringings. "You never tell me about when you were children," she complains to her dad, who counters that, actually, he and her mother do. Like all kids, she's also keenly aware of the special alchemy that comes with following in your mother and father's youthful footsteps, all just by being in the house and roaming around the woods where her mum grew up. There's nothing as immersive in helping to understand why one of the people that brought you into the world became who they are. Indeed, it's no surprise that Sciamma and her cinematographer Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Spencer) shoot the film in golden and glowing autumnal hues. Nelly has questions for Marion, too, and vice versa; however, spending time in each other's company, watching the connection that springs and embracing every emotion it evokes is Sciamma's plan for the quickly thick-as-thieves pair. Explanations about what's happening are unnecessary; only the experience itself, the mood and the resonance it all holds are what matters. So, the girls do what kids do, whether amid all that ethereal greenery or inside Marion's home, decked out in vintage decor as it is, where Nelly meets her new pal's mother. The two girls play, including in a teepee-like hut made out of branches. They write and perform their own play, costumes and all. They share secrets, talk about their dreams for the future, make pancakes, bust out boardgames, and also float through their new friendship as if they're the only people who matter — in that intimate, serious and earnest way that children do with their friends. Read our full review. THE DROVER'S WIFE THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON Leah Purcell's resume isn't short on highlights — think: Black Comedy, Wentworth and Redfern Now, plus Lantana, Somersault and Last Cab to Darwin (to name just a few projects) — but the Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka Murri actor, director and writer clearly has a passion project. In 2016, she adapted Henry Lawson's short story The Drover's Wife for the stage. In 2019, she moved it back to the page. Now, she brings it to the big screen via The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson. Only minutes into her searing feature filmmaking debut, why Purcell keeps needing to tell this 19th century-set tale is patently apparent. In her hands, it's a story of anger, power, prejudice and revenge, and also a portrait of a history that's treated both women and Indigenous Australians abhorrently. Aussie cinema hasn't shied away from the nation's problematic past in recent times (see also: Sweet Country, The Nightingale, The Furnace and High Ground); however, this is an unforgettably potent and piercing movie. In a fiery performance that bristles with steeliness, Purcell plays the eponymous, gun-toting and heavily pregnant Molly. In the process, she gives flesh, blood and a name to a character who wasn't allowed the latter in Lawson's version. In this reimagining, Molly is a 19th-century Indigenous Australian woman left alone with her four children (and one on the way) on a remote Snowy Mountains property for lengthy stretches while her husband works — and that situation, including the reasons behind it and the ramifications from it, causes ripples that shape the course of the film. Two of the key questions that The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson asks couldn't be more obvious, but something doesn't have to be subtle to be potent and perceptive. Those queries: what impact does being marginalised twice over, as both a woman and a First Nations Australian, leave on the feature's protagonist? How has it forged her personality, shaped what she cares about and cemented what she's capable of? It's during her spouse's latest absence that the film unfurls its story, not with a snake but rather strangers trotting Molly and her children's way. New sergeant Nate Clintoff (Sam Reid, The Newsreader) and his wife Louisa (Jessica De Gouw, Operation Buffalo) decamp from England — both well-meaning, and the latter a journalist who even protests against domestic violence, but neither truly understands Molly's experience. Also darkening her door: her husband's pals (Dead Lucky's Anthony Cogin and Wakefield's Harry Greenwood), who make the male entitlement and privilege of the time brutally apparent. And, there's no shortage of other locals determined and downright eager to throw their might, morals and opinions around, be it the resident judge (Nicholas Hope, Moon Rock for Monday), the minister (Bruce Spence, The Dry) or his unwed sister (Maggie Dence, Frayed). As Purcell impresses in her stare and stance first and foremost, Molly doesn't let her guard down around anyone. The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson has the parade of supporting characters to show why, and to illustrate the attitudes its namesake has been forced to stomach silently her entire life. She sports physical markers, too; from the outset of this moody and brooding film, there's no doubting that violence is a familiar and frequent part of Molly's existence. But Aboriginal fugitive Yadaka (Rob Collins, Firebite) is one of the few figures to venture in her direction and earn more than her ferocious gaze. He's on the run from murder charges, although he states his real crime bluntly: "existing while Black". Around the Johnson property, he strikes up a warm camaraderie with Molly's eldest boy, 12-year-old Danny (newcomer Malachi Dower-Roberts) — and, in another of the script's point-blank strokes, he's soon the closest thing to an ally his wary host has ever had beyond her children. Read our full review. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on February 3, February 10, February 17 and February 24; and March 3, March 10, March 17, March 24 and March 31; and April 7, April 14, April 21 and April 28. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Belfast, Here Out West, Jackass Forever, Benedetta, Drive My Car, Death on the Nile, C'mon C'mon, Flee, Uncharted, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Cyrano, Hive, Studio 666, The Batman, Blind Ambition, Bergman Island, Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, The Souvenir: Part II, Dog, Anonymous Club, X, River, Nowhere Special, RRR, Morbius, The Duke and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore, Ambulance, Memoria, The Lost City, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Happening, The Good Boss, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, The Northman, Ithaka, After Yang, Downton Abbey: A New Era and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy.
You can finally take those lung-belting ABBA sing-along sessions from the car to the next level, when the Singing Cinema dials up the volume for its ABBA-thon this July. Hitting a South Melbourne pub on Saturday, July 6, this party promises the ultimate vocal workout for fans of the Swedish pop superstars and their iconic tunes. It all kicks off with a screening of the ABBA-filled musical flick Mamma Mia!, where punters can jam along to favourites like 'Dancing Queen', 'SOS' and 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!'. First off, there'll be a matinee screening at 3.30pm, where your ticket includes bottomless popcorn. You can also add on two hours of unlimited beer, wine and bubbly for $37. The later session has already sold out. The fun continues with a post-film after-party, where we're sure you'll get the chance to flex some ABBA-inspired dance moves. The best costumes and performances on the night will also score prizes, so you'd best start sourcing some sparkly jumpsuits, stat. Updated: June 4, 2019.
UPDATE, March 28, 2023: Nope is available to stream via Netflix, Binge, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Kudos to Jordan Peele for giving his third feature as a writer/director a haters-gonna-hate-hate-hate name: for anyone unimpressed with Nope, the response is right there. Kudos, too, to the Get Out and Us filmmaker for making his third bold, intelligent and supremely entertaining horror movie in a row — a reach-for-the-skies masterpiece that's ambitious and eerie, imaginative and expertly crafted, as savvy about cinema as it is about spectacle, and inspires the exact opposite term to its moniker. Reteaming with Peele after nabbing an Oscar nomination for Get Out, Daniel Kaluuya utters the titular word more than once in Nope. Exclaiming "yep" in your head each time he does is an instant reaction. Everything about the film evokes that same thrilled endorsement, but it comes particularly easily whenever Kaluuya's character surveys the wild and weird events around him. We say yay to his nays because we know we'd respond the same way if confronted by even half the chaos that Peele whooshes through the movie. As played with near-silent weariness by the always-excellent Judas and the Black Messiah Oscar-winner, Haywood's Hollywood Horses trainer OJ doesn't just dismiss the strange thing in the heavens, though. He can't, even if he doesn't realise the full extent of what's happening when his father (Keith David, Love Life) suddenly slumps on his steed on an otherwise ordinary day. Six months later, OJ and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer, Lightyear) are trying to keep the family business running; he does the wrangling, she does the on-set safety spiels, which double as a primer on the Haywoods' lengthy links to the movie industry. The first moving images ever presented, by Eadweard Muybridge of a galloping horse in the 1800s, featured their great-great-great grandfather as the jockey, Emerald explains. His image was immortalised, but not his name — and, although she doesn't say it directly, that's a fate she isn't eager to share. In fact, Emerald ends her patter by proclaiming that she's available for almost any Hollywood job that might come up. Unsurprisingly, OJ is horrified about the hustle. Her big chance is indeed tied to their ranch, but not in the way that Emerald initially realises either — because who'd predict that something would be lurking above the Haywoods' Agua Dulce property? Just as Get Out saw Peele reinterrogate the possession movie and Us did the same with doppelgängers, Nope goes all in on flying saucers. So, Emerald wants the kind of proof that only video footage can offer. She wants her "Oprah shot", as well as a hefty payday. Soon, the brother-sister duo are buying new surveillance equipment — which piques the interest of UFO-obsessed electronics salesman Angel Torres (Brandon Perea, The OA) — and also enlisting renowned cinematographer Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott, Veni Vidi Vici) to capture the lucrative image. Cue plenty of faces staring up in shock and wonder, as Steven Spielberg has made a mainstay of his films — and cue a movie that nods to Jaws as much as Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Peele makes smartly and playfully cineliterate flicks, which aren't content to merely wink and nudge, but instead say "yep" themselves: yep to all the tropes and symbols that the comedian-turned-filmmaker can filter through his own lens, and his determination to unearth the reality of living in America today, just as he did when he was making some of this century's best skits on Key & Peele. Indeed, Nope is keenly aware of the lure and power of spectacle, especially the on-screen kind, which also echoes through in the picture's other pivotal character. Ricky 'Jupe' Park (Steven Yeun, Minari) isn't involved in the Haywoods' attempts to snap upwards, but the former child star runs a neighbouring theme park called Jupiter's Claim, which cashes in on his big hit role in a movie called Kid Sheriff. He's known for short-lived 90s sitcom Gordy's Home, too, starring opposite a chimpanzee, and moments of the show also pop up in Peele's film. A creepy glimpse at Gordy's Home actually opens Nope, starting the feature with a cryptic teaser that couldn't be more potent. Menace hovering above, sprawling vistas and the clouds that pepper them, galloping horses, rampaging apes, waving skydancers, cheesy Wild West shows, predators versus prey, the quest for fame and its self-destructive toll, cashing in: that all earns Peele's attention, weaved together in one jaw-droppingly impressive and unnerving package. This is the filmmaker's clever and compelling stab at a monster movie as well, which applies in a variety of manners. Here's one that doesn't give too much away: the way that animals have been exploited for entertainment, coupled with humanity's pursuit of bigger and better spectacles no matter the consequences, has long proven an act of monstrousness to be battled. Here's another: chasing visual thrills isn't innocent, a truth that resounds unshakeably in today's always-filming times. Nope is a pics-or-it-didn't-happen flick, too, and explores the price that people are willing to pay to keep getting those images. Perfect shots and the industry that relies upon them aren't without their cost, Peele posits — while also filling his frames with a sublimely surreal sci-fi-western vision lensed with rich detail by Hoyte Van Hoytema, Christopher Nolan's recent cinematographer (see: Tenet, Dunkirk and Interstellar). A movie can call attention to cinema's usually ignored ills and equally demand the utmost attention to its stunning array of sights, of course, and Nope is one such feature. Its sound design and score, courtesy of Johnnie Burn (Ammonite) and Michael Abels (Us, Get Out) respectively, are also both staggering and loaded, finding the ideal balance between haunting quiet and symphonic screaming. Nope is many things. It's a reminder that Hollywood's historical approach to race — its blatant lack of diversity, and its willingness to erase the contributions of people of colour, to be accurate — has proven a monstrosity as well. It's an examination of the power of images, for better and for worse. It sees the dark side of courting celebrity as a supposed way of improving our lots in life. Nope takes Peele's The Twilight Zone fascination, after reviving and hosting the 2019–20 version, to its next level. It's also a cowboys-and-aliens flick, and it's as dazzling as a blockbuster that blends science fiction, western, comedy and horror can be. Nope is frequently a daylight nightmare, boasts this year's second-best use of the wide blue yonder after Top Gun: Maverick, and is so terrifying in one barn-set scene that chills follow. Throw in that exceptional cast, including the pitch-perfect chalk-and-cheese double act that springs from Kaluuya's subtlety and Palmer's energy, and it's a downright marvel, as well as another Peele winner. The yeps keep coming — and yep, you'll never look at the clouds the same way afterwards.
In fantastic news, Entrecôte has announced that it is bringing back its famous breakfast offering, so you can indulge your French fantasies with flowing champagne and crisp croissants, all before 11am. For the first time, the Greville Street venue will open its doors to those looking for a buzzy brekkie, because who says you have to save the party for lunch and dinner? It was a classic Melbourne experience, hustling for a prized table in the front terrace of the charming Entrecôte of old (when it was perched next to the Tan in South Yarra), enjoying a buttered baguette in one hand and a coffee in the other. It was about as close as one could get to a Parisian affair without having to leave the country. So Melburnians will be thrilled to once again have the opportunity to enjoy Entrecôte's signature breakfast. "Breakfast at Entrecôte…is a mood, a little bit of mischief, a lot of indulgence", says owner Jason M. Jones, a classic bon vivant and well-known figure across Melbourne's hospitality landscape. The menu, he says, is "a love letter to mornings with a French accent." The elusive golden folded eggs return, as does the glorious Croque Madame with Parisian ham, gruyère and Dijon béchamel, and a fried egg. If you're not worried about clogging your arteries at 9am, go for the La Grande with a minute steak, Toulouse sausage, grilled bacon and fried eggs. Or make it feel like you are on holiday and order the Le Petit Déjeuner Complet. Choose between a baguette with butter, cheese, ham and eggs, or a croissant with jam, yoghurt and granola, all served with juice and a hot beverage. The beverages hold their own here, too, whether you're going alcoholic or keeping it PG. Inspired by the viral hot chocolate from Angelina in Paris, Entrecôte's version sees Belgian dark chocolate steamed with Jersey milk, served with crème Chantilly. The breakfast cocktails, including a breakfast martini with marmalade vodka and a Bloody Marie Antoinette, will have the party starting from bright and early. "Think Paris cafe mornings, only with Melbourne sunshine and a soundtrack of clinking coffee cups and laughter…The terrace is ready, the Taittinger is cold, and Le Petit Déjeuner is back on the menu at Entrecôte. No bookings. No fuss. Just turn up, sit down, and pretend you always start your mornings like this." Images: Ricky Sam. Entrecôte will be serving breakfast from 8am, with last orders at 11.15am. If you're not an early bird, the Prix Fixe, two—or three-course lunch menu is available on weekdays.
In some cities, it'll happen in October. In others, it'll occur in November. Either way, folks in a heap of places around Australia are about to learn a very important truth. If you've watched Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun on Netflix — aka the platform's best comedy of 2020 — then you'll have already heard this crucial nugget of wisdom. Everyone could use a reminder, though, because knowing that everything's a drum is just that essential. Aunty Donna, purveyors of such powerful tidbits, are following up their streaming success by spreading the word — and the absurdist gags — countrywide. For the first time in more than three years, the comedy trio is hitting the road and heading to stages in Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart. Even if you haven't yet had your cup of morning brown yet, you'll know that this is exciting news. Writers and performers Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane will be breaking out their distinctive brand of humour between Wednesday, October 6–Friday, November 12, as part of a roadshow they're calling The Magical Dead Cat Tour. They've released a trailer to explain why these gigs have that name, and it's as silly and hilarious as you'd expect. Also part of the clip: the very wise recommendation that wannabe attendees should get their tickets quickly. Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun was just the dose of hilarity we all needed last year, so the troupe's tour is certain to prove the same this year — but in-person. Fingers crossed for more Crazy John's, Four'n Twenty pies, Eagle Boys Pizza, the Hoodoo Gurus and Grant Denyer references. And yes, plenty of funny folks are about to hit the road and bring their amusing shows to Aussie cities — with Aunty Donna touring at around the same time as Bill Bailey and Hannah Gadsby. Check out the trailer for Aunty Donna's The Magical Dead Cat Tour below — and the full tour dates, too: AUNTY DONNA'S THE MAGICAL DEAD CAT TOUR 2021: Wednesday, October 6–Thursday, October 7 — Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane Saturday, October 9–Sunday, October 10 — The Playhouse, Canberra Wednesday, October 13 — Astor Theatre, Perth Thursday, October 21 — Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide Wednesday, October 27–Thursday, October 28 — Enmore Theatre, Sydney Tuesday, November 2–Saturday, November 6 — Arts Centre, Melbourne Friday, November 12 — Theatre Royal, Hobart Aunty Donna's The Magical Dead Cat tour will make its way around the country this October and November. For pre-sale tickets until 10am on Thursday, June 17, or for general ticket sales afterwards — and for further information — head to the Aunty Donna website. Top image: Netflix.
When it comes to sushi, bluefin tuna is hard to beat. It's the biggest tuna in the ocean, weighing up to 400kg, and, as far as taste goes, it's just the right mix of rich, fatty and melty. For Japanese chefs, the art of cutting bluefin tuna takes years to perfect. Watching such a chef in action is a rare and breathtaking sight. But, if you book at Kisumé for lunch on a Saturday in July, that's exactly what you'll see. Head Chef Toaki Kyo will break down an entire bluefin tuna before your eyes. Then, he'll transform it into a five-course degustation for your eating pleasure. Featuring all three of the tuna's prize cuts (akami, chutoro and otoro), dishes will include bluefin tuna sashimi, and A5 wagyu with tuna dashi. Before heading home, sink your spoon into a dessert made of chocolate and sobacha (Japanese buckwheat tea). The whole experience will cost you $215, and bookings are available online.
Prepare to feel stressed, movie lovers. Prepare to be plunged into an on-screen nightmare, too. That's Ari Aster's gambit, as the US filmmaker demonstrated with two of the eeriest, creepiest movies of the past five years: 2018's Hereditary and 2019's Midsommar. So, of course the trailer for his long-awaited new flick Beau Is Afraid is unsettling. In fact, it'd probably be even more distressing if it wasn't. Move over Toni Collette and Florence Pugh — this time, Joaquin Phoenix is getting the disquieting works thrown at him, in the actor's second film since picking up an Oscar for Joker. He plays the eponymous Beau, who just wants to go home to see his mother when the just-dropped trailer for the April-releasing movie starts. Then he gets run over by a woman and shackled with an ankle monitor by a doctor (aka Only Murders in the Building costars Amy Ryan and Nathan Lane). The latest US release by adored studio A24, which is currently even more abuzz after Everything Everywhere All At Once's Golden Globes wins, Beau Is Afraid doesn't saddle its namesake with hauntings and cults. Its trailer isn't as grimly dark as Hereditary, either, or a sunshine-filled daylight horror show like Midsommar. But it does paint a picture of Beau as a lonely, paranoid man — his phone's recent-call list is heavy on chats with his mum, therapist, landlady and pharmacy — dreaming about past family holidays, popping medication, and eating Hawaiian and Ireland-themed TV dinners before he ends up being held hostage. Once again, Aster writes and directs, with viewers able to see the end result in April — with the US getting an April 21 release date, and Down Under distributor Roadshow locking in an April 20 date. Also part of Beau Is Afraid's first trailer: an epic journey, multiple versions of Beau, whimsical dreamscapes and Beau not having any idea what's going on. And, also among the cast: Patti LuPone (American Horror Story), Denis Ménochet (The French Dispatch), Kylie Rogers (Yellowstone), Parker Posey (The Staircase), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Causeway), Hayley Squires (The Essex Serpent), Michael Gandolfini (The Many Saints of Newark), Zoe Lister-Jones (How It Ends) and Richard Kind (The Watcher). Check out the trailer for Beau Is Afraid below: Beau Is Afraid opens in cinemas Down Under on April 20.
Located in the heart of the CBD along Collins Street, EARL Canteen knows how to craft a simple yet scrumptious sandwich. Its egg and watercress sandwich a particular winner. It's like the egg and mayo sandwich you grew up carting to school in your lunchbox, but made by Melbourne chefs with locally sourced ingredients for your more refined adult palate. Think free-range eggs, housemade mayonnaise and watercress between slices of wholemeal sourdough. It's as flavourful and creamy as ever, and healthier than most lunchtime choices you could make. Appears in: Where to Find the Best Sandwiches in Melbourne for 2023
UPDATE, September 17, 2021: Another Round is available to stream via SBS On Demand, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Even the most joyous days and nights spent sipping your favourite drink can have their memory tainted by a hangover. Imbibe too much, and there's a kicker just waiting to pulsate through your brain and punish your body when all that alcohol inevitably starts to wear off. For much of Another Round, four Copenhagen school teachers try to avoid this feeling. The film they're in doesn't, though. It lays bare the ups and downs of knocking back boozy beverages, and it also serves up a finale that's a sight to behold. Without sashaying into spoiler territory, the feature's last moments are a thing of sublime beauty. Some movies end in a WTF, "what were they thinking?" kind of way — for a recent example, see Wild Mountain Thyme — but this Oscar-shortlisted Danish film comes to a conclusion with a big and bold showstopper that's also a piece of bittersweet perfection. The picture's highest-profile star, Mads Mikkelsen (Arctic), is involved. His pre-acting background as an acrobat and dancer comes in handy, too. Unsurprisingly, the substances that flow freely throughout the feature remain prominent. And, so does the canny and candid awareness that life's highs and lows just keep spilling, plus the just-as-shrewd understanding that the line between self-sabotage and self-release is as thin as a slice of lemon garnishing a cocktail. That's how Another Round wraps up, in one the many masterstrokes splashed onto the screen by writer/director Thomas Vinterberg (Kursk)) and his co-scribe Tobias Lindholm (A War). The film's unforgettable finale also expertly capitalises upon a minor plot detail that viewers haven't realised had such significance until then, and that couldn't typify this excellent effort's layered approach any better. But, ending with a bang isn't the movie's only achievement. In fact, it's full of them. The picture's savvy choices start with its premise, which sees the quiet and reserved Martin (Mikkelsen) and his fellow educators Tommy (Thomas Bo Larsen, Veni Vidi Vici), Peter (Lars Ranthe, Warrior) and Nikolaj (Magnus Millang, The Commune) all decide to put an out-there theory to the test. Motivated by real-life Norwegian psychiatrist Finn Skårderud, they conduct an experiment that involves being permanently sauced. Skårderud has hypothesised that humans are born with a blood alcohol deficit of 0.05 percent, so, with some cajoling needed on Martin's part, the quartet work that idea into their daily lives. Ground rules are established, and the shots, sneaky sips and all-hours drinking swiftly begins. Another Round's concept might initially seem like a gimmick. Contending that constantly being under the influence of alcohol is better for humans than sobriety sounds like something that a teenager might mix up, after all. And yet, that premise is never treated as a goofy stunt by Vinterberg, Lindholm and their cast (even if it's easy to imagine how the sure-to-happen US remake will handle the situation). Instead, Another Round uses its underlying idea to uncork a wealth of sharp and raw insights into men, midlife malaise and group behaviour. It pours out more than a few observations on the weight of societal expectations, and the male tendency to internalise rather than express one's feelings as well. These notions are evident when Martin and his pals start drinking to commence their days and to get through them, but they only get more potent as the film goes on. As the four teachers commit to doing whatever they need to maintain their sloshed state, it doesn't take long for them to veer away from their own guidelines. Also quick and easy: straying away from the high-minded notion that they're getting drunk in the name of science and not just because they're each unhappy with their lives in their own ways. Whether you're a keen social drinker or you stay away from the hard stuff completely, Another Round doesn't trade in unrealistic revelations — because we all know that no amount of alcohol, or lack of it, can ever solve all of life's problems. But the film approaches its subject with equally clear, playful and melancholy eyes, especially where Martin is concerned. Before his friends suggest non-stop day-drinking, he's in a rut. When he asks his wife Anika (Maria Bonnevie, Becoming Astrid) if he's boring, it's obvious that she wants to say yes. At school, his students are so worried about his absence of enthusiasm that they tell him they think his bland teaching could cost them marks in their exams. Then, one drop at a time, he starts proving Skårderud's theory. He's creative, confident and courageous, and feels more like himself. It takes an immense amount of skill on Vinterberg's part to convey that change, ground it in reality and never lose sight of the grim repercussions of overindulging. As aided by the movie's naturalistic colour scheme and graceful framing, it takes just as much to ensure the entire film remains frank, unflinching and yet also warm and sometimes humorous. One of Denmark's best directors, Vinterberg was always going to rise to the challenge. Earning the same description in his own field, the always-excellent Mikkelsen was always going to do the same. They make an exceptional pair; when they last teamed up for 2012's The Hunt, the difficult drama about a teacher accused of acting inappropriately with one of his kindergarten students was one of the cinematic highlights of that year. As everything from Festen to Far From the Madding Crowd have also shown, Vinterberg consistently casts his films well, and Mikkelsen is in top-notch company here. Still, Another Round needs its leading man's versatility, and his ability to flit between stoicism, desperation, quiet despondency and charming swagger in particular. There's a reason that, thanks to the likes of Casino Royale, A Royal Affair, Hannibal, Doctor Strange and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Mikkelsen has become one of film and television's most engaging performers — and Another Round will have you saying cheers to that, and to its astute tragicomic look at coping with mundane lives and the realities of getting older in an extreme fashion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5R46NgopPw
In the world of photography there are few trends as divisive as the rise and rise of Instagram and Hipstamatic. Battle lines have been drawn between those who view the advent of such filter apps as a positive democratising force, spreading the artistry of photography to the masses, and on the other side, those who think they're just a refuge for teenage poseurs and their collections of cats. New York artist and photojournalist Benjamin Lowy has become an unintentional figurehead for the former, thanks to his stunningly evocative photographs of war-ravaged North Africa and the Middle East. Lowy, whose work has graced the cover of TIME Magazine (the first photo taken from a phone to do so) and been featured at London's Tate Modern, has spent the last five years making Afghanistan his second home, creating his first body of work made entirely with Instagram and his ever-resilient iPhone. For Lowy, the decision to use his iPhone was made more out of convenience than out of any great artistic or journalistic ambition. He found that the burden of lugging around his camera meant that his initial passion in photography was "losing some of its mystical wonder", and when he reverted to the phone, he found a fresh perspective on the world around him. "I've been shooting with my phone for years and posting it online. I didn't see it as art, it was just another form of self-expression," Lowy told us. "I started finding myself being able to express myself a little more viscerally and easily because [the camera] was in such a small package." As a wartime photojournalist Lowy found that the ubiquitous images of "raids, explosions, suicide bombers" had increasingly desensitised people to the horrors of war. When he first began using his iPhone, Instagram resembled more of a passing fad than a cultural mainstay, and Lowy thought that this brave new world of photography may go a long way in getting people to sit up and take notice. "When you think of Iraq or Afghanistan, people saw those same images day in and day out," he says, "and because people kept seeing those images all the time it was easier to tune them out. So my idea throughout the course of my career has been to constantly experiment with images and aesthetics in order to gain the public's attention." While these images are often filled with the explosive and dynamic moments of war, what is much more unique about these photographs is their depiction of everyday life in Afghanistan. They show us a foreign land that although ravaged and decimated by war is eerily familiar to our own world. "It is a different place from the place we all know and we all call home but at the end of the day people are all the same," Lowy said. "Our blood is all red, when we wake up in the morning we want to have our cup of tea or coffee and send our kids to school and live peacefully ... The simple things that make humans humans are all the same regardless of where you live." Lowy's iAfghanistan exhibition is on display in the State Library of NSW, Macquarie Street Foyer, from May 17 to July 22 as part of the Head On photo festival. We've featured a small selection of our favourites below. Images courtesy of Head On photo festival and © Benjamin Lowy.
UPDATE Friday, July 23: Lockdown 5.0 has got Henry Sugar moonlighting as a streetside yakitori bar. They're firing up the hibachi grill from 1–8pm Tuesday through Sunday to bring you a tasty lineup of skewers, along with freshly-shucked oysters, toasties on house-made bread and a rotation of sweet treats. Takeaway drinks include a selection of signature cocktails and cosy serves of mulled wine. For more details on Victoria's current restrictions, see the Department of Health and Human Services website. Stories only happen to those who can tell them. So it's lucky that Kiwi chef Michael Baker (ex-Hell of the North and El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, the world's former best and currently second best restaurant) and ex-Cookie bartender Daniel Mason — joint owners of new neighbourhood wine and cocktail bar Henry Sugar — are master storytellers. Get Michael or Dan talking about the wines and you'll hear how part of a vineyard is in the shadow of a pine tree creating a microclimate and a particularly flavoursome wine; ask how long it took to master the oversized chocolate foam-filled sugar cherry that sits like a shiny Christmas ball on a bed of black forest mousse and you'll get a ripper explanation. They'll tell you that it took quite some time, which is quite indicative of the menu at Henry Sugar. There is an effortless grace to many of the dishes that hide the enormous amounts of creativity and work that goes into them. Baker manages to create dishes that are both rustic and sophisticated at the same time. This attention to detail starts with the aperitif; the house spritz is made with Rondò Aperitivo Bio (a rhubarb-based alternative to Aperol) and garnished with an olive-sized kalamata ice cream ball that's been dipped in white chocolate. This is way better experienced than described. Once you've got your mind around that, share a tofu tartare — which comes with a salty sesame puff ($9) — or wonder at the silkiness of the Puy lentil parfait glazed with Pedro Ximinez and served with house brioche ($11) before moving on to smoky grilled octopus with sobrasada and fennel ($16). Another must-order is the braised lamb with carrot and hazelnut — it is the definition of melt-in-your-mouth ($27) and pairs well with the dehydrated roast pumpkin, glorious in its crispy-skinned candied goodness. Michael is passionate about desserts and this is obvious when you see them and — more importantly — taste them. The coconut custard with coconut granita, mirin and citrus sorbet is impressive, but it's the aforementioned delicate black forest dessert ($14) that's most memorable. The minimal wine list complements the menu, as does the cocktail menu, which makes use of a range of interesting flavours, such as locally-made moonshine, caraway and pineapple. Lighter alcoholic options also focus prominently, with a range of vermouths, sherries, mistelle and sake. The team also make their own sodas using seasonal fruit, which are left to carbonate naturally via fermentation. But while there are many stories behind the food, don't go looking for a story behind the name of the restaurant. Keen readers will notice a reference to Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar — and the fact that the menu's logo is in braille seems to reference its character who can see with his eyes covered. But for Michael, it just "sounded like a cool name". Regardless, once you've dined at Henry Sugar, you'll have plenty of stories to tell.
You've heard of sky-high restaurants and rooftop bars; however if the latest proposed addition to New York goes ahead, it could put every other elevated eating and drinking spot to shame. As the name suggests, The Floating Restaurant won't just take over the top floor of a building. Instead, it'll be suspended by steel cables 60 metres above a historic landmark. And, not content with literally lifting diners up to another level, the eatery will also give patrons one mighty fine view. Hovering above the century-old former Glenwood power plant in Yonkers, The Floating Restaurant will boast all-glass walls that look out over the Hudson River thirty minutes north of Manhattan, and spy the city skyline as well. Blending the old with the new is the project's aim, and blending architecture with nature too. The design includes three floors including the kitchen, which is encased in greenery that further brings the outside in. Given all that, the fact that the cube is small — measuring little more than 13 metres long, and housing 11 tables — is hardly surprising. Yep, this place is going to be mighty exclusive. If it comes to fruition, expect a lengthy waiting list for a reservation. The idea comes from NY-based outfit Big Foot Developers, and while it's just in the planning stage, The Floating Restaurant is still a breathtaking concept. Of course, you're certain to inhale sharply if you ever get to dine inside the space. In fact, it's already being called a new future icon of the city. Via AWOL / Inhabitat. Image: Big Foot Developers.
Returning for its second year, Sad by Sad West is a community focused festival that's all about embracing emotion in both music and life. It's taking things back to basics and helping locals to recognise and appreciate their immediate surroundings and the artists that occupy it. Presented by Lesstalk Records and Papaiti Records, the self proclaimed fringe festival is geared toward connecting the community through events that showcase shared ideas and values through art and music. The two-day Melbourne event will take over two Footscray venues on Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29. For the festival's first night, The Night Heron, will be rocked by a huge range of talented Aussie artists, including Allison Gallagher, and Superdevf. For the second night, the party will head on over to The Reverence Hotel where Foley, Diploid and Phillip Hall will be among the ten-act lineup. The artists will perform across different genres and mediums to portray artistic thought in a new light.
Every quarter, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology releases its climate outlook for the coming season, signalling to the country just what type of weather might be in store. For the winter just gone, for example, it advised that we were in for hotter and wetter-than-average conditions. And, for both spring and summer, it's now predicting plenty of warm-weather rain. BOM's spring forecast was actually released at the end of August, noting two key points. First, it advised that there's a high likelihood of above-average rainfall across this period. Secondly, it noted that temperatures are likely to be average or even slightly below average in the nation's south, and warmer than usual in the country's north. Since then, however, the Bureau has issued two further statements about spring and summer's weather — with the latest stressing that there's an increased chance of flooding and cyclones. Thanks to BOM's severe weather outlook, it's sensible to expect damp conditions from October through until April, as a result of La Niña. The news follows an announcement at the end of September, when the Bureau revealed that the coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon was now active in the Pacific Ocean, and was likely to remain that way until at least the end of 2020. Some La Niña events can last around a year. When it comes to flooding, BOM advises that because La Niña is expected to bring more rain to Australia's east and north, the risk of widespread flooding increases. It also notes that rain has already been hitting some drought-affected areas. https://twitter.com/BOM_au/status/1315493814958583808 In regards to tropical cyclones, it predicts that there's an increased risk in the country's north. "On average, Australia sees nine to 11 tropical cyclones each year, with four crossing the coast. With La Niña this year we are expecting to see slightly more tropical cyclones than average, and the first one may arrive earlier than normal," said Bureau climatologist Greg Browning. BOM also advised that there's average potential for heatwaves and severe thunderstorms across the coming months. In good news after last year's catastrophic bushfire season, the Bureau is forecasting average fire conditions for the rest of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, too, as linked to the wetter weather. "This fire season, we're expecting wetter than average conditions in eastern and northern Australia, so long-running large bushfires are less likely; however, a wetter spring can lead to abundant grass growth, which could increase fire danger as it naturally dries during summer," noted Browning. If you're wondering what all of the above means, temperature-wise, it depends on the state. Queensland is never cool once spring and summer hits, but above-average temps are particularly forecast for the state's northern half. In New South Wales and Victoria, higher-than-average temperatures are predicted, with longer and more humid heatwaves possible in NSW's south and across the entirety of Victoria. The latter also applies to South Australia, although it might be in for fewer days of extreme heat. Western Australia can expect higher-than-average temperatures across the state, especially in the northeast. For further details about the Bureau of Meteorology's spring and summer forecasts, check out its spring outlook and severe weather outlook.
Because you're reading this, we know you're not someone who received a pet for Christmas, only to decide it wasn't for you. We know you're one of the good folks. You're probably wishing that you did receive a loveable animal as a gift, even if you already have one — or several — that you adore. We understand your yearning, and so does the RSPCA. And, to find permanent homes for pups, cats, bunnies, guinea pigs and even Sheepy the Sheep surrendered into its care from all over the country, it's lowering the adoption fee to $29 this weekend. The weekend-long initiative is called Clear the Shelters and will run from Friday, February 21 until Sunday, February 23. Although you can't put a price on the happiness a new four-legged friend will bring, it's hoped that the low adoption fee will encourage people who have been thinking about adding a pet to their fam (and have considered it thoroughly) to make the commitment this week. Last year, the RSPCA found new homes for 2654 pets Australia-wide. [caption id="attachment_761823" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jane is available for adoption in Tuggerah, Animal ID: 473147[/caption] This year, Clear the Shelters will run across Australia in all states and territories except Tasmania. The adoption fees — which usually range from $20–600 — help cover some of the costs of vaccines, training, desexing and microchipping for the animal. Whether you're in NSW, Victoria, WA or Queensland, there are hundreds of animals that need a new home full of love and pats. There's more to pet adoption than overdosing on cuteness, of course, as making the commitment to care for an animal is serious business. RSPCA's Clear the Shelters runs nationally (except Tasmania) from February 21–23. You can pre-register over here. Top image: Lady Danger is available for adoption in Sydney, Animal ID: 472000.
Martha Marcy May Marlene is a moving psychological thriller detailing the plight of Martha (Elizabeth Olson), who has recently spent two years living with an abusive cult and its deceivingly charming leader (John Hawkes). After her escape, she reunites with her sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and brother-in-law (Hugh Dancy). She attempts to mould her life back to routine, yet is unwilling to divulge details of her mysterious and lengthy disappearance. Despite her family's concerns and inquiries, Martha's history is still kept hidden in darkness and the film pivots around the haunting memories of her ordeal. When such memories begin to fuel her paranoia and the fear that she may be recaptured, Martha becomes a victim of her past as her concept of reality becomes distorted with immense vigour. A dark and magnetic exploration of human consciousness, Martha Marcy May Marlene exposes the unturned side of humanity that we fear to recognise. The film is directed and written by Sean Durkin, who won the esteemed award for "Best Director" at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011, and opens in cinemas February 2. Courtesy of Fox Searchlight, Concrete Playground has twenty double passes to giveaway. To win tickets to Martha Marcy May Marlene, just make sure you are subscribed to Concrete Playground then email your name and postal address through to hello@concreteplayground.com.au by 5pm on Friday, January 21. https://youtube.com/watch?v=KFu-zcQ7Mh4
Well, folks, the rain is starting to subside and we're edging closer and closer to summer, so what better time for a wardrobe refresh. This Saturday, November 17, your pals at 91Vintage are coming to the party, hosting the last edition of their ever-popular vintage sportswear market for 2018. Head along to Fitzroy pub The Evelyn to check out this hefty haul of retro threads, sneakers and accessories, with 15 stallholders slinging old-school gems from the likes of Adidas, Fila, Nike, Fubu, Dada, Sergio Tacchini and Juicy Couture. This time around, the market's running from 10am to 5pm, with prices starting at a neat $5 and both racks and tubs filled with plenty of pieces for every budget. Head over to the 91Vintage Instagram page for a sneak preview of some of the gear that's set to make an appearance and start plotting some bangers for the festival season to come.
Spring has officially sprung, and Entrecôte is celebrating with its new long boozy lunch special Stop and Smell the Rosé. The renowned French restaurant has teamed up with Miraval Côtes de Provence (from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's infamous vineyard), Sieur D'Arques, Lyv, and Domaine De La Croix to bring together the ultimate partnership of French wine and cuisine. From Monday, October 21–Friday, November 15, you can enjoy an elegant four-course lunch — curated by Entrecôte's Head Chef Timothy Menger — with each dish paired with a glass of French rosé. The menu begins with bouchée de concombre canapés served alongside the Sieur d'Arques sparkling rosé. This is followed by either the asparagus with mayonnaise mousseline and lemon and macadamia pistou, or the saffron king prawns — both are paired with a delicate and aromatic Lyv rosé. [caption id="attachment_837205" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lillie Thompson[/caption] For the mains, guests can choose between petit poulet à la sauce bocuse (a chicken dish with corn puree and mustard and tarragon sauce) or the grilled fish of the day, served with sauce gribiche and pomme frites. Elevate the rich flavours of each main with the aid of a versatile Miraval Côtes de Provence rosé. And to complement the fraise et rosé (a berry-filled rosé ice cream dessert), the Entrecote crew is serving the Domaine de la Croix le cap. Guests can choose between lunch with half-pour (75ml) wine pairings for $90 and $110 for a full pour (150ml). This limited-time offer will be held in the new conservatoire, an ode to glamorous Parisian courtyards and indoor gardens. This luxe partnership offers Melbournians the chance to experience the essence of France right in their own city — sans plane fare to Paris.
You may not know the name Clark Terry, but odds are you've heard of the people he inspired. Quincy Jones, for example? What about Miles Davis? With a career that spans a whopping seven decades, Terry is undoubtedly one of the most influential people to ever pick up a horn. But he was beloved in jazz circles not just for his mastery of the trumpet, but for his commitment to passing his love of music on to others. Shot over four years by Australian director Alan Hicks, Keep On Keepin' On provides an overview of Terry's incredible career, while also chronicling his relationship with his most recent protégée, 23-year-old blind piano player Justin Kauflin. It's a charming story that offers a much needed breath of air after this year's other big jazz picture, Whiplash, about a student-teacher relationship of a very different kind. Aided by the old jazz man's nostalgic narration, Hicks takes viewers back to 1920s St Louis, home to a vibrant jazz scene even then. Growing up dirt poor, Terry's first trumpet was paid for in loose change from his neighbours, an act of generosity that clearly left a mark. From there the young musician rose quickly, playing with the likes of Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Later he found a home for himself as the first black staff musician at NBC. Regardless of your interest in jazz history, it's hard not to be impressed by Terry's resume. Yet it's the present day sequences, featuring Terry and Kauflin, that ensure the documentary leaves a mark. Indeed, despite their more than 65 year age difference, the two are just a couple of peas in a pod. To Kauflin, Terry is a friend, a mentor and a gateway to an era long since passed. To Terry, Kauflin is someone with whom he can share his years of experience, and find kinship as his own health begins to decline. They're a hugely endearing duo, and their love of their craft is infectious. When presented with his honorary Grammy, Terry is credited with having "the happiest sound in jazz," but the truth is that it's a sentiment that reaches far beyond his music. It's remarkable, and inspiring, how upbeat the pair remain in the face of their respective adversity. You don't have to be a music fan to appreciate that.
As any design blog will tell you, the future is a land where nature marries technology. Oh yes friends, we will have our green skyscrapers, our moss-festooned techsessories, and our Alderaan-like organic cities full of people wearing microchipped decorative ferns on their heads. Probably. And how will we light the interiors of this utopian Ewok village? With glow-in-the-dark plants, of course. Here's the twist: thanks to biotech company Bioglow, the future is now, except for the head ferns. The secret of Bioglow's glowing plants is autoluminescence, the ability to generate light without any externally supplied substrate. That means no UV lights, no chemicals, no dyes and no electricity. After years of development, Bioglow has now perfected a plant with the power of autoluminescence, a truly exciting advance in the search for alternative and sustainable sources of light beyond electricity. It's also a beautiful idea visually, conjuring images of an Avatar-like world of illuminated foliage. Amusingly, the Biglow autoluminescent plant is actually called the Starlight Avatar. Apparently the strength of its glow best resembles starlight. So how does it work? The Starlight Avatar is just like a firefly or deep sea jellyfish, with light-giving properties embedded in its cellular make-up. Back in 2010, a molecular biologist named Dr Alexander Krichevsky published his research regarding light-emitting plants in the journal PLOS One. Technology entrepreneur Tal Eidelberg quickly got on board, and the collaborators worked on increasing the lumen-power of their prototype. Now you can even score a Starlight Avatar for yourself (if you have a lot of spare change to bid on pioneering technologies) by registering for the early February auction of 20 of the autoluminescent indoor plants. They're available only in the US though, so get your people over there onto it, stat. Via PSFK.
Everyone knows Batman is the best superhero. Superman and Captain America are too pristine and dull, Spiderman whines a lot and had an unfortunate stint as an emo kid in 2007. And though Robert Downey Jr is nearly enough to sway me on side with Iron Man, he just can't beat the brooding growl and moral complexity of the Dark Knight. As such it's no surprise that Batman fanatics are a particularly passionate breed. But what one of them has done now will truly baffle you. Zac Mihajlovic, a die-hard fan from Sydney, has spent two years creating a custom-made Batmobile. As a replica of the 1989 model used in Tim Burton's classically cartoonish Batman films, the six-metre-long chassis had to be custom built — its body panels were actually spares from the original set that were imported from the US. Completed with such skill and dedication, the resulting masterpiece was actually deemed roadworthy. Zac's been driving it around for the last few years, quickly racking up street cred as either the coolest or nerdiest man in the country (depending on your allegiances to commemorative geek memorabilia). Now, to mark the 25th anniversary of Tim Burton's original film, this absolute champion is renting out his ride to Sydney residents via Groupon. (We're not going to be offended if you immediately leave us for that link). For $250 you can experience 20 minutes in the passenger seat, or $2,500 will get you 'The Gotham Package' — a four-hour joyride with ten friends. To put this experience in perspective, this is the only Batmobile in existence in the Southern Hemisphere besides a prop at Movie World. Between 10-12 are believed to be around elsewhere, but Zac believes his is the only one with legit street registration. The creator himself has only taken it out casually a few times (because of the huge fuss it creates), and it's been predominantly utilised for kids in the Make-A-Wish foundation. Honestly, I don't even know why you're still reading this. Book it. Now. If you're not in Sydney, or don't have $250 lying around for joyrides in fictional cars that have magically manifested themselves into reality — not everyone can be as loaded as Bruce Wayne — then you'll have to settle for some mopey internet stalking instead. The rest of Zac's work/his life in general is totally worth checking out. Under the moniker of Batmobile Australia, he rents his Batmobile for weddings and conventions, and also shows off his accompanying Batbike and Batsuit. It's entertaining to flip through, but browser beware: it will dwarf every accomplishment in your own life. As for everyone else, this is your opportunity. You can be the hero Sydney deserves, but not the one it needs right now. You'll be hunted, but you can take it. Because you're not a hero. You're a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight. This offer expires Sunday, June 22 so get in quick. Via Gizmodo.
We can't think of a much better way to alleviate all that hectic airport stress than some pre-flight puppy cuddles and wet-nosed kisses. Thankfully, Sydney Airport has a new team of four-legged employees that is very happy to help on all counts. In an Aussie first, American Airlines and Assistance Dogs Australia (ADA) have teamed up to launch a new program called emBark at Sydney International Airport, in an effort to make the whole travelling caper much more bearable. Two mornings each week, a group of ADA-trained floofers will be stationed near American Airlines' check-in desks, to help anyone, young or old, that needs a calming cuddle before tackling all that airport hustle and bustle. As well as proving excellent company and very effective stress relief, the dogs will also help to raise awareness about ADA's work and the huge difference these animals can make. As American's Managing Director – Asia Pacific Russ Fortson explained, "The atmosphere at check-in is noticeably lighter and more relaxed. If these inspiring dogs can accomplish this during short interactions with our customers, imagine the positive impact they can have on the daily lives of the people who need them." At present, emBark pups are stationed at Sydney International Airport's American Airline check-in desks between 7-9am, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Images: Christine Bernasconi Photography
Supermarkets sell them. Almost every bakery does, too. But there's a difference between most croissants and Lune's croissants. The latter have been described as "the finest you will find anywhere in the world" by The New York Times, are made and baked inside a climate-controlled glass cube, and are the result of a time-consuming process overseen by the Melbourne-born croissant haven's founder Kate Reid, an ex-Formula 1 aerodynamicist who brings scientific precision to her craft. For a full decade now, Lune Croissanterie has been earning praise and fans — and sparking hefty lines — for its signature item. The many different playful variations it offers up each month, such as finger bun croissants, birthday cake croissants and lamington cruffins, have scored the same adoration. But from Wednesday, November 2, those baked goods aren't just available at Lune's multiple Melbourne and Brisbane outposts (with a debut Sydney store slated to open in 2023). Now, thanks to the brand's first-ever cookbook, you can also whip them up at home. Clear your kitchen bench, switch on the oven, and stock up on flour and butter — in a variety forms — plus eggs and milk: you have some baking to do. Penned by Reid, LUNE: Croissants All Day, All Night's title says everything it needs to, and fills 272 pages with all your new favourite snacks. Unsurprisingly, the tome is thorough, stepping through how to make the perfect dough, the layers and lamination process, and getting the right shapes, including for danishes and pain au chocolat. From there, the range of recipes includes croissants, obviously, but also a hefty lineup of other edible delights. Think: lemon curd cruffins, pecan sticky buns, reuben croissants, croissant 'bread and butter' pudding, chocolate-dipped croissant 'biscotti' and croissant croutons, for starters. Other highlights span ham and gruyère croissants, cheese and vegemite escargots, chocolate plum sake danishes, pepperoni pizza escargots, those aforementioned lamington cruffins, four-cheese tousades, fish pies, pulled-pork croissants and lobster rolls. Amid all of the above, and more, the book is filled with food porn-style shots of plenty of dishes, images of Lune's stores and tidbits of history from the company's decade of operations so far — since setting up shop back in 2012 as a pint-sized store in Elwood. Your new problems: picking which of Lune's treats to make yourself, and somehow not devoting every waking hour to cooking your way through the new tome. If you want to set yourself a Julie & Julia-style challenge to work through them all, however, we're sure that your tastebuds will approve. LUNE: Croissants All Day, All Night also covers what to do with leftovers, stale croissants and how to freeze your dough and pastries — and all of the classic recipes, of course. Happy baking — and yes, if one of your nearest and dearest loves making pastries, you might've just found their Christmas present. LUNE: Croissants All Day, All Night hits Australian bookstores on Wednesday, November 2, with the hardback edition retailing for $55.
UPDATE, August 27, 2021: From Friday, August 27, Cruella will be available to stream via Disney+ — and as part of your regular subscription. A killer dress, a statement jacket, a devastating head-to-toe ensemble: if they truly match their descriptions, they stand the test of time. Set in 70s London as punk takes over the aesthetic, live-action 101 Dalmatians prequel Cruella is full of such outfits — plus a white-and-black fur coat that's suspected of being made from slaughtered dogs. If the film itself was a fashion item, though, it'd be a knockoff. It'd be a piece that appears fabulous from afar, but can't hide its seams. That's hardly surprising given this origin tale stitches together pieces from The Devil Wears Prada, The Favourite, Superman, Star Wars and Dickens, and doesn't give two yaps if anyone notices. The Emmas — Stone, playing the dalmatian-hating future villain; Thompson, doing her best Miranda Priestly impression as a ruthless designer — have a ball. Oscar-winning Mad Max: Fury Road costume designer Jenny Beavan is chief among the movie's MVPs. But for a film placed amid the punk-rock revolution, it's happy to merely look the part, not live and breathe it. And, in aiming to explain away its anti-heroine's wicked ways, it's really not sure what it wants to say about her. Here, the needle drops have it. If compiling Cruella's soundtrack involved more than typing "60s, 70s and 80s hits" into Spotify, it doesn't show. A snarling rendition of The Stooges' 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' proves as blatant as it sounds. When a plan comes together to The Beatles' 'Come Together', you'll wonder if the laziest algorithm in the world made that choice. And would it really be a film about someone called de Vil — a naming choice that's spelled out with such force, you could spot it from the moon — if The Rolling Stones' 'Sympathy for the Devil' wasn't given a spin? As the Mouse House keeps exploring its antagonists' nefarious urges (see also: the two Maleficent movies), it routinely just covers the bare necessities, story-wise. Here, it takes that approach in as many places as it can. Indeed, in telling viewers that Cruella is saddled with childhood traumas, too, it seems to think that two-plus over-stretched hours of 70s cosplay will suffice. Before she becomes the puppy-skinning fashionista that remains among Glenn Close's best-known roles, and before she's both a wannabe designer and the revenge-seeking talk of the town played by Stone (Zombieland: Double Tap), Cruella is actually 12-year-old girl Estella (Tipper Seifert-Cleveland, Game of Thrones). Sporting two-toned hair and a cruel that streak her mother (Emily Beecham, Little Joe) tries to tame with kindness, she's a target for bullies, but has the gumption to handle them. Then tragedy strikes, an orphan is born, loss haunts her every move and, after falling in with a couple of likeable London thieves, those black-and-white locks get a scarlet dye job. By the time that Estella is in her twenties, she's well-versed in pulling quick heists with Jasper (Joel Fry, Yesterday) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser, Songbird). She loves sewing the costumes required more than anything else, however. After years spent dreaming of knockout gowns, upmarket department stores and threads made by the Baroness (Thompson, Last Christmas), she eventually gets her chance — for fashion domination, as well as vengeance. It worked for director Craig Gillespie in I, Tonya, but the wry narration that guides Cruella's story quickly overstays its welcome. The knowing tone, obvious observations and taunts of a death that can't stick in a prequel all purely hit the expected beats, as almost everything here does. Co-screenwriter Dana Fox also penned Isn't It Romantic, but trades satirising one genre's tropes for leaning into another's (yes, villain origin stories are their own genre now). Fellow scribe Tony McNamara was nominated for an Oscar for The Favourite and an Emmy for The Great, so the fact that Stone often feels like she has stepped out of the former and into this — right down to her subterfuge and scheming beneath the Baroness' feet — is no surprise. The Devil Wears Prada's Aline Brosh McKenna gets a story credit, too, because Disney isn't attempting to conceal its inspirations. Cruella may stem from Dodie Smith's book, then the cartoon, then the live-action remake, but it has been cut from a clear pattern. There's zero vampishness in the end result, but plenty of botched ideas and muddled themes. When Estella is driven to succeed, rebel against being treated poorly at work and punish the person responsible for her pain, they're far more fascinating aspects of her character than the movie meaningfully examines — perhaps because they don't quite fit her journey to the monochrome side. Empathising with her plight is easy several times over. After an early incident, understanding why she doesn't love dalmatians is as well. Gillespie and company don't come close to selling the leap from ambitious and avenging to future animal cruelty, though. The latter isn't actually a part of Cruella, but in giving its central figure the Joker treatment, the film's character arc is always a stretch. It also undercuts the much more potent notion that some people are just evil, and don't need a sob story as an excuse. If, in all of their eagerness to stick to a template, Cruella's powers-that-be just wanted to pair Stone up with another English acting titan — swapping The Favourite's Olivia Colman for the on-screen treasure that is Thompson — and then let them have at it, that's understandable. It's also as a good enough reason as any for this or any movie to exist. Alongside Beavan's Vivienne Westwood- and Alexander McQueen-influenced costumes, plus Nicolas Karakatsanis' (another I, Tonya alum) constantly moving camerawork, the acerbic Oscar-winning Emmas are the reason that the film has any bite to go along with its empty barks. But the duo's gleeful cartoonishness, flamboyance and winning ability to wear the hell out of their outfits only takes Cruella so far. Even with their obvious commitment, this intellectual property-extending exercise is more filler than killer. After you give it a whirl, you'll put it back on the rack and rarely spare it another thought. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgZgFHDGHrY&feature=youtu.be Top image: Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2021 Disney Enterprises Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you're not fond of clowns, find yourself scurrying past sewers and simply can't stand red balloons, there's probably one big reason for your phobias. Maybe you read Stephen King's horror tome IT, which first hit bookshelves back in 1986. Perhaps you saw the 1990 miniseries, which turned Tim Curry from The Rocky Horror Picture Show's Frank N Furter into the transdimensional evil entity known as Pennywise. In 2017, you might've seen the IT movie on the big screen, too, then backed it up in 2019 with sequel IT: Chapter Two. Whichever fits, your fears are about to get another workout — via your streaming queue, and if you dare. HBO has officially greenlit a prequel series set in the world of IT, and in King's go-to town of Derry, Maine. Fittingly called Welcome to Derry, it'll step through the locale's scares before the terror that viewers have already seen and experienced. Returning to oversee the show is filmmaker Andy Muschietti, who helmed the most recent two movies and next directs DC Extended Universe flick The Flash. So far, the rest of the details are scare, including the exact storyline, all cast members, when it'll arrive and how many episodes there are to look forward to. But Muschietti will direct multiple instalments, including the first. Also, the show is still based on King's novel, and will expand Muschietti's vision from his two features. "As teenagers, we took turns reading chapters of Stephen King's IT until the thick paperback fell to pieces," said Muschietti and his sister Barbara Muschietti, who'll also work on Welcome to Derry, announcing the news. "IT is an epic story that contains multitudes, far beyond what we could explore in our IT movies. We can't wait to share the depths of Steve's novel, in all its heart, humour, humanity and horror." "I'm excited that the story of Derry, Maine's most haunted city, is continuing, and I'm glad Andy Muschietti is going to be overseeing the frightening festivities, along with a brain trust including his talented sister, Barbara. Red balloons all around!" added King. If you've somehow missed all things IT so far, it follows the exploits of maniacal clown Pennywise, as well as the folks he's rather fond of terrorising. In the recent movies, Bill Skarsgård (Barbarian) put on the demonic makeup. In the first film, his targets were all kids. In the second, those teens — the Losers Club — were all grown up and still getting spooked. It's too early for a Welcome to Derry trailer, but you can watch the IT and IT: Chapter Two trailers below: Welcome to Derry doesn't yet have a release date, including Down Under — we'll update you when one is announced.
Returning for its fourth iteration, The Fork Festival sees top restaurants across the country offering sit-down meals for up to half the usual price. Yep, up to 50-percent off your total food bill, folks — think of it as the proverbial carrot luring you out of the house. Up and running as of today, Friday, April 22, the offer is a blessing for those feeling a little light-pocketed after Easter — or thanks to the spate of long weekends we're currently enjoying. To snag a half-price meal (or, in a few cases, 30-percent off), you just need to make a reservation through The Fork website or app at one of the participating eateries for any service (breakfast, lunch or dinner) during the six-week period. There are some great venues coming to the party, too. In Sydney, you'll find cheap eats at the likes of Kings Cross Distillery, Monopole, Sydney Brewery in Surry Hills, Diana at Potts Point, Bentley Restaurant & Bar in the CBD and Cirrus Dining at Barangaroo. Victoria's lineup includes Brunswick Mess Hall and the Sarah Sands Hotel in Brunswick, Gasthaus on Queen, Amazing Graze Tea Rooms, and everywhere from Korr Jee Chicken and Lezzet to Neo Lemonade and Scarpetta. In other states, the list is much smaller — so you'll need to head to TGI Fridays Robina in Queensland; the brand's outposts in WA as well; The Pelican Place in the ACT; and spots such as Pier Bar and Grill, Christies Beach Hotel, Sammy's on the Marina and Red Ochre Barrel and Grill in South Australia. You might want to revisit an old favourite or you could get a little adventurous and road-test somewhere new. Either way, there's ample time to squeeze in a fair few discounted feasts before the festival wraps up on Sunday, May 29. The Fork Festival runs from Friday, April 22–Sunday, May 29 at select restaurants nationwide, excluding the NT and Tasmania. Top image: Sarah Sands Hotel.
Since late 2017, Taco Bell has been making inroads into the fast food scene Down Under, with four stores now open in Queensland, a total of 50 planned across Australia by the end of 2021 and up to 60 set for Aus as well as New Zealand by 2023. That's great news if you're a local fan of the US Tex-Mex chain. If you're extra fond of the company's burritos, quesadillas, nachos and — of course — tacos, you could always book your next US holiday at a pop-up Taco Bell hotel. The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort will welcome guests from August 9, operating for a limited time only. If you're wondering what's in store, it's "a destination inspired by tacos," according to the eatery. Think taco-themed rooms, tacos for breakfast (and lunch, dinner and snacking on whenever the urge hits), a Taco Bell gift shop and an onsite salon doling out Taco Bell-inspired nail art. Apparently the poolside cocktails will also be given a Taco Bell twist, which hopefully doesn't mean boozy liquid concoctions made of meat, salsa, avocado and tortillas. Alcohol seems like it'll be a big feature, with the hotel strictly for those aged 18 and over. As for the rest of the joint's food, The Bell will also serve up an exclusive menu, in case you're feeling like you've already eaten every Taco Bell dish ever. With the chain founded in Southern California back in 1962, eager taco lovers will need to head to the area — to Palm Springs to be exact, although the exact location hasn't been revealed. Reservations will open in June, and there's no word yet on just how much a stay will set you back. For more information about The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort, keep an eye on the hotel's website.
Melbourne's biennial showcase of young and emerging artist has unveiled its latest program. Running from May 3 to 20, the 2018 Next Wave Festival will highlight some of the coolest, most exciting and most innovative up-and-comers working across theatre, dance, video, music, sculpture and everything in between. The festival will kick off with a free opening night party at the Brunswick Mechanics Institute. The soiree is being sponsored by the Archie Rose Distilling company, so you know the booze will be good. It's one of a number of epic shindigs on the program this year, with Sezzo Snot and Makeda Zucco set to take over the Tote Hotel for a night of electronic music, sound art, performance and installation, and DJ Sista Zai Zanda headling an Afro-futuristic Mother's Day eve celebration of dance, music, poetry and storytelling. The lineup is packed full of events, so we've rounded up our top five below — and they include everything from freestyle dog dancing to a democratic dinner party. To see the full lineup and buy tickets, head to the Next Wave website.
When David Bowie starred in 1976's The Man Who Fell to Earth, playing an alien being who crash lands on our planet, it became one of the musician's iconic on-screen roles. It's also one that he returned to nearly four decades later, in a fashion — co-writing the musical Lazarus, as inspired by the Walter Tevis novel that the sci-fi film was based on. Written with playwright Enda Walsh, and one of Bowie's final projects before his passing in January 2016, Lazarus opened off-Broadway in December 2015. The production made the jump to London in 2017 and, in 2019, it'll bring its otherworldly story — and its soundtrack of 18 Bowie tracks — to Australia. The first show announced for The Production Company's 2019 season, Lazarus will make its Aussie debut between May 18 and June 9, hitting the stage at Arts Centre Melbourne. While local cast details won't be revealed until February 19, when ticketing details will also be unveiled, the original production was a suitably star-studded affair. Dexter's Michael C. Hall followed in Bowie's footsteps in the part of Thomas Jerome Newton, while Fargo's Cristin Milioti played the alien's assistant. Those eager for a date with this starman — and to start loving the alien, again — can expect a sequel of sorts to The Man Who Fell to Earth. The enigmatic Newton remains on earth, unable to die; however the arrival of another lost soul might offer the solution that he's been looking for. As for the familiar songs that this story plays out to, it's basically a best-of catalogue of Bowie's greatest hits. 'Heroes', 'Changes', 'Life on Mars?', 'The Man Who Sold the World' and 'Sound and Vision' all feature — as do four of the star's final recordings, including the title track 'Lazarus'. Lazarus will hit the Arts Centre Melbourne stage from May 18 to June 9, 2019. Ticketing details will be available from February 19, 2019 — to sign up for the wait list, visit lazarusthemusical.com.au.
If you drink much coffee (or have ever been to a cafe, worked in an office or looked through other people's rubbish), you've probably realised that Australia's cafe culture produces a huge number of wasted takeaway cups. But what you may not know is that these cups are not recyclable. Though coffee cups feature paper on the outside, the liquid-proof inside lining is made of plastic, which means the cups cannot be recycled like other cardboard items. It also means they take on average 50 years to decompose in landfill. There is currently no facility in Australia that is able to recycle takeaway coffee cups, but Closed Loop hopes to change that. The Australian company — which offers waste management and environmental solutions to a range of companies, including Noma when it was in Sydney — just completed a trial to help make the case for their proposal. The trial, which received a $17,500 grant from the City of Sydney, introduced standalone bins for takeaway coffee cups into three office buildings across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. 12,000 cups were collected over four weeks, successfully demonstrating that people would be willing to use such bins. And after they've been collected? Closed Loop has worked with researchers from the UK, where they already run a similar cup collection and recycling program, to develop technology that combines the materials in the cups with a polymer to produce a plastic-fibre compound. It can be used to make placemats, coasters and outdoor furniture. Based on the success of the pilot (that is, people using the bins correctly), Closed Loop is proposing to set up a dedicated facility to recycle them. Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore estimates that if the program were to go ahead, more than 25 million coffee cups could avoid ending up in landfill per year from the City of Sydney area alone. Given that around one million disposable coffee cups end up in landfill per minute worldwide, it's good to know there are people trying to tackle the issue. We'll keep an eye on this one to see where it goes. Image: Tim Wright.
Forget Instagram — when it comes to peering at famous faces, portrait galleries have been serving up the goods since long before social media ever existed. Think of a well-known name not just in recent times, but going back decades, centuries and longer, and it's likely that someone somewhere once painted their likeness. The Beatles, David Bowie, Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters, Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai: they've all been given the portrait treatment, and the results — or one painting bearing their faces, at least — are now on display at Shakespeare to Winehouse: Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London. Showing at Canberra's National Portrait Gallery, this is the type of exhibition that arises when one portrait gallery teams up with another; think of it as the Inception of portrait showcases. There's a heavy British skew, naturally, covering people who have shaped UK history, identity and culture over the past 500 years. Accordingly, other famous folks gracing the NPG's walls include both Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II, Kate Moss, Mick Jagger and Princess Diana, as well as Lord Nelson, Sir Isaac Newton and Ed Sheeran, Darcey Bussell. As mentioned in the exhibition's name, both the Bard and Amy Winehouse obviously also feature, in an exhibition that's sorted by theme rather than year. And, by grouping portraits around fame, power, love and loss, identity, innovation and self, Shakespeare to Winehouse: Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London also examines how portraiture has evolved over the years — all across a season that runs from Saturday, March 12–Sunday, July 17.
Operating under the motto "Marriage equality for everyone, no matter the flavour.", the Ice Cream Truck of Love is set to travel Australia's eastern seaboard, handing out free scoops and spreading its message of marriage equality. Launched by Adrian Fernand, Aussie tastemaker and etiquette blogger, the Truck of Love was initially inspired by a truck with opposite intentions. Earlier in March, an anti-gay-marriage truck took to the streets of Queensland, opposing homosexual marriage on its "Queensland Election Prayer Rally Tour". In order to complete its trek down the coast, and hopefully through the rest of the country, the Truck of Love is in need of donors and volunteers who are willing to share some of their sweet time. https://youtube.com/watch?v=rWDhM1YzdtU
Holidaymakers love staying in them. TV shows sing their praises. Everyone has wondered what their days would be like if they lived the tiny house life. Expect to explore that train of thought at the National Gallery of Victoria until Sunday, April 27, 2025, all thanks to the latest temporary addition outside the NGV International on St Kilda Road in Melbourne: Home Truth, the NGV's Architecture Commission for 2024. How big does the average Australian home need to be? How many tiny houses could fit in the space that a standard Aussie abode takes up? These mightn't be the normal questions that anyone tends to ponder when they visit an art gallery, but it's the query that Home Truth wants everyone to contemplate right now. First, you'll see and enter a standard-sized Aussie house. Inside, you'll then find an abode of much smaller size — and you'll notice the difference between the two. Each year, the NGV unveils a site-specific pop-up construction that experiments with design concepts while musing on subjects of public importance. This year's pick is a tiny house — which wouldn't sound out of the ordinary if it wasn't a pint-sized abode within the frame of the average Australian home, and if drawing attention to the contrast wasn't its aim. Created by Melbourne-based architecture and design studio Breathe, Home Truth continues the firm's focus on sustainable architecture that'll endure and has a purpose — and, since Wednesday, November 13, it's getting NGV visitors walking through a house-within-a-house labyrinth. The larger building represents the average 236-square-metre Australian residence. Nestled within it, the smaller-scale home is designed to spark conversations about alternative modes of housing. To get from one to the other, visitors enter via the larger house's garage door, then wander through rooms and hallways. When you reach the tinier home, you'll feel like you've hit the centre of a maze. Attendees will notice two different materials distinguishing each abode, too, with the bigger spot constructed from framing pine and the smaller house from the waste-made and silver-hued saveboard — offering up a comment on how homes are currently built in Australia as well. Images: installation view of the 2024 NGV Architecture Commission: Home Truth by Breathe. on display from 13 November 2024 until April 2025 at NGV International, Melbourne. Photo: Derek Swalwell.
