Next time that you grab a drink in Melbourne or Sydney, you might want to get sipping at one of the globe's top watering holes. Those must-visit spots: Melbourne's Caretaker's Cottage and Sydney's Re, which just nabbed rankings in 2022 version of The World's 50 Best Bars extended 51–100 list. Each year, The World's 50 Best Bars does exactly what its name says, picking the best 50 bars on the planet — and 2022's top 50 will be announced on Tuesday, October 4 in Barcelona. But why stop at 50? This ranking doesn't, despite its moniker. That's where the longlist comes in, throwing some love at the next 50 venues worth checking out. [caption id="attachment_871415" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Caretaker's Cottage[/caption] Little Lonsdale Street's Caretaker's Cottage came in at 60th spot, and marked its first year in the list — while Re, Matt Whiley (Scout) and Maurice Terzini's low-waste bar in South Eveleigh, took out 87th position. For the latter, it marks a slip from 46th place in 2021, after opening last year. Caretaker's Cottage and Re are the only Australian bars to make the cut so far — sorry, folks in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and the rest of the country — with the 51–100 list including tipple-serving spots from 32 different cities in 25 countries, complete with 15 new entries scoring a place. The location with the most must-visit bars in this secondary rundown? Singapore, with eight; however, spots chosen elsewhere include bars in first-timers Kraków, Bratislava, Manchester, Playa Del Carmen and Bogotá as well. [caption id="attachment_871414" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Re[/caption] When the full list drops — being announced outside of London for the first time — here's hoping that Australia is well-represented. In 2021, Sydney's Maybe Sammy took out 22nd place, with The Rocks' venue making the top 50 list for the third year in a row. Fellow Sydneysider Cantina OK! came in at number 23 last year, Melbourne's Above Board earned a spot at number 44 and the aforementioned Re placed, too. In 2021's longlist, Melbourne's Byrdi nabbed 56th spot. Watch this space — we'll run through the winners of the World's 50 Best Bars 2022 list when they're announced next week. [caption id="attachment_871416" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Re[/caption] And yes, if you choose where to drink and eat based on these kinds of rankings, you've got a few spots to visit. So far this year, Melbourne's Gimlet at Cavendish House made The World's Top 100 Restaurant longlist for 2022, while Sydney's Josh Niland placed in 78th spot at The Best Chef Awards 2022. For the full 51–100 list of the World's 50 Best Bars for 2022 (and past years' lists), see the website. The top 50 rankings will be revealed from 8.15pm GMT on Tuesday, October 4 via Facebook and YouTube.
If you've ever needed a positive example of how one night can change everything, just chat to Nema Adel. He had no intention of becoming an artist. In fact, he had just completed a university degree in a completely unrelated field when he went to a Flying Lotus performance at the Sydney Opera House that sparked a new passion for real-time digital art. Four and a half years on, Adel is now a sought-after digital artist who has created activations for festivals such as Liveworks and Vivid. He is also one of the visionary artists to team up with Miller Design Lab in 2020 to celebrate our nightlife and its impact on culture to deliver exceptional moments to you and your home. Deciding to forge a career in a relatively new — and quite niche — artistic field has meant Adel's path has been anything but traditional, so Concrete Playground sat down with the artist to discuss his creative process. Read on to discover how he seeks inspiration and the importance of nightlife to his art, then check out the video above to see him in action. In addition to the Flying Lotus gig, Adel pinpoints one other serendipitous moment that propelled his career. At his first ever event in 2016, which involved digital projections on a bank of trees over a river, Adel met an artist from Germany who liked his work. What followed was a six-month stint touring Germany and Austria doing shows. "And that was my education," he says. Adel explains that because digital art is such a new and ever-evolving art form he is mostly self-taught. "If I go on Google, I won't get any answers to the things I want to know, because nobody has really done it before," he says. Instead, Adel relies on connecting with others around the world who work in similar artistic spaces, particularly through Instagram, to share ideas, new techniques and advice. In particular, he notes San Francisco-based company All Of It Now and its Creative Director Kev Zhu, who shares tutorials online and has worked with Drake on custom projections for arena tours, as a key source of inspiration and knowledge sharing. But mostly, "it's just loads of experimentation. Unlike fine arts and classical arts, where [there is a] technique that we've perfected over hundreds of years." Customisation is present throughout Adel's entire process. "The design mainly happens on the computer, but I don't know how that actually looks unless I set up the projection and understand it in reality. Then, I'll take it back to the computer, then back to reality, and keep ping-ponging back and forth." For that reason, Adel doesn't really have a traditional workspace. He has a studio at Marrickville's Create Or Die, a creative hub filled with artists that he loves to bounce ideas off or collaborate with, including graffiti artist Iro Kitamura. "He might be painting murals and I'll be projecting onto the mural painting. I really enjoy it as I don't have those fine art skills," he says. Adel also likes that his work takes him out and about. "I love my style of work so much because the space changes — different venues and different galleries — and that'll always inform how you're going to work." And he mostly works at night. "On the most basic level, I cannot do my craft in the middle of the day… the natural light will wash out my projection light. Without the nighttime, I don't have a craft." Beyond that, he acknowledges the symbiotic relationship art and nightlife have: "I work in a lot of events and I was able to keep practising through the nightlife that we have — whether it's working with musical artists or exhibitions. If you have an extensive nightlife, [artists] can keep rolling and keep becoming better". Of course, much of that has changed in the past few months due to restrictions on public gatherings. Adel has had many jobs cancelled and has made the decision to temporarily move out of his Marrickville studio for safety reasons. Though he knows many other creatives are trying to keep up the collaboration and creativity in this time, he isn't. For someone who believes that "creativity is a mirror" and will reflect the artist's mood or current situation, it makes sense that he'd prefer to pause on creating for now. "I've consciously decided to use this as a bit more of a rest period, and that's partly due to the fact that there is a lot less inspiration in my life at the moment," he explains. Instead, he is viewing this time as a "study period" by doing some online tutorials, perfecting techniques and keeping up to date on the software tools he relies on. But when normal life resumes and he is ready to boost what he calls his creativity "metre" again, Adel has a few tried and tested techniques for seeking inspiration. "Travelling or seeing a new place and taking photos — that'll always bring new ideas to me," he says. He also mentions going out to see live music as a huge influence, naming Freda's in Chippendale and Camelot Lounge in Marrickville as his go-tos. "When there are events on with artists from other countries, I love it. I have no idea what to expect… but their art has been formed in a different way. You want to get as many perspectives as you possibly can under your belt. "I'm also very inspired by the Studio Ghibli films…. They've managed to create rich stories from imagery, and I think for me that is the ultimate goal: not just creating things that look nice, but things which convey meaning. That's hopefully what I aim for in the next ten years." For more, check out Nema's collaboration with Miller Genuine Draft here. For more ways to celebrate your city's nightlife and recreate its energy in your own space, head this way. Images: Reuben Gibbes
2023 might be mere weeks in, but it's already the year of Pedro Pascal. His new HBO series, a spectacular adaptation of hit video game The Last of Us, has just started airing — and it's already one of the best new shows of this year. And, come autumn, he'll be back bounty hunting and hanging out with Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian season three as well. Hanging out for more of Disney+'s space western? Keen on another dose of Pascal as Din Djarin? Can't wait to see the adorable Grogu again? The new season will start streaming from Wednesday, March 1, and has finally unveiled its full trailer in the interim. Pascal narrates the just-dropped sneak peek, explaining that being a Mandalorian isn't just about learning how to fight, but also about being able to navigate the galaxy. Mando, as he should definitely be nicknamed, is also off to Mandalore to be forgiven for his transgressions — although, as viewers of the show so far will know, and just of all things Star Wars in general, little in this galaxy far far away ever goes smoothly. Season three promises to also follow the New Republic's struggle to move past the galaxy's dark past, reunite Mando with old allies and also throw new enemies his way. And, of course, to have Grogu back by his side, as viewers love. There's also multiple bounty hunters, and "may the force be with you" is indeed uttered in the new trailer. The Mandalorian's latest batch of episodes will arrive more than two years after the show streamed its second season back in late 2020, and after 2022's first season of Andor just became Star Wars' best TV series yet. If you've somehow missed it before now, the Emmy-nominated show follows the titular bounty hunter (Pascal, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent); however, it's his encounter with a fuzzy little creature first known as The Child, affectionately named Baby Yoda by everyone watching, and officially called Grogu, that's always had everyone talking. So, it comes as zero surprise that one of the Star Wars universe's best-ever double acts keeps being pushed into the spotlight — including when The Mandalorian dropped its first season-three trailer a few months back, and in this new glimpse. Check out the full trailer for The Mandalorian season three below: The Mandalorian's third season will hit Disney+ on Wednesday, March 1. Images: ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Memorable moments in David Wnendt's Wetlands include, but are not limited to: the swapping of home-made tampons, the use of an avocado seed as a masturbatory aid, multiple self-inflicted rectal injuries and an extended sequence of four men ejaculating onto a pizza, in 300-style slow-motion, all to the strains of Strauss' Blue Danube. If any of that sounds appealing, read on. An adaptation of Charlotte's Roche's controversial (and highly successful) 2008 novel of the same name, Wetlands concerns the escapades of 18-year-old Helen Memel — played with infectious, smart-alecky charm by newcomer Carla Juri. And boy, do we mean infectious. Proudly describing herself as a "living pussy hygiene experiment", Helen abhors personal cleanliness, and believes that the unique musk that emanates from her nether regions makes her impossible for men to resist. Early on in the film, an unfortunately anal shaving accident lands Helen in the hospital. Although annoyed at being bed-ridden, our heroine finds a silver lining in realising that the incident represents the perfect chance of getting her divorced parents in the same room together — at which point she's positive sparks will fly. In the meantime, she's perfectly content to flirt with her handsome nurse Robin (Christoph Letkowski) and reminisce about her various sexual and scatological adventures. There's no skirting around it: Wetlands is gross. But that certainly doesn't mean that it isn't entertaining. From as early as the opening credit sequence — a Fight Club-inspired tour through the untamed ecosystem of a pube on a public toilet seat — Wnendt's direction is loaded with energy and style. The soundtrack — a mix of German rock and pop music — has a similarly upbeat rhythm, and suits Helen's rebellious outlook to a tee. Indeed, while her behaviour will frequently have you hiding behind your hands, Helen's unshakably non-conformist attitude makes her an easy protagonist to like. As already mentioned, Juri's performance is terrific, while Letkowski is adorable as her hunky but mild-mannered beau. There's something delightfully twisted about the fact that Wetlands ends up boiling down to what is basically a standard girl-meets-boy story arc. Except that instead of chocolates and flowers, the key to Helen's heart are her own surgically removed haemorrhoids in a jar. Thankfully, whenever the film starts threatening to get romantic or, God forbid, sensual, Wnendt pulls the rug out with another revolting X-rated moment, reminding us just how unappealing the human body can be. Which is, of course, entirely the point. As Helen succinctly puts it, if you think bodily fluids are gross, you should just forget about sex altogether. Believe it not, Wetlands ends up making some pretty salient points about both society's unreasonable expectations of female beauty, as well as the unfair double standards surrounding sex. That it does so while squeezing in a POV close-up of someone applying ointment to their own asshole just makes it that much harder to ignore.
The place: earth in the near future. The situation: a frozen planet chilling at a frosty -119 degrees celsius, as caused by humanity's attempts to combat climate change. The only solution: a constantly hurtling 1001-car train that plays host to the world's only remaining people. But, instead of banding together on the speeding locomotive, the residents of Snowpiercer have transported society's class structure into the carriages of their new home. That's the story that drives Snowpiercer — on both the big screen and on TV. First came Bong Joon-ho's 2013 film, which marked the acclaimed South Korean writer/director's first English-language film, and one of the movies that brought him to broader fame before Netflix's Okja and 2019's Cannes Palme d'Or-winning and Oscar-winning Parasite. Then, unsurprisingly, came a US-made television series, which was first announced back in 2016, and then finally started speeding across screens — including Down Under, where it's available via Netflix — from May 2020. In both forms, Snowpiercer boasts a smart, immersive and all-too-timely concept — and unpacks its underlying idea in a thrilling and involving manner. While the TV version isn't as stellar as Bong's film (because, honestly, how could it be?), it takes the same dystopian concept, heightens the suspense and drama, and serves up both a class warfare-fuelled survivalist thriller and a murder-mystery. Think constant twists, reveals and reversals, cliffhangers at the end of almost every scene, and a 'Murder on the Snowpiercer Express' kind of vibe. Indeed, it's very addictive — and, ahead of its season two premiere on Tuesday, January 26 on Netflix, the streaming platform has dropped the full trailer for the show's next batch of episodes Once again, Hamilton's Tony Award-winning Daveed Diggs leads the charge, playing an ex-detective who has spent seven years in the tail end of the train and is dedicated to overthrowing the status quo to achieve equality for all. Also aboard is Jennifer Connelly as the engine's all-seeing, ever-present head of hospitality, with the likes of Frances Ha's Mickey Sumner, Slender Man's Annalise Basso and The Americans' Alison Wright all part of Snowpiercer's new world order as well. And, as first teased last year, Snowpiercer's existing cast are all facing a significant change in the second season. They're about to meet a new adversary, as played by none other than Game of Thrones' Sean Bean. Just how long he'll survive in his latest role is something you can start pondering right now. Watch the full Snowpiercer season two trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yZatBxIqVk Snowpiercer's second season will hit Netflix Down Under from Tuesday, January 26 — dropping new episodes weekly. Top image: David Bukach.
There'd better be room for another social network in your life, because today Twitter has launched new iPhone app Vine. Looking for more than filters and still images? Long to be the star of your own gifs? It's with you in mind that Vine is made, as it allows for the filming and sharing of videos up to six seconds long, complete with sound. The Twitter ethos of 'short is better' could be just the quality that makes this something we want to play with. First impressions show it to be a nice-looking app, with easy-to-use editing and options that allow you to explore the videos of others as well as integrate yours with existing social networks. Of course, that integration varies depending on which network you're talking. In Twitter, the videos embed seamlessly in your feed, even playing automatically as you scroll past them. Thoughtfully, sound is included if you're browsing on your mobile but not on your computer, so there won't be any of that frantic flicking through tabs trying to find where unsolicited noise is coming from. In Facebook, however, you won't have any sound, because you won't have video — just a still and a link you have to click to be taken through to the video. (You can embed the videos in other sites, too, but there are a few steps to the process.) It seems childish, but at least Twitter can say Facebook started it, when it first pulled the option for you to find Twitter contacts on Facebook-owned Instagram and then stopped Instagram shares embedding in Twitter feeds, so that somewhere along the line, we users have to click more links and do more waiting for stuff to load. And while Twitter may have tried to extend the hand of friendship (or appear as if doing so) by allowing you to search for and add your Facebook contacts, as of writing, that function isn't working. We got an enigmatic error message, but investigation by the Verge suggests that it's Facebook doing the blocking. So while Vine looks like a promising new diversion, it's also another irritating chapter in the Facebook versus Twitter wars, with users as collateral damage. Vine is currently available for free in the iTunes store. Right now it's iOS only, but we've got to assume an Android version at least is on the way.
Is the type of film festival that dedicates an afternoon and evening to a killer clown your type of film festival? If so, you should be excited about Monster Fest's return. In just a few short years, the Terrifier movies have become horror must-sees if you can't get enough of slashers splashing about gore aplenty. With the latest flick in the franchise on the way, Monster Fest is screening all three Terrifier titles, old and new — so, giving audiences an extended date with Art the Clown — as a key part of its 2024 program. The Australian premiere of Terrifier 3 will follow the OG Terrifier and first sequel Terrifier 2 on Saturday, October 5 in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. This year's Monster Fest is the first time that the event is running concurrently in all of its locations. The festival kicks off on Friday, October 4 in all five cities, running until Sunday, October 6 everywhere except Melbourne, where it finishes on Saturday, October 12. While getting creeped out by cinema's most-sadistic clown is a big Monster Fest 2024 drawcard, it's The Rule of Jenny Pen from Coming Home in the Dark filmmaker James Ashcroft that's the event's opening-night pick. At the other end of the festival, horror-comedy Frankie Freako by Psycho Goreman's Steven Kostanski is in the closing slot. Both pictures embrace puppets, the first with help from John Lithgow (Killers of the Flower Moon) and the second featuring a dancing goblin. Other highlights playing in all cities include the latest Hellboy movie, Hellboy: The Crooked Man, which heads back to the 1950s; Azrael, as led by Australian actor Samara Weaving (Scream VI), and telling of a woman's attempt to escape from mute zealots; New Zealand body-horror film Grafted; and documentary Generation Terror, which focuses on the horror genre from the late-90s to mid-00s. Some flicks are only playing a few locations, such as Occupation Rainfall filmmaker Luke Sparke's new film Scurry — plus Waves of Madness from The FP's Jason Trost, which brings sidescrolling to the cinema. Unsurprisingly given that it's on there for longer, Melbourne also has a number of exclusives such as Estonia's action-horror-musical-comedy Chainsaws Were Singing, French black comedy Ultimate Chabite, documentary Children of the Wicker Man, and retrospective sessions of The Final Destination 3D and Critters. Scurry and Waves of Madness are just two of the Australian movies on the bill, too. The former is on the program in Brisbane and Melbourne, the second in Sydney and Melbourne, and they have company in various locations. That's where fellow homegrown titles States of Mind (Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney), Fear Below (everywhere except Perth), An American Masquerade (Melbourne only) and Freelance (also just Melbourne) come in — ensuring that this Aussie genre fest embraces the genre at home. Monster Fest 2024 Dates Friday, October 4–Saturday, October 12 — Cinema Nova, Melbourne Friday, October 4–Sunday, October 6 — Event Cinemas Burwood, Sydney Friday, October 4–Sunday, October 6 — Event Cinemas Uptown, Brisbane Friday, October 4–Sunday, October 6 — Event Cinemas Marion, Adelaide Friday, October 4–Sunday, October 6 — Event Cinemas Innaloo, Perth Monster Fest 2024 runs throughout October around Australia. Head to the festival's website for further details.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations — giving you a little inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we take you to the multi-award-winning Saffire Freycinet on Tasmania's East Coast. We've also teamed up with Saffire Freycinet to offer an unforgettable two-night stay in one of its Luxury Suites. The exclusive deal includes three meals at the private restaurants, complimentary lounge and minibar beverages and a $100 voucher to use on the hotel's spa treatments and signature experiences. This is peak treat-yourself stuff. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? This Tassie hotel is like no other — from the panoramic views across the Hazards Mountains, Freycinet Peninsula and pristine waters of Great Oyster Bay to the hyper-personalised service, sleek design of the rooms and the long list of bespoke travel experiences. You'll pay handsomely to stay here, but it is totally worth it. Earmark Saffire Freycinet for the next time you're looking to spoil yourself silly. THE ROOMS This vast property has just 20 suites. Plus, the restaurant, bar and luxe spa are only accessible to hotel guests, so it often feels like you have the whole place to yourself. Each of the rooms looks out over the surrounding bay and mountains — seen through the floor-to-ceiling windows and private decks. Design-wise, the large suites are made up of an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary fittings, with locally made timber pieces sitting alongside mid-century classics such as chairs designed by Charles and Ray Eames and Herman Miller. Super king beds (yes, they've super-sized the beds), double walk-in showers and deep baths, extensive complimentary mini-bars, bluetooth music systems, retractable LCD TVs, private courtyards and fast wifi are also on the menu at each accommodation. FOOD AND DRINK All things local are celebrated at Saffire Freycinet's two dining rooms. Palate Restaurant is home to an elegant degustation menu that changes every day depending on what's coming out of the nearby paddocks and waters. You always have the option to pair each course with a sustainably made Tassie wine, too. The Lounge is a little more laidback, offering up a space to chill with a book or quietly hang with your travel buddies. During the day, you can enjoy fresh local produce from the barbeque and outside terrace. And at night, the lounge livens up a little as guests mingle with evening canapes and pre-dinner drinks in hand. It's serving The White Lotus realness. THE LOCAL AREA This lavish hotel is set within Tasmania's Freycinet National Park, home to stunning vistas and a thriving local ecosystem — think koalas, roos and colourful birds rummaging around lush green forests. It is also home to some of the state's most famous beaches, mostly notably Wineglass Bay. The Saffire Freycinet team will help organise scenic flights over the area, guided hikes to some of the greatest vistas and boat trips for those wanting to sneak in some snorkelling and boat-side swimming. You can arrive at the hotel by air or via the Great Eastern Drive. During this road trip, you'll pass by several wineries with cellar doors and eateries such as Devil's Corner, Spring Vale, Craigie Knowe, Milton, and the famous Kate's Berry Farm in Swansea. Hobart is also just a 2.5-hour drive away, so you can easily stop by the city for a couple of days before or after your stay. THE EXTRAS Saffire Freycinet has won award after award for its extensive list of luxury travel experiences — easily added to any stay. Each of the 14 unique activities focuses on connecting guests to place through nature, culture and produce. You can do some beekeeping on the property, taste fresh oysters at its own oyster farm (with sparkling wine in hand, of course), join one of the small group (or private) cruises of the area, quad bike around the mountains with a guide and learn how to fly-fish in the Currawong Lakes. Follow these food, culture and adventure tours with a late afternoon spa sesh. Get a massage, scrub or facial before soaking in a bath overlooking the natural surroundings. This is an unbelievably dreamy place. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips to destinations all over the world.
Come October 2023, Disney fans Down Under can enter a whole new world, hitting the sea on the Mouse House's cruise line on its first voyages from Australia and New Zealand. Fancy sailing further afield, from Sydney to Honolulu or vice versa? In 2023 and 2024, the company is also launching its first-ever South Pacific cruises — one coming to Australia, the other heading to Hawaii. These legs are known as repositioning cruises, aka the journeys that ships take when they've finished their stints in one area and need to make their way to another for a new season. Of course, vessels don't make those trips without passengers, so if you're keen on spending a couple of weeks floating around the South Pacific surrounded by all things Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, now you can. Tickets go on sale at 8am AEDT on Thursday, October 13, with two voyages scheduled around the Mouse House's maiden 'Magic at Sea' Australian and NZ cruises: a 13-night voyage from Honolulu to Sydney departing on October 13, 2023, then a 15-night trip the other way leaving on February 16, 2024. Unsurprisingly, the 'Magic at Sea' legs between Australia and Aotearoa have proven as popular as Disney movies with, well, everyone, so expect these legs to attract plenty of interest. And yes, these lengthy South Pacific trips are only sailing to and from Sydney — so if you live elsewhere, you will need to factor that into your travels. Disney has been running cruises for nearly a quarter-century, taking fans of its ever-growing array of pop culture wares on themed vacations, all thanks to its Disney Cruise Line. Alas, setting sail to and from Down Under hasn't been a possibility until now. Onboard, you'll watch live musical shows, see Disney characters everywhere you look and eat in spaces decked out like Disney movies. Those musicals include a Frozen show; another production dedicated to the company's old-school favourites like Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Cinderella and Aladdin; and a Golden Mickeys performance, which is obviously all about Mickey Mouse. Or, there's a Mickey party set to DJ beats, nightly fireworks and a pirate shindig on the vessel's deck. The entertainment also includes Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Moana, Tiana, Cinderella, Woody, Jessie and more wandering around the ship. Plus Chewbacca, Rey, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and Thor as well, if you like hanging out around folks in costumes. The dining setup rotates, so each day of the cruise takes you to a different location with a different theme. One day, you'll hit up the Animator's Palate, which focuses on bringing Disney characters to life — including getting patrons to draw their own characters — and on the next, you'll get munching in a restaurant inspired by The Princess and the Frog, and serving up New Orleans-inspired dishes. Or, there's also Triton's, which offers an under the sea theme given it's named after Ariel's father, and serves four-course French and American suppers. For folks travelling with young Disney devotees, there's also a whole range of activities just for kids — but adults without littlies in tow are definitely catered for, complete with a dedicated pool for travellers aged 18 and over, an adults-only cafe, the Crown & Fin pub, cocktail bar Signals, Italian eatery Palo, and a day spa and salon. Room-wise, there's ten different types to choose from — some with private verandahs, and some with ocean views through portholes. Disney Cruise Line's 'Magic at Sea' cruises will sail from Honolulu to Sydney in October 2023, then from Sydney to Honolulu in February 2024, with bookings open from 8am AEDT on Thursday, October 13, 2022. For more information, head to the cruise line's website. Images: Matt Stroshane / Kent Phillips / Todd Anderson. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
For the past couple of years, Melbourne's food calendar has had a hefty gap where the Night Noodle Markets usually sit, with its smoky scents and the happy sounds of people feasting on a menu of Asian delights both absent from Birrarung Marr. We all know the reason, but thankfully 2022 will finally buck the trend — because, after an at-home version in 2021, the food festival is set to return IRL this November. Mark Thursday, November 10–Sunday, November 27 in your diary, and get ready to spend 18 spring nights tucking into a range of street food bites from hawker-style stalls. As well as confirming its return, the Night Noodle Markets has also unveiled some of its stallholders, all serving up delicious dishes to fill hungry Melbourne stomachs. On the list: perennial favourites Hoy Pinoy, Flying Noodles, May's Malaysian Hawker, Wonderbao, Gelato Messina and Twistto, mainstays of the Night Noodle Markets' tours around the country. So, that means you'll be tucking into everything from noodles and dumplings to bao and desserts, spanning options from local, interstate and nationwide eateries — and also including vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and Halal options. Also setting up shop for this year is Brendan Pang's West Australian dumpling spot Bumplings, courtesy of a Mazda x Bumplings stall. Due to the Mazda part, the dumplings will be paired with am exclusive Soul Red Crystal sauce that's inspired by Mazda's red body colour. Windsor's My Miyagi will serve up a bespoke Japanese menu, too, while Calabang's calamari, Bangkok Street Food's Thai wares and Roll Up's roti rolls are also on the lineup — with more stallholders still be be revealed. On the drinks list, there'll be a Stomping Ground Brewing Co beer garden, a Cointreau margarita kombi bar, an Aperol spritz spot and a Rekorderlig cider dome. Plus, you can get sipping without the future hangover at the Dan Murphy's Zero% Bar — following on from the bottle-o chain's alcohol-free Melbourne venue, and only serving up non-boozy beverages. Live entertainment and lion dances will go along with all of those stalls and pop-ups serving bites to eat and beverages to knock back. And, you'll be able to bring your pets along as well — there'll even be doggy noodle boxes for them to enjoy. The markets will be open from 5–9pm Monday–Tuesday, 5–10pm Wednesday–Thursday, 5–11pm on Fridays, 4–10pm Saturdays and 4–9pm on Sundays, giving you ample chances to head by. Melbourne's 2022 Night Noodle Markets will run from Thursday, November 10–Sunday, November 27 at Birrarung Marr, Melbourne. For more details, head to the Night Noodle Markets website.
If the end times were coming, and the antichrist as well, how would an angel and a demon on earth cope? That's the question that fantasy authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman explored in 1990 novel Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, winning awards and plenty of fans as a result. Now, what'd happen if Michael Sheen (Quiz) was that heavenly figure and David Tennant (Doctor Who) his demonic counterpart? That's exactly what the Good Omens streaming series dived into when it initially arrived back in 2019. Four years later, the Prime Video show is finally returning for season two. With Sheen back as Aziraphale and Tennant as Crowley, that key casting remains intact. Jon Hamm (Confess, Fletch) also returns as Gabriel, this time showing up at Aziraphale's bookshop with zero memory of who he is — sparking the show's new mystery. Cue hiding the archangel from all interested parties — below and above — and, as is Good Omens' custom, getting Aziraphale and Crowley leaning on each other. Cue jumping from before The Beginning through to modern times as well, including stops in the biblical and Victorian eras, and the Blitz in 1940s England. As the trailer for season two shows, divine chaos ensues, even though Aziraphale and Crowley thwarted the apocalypse in season one. How it all turns out, other than amusingly, will be revealed when the series hits streaming again on Friday, July 28. Also back for a second go-around are Doon Mackichan (Toast of Tinseltown) as archangel Michael, plus Gloria Obianyo (Dune) as archangel Uriel, while Miranda Richardson (Rams), Maggie Service (Life) and Nina Sosanya (His Dark Materials) return as well — but in different parts. They're all joined by series newcomers Liz Carr (This Is Going to Hurt), Quelin Sepulveda (The Man Who Fell to Earth) and Shelley Conn (Bridgerton), the latter as Beelzebub. And Neil Gaiman is back as executive producer and co-showrunner, helping guide a season that now expands past its source material. Check out the trailer for Good Omens season two below: Good Omens returns for season two from Friday, July 28 via Prime Video.
At the age of 22, Billie Eilish has nine Grammys, two Oscars, a couple of huge albums with a third set to hit in May 2024 and, ever since her first record When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? proved such a huge success, all-round music sensation status. She also has a brand-new just-announced world tour about to do the rounds, including to Australia in 2025 — with the 'Bad Guy' and 'Happier Than Ever' singer heading Down Under for three huge weeks. Eilish will spend close to a week in each of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, playing four shows apiece in all three cities. She's spreading out her gigs on each leg, doing two nights back to back, then taking an evening off, then doing two more consecutively. [caption id="attachment_952889" align="alignnone" width="1920"] William Drumm[/caption] The dates: from Tuesday, February 18–Wednesday, February 19 and then Friday, February 21–Saturday, February 22 in Brisbane; Monday, February 24–Tuesday, February 25 and then Thursday, February 27–Friday, February 28 in Sydney; and Tuesday, March 4—Wednesday, March 5 and then Friday, March 7–Saturday, March 8 in Melbourne. This is an arena tour, with Eilish heading to Brisbane Entertainment Centre when she's in the Sunshine State capital, Qudos Bank Arena in the Harbour City and Rod Laver Arena for her Victorian stint. [caption id="attachment_827919" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Crommelincklars via Flickr[/caption] Eilish toured Australia in 2019 and 2022, and her fame has only gotten bigger since the latter — hence the 12 Aussie shows announced off the bat. These are the only gigs that she'll be playing on her Aussie visit, with no others set to be added, so getting in ASAP when tickets go on sale is recommended. Pre-sales start from Wednesday, May 1, with general sales from Friday, May 3 at 1pm AEST for Sydney shows, 2pm AEST for Brisbane and 3pm AEST for Melbourne. Since her last tour for her second album Happier Than Ever, Eilish has acted in TV series Swarm and seen her track 'What Was I Made For?' from the Barbie soundtrack become one of the songs of 2023. Her third record Hit Me Hard and Soft, which her new tour is in support of, releases on Friday, May 17. Billie Eilish Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour Australian Dates 2025: Tuesday, February 18–Wednesday, February 19 + Friday, February 21–Saturday, February 22 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Monday, February 24–Tuesday, February 25 + Thursday, February 27–Friday, February 28 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Tuesday, March 4—Wednesday, March 5 + Friday, March 7–Saturday, March 8 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Billie Eilish's Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour will come to Australia in February and March 2025, with ticket pre-sales from Wednesday, May 1 and general sales from Friday, May 3 (at 1pm AEST for Sydney shows, 2pm AEST for Brisbane and 3pm AEST for Melbourne). Head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Raph_PH via Flickr.
We've talked before about the rapidly expanding genre of films we like to call 'BDF', or 'big, bumb and fun'. And let's be clear, that label's in no way intended as an affront. On the contrary, when done right, we love the BDF because it satisfies that very basic need every now and then to be entertained without having to tax our brains. More often than not, the BDF rears its head around holiday seasons in the form of disaster and/or alien invasion movies, with San Andreas, Pacific Rim and perhaps even the first Transformers all finding the right balance between the three key ingredients. When it goes the other way, however, usually on account of too much emphasis on 'the big' at the expense of 'the fun', these films quickly become joyless affairs that achieve little more than wasting your time and money. Think Batman vs Superman, Suicide Squad or Independence Day: Resurgence. In the seventies-set Kong: Skull Island, we're happy to say, that balance is back. Obviously it's a BIG movie – afterall, this is King Kong were talking about. It's also undeniably dumb. The dialogue is consistently bogged down in exposition, there's not a great deal of plot to speak of, and the characters make some pretty bizarre choices throughout. I'm no helicopter pilot, but if I suddenly discovered a high-rise sized gorilla and watched it hurl seven other choppers to their fiery death, I'd probably get the hell out of there, not fly directly towards it. Most importantly, though, this is a fun film. The action is well-paced and easy to follow despite director Jordan Vogt-Roberts' heavy reliance upon special effects. The one-liners, meanwhile, are solid enough, and John C. Reilly's downed WWII pilot, who never escaped the eponymous island, steals every scene in which he appears. It is, in short, an old-school monster movie complete with heroes, heroines, clowns and grizzly old soldiers. Then, of course, there's the big guy himself, although in truth the word 'big' doesn't really do him justice. In stark contrast to the original film, there's no caging this fella. He's a sixty-story silverback with a menacing glare and a mean right hook. When Kong battles the island's many monsters, it's like a street fighter up against ninjas: brute strength and stamina versus speed, stealth and agility. The humans, by comparison, are rendered little more than spectators. Of those humans, Kong: Skull Island boasts an impressive cast including Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, John Goodman and Samuel L. Jackson, all of whom lend their considerable weight to a script that probably deserved less. Interestingly, it also features Chinese star Jing Tian, who recently appeared in another film by the same production house: The Great Wall. Tian's inclusion, while only minor, allows Chinese distributors to smack her image on all their posters and, potentially, open up a giant market that might otherwise be inaccessible to a US blockbuster such as this. One suspects this trend will see a rapid surge in the coming 12 months. Hopefully they develop a more nuanced means of including international cast members than the awkward crow-barring that occurred here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAbI4w95cTE
Since its founding in 1989, the story of Bangarra Dance Theatre has been the story of First Nations culture and tales leaping, spinning, swirling and twirling across the stage via some of the best dance works that Australia has ever produced. Sometimes, including in the films Spear and Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra, those stories and that unparalleled artistry has also swayed across the screen. Wherever Bangarra's talents have spread, the end results have always proven a must-see. In the organisation's 35-year history so far, however, it hasn't ever put together a show like Horizon before. Playing Arts Centre Melbourne on Wurundjeri Country from Wednesday, August 28–Saturday, September 7, this is the iconic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing arts company's first mainstage cross-cultural collaboration, expanding its focus to include tales from across Oceania. Joining forces: Māori choreographer and Arts Laureate Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, a veteran of Atamira Dance Company who is now the Chief Executive and Artistic Director at The New Zealand Dance Company; and Deborah Brown, a Helpmann Award-winning senior Bangarra dancer for 13 years with Torres Strait and Scottish heritage. In a production that takes its name to heart by pondering the space where the sky and sea meet, Patterson and Brown's The Light Inside pays tribute to the duo's respective countries while musing on what it means when we peer at the horizon looking for guidance and the way home. Beforehand, audiences are also treated to Sani Townson's Kulka, with an expanded form from its 2023 debut at Dance Clan opening Horizon. Images: Daniel Boud.
Whether you're committed to reducing your use of single-use plastics or dedicated to a vegan diet, it's easy to change your consumption habits for the good of the environment — while you're in your own home. Once you venture out, however, there's much that's out of your control. Sure, you've eliminated disposable plastic from your routine, but every business you patronise mightn't have done the same. And you've ordered a vegan meal at your local cafe, but does the place you're eating at use animal products in its decor? On the plastics front, plenty of organisations and brands are starting to do their part, with the likes of IKEA, McDonald's, Melbourne's Crown Casino and Coca-Cola Amatil phasing out single-use items, and one airline pledging to become wholly plastic-free. When it comes to living a vegan lifestyle, Hilton's London Bankside is joining in by opening the world's first entirely vegan luxury hotel suite. Now available for bookings, the room only uses plant-based substances, fibres and surfaces — so you won't find any leather, feathers and wool among its wares. With the suite designed by food artists Bompas & Parr, what you will find is a material created from pineapples. The bed's headboard is made from pineapple leaves, while vegan-friendly fruit leather piñatex features heavily. It's made from the cellulose fibres sourced from pineapples, and is not only used in the upholstered seats, footstools and cushions, but in the room's keycard as well. With no animal products to be found in any of the suite's materials or inclusions, guests will step onto cotton carpets and bamboo floors; sleep on pillows made from organic buckwheat, millet hulls, kapok or bamboo fibres (your choice); grab a snack from the complimentary vegan mini-bar; and use cruelty-free toiletries. When your room is cleaned by housekeeping, they'll also be using vegan products. Even when you're checking in, you'll be doing so at a plant-based counter. And if you're keen to order in, of course the vegan range extends to the in-room menu. Find Hilton London Bankside at 2–8 Great Suffolk Street, London, and visit the hotel website for further details. Images: Hilton London Bankside.
Oxford Street in Collingwood is not exactly buzzing with decent cafes. Look a little closer, however, and you'll find South of Johnston, err, just south of Johnston Street. Here you have a converted factory that's big enough for the masses of Melburnians who have taken fancy to the place. South of Johnston is the first solo project from Stuart McKenzie, one of the owners of Mart 130 in Middle Park. With more room to move, McKenzie has created a space where you want to be. With couches out back, free Wi-Fi and many a uni student in sight, we're going to dub this one a great coffice. For those of you a little pun slow, coffee shop office is what we mean. One of our menu favourites is the French toast, which they serve with organic brioche, caramelised banana, chopped walnuts and jocks gingerbread ice cream, or with grilled bacon and real maple syrup ($14.9). We'll let you in on a little secret: you'll get the whole bottle, yes the whole bottle of maple syrup to yourself, regardless of what way you order it. Not a fan of the aforementioned sugar overdose? You can't go wrong with the corn fritters with coriander, tomato relish, sour cream and grilled bacon ($15.9). Perfect portion size and they really pack some flavour. You will also find your regular Melbourne breakfast items like Bircher muesli with poached seasonal fruit, crunchy granola and vanilla bean infused yoghurt ($9.9) and sourdough with goat's cheese, crushed avocado, parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice ($8.9). Sitting for hours on end is welcomed here, and if you find yourself there for lunch try the herbed and crumbed chicken rolled in flatbread with salad and lemon infused mayonnaise ($19.0), or if you're in the mood for something hearty try the home made potato gnocchi with porcini, field and Swiss brown mushrooms, blue cheese and roquette ($17.9). South of Johnston packs some serious cafe punch in its wholesome brekkie offerings and is an accommodating fixture in the Collingwood traps.
Brightonites couldn't be more excited about 'Back To School' — and that's not just the yummy mummies talking. Brighton Schoolhouse has masterfully overseen the conversion of the heritage-listed schoolhouse accompanying St. Andrew's Church into a glorious institute of top coffee and wittily named brunch options. If the local consensus is anything to go by, it's gold stars all round. The menu places a strong emphasis on the origins of produce, with local and ethically sourced elements of utmost importance. The Schoolhouse features one of the best chai lattes in Melbourne; hand made and blended locally in Bentleigh, it's a combination of six spices with fresh cut ginger cubes and Australian bush land honey. When it comes to coffee, St Ali has devised a seasonal espresso unique to Schoolhouse, while premium fresh milk is sourced from St David Dairy and hand bottled in Fitzroy. The cafe is divided into two parts. The outside courtyard is positioned within a comfortable pocket of lawn, not too close to the schoolhouse as to obstruct the heritage street presence, and not too near to the street to be interrupted by Church Street's ongoing parade of four-wheel-drives. Inside, the original brickwork and exceptionally high ceilings are integrated with hip light fixtures and intimate tables for two to create a calm setting, perfect for catching up with the morning papers. It's a place where James Packer and Miranda Kerr publicly have breakfast together (as in, the Miranda Kerr Waffles with salted pistachio crumble ($18.50) and the James Packer Pancakes ($18) with maple glazed big boy bacon). Not straying too far from its schoolhouse origins, there's also a kids menu as well as colouring books and crayons on offer, making sure kids big and small are all well catered for. In an area where the choice of school is always a hot topic, Brighton Schoolhouse is easily a top pick.
Usually, Australia's own Four Pillars is busy filling our gin shrines — or gin shelves, gin sections of the liquor cabinet or wherever else you store your juniper-based spirits. But with its latest release, it wants you to pop a bottle in your freezer. Next time you want a gin martini, you'll be thankful that you did. Forget shaking or stirring — sorry Bond, James Bond — because with Four Pillars' new bottled cocktail, all you need to do is pour. It's made with gin, but it isn't just gin. Instead, it's a ready-to-pour Double Gin Martini. You simply add the olives (well, you'll want a glass to pour it into, too, obviously). This new bottled favourite features two Four Pillars gins: the savoury Olive Leaf Gin and the citrus-heavy Fresh Yuzu Gin. There's no vermouth, however, with the distillery opting for aromatic Lillet Blanc and Toji Daiginjo Saké, as well as yuzu bitters. The serving suggestion? Drink it cold — hence the use of your freezer — and in a glass that's just as frosty. Yes, that's your fuss-free spring and summer cocktails taken care of. If you're now hankering for a beverage, understandably, the new Double Gin Martini is available from the distillery's website for $60 per bottle, and also from Four Pillars' gin shops at its distillery door in Healesville and its Sydney Laboratory in Surry Hills. For more information about Four Pillars' Double Gin Martini, or to buy it from Saturday, October 1, head to the distillery's website.
In the 18 years that Gelato Messina has been in business, over 4000 special flavours have made their way through its 20 gelato cabinets around the country. To celebrate some of these oldies but goodies, Messina is dedicating an entire week to its top 40 greatest hits. From June 5–11, lucky Sydneysiders, Melburnians and Brisbanites will be able to treat themselves to an entire freezer-full of limited-edition gelato flavours. While last year's greatest hits were a buy-in-shop-only deal, this year it's all preordered tubs — so you don't have to worry about long queues and empty cabinets. You can preorder 500-millilitre tubs of the 40 flavours (we'll get to those in a minute) from 1pm on Thursday, May 21 and pick up from Sydney's Rosebery, Tramsheds, Bondi and Darlinghurst stores, Melbourne's Fitzroy store and Brisbane's South Brisbane store between the aforementioned dates. Individual tubs can be filled with just one flavour and will set you back $16, or you can get three for $45, six for $85, nine for $125 or — if you have the freezer space — 20 for $260. Now, we'll get to what you're all waiting for: the flavours. Jon Snow (white chocolate gelato with dark chocolate mud cake and almond praline), Fairy Bread (toast and butter gelato with 100s & 1000s), Mango Pancake (mango gelato with vanilla cream and pancake crunch), Old Gregg (Baileys and butterscotch sauce) and the Robert Brownie Jnr (milk chocolate gelato, chocolate brownie and chocolate fudge sauce) are all on the lineup. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAMtFiqA7Mp/ You've got two days to make a list of your favourites before preorders open, so we suggest you start making some hard decisions ASAP. Here's the full lineup: MESSINA'S 40 GREATEST HITS Fairy Bread Montgomery's Goldmine Triple Whammy Super Duper Dulce de Leche Hodor Twixed Gorgeous Dave True Romance Derelicte Cremino Old Gregg The Voicemail Have a Gay Old Time Lady of Winterfell Jon Snow The Hat Trick Drop It Like White Choc Mr Potato Head The Maltster Pavlova Super Flan Number Two Sticken To Me Date NYC Plus Milomiso Robert Brownie Jr Iron Born Just Like a Milkshake Musk Finger Bun Peach Bellini Baklava Oreogasm Duke of Earl The Boss's Wife Mango Pancake Messina's Momofukup Red Velvet Molto Bueno Alfajores Gelato Messina's Greatest Hits are available to preorder from 1pm on Thursday, May 21 with pick up between Friday, June 5 and Thursday, June 11 from Sydney's Rosebery, Tramsheds, Bondi and Darlinghurst stores; Melbourne's Fitzroy store; and Brisbane's South Brisbane store.
As a true suburban icon, the Northcote Plaza rocks a sort of daggy charm, holding a soft spot in the hearts of locals despite its weary looks and that random feature: two separate Coles stores. Heck, there's even a 7700-member Facebook group dedicated to the joint, dubbed The Northcote Plaza Appreciation Society. But this ageing shopping centre could potentially be in for a massive makeover, under a $500 million mixed-use redevelopment proposed by property developers LAS Group. Plans for its Northcote Green revitalisation project would see part of the site overhauled, scoring new residential and retail offerings, multiple outdoor community spaces, a cinema, a recreation centre, a bunch of new dining venues and 6500 square metres of extra green space. Design work from award-winning studio Woods Bagot would feature throughout, while a series of green corridors and a bike-friendly plaza would aim to complement the surrounding landscape, including that of the adjoining All Nations Park. LAS is also keen to pay homage to the area's urban heritage, using locally made bricks in a nod to the site's former life as the Northcote Brickworks. The company confirms it submitted an application for a planning permit for 25 Separation Street, Northcote, in early August. That's now undergoing preliminary assessment by Darebin City Council, with the details publicly available online. The application proposes a mixed-use development for the site, including the construction of six buildings ranging between four and 28 storeys high, housing a mix of retail stores, offices, residential dwellings and a library. Many locals have been quick to express concerns over the proposal on the Planning Alerts comments page, deeming the height "inappropriate", questioning the reduced car parking space and labelling the whole thing as "out of character for the area". Some commenters shared worries about the new towers blocking views and sun, though one resident pushed for more constructive criticism, reminding others that the site is currently "woefully underused". [caption id="attachment_782688" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Commander Keane via WikiCommons.[/caption] The Council has since set up a community page outlining more details and answering some of the main queries. Here, it says the proposal would see the southern half of the plaza completely redeveloped, with existing buildings demolished to make way for the six new ones. Despite the community page mentioning demolition, a spokesperson for LAS Group told Concrete Playground that "Northcote Plaza will remain operational throughout the proposed redevelopment timeline, meaning disruptions will be minimal" and that it is "committed to a seamless construction process that doesn't require the closure, permanent or temporary, of any existing stores within the centre". LAS also addresses some of the key concerns in its original press release. "Much care and consideration has gone into the design to ensure the proposed redevelopment is in keeping with the local area, including setting back any building massing from the street and ensuring no overshadowing of All Nations Park and Separation Street," it states. "Crucially, view-lines of the CBD from All Nations Park will be maintained, as well the park's access to sunlight." Whatever the outcome, locals will still have plenty of time left to shop their beloved Plaza. The council is currently assessing any issues with the application and can request further information, before a public notification period kicks off in December. A final decision is not expected to be made until early 2021. The Northcote Green plans have been submitted to Darebin City Council for 25 Separation Street, Northcote. You can find out more details over at the website.
Earlier this year, we wrote about how Elon Musk's high-speed vacuum tube transport system could be a reality by 2018. Well, because it's Elon Musk, the whole thing looks like it's actually running on schedule — and potentially coming to Australia. What, here? Where everything comes last? Yep. According to The Australian, Los Angeles-based firm Hyperloop One — who Musk has given the task of bringing this thing to life — are looking for a place to test the technology, and they have the Sydney to Melbourne corridor firmly on their radar. "We're very keen to explore the potential for doing proof of operations in Australia and the reason for that is there's a clear long-term need for ultra-fast transport on the Australian east coast," Hyperloop One's vice president of global business development Alan James told The Australian. "So we would be looking, either in NSW or Victoria, or possibly in ACT, to develop the first section of that route, to prove the operation of Hyperloop, to get regulatory approval." Described by Musk as a "cross between a Concorde and a railgun and an air hockey table" the proposed Hyperloop system — which is almost cartoonish in design — would consist of a long route of elevated vacuum-sealed steel tubes, through which pressurised capsules ride cushions of air at speeds of up to 1220 kilometres per hour. Hyperloop One claims it can have you travelling from inner-city Melbourne to inner-city Sydney in only 55 minutes. 55 minutes. (Do you hear that? It's the sound of Tiger and Jetstar quaking in their boots.) To drive between Melbourne and Sydney would set you back about nine hours; currently, to get the train, it takes 11.5 hours. Australia — and particularly the Sydney-Melbourne corridor — is the perfect candidate for high speed rail transport because the track could slip nicely along the Hume Highway. There has, of course, been much talk and debate over a high-speed rail system connecting the two cities, but so far no government has been willing to commit to the project. The Hyperloop One team seem to have made rapid progress since they started testing in LA last year. They recently revealed the first prototype will be up and running in the Nevada desert early in 2017 before (potentially, hopefully) kicking off the large scale trial in Australia in 2018. Can it be the future already? For too long we've been at the mercy of Tiger's delays, expensive terrible airport coffee and the drive down the Hume with only Maccas to break up the monotony. We, for one, welcome Musk and his terrifying pneumatic tubes. Via The Australian.
No plans for Valentine's Day and no interest in making any? You're in luck. Go about your usual business next Thursday — that is, as far as humanly possible away from red roses, schmultzy songs and pashing pairs — and you could still be in for a nice little surprise. That's because Penguin Random House is planning on helping you to escape — by setting you up with a book, instead of a person. After all, books can't talk back and, if they end up being not what you thought they were, you can always put them back on the shelf. Said books will be dropped in bundles on trains and street libraries all over Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Darwin and Launceston this Valentine's Day. The books will be wrapped in nondescript orange paper so there's no way of knowing if you've picked up a new release or a modern classic. The idea is to do away with pre-conceived ideas, promoted by particular genres, authors and cover art. The publishing house is scattering the books in partnership with Street Libraries Australia, Sydney, and Books on the Rail, which launched in Melbourne in early 2016 and regularly circulates books on Melbourne's public transport. If you find one, take it home and read it — just remember to pop it back on the train when you're done.
Entering an Australian supermarket at the moment, you can be forgiven for thinking that you're walking into the set of a post-apocalyptic film. People are everywhere but shelves are bare, with shoppers panic-buying everything from toilet paper and hand sanitiser to pasta and milk. As the COVID-19 situation has evolved over the past few weeks, local supermarket chains have been implementing item limits. They've also set aside dedicated shopping times for the elderly and people with disability as well. But the hoarding keeps happening and everyday staples keep selling out, leading Coles and Woolworths to roll out further caps. Announced today, Wednesday, March 18, both big chains have mandated restrictions on a number of items — in addition to previously revealed limits. At Coles, there's now a two-pack-per-person cap on eggs, sugar, frozen vegetables, frozen desserts, canned tomatoes, pasta, all dry rice regardless of size and liquid soap. And additional limits may be placed on other items on a store-by-store basis, too, so it's best to pay attention to the signage while you're shopping. Over at Woolies, it's limiting such a wide variety of items that it has actually listed what isn't restricted. There are no caps on fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh milk, yoghurts, deli items, seafood, bakery items, canned fish and meat other than mince — or on drinks, baby food, wet dog food, wet cat food, and Easter confectionery and merchandise. If you're after anything else, however, a two-pack-per-person limit applies in general, with some items down to one-pack-per limit. Already in the restricted category at both chains — as anyone who has tried to buy groceries recently well knows — are toilet paper, serviettes, baby wipes, antibacterial wipes and bulk rice over two kilograms, which are down to one pack per person. Tissues, hand sanitiser, dry pasta and flour have all been limited to two packs per person at both companies for days now. And paper towels vary, restricted to one per person at Woolies but two at Coles. Aldi and IGA haven't announced any new limits as yet, although Aldi already has caps on toilet paper (one pack), dry pasta, dry rice, flour, paper towels, tissues and sanitiser (two packs). At IGA, it's a store-by-store decision. "Each store has placed purchase limits on items that are critically low in stock. These limits are being managed on a store by store basis and are increasing day by day," the chain advised in a statement. All four brands have also released a collective plea for consideration, stressing the need to stick to product limits — and reminding shoppers something that should just be a given, aka that hardworking supermarket staff should be treated with courtesy and respect. For more details on Australian supermarket item limits, keep an eye on Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA's websites. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
Something delightful is happening at Melbourne's outdoor cinemas. After months spent empty, with projectors silent and the smell of popcorn fading, outside picture palaces have been given the green light to reopen — including the Coburg Drive-In, and the Lido, Classic and Cameo outdoor cinemas. 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 this year, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit under the stars and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting outdoor cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer from this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gnTuWEKSXw BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC When it comes to goofy and sweet movie concepts handled with sincerity, the Bill & Ted franchise has always proven most triumphant. In 1989's Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, the big-screen comedy series introduced the world to Californian high schoolers Bill S Preston, Esq (Alex Winter) and Ted 'Theodore' Logan (Keanu Reeves), who are apparently destined to write the rock song that unites the universe — if they can first pass their history exam by travelling back in time in a phone booth to recruit famed past figures like Beethoven and Socrates to help, that is. The idea that Bill & Ted's affable, air guitar-playing slackers would become the world's salvation was a joke that the film itself was in on, and the movie struck the right balance of silliness, earnestness and affection as a result. So, the end product was joyous. And, it inspired two follow-ups: 1991's even loopier but still entertaining Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, and now Bill & Ted Face the Music's affectionate dose of warm-hearted lunacy almost three decades later. Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves) are back, obviously. They're older, definitely not wiser, and yet again take a few leaps through time. The fate of life as everyone knows it is still at stake. And, as always, the loveable pair's motto — "be excellent to each other" — is pivotal. Combine all of the above with marital malaise, chip-off-the-old-block daughters Theadora (Ready or Not's Samara Weaving) and Wilhelmina (Atypical's Brigette Lundy-Paine), multiple Bills and Teds, and a 77-minute deadline to write the tune the changes the future, and Face the Music saunters casually forward with a purposeful sense of familiarity. Thankfully, though, this film isn't merely trying to relive past glories. In fact, the very notion that some dreams don't come true sits at the core of this tender and loving movie. Naturally, it's a delight to see Winter and Reeves reprise their roles. They step back into Bill and Ted's shoes with ease, expertly conveying the characters' lingering immaturity, middle-aged malaise and ever-present kindness. They're also clearly having a blast as different versions of the duo, and their enthusiasm is infectious. But when Face the Music finds a plethora of ways to illustrate the merits of their characters' optimistic and warm mindset, it's at its best. Far from bogus, the heartfelt happiness it brings is 100-percent excellent. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC2dsAGvGy0 AN AMERICAN PICKLE If an early 20th-century Jewish immigrant found himself walking around in 2019, what would he think of the world? That question comes with a flipside, of course, because it's equally valid to wonder how today's folks would react in response. With Seth Rogen starring as a ditch-digging, rat-catching new arrival from Eastern Europe to Brooklyn, these are a couple of the queries pondered by An American Pickle. It's the latest in a long line of comedies that trifle with time while doubling as time capsules, and it falls firmly from a familiar mould. Indeed, seeing, examining and giggling at the contrast between century-old ways and contemporary ideas is a considerable part of the film. Not only that, but this Simon Rich-penned adaptation of his own short story Sell Out does all of the above broadly and blatantly — pointing out that big, bushy beards have become hipster beacons, for example, and that much has progressed since the 1900s. Consequently, there's no avoiding just how slight An American Pickle is. Its protagonist might fall into a vat of brine, get sealed in, then emerge in a new millennium, but this movie isn't diving deep. Thankfully, mixed up with all the obvious jokes are two thoughtful performances, both by Rogen, that help the film interrogate the push and pull between the past and the present in a moving fashion. He plays Herschel Greenbaum, a new arrival to US with his wife Sarah (Succession's Sarah Snook), after the pair leave their home of Schlupsk to escape Russian Cossacks and chase a better life — and he also steps into the shoes of app developer Ben Greenbaum, Herschel's great-grandson and only living descendant when he awakens in his preserved (and presumably extra salty) state. The two men are the same age, and look alike, but they sport differences beyond Herschel's facial hair and Ben's technological know-how. It's the usual generational divide, as instantly recognisable to everyone watching. But when An American Pickle lets its star shine, rather than gets weighed down with over-the-top clashes in the service of clearcut gags and satirical observations, this affable but also mostly forgettable film boasts heart and sweetness. It's oh-so predictable, but it also shows an understanding of how the past always leaves an imprint, the future needn't fastidiously be chained to tradition, and that everything old and all things new have a symbiotic relationship. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxZ774gziwU THE CRAFT: LEGACY Written and directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Zoe Lister-Jones (Band Aid), The Craft: Legacy is clearly the product of someone who knows and appreciates its 1996 cult-favourite predecessor. It's also the work of someone keen to pay tribute to the original — a horror-thriller about teen witches using and abusing magic to cope with high school's troubles — and embrace what she sees as its strengths, as well as redress its wrongs, update it for a new time and a new generation of teens, and verbally and visibly champion inclusivity at every turn. But it's possible for a 24-years-later follow-up to show affection, make some smart changes, move with the times and still feel like the remnants left in a cauldron. Or, for it to recall one of The Craft's famed moments — one that The Craft: Legacy recreates, briefly — in an unintended fashion. When this feature's coven play with levitation, the words "light as a feather, stiff as a board" aren't heard; however, by the end of the movie, they best describe everything that's just happened. Starting as its inspiration did, The Craft: Legacy begins with Lily (Cailee Spaeny, Devs) and her mother Helen (Michelle Monaghan, Saint Judy) arriving in a new town, to move in with the latter's self-help author boyfriend (David Duchovny, playing a character who has penned a book called 'The Hallowed Masculine') and his three sons. Navigating school, Lily soon finds herself taunted by resident jock and bully (Nicholas Galitzine, Share) — but she's also found by witchy trio Lourdes (Zoey Luna, Pose), Frankie (Gideon Adlon, Blockers) and Tabby (Lovie Simone, Selah and the Spades), who are looking for the west to their north, south and east. Rather than seeing these young women become consumed by their blossoming power, and also punishing those who refuse to conform, it's a welcome shift that The Craft: Legacy calls out the patriarchal norms and attitudes that routinely put teenage girls in that situation. And yet the film just seems happy enough to have made that switch, instead of giving it any true weight or substantial depth. It's light thematically, visually, tonally and emotionally, and it also sports a stiffness — as though it's trying so hard to be loose, open, breezy and upbeat that it actually proves bland, strained and wooden instead. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg4zGf3_F1Q RAMS It's easy to see how Australian filmmakers watched Rams, the 2015 Icelandic movie about duelling sheep-farmer brothers, and realised that they could bring its story Down Under. In fact, it's easy because director Jeremy Sims (Last Cab to Darwin) and screenwriter Jules Duncan (a feature first-timer) make certain that that's the case — ensuring that viewers can see every choice they've taken in giving the story the Aussie treatment. It's all to be expected, of course, but it feels not only overt but also calculating. Indeed, Rams often seems like a remake that only exists because someone gleaned just how simple it'd be to make it happen (and noticed that the Cannes prize-winning initial flick had picked up quite a following, too). It swaps the original movie's frosty blizzard for drought, heat and bushfires, and its Nordic scenery for Western Australian tourism brochure-style shots. It brings in a cast of familiar faces, spanning both beloved local talents (such as Michael Caton and Asher Keddie) and actors we've virtually claimed as our own (Sam Neill). It leans into Aussie dialogue, scenes in pubs, small-town stereotypes and larrikin behaviour, localising every element possible, while also sticking steadfastly to the bulk of its predecessor's main narrative details (as anyone who has seen the latter will swiftly spot). For decades, brothers Colin (Neill) and Les (Caton) haven't spoken. They lovingly tend to their flocks on adjoining properties, send messages to each other via sheepdog when absolutely necessary and cross paths at local livestock competitions, but a lingering grudge has long since soured their familial bond. Then Les wins the latest contest, Colin notices that the applauded ram might be plagued by a contagious disease, and the duo are forced to band together or face the complete decimation of the only lives they've ever known. Instead of thoughtfully unpacking a plethora of contrasts — between the central siblings, by juxtaposing their close proximity with their strained relationship, in both prosperous and struggling times, and in trying to control nature in various ways — this version of Rams struggles with balance. That includes its efforts to juggle quirky comedy with its more serious dramatic sections, and in offering thoughtful commentary on men coping with their emotions and rural communities battling tough times. Cast-wise, Neill fares best thanks to a lived-in performance, with Caton in stock-standard cantankerous mode, and British actor Miranda Richardson (Churchill, the Harry Potter franchise) wasted in a thankless supporting part. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nf--afqelY ANTEBELLUM Watching the sprawling, roving and weaving single-take shot that opens Antebellum, it helps to know what the movie's title actually means. The term refers to a time before a war, and is typically used in relation to the American Civil War — but in the film's eye-catching introduction, it certainly seems as if that historical conflict is raging away. On a southern plantation, Confederate soldiers under the leadership of Captain Jasper (Jack Huston) terrorise the property's enslaved Black workers with brutality and cruelty. Attempted runaway Eden (Janelle Monáe) is one of them, and subject not just to beatings, brandings and forced labour, but also raped regularly by the general (Eric Lange) who has claimed her as his own. She's planning another escape; however, thoroughly unexpectedly given the surroundings, a mobile phone suddenly rings. Now Monáe's character is called Veronica Henley, she's a well-known activist and author, and everything about her life (including the conference in New Orleans she attends) is firmly set in the 21st century. Obviously, how Monáe's dual roles intertwine is best discovered by watching — as is the involvement of Jena Malone's (Too Old to Die Young) Elizabeth, the plantation's resident belle as well as a modern-day caller for Veronica — but Antebellum proves far less powerful and clever than it thinks it is. While first-time writer-directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz blatantly try to follow in Jordan Peele's footsteps, using horror to explore race relations in America both in the present day and in the country's history, their efforts rely so heavily on one big twist that the movie resembles M Night Shyamalan's lesser works more than Get Out, Us or TV series Lovecraft Country. In endeavouring to unpack systemic racism, there's a smart idea at the heart the feature. Visually, Antebellum's always-lurid, often-violent imagery isn't easily forgotten, and the film also boasts a masterly performance by Moonlight and Hidden Figures star Monáe. And yet, connecting all those pieces together feels more like an exercise in making a provocative genre film than actually saying something meaningful about engrained prejudice in the US — a topic that, sadly, continues to remain timely, but is treated here as stock-standard horror fodder. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYQzdhjHeIE&feature=emb_logo&mc_cid=ccf652e7a2&mc_eid=1628bbb5f5 HONEST THIEF Another Liam Neeson-starring movie, another bland action film with little else going for it beyond its main attraction. The genre must pay well, but it has sadly been years since the Irish actor's particular set of skills anchored a fist-flinging, chase-filled feature worthy of his talents. In Honest Thief, Neeson plays elusive bank robber Tom, who is also known as the 'in-and-out bandit'. A year after unexpectedly falling in love with psychology graduate student Annie (Kate Walsh) — and a year after he last indulged his pilfering urges, too — he decides to turn himself in to the FBI in exchange for a lesser sentence and the chance to make a real future. Answering his call, agents Baker (Robert Patrick) and Meyers (Jeffrey Donavan) are skeptical that he's actual the culprit. When their colleagues Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Hall (Anthony Ramos) are given the case, however, they take another approach that sees Neeson rushing around Boston and fighting for his life against corrupt, trigger-happy law enforcement officials. There's only one real surprise in store in Honest Thief, a movie that writer/director Mark Williams (A Family Man) and his co-scribe Steve Ullrich (The Timber) could've almost cobbled together using scenes from other Neeson action vehicles. No one is astonished that, despite being a bank robber, Neeson's character is the movie's hero. No one should expect anything unusual in its workman-like action choreography or by-the-numbers plot, either. But the fact that the movie also features a heap of well-known names and faces alongside Neeson — including The Umbrella Academy's Walsh, The X-Files' Patrick, Fargo's Donovan, Aussie Stateless star Courtney and Hamilton's Ramos — is a little startling. They're all wasted, because Honest Thief only tasks its other actors with giving Neeson someone to talk to, kiss, hunt down or flee. That's how generic this addition to his resume proves. Indeed, 2020 hasn't been great for Neeson fans, even with Made in Italy (see below) eschewing action for father-son bonding. His most recent great roles might've only been back in 2016 and 2018, courtesy of Silence, Widows and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, but they currently seem like a distant memory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2RqzDC6gF4 MADE IN ITALY In Made in Italy, Liam Neeson and his real-life son Micheál Richardson (Vox Lux, Cold Pursuit) recreate their relationship on-screen. In another case of art imitating life, they also play a parent-offspring pair still struggling to cope with the loss of the former's wife and the latter's mother after a tragic accident — with Neeson's partner and Richardson's mum, aka actor Natasha Richardson, passing away following a skiing incident in 2009. But, while this romantic drama's stars might've enjoyed a leisurely trip abroad to relive a situation that's close to their hearts in an immensely scenic location, and get paid for it, Made in Italy isn't a personal or even a sensitive and moving film. If only it was. The feature directorial debut of actor-turned-filmmaker James D'Arcy (Dunkirk, The Snowman), if only it offered anything other than a bland, by-the-numbers tale about two men blighted by grief, forced to confront their issues and pain, and eventually learning how to move on. Neeson plays Robert, a famous artist who is barely a part of his curator son Jack's (Richardson) life. They're brought together out of necessity, after Jack's soon-to-be ex-wife threatens to sell the gallery he has devoted his career to, leaving him in need of cash — and fast. His solution: to fix up and sell the Italian villa that he inherited from his mum, although his dad also owns half of the property. Cue family dysfunction unfurling in gorgeous surroundings, a stock-standard romance between Jack and a local chef (Valeria Bilello), and a very forgettable appearance by the great Lindsay Duncan (The Leftovers, Sherlock, Le Week-End) as a matter-of-fact real estate agent. As nice as it is to see Neeson in something other than a routine action flicks (see above), here he's in bland and limp as well as unengagingly generic territory. The Italian countryside does look mighty spectacular, naturally, but that really shouldn't be the movie's main and most substantial drawcard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy32-KCnexo THE SECRET GARDEN When The Secret Garden first reached the page as a serialised story in 1910, author Frances Hodgson Burnett couldn't have known how relevant her tale would feel 110 years later. Obviously she'll never know, as she passed away in 1924 — but if there was ever a time for a new big-screen version of this beloved children's favourite about escaping life's woes by banding together, making the most of things and enjoying the pockets of nature at hand, it's 2020. Indeed, while this new cinematic iteration was actually due to hit screens earlier this year, which means that it was made pre-pandemic, it firmly strikes a chord in these strange times. Whether you loved the book when you were much smaller, you can barely remember it, or you're more familiar with the narrative from the 1993 movie, a lavishly shot fantasy about a unhappy girl plagued by tragedy yet finding solace in the titular space couldn't be more fitting right now. The narrative, for those who need a refresher, focuses on the pre-teen Mary (Dixie Egerickx, The Little Stranger) — who swiftly segues from from living in India under British rule to being sent to the Yorkshire moors to stay with her reclusive uncle (Colin Firth) when her parents are killed. She's bratty, spoiled and far from content about the new arrangement, but wandering the estate's sizeable grounds soon brings her to a hidden patch of greenery. Under the direction of TV veteran Marc Munden (Black Sails, National Treasure), this version of the tale takes place after the Second World War, but that's not the only change. It relays the same overall details, but it also leans into the darkness and gothic drama of the material in a firm and noticeable way. Perhaps that's another reason why it also feels apt for viewers young and young-at-heart — because overcoming loss, misery and struggle always comes with a sense of weight and, amidst its expected leafy sights and general childhood wonder, this take on The Secret Garden never forgets that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bovE44LgBv0 AFTER WE COLLIDED The worst movie of 2019 now has a sequel, and it's on track to claim that exact same title in 2020. Originally penned as Harry Styles fan fiction, the After series takes a leaf out of Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey's books by holding up a thoroughly toxic relationship as the ultimate in epic romances — this time focusing on the on-again, off-again exploits of two college students. In After, Tessa Young (Josephine Langford, the Wolf Creek TV series) and Hardin Scott (Hero Tiffin Fiennes, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) met, opposites attracted and a hot-and-heavy affair kicked off, although the rebellious Hardin sought after the virginal Tessa with shady intentions. Accordingly, when After We Collided meets back up with the duo, they're no longer seeing each other. But the brooding Hardin is still unhealthily obsessed, and the supposedly smart and conscientious but actually overtly insecure Tessa can't help but make reigniting their bond the latest entry on her lengthy (and expanding) list of bad decisions. This time around, the plot uses Tessa's new internship as its reason for a fresh spate of terrible dialogue, as well as its source of drama. It's in publishing, in case 50 Shades didn't already spring to mind, and it's one of those fantasy jobs where the lowest person in the company's hierarchy gets their own office to sit around and read manuscripts in all day. Shameless and steamy wish fulfilment is exactly this franchise's aim, of course — but the big dream that author and After We Collided co-screenwriter Anna Todd pushes is constantly insulting, with the series repeatedly telling its audience that being loved by a moody, erratic bad boy, and taking the breakups, fights and stalking with the gifts and shower sex, is the ultimate fate. This sequel also throws a romantic rival into the mix, courtesy of Tessa's straight-laced colleague Trevor Matthews (Dylan Sprouse, twin brother of Riverdale's Cole Sprouse), and where that narrative strand goes proves as predictable as everything else in the film. Although he has Cruel Intentions on his resume, director Roger Kumble only adds superficial gloss and no signs of interest or excitement; however given that two more After books exist — After We Fell and After Ever Happy — it's highly likely two more movies will, too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoCkWJGCG5c&feature=youtu.be UNHINGED When Russell Crowe was cast in Unhinged, more than a few folks must've had a giggle — including the actor himself. The New Zealand-born Oscar-winner was famously arrested back in 2005 for throwing a mobile phone, after all, so enlisting him to veer off the deep end while clutching onto a phone was surely done with some winking and nodding in mind. Unhinged isn't a comedy, however. Given its premise, narrative and tone, it really couldn't be. A predictable and pulpy road-rage thriller, this grimly generic, thematically questionable film by director Derrick Borte (The Joneses) and writer Carl Ellsworth (Red Eye, Disturbia) tasks a puffed-up, scowling, growling Rusty with chasing terrified single mother Rachel (Caren Pistorius) around an unnamed US city purely because his entitled, just-divorced psychopath character is unhappy about her lack of driving courtesy. Her supposed crime: beeping her horn after he doesn't move his giant 4WD when the traffic light turns green on a busy weekday morning. In terms of story, that's largely all there is to this flimsy B-movie-style film. Both main characters have relationship struggles in their recent past, and Rachel has a pre-teen son (Gabriel Bateman) and other loved ones to worry about, but Unhinged is more interested in a mood of menace than any real detail — although the fact that its relentless car chase and carnage scenes are all shot and edited in the same way, and therefore mostly look the same, hardly imparts any tension. Also firmly on the movie's agenda: trying to explain away its villain's homicidal behaviour with broad generalisations about the world being an angry place right now. Oh, and even suggesting that Rachel has a hand in causing the traumatic ordeal. Yes, really. Crowe flings everything he has into his one-note part, although his forceful portrayal was never going to patch over the feature's silly plotting, its murky and infuriating message, or the reality that this is a movie about a toxic middle-aged man terrorising a woman because he's certain the world owes him respect. He's memorable, undoubtedly, but Crowe is also nowhere near as impressive as he has been in the recent True History of the Kelly Gang and The Loudest Voice, either. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvXgXQ6iro4 TROLLS WORLD TOUR Fuzzy-haired playthings turned into animated heroes, glitter fart clouds and cupcakes poop, and a lengthy list of earworm-style songs: that's what 2016's Trolls served up. It was loud, shiny and sickly sweet, but it also featured lively voicework from Anna Kendrick and standout handmade-looking visuals, which made the film's CGI look as if it had been made from felt and other crafting products. Naturally, the all-ages movie was a hit, like most flicks based on toys and simultaneously designed to sell more toys. So, it's to the surprise of absolutely no one that sequel Trolls World Tour now exists, and that it's once again using bright and bouncy visuals and a jukebox-musical style format to appeal to viewers young and old, and to spread a positive message — again, as efforts like this are known to. With Kendrick back as the perky Queen Poppy and Justin Timberlake once again voicing her best friend Branch, this follow-up returns to the first film's trolls as they learn that other creatures like them exist. They're not exactly the same, though, with different troll groups favouring varying styles of music — making Poppy's community the 'pop trolls'. Clearly, as the villainous Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) of the hard rock trolls tries to make the separate tribes assimilate under her preferred style of music, there's an overt message about acceptance on offer. It isn't subtle, and it's actually undercut by the fact that the different troll crews (including techno trolls, funk trolls, classical trolls and country trolls) are all given such blatantly stereotypical traits. But, once more, the film is lifted by its cast (complete with Sam Rockwell and Ozzy Osbourne), it's textile appearance and the fact that it actually works its ongoing medley of well-known songs into the story, rather than merely uses them as an easy distraction technique as many fellow Hollywood-made animated movies do.
If you thought Africa's first underwater hotel room was impressive, how about an upgrade? For an additional US$283,500, you can stay in your very own submarine hotel. Titled 'Lovers Deep', it's the latest offering from luxury travel company Oliver's Travels, whose motto is 'Why Do Ordinary?' Indeed. Why put up with terrestrial limitations, when you could be floating 650 feet deep off a Caribbean island of your choice? Making demands on a dedicated butler? Performing ablutions in company in a dual shower? Watching schools of fish swim by while eating their aphrodisiac friends? You can ask Oliver’s to customise an overnight package according to your desires. Options include sunset beach walks, a petal-scattering service, champagne breakfasts-in-bed and fine dining feasts involving caviar, oysters and chocolate fondant. "All of our hand-picked, luxury properties have something unique and quirky about them," says Oliver Bell, the company's co-founder. "But Lovers Deep really stands out as one of our quirkiest yet." Oliver’s, a UK-based company, specialises in highly unusual, once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences. Their stable includes remote, romantic lighthouses, abandoned windmills-turned-hotels, French chateaus and British country mansions surrounded by rolling hills. Via PSFK.
If you're in the market for a fun and immersive experience, head on down to Pop Art, a gigantic balloon art installation and festival being held this winter at Chadstone – The Fashion Capital, from Saturday, June 24 till Sunday, July 9. Come experience one of the biggest balloon art installations ever seen in Australia. Pop Art will take over multiple large precincts at Chadstone. Attendees can take a dive into the Underwater Precinct, located outside Target, where colossal sea creatures await. Expect a giant Kraken, a massive yellow submarine, sharks, sea turtles, fish and coral reefs all made from balloons and stretching over four levels at Chadstone. Then there's the Prehistoric Park, where enormous balloon dinosaurs are coming to life outside David Jones. Be transported to a land lost in time with huge dinosaurs, snakes, ferns, and volcano balloon sculptures. Chadstone's school holiday programs will also take place here with interactive balloon-twisting workshops bursting with activities and games. Learn how to make spectacular balloon animals at the balloon twisting workshops where kids will show off their talents, and the best balloon artist will be awarded a prize. Workshops run daily at 11.30am and 1.30pm. The largest creation will be the brachiosaurus which is made to lifelike proportions and made of 10,000 balloons (nearly half of all the balloons in the entire installation). Or catch a thrilling dinosaur balloon performance held daily at 10am and 3pm. Witness a big, bad t-rex taking centre stage as part of this interactive magic and dinosaur show. Balloon art may be niche, but it's making its mark on the world. The festival's installation will be constructed of more than 25,000 balloons of various sizes, each placed by hand by a talented crew led by renowned balloon artist Chris Adamo — voted Latin America's 'Most Influential balloon artist in 2018' and who specialises in large-scale balloon decor like what's happening at Chadstone. POP ART at Chadstone – The Fashion Capital runs from Saturday, June 24 till Sunday, July 9. For further details on the events in the schedule, head to the Chadstone website.
Since hitting Broadway five years ago, notching up 11 Tony Awards, nabbing the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and just becoming an all-round pop culture phenomenon, Hamilton was always going to make the leap to cinemas. So, it's no wonder Disney leapt at the opportunity. The Mouse House was originally meant to bring Lin-Manuel Miranda's historical hip hop musical to cinemas in October 2021 — via a filmed version of the stage production, rather than a traditional stage-to-screen adaptation — but it's doing us all a solid in these rough times and fast tracking it to streaming. And it lands this winter. Hamilton fans around the world will be able to watch the filmed version of the original Broadway production on Disney+ from July 3 (the day before Independence Day in the US). That's a whole 15 months ahead of schedule. Shot at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway back in 2016, this cinematic screening of Hamilton is still a big deal. Actually, given the fact that it features the original Broadway cast — including Miranda in the eponymous role — it's a huge deal. Everyone who missed out on the opportunity to see tale of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton live as it toured the US or on London's West End will be able to do the next best thing, with Hamilton jumping on the popular trend of screening filmed versions of plays and musicals in cinemas. In addition to Miranda — who stars, and wrote the musical's music, lyrics and book — this filmed version of the production features Daveed Diggs (Velvet Buzzsaw) as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, Leslie Odom Jr. (Murder on the Orient Express) as Aaron Burr, Christopher Jackson (When They See Us) as George Washington, Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter) as King George, Renee Elise Goldsberry (The House with a Clock in Its Walls) as Angelica Schuyler and Phillipa Soo (the Broadway version of Amelie) as Eliza Hamilton. Once you've watched the small-screen version, you can get excited about seeing the stage production, too, as it's finally set to arrive in Australia in March 2021. Under the circumstances — and with international travel still banned for the foreseeable future — it's possible that this could be delayed, though. Hamilton is just the latest film to be fast-tracked to streaming, with other big-name flicks, such as Birds of Prey, The Invisible Man and Disney's Onward, also hitting small screens ahead of schedule. You can check out 12 of our favourites over here. While you're eagerly awaiting Hamilton to hit Disney+, you can watch (and rewatch) the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSCKfXpAGHc Hamilton will hit Disney+ globally on July 3, 2020. Updated June 22, 2020.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to watching anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest to old favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from January's haul of newbies. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL RIGHT NOW ARCHIVE 81 Australian Malignant, The Conjuring and Saw filmmaker James Wan doesn't direct any episodes of Netflix's new sci-fi/horror series Archive 81, but he does lend his executive producing skills to the podcast-to-screen show — and it's easy to see why. The immediately creepy found-footage effort slots in seamlessly among the fright-inducing fare that's helped make his career, all while taking its time to dole out its scares, shocks and eeriness. It's also plain to see why Resolution, The Endless and Synchronic directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead helm two episodes, too, thanks to their already-demonstrated affection for mind-bending, genre-twisting tales that play with space and time. That pedigree alone makes Archive 81 a must-see for movie buffs, and so does the fact that the series also doubles a love letter to everything strange and out-there that's ever been captured on celluloid. Usually devoting his time to unearthing lost gems or just trawling through old video tapes looking for recorded treasure, film archivist Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie, Black Box) gets an unexpectedly lucrative job offer: restoring Hi8 footage shot by college student Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi, Altered Carbon) back in 1994. He has to agree to live in a remote compound, under video surveillance, to take the gig — and he'll be sifting through material that Melody filmed in the Visser, an odd New York apartment building where she was looking for her mother but started to notice otherworldly things afoot. Much of the thrill of the impeccably made Archive 81 stems from its multi-layered mysteries, including what's actually happening back in the 90s, the real motives behind Dan's well-paying position and why the two time periods seem to start bleeding together. Developed, produced and mostly penned by The Boys alum Rebecca Sonnenshine, it makes for tense, trippy and often daring viewing, even when things get a tad silly in the supernatural department. The first season of Archive 81 is available to stream via Netflix. THE TOURIST If making TV shows and movies bubbles down to a formula, it doesn't take much to glean how The Tourist came about. Starring Jamie Dornan as a man caught up in a mystery in Australia's sprawling outback, this six-part series jumps on several popular trends — saddling a famous face with battling the Aussie elements chief among them (see also: the film Gold, which plonks Zac Efron amid the nation's dusty, yellow-hued expanse). Dornan's trip Down Under also plunges into a familiar thriller setup, with memory loss playing a key role. Memento famously did it. The Flight Attendant did as well. Combine the two, throw in all that striking scenery that constantly defines Australia on-screen, and that's the template beneath this well-greased, cleverly plotted, easy-to-binge newcomer. Adding another TV role to his resume alongside The Fall, Death and Nightingales, New Worlds and Once Upon a Time — and another part to his eclectic filmography, given that he's been in the vastly dissimilar Synchronic and Wild Mountain Thyme in the past year, and looks set to get an Oscar nomination for Belfast — Dornan plays an Irish traveller in Australia. The character's name doesn't matter at first, when he's using the bathroom at a petrol station in the middle of nowhere. But after he's run off the road by a steamrolling long-haul truck, he desperately wishes he could remember his own moniker, plus everything else about his past. Local Constable Helen Chalmers (Danielle Macdonald, French Exit) takes a shine to him anyway; however, piecing together his history is far from straightforward. His other immediate questions: why is he in the middle of Australia, why does a bomb go off in his vicinity and why is he getting calls from a man trapped in an underground barrel? The Tourist is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. THE HOUSE Not to be confused with well-cast but decidedly unfunny Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler-starring comedy of the same name, The House dedicates its weird and wonderful stop-motion animated frames to three tales all set in the same abode. In the anthology film's first chapter, a poverty-stricken family mocked by richer relatives luck into a deal with an architect, which results in the movie's central dwelling being built — and its new inhabitants getting more than they bargained for. In the second part, a developer, who also happens to be a rat, finalises his renovations and readies the place for sale; however, two odd prospective buyers won't leave after the first viewing. And in the third section, the home towers above an apocalyptic future flooded with water, with its owner, a cat, struggling with her fellow feline tenants. Each of The House's films-within-a-film hail from a different creative team, boast different voice casts and splash around their own aesthetics — and they're all a delight. The constants: the titular structure, the fabric-style look to the animation (even as each director comes up with their own take) that makes you want to reach out and touch it, and mix of creativity and emotion in its dark-skewing stories. This is a movie that questions the comfortable mindset that bricks and mortar are expected to bring, and where where just trying to get by is recognised as the struggle it is in a variety of wild and inventive ways. And as for that vocal talent, Matthew Goode (The King's Man), Mia Goth (Emma.), Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown), Susan Wokoma (Truth Seekers) and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker all do ace work. The House is available to stream via Netflix. THE TENDER BAR Playing Batman has rarely been about smiles and laughs, but spending time in the cape and the cowl was particularly grim for Ben Affleck. He wasn't the best Bruce Wayne or Dark Knight, and he couldn't have looked more miserable. He hasn't seemed to have had a great time on-screen for a while, in fact, other than his OTT recent performance in The Last Duel. He's a charismatic dream in The Tender Bar, though, with coming-of-age drama enlisting him as the supportive uncle and surrogate dad to the film's lead character and still giving him top billing. With the Sad Affleck memes and the chaos frequently surrounding his personal life, it can be easy to forget how charming an actor the elder Affleck brother can be — and this is also his best performance since 2014's Gone Girl, and by far. That uncle, Charlie, tends bar and helps his sister (Lily Rabe, The Undoing) bring up her son JR (debutant Daniel Ranieri) given that the boy's radio DJ dad (Max Martini, The Purge) is happily and drunkenly mostly absent from their lives. It's the self-taught Charlie that sparks JR's desire to become a writer, too, with The Tender Bar based on real-life novelist and journalist JR Moehringer's memoir. There's much that's familiar about the overall narrative, but George Clooney — in filmmaker mode, but without also appearing on-screen as he did with The Midnight Sky — recognises that a comfortable story told well, and with warmth, affection and thoughtfulness, can still strike a chord. The performances he gets out of Affleck, the engaging young Ranieri, plus Tye Sheridan (The Card Counter) as the college-aged JR, also help considerably, as do the moments between the former and his two main co-stars that firmly fit the film's title: tender. The Tender Bar is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK THE AFTERPARTY Only Murders in the Building isn't the only new comic murder-mystery series worth streaming from the past few months. Joining it is The Afterparty, which also sports a killer cast — this time Sam Richardson (Detroiters), Ben Schwartz (Space Force), Zoe Chao (Love Life), Ilana Glazer (Broad City), Ike Barinholtz (The Mindy Project), Dave Franco (If Beale Street Could Talk) and Tiffany Haddish (The Card Counter) — and a savvy spin on an oft-used gimmick. Rather than skewering true-crime podcasting, this quickly addictive comedy from writer/director Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie) toys with the reality that every tale differs depending on the perspective. Whodunnits always hinge upon that fact, and Miller has also clearly seen iconic Japanese film Rashomon. And, considering that its big murder takes place after a school function, there's a touch of Big Little Lies at play, too. With his directing partner Phil Lord, Miller has made a career out of getting smart and funny with familiar parts, however, and that doesn't change here. The setup: at the afterparty following his 15-year high-school reunion, obnoxious autotune-abusing pop star Xavier (Franco) winds up dead on the rocks beneath his lavish mansion. Enter the determined Detective Danner (Haddish), who starts grilling his former classmates one by one to find out who's responsible. Her interrogations start with the sensible Aniq (the always-great Richardson), who was hoping to finally make a move on his schoolyard crush Zoe (Chao) — and after his version of events, Danner hears from Zoe's macho ex Brett (Barinholtz) in The Afterparty's second episode, then from Aniq's best bud Yasper (Schwartz, riffing on Parks and Recreation's Jean-Ralphio without being quite as ridiculous). The cast is top-notch, the writing is clever, there's much fun to be had with its genre- and perspective-bending premise, and the throwaway gags are simply glorious. The first three episodes of The Afterparty are available to stream via Apple TV+, with new instalments dropping weekly. PEACEMAKER Simply being better than its terrible predecessor couldn't make The Suicide Squad a great movie; however, the DC Extended Universe is still betting big on James Gunn's over-the-top vision for its supervillains. Yes, just like Marvel, the comic-book company has its own sprawling big-screen franchise filled with interconnected films — and now, thanks to spinoff streaming series Peacemaker, that caped crusader-focused world also extends to the small screen, too. John Cena (Fast and Furious 9) returns as the titular character, and feels more comfortable in the role this time around. Gunn is back as the show's creator, writer and main director, helming all but three of the first season's eight episodes. And the tone is still devil-may-care with irreverence and flair, aka the filmmaker's usual mode, complete with rampant helpings of raunch and gore. If you loved The Suicide Squad, this is all clearly great news. Even better: if you weren't fussed overly or at all about Gunn's sequel-slash-do-over and now understandably approach the idea of a TV offshoot with caution, Peacemaker still proves plenty of fun. It follows its central figure after the events of the film, where he's spared from going back to prison by being dragged into another black-ops government squad on a super-secret mission — and while Gunn isn't doing anything new here, he's found a better balance for his brash and raucous approach in this entertaining series than in the flick that preceded it. Casting the radiant Danielle Brooks (Orange Is the New Black) as one of the agents overseeing the egotistical, frequently dancing, often half-naked, always-comic Peacemaker is also a masterstroke. The first five episodes of Peacemaker's first season are available to stream via Binge, with new instalments dropping weekly. SERVANT Ted Lasso is the Apple TV+ series that's been scoring all the praise and love for the past few years, and rightfully so — but the platform's M Night Shyamalan-produced Servant is also one of its winners. Perched at the complete opposite end of the spectrum to the warm-hearted soccer comedy, this eerie horror effort spends the bulk of its time in a well-appointed Philadelphia brownstone where TV news reporter Dorothy Turner (Lauren Ambrose, The X-Files) and her chef husband Sean (Toby Kebbell, Bloodshot) appear the picture of wealthy happiness, complete with a newborn son, Jericho, to fulfil their perfect family portrait. But as 18-year-old nanny Leanne Grayson (Nell Tiger Free, Too Old to Die Young) quickly learned in Servant's first season, there's nothing normal about their baby — which, after the tot's death, has been replaced by a lookalike doll to calm the otherwise-catatonic Dorothy's grief. That's how the series began back in 2019, with its second season deepening its mysteries — and Leanne's place with the Turners, even as her own unconventional background with cult ties keeps bringing up questions. With the just-started third season, the household is once again attempting to pretend that everything is normal and to also keep Dorothy unaware of the real Jericho's fate, even with a flesh-and-blood infant now back in her arms. But in a slowly paced series that's perfected its unsettling and insidious tone from episode one, serves up a clever blend of atmospheric and claustrophobic thrills mixed with gripping performances, makes exceptional use of its setting and also features Rupert Grint in his best post-Harry Potter role yet, there's always more engrossing twists to rock the status quo. The first two episodes of Servant's third season are available to stream via Apple TV+, with new instalments dropping weekly. EXCELLENT FILMS FROM THE PAST FEW YEARS TO CATCH UP ON BLACK BEAR Aubrey Plaza's resume isn't short on highlights, but Black Bear sits right at the top alongside her instantly iconic turn as Parks and Recreation's April Ludgate and her also-excellent performance in Ingrid Goes West. She does deadpan like few other actors currently working, and can convey more with her eyes and otherwise expressionless face than most of her colleagues can with their entire bodies — but she's asked to use every acting tool in her arsenal in this two-part affair. She always plays a woman called Allison, but her character is initially introduced as a former actress-turned-filmmaker decamping to a scenic lake house in upstate New York's Adirondack Mountains, with getting some writing done (and finding the inspiration to do so) her aim. She's easily distracted by her hosts, though, with Gabe (Christopher Abbott, Possessor) showing Allison a little too much attention amid his bickering with his pregnant partner Blair (Sarah Gadon, True Detective). In the movie's second half, everything changes, including all that the audience knows about the characters, their jobs and their relationships with each other. Now the film takes place in the same spot, but in the middle of a movie shoot that's proving as chaotic as the initial Allison's attempt at a relaxing stay. Helming his third feature, writer/director Lawrence Michael Levine (Wild Canaries) leans heavily upon his cast — especially Plaza; Allison is told she's hard to read, and that's a key part to the twisty narrative — but he's also trusted himself with an astute, insightful and playful deconstruction of art and authenticity. There are no weak links at any moment, including in the feature's seesawing between dark comedy and dramatic thrills, and the distinctive aesthetic he applies to the film's two parts. Plaza is astonishing, unsurprisingly, but Abbott and Gadon are similarly impressive in a movie that isn't easily forgotten. Black Bear is available to stream via Netflix. THE RIDER The past two years have been nothing short of spectacular for filmmaker Chloé Zhao. She directed the best feature of 2020, aka Nomadland, then became only the second woman ever — and first woman of colour — to win the Best Director Oscar. And, mere months after achieving that historic feat, she gave the Marvel Cinematic Universe its most ambitious movie yet (and its most gorgeously and naturalistically shot) courtesy of Eternals. But the writer/director's career didn't start here, and also didn't start being phenomenal with Nomadland. A hit on the festival circuit in 2017 and 2018 (the latter in Australia), The Rider wasn't her first excellent film either (that'd be 2015's Songs My Brothers Taught Me), but the empathetic modern-day take on the western genre instantly cemented her as a talent to watch In this rodeo drama, Brady Blackburn (real-life cowboy Brady Jandreau, playing a version of himself) just wants to hop back onto a horse. He's also a gifted trainer, and this line of work is what he's compelled to do. Watching him struggle with life without his only passion makes for soulful and heart-wrenching viewing, as Brady wades through the aftermath of an in-ring incident that almost killed him. Shot with lyrical images that find tenderness in the story, suffering and situation, The Rider proves a case of art imitating life after Jandreau went through the same scenario himself after meeting Zhao back in 2015 — and she turns the results into a feature that's partly a specific character study and partly a universal tale of chasing and losing a dream, then trying to come out of the other side. Also starring members of Jandreau's family, and told with devastating intimacy, the end result boasts a heart as big as America's sweeping plains. The Rider is available to stream via SBS On Demand. A BELOVED SITCOM TO BINGE — AND CHECK OUT ITS NEW SEASON IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA Since 2005, one sitcom has devoted 162 episodes to the world's worst bar owners, spanning their attempts to run a watering hole, their constant bickering with each other and everything else that life has thrown their way. That show is It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, of course. As well as now being the longest-running live-action sitcom ever made, it's a gem filled with the devious, darkly amusing and downright odd antics of the Paddy's Pub gang. Those pals — as played by Charlie Day (Pacific Rim: Uprising), Glenn Howerton (AP Bio), Rob McElhenney (Mythic Quest), Kaitlin Olson (Hacks) and Danny DeVito (Jumanji: The Next Level) — usually fail at everything they attempt, and the show never pretends otherwise. Indeed, with a nihilistic and irreverent sense of humour that's all its own, it's one of the least sensible yet also savagely smart shows currently airing. Season 15, which is now on Disney+ alongside the 14 seasons before it — bringing its eight-episode run our way quite swiftly after it aired in America in December last year — sees Charlie, Dennis, Mac, Dee and Frank keep doing what they've always done, and keep pouring out comedy gold in the process. It's the show's first season since COVID-19, so it finds ways to work the pandemic into its always-outrageous setups. Given the American political landscape since 2019, when the previous season aired, It's Always Sunny has much to mine there as well. And, a trip to Ireland, aka hallowed ground for the longterm owners of an Irish pub, also fills half of its episodes. Even this far in, the show never stops surprising, pushing every boundary it can and being sidesplittingly hilarious — and long may it continue, with another three seasons already greenlit. All 15 seasons to-date of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are available to stream via Disney+. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December last year — and our top new TV shows of 2021, best new television series from this year that you might've missed and top straight-to-streaming films and specials as well. Top image: Quantrell D Colbert/Netflix.
We're living in unprecedented times and, thanks to Pantone's colour experts, we now have the hue to match. Every year, the Pantone Colour Institute selects a shade that it thinks will both set the trend for and sum up the 12 months ahead — and for 2022, it's even created a new colour to take the honours for the first time ever. 2022's Colour of the Year: Very Peri, aka Pantone 17-3938, a brand-new shade that's been described as "a dynamic periwinkle blue hue with a vivifying violet red undertone". Pantone is never short on words for its picks of the year, and has also dubbed this purplish blue as "inquisitive and intriguing" and "displaying a carefree confidence and a daring curiosity that animates our creative spirit". Very Peri is meant to represent transformation, too, as well as the fusion of the physical world and the digital space — all concepts very relevant to forging onwards during the pandemic. Pantone Colour Institute Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman also called it "a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expression." Introducing the Pantone Color of the Year 2022, PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri, a dynamic periwinkle blue hue with a vivifying violet red undertone blends the faithfulness and constancy of blue with the energy and excitement of red. Learn more: https://t.co/eNIwkTq2K8 pic.twitter.com/hBfiDusFKU — PANTONE (@pantone) December 9, 2021 Explaining the decision to come up with a new colour, rather than hone in on an existing one, Pantone Colour Institute Vice President Laurie Pressman said that "the Pantone Colour of the Year reflects what is taking place in our global culture, expressing what people are looking for that colour can hope to answer." She continued: "creating a new colour for the first time in the history of our Pantone Colour of the Year educational colour program reflects the global innovation and transformation taking place. As society continues to recognise colour as a critical form of communication, and a way to express and affect ideas and emotions and engage and connect, the complexity of this new red violet infused blue hue highlights the expansive possibilities that lay before us." Expect to see all things Very Peri popping up around the place when the new year hits, with Pantone suggesting how they can be used in fashion and accessories, home decor, design and beauty, too. The new shade takes over from 2021's two colours of the year, Ultimate Gray (Pantone 17-5104) and the vibrant yellow Illuminating (13-0647). The year before, Pantone went with Classic Blue, while 2019's colour was Living Coral, 2018's was Ultra Violet and 2017's was Greenery. To find out more about Very Peri — and to check out all the previous Colours of the Year — head to the Pantone website.
Move aside, Basque cheesecake — there's a new cult dessert dish that's arrived in Melbourne and people are flocking to get their fix. Introducing, Chic de Partie's boozy brioche: a fluffy pull-apart dessert creation, featuring buttery brioche that's been topped with sugar, baked until golden brown and served swimming in rich, booze-infused sauce. Michelin-trained pastry chef Aidan Robinson has had locals fawning over all his artisan sweet treats on Instagram for months now; with offerings ranging from macarons and Portuguese tarts, to elegant celebration cakes and towering croquembouche. But his signature boozy brioche has proved so popular, Robinson's now released a supercharged chocolate version in time for Father's Day. While all of this week's orders have already been snapped up, the indulgent chocolate boozy brioche will now be available throughout September, both for delivery and click-and-collect from the CBD. Each one is big enough to serve up to six hungry dessert fiends, clocking in at $100. That said, as a sweet incentive for getting the jab, Chic de Partie is offering a 10-percent discount off this particular dessert for anyone who can show proof they've had — or are booked in for — a COVID-19 vaccination. To order, shoot Chic de Partie a DM via Instagram. [caption id="attachment_824092" align="alignnone" width="1920"] By Gilbert Ganda[/caption] Top Images: Gilbert Ganda
Picture this: it's the end of a busy first quarter, and you're unwinding at a dreamy Californian-inspired ranch in Byron Bay's hinterland among rolling hills and wellness workshops you can dip in and out of. Known for its infrared sauna studios at seven locations across Victoria and New South Wales, Nimbus Co is launching a four-day wellness retreat at the fabulous Sun Ranch. With nods to 1970s nostalgia, the sprawling accomodation layers in amenities like a floating sauna and ice bath, a pool straight out of a Palm Springs resort, and a riding club offering horseback trail tours. For Nimbus co-founder Neil O'Sullivan, PAUSE Retreat is a space designed to help people "step out of autopilot and burnout" culture. Wellness experiences are spread across 55 acres of rewilded farmland, inviting weekenders to reflect on their routines, rest with intention, and hopefully, pick up practical tools that can support their wellbeing long after the retreat. "Australia, whilst being the lucky country, is also now one of the most burnout-prone countries in the world due to high workloads, financial stress, and pressure for wellbeing. It's time we did something about that." After settling into one of the poolside suites, private one-bedders or boutique barns that fit up to four, expect workshops designed to soothe frazzled nerves. Boutique wellness studios like Peaches Pilates bring sound healing, pilates and yoga into the mix — and of course, Nimbus Co will be running infrared sauna and ice bath sessions. Zen guided meditations, nature walks or runs through the breathtaking countryside, and yoga and pilates classes fill the mornings, while afternoons are dedicated to inspiring mind-body masterclasses led by accredited experts, such as fertility educator and clinical nutritionist Ema Taylor. Communal mealtimes are a great way to connect with other guests — alongside hands-on cooking workshops by local plant-based caterer and cookbook author Cade McConnel — and evening reflection sessions around a large firepit under the stars. Images supplied
After screenwriter and TV showrunner Damon Lindelof played a pivotal part in bring Lost to screens, but before he revived Watchmen as a phenomenal miniseries, he was behind HBO's The Leftovers. Based on Tom Perrotta's 2011 book of the same title, the applauded show only ran for three seasons; however, it has been a constant topic of conversation since its 2014 premiere for good reason — namely, because it is thought-provoking, absorbing, exceptionally acted and, well, just excellent. The Leftovers is also grim, too. Starring Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, Liv Tyler and Christopher Eccleston, it follows the aftermath of a world-changing event, with two percent of the planet's population disappearing in an incident known as 'the sudden departure'. That's 140 million people gone without a trace, and it has quite the impact — including on Kevin Garvey (Theroux), a small-town chief of police. And, while plenty happens in the show that makes it a must-see, the fact that much of its third season takes place in Victoria is a definite point of interest.
Want to get your hot little hands on a buttery, flakey Lune croissant...for free? Then read on and clear your schedule for next Thursday, May 16. Japanese retailer Uniqlo is opening its seventh Victorian store in the new District Docklands precinct, and Melbourne's internationally renowned croissanterie is joining in the fun by giving away 250 of its signature pastries. While the doors won't open until 10am next Thursday, complimentary croissants will be handed out to the first 250 people waiting in queue from 9.30am. Hopefully the world-class pastry — which The New York Times said could be the best croissant in the world — will distract you from the wintry Melbourne morning chill. If fashion's more your thing, the grand opening festivities also involve freebies of the sartorial variety. On launch day, Uniqlo Docklands will have special offers on a swag of men's, women's and kids' clothes, while the first 500 customers who spend over $100 in store will each score a free bag. The new outpost will play host to the complete range of Uniqlo's LifeWear apparel.
Anyone with a curious impulse in their heart and a phone in their hand can eat well on holiday. But to eat great? For that, you'll need to do a bit of prep and make some bookings at these pilgrimage-worthy restaurants on NZ's South Island. They've made their name on farm-to-table feasting, seafood that's travelled basically a negative number of food miles and foraging in fields home to hobbits and elves. People want in. The South Island is full of mountains to climb, artsy small cities to explore, glassy lakes to gawp at — all perfect ways to work up and appetite for these culinary experiences and then the perfect diversions while you digest the meal of the year. [caption id="attachment_687223" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rodney F.[/caption] FLEUR'S PLACE Fleur's Place is a beautiful fishing shed turned cosy restaurant tucked away in the seaside village of Moeraki, right on the waterfront at the old jetty. This little gem is not to be missed if you're a fan of the freshest catches out of the sea. Fleur's showcases the best of New Zealand produce with signature dishes such as green-lipped mussel pots, hearty seafood soup, fish (literally caught and delivered straight off the boat to the back kitchen of Fleur's) and, if you're lucky, some rare finds such as abalone. Fleur's gets incredibly busy, so it's best to book a table before you go. Really there's nothing that beats eating fresh seafood while watching the waves hitting the shores of Moeraki. It's also around a ten-minute drive from the world-famous Moeraki Boulders, so why not kill two fish with one stone. 169 Haven Street, Moeraki. RIVERSTONE KITCHEN While Oamaru might be known for its blue penguins and steampunk, it also serves amazing food that attracts connoisseurs from all around the world via Riverstone Kitchen. After rising through the ranks of illustrious London kitchens and serving as head chef at Brisbane's E'cco Bistro, Bevan Smith came here and opened up shop on his family's farm with wife Monique in a remote patch of NZ countryside. Now, it's a pilgrimage site, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As is right, given the set-up, the ingredients that start in these fields end up in the restaurant's dishes (which in turn end up in the kitchen's renowned recipe books). Meat comes courtesy of the neighbours. Try the dreamy cheese soufflé ($22) paired with apple and hazelnut salad or a venison massaman curry with roast cauliflower, peanuts and crispy shallots ($36). 1431 State Highway 1, Oamaru. GATHERINGS After working on an organic vegetable farm in North Canterbury, chef Alex Davies launched the Gatherings pop-up concept where the food he cooked represented a taste of the region, the time and place. The concept has since evolved into a permanent restaurant and living wine bar focusing on sustainable, local and seasonal cuisine. The overarching theme is to highlight the connection of what we eat and the planet that we live on. From its original plant-based tasting menu, Gatherings has pivoted towards family-style eating — and introduced sustainably-caught fish in the process. The takeaway 'Fish Supper' was introduced post-COVID-19 lockdown as a way to keep the wheels in motion. The concept has now become the restaurant's main offering, as a more affordable option for the community in trying times and to allow diners to feast as a family or friend unit. Southland's Gravity Fishing supplies the catch to order (and nothing more), which means that repeat diners will likely have an entirely different experience every visit. Diners have the option to order a whole fish for the table and buy smaller Canterbury-centric dishes around it. 5/2 Papanui Road, Merivale, Christchurch. AMISFIELD Located in Central Otago, Amisfield is a specialist producer of pinot noir and aromatic white wines, with a two-hatted bistro on-site. Basically, it's your one-stop portal to a world of amazing wine and food. Your meal unfurls by way of a 'trust the chef' degustation menu of three to seven courses ($140, $60 for matching wines), stopping off at the likes of titi (muttonbird) with seaweed and konini berries and hidden truffles in edible soil. The hyper-seasonal menu is the work of executive chef Vaughan Mabee, who earned his stripes working at Danish restaurant Noma. Another factor giving Amisfield its edge? Mabee works with a dedicated forager, who helps keep his stores packed with little-known local ingredients that invigorate the cooking each night. Amisfield provides the ultimate gastronomic experience against probably one of the most beautiful backdrops in New Zealand. Bookings are essential. 10 Arrowtown-Lake Hayes Road, Frankton, Queenstown. ARBOUR The philosophy of Arbour is "eat, sip, gather". It's a modern and elegant restaurant that champions local produce in its carefully crafted three-, four- or seven-course offering ($79–99). Diners can get an authentic taste of the region through fresh and simple ingredients that are married together in creative ways. So you'll see beef sirloin cooked with parsnip and smoked potato dumpling; john dory smoked and paired with leek, black truffle and 63-degree egg; and corn 'porridge' with various alliums, hazelnut and bacon. Here in the colder months? Head indoors, where Arbour has a 'prep bench' experience ($139 per person) that offers you the seven-course tasting menu, along with the dinner theatre of watching the kitchen in full flight. You'll want to catch owner-operators Bradley Hornby and Liz Buttimore in action — the latter is 2017 Cuisine Good Food Awards Restaurant Personality of the Year, after all. 36 Godfrey Road, Fairhall, Blenheim. Start planning your trip to New Zealand's south with our guide to the South Island journeys to take here.
The Dax Centre is doing very important work. It's the leading not-for-profit gallery and education centre for those who have experienced mental illness or trauma. Providing a place to view over 15,000 pieces of artwork made by those with mental illness, the Dax Centre is well worth a visit to see the ins and outs of living with mental illness in Australia. On January 9 this important little organisation opens its third solo exhibition by Adam Knapper, a seasoned Australian artist with a practice that uses street art and oil painting. The exhibition challenges the artist's understanding of his own history of mental illness. It's a complex provocation and is synonymous with Knapper's ability to use pop art and bright, bold colours in representing the mind. Known for his surrealist oil paintings and stylised designs, Knapper's latest body of work is on show until May 9. Image credit: Adam Knapper, Unravel, 2010, oil on canvas, via the State Trustees Connected Collection.
Working with only the finest quality meats, Berties Butchers is the spot to get your hands on some delicious cuts that'll take your Saturday afternoon barbecue to even greater heights. Standing out among other butchers in the area, Berties works with whole animal carcasses, meaning that you get exactly what you want, its fresh and nothing goes to waste. The team operates on a paddock-to-plate philosophy, personally sourcing each animal directly from a small selection of free-range and organic farmers. The shop's shelves are packed full of complementary products like sauces, dips and cured meats, and out the back you'll find Little Berties BBQ and Cafe, where you can hang out near the smoker and munch down a tasty sandwich or salad. Images: Tracey Ah-kee.
UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 — Thornbury's bright orange ice cream shop is now delivering its frozen treats via Uber Eats. Choose from flavours like popcorn and caramel fudge, davidson's plum and ginger, and the (in)famous soy sauce number. Soy sauce ice cream, hot chips and a chic tangerine-coloured couch. It's definitely an experience at this retro-themed ice creamery in Melbourne's north. So what does soy sauce ice cream taste like? Exactly how you'd imagine: sweet and salty, delicious and a little disgusting all at the same time. And while the decor screams everything 70s with its bright orange and yellow palette, vintage chandeliers, velvet curtains, cane furniture, and pink and white floor tiles, the ice cream and sorbet selection is anything but nostalgic. [caption id="attachment_755688" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Julia Sansone[/caption] Sure, there are a few classics like strawberry and chocolate, but you might need to muster up the courage to try some of the weirder and wackier creations — such as the kalamata olive with white chocolate. This one tastes like a scoop of cold crushed olives from the deli, but with a hint of sweetness. Faultless if you're a lover of the briny morsels, but squeamish if you loathe them. [caption id="attachment_755686" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Julia Sansone[/caption] If you like Japanese flavours, then the yuzu and sake is a definite hit. It's light, zingy and sweet, and popular with most. And if native Australian ingredients get you excited, then look out for the davidson plum and ginger — refreshing, yet tart. A good option if you weren't born a sweet tooth, too. Despite the unconventional combos that might have you questioning your sanity, you can trust you're in good hands with Michael Baker and Daniel Mason from Henry Sugar; Tommy Peasnell from Dexter, Peaches, Takeaway Pizza and Cheek; and actress, writer and producer Maria Angelico at the helm. Baker also spent years perfecting his craft at a couple of Michelin-starred restaurants, so while the menu sorcery might be hard to swallow at first glance, don't fight the flavours and just enjoy the weirdness. Images: Julia Sansone
The Nice Guys mightn't have scored a sequel, but The Fall Guy does nicely instead. Getting a hearty workout: Ryan Gosling's charm, comedic talent that just earned an Oscar-nominated showcase in Barbie and action skills as last seen in The Gray Man. He's back in stunts, too, as Drive first gifted the world so mesmerisingly. A loose remake of the 80s television series of the same name, The Fall Guy is a take-it-and-run-with-it kind of film, then. Not only does it grasp hold of what Gosling does best and sprint, but the same applies for co-lead Emily Blunt (Pain Hustlers) — and, of course, for director David Leitch (Bullet Train), who first took the journey from stunt performer to filmmaker with John Wick, has kept filling his resume with action fare since (see: Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw and Bullet Train) and now virtually comes full circle in helming a flick where his protagonist does the same gig that he once did. Gosling's Colt Seavers is also taking it and running with it — in a profession where it's his job to help bring whatever impossible physical endeavour is required to the screen, as well as on the gig that gets him to Sydney. The Fall Guy starts 18 months prior to his trip Down Under, however, but still with him doubling for Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bullet Train), one of the world's biggest actors. Seavers has a career that he loves and steady work at it thanks to Ryder's fame. He's also happily romancing Jody Moreno (Blunt), a camera operator with dreams of doing more. Then a stunt goes wrong, leaving him badly injured, battered and bruised emotionally and psychologically, and inspiring him to quit the business. Only a call from Ryder-loving producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso) sparks his return to the industry — he makes a crust as a valet once he's fit and able in-between — and, even then, it's only really the fact that Moreno is helming Ryder's latest movie as her directorial debut that nudges him onto the plane. Upon his arrival in Australia, Seavers soon discovers that the situation isn't exactly what he's been told. Ryder is missing from the Metalstorm set, putting the future of the production at risk. Shady folks keep popping up whenever anyone — well, Seavers — goes looking for the absent star. And Moreno had zero advance idea that the man who ghosted her had been enlisted on the shoot, and is far from thrilled about it or the way that their relationship ended. Trying to win her back, getting emotional fortification from Taylor Swift tunes The Bear-style, attempting to track down Ryder, evading the unsavoury figures on this trail, bouncing around Sydney: sometimes while fending off sword-swinging foes, sometimes while wearing fluoro, sometimes while paired with an acting dog who'll chomp on command, that's all on Seavers' plate in Drew Pearce's (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw) zippy screenplay. There's an easy, breezy vibe to The Fall Guy, the kind that comes from knowing wholeheartedly that you're capitalising upon the strengths of your key players. Although Seavers dates back to the television iteration and there was a Jody on the small screen, too (Banks, not Moreno), the film's main pair were moulded around Gosling and Blunt — and it always shows. For him, it's a charisma-forward performance whether he's getting goofy, earnest or thrust into a fray. His Kenergy-fuelled comic timing is impeccable, as is his ability to sell Seavers' soul-searching stint after a career that requires him to be invincible reminds him that no one is. For her, joining a resume that also includes excellent action turns in Looper and Edge of Tomorrow, it's a portrayal built on pluck. When Gosling and Blunt are together, the film boasts as much crackling chemistry — often of the screwball type — as it does dynamic fights, explosions, shootouts and car chases (one of the latter famously on the Sydney Harbour Bridge). And there are fights, explosions, shootouts and car chases (and boat jumps, helicopter battles and vehicular cannon rolls). You don't make a movie about a stunt performer on a mystery-caper adventure while working on a mega-budget alien sci-fi war romance flick — a film that turns the Sydney Opera House into a backdrop while it's at it — without highlighting stunts, stunts and more stunts. You definitely don't hold back if this was once your life as well. The action doesn't disappoint, nor does the commitment to weaving how such action comes to fruition into The Fall Guy's action sequences, complete with underscoring the importance of practical effects in the broader feature and the picture within it. This is a winking-and-nodding movie to its primary genre, lovingly so, right down to references built into the film. With stunt coordinator Dan Tucker (Winston Duke, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Seavers swaps references to other films (The Last of the Mohicans and Rocky III, for instance). One of his prized possessions: a Miami Vice jacket. The words of 'Unknown Stuntman', the theme to TV's The Fall Guy which gets a new cover here, are clearly a guiding light for Leitch on this movie: "I might fall from a tall building, I might roll a brand-new car, 'cause I'm the unknown stuntman that made Redford such a star" is one memorable line. Accordingly, though the very basis of filmmaking's stunt performer-actor setup is that the former are meant to convince the audience that it's the latter risking their lives, revelling in everything that The Fall Guy throws Gosling's way as Seavers means relishing the work of his doubles Ben Jenkin (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Justin Eaton (The Killer). The campaign for the stunts game to be given the credit it deserves — aka an Oscar category — couldn't earn a more persuasive push, then. Leitch's feature manages something that most flicks would kill for, because action deployed for the sake of it, then shot frantically and edited messily, gets repetitive; The Fall Guy is the lively, passionate and meticulously crafted antithesis of routine smashing and bashing. Back-and-forth rom-com bantering can similarly fall flat if the stars and the vibe aren't right. There's something about Sydney of late: in Anyone But You, Sydney Sweeney (Immaculate) and Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) made it work in the Harbour City, as Gosling and Blunt do in the same place in The Fall Guy. So, while The Nice Guys mightn't have received a follow-up, it's easy to see The Fall Guy becoming a big-screen franchise, and welcomely. At the very least for its magnetic leads, it should set a new repeat double act in motion. Gosling teamed up with Emma Stone (Poor Things) three times on Crazy, Stupid, Love, Gangster Squad and La La Land, and makes an equally delightful duo with his current co-star. Just as there should be no underestimating stunt feats in general or in this flick, as Leitch stresses again and again, there should be no downplaying the ride that Gosling and Blunt take their characters on in this fun film, either — from doing the hard work while others win the glory to finally getting their time to shine.
Introducing Sketch Chair, a project from London and Lisbon's design studio Diatom. Sketch Chair is a software program allowing anyone and everyone to design their own chairs, regardless of how design-savvy they may be. The program uses a 2-D drawing interface that incorporates a physics engine which automatically tests the stability of a creator's design. Users can even simulate sitting in the chair with a customised virtual version of themselves to guarantee the highest level of comfort. Once a chair design is completed, a cutting pattern for the pieces of the chair is sent to the digital fabrication machine. The parts of the chair are then created and delivered so users can assemble their designs on their own as well. All custom designs come in lightweight but sturdy pieces that are easy to assemble - no glue required. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Q36rJMjM1OU
When summer comes around, the Adelphi Hotel's rooftop pool deck is the coolest place in the CBD. After scoring an extensive reno in 2017, the Flinders Lane space is bigger and better than ever. That famed pool has been amped up to a length of 13.5 metres — and yes, one end still extends impressively over the laneway below. With space for about 70 guests, the new-look deck's been styled by the team at Gloss Creative, with chic al fresco furnishings from the likes of Grazia & Co. chosen to complement those sweeping city views. While there's no bar up there, you can order eats and drinks from On Nom downstairs, and have them delivered right to their deck chair. The best part? You don't even need to be staying at the hotel to enjoy this little slice of poolside paradise. Non-guests can access the pool outside of events for a tidy $35, including towel hire. Which is really not that huge of a price to pay when the world is burning at street level. Keep it in mind for Melbourne's next 40-plus-degree day.
2030 will mark 28 years since one of the best zombie movies ever made first hit screens: 28 Days Later from filmmaker Danny Boyle (Yesterday). Before that milestone arrives, however, it's likely that you'll be watching a new flick from Boyle in the same franchise. It'll still be called 28 Years Later — and it's officially in the works. 28 Days Later has already spawned one follow-up thanks to 2007's 28 Weeks Later, but Boyle didn't direct it. Screenwriter Alex Garland, who also penned Sunshine for Boyle, then hopped behind the camera himself with Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men and TV series Devs, also wasn't involved with 28 Weeks Later. But they're both back for the third film in the series, which might become the middle chapter. Not only is a new movie locked in, but it's being talked about as the start of a new trilogy. As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, Garland is writing 28 Years Later, Boyle is helming, and they're looking for studios or streamers to jump onboard. It's expected that Boyle will only direct the initial new picture, while Garland will pen the entire trio. There's no word yet if any of the OG film's stars will return, with 28 Days Later among the movies that helped bring Oppenheimer star, newly minted Golden Globe-winner and likely Oscar-recipient Cillian Murphy to fame. He played Jim, a bicycle courier who wakes up from a coma in a deserted hospital 28 days after a pandemic of the rage virus changed the world forever — and from Boyle and Garland to audiences everywhere, who wouldn't want him to reprise the role? Marking Boyle and Garland's first proper collaboration after Boyle adapted Garland's best-selling novel The Beach for the big screen two years earlier, 28 Days Later still ranks among the best work on either's resume — and on Murphy's as well, even if it didn't win him any of Hollywood's top shiny trophies. Set in the aftermath of the accidental release of a highly contagious virus, the film's images of a desolated London instantly became iconic, but this is a top-notch movie on every level. That includes its performances, with then-unknowns Murphy and Naomie Harris (the Bond franchise's current Moneypenny) finding the balance between demonstrating their characters' fierce survival instincts and their inherent vulnerability. If you wondering why 28 Months Later hasn't been made, it was talked about for years, but the time has now passed unless the new trilogy includes a flick set between 28 Weeks Later and 28 Years Later. [caption id="attachment_910048" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Oppenheimer[/caption] 28 Years Later and any following sequels don't yet have a release date — we'll update you when more details are announced. Via The Hollywood Reporter.
Returning to Australia with all the flair of a growling octogenarian swirling a glass of wine in one hand, the brilliantly manic Dylan Moran has announced his brand new comedy tour Off the Hook will be stopping at 12 locations across the country this July to August. The Irish comedian, who won our hearts as the creator and star of Black Books, is celebrated across the globe for his brilliant brand of rambling, brutally sharp stand-up comedy. Though you may hear Moran most frequently described as "curmudgeonly", the charm and intelligence of his manic comedy are hypnotic as he bombards audiences with his thoughts on everything from ageing and politics to kids, love and misery. Moran is coming to Australia straight off the back of a stint touring around the less likely locales of Kiev, Moscow and Kazakhstan — as well as becoming the first Western comic to perform in St Petersburg — with his surly ways winning him acclaim along the way. Bringing an always entrancing stage presence of slurring insights and bizarrely poetic complaints, broken by hysterical cackling and sips of wine, Moran's tour promises you comedy of the highest, most unpredictable kind. DYLAN MORAN'S OFF THE HOOK AUSTRALIAN TOUR Tickets on sale 10 March 10am Friday 10 July Riverside Theatre, Perth, WA Tuesday 14 July Civic Theatre, Newcastle, NSW Saturday 18 July Sydney Theatre, Sydney, NSW Thursday 23 July West Point Entertainment Centre, Hobart, TAS Saturday 25 July Princess Theatre, Launceston, TAS Monday 27 July State Theatre, Melbourne, VIC Tuesday 4 August QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane, QLD Saturday 8 August Convention Centre, Cairns, QLD Tuesday 11 August Entertainment Centre, Darwin, NT Saturday 15 August Royal Theatre, Canberra, NSW
Been spending the first few months of 2021 pondering the future? Given how the past year has panned out, that's only natural. But come Wednesday, May 26, you might want to look to the skies as well — and feast your eyes on a luminous lunar sight. For folks located Down Under, this is when you'll see this year's 'blood' supermoon. While super full moons aren't particularly rare — two usually happen each year, and one occurred just last month — there are plenty of reasons to peer upwards this time around. It's the last supermoon of 2021, for starters. It's also a total lunar eclipse. If you're wondering what else you need to know, we've run through the details below. WHAT IS IT? If you're more familiar with The Mighty Boosh's take on the moon than actual lunar terms, here's what you need to know. As we all learned back in November 2016, a supermoon is a new moon or full moon that occurs when the moon reaches the closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit, making it particularly bright. They're not all that uncommon — and because May 2021's supermoon is a full moon (and not a new moon), it's called a super full moon. It's also a flower moon, too, which doesn't refer to its shape — obviously — but to the time of year. In the northern hemisphere, the May full moon usually arrives as spring wildflowers are blooming. Of course, it's currently autumn in the southern hemisphere, but the name still sticks. This May's supermoon also happens to coincide with a total lunar eclipse, which is why it's also called a blood moon. When the astronomical body passes directly into the earth's actual shadow, it turns a blood-red shade thanks to sunlight that's filtered and refracted by the earth's atmosphere. WHEN CAN I SEE IT? If you're keen to catch a glimpse — and you didn't nab a ticket for Qantas' flight above Sydney just for the occasion — you'll want to peek outside on Wednesday, May 26. In the New South Wales capital, and in Melbourne and Brisbane, the lunar eclipse is due to begin at 6.47pm, reach its maximum at 9.18pm and end at 11.49pm, according to Timeanddate.com. In Adelaide, all of those times move forward half an hour — so it'll begin at 6.17pm, reach its maximum at 8.48pm and end at 11.19pm. And in Perth, it'll start at 5.16pm, reach its maximum at 7.18pm and end at 9.49pm. You'll want to have your cameras at the ready, of course — and see if you can outdo previous big batches of supermoon snaps and super blue blood moon pics. WHERE CAN I SEE IT? According to NASA, folks in the Pacific Rim will be best placed to see the supermoon total eclipse — which includes in Australia. Naturally, you'll be hoping for clear skies that evening. You can take a gander from your backyard or balcony, but the standard advice regarding looking into the night sky always applies. So, city-dwellers will want to get as far away from light pollution as possible to get the absolute best view. If you can't get a clear vantage, The Virtual Telescope Project will be live-streaming from the skyline above Rome from 5am AEST. And Timeanddate.com will be hosting its own livestream, too, starting at 7.30pm AEST. The 'blood' supermoon and total lunar eclipse will take place from 6.47pm AEST on Wednesday, May 26. For further information, including about timing, head to either NASA or Timeanddate.com.
It won six Oscars, was nominated for four more, and made a mint at the box office — and now Mad Max: Fury Road has been named the best Australian movie of the 21st century so far by the country's film critics. George Miller's high-octane post-apocalyptic effort — the fourth in his Mad Max franchise, which came 30 years after the series' third instalment — was picked as the top recent local effort in the biggest survey of Aussie critics ever conducted. And it's in great company, with the top 25 spanning plenty of highlights from the industry's last 18 years. Crime drama Animal Kingdom nabbed second place, while Samson & Delilah, Chopper and Lantana rounded out the top five — and everything from The Babadook to Sweet Country to Snowtown also ranked highly. It's a list big on drama, though musical Moulin Rouge! was 11th, comedies The Dish and Kenny came in at 16th and 20th respectively, documentary Sherpa took 21st position and the animated effort Mary and Max secured 22nd spot. The survey was conducted by Australian film website Flicks.com.au, with 51 critics — 26 male, 25 female — taking part. David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz were among the participants, unsurprisingly, with other critics hailing from a wide range of major news outlets, trade publications, magazines, commercial and community radio, websites, podcasts, TV and blogs. Disclaimer: Sarah Ward participated in Flicks.com.au's Australian film poll, and contributes to the site. She is also one of Concrete Playground's senior film writers and weekend editor.
Once again, Melbourne's late summer openair cinema will occupy hallowed turf, with a pop-up cinema on the pitch at the MCG. Taking over the iconic sporting arena for two nights in mid-February, Cinema at the 'G will showcase a pair of hit movies from the last year under the stars. On Friday, February 14, the venue will be feeling the love for its screening Rocketman, the Taron Egerton-starring hit about the life of Elton John. The following evening, Ride Like a Girl will race across the stadium's screen, telling the true tale of Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne. The venue might seat 100,000 on grand final day, but only 2000 tickets are available for each night of cinema. Ticketholders can bring picnic blankets, pillows and snacks, or munch on food available for purchase onsite. Doors open at 6.30pm for an 8.30pm start, and proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Bank of Melbourne Foundation, which in turns supports an array of Victorian charities.
Winter might be long, but it has its advantages — from beers by the fireside to dog sledding and snowshoeing. Then there are the whales. Between May and October, thousands of the mighty beasts swim north from the Antarctic to warmer waters to have babies. And, if you're anywhere on the Australian East Coast, you're likely to see them. But if you're on Phillip Island, you'll get even better views. To celebrate this fact, the island hosts an annual whale festival. For three happy days from Friday, July 11–Sunday, July 13, you can escape the city to gaze at humpbacks while soaking up films, talks, art and live music. This year, the heart of the event is the Festival Hub, where you can go on a scavenger hunt through interactive installations, explore underwater via virtual reality, hear from whale researchers, and immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of a marine world. Beyond the hub, there'll be a pop-up art show at Clay & Co Studio, a creative arts station at Phillip Island Gallery (from where you can set off on an artists' trail), the 2025 Ocean Film Festival at Berninneit Theatre and, of course, plenty of chances to go whale watching — on land and at sea. Images: Island Whales
UPDATE, December 23, 2021: Last Christmas is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. At the end of each year, when 'Last Christmas' gets stuck in your head for months, you probably don't spend too long thinking about it. George Michael's soft tones echo through your brain, his romantic lyrics roll off your tongue and the song's gentle beat becomes the rhythm of your life — but we're guessing you've never added a backstory to the classic 80s festive track, pondered its words in-depth or taken it literally. Clearly, you're not Emma Thompson. Asked to turn the tune into a screenplay, the Oscar-winning actor and writer has expended her brain cells on this task — and the film that results clearly states that it's "inspired by the song 'Last Christmas'". Given that movies based on games, toys and amusement park rides are now commonplace, a Wham! track is as good a starting point as any. Plus, with Bridesmaids, Ghostbusters and A Simple Favour director Paul Feig at the helm, Last Christmas comes with a solid comedy pedigree. It's highly contrived, as plenty of end-of-year movies are. It's also schmaltzy, as is the song. But, splashed across the screen with a sea of red, green and tinsel, the Christmas flick boasts enough warm-hearted charm to light up this sweetly engaging seasonal affair. Feig, Thompson and co-writer Bryony Kimmings (the performance artist behind I'm a Phoenix, Bitch) have another trick up their sleeves, with Last Christmas taking its entire soundtrack from George Michael's back catalogue. On paper, a Christmas rom-com based on a beloved pop song, featuring a jukebox worth of tracks by the same artist and unfurling its Yuletide hijinks in London sounds like the work of an algorithm in overdrive. If the world's December playlists joined forces with everyone's Love Actually-heavy festive streaming queues, this premise would be the end result. The film's casting, letting a post-Game of Thrones Emilia Clarke channel her inner Fleabag and deploying a post-Crazy Rich Asians Henry Golding as a tender dreamboat, seems like it has sprung straight from social media posts, too. In short, Last Christmas feels engineered to incite as cosy a feel-good glow as it can — and, in-between evoking a few eye rolls, it manages that feat. On the subject of eye rolls, the plot details might as well spring from a rom-com handbook. Kate (Clarke) is a down-on-her-luck aspiring singer who works as an elf in a year-round Christmas store, Tom (Golding) is an unrelentingly optimistic bicycle courier who doesn't have a phone and devotes his spare time to helping the homeless, and, despite ostensibly having nothing in common, they're drawn to each other. One of their early run-ins involves a bird shitting on Kate, lest viewers forget that her boozy life moving between various friends' couches and spare rooms is a mess. Befitting this incident, Tom's wisdom-laced catchphrase — because, yes, he has one — is "look up". As Last Christmas' chalk-and-cheese duo get closer, with Tom's kindness rubbing off on the cynical Kate as she tries to figure out her life, nothing unexpected happens. That's especially true if you do actually spend a few seconds thinking about the song behind the movie's moniker, but Thompson and Kimmings' script has such a heartfelt tone — and an awareness of the tropes it's gleefully adopting — that the film mostly works. It's the cinematic equivalent of drinking eggnog; it might not be your beverage of choice, but, when it's in front of you, you'll genuinely enjoy it all the same. Two weightier aspects of Last Christmas' narrative also help it go down smoothly, the first involving Kate's recovery from a major health scare and the impact it has had on her life, and the second stemming from her family heritage. With the picture set in 2017, and with Kate and her relatives (including Thompson as her broad-accented mother) immigrating from the former Yugoslavia two decades earlier, this is very much a Brexit-era festive romantic comedy. The film's other key elements — Feig, Clarke and Golding — all hit their marks. Feig's penchant for odd-couple comedy, Clarke's bubbliness behind her usual Mother of Dragons on-screen persona and Golding's innate charisma each sparkle, particularly when the movie begins to lean on its formula (and when the predictable twist, which viewers have been guessing since the trailer first dropped, pops up). Elsewhere, the latter's Crazy Rich Asians mother, Michelle Yeoh, steals her scenes as Kate's boss Santa (yep, that's her name). Naturally, Thompson does the same in the picture's most overtly comic role. Consider them the extra ingredients in this Christmas pudding of a picture — a film that's designed to complement the full meal that 'tis the season, and proves sweetly satisfying enough. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co5jWMYsr34
There are lots of ways you can throw your support behind native wildlife conservation, but there's no doubt which one is the tastiest. That would be the new Koala Choc Caramel ice cream the team at Paddle Pop has created in collaboration with wildlife rescue organisation WIRES. Hitting shelves today, Monday, September 7, the koala-shaped frozen treat marks the start of an ongoing partnership between the two groups, which aims to help raise awareness for koala conservation projects across the country. The themed ice cream features a blend of chocolate and caramel, made with all-Aussie dairy products. It's debuting at convenience and petrol stores from this week, scheduled to hit Coles and IGA stores later this month. If you're in NSW, you can pick one up from Sydney Zoo, which, throughout September and October, is also donating ten percent of all Koala Paddle Pop sales to WIRES. It's fitting timing for both the ice cream launch and the announcement of the new joint venture, as Australia today celebrates National Threatened Species Day. Paddle Pop's two-year partnership with WIRES also launches at an important time, with a report released by the NSW government estimating that 5000 koalas — a third of the state's population — were wiped up by last summer's devastating bushfires. The Streets ice cream brand will help support three of WIRES' key initiatives, including the Water Drinkers Project — which aims to install 800 animal water drinkers in drought- and bushfire-impacted areas — and the Koala Rehabilitation Facilities program, planning new facilities to help a variety of native species. It'll also support the Koala Health Hub at the University of Sydney, backing its research, management and education efforts. Find the new Koala Choc Caramel Paddle Pop at convenience and petrol stores, as well as at Sydney Zoo, from September 7. It'll hit shelves at your local Coles and IGA stores later this month.
Take a historical figure, but someone from several centuries back who isn't a worldwide household name. Use them as the basis for a new comedy series which doesn't promise to stick to the facts for a second. And, enlist famous hilarity-inspiring folks to tell the tale. The above description sums up Our Flag Means Death, which has sadly departed the streaming seas after being cancelled following a two-season run. It also fits Apple TV+'s upcoming six-part effort The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, with The Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding in the titular role. Where Our Flag Means Death's Stede Bonnet was an 18th-century pirate, The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin's namesake stuck to land in the same era as a highwayman. You can look up how his story turned out, or you can see how the series gives it the comic treatment from Friday, March 1, as it follows Turpin and his gang of fellow outlaws. As the just-dropped trailer demonstrates, working in plenty of dick jokes — well, it is the show's main character's moniker — is high on The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin's agenda. So is Fielding in his usual comic mode, as seen on The Great British Bake Off and Never Mind the Buzzcocks as well. Turpin's quest: to evade the corrupt Jonathan Wilde (Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey: A New Era), who fancies himself as a thief-taker, and just generally stay alive. And if you're wondering what kind of antics are in store, Fielding is also one of the series' writers, so anything could happen. Wild costume changes are a given. So is Fielding playing charming but chaotic. "I know what you're thinking: who is this guy with the incredible cheek bones? Where does he get his hair done? One day, I'll be the most-famous highway man in all of England," Turpin tells a crowd to start of the show's sneak peek — only for it to be revealed that he's standing on a gallows, about to be hanged. Joining Fielding in the cast: Ellie White (Wonka), Marc Wootton (High & Dry), Duayne Boachie (You Don't Know Me), Tamsin Greig (Sexy Beast), Asim Chaudhry (Barbie), Dolly Wells (The Outlaws) and Joe Wilkinson (Sex Education) — and also Noel's brother Michael (also The Mighty Boosh) and his Never Mind the Buzzcocks host Greg Davies (The Cleaner). Check out the trailer for The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin below: The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin streams via Apple TV+ from Friday, March 1, 2024.
