Summer in Melbourne pretty much screams for a crisp, gin-infused tipple, enjoyed in the sunshine, overlooking some water. And once again, local gin festival Juniperlooza is setting you up for success. This time, for its 2020 edition, the festival is taking over South Wharf's Boatbuilders Yard and Polly Woodside (yes, the boat) for two full days on Saturday, February 15 and Sunday, February 16. The gin-soaked revelry will be in full swing, with 23 boutique producers from both overseas and Australia gathering to show off their wares. Archie Rose, Four Pillars, Never Never Distilling CO, The Botanist and Flinders Distillery are some of the labels that have already been announced, as well as the UK's Chase Distillery. And the folks at Strangelove will be heading up the party's tonic situation once again. Gin-thusiasts will have the chance to meet the producers, sip G&Ts accented with carefully matched garnishes, and sample specialty gin cocktails from each brand. There'll be a slew of musical talent, too, including Agent 86, J'nett and four local DJs. Tickets ($30–45, depending how quickly you snag one) include a free G&T, a reusable store and lots of gin tastings. Early bird tickets ($30–35) go on sale from November 18. General sale ($40–45) then starts on November 20. You can sign up for early access over here.
After nearly a decade of Westerosi power struggles, obsessed fans and soaring ratings, HBO now finds itself with a Game of Thrones-sized gap to fill. The network isn't completely saying goodbye to the world created by George RR Martin, with at least two spinoffs in the works, and possibly more to come. But it's also looking for its next big hit. Bleak superhero saga Watchmen is one of the network's options, thanks to a television adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel that's headed to screens this month. His Dark Materials is another, as based on Philip Pullman's award-winning young adult trilogy of books of the same name. And if the latter sounds familiar, that's because — like Watchmen — one of the tomes has already been turned into a movie. Twelve years after the incredibly family-oriented The Golden Compass made its way to cinemas, it's now heading to TV alongside sequels The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. HBO is keeping things simple by sticking with the franchise name, other than individual book monikers. Also, they're betting on star power. As the first teaser demonstrated a few months back, the series boasts a hefty cast, spanning James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, The Wire's Clarke Peters and Logan's Dafne Keen. Still on the big-name front, Academy Award-winning The King's Speech director Tom Hooper also helms the first two episodes (which, unlike his next big movie Cats, probably won't feature big-name actors and singers shrunk down to feline size). Amidst all of the above well-known folks, Keen leads the charge, playing an orphan by the name of Lyra Belacqua. She seems just like everyone else, but hails from an alternate universe — one where a person's soul manifests as a shape-shifting animal called a daemon. As she looks for a kidnapped friend in the Arctic, Lyra discovers a church-run stolen children ring, learns about mysterious particles known as Dust and ventures through different worlds, including the one we all know. McAvoy pops up as a powerful aristocrat, Wilson is his ex, and Miranda plays a balloonist and adventurer. If you're already eager, the eight-episode first season will drop in November — and there's more to come. Instigated by and co-produced with the BBC, the show has already been renewed for a second season before it even airs. Check out the full trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APduGe1eLVI His Dark Materials launches on November 5, Australian and New Zealand time — with the series airing weekly from that date on Foxtel in Australia. Images: HBO.
Lime Cordiale are sleeping at your door, Bel Heir are kissing the devil whilst Magic Man are simply enjoying every day — as you should this weekend. You've earned it. 1. 'SLEEPING AT YOUR DOOR' - LIME CORDIALE Welcome spring! We have endured the cold winter months just to feel your warm, sun-filled embrace and it has been a wonderful first week. Farewelling winter also means that our speakers are set to be overrun by upbeat tracks that everybody can dance to all summer long, and Lime Cordiale have delivered one that will be on repeat until the cold returns. 'Sleeping At Your Door' is a 3 minute 18 second long bundle of energy and if it leaves you craving more, then do not fret, as their new album was released today. Keep it up spring! 2. 'MAD' - DE VERRE Hypnotising is the best adjective to describe De Verre's debut musical offering. The Southern Californians have delivered a sensual number dripping in allure. It is intoxicating, arousing and soothing all at once, with a video to match. This one is for later in the evening; step aside Barry White. 3. 'KISS THE DEVIL' - BEL HEIR Since Bel Heir announced that they would release a new track on the first Tuesday of each month for the rest of 2013, I have been looking forward to their monthly treat. If 'Kiss The Devil' is anything to go by, then we have three more incredible songs on their way. So have a listen to this track and if you haven't already noted the first Tuesday of October, November and December by the end of it then do so now. Also, extra kudos for their excellent band name. 4. 'HEALTH' - STILL PARADE Still Parade released a beautiful song 'Actors' in May and then went silent, until now. 'Health' is refreshingly simplistic, pulling you onto an emotional roller-coaster that has just the right amount of twists and turns. If they are going to produce gems like this, then I think we should all be okay with letting them disappear for four months at a time to return with musical magic. 5. 'EVERY DAY' - MAGIC MAN Speaking of magic, Magic Man has decided to pull out the guitars and drums and play them harmoniously to create 'Every Day', a track set to lighten 2013 road trip playlists. The band has a similar sound to HAIM, which is a compliment and a half so be sure to pick up their EP You Are Here on Tuesday, 10 September, whilst you wait for HAIM's debut.
We've seen some cool ideas for putting solar cells in novel places, and everyone agrees that being able to better harness the sun's energy would go a long way to solving our energy problems. But perhaps it's time we thought a bit bigger than solar-charging furniture... a lot bigger. Like, evil-scientist scheme big. It just so happens that scientists at Japan's Shimizu construction corporation (who aren't evil — probably) have been thinking big for us. They are proposing that we use the moon as a giant solar farm, laying the surface with a ring of photo-voltaic cells to capture some of the 13,000 terawatts of solar energy that hits the moon each day, then beaming it back to earth via laser or microwave. Although LUNA RING sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, the technology required for such a project already exists. What keeps the project from becoming a reality immediately is the, pardon the pun, astronomical cost. Such a massive venture would have an incalculable benefit for the entire world, and would probably require the co-operation and support of the entire world. Given that the world can't organise a football tournament without a few problems, this might be one world-saving project that never gets off the ground. Which would be a great shame. [via geeksaresexy]
Being named the world's best gin producer for two years running, selling half of its business to beer behemoth Lion and opening a Sydney bar in the middle of the pandemic — they're just some of reasons that Four Pillars has had a big couple of years. The Australian gin company is in for a hefty 2021, too, especially at the Healesville site it calls home. Over the next 12 months, it's undertaking a $6 million redevelopment, which'll enable twice as many juniper spirits-lovers to head to the Yarra Valley and enjoy its tipples. Come December 2021, you'll be able to visit Four Pillars' Lilydale Road address and check out a much larger setup. New hospitality, production and bottling facilities will be part of the revamped site — including the company's sixth German-designed Carl still — as will an events space. The latter will be able to house 250 guests, and there'll also be a retail space and something that Four Pillars is calling 'a special sensory surprise', should you want to do more than just taste its gin. Giving the site an eye-catching new facade designed by Breathe Architecture, the new works are taking place adjacent to Four Pillars' existing distillery, and are designed to blend the two together seamlessly. So, if you're fond of the current setup — as around 100,000 people were in 2019 — it's sticking around. When the new addition opens, however, the Healesville facility will be able to welcome more than 200,000 visitors per year. [caption id="attachment_799170" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Artist's impression of Four Pillars' distillery redevelopment. Breathe Architecture/Neverstop.[/caption] "When we began making Four Pillars, the Yarra Valley was always intended to be our home — and when we found our original site, we couldn't believe our luck," said Four Pillars co-founder Cameron Mackenzie. "When the opportunity came to buy the land next door, we simply had no choice but to roll the dice and back our Yarra Valley dream to the hilt." Four Pillars' current distillery and hospitality space will continue operating as normal while the new works are taking place, and continue serving up the brand's award-winning range — which includes barrel-aged, bloody shiraz, rare dry, spiced negroni, Christmas, overproof, olive leaf and summer-inspired gins. And, if you've made the visit since the Healesville spot reopened over the summer, only to find queues snaking outside, that's one of the things the big revamp is designed to address. Four Pillars' revamped distillery will open at 2–6 Lilydale Road, Healesville, in December 2021. The company's existing site at the same address is still open as usual during the redevelopment.
First Nations filmmakers from around the globe will be in the spotlight at ACMI in April as part of the inaugural Birrarangga Film Festival. Taking its name from the Woiwurrung word for 'river location', and curated by Wurundjeri (Woiwurrung) / Yorta Yorta writer and actor Tony Briggs, the festival will showcase more than 40 feature and short films from Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Mexico, Russia, Greenland, Peru and, of course, Australia, as well as panel discussions, filmmaker Q&As, industry events and more. The festival kicks off on Friday, April 26 with opening night feature Sgaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife), the first film made entirely in the Native American Haida language. The screening will be accompanied by a Welcome to Country with a special performance by the Djirri Djirri dance group, as well as the official afterparty. Other highlights over the course of the weekend-long festival include Toyon Kyyl (The Lord Eagle), a drama made by an Indigenous cast and crew from the Sakha Republic in Russia, Akornatsinniitut (Among Us), a sci-fi adventure film from Greenland, and a program of short films celebrating Victorian Indigenous stories on screen.
Gelato Messina first introduced its cookie pies to the world in 2020, and tastebuds across Australia thanked them. Then, it kept bringing the OTT dessert back when we all needed an extra dose of sweetness across the year. In fact, the dessert fiends have been serving them up for exactly 12 months now. That's a milestone worth celebrating, which Messina is doing by releasing a new birthday cake cookie pie. Chocolate chips are involved, as they usually are, but this dessert also includes a layer of vanilla custard, plus birthday cake crumbled on top. Yes, sprinkles feature as well. Of course they are. Hang on, a cookie pie? It's a pie, obviously, but it's made of cookie dough. And it serves two–six people — or just you. You bake it yourself, too, so you get to enjoy that oh-so-amazing smell of freshly baked cookies wafting through your kitchen. This time, you'll enjoy the scent of vanilla and birthday cake as well. The new pies will be available for preorder from 9am on Monday, April 12 — which is your chance to get yourself a piece of the pie. On its own, the indulgent birthday cake cookie pie will cost $25. But to sweeten the deal, the cult ice creamery has created a few bundle options, should you want some of its famed gelato atop it. For $35, you'll get the pie and a 500-millilitre tub, while with a one-litre tub or a 1.5-litre tub, it'll cost $41 and $45 respectively. The catch? You'll have to peel yourself off the couch and head to your local Messina store to pick up your order. They'll be available for collection between Friday, April 16–Sunday, April 18. You can preorder a Messina birthday cake cookie pie pie from Monday, April 12, to pick up from April 16–18.
That The Boys-shaped hole in your viewing is about to be filled, and not just by college-set spinoff Gen V. Viewers had the latter to get their sinister superhero fix in 2023, but 2024 will deliver more of the show behind it — and, unsurprisingly to viewers of 201-9's first season, 2020's second effort and 2022's third go-around, utter mayhem is on the way. When The Boys returns, it'll see the world dealing with Homelander (Antony Starr, Guy Ritchie's The Covenant)-versus-Starlight (Erin Moriarty, Captain Fantastic) factionalism, and just being ready to tear itself apart in general. Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit, Where'd You Go, Bernadette) is getting closer to the Oval Office, too, with Homelander pulling the strings. It's no wonder that the just-dropped first trailer for season four is filled with utter chaos. Also on the way: no-nonsense Brit Billy Butcher (Karl Urban, Thor: Ragnarok) dealing with the fact that he's only got months left, and that he's no longer leading The Boys — aka the eponymous ragtag team intent on bringing down Vought International, Homelander, and the company's caped-crusader industry and dominance. And, there's a new face, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead) joining the cast, adding another Supernatural link after Jensen Ackles did the same in season three. Back in 2019 when The Boys first hit streaming, sufferers of superhero fatigue understandably rejoiced. Yes, it focuses on a group of caped crusaders just like seemingly every second blockbuster movie (and, these days, every third TV show or so as well); however, in a world where viewers have been conditioned to lap up narratives about powerful folks who are supposedly better than most, this series both satirises and questions that very idea. Here, superheroes work for Vought. They're still the main form of entertainment, but they're real, the most famous celebrities there are and inescapable in daily life, too. The absolute top talent is known as The Seven, but most are hardly role models when the public isn't looking. That has made quite the change from the usual cinematic universes as the Prime Video show has kept notching up the seasons, all coming to the small screen after being adapted from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic book series of the same name. Exactly when The Boys will bring back its gleefully darker-than-dark tone, a pervasive bleakness that refuses to be shaken, plus oh-so-much blood, gore and guts hasn't been revealed other than sometime in 2024. As well as Starr, Moriarty, Doumit and Urban, Jack Quaid (Oppenheimer), Jessie T Usher (Smile), Laz Alonso (Wrath of Man), Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl), Tomer Capone (One on One), Karen Fukuhara (Bullet Train), Colby Minifie (I'm Thinking of Ending Things) and Cameron Crovetti (Goodnight Mommy) will all return — with Susan Heyward (Hello Tomorrow!) and Valorie Curry (The Lost Symbol) also set to be season four newcomers. Check out the first trailer for The Boys season four below: The fourth season of The Boys will start streaming via Prime Video sometime in 2024 — we'll update you with an exact date when one is announced. Read our reviews of The Boys season three and Gen V.
Little Lonsdale Street's Caretaker's Cottage has regularly made The World's 50 Best Bars list — coming in at number 23 in 2023 — and is one of our favourite drinking dens in the city. Hailing from bartenders and owners Rob Libecans, Ryan Nordics and Matt Stirling, Caretaker's Cottage is known for being a subtle temple to great drinks. You're not going to find overworked and overly theatric bevs cross the bar here. But you will find the classics done brilliantly, and signature sips made with great care. It's even known for having one of Melbourne's coldest martinis — if that tickles your fancy — and serves a mean Guinness.
Shokuiku on High Street in Northcote know a thing or two about the natural side of foods. The drinks list alone is health craziness. In a good way, of course. You can go for the Ultimate Smoothie ($25) if you're feeling rich: it includes coconut water, coconut meat, berries, hemp, cacao nibs, goji berry, ashwagandha, astragalus, MSM, camu camu, fulvic acid, reishi, maca, marine phytoplankton, mega hydrate, vanilla, and lakanto. Phew. The dinner menus change monthly and feature things like coconut cream and lime soup with zucchini noodles for entree, layered vegetable bake with vegetable mince and marinara sauce for main, and a banana cream tart with cacao truffle slice for dessert. They also offer custom-made raw cakes, a range of granolas and supplements to take home with you to continue your raw journey. It honestly feels like an adventure. Give it a try.
Take in the scenery and work up a proper thirst at Red Hill Brewery's annual Ride with the Brewer. Riders will be split into through groups based on skill level before embarking on a fully guided cycling tour of the picturesque Red Hill region. Afterwards you can cool down with beers and lunch back at the brewery. Not a bad way to spend your Sunday, and a lovely low-key outing for the final day of Good Beer Week 2017.
Sydney knows it thanks to Vivid. Melbourne's RISING makes the same point clear. No matter the place, there's nothing like a city lit up with glowing lights, outdoor art installations and projections in winter. Since debuting in 2021, Illuminate Adelaide has embraced the same idea each year in the City of Churches — and 2024's just-dropped full lineup includes more than 40 works that'll dazzle the city, plus everything from after-dark puppetry in the zoo and a digital garden to Max Cooper and Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon. And Fire Gardens. Back in April, Illuminate Adelaide revealed that the French art collective Compagnie Carabosse would headline the fest with its acclaimed piece, which will fill Adelaide Botanic Garden more than 7000 fire pots, sculptures and terracotta urns. While it'll be the event's scorching centrepiece from Thursday, July 4–Sunday, July 21, the highlights keep coming on the complete program. [caption id="attachment_953096" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andrew Beveridge[/caption] Much of the brightness in the South Australian at Illuminate Adelaide comes via the City Lights program, which will span those 40-plus free site-specific works over 17 days. The class of 2024 features Renaissance artworks coming alive, interactive lights inspired by the moon's phases, the harp becoming a light-and-colour experience, illuminated street furniture, blue fireflies and more. The World Has Gone Pear Shaped — a large-scale, six-metre-tall inflatable sculpture that turns earth into a pear to muse on humanity's impact upon the planet — is sure to be standout. So is intangible #form by Japanese artist Shohei Fujimoto, which uses lasers, strobe lights, other moving lights and haze to create a multi-sensory piece across an array of rooms. You'll be swinging at Spectrum of Happiness, and as you do you'll create a rainbow. And Tjarutja Dance Theatre Collective Project's Ngarrindjeri Ruwi tells the Ngarrindjeri tale about Kondili, the whale that projects the spark of fire. [caption id="attachment_953092" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Artec House[/caption] Puppets roaming outside have increasingly become a key component of arts festivals of late — Parrtjima in the Northern Territory just proved this true in April — so of course Illuminate Adelaide has incorporated the trend into its lineup. Cue Universal Kingdom: Prehistoric Nights, a brand-new blend of puppetry and animation from Erth Visual & Physical Inc and A Blanck Canvas that'll take over Adelaide Zoo. A glowing dinosaur skeleton with a giant skull and a ribcage that you can walk through, ancient critters wandering along, an eight-metre animated plesiosaur in the sky: they're just some of its elements. Similarly immersive and built for folks to mosey around is interactive digital garden EDEN, which splashes its nature paradise across 150 square metres of LED screens — and will be accompanied by The Light Room Bar for bites and beverages. [caption id="attachment_953094" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Erth[/caption] Bridging the gap between Illuminate Adelaide's art and music bills, Max Cooper's 3D AV gets an Australian-exclusive run. Hindley Street Music Hall will welcome in its audio-visual display, which adapts each performance to its venue so no show is the same as any other. Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Dutch pianist Joep Beving are also on the program, the former as part of experimental music fest Unsound Adelaide within the broader fest. Its lineup features The Caretaker doing his first Aussie show, plus Yirinda, 33EMYBW, Eiko Ishibash, ∈Y∋ with C.O.L.O. and more. [caption id="attachment_953098" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Danielle Neu[/caption] And if that's not enough to enjoy around Adelaide, Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, one of the Studio Ghibli great's very best films, is getting a free screening; Patch Theatre's family-friendly Superluminal uses lanterns that change colour in your hand, paired with nature sounds; and Fill the Earth combines physical performance and visual art, plus dance and video, on a 3.5-metre round stage. Pop-up bar and eatery hub Base Camp is back for its fourth year, too, complete with its own interactive light show, while Live @ The Lab will add more live tunes to the program. [caption id="attachment_953093" align="alignnone" width="1920"] florafaunavisions[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953100" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alex Kozobolis[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953099" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Oscar Lewis[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953090" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Frankie The Creative[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953101" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Saige Prime[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953102" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Samuel Graves[/caption] Illuminate Adelaide 2024 runs from Thursday, July 4–Sunday, July 21. Check out the festival's website for the full program and to grab tickets. Top image: Amigo and Amigo. 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.
Something completely new is set to join Australia's skyline: a Skystand overlooking the Brisbane Cricket Ground, aka the Gabba. Located atop 20-storey development Silk One in Woolloongabba's Trafalgar Street, it's exactly what it sounds like: a rooftop terrace that peers over the stadium, allowing residents to see whatever might be happening on the ground — namely Brisbane Lions AFL matches during winter and cricket games over summer. A handful of concerts also take place at the Gabba, with Adele playing there in 2017 and Taylor Swift slated for later in 2018. The idea is that people who live one of the complex's 178 apartments (or people who are friends with people who live in the apartments) will get access to these events without really leaving home, all while hanging out on a sky-high timber deck, underneath a pergola, with a big screen TV and a dining and barbecue area at their fingertips. The rooftop will also include a gym, pool, spa and sun lounges, in case whatever's on in the stadium doesn't pique your interest. Of course, an obvious question has to be asked: how much will you really be able to see from 20 levels up? Sure, there'll be a television on hand so that you can watch all of the ins and outs of the game in detail, and you'll save yourself the cost of a ticket. But the Gabba is more likely to provide a glossy backdrop as you hang out in the Skystand, rather than letting you actually enjoy the game or concert. Still, we're guessing the sound of the crowd, or whoever is on stage crooning, will echo up that far. Given that the area around the Gabba is currently filled with both new high-rises and construction sites in the process of erecting new high-rises, it wouldn't be surprising if other buildings follow suit. That said, the folks behind Silk One say their Skystand has been "strategically designed to maximise the birds-eye views of the Gabba stadium". Silk One in Woolloongabba and its Skystand are slated for completion in mid-2020.
Just like toilet paper, pasta and cans of tuna, tampons and pads in the time of COVID-19 are becoming increasingly hard to find on supermarket shelves. Which is a less-than-ideal situation to be in when that time of the month rolls around. And, sure, you may have heard about period-proof undies — and maybe even thought about making the switch for sustainability and economical reasons — but have you actually used them? No? Well, perhaps now is the time to give them a go. Since starting back in 2013, Australian label Modibodi has been shipping its colourful, comfy and functional undies to folk around the globe, with the aim of empowering them with a more eco-friendly option to tampons and pads — and, in the long run, it's lighter on the wallet. Plus, if you're self-isolating or trying to cut down your visits to the shop at the moment — kudos to you — then undies, which you can order online and delivered straight to your door, might be the way to go. Modibodi's undies use fabrics such as bamboo, merino wool and microfibres and have built-in absorbent, breathable (and stain- and odour-resistant) liners. After two years of testing, trialling and fine-tuning the designs with textile engineers and companies in Australia and the US, Modibodi became one of the world's go-to period-proof undies. The liners are about three-millimetres thick and can absorb anywhere between five and 20 millilitres (about four tampons' worth). So, while you're stuck at home, you can parade around in a pair of underwear — and not worry about any discomfort or leaks when wearing them. As these undies are designed to be thrown in your washing machine to be worn again and again, they're a far more sustainable solution than single-use items such as tampons, pads and liners, too. So, not only are they good for you, they're good for the planet. It doesn't hurt that it works out cheaper in the long run, too. They're designed for people of all ages, shapes and sizes, too, with more than ten different styles — from a classic brief cut to bikini, seamless, boyleg, boy short, high-waisted, maternity, swim, activewear and even vegan ones — in a range of colours. Plus, there are four different absorbency levels available: superlight, light-moderate, moderate-heavy and heavy-overnight. There are designs for pee, sweat and pregnancy, too. Prices start from $23.50 and there are packs of five, seven and ten, too, which will save you some pennies if you're looking to buy more than a couple of pairs. Modibodi is currently offering contactless delivery across Australia and New Zealand, with free shipping on orders over $100 AUD and NZD. If this is your first time buying them, you can score ten percent off when you sign up here. For more information on period-proof undies — and to buy yourself a pair (or few) — head to Modibodi's website. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
After premiering at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and doing the circuit of North America's best film festivals, The Whistleblower is finally hitting Sydney screens next week. The Whistleblower is a political thriller based on the real-life experiences of Kathryn Blokovac, a Nebraska Cop who, while working as a paid UN peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia in 1999, uncovered a underground sex-trafficking industry. The film follows Blokovac as she risks her job and personal safety to investigate into the human trafficking she witnesses, discovering some very ugly truths about the people around her in the process. Ultimately, The Whistleblower is about the very worst of humanity - corruption, expolitation and the abuse of power - yet is also a story of an average person who demonstrates extraordinary courage in order to do the right thing. Starring Rachel Weisz, Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn and Monica Bellucci, The Whistleblower brings together a stellar cast in what promises to be a confronting yet engaging cinematic experience that will stay with you for some time to come. To win one of ten single passes to see The Whistleblower, just make sure you are subscribed to Concrete Playground then email your name and postal address through to hello@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=r2EZe5KOrGs
One of the beautiful, beautiful things about living in a pluralistic society is that you can turn pretty much any cause, interest or activity into your raison-d’etre. Gather a few like-minded mavericks around you, and call it a club. Create a website and you’re an international force to be reckoned with. That’s right, you need never feel alone again (no matter how odd you are). Because on some far-flung corner of the earth, there’ll be a club for you. For example, are you ridiculously smart? I’m not talking about matching up to those sub-standard wannabe intellectuals over at Mensa. I’m talking about meeting entrance standards for The Giga Society. Only one in a billion people qualify. But if you’re more, let’s say, run-of-the-mill, how about sharing your passion for poodles? Or your penchant for swapping coffee cream lids? Or your need to dress up like Santa Claus, even in February? Or your fancying of pigeons? Or your love of, simply, getting naked? Photographers Ursula Sprecher and Andi Cortellini have made it their mission to capture some of the world’s most fun, eccentric and cutest clubs; collating them in a coffee table book titled Hobby Buddies. In every staged portrait, club members are shown holding the object most important to them, wearing the costume (or lack of costume) that gives them common ground or taking part in their favourite activity. According to Sprecher and Cortellini, the series is inspired by the "joy of pursuing a common cause or shared idea". Camping and Caravanning Club Swiss Garrison Dintefisch Diving Club Tram Club Tupperware Party Santa Claus Group Warriors Cheerleaders Coffee Cream Lids Swap Meet BDSM Regular's Table Orchid Club Association of Scientific Preparators Board Games Club Merriment Pipe-Smokers Club Via Beautiful Decay. Images by Ursula Sprecher and Andi Cortellini.
Let's change things up this Easter break. Instead of spending the weekend feeding on store-bought chocolates and lamb roast at home, why not go on a little adventure? You can escape the city (and, perhaps, your family) by running away to South Australian wineries to sample the latest vintage or to a Tasmanian farm to delight in world class produce. You can even join the world's first helicopter gin tour around Queenstown to marry your love of epic views with your fondness for gin. The world is your oyster — and you can either have it freshly shucked, served Kilpatrick or battered and fried down in Hobart. Read on to find four exclusive food and wine-filled travel packages that you'll only find on Concrete Playground Trips — each of which will have you spending the Easter break with a full belly and a glass in hand. A WINE LOVERS' LONG WEEKEND IN BAROSSA VALLEY AND MCLAREN VALE Wine tours can be such a hassle to organise. You've got to find a driver, pick the wineries and cellar doors, book lunch and find the best place to stay. That's why we teamed up with some of the best wineries and food producers in the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale to create one mighty indulgent food and wine trip. We've done the research, all you have to do is rock up and enjoy this ever-thriving wine region. During this four-day trip, you'll have the opportunity to explore Adelaide's city centre before spending two big days out in wine country. During your big afternoon out in the Barossa Valley, we've organised guided tours and cellar door experiences at a few of our favourite wineries as well as a special tasting at Maggie Beer's Farm Shop and lunch with wine pairings at another vineyard. This will be followed up by an entire day of wine, beer and gin tastings in McLaren Vale — with morning tea and lunch included. It's a packed itinerary made for true wine enthusiasts. BOOK IT NOW. FIVE-DAY FOOD AND WINE ADVENTURE IN HOBART AND ITS SURROUNDS Tassie's culinary scene is booming. Whether you're road tripping around the north or south of the state, you're set to find some of Australia's most brilliant food and drink producers making all sorts of delicious things to eat and drink. To celebrate this, we've created a sensational Hobart travel package that will take you to local farms, wineries, breweries and distilleries — with exclusive tastings and tours at each spot. The package also includes car hire for all five days, so you can explore each of these spots at your own leisure. And lastly, we're putting up guests in the Vibe Hotel Hobart's Harbour View Room. Wake up to stunning water views before going out to explore this amazing part of Australia. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_869501" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Australia[/caption] THE ULTIMATE VINEYARD GLAMPING GETAWAY Sanctuary By Sirromet is a sprawling vineyard located in the bucolic hills of Queensland's Mount Cotton and boasts a collection of luxury glamping tents overlooking a lagoon and a bushland home to wallabies and birdlife. It's an idyllic slice of wine country just 40 minutes south of the Brisbane CBD. That's why we teamed up with the Sirromet team on this one-of-a-kind wine-filled weekend getaway package. Guests will be treated to a behind-the-scenes winery tour and tasting, a picnic in its beloved lavender fields (with wine and a packed food hamper included), a three-course dinner with paired wines, and daily breakfast delivered to the door of your glamping tent. The Sanctuary by Sirromet team is throwing in a complimentary bottle of Le Sauvage 'The Wild' to be enjoyed on the tent's private balcony or taken home. Go on, spoil yourself. BOOK IT NOW. THE MOST EPIC QUEENSTOWN ROAD TRIP We've created the ultimate Queenstown holiday, combining the area's famous adventure experiences with its famed culinary scene. You'll go on the world's first heli gin tour — riding from distillery to distillery via helicopter — and visit a series of local wineries during your self-led road-trip around the region. We've even added a scenic flight up to the dramatic mountain ranges, pairing it with a speed boat ride back to your hotel. You're not gonna find a trip like this anywhere else. BOOK IT NOW. 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 in destinations all over the world.
Plants, art, friends and family — The Wildwood Collective might have given itself an ambitious remit, but it definitely pulls it off. This Pakington Street space stocks everything you need to become the best plant parent you can be, from We The Wild plant care to Mr Kitly self-watering pots. You can also browse a selection of macrame plant holders, each handmade by studio owner Tess Cook. There's also a considered range of bath and body care, while the space itself is home to two other independent local designers: Ikigai, which designs handmade clayware for the home, and Ernest and Joe, a family-run designer and maker of handmade jewellery using recycled Australian sterling silver and gold. [caption id="attachment_809134" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Julia Sansone[/caption] Images: Julia Sansone
David Bowie lit up the entertainment world like a flash of lightning. In fact, after wearing a bolt of brightness across his face on the cover of his 1973 album Aladdin Sane, the symbol became forever linked with the star. Now, a collective of Bowie-obsessed designers are trying to ensure that he continues to dazzle London thanks to a proposed permanent public memorial. In a plan that has must-visit tourist attraction written all over it, creative consultancy This Ain't Rock'n'Roll have launched a crowdfunding campaign to see a three-storey-high, red and blue coloured piece of stainless steel art built in the centre of Brixton, just five streets away from where Bowie was born. Yes, it'll take the shape of a lightning bolt. Yes, they've already thought of calling it the ZiggyZag. Yes, measuring nine metres in height and almost seven metres in width, it'll be just like the man who inspired it — impossible to ignore. The structure will sit next to another Bowie tribute in the form of Jimmy C's internationally famous Aladdin Sane mural, turning the Brixton spot into an absolute haven for worshipping the artist. If it eventuates, we're guessing there'll be plenty of dancing in the streets. Created in consultation with Bowie's team in New York and London, the project has a target of £990,000 — raising £43,647 so far at the time of writing — with the pledge period ending on March 21. Those who donate funds won't just play a part in making history, but can also receive books, pins, prints, t-shirts, pendants, limited-edition art and even 3D-printed miniature replicas, depending on the level of their contribution. For more information, visit the David Bowie memorial's crowdfunding page.
It might be winter, but things are only heating up at W Melbourne's pool deck WET. On Thursday, August 25, the swanky sky-high destination will host its first party, headlined by none other than Brisbane-based indie-pop act Cub Sport. Nab yourself a ticket for $25 and head on up from 7pm to kick off your night with tunes from a lineup of Melbourne DJs, dancing poolside with a cocktail in hand. Then, Cub Sport takes the stage from 9–10pm, celebrating their latest single 'Always Got The Love'. Expect a soundtrack of past hits and new-release tracks, plus a few covers of songs from some famous musical mates. As for refreshments, you've got WET's full food and drink offering to pair with the tunes. Think, Aqua Boogie seltzers, brews by Stomping Ground and Deeds, local wines and signature sips like the Noisy Neighbour — a blend of Plantation rum, mezcal, Yaguara Ouro cachaca, kiwi fruit and green chartreuse. [caption id="attachment_865119" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cub Sport[/caption]
Chicago house DJ Derrick Carter will be bringing his legendary skills to New Guernica for New Year's Day, and we’re pretty pumped. This one may be a little more ideal for those who plan to party on NYE as well, seeing as the event doesn't kick off until 6pm. The evening will start with a laneway party of sorts in Chuckle Park, with DJs cranking and food available for those who need to build some strength before dancing all night. As well as general admission tickets there are also drink packages available for the organised, so if you're keen to kick off 2015 in a fairly colossal way, check it out.
If Shania Twain's 'Man! I Feel Like A Woman' is your karaoke go-to, you'll want to head over to Carlton on Thursday, November 29 when the Shania Choir takes over The Curtin with its a cappella country pop covers — and, this time, its encouraging the crowd to join in. Created in 2017, the leopard-crazed choir group has toured Australia — hitting up Melbourne in late-September — with its full-length show and received endless requests from fans wanting to join the choir along the way. Now, for $15 a pop, you can do just that. For one night, punters will have a go at the choir's four-part harmonies in two Shania hits, as well as a chance to sing along during a group performance. Of course, you'd want to have a decent voice to get on stage, but there's no real requirements on that front. So go on and belt it out like it's 1997 again. Image: Amanda Humphreys
Remember the Pokémon Go phase? What a time in millennial history. And while you may not see hordes of people playing it in your local park these days, fans need not despair. Because Pokémon is coming back to you in real life. Three years after the game temporarily took over the world, a pop-up bar decked out in everything Pokemon is hitting Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane this year. We don't have specific details, like the when and where of it, but can tell you to expect everything to do with the franchise: Pokéball-shaped burgers, as well as games, themed cocktails and prizes. The bars will supposedly be divided into seven regions and each session will includes two hours of 'hunting, battling and catching time' — we're interested to see how that will be interpreted. You can complete all regions to be the ultimate winner, where we suppose you might win one of the aforementioned Pokémon prizes. There will also be prizes for the best dressed and a DJ spinning tracks. The nitty gritty of it all, though, is yet to be revealed. Will you be playing on the app, or will you have to find Pokémons in a scavenger hunt? Does anyone still actually play Pokémon Go? The mystery is yet to be solved, but you may want to start rounding up your old catching team. We don't know dates for this one, but you can be the first to know when tickets are available by signing to the mailing list. The event comes from the same group that have previously announced a Simpsons-themed Flaming Moe's tavern and a Harry Potter-themed Cauldron Bar. While neither of these events have actually happened — even though the Cauldron Bar initially scheduled for last month — organisers have told Concrete Playground that they are trying to find the perfect venues for the bars, and both of them are still "in the pipeline". The Pokébar should hit Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane later this year. Tickets will be $35 for a two-hour session. They're not yet on sale, but you can register here.
He's an Australian treasure, he's one of Hollywood's recent villainous go-tos and he definitely isn't in Voyagers. That'd be Ben Mendelsohn, who comes to mind anyway while watching this sci-fi thriller. In a softer mode, the Rogue One and Ready Player One star could've played Colin Farrell's part here. That's not why Voyagers makes him pop into viewers' heads, though. Rather, it's because his brand of slippery menace still slinks through this space-set flick, all thanks to its most vivid performance. Should an upcoming movie ever need a fresher-faced version of Mendelsohn's latest bad guy or next morally complicated figure, Dunkirk, The Children Act and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch's Fionn Whitehead needs to be on speed dial. He channels Mendo perfectly as Zac, one of 30 test tube-bred teenagers who are rocketed into the heavens as humanity's last hope for survival. In the latter half of the 21st century, Earth is near-uninhabitable, so he's on an 86-year mission to a newly located planet. The young Humanitas crew's main purpose is to beget the next generations who'll colonise their new home — but, after learning that he's being drugged into obedience, Zac decides not to play nice. Ten years in, when the quieter Christopher (Tye Sheridan, X-Men: Dark Phoenix) realises that the drink they all call 'blue' contains an unidentified compound, the decision is easy. First Christopher, then Zac, then the rest of their shipmates all stop sipping it and start letting their hormones pump unfettered for the first time in their intricately designed and highly controlled lives. Richard (Farrell, The Gentlemen), the lone adult and the closest thing any of the crew have ever had to a father, is suddenly treated with suspicion. Christopher and Zac begin testing boundaries, indulging desires and flouting rules, too — and realising that they're both attracted to dutiful Chief Medical Officer Sela (Lily-Rose Depp, Crisis). Then an accident changes the dynamic, with the two pals challenging each other while fighting to lead. Factions are formed, chaos ensues and the very folks entrusted with saving the species are now simply trying to outlast each other. The fact that Whitehead's performance recalls Mendo as strongly as it does is fitting; almost everything about Voyagers brings another movie or story to mind, actually. When it comes to warring youths, Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner all get a nod. In the space film genre, Solaris, Passengers and High Life do as well. The list goes on, increasing with each of Voyagers' foreseeable twists and turns. When the infighting starts revolving around a potentially mysterious presence, for instance, the feature nudges its audience to think about Alien and Prometheus. In spacewalking beyond the Humanitas, Gravity and The Midnight Sky get a look in (among a hefty roster of past flicks that've also stepped into the inky sky, of course). When the picture simply lingers within the spaceship's stylish but restrictive walls and ripples with unease, 2001: A Space Odyssey casts a shadow. And, in its musings on parenthood, Interstellar and Ad Astra spring to the fore. Still, as it shuffles, jumbles and reassembles much of its bulk from recognisable parts pilfered from elsewhere, a number of interesting ideas sit at the heart of Voyagers. Yes, they've been tackled in various ways before, but they still leave an imprint. Writer/director Neil Burger has both Limitless and Divergent to his name, so he's no stranger to big-thinking science fiction flicks that contemplate intriguing ideas while also following in other footsteps. Here, he wonders not just if life has any meaning, but if there's any genuine meaning to life when a person's function in the bigger picture has already been determined from their first breath right up until their last. He also ponders exactly what humans have spent our entire existence as a species surviving: whatever external forces have come our way, or the ongoing, never-ending repercussions of our very worst impulses? It doesn't offer up any new answers to these trains of thought, or give themes and topics like paranoia, claustrophobia, toxic masculinity, nature versus nature and free will a particularly fresh spin, but Voyagers remains resonant enough. It has a timely relevance, arriving after the globe has spent a year indoors trying to stay alive, and its picture of easy self-destruction is both undeniably blunt and unmistakably effective. Films like this keep hitting screens because we're all aware that humanity's worst enemy is itself. That's a truth we'll never stop grappling with, in fact. As a result, predictability always comes with the territory — because humans have proven such predictable creatures. Accordingly, it isn't the least bit surprising that Voyagers sticks to the familiar, and doesn't provide much of a different take on the age-old realisations at its core (even as Zac tries to lie, bully and manipulate his way to power in a manner reminiscent of recent world leaders). Nonetheless, the feature's ruminations still hit home, even amid all of its winks to other movies. Also convincing is the film's set design, which weaponises its grey surfaces and seemingly endless corridors, transforming every corner and passage into a maze literally of humankind's own making. Voyagers' gleaming overall look wavers between sterile and slick, in another canny touch — this is a movie about finding middle ground between lives of unthinking compliance and primal hedonism, after all. And, cast-wise, Sheridan, Depp and Farrell do what they need to with their straightforward parts. Like Whitehead, Sheridan also helps sum up the movie overall, too. He already faced off against the real Mendo in Ready Player One, so he leaves viewers enjoying his calmly commanding efforts and remembering other flicks. In a picture that's both derivative and engaging, that seems to be Voyagers' chosen mission. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zadWJ8tPmnU
Fresh from making two of his last four films in Australia — Lion and Hotel Mumbai — Dev Patel is heading somewhere completely different. Stepping back to medieval times, he's jumping into the fantasy genre, messing with Arthurian legend and swinging around a mighty sword, all thanks to the dark and ominous The Green Knight. Based on the 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Green Knight casts Patel as Sir Gawain. Nephew to King Arthur (Sean Harris), he's a knight of the Round Table and fearsome warrior. The character has popped up in plenty of tales, but here, he's forced to confront the green-skinned titular figure in an eerie showdown. As the poem explains, the Green Knight dares any other knight to strike him with an axe, but only if they'll then receive a return blow exactly one year and one day later. Just how closely this film adaptation will stick to that story is yet to be seen — however the just-dropped first teaser certainly looks more than a little moody, brooding and creepy. Patel is in great company, with The Green Knight also starring Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton and Dunkirk's Barry Keoghan. Games of Thrones' Kate Dickie pops up as Guinevere, while her co-star Ralph Ineson — whose also known from the Harry Potter flicks, The Witch and the UK version of The Office — plays the Green Knight. And, it's the latest film by an impressive — and always eclectic — writer/director, with David Lowery's filmography spanning everything from Ain't Them Bodies Saints and Pete's Dragon to A Ghost Story and The Old Man and the Gun. Check out the teaser below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoJc2tH3WBw The Green Knight will release in the US sometime over America's summer, but it doesn't yet have a release date Down Under — we'll update you when it does.
Summer might be done and dusted, but we've found at least one more excuse to scream for some ice scream. Or Italy's answer to ice cream, anyway. Friday, March 24 is the date Europeans celebrate Gelato Day — and one local purveyor is getting into the spirit by handing out a stack of frozen freebies. Zero Gradi, the dessert chain from the pizza maestros at 400 Gradi, is serving up a special one-day offer across all three of its Victorian stores. Every customer who buys a scoop of their signature hand-churned gelato on March 24 will score an extra scoop on the house. The deal's on offer all day long and you can take your pick of gelato flavours — the hefty lineup ranges from classics like bacio, pistachio and a boysenberry, to creations like peanutella and caramel cookie monster. A single scoop comes in at $6. Take advantage of the offer during opening hours at Zero Gradi's Brunswick outpost, its Mornington store or its location within Crown. [caption id="attachment_808234" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Renee Oliver[/caption]
The cultural renaissance in Canberra continues its unfurling across the dining and arts scenes, bringing more interest from interstate — and international — visitors than ever before. The standard of options for places to stay has also leapt vertically in the past five years, and among the list is the East Hotel. The family-owned boutique hotel is located in the increasingly happening suburb of Kingston. It's stand-out characteristics are warm accommodating service, handsomely-appointed contemporary rooms with all the important details considered (the fluffy white guest robes well and truly pass the comfort test), and the onsite options for drinking and dining. East Hotel's lobby bar, Joe's Bar, has an eclectic, jewel toned fit-out and a generous lineup of creative cocktails (if you have a yen for a good martini try the Tokyo Martini or the signature Joe's Martini). There's also a decent selection of Italian and Australian wines and a showcase of local Canberran beers on tap, bottled and by the tin. Soak up some of those martinis with Italian-inspired bar snacks or pizzas. Calamari fritte and a particularly excellent focaccia served hot and fresh from the enormous clay pizza oven. The clientele of Joe's Bar is a mix of East Hotel guests having a pre-dinner drink but but it's also highly populated with the after-work crowd of Canberra locals, particularly on Thursday and Friday evenings once 5pm has rolled past. The other dining option is Agostini's. It's a relaxed and super-buzzy Italian diner that's focused on creating the atmosphere and dining experience of an authentic Italian family restaurant. As such, you'll find a multi-generational crowd here, from white collar long lunchers to holidaying family tables. The pasta is very good and made fresh daily. The real hero here is the pizza though. The 'Salsiccia' layered with Italian sausage, 'nduja and Fior di Latte mozzarella on a fluffy wood-fired dough with just the right hint of char is excellent. Or if you're feeling a little less traditional, give the 'Granchio' of crab meat, rocket and cherry tomato a whirl. Finish things off with the house tiramisu and an amaro, or sample the negroni selection. Just bring an appetite and a loud voice to cut through the rowdy buzz of an extremely well-attended restaurant.
If you test positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms and are awaiting test results, you must isolate. It's not a new rule. But, the Victorian Government has just introduced new penalties for those who aren't following these isolation orders. If you're caught out and about, not isolating in your home, you could now be hit with a $4659 on-the-spot fine — or, if you repeatedly break the rules, sent to the Magistrates Court and fined up to $20,000. The Victorian Government announced the new penalties, which are up from the current $1652 on-the-spot fines, after discovering that about 27 percent of Melburnians have not been following the state's isolation rules. At a press conference today, Tuesday, August 4, Premier Daniel Andrews said that the Australian Defence Force conducted more than 3000 door-knocks checking on people who were meant to be in isolation and found more than 800 people were not at home and "could not be found". "That is completely unacceptable," the Premier said. Because of this, the Government is not only increasing the penalties for breaking the rules, but banning those in isolating from exercising. Until now, you could go outside for socially distant exercise if you were in isolation, but moving forward you must remain on your property. "You will need to stay in your home or on your property. Fresh air at the front door. Fresh air in your frontyard or backyard or opening a window. That's what you're going to have to do," the Premier said. "Apart from getting emergency medical care... there is literally no reason for you to leave your home." As well as for those who've tested positive or are awaiting test results, isolation may be required if you've come in close contact with a confirmed case or have been to an 'exposure site' named by the Department of Health and Human Services. Returning international travellers must also go into mandatory hotel quarantine. The DHHS has outlined all the rules of isolation and quarantine over here (but it has not yet updated the rules surrounding exercise). "We will do everything we possibly can to support people, but you have got to be isolating when you are directed to do so, for a close contact or for a positive case and, of course, we want people who have been tested and awaiting results, we want you to isolate as well," the Premier said. "If there are any insecure work issues, if there are financial issues, then there is that $300 payment." The Federal Government also yesterday announced a $1500 payment for those who do not have sick leave and must self-isolate. If you're not isolating, but are in metro Melbourne, you are still allowed to exercise once a day, for an hour, within five kilometres of your home, under the new stage four restrictions. Regional Victoria is now under stage three restrictions. For more information about the status of COVID–19 in Victoria and the rules around isolation, head to the DHHS website.
Five years after shutting up shop — and 95 years after originally opening — The Capitol Theatre is back in business. As initially announced in 2018, the historic spot has been turned into a multi-purpose space by owners RMIT, welcoming Melburnians through the doors once again from Monday, June 3. Visitors to the revamped theatre can expect a mix of old and new. Originally designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin (who also designed the city of Canberra), the same Chicago Gothic-style architecture remains, including eye-catching lighting design, the venue's standout foyers and detailed ceilings that'll make you look up. But the site's facilities have had an upgrade, with the 580-seat theatre now boasting surround sound, digital projection and a retractable cinema screen. A new 150-person salon space is also available for events and exhibitions and the lounge and foyer areas have enjoyed a makeover. And, yes, there's both a level-one coffee and candy bar and a second-floor wine bar. [caption id="attachment_724595" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tatjiana Plitt[/caption] RMIT intends to use the landmark venue for more than just a cinema, too. There are plans for it to host everything from virtual reality to gaming and video art through to live theatre, talks, conferences and lectures. It will also play host to the Australian Centre for the Moving Image's programme, while the museum's Federation Square home undergoes its own transformation. You can read more about ACMI's multimillion-dollar renovation over here. Come Thursday, June 20, The Capitol will start up its projectors and kick off its film screenings with a series of ACMI films. Christening the space is Carlos Reygadas' new movie Our Time on June 20 and a Viva Varda retrospective — a celebration of trailblazing filmmaker Agnès Varda, who passed away earlier this year — running from June 21–30. With ACMI not expected to reopen until 2020, the screen museum will settle in to The Capitol for at least nine months. Find The Capitol at 113 Swanston Street, Melbourne. It will begin screenings from Thursday, June 20. To checkout the full lineup and buy tickets, head to the website. Images: Tatjiana Plitt.
Melbourne's sixth and current lockdown has been in place for almost a month, and it won't be lifting in the coming days. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews advised today, Sunday, August 29, that statewide stay-at-home conditions will remain in effect past 11.59pm on Thursday, September 2 — the last end date that was announced back in mid-August — given that Victoria continues to record high numbers of locally acquired COVID-19 cases. The city first went into this lockdown at the beginning of August — just nine days after the previous lockdown ended — and has seen the stay-at-home rules extended not once but twice already, and a nighttime curfew implemented as well. In regional Victoria, the rest of the state started this lockdown with Greater Melbourne, then was released early just a few days later, and then re-entered lockdown just over a week ago. "Essentially, we see far too many cases today for us to be able seriously consider opening up later on this week. Obviously, with almost 100 cases today — where many of them remain mysteries, many of them were out in the community during their infectious period — it is not going to be possible for us to be able to open up our Victorian community in just a few days time," the Premier said. Victoria reported 92 new locally acquired cases in the 24 hours to midnight last night, and has a current total of 778 active cases throughout the state. New case numbers have been sitting above 40 per day since Wednesday, August 18. Exactly how much longer the lockdown will run hasn't yet been announced. "We will, however, look at all the different options," said the Premier. "We don't have advice yet from the Chief Health Officer as to what is possible, and what is safe, later on this week. As soon as we get that advice and decisions are made, we'll announce them, and we'll give people as much notice as we can." Reported yesterday: 92 new local cases and 1 new case acquired overseas (currently in HQ). - 31,436 vaccine doses were administered - 51,030 test results were received More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/AJHvafjSxh — VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 28, 2021 Before this lockdown, and the July stay-at-home stint before it, the city was also asked to remain at home in February and May this year. Thanks to the two lockdowns in 2020, too, the rules are obviously very familiar now, with Victorian residents still only permitted to leave home for five reasons: shopping for what you need, when you need it; caregiving and compassionate reasons; essential work or permitted eduction that can't be done from home; exercise; and getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Also in place during this lockdown: a curfew from 9pm–5am, meaning that no one is permitted to leave their house overnight except in very limited circumstances — which includes authorised work. On that subject, if you need to leave your home at all and at any hour for authorised work, you need to get a permit to do so. Victorians must also stay within five kilometres of their homes, unless you're leaving for permitted work or shopping for essentials if there are no shops in your radius. Private gatherings are banned, as are public gatherings. While you can't have any visitors enter your home in general, there are single bubbles, and intimate partner visits are allowed. So, if you live alone, you can form a bubble with another person or see your other half. Playgrounds, basketball hoops, skate parks and outdoor exercise equipment are all closed. You can also only exercise outdoors with one other person, plus any dependents you both have, even if you live in a larger household — and for a maximum of two hours per day. Also, masks are mandatory everywhere outside of your home, and can't be removed outdoors to drink alcohol. Weddings are not permitted, unless on compassionate grounds, while funerals are limited to ten. Hairdressing and beauty services, indoor physical recreation and sport venues, swimming pools, community facilities including libraries, entertainment venues and non-essential retail venues remain closed — and hospitality venues have reverted back to takeaway-only. Supermarkets, bottle shops and pharmacies are still open, however. As always, Victorians can keep an eye on the local list of exposure sites at the Department of Health website — it keeps being updated as more locations are identified. For those looking to get tested, you can find a list of testing sites including regularly updated waiting times also on the Department of Health website. And, has remained the case throughout the pandemic, Victorians should be looking out for coughs, fever, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, or loss of smell or taste, symptoms-wise. Victoria will still remain in lockdown until after Thursday, September 2; however, the exact end date hasn't yet been announced. For more information about the rules in place at the moment, head to the Victorian Department of Health website.
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols should never be far from anyone's ears — but there's listening to the iconic 1977 punk album, the only studio record from Sex Pistols, and then there's hearing it played live in full. Down Under in 2025, Australian and New Zealand music lovers will be treated to that very experience, with the group locking in a tour. Band members Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Glen Matlock are heading this way in April, as part of a project dubbed Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter. As the band's moniker makes plain, this is a case of punk figures joining punk figures, as first happened back in August 2024 for fundraiser gigs in London. Clearly the setup worked. This will be Sex Pistols' first trip this way in almost 30 years, since 1996 — this time pairing drummer Cook, guitarist Jones and bassist Matlock with Gallows, Pure Love and Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes alum Carter on vocals. The group have announced seven stops, starting in Auckland in Christchurch in Aotearoa, before playing Aussie gigs in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle. John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, the band's well-known former lead vocalist, was last part of their lineup in 2008 — which is when Sex Pistols last toured before 2024. Hearing Never Mind the Bollocks live and in full almost five decades since its original release means hearing 'Anarchy in the UK', 'God Save the Queen', 'Pretty Vacant', 'Bodies', 'Holidays in the Sun' and more. If this feels like an incredibly rare chance to experience a slice of music greatness, that's because it is — and if you need any more motivation, Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter's UK gigs earned rave reviews. [caption id="attachment_986909" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Henry Ruggeri[/caption] Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter 2025 Australia and New Zealand Tour Wednesday, April 2 — Town Hall, Auckland Thursday, April 3 — Town Hall, Christchurch Saturday, April 5 — Festival Hall, Melbourne Sunday, April 6 — Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide Tuesday, April 8 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Wednesday, April 9 — Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane Friday, April 11 — Fremantle Prison, Fremantle Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter are touring Australia and New Zealand in April 2025, with ticket presales from 11am on Tuesday, January 21 and general sales from 12pm on Thursday, January 23. Head to the Australia and New Zealand tour websites for more details.
To mark the release of the 24th James Bond film and to celebrate its 18-year partnership with the iconic 007 franchise, Heineken is offering fans one last chance to live the glamorous life of a cinema spy and attend an exclusive party filled with glamour, prestige, special guests and VIP performances. You won’t know where. You won’t know when. You just have to be ready. It's the final escapade for Heineken's huge nationwide project The Catch, teaming up with the boutique experience cultivators Mr Aristotle. Throughout November and December, Heineken has been hosting exclusive SPECTRE 007 events that have been so mysterious participants haven't known what’s in store until they were suddenly whisked away — they've sent lucky folks on a helicopter pub tour, personal stylist sessions and a Rottnest Island adventure to name a few. Now there’s just one day left to enter The Catch, and seize your chance to attend a huge VIP SPECTRE party in a secret and exclusive location in Melbourne. So secret, in fact, that guests are simply being sent coordinates rather than its actual location. Should you win, you’ll find yourself walking the red carpet alongside 250 celebrity, VIP and media guests, before taking in a show by a mystery international headline act. The colossal Sydney party, which took over Darlinghurst's National Art School, saw a themed theatrical journey with aerial performers, dancers, blackjack tables and surprise performances by Michelle Martinez, Peking Duk, Heather Mailman, Solo Tohi and Jonny Sonic from the Potbelleez with Mumma Mugs on vocals — so odds are the Melbourne gig will be just as epic. To be in the running, you’ll need to sign up via The Catch website, but be quick, because the competition ends TODAY.
Most superheroes don't boast the same skills; however, in making the leap from comics to the screen and beyond, they can follow similar paths. Yes, the fact that great power means great responsibility should apply to all caped crusaders. Yes, many often segue from ordinary folks to suddenly super-powered saviours. And yes, in Black Panther and now the Spider-Man franchise's cases, one of their best are returning to cinemas a couple of years later as a spectacular movie-and-music event. Film fans can see Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in cinemas right now, and should. It's exceptional, and already one of the best flicks of 2023. Keen to revisit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the title that started everyone's favourite friendly neighbourhood webslinger's current animated movie series? That's coming to Australia via Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Live in Concert. Five years after Into the Spider-Verse debuted on the silver screen, it's swinging back onto one, this time at The Plenary at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday, October 21. Making its Australian premiere as a concert, the animated masterpiece will be accompanied by a 32-piece orchestra, plus DJ Total Eclipse from The X-Ecutioners on the turntables. Everything from The Lion King to Star Wars and Harry Potter, plus The Princess Bride, Home Alone and Toy Story as well, have scored or are about to score the orchestral treatment — but that approach alone wouldn't suit Into the Spider-Verse and its Brooklyn-based Spidey Miles Morales (Shameik Moore, Wu-Tang: An American Saga). Hence the fusion with DJ-spun tracks, to truly do not only Daniel Pemberton's (an Oscar-nominee for The Trial of the Chicago 7) score justice, but also the soundtrack featuring Post Malone, Lil Wayne, Jaden Smith and Nicki Minaj, too. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one of my favourite scores I've ever written. Utilising a full orchestra, crazy electronics and unbelievable turntable scratching techniques amongst a million other things, it is so technically complex I never thought we'd ever be able to actually reproduce it in a live concert, but somehow, we have," said Pemberton about the project. The concert version heads Down Under after premiering in New York in March 2023, and with fellow stops around the US currently taking place, as well as shows in the UK planned after its Australian run. Fingers crossed that this dazzling mix of sound and vision will do whatever the Spider-Verse can in other Australian cities, although only a Melbourne date has been announced so far. Check out the trailers for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in Concert and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse itself below: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Live in Concert is playing The Plenary, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne on Saturday, October 21, with tickets on sale via Ticketmaster from Friday, July 28. Images: Adela Loconte.
A free coffee is rarely a bad thing but a free coffee made by the Australian International Coffee Awards' reigning Champion Australian Coffee Roaster? Now that's a very good thing indeed. That's exactly what's up for grabs this month as Campos Coffee celebrates its new Chapel Street flagship with a week of caffeinated giveaways. From Saturday, January 28–Saturday, February 4, the South Yarra cafe is handing out a stack of complimentary coffees with guests entitled to two free coffees at once. Perfect if you've got a coffee-loving mate in tow, or are simply in desperate need of a back-to-back caffeine infusion. You don't have to purchase anything to score your freebie, but if you're after a bite to eat while you're there, you will find cabinets laden with sandwiches and sweet treats courtesy of AM Bakehouse, plus plant-based goodies from Mahadeva's Kitchen. Best of all, your freebie can be any size and style you like — even if you're in a double oat milk latte kind of mood. The free coffees are available during opening hours each day from 7am weekdays and 8am on weekends. Images: Jana Langhorst
2020 has been a devastating year to cap off a tough decade for arts and entertainment in Australia. The global pandemic that has decimated the industry comes after years of overbearing lockout laws and strict licensing regimes for festivals in NSW. Now, as the industry begins to emerge from the rubble, it's getting some much-needed support from the Federal Government. The Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund is a government initiative that will invest $75 million into supporting the arts and entertainment sector across the next 12 months. One recipient of the funding is Splendour in the Grass and Falls Festival organiser Secret Sounds, who has received funding to put towards launching a new festival in 2021. Secret Sounds Group Co-CEO Jessica Ducrou didn't give much away about the new venture, telling Concrete Playground, "Secret Sounds is thrilled to receive financial support and recognition for an exciting innovative project we look forward to launching in 2021." The new festival will sit alongside the 2021 edition of Splendour in the Grass, which is currently planned for July with headliners Gorillaz, The Strokes and Tyler, the Creator pending mass gathering and border restrictions. The festival was postponed to 2021 in June due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal Minister for the Arts Paul Fletcher announced the Victorian recipients of RISE grants on Monday, November 23. Among the Victorian recipients are the Melbourne Theatre Company, which received just over a million for three new Australian works, as well as the Melbourne International Arts Festival, Melbourne Fringe and Grande Experiences who recently worked on Sydney's Van Gogh Alive. [caption id="attachment_636254" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bec Taylor[/caption] The full list of recipients is expected next month, but according to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald, 28 NSW organisations will receive funding. Some of those include Byron Bay's Bluesfest, which is forging ahead with its Easter long weekend event for 2021, the Darlinghurst Theatre Company and the Australian Theatre for Young People. A new Secret Sounds-run festival will be a welcome addition to 2021 after a year void of major events and music festivals. Summer festival announcements have begun to roll, however, following the easing of gathering restrictions across the country in recent months. So far This That, Untitled Day Party, the newly funded Byron Bay Bluesfest and Yours & Owls have all announced 2021 dates with all-Australian lineups. A full list of recipients of the RISE grant will be announced mid-December. You can stay up to date at arts.gov.au. Top image: Justin Ma
There's no one way to choose which airline to fly with, or what time to take to the skies. Pure and simple necessity might leave you without options anyway. But if you're the kind of traveller who loves saying cheers to your flight with a wine or beer in your hand, Qantas has poured out some great news just as the holidays are about to hit. That free drink that everyone usually scores from 4pm in economy on the carrier's routes? It's now kicking in at midday. So, effective immediately, travellers flying with Qantas on all domestic and regional flights from 12pm onwards will be offered a complimentary beverage. Your options: a red or white wine, with Aussie drops getting the nod, or a One Fifty Lashes Premium Pale Ale. This is the first time that the Australian airline is bringing forward the opening time for its onboard economy wine bar — which, of course, isn't a part of the plane where everyone hangs out with a drink in their hand, but the name that Qantas has given its vino-slinging offering. Your drink will come with either lunch or snacks, depending on the time that you're flying — or even dinner, because the free beverage still applies after 4pm. Fancy a quiet sip by yourself? Remember that Qantas also now lets you pay for neighbour-free seating, purchasing the middle seat so you have a gap between you and the next person. For more information about Qantas' onboard dining options, head to the airline's website.
Spend your Saturday celebrating Chinese art and culture when the NGV rings in the Chinese New Year with a full day program of workshops, tours, performances, music and food. It'll all go down on Saturday, January 25 from 12–4pm — and it's absolutely free. Start off with a guided tour of the gallery's Asian art collections at either midday or 3.30pm. The collection spans a whopping four millennia of culture and history through artist mediums such as sculpture, ceramics, jade, calligraphy and prints. A curator's tour of the Japanese Design collection will also be running at 3pm. Traditional Chinese knot making workshops will run throughout the afternoon, and you can also have a go at Tījiànzi in the Grollo Equiset Garden — a game where you have to keep an elaborate shuttlecock off the ground for as long as you can without using your hands. DJ Silky Jazz will also be spinning tunes all afternoon, too. Dumplings, noodles and steamed buns will be on offer in the Great Hall throughout the day. For the full list of events, check out the NGV International website.
Brisbane's King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are one of the country's best garage psych bands out right now. The seven-strong dude crew have just announced the release of their exquisitely-titled fifth album I'm In Your Mind Fuzz out on Friday, October 31 through Flightless/Remote Control Records. The first track off the album 'Cellophane' dropped at the beginning of September and if you're a fan of fuzzy, fast psychedelia you'll be spinning this one right off the table. The King Gizz lads haven't just settled for local snaps. Over the last few months, the crew have snavelled some seriously impressive international handshakes — the new album will be released by Thee Oh Sees frontman John Dwyer on his label Castle Face Records in the USA and in the UK and Europe on Heavenly Recordings. Big. Stuff. Though many have tried, no one quite nails the Gizz sound like their new friend John Dwyer of Castle Face Records: "This Australian beast of a band with a bear of a name and a thick herd of band members delivers many things to us on this warped song cycle — a skeleton of propulsive kraut-beat fleshed out with a liberal dose of citric sweetness, flutes and harmonicas bleeding through the mix often and welcomingly, tons of wah and a hero's journey/heavy metal early '80s fantasy sort of vibe, and many lovely left turns into psychedelic mellowing, both groovily and sometimes with just a dash of DMT dread. The whole thing is just gooey with tape manipulations, phase shifts, and saturations, but there are clearly many tasty tidbits that bubble to the top, and they're sticky." Epic. The 'sticky' sounds of King Gizz have been meandering through their Sino-Australian tour dates, with massive, rambunctious shows already in the bag from Sydney and Perth, as well as the crew's debut festival performance in Beijing this year. Get amongst the Mind Fuzz before the lads head over to Europe — after their US East Coast tour with White Fence, alongside NYC's CMJ and a special Terminal 5 show supporting Mac De Marco. Supported by The Murlocs. https://youtube.com/watch?v=s8azlP-FgHs
If seafood and wine is your idea of a perfect culinary pairing, then drop by South Melbourne's Lamaro's Hotel on Mondays to enjoy as many mussels as you can stomach for $30. The stuff-your-face food event may not be a Harry Potter or Willy Wonka-themed brunch, but hot and fresh mussels is a pretty great way to help cure the start-of-week blues. The Cecil Street pub is piling plates high with steamed Spring Bay mussels every Monday from 12pm. And you can keep ordering (endlessly) until you're full. Well, until the kitchen closes. But 12 hours should be more than enough time for you to get your mollusc fix. The endless molluscs are available for $30, which also includes a pot of beer or a glass of house wine. If you like cheap things, you'll be happy to know Lamaro's also does $5 rosé all day on Wednesday, burgers and pots for $20 on Tuesdays and steak and shiraz for $30 on Thursday.
Northsiders, prepare to lose your collective minds (and begin a heated debate about the values of coriander) because Prahan's beloved Vietnamese restaurant, Hanoi Hannah, is coming to Carlton for the month of July. At Yo-Chi, of all places. Hanoi Hannah is moving in to the frozen yoghurt bar's palatial digs on Faraday Street from Tuesday, July 5. The culinary couple's collab name is 'pho-yo' — but before you freak out about hybrid foodstuffs, rest assured they won't be serving pho-flavoured frozen yoghurt. "No, no that would be disgusting," laughs Simon Blacher, co-owner of Hanoi Hannah. "But we're doing a collaborative flavour with Yo-Chi, a Hanoi Hannah-inspired frozen yoghurt." The HH crew will also be serving up signature dishes like their yellowfin tuna and wasabi rice paper rolls and fresh chargrilled chicken and BBQ pork banh mi with pickled carrot, daikon, cucumber and coriander with crispy shallots. "It's quite a simple set up [at Yo-Chi] so we can't do any elaborate cooking, but it'll be enough to serve up a good lunch and dinner," Blacher says. "Plus, the food we're known for — like pho and bahn mi — isn't complicated, just done well." Yo-Chi will also be serving up a bespoke dessert menu as well as their regular self-serve fro-yo and toppings. You can grab the decadent (and hilariously named) Lava'Nother (a chocolate mud cake with a ganache centre, vanilla frozen yoghurt, fresh strawberries and chocolate soil) to accompany your Vietnamese feast. Blacher also revealed they'll be offering delivery after the pop-up gets settled in, so you won't even have to leave the house to indulge. No word, however, on whether northside will be getting their own permanent Hanoi Hannah, but we're hopeful. When asked, Blacher won't give anything away. "It may be true…who knows. We're always looking for new venues but nothing concrete at the moment". Here's hoping Hannah finds a permanent home north of the Yarra at some point in the future — but in the meantime, we'll settle for bahn mi, pho and fro-yo in the warm, wooden interior of Yo-Chi.
Once, heading to Nambour was all about gawking at over-sized tropical fruit. Actually, that's still the case. Back in 2013, however, the giant pineapple-owning powers that be added another reason to head to the Sunshine Coast's biggest tourist attraction: an annual music festival with an ace lineup. Well, it's usually annual. The 2020 event has understandably changed its dates a few time in this COVID-19-afflicted year, and now it's moving the whole shebang to 2021. So, you can once again expect some top-notch entertainment across four stages, plus a ferris wheel, food stalls aplenty, arts, crafts and other activities, and camping, all when The Big Pineapple Music Festival returns on Saturday, May 22, 2021. It's enough to make you block out a weekend and start planning a few days spent in the shadow of one of the country's favourite big things. The 2021 lineup hasn't been announced yet, because it isn't as logistically simple as just sticking with 2020's bill — so watch this space regarding who you'll be dancing to. And, ticket-wise, all 2020 purchases are still valid. If you can't attend the new date, you can request a refund between September 9–October 12. If you don't have a ticket yet, fingers crossed that you'll be able to pick one up once the event has processed any returned tickets. [caption id="attachment_760926" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Charlie Hardy[/caption] The Big Pineapple Music Festival will take place on Saturday, May 22, 2021. For further details about the date change, ticketing and refunds, visit the event's website. Images: Charlie Hardie / Claudia Ciapocaa.
The NSW Government announced that 'affirmative consent' will be a legal requirement, as part of a number of changes for the state's sexual assault laws. Announced yesterday, Tuesday, May 25, the amendments enact recommendations initially made in November last year in a review by the NSW Law Reform Commission — and will legislate that affirmative consent needs to be actively communicated, and can't be presumed. As part of the proposed changes, a person will need to say or do something to communicate in the affirmative in order to give consent. And, if a partner doesn't do something to ascertain that consent — verbally or via an action — it will not be reasonable for them to assume that consent has been given. The changes to the Crimes Act 1900 are designed to both simplify and strengthen existing sexual assault laws in order to better protect and deliver justice for victims and survivors. Consent will still need to be given freely and voluntarily, a requirement that the amendments are also designed to strengthen. Announcing the planned reforms, Attorney General Mark Speakman explained that "this means we will have an affirmative model of consent, which will address issues that have arisen in sexual offence trials about whether an accused's belief that consent existed was actually reasonable." He continued: "no one should assume someone is saying 'yes' just because they don't say 'no' or don't resist physically. Steps should be taken to make sure all parties are consenting." The LRC's November report recommended 44 changes, all of which are supported by the NSW Government — by either adopting them in full or in principle. A bill covering the reforms will be introduced to NSW Parliament later in 2021. https://twitter.com/SaxonAdair/status/1397013547809316864 Responding to the news, Rape & Sexual Assault Research & Advocacy Director and survivor advocate Saxon Mullins called the reforms a big leap forward for the state. "After so many years fighting for this, it's almost hard to believe we'll actually have affirmative consent laws in NSW. I know there's so much more to do in this space, but this is a huge win for survivors, and I'm so grateful for all the survivors and academics who've paved the way for this to happen." A sexual assault survivor herself, Mullins has been advocating for changes to the state's consent laws since her own case was dismissed in 2017, with the LRC's review initially sparked by media coverage of her story. For more information about NSW's planned changes to the state's sexual consent laws, head to the Department of Communities and Justice website.
Australia is set to receive a healthy dose of 1920s razzle-dazzle, as record-breaking Broadway favourite Chicago shimmies onto stages across the country later this year. An Aussie production of the smash-hit musical will debut at Sydney's Capitol Theatre in August, before heading to Brisbane's QPAC Lyric Theatre in November and wrapping up at Arts Centre Melbourne from December. The longest-running American musical in Broadway and West End history, the original Kander & Ebb musical has reached the eyeballs of over 31 million people worldwide. Inspiring 2002's Academy Award-winning film of the same name, it tells the tale of a Chicago housewife and nightclub dancer who twirls through a whirlwind of murdered lovers, jail-time, fierce rivalries and tabloid sensationalism set in the decadent 1920s. Taking the stage for Chicago's local run is a cast of well-known Aussie names — catch acclaimed all-rounder Natalie Bassingthwaighte in the lead role of Roxie Hart, musical theatre veteran Alinta Chidzey as her rival Velma Kelly, and ARIA-winning superstar Casey Donovan playing Matron 'Mama' Morton. Based on a 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, the production showcases music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and choreography by Tony Award winner Ann Reinking. Hot on its black patent heels are two more award-winning musicals heading Down Under. Saturday Night Fever will head to Capital Theatre in Sydney this August, before Waitress hits Aussie shores in 2020. Chicago premieres at Sydney's Capitol Theatre in August 2019, before heading to Brisbane's QPAC Lyric Theatre in November and the Arts Centre Melbourne in December. You can score tickets for the Sydney show or sign up for the Melbourne and Brisbane waitlists over at the website. Images: Paul Kolnik, Peter Brew Bevan, Jeremy Daniel
If you're just a hunk, a hunk of burning love for the one and only Elvis Presley, and you live in Australia, you've been having quite the few years. A massive exhibition dedicated to the king of rock 'n' roll came our way, Baz Luhrmann's AACTA-winning and Oscar-nominated biopic Elvis wowed fans, and Sofia Coppola's Priscilla is the headed to the big screen soon. Also on offer: a new Presley-focused stage musical that debuted in Sydney in August, is now playing Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre, and has just locked in its 2024 dates and stops. Called Elvis: A Musical Revolution, this production features more than 40 of the singer's hits, because there's just that many songs to include. All of the expected favourites are worked into the biographical musical, which means everything from 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Hound Dog', 'That's All Right' and 'All Shook Up' through to 'Suspicious Minds', 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'Burning Love' and 'Blue Suede Shoes'. 'Good Rockin' Tonight', 'Earth Angel', 'Don't Be Cruel' and 'Are You Lonesome' get a whirl as well, as do 'Blue Moon of Kentucky', 'See See Rider', 'Can't Help Falling in Love' and 'A Little Less Conversation'. That's what the show's audience hears. As for what everyone sees — what makes the musical one for the money, naturally — the production's story tells Elvis' tale from his childhood in Tupelo, Mississippi through to his triumphant '68 Comeback Special. If you've seen the aforementioned Elvis, none of it will be new news, but Elvis: A Musical Revolution works its hip-swinging magic anyway. Sydney will get a return date with the musical from February 2024, with Elvis set to be in the building at the State Theatre again. After that, it's Her Majesty's Theatre's turn in Adelaide from April, Crown Theatre in Perth's time in the spotlight from May and HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast's from June. Starring Rob Mallett (House Husbands, Singin' in the Rain), Elvis: A Musical Revolution hails from David Venn Enterprises, which has also been behind Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical, The Wedding Singer and Bring It On: The Musical — and arrives via a partnership with Authentic Brands Group, the owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises. Also behind the scenes, the musical's book comes courtesy of David Abbinanti and Sean Cercone — who have Saturday Night Fever: The Musical and Ghost: The Musical on their resumes — with Abbinanti also composing the orchestrations, arrangements, and additional musical and lyrics. "We couldn't be happier about the response from audiences, and look forward to celebrating the life and music of Elvis Presley with even more Elvis fans and theatre lovers across the country," said producer David Venn. "It's a testament to our cast and creative team, as well as the enduring legacy of The King." ELVIS: A MUSICAL REVOLUTION 2024 AUSTRALIAN DATES: Until Sunday, December 24, 2023 — Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne From February 2024 — State Theatre, Sydney From April 2024 — Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide From May 2024 — Crown Theatre, Perth From June 2024 — HOTA, Home of the Arts, the Gold Coast Elvis: A Musical Revolution is currently playing Melbourne, and will keep touring Australia until at least mid-2024. Head to the show's website for further details, tickets for Melbourne and to join the ticket waitlist elsewhere. Images: Ken Leanfore / Daniel Boud.
Ms Elwood, the southside hawker-style eatery and bar, has a whole array of pan-Asian offerings on the go for hungry folk — but even tastier news is its weekly specials. As well as $1 dumplings on Mondays and Wednesdays (with $9 margaritas also available on the latter), Thursdays are Bao Night, with $3 bao. But its piece de resistance might be its occasional bottomless cocktail nights. At a price of $25 (or $30 at peak times), you get all you can drink cocktails for 90 minutes. Running on both Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23 — the first 90-minute slot kicking off at 4pm and the last at 9pm — the deal is only valid if you order food (lining your stomach is important) and bookings are essential. The cocktails you'll get to drink (limitlessly) include frosé, espresso martinis, lychee martinis and long island iced teas. That's a whole heap of fancy cocktails for less than a pineapple.
The days are getting crisper, summer holidays are done and dusted, and cosy weekend getaways are likely already on your mind. Happily, this year brings a cracking new regional Victorian accomodation option, with the soon-to-launch Wine Down Pop-Up Hotel. The two beautifully upcycled shipping container hotels are the work of Contained — known for crafting bars, restaurants, offices and hotels out of shipping containers — and are all at once comfy, luxuriously appointed and sustainably crafted. And they'll soon be well-travelled, moving across three of the state's best-loved wine regions between April and July. Designed to inspire some weekend adventures in your own backyard, the pop-up eco hotel will be making its home in pinot noir country at South Gippsland's Waratah Hills Vineyard (April 3–28), before a stint in King Valley at the family-run Dal Zotto Wines, producers of some of Australia's first prosecco (May 6 to June 2). It'll wrap things up at picturesque Macedon spot, Mount Towrong Vineyard (June 7 to July 7). [caption id="attachment_711809" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mount Towrong.[/caption] Nestled among the vines, the self-contained Wine Down retreats come kitted out with a swag of high-end trimmings, boasting a plush queen-size bed with primo Cultiver linen, full bathroom stocked with Hunter Lab toiletries, a locally focused minibar, breakfast and your very own hot tub. Guests will also get to indulge in a private onsite wine tasting experience and a bottle of the property's finest vino. And if you really want to live it up, there are optional add-ons like gourmet picnic hampers, or a guided yoga session among the vines. The Wine Down Pop-Up Hotel is heading to South Gippsland from April 3–28, King Valley from May 6–June 2, and Macedon from June 7–July 7. Prices start at $275 per night from Sundays through Thursdays and booking are now open via visitvictoria.com. Images: Daniel John Bilsborough and Jiwon Kim.
Since 8pm on Thursday, August 5, the entire state of Victoria has been in lockdown in an effort to stop the latest COVID-19 cluster from spreading. The stay-at-home period was initially put in place for seven days, and looks set to remain in effect for at least that whole period in Melbourne — but folks in regional parts of the state are getting an early mark. Just like back in your school days, if you live anywhere in regional Victoria, you'll be allowed to ditch the rules and resume some fun earlier than expected. As Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews advised at the state's daily coronavirus press conference today, Monday, August 9, lockdown will end everywhere other than Melbourne from 11.59pm tonight. "There have been no new coronavirus cases in regional Victoria and thousands of primary close contacts have been cleared from the regions over the last few weeks," said the Premier in a statement. Accordingly, the five reasons to leave the house will be lifted in regional Victoria this evening. As always happens after a lockdown, a number of other restrictions will be put in place, however. These restrictions will largely mirror the rules in effect before this lockdown — so yes, they'll sound familiar. Folks in regional Victoria will able to go out for whatever reason they like. The five-kilometre rule is also being scrapped, so you can roam far and wide without worrying about the distance. Of course, the state's border rules, and those of other parts of Australia, may hamper your trip if you're planning on heading interstate. And, if you're planning to head to Melbourne, you can only do so for a permitted reason, and you'll still have to follow Melbourne's lockdown restrictions while you're there. Obviously, that travel rule doesn't work both ways. People in Melbourne still can't venture more than five kilometres from home, and therefore can't leave their house to visit regional parts of the state. [caption id="attachment_818003" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Robert Blackburn via Visit Victoria[/caption] Also permitted in regional Victoria from 11.59pm tonight: catching up with your nearest and dearest, but you'll have to gather outdoors in public, and only in groups of up to ten people. You still won't be able to have anyone come over to your house, so nothing is changing there. Masks will still remain mandatory both indoors and out, too — so the rules there aren't changing there, either. Also, food and hospitality businesses will be able to open with a cap of 100 people, as well as a density quota of one person per four-square metres. Retail stores, gyms, hairdressers and beauty salons can reopen as well, with the same density cap. Entertainment venues can welcome in up to 300 people per outdoor space and 100 people per indoor space, with the one person per four-square metres density requirement. That said, businesses that are permitted to reopen in regional Victoria but must remain closed in Melbourne — so places like restaurants offering dine-in meals, beauty services and venues — will be required to check the IDs of everyone they serve. [caption id="attachment_787513" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Rob Blackburn via Visit Victoria[/caption] The lockdown changes come as Victoria now has 103 active COVID-19 cases, including 11 new cases identified in the 24 hours to midnight last night. All of the current stay-at-home rules remain in effect in Melbourne until at least 4pm on Thursday, August 12, which means only leaving your home for five reasons: shopping for what you need, when you need it; caregiving and compassionate reasons; essential work or permitted eduction that can't be done from home; exercise; and getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Regional Victoria's lockdown will end at 11.59pm on Monday, August 9. For more information about the rules that'll be in place from that time, head to the Victorian Department of Health website. Top image: Robert Blackburn via Visit Victoria.
This grand Flinders Lane restaurant from Melbourne hospitality stalwart Chris Lucas (Chin Chin, Yakimono, Society) is quite the showstopper. From the entrance, the lofty 145-seat space sets out to envelop you, presenting a plush vision of rich blue banquettes and waitstaff clad in white jackets. It's a study in modern elegance, with a steakhouse-style offering of Northern Italian flavours and a name inspired by the Americano cocktail — here, crafted with a cacao nib vermouth and served with chocolate-dipped mandarin. An impressive 14-metre marble bar offers front-row seats to the open kitchen and its pride and joy: a handmade, custom-built woodfired oven imported from Naples and a Josper charcoal grill. There's a strong sense of old-school hospitality at play, matched by a menu steeped in European sensibilities made with traditional Italian techniques. Expect elegant tableside finishes aplenty. Snack fiends and aperitivo aficionados will be all about the cicchetti offering, starring the likes of grilled sardines with pancetta and aged reggiano with organic Piedmontese chestnut honey. Freshly baked focaccia is teamed with green olive butter, and you'll find a premium lineup of Italian salumi. Grill Americano's signature pasta offerings are whipped up fresh each day. Standouts include a lobster tortellini with saffron and a spanner crab linguini. Though most will find it hard to pass up the selection of steaks, all traditionally finished with a lick of olive oil, lemon and rosemary. Their meaty hero is a hefty 1.2-kilogram Bistecca alla Fiorentina t-bone. And come dessert there's an unmissable menu of sweet creations that includes a reworked tiramisu and an elegant take on the trifle. There's an expansive, global curation of vino, with a Coravin system to take full advantage of the 2000-strong cellar collection. Meanwhile, signature cocktails at Grill Americano feature plenty of Italian influence and subtle twists — try the smoked negroni, or a house bellini fusing white peach and elderflower. Images: Adrian Landers and Grill Americano
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 July's haul of newbies. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL RIGHT NOW MYSTERY ROAD: ORIGIN Origin stories: everyone's getting them. Caped crusaders like Batman and Spider-Man have several; Hercule Poirot's moustache even has its own. Originally played by Aaron Pedersen on both the big and small screens, Mystery Road's Jay Swan doesn't particularly need one, given that plenty about why he's the man and detective he is, and the balancing act he's forced to undertake as an Indigenous cop as well, has already been teased out. But Mystery Road: Origin isn't jumping on a trend, repeating itself or prolonging a long-running saga. It isn't trying to justify having someone else play Swan, either. Rather, this latest entry in Australia's best crime saga leaps backwards because this franchise has always danced with history anyway. It has to; you can't explore the reality of life in Australia today, the racial and cultural divides that've long festered across this sunburnt country, and all that Swan encounters and tussles with, otherwise. In Mystery Road: Origin, it's 1999 — and, when its six episodes begin, Swan isn't quite a detective yet. He's already a man of weighty thoughts and few words, though, and he's played by Mark Coles Smith (Occupation: Rainfall), who couldn't do a more impressive job of stepping into Pedersen's (High Ground) shoes. The series spies Swan as he's driving along sweeping salt plains. His destination: Jardine, his Western Australian home town, population 1000. Resident sergeant Peter Lovric (Steve Bisley, Doctor Doctor) welcomes Swan back eagerly, but his return isn't all cheers, especially when he stumbles across a robbery en route and gets cuffed by senior constable Max Armine (Hayley McElhinney, How to Please a Woman). Tensions also linger with Swan's estranged dad Jack (Kelton Pell, another The Circuit alum), the town's old rodeo hero, and with his hard-drinking elder brother Sputty (Clarence Ryan, Moon Rock for Monday). Indeed, that initial stickup, the crimewave waged by culprits in Ned Kelly masks that it's soon a part of, and those persistent family struggles will all define the detective's homecoming. Mystery Road: Origin streams via ABC iview. Read our full review. GREAT FREEDOM Great Freedom begins with 60s-style video footage captured in public bathrooms, showing Hans Hoffmann (Franz Rogowski, Undine) with other men, and with court proceedings that condemn him to prison purely for being gay. That was the reality in West Germany at the time due to Paragraph 175, which criminalised homosexuality — and, when he's incarcerated at the start of this equally tender and brutal Austrian film, Hans isn't surprised. He's been there before, as writer/director Sebastian Meise (Still Life) conveys almost like he's chronicling time travel. It's a canny touch, as relayed in the movie's cinematography, editing and overall mood. The minutes, days, hours, weeks and more surely move differently when you've been locked up for being who you are, and when being in jail is the better alternative to being in a concentration camp. Meise jumps between Hans' different stretches, exploring the imprint all that time behind bars leaves, the yearning for love and freedom that never dissipates, and his friendship with initially repulsed fellow inmate Viktor (Georg Friedrich, Freud). In the process, Great Freedom resounds with intimate moments and revealing performances, as anchored by another stellar turn by Rogowski. The German talent has had an outstanding few years thanks to Victoria, Happy End, Transit, In the Aisles and Undine. He's as absorbing as he's ever been here, too, in a movie that stares his way so intently — and with such a striking sense of light and shade — that it could be painting his portrait. Friedrich is just as impressive, in an outwardly thorny part. Great Freedom streams via SBS On Demand. THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH Who'd want to try to step into the one and only David Bowie's shoes? Only the brave and the bold. Two people earn that description in The Man Who Fell to Earth, the new TV sequel to the iconic 1976 movie that starred the music legend in the role he was clearly born to play: an alien who descends upon earth and ch-ch-changes history. Bill Nighy (Buckley's Chance) is charged with taking over the character of Thomas Jerome Newton and, thankfully and with style, he's up to the task. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) slides into the same kind of part that Bowie owned in the original, however, as fellow extra-terrestrial interloper Faraday. He's this follow-up's newcomer to the planet, and he's just as destined to do big things. That's not a spoiler — early in the first episode, Faraday addresses a massive crowd like he's Steve Jobs announcing Apple's latest product, and The Man Who Fell to Earth's tech success uses the occasion to spin his origin story. Who'd want to try to pick up where one of the best sci-fi films ever made left off? That'd also be the brave and the bold, aka Clarice creators Jenny Lumet and Alex Kurtzman. Drawing inspiration from silver screen gems is obviously the pair's niche of late, but it's worth remembering with this new effort — which takes its cues from Walter Tevis' 1963 novel of the same name, too — that Kurtzman was also behind exceptional 2008–13 sci-fi series Fringe. Indeed, The Man Who Fell to Earth 2.0 feels like the perfect use of his talents, with the series thinking big and brimming with urgency in its vision of a world that might only be able to be saved by a spaceboy who truly cares about stopping climate change's damage. To follow through with his mission, though, Faraday also needs the help of former MIT physics whiz Justin Falls (Naomie Harris, No Time to Die). The Man Who Fell to Earth is available to stream via Paramount+. STRANGER THINGS For the second time in about as many months, Stranger Things has dictated everyone's playlists. While Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)' is still getting a workout, so is Metallica's 'Master of Puppets' thanks to the big two-episode end to the 80s-set hit's fourth season — two bumper movie-length instalments which clocked in at 85 minutes and 150 minutes each. Yes, it likely would've worked better if those two episodes had been split up, rather than going for length. Based on episode durations from earlier seasons, the Duffer brothers could've dropped five parts instead. The psychology behind the move was effective and ingenious, though; who didn't make a date to binge their way through as soon as they hit, because diving into two huge instalments in one night felt different than committing to five shorter chapters? Everyone did, and Netflix even momentarily crashed as a result. This season across both volumes certainly had a theme: going big in as many ways as possible. Season four gave the horror/slasher vibe a massive workout, thanks to new big bad Vecna — and ramped up the confrontations, showdowns, killings, flashbacks, drama and globe-trotting in the process. Clearly, the soundtrack budget was hefty. So was the performance given by season four MVP Sadie Sink (Fear Street) as Max Mayfield bore the brunt of Vecna's murderous and mind-bending games, and the place that Joseph Quinn (Small Axe) will always have in the show's fans' hearts thanks to his turn as Eddie Munson. And, the list of questions about what comes next in Stranger Things' upcoming fifth and final season, and where Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, Godzilla vs Kong), Mike (Finn Wolfhard, Ghostbusters: Afterlife), Will (Noah Schnapp, Waiting for Anya), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo, The Angry Birds Movie 2), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin, Concrete Cowboy), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton, The Souvenir Part II), Steve (Joe Keery, Free Guy), Robin (Maya Hawke, Fear Street), Nancy (Natalia Dyer, Things Seen & Heard), Joyce (Winona Ryder, The Plot Against America) and Hopper's (David Harbour, Black Widow) stories will end, is sizeable. Stranger Things streams via Netflix. Read our full review of volume one of Stranger Things' fourth season. I LOVE THAT FOR YOU It works for television networks greenlighting new comedies, and it works for viewers picking what to watch, too: take one of Saturday Night Live's extremely amusing ladies, give them their own show, see laughs and smarts follow, profit. I Love That For You actually boasts two such talented women, although they didn't crossover during their SNL stints: Molly Shannon and Vanessa Bayer. The latter plays Joanna Gold, who has always dreamed of being on SVN — Special Value Network, that is. When she was a kid (Sophie Pollono, Small Engine Repair), she was diagnosed with childhood leukaemia, and obsessing over her idol Jackie Stilton (Shannon, The Other Two) as she sold anything and everything helped as a distraction. Now an adult, Joanna still wants to do exactly the same, and leave her job alongside her dad (Matt Malloy, The Sex Lives of College Girls) at Costco behind. But when she gets the chance, she pulls an unimpressed face during her first on-air stint that kills sales, so she says her cancer has returned to avoid getting fired. On paper, that's an extremely tricky premise. In lesser hands, it'd be downright horrible. As well as being a comic gem here, in SNL, and in everything from I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson to Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Bayer had childhood leukaemia herself — and if she didn't, and wasn't also one of I Love That For You's creators and writers, it's highly likely that this series wouldn't work. Thankfully, instead, it takes the same approach that Bayer has clearly always taken since her teenage experience, using humour in clever, sensitive, sincere, amusing, savvy and sometimes surreal ways. The show keeps demonstrating why its setup is worth tackling, too, asking questions about trying to live a normal life and work out who you are after surviving such a diagnosis; how and when sympathy is genuine, earned and milked; and guilt on several levels. It's also an entertaining workplace comedy and a takedown of consumerism, greed and the fact that anything, including sob stories, are for sale if there's something to be sold. And, of course, Bayer and Shannon are dynamite in their shared scenes. I Love That For You streams via Paramount+. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK THE RESORT If the last couple of years in pop culture are to be believed, it mightn't be a great idea to go away with a character played by Cristin Milioti. In three of the always-excellent actor's most recent high-profile roles, she has decamped to idyllic surroundings, only to find anything but bliss awaiting. Palm Springs threw a Groundhog Day-style time loop her way in its titular setting. Made for Love saw her trapped by sinister futuristic possibilities. In The Resort, which hails from Palm Springs screenwriter Andy Siara, she now has the ten-year itch — and a getaway to Mexico that's meant to soothe it slides swiftly into a wild mystery. In this instantly twisty comedy-thriller Miloti plays Emma, spouse to William Jackson Harper's (The Good Place) Noah. After a decade of marriage, they're celebrating at the Bahía del Paraíso in the Yucatán, but they're really trying to reignite their spark. At this stage in their relationship, he recoils at her bad breath, she makes fun of him falling asleep on the couch, and they're rarely in sync; even when they're floating along the resort's lazy river, cocktails in hand, they want different things. Bringing them together: a missing-persons case from 15 years ago, after Emma goes tumbling off a quad-biking trail, bumps her head and spies an old mobile phone. It belongs to Sam (Skyler Gisondo, Licorice Pizza), a guest at the nearby but now-shuttered Oceana Vista Resort, who was on holidays over Christmas 1997 with his parents (IRL couple Dylan Baker, Hunters, and Becky Ann Baker, Big Little Lies), as well as his girlfriend Hannah (Debby Ryan, Insatiable). As Emma learns via Sam's photos and text messages, all wasn't rosy in his romantic life. After running into fellow guest Violet (Nina Bloomgarden, Good Girl Jane), who was travelling with her dad Murray (Nick Offerman, Pam & Tommy), his SMS history skews in her direction. But the pair promptly disappeared, and any potential clues were lost when a hurricane struck and destroyed their getaway spot. If The White Lotus joined forces with Only Murders in the Building, it'd look a whole lot like this entertaining series, which also includes an ace performance by Luis Gerardo Méndez (Narcos: Mexico) as Baltasar, Oceana Vista Resort's head of security. The Resort is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS Live life long enough and anything can happen. Enjoy an undead existence for hundreds of years and that feeling only multiplies, or so the wealth of movies and TV shows that've let vampires stalk through their frames frequently remind viewers. A sharehouse-set mockumentary focused on bloodsucking roommates who've seen more than a few centuries between them, What We Do in the Shadows embraces that idea like little else, though — as a Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi-starring movie, aka one of the funniest New Zealand comedies of this century, and then as a hilarious American TV spinoff. The premise has always been ridiculously straightforward, and always reliably entertaining. A camera crew captures the lives of the fanged and not-at-all furious, squabbles about chores, a rising body count and avoiding sunlight all included. Their domesticity may involve sinking their teeth into necks, blood splatters aplenty, sleeping in coffins and shapeshifting into bats, but it also covers arguing about paying bills, keeping the house clean and dealing with the neighbours. The TV version's stellar fourth season picks up after a climactic end to the show's prior batch of episodes, which only finished airing back in October 2021. Its bloodsucking roommates were all set for their own adventures, but a year has passed in the show, bringing them back together. Nandor (Kayvan Novak, Cruella) returns from exploring his ancestral homeland, and he's more determined than ever to find a wife. He also thinks that one of his many from the Middle Ages could be the one again; bringing back a Djinn (Anoop Desai, Russian Doll) to grant his wishes helps. After a stint in London with the Supreme Vampiric Council, Nadja has big ambitions, too, setting her sights on opening a vampire nightclub. As for her beloved Laszlo (Matt Berry, Toast of London and Toast of Tinseltown), he's still taking care of the baby-turned-boy that burst its way out of energy vampire Colin Robinson's (Mark Proksch, The Office) body. For the fourth time around, nothing about this delight sucks, not for a second, with season four as wonderful as ever. What We Do in the Shadows streams via Binge. Read our full review. BETTER CALL SAUL When the middle of August arrives, the best show on television for the past seven years — other than the one-season return of Twin Peaks — will come to an end. That isn't new news, but it's still monumental, especially given that Better Call Saul is the spinoff to an also-phenomenal series. Unlike when Breaking Bad wrapped up, though, there's no future immediately in sight. Perhaps that's fitting. Better Call Saul is TV's great tragedy precisely because we always knew what its prequel segments, which comprise the overwhelming bulk of the show, will lead to. We know who Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk, Nobody) is when he's a shady Albuquerque criminal defence attorney aiding Walter White (Bryan Cranston, Your Honor) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul, Westworld). We know what all his choices then lead to, because we've already seen it. But every single moment that's been brought to the screen in sunny colour in Better Call Saul so far, including in the now-airing second half of the series' sixth and final season, desperately makes you wish that everything you know is destined to occur won't. That said, this latest and last batch of episodes has already overflowed with surprises as it works towards that big farewell. And, it's been delighting and astonishing as only Better Call Saul can — with meticulous precision in everything that it slips across the screen, including in its tightly plotted and never-predictable narrative, its cinematic imagery and its many, many marvellous performances. That includes continuing to unfurl Lalo Salamanca's (Tony Dalton, Hawkeye) part in this long-running crime saga, as the first half of the season did with Nacho Varga (Michael Mando, Spider-Man: Homecoming). It spans seeing where being Saul's wife, as well as his happy co-conspirator in getting revenge against their old boss Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian, Gordita Chronicles), leads Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn, Veep). TV won't be the same without Saul Goodman. It certainly won't be s'all good, man. Still, what a swan song this extraordinary show is treating viewers to — even with three episodes left to go. Better Call Saul streams via Stan. Read our review of the first half of Better Call Saul's sixth season. BLACK BIRD 2022 marks a decade since Taron Egerton's first on-screen credit as a then-23 year old. Thanks to the Kingsman movies, Eddie the Eagle, Robin Hood and Rocketman, he's rarely been out of the cinematic spotlight since — but miniseries Black Bird feels like his most mature performance yet. The latest based-on-a-true-crime tale to get the twisty TV treatment, it adapts autobiographical novel In with the Devil: a Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption. It also has Dennis Lehane, author of Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River and Shutter Island, bringing it to streaming. The focus: Jimmy Keene, a former star high-school footballer turned drug dealer, who finds his narcotics-financed life crumbling when he's arrested in a sting, offered a plea bargain with the promise of a five-year sentence (four with parole), but ends up getting ten. Seven months afterwards, he's given the chance to go free, but only if he agrees to transfer to a different prison to befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser, Cruella), and get him to reveal where he's buried his victims' bodies. Even with new shows based on various IRL crimes hitting queues every week, or thereabouts — 2022 has already seen Inventing Anna, The Dropout, The Girl From Plainville and The Staircase, to name a mere few — Black Bird boasts an immediately compelling premise. The first instalment in its six-episode run is instantly gripping, too, charting Keene's downfall, the out-of-ordinary situation posed by Agent Lauren McCauley (Sepideh Moafi, The Killing of Two Lovers), and the police investigation by Brian Miller (Greg Kinnear, Crisis) to net Hall. It keeps up the intrigue and tension from there; in fact, the wild and riveting details just keep on coming. Fantastic performances all round prove pivotal as well. Again, Egerton is excellent, while Hauser's menace-dripping efforts rank among the great on-screen serial killer portrayals. And, although bittersweet to watch after his sudden passing in May, Ray Liotta (The Many Saints of Newark) makes a firm imprint as Keene's father. Black Bird streams via Apple TV+. THE REHEARSAL Early in the first episode of The Rehearsal, Nathan Fielder meets Kor Skeete, a Jeopardy!-watching, trivia-loving New Yorker with a problem that he's seeking help with. Skeete has been lying to his bar trivia team about his educational history, claiming that he has a master's degree instead of a bachelor's degree, and he's hoping for assistance in coming clean. His biggest worry: how his pal Tricia might react, and if it'll end their friendship. First, however, in their initial meeting in Skeete's apartment, Fielder asks Skeete if he's ever seen any of Fielder's past work. Skeete says no, despite claiming a particular interest in television as his favourite trivia subject — and his response to what Fielder explains next will likely mirror anyone watching who comes to this with the same fresh eyes. Until now, Fielder was best known for Nathan for You, in which he helped companies and people by using his business school studies. Fielder played a version of himself, and the result is best described as a reality comedy. It's the kind of thing that has to be seen to be truly believed and understood, and it's both genius and absurd. In The Rehearsal, Fielder is back as himself. He also wants to use his skills to help others again. His tactic this time is right there in the name, letting his subjects rehearse their big moments — baring all to a friend in that first episode, and exploring parenthood in the second, for instance. The show's crew even build elaborate sets, recreating the spots where these pivotal incidents will take place, such as the bar where Skeete will meet Tricia. Fielder hires actors to assist, too. And, adding yet another layer, Fielder also steps through the same process himself, rehearsing his first encounter with Skeete, with thanks to an actor, before they cross paths. If you've ever thought that life was a big performance, and that every single thing about interacting with others — and even just being yourself — involves playing a role, you'll find much to think about in this fascinating, funny, often unsettling, quickly addictive series. There's reality TV and then there's the way that the deadpan Fielder plays with and probes reality, and while both can induce cringing, nothing compares to this. The Rehearsal streams via Binge. A RECENT CINEMA RELEASE TO CATCH UP WITH RIVER Some actors possess voices that could narrate almost anything, and Willem Dafoe (The Northman) is one of them. He's tasked with uttering quite the elegiac prose in River, but he gives all that musing about waterways — the planet's arteries, he calls them at one point — a particularly resonant and enthralling tone. Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom (Sherpa) knew he would, of course. She enlisted his vocal talents on her last documentary, Mountain, as well. Both films pick one of the earth's crucial natural features, capture them in all their glory at multiple spots around the globe, and wax lyrical about their importance, and both make for quite the beguiling viewing experience. Thanks to writer Robert Macfarlane, Dafoe has been given much to opine in River, covering the history of these snaking streams from the planet's creation up until today. He hones in on their importance to human civilisation — in making much in our evolution possible, in fact, and also the devastation we've wrought in response since we learned to harness all that water for our own purposes. That said, River could've simply paired its dazzling sights with its Australian Chamber Orchestra score and it still would've proven majestic and moving. The footage is that remarkable as it soars high and wide across 39 countries, and peers down with the utmost appreciation. Here, a picture truly is worth a thousand of those Dafoe-uttered words, but the combination of both — plus a score that includes everything from Bach to Radiohead — is something particularly special. River is available to stream via ABC iView. Read our full review. A STONE-COLD CLASSIC TO BINGE IN FULL THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW TV shows about TV are like movies about movies: someone somewhere is usually making one. But every television series that's told a tale about making a television show since the early 90s has owed an enormous debt to The Larry Sanders Show — and everything that's still to come always will. One of HBO's earliest examples of original programming, it parodies the late-night talk show world. (Yes, 30 Rock's satire of Saturday Night Live took more than a few cues from it.) The show within the show is also called The Larry Sanders Show, as hosted by its namesake (the late, great Garry Shandling), and its day-to-day production is always hectic. There's Larry's ego to deal with, the distinctive management style of producer Artie (the also late, great Rip Torn), the parade of staffers and assistants (including a pre-Entourage Jeremy Piven and Reality Bites-era Janeane Garofalo), and a constant array of demanding guests. And, Larry's personal life always bleeds into the chaos, including the spoils and trappings of fame, and his romantic relationships. Curb Your Enthusiasm, another series set within showbiz that's also about someone called Larry, similarly wouldn't be what it is if The Larry Sanders Show had never existed. Tonally, they share plenty — the acerbic humour, the willingness to be both blunt and brutal, and the well-known names skewering themselves, too. Thanks to its fondness for walk-and-talk scenes, The Larry Sanders Show has left its imprint as far and wide as ER and The West Wing as well. It isn't just phenomenal because it helped shape so much great television that followed, however. Perhaps the best sitcom ever made, it's as smart as it is savage, surreal and hilarious, and the combination of Sanders and Torn, both at their absolute best, is what TV dreams are made of. Making your way through the 90 episodes, which originally aired across six seasons between 1992–98, is a breeze. Wanting to binge them again immediately afterwards comes just as easily. The Larry Sanders Show streams via Binge. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May and June this year. You can also check out our running list of standout must-stream 2022 shows so far as well — and our best 15 new shows from the first half of this year, top 15 returning shows and best 15 straight-to-streaming movies.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME In Spider-Man: No Way Home, everyone's favourite friendly neighbourhood web-slinger still does whatever a spider can. (Don't expect the catchy cartoon theme song, though.) To be precise, Spidey's latest outing — starring Tom Holland (Chaos Walking), as every live-action film in the ever-sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe that's featured the superhero has — sees him do whatever spider-men have for decades. The masked crusader shoots webs, flings them about New York and swings around the city. He helps people, battles crime, literally hangs out with his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya, Dune) and saves the world, too. As the movie's trailers revealed, Spider-Man also fights whoever his on-screen predecessors fought. The twist that isn't a twist because it's part of the flick's marketing: that villains from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's stints as Spidey show up here. Those familiar faces, including Willem Dafoe (The Card Counter) as the Green Goblin, Alfred Molina (Promising Young Woman) as Doctor Octopus and Jamie Foxx (Soul) as Electro, aren't Peter Parker's initial problem, as viewers of 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming and 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home will already know. No Way Home picks up immediately after the latter, after Spidey's secret identity has been blasted across the internet by online conspiracist J Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons, Ride the Eagle). The media swiftly make Peter "the most famous person in the world", the public get hostile and his college prospects — and MJ and Ned's (Jacob Batalon, Let It Snow) as well — take a hit. The only solution he can see: asking Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog) to cast a spell to make everyone forget who he is. With drastic magic comes drastic consequences, hence those recognisable nefarious folks who know Spidey — and definitely know that he's Peter Parker — yet don't recognise the MCU's version. Marvel's next flick after this one is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so the franchise is about to go big on alternate worlds, but No Way Home still doesn't actually jump into that domain first. It's a curious choice on the whole huge saga's part to take cues from the animated delight that is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which relished having multiple spider-realms, got inventive with both its concept and visuals, won an Oscar and is easily the best spider-flick to-date, all without sitting within the MCU itself. Indeed, the live-action franchise's third stand-alone Spider-Man movie can't shake the feeling that it's playing catch-up. Directed by Jon Watts, as all three recent web-slinging films have been, No Way Home does more than give flesh, blood and spandex to an ace idea already brought to the screen a mere three years back. It also delivers the heftiest helping of fan service that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever dished up. The franchise has long enjoyed hitting all the obvious crowd-pleasing notes, but Martin Scorsese's 2019 comment that compared MCU fare to theme parks rings particularly true here — unsurprisingly given this Spider-Man outing wants to elicit the loudest of screams and shouts from its audience. Buy the ticket, take the cinematic ride, ooh and aah over every clear spin and foreseeable twirl: amid the stock-standard CGI-packed action scenes and triple-layered Spidey nods to iterations past, not all that long ago and present, that's what No Way Home seeks from its viewers. And, it takes the rollercoaster approach to evoking that reaction, rolling its story down the most glaring of tracks. Read our full review. THE LOST DAUGHTER Watching Olivia Colman play a complicated woman is like staring at the ocean: it's never the same twice, even just for a second; it couldn't be more unpredictable, no matter how comfortable it appears; and all that surface texture bobs, floats, swells, gleams and glides atop leagues of unseen complexity. That's always been true of the British actor's absolute best performances, which could fill any body of water with their power and resonance. It's there in her acidic work in The Favourite, which won her an Oscar, and also in The Crown's more reserved turn as a different English monarch. It flowed through the devastating Tyrannosaur, which perhaps first truly showed the world exactly what Colman could do — and has marked her Academy Award-nominated supporting part in The Father, plus TV standouts Peep Show, Broadchurch, The Night Manager and Fleabag. It's fitting, then, that The Lost Daughter tasks Colman with glaring at the sea, and doing so both intently and often. A necessity of the narrative, as penned on the page by My Brilliant Friend's Elena Ferrante and adapted for the screen by actor-turned-filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal, it's a touch that washes through the movie with extra force due to its star. Colman plays comparative literature professor Leda, who fills much of her time peering at the ocean as she summers on a Greek island — and also people-watching thanks to the loud, entitled Queens family that keep invading her chosen patch of sand. While both gazing at the waves and taking in the onshore domestic dramas, Leda sees her own ebbs, flows, thorns and flaws reflected back. Vacationing alone, Leda isn't on a getaway as much as she's escaping — not actively, but because that's her default mode. She's never willing to stray far from her work, shuffling through papers as she sunbathes and flirtatious young resort manager Will (Paul Mescal, Normal People) moves her lounger to keep her in the shade; however, as flashbacks show, the urge to flee all markers of apparent normalcy has long gushed in her veins. Leda tells anyone who asks that she has two daughters (Bianca is 25 and Martha is 23, she frequently offers), but they're heard via phone calls rather than seen as adults. She's prickly when mum-to-be Callie (Dagmara Domińczyk, Succession), of those noisy interlopers, asks if her extended group can take over Leda's beach umbrella. But in Nina (Dakota Johnson, The Nowhere Inn), the raven-haired mother of frequently screaming toddler Elena (debutant Athena Martin Anderson), she spies more of herself than she's been willing to confront for decades. The Lost Daughter's title references an incident one sunny day when Elena disappears as Callie, Nina and company — the latter's shady husband Toni (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, The Invisible Man) as well — idle by the water's edge. The Americans react with distress, but Leda calmly strides forth amid the chaos, all while battling memories of being a young mum (Jessie Buckley, I'm Thinking of Ending Things) searching for her own absent child. Indeed, loss and escape are serpentine concepts here, winding through Leda's past, her affinity for the clearly unhappy Nina and the second wave of mayhem that erupts when Elena's beloved doll also goes missing. The concept of trouble in paradise proves just as layered, infecting idylls scenic and, in pondering the supposed bliss that we're all told motherhood brings, societally enforced. Read our full review. THE SCARY OF SIXTY-FIRST When Succession roves over New York's skyline — in its opening credits, as set to that bewitching theme tune, or just during its episodes — it gleams with wealth and privilege. Depiction doesn't equal endorsement, however, with the stellar HBO satire sharply cutting into its chosen world at every chance it gets. As one of the show's supporting cast members, Dasha Nekrasova slides into that realm, too, but that's not her only dalliance with the city's architecture, power brokers and all that both represent. The Scary of Sixty-First, the Red Scare podcast host's feature directorial debut, also savages the rich and seemingly consequence-free. It clasps onto a real-life story that's made that case inherently, abhorrently and monstrously. There's no gentle way to put it, but the fact that Nekrasova plays a woman investigating if a bargain Upper East Side duplex was one of Jeffrey Epstein's "orgy flophouses" says much about this purposefully provocative conspiracy thriller horror-comedy. College pals Addie (Betsey Brown, Assholes) and Noelle (the film's co-screenwriter Madeline Quinn) can't believe their luck when they find the cheap property, even if it does visibly need a clean — and have mirrored ceilings, as well as some questionable lock choices — and even if they don't appear completely comfortable with committing to live together. But from night one, the literal nightmares begin. Soon they're spying blood stains, scratched walls and eerie tarot cards, and feeling unsettled in a variety of ways. Enter Nekrasova's stranger, who comes sporting a dark-web rabbit hole's worth of paranoia and bearing the Epstein news. Addie and Noelle take the revelation in vastly different fashions, with the former seeming possessed by one of Epstein's child victims, and the latter diving deep into potential theories with her unnamed new friend. Letting a headline-monopolising sex offender loom large over the plot is an instant attention-grabber — and, while The Scary of Sixty-First doesn't lunge straight down that path, it feels like Nekrasova and Quinn's starting point. Their movie smacks of conjuring up a controversial premise, then fitting parts around it; thankfully, they have more than one target in their sights, plenty to ponder, and Nekrasova's bold vision bringing it all together. From the outset, there's much to mine about the hellishness of finding somewhere to live in your twenties, and in NY especially. The things you'll settle for in that situation clearly also earns the feature's focus. The same rings true of post-college life and its intrinsic awkwardness in general — and being expected to act like a fully functioning adult, and make pivotal decisions, without yet amassing the experiences to match. By contemplating the hostile real-estate market and the ordeal that is trying to find your place in the world (emotionally, intellectually and physically), The Scary of Sixty-First immediately unpacks power, money and privilege. If Addie and Noelle could afford somewhere else or had other support at their disposal, there wouldn't even be a story. When Nekrasova appears and drops Epstein's name, that excavation digs down several levels. Again, there's no shortage of ideas, directions or tangents to explore, and the script explodes as many as possible. This is a movie about a dead billionaire paedophile, the wealth of theories that've sprung up around him and the 24-hour news cycle that's made his tale inescapable. It's also about how doomscrolling has become routine, the grim routes incessant web searches can take you down, the normalisation of true-crime obsession, the proliferation of conspiracy-driven rhetoric and relentless chaos as the natural state of the world. Read our full review. UNDINE For the second time in as many films, German writer/director Christian Petzold teams up with Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, but you could never accuse the trio of doing the same thing twice. Back in 2018, they turned Transit into a war-torn romance that mused on conflict's lingering scars. With Undine, they reinvent a German myth about a water spirit who can only turn human via love, but has to kill her paramour if he's unfaithful. A familiar chemistry lingers, though, as it's meant to. Whenever directors and actors keep collaborating — especially when directors retain multiple actors across different movies — that's built into the fabric of the film. As viewers, we can't help recalling our knowledge of their shared history, as that's just how we respond to art, people and connections. A movie not only about romance, longing, obsession and their consequences, but about the impact of the past on the present, Undine provokes and rewards this reaction. In her 2020 Berlinale Silver Bear-winning role — taking home the prize for for Best Actress — Beer (Never Look Away) plays the film's titular character. Before the influence of folklore kicks in, this Undine is a historian who guides museum tours about Berlin's origins. When her boyfriend Johannes (Jacob Matschenz, Babylon Berlin) breaks up with her suddenly before work one day, however, she warns that she'll have to kill him. It sounds like a heat-of-the-moment threat, a plea to get him to change his mind and the kind of exaggeration that arises when romance ends in tears, but there's more to her words than mere histrionics. Indeed, even as a new love blossoms with industrial diver Christoph (Rogowski, Great Freedom), who she meets that very day at the same cafe where her relationship with Johannes ends — in a spectacular meet-cute involving an aquarium, fittingly — Undine's past isn't easily overcome. Petzold is no stranger to pondering the tides of history that just keep ebbing, flowing and swelling. His filmography is filled with contemplations of the subject, including in the Nina Hoss-starring Barbara and Phoenix, and also with Beer and Rogowski in Transit. In Undine, he's at his most haunting, with recognising the fluidity of life — and that it keeps repeating, alongside humanity's most inherent instincts — a key point of interest. While the movie never drops its shroud of mystery, Petzold is also at his most overt with another of his familiar fascinations: the way that love provides the trusty banks that both ordinary and seismic woes keep rushing across. That's literally Undine's tale, as drawn from fable. Without romance, she loses her place on dry land; as she notes in a lecture about the Berlin Palace, and about the evolution of the city over its lifespan, it's as if "progress were impossible". When he's enraptured with an actor or several, no one should want Petzold to move too far forward. Bathing in Beer and Rogowski's rich chemistry is an experience to linger in, and linger Undine does. Always a meticulous filmmaker, Petzold soaks in every second his two stars spend in each other's company, with the pair's magnetism so potent that it almost drips through the movie. He luxuriates in Beer's presence in general, too, letting her cast her spell over the audience as Undine does with Christoph — and once did with Johannes. She's one of cinematographer Hans Fromm's favourite points of focus, unsurprisingly. A Petzold regular, he gifts the film not just an enchanting and beguiling look to suit its mood, but the chance for viewers of this giddy fantasy to fall head over heels for its blend of the surreal, sweet, supernatural and soul-stirring. Undine is screening in Sydney and Melbourne. ONE SECOND Any new film by Zhang Yimou deserves eyeballs the world over, but One Second, the Raise the Red Lantern, Hero and House of Flying Daggers director's latest, hasn't charted the smoothest route to screens. Pre-dating the filmmaker's Cliff Walkers, which reached Australian cinemas earlier in 2021, it was originally scheduled to show at the 2019 Berlinale. But after the festival began, it was removed from the lineup — and while a "technical problem" was cited as the official reason, Chinese censorship was floated as the real cause. One Second eventually surfaced on home soil late in 2020, and elsewhere around the globe in the last few months of 2021. It's now an immensely timely movie, although purely by coincidence. Every great feature by a great director inherently pays tribute to the medium of film, so that's hardly new for Zhang — but celebrating the silver screen, and the pandemic-relevant yearning to bask in its glory when life conspires to get in the way, isn't just a side effect here. It's 1975 when One Second begins, and crowds are flocking to makeshift small-town picture palaces to see propaganda films. The specific movie drawing in the masses: 1964's Heroic Sons and Daughters, which prison-camp escapee Zhang Jiusheng (Zhang Yi, Cliff Walkers) is desperate to catch. Alas, after finding his way into one village through mountains of sand that wouldn't look out of place in Dune, the fugitive discovers that he's already missed the showing that the night. Worse still, the film's canisters are being packed onto a motorbike to be driven to their next destination. And, he isn't the only one keen to make the movie's acquaintance, with the orphaned Liu (Liu Haocun, another Cliff Walkers alum) swiftly stealing its sixth reel before it departs town. An unlikely pair seeking the same thing for different reasons — he's heard that his estranged daughter appears in newsreel footage in the feature, while she wants the celluloid to make a lamp for her younger brother — Zhang and Liu are soon following the rest of the film through the desert to its next stop. That's where Mr Movie (Fan Wei, Railway Heroes) awaits, courting profit and glory compared to Zhang's desperation to glimpse his family and Liu's resourcefulness (that said, sporting a mug calling himself the 'World's Greatest Projectionist', the man behind the travelling cinema that's screening Mao-approved fare to entertainment-starved locales does still love his a clear fondness for his job). But the reels don't return intact, sparking a homemade restoration campaign that needs the entire town's help. Yes, loving film is also a tactile experience here. Zhang has always been able to make any kind of movie he's put his mind to, and has the four-decade-long resume to prove it. With 2009's A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop, he even remade the Coen brothers' Blood Simple. One Second sees him masterfully blend film-adoring melodrama with a Cultural Revolution-era portrait that's laced with just the amount of commentary that managed to escape the censors. He revels in sight gags and chases that could've been lifted out of silent comedy greats from a century back as well, giving cinema yet another ode. The end result mightn't be Zhang's absolute best — his resume isn't short on highlights — but it easily ranks among his most endearing. One Second makes exceptional use of its dust-swept setting, too, and its trio of chalk-and-cheese main players; plus, in celebrating an artform that's both tangible and an illusion, Zhang still makes a clear statement. One Second is currently screening in Melbourne, and will release in Sydney and Brisbane on January 20, 2022. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on August 5, August 12, August 19 and August 26; September 2, September 9, September 16, September 23 and September 30; October 7, October 14, October 21 and October 28; November 4, November 11, November 18 and November 25; and December 2 and December 9. For Sydney specifically, you can take a look at out our rundown of new films that released in Sydney cinemas when they reopened on October 11, and what opened on October 14, October 21 and October 28 as well. And for Melbourne, you can check out our top picks from when outdoor cinemas reopened on October 22 — and from when indoor cinemas did the same on October 29. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Suicide Squad, Free Guy, Respect, The Night House, Candyman, Annette, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Streamline, Coming Home in the Dark, Pig, Big Deal, The Killing of Two Lovers, Nitram, Riders of Justice, The Alpinist, A Fire Inside, Lamb, The Last Duel, Malignant, The Harder They Fall, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, Halloween Kills, Passing, Eternals, The Many Saints of Newark, Julia, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Zola, Last Night in Soho, Blue Bayou, The Rescue, Titane, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Dune, Encanto, The Card Counter, The Lost Leonardo, The French Dispatch, Don't Look Up and Dear Evan Hansen.
