With the festive season just around the corner, Toblerone is helping to reduce the busy load of Christmas present planning. The premium chocolate brand is offering all the inspiration of indulgence you could ask for with a 'Gift Inspiration Station' at Emporium Shopping Mall from Thursday, November 14 to Sunday, November 17, from 11am—7pm on weekdays and 10am–6pm on weekends. The event is intended to help the hectic pre-Christmas rush, allowing shoppers to relax and gain inspiration for possible gift ideas with the help of its new Christmas treat — Toblerone Pralines. At this time-limited pop-up, you'll have a chance to sample some of these delicious treats. Featuring a smooth, velvety centre with tiny pieces of crunchy honey and almond nougat, crafted into a signature diamond-shaped treat. If you know a sweet treat fiend, enjoy a moment of chocolatey bliss together or just by yourself. The festivities don't end there. Toblerone is also offering a complimentary gift-wrapping service, making it easier for you to add a personal touch to your presents: each day from 1pm-2pm, the first 20 visitors can have up to two small or medium-sized gifts professionally wrapped for free. This Christmas, Toblerone Pralines are available in two festive options: a 180g box, or a limited-edition 45g box with a special holiday design, both available at your local Coles or Woolworths. The Toblerone Christmas Activation runs from 14–17 November at Emporium Shopping Mall. Find out more and purchase the 180g Pralines from Woolworths here, 45g Pralines from Woolworths here, 180g box from Coles here and the 45g box from Coles here. Images: Supplied
When Super Mario Kart first rolled onto Super Nintendo consoles back in 1992, it came with 20 inventive courses and endless hours of fun. 26 years later, and the game isn't just speeding through desert tracks and rainbow roads — but onto the real-life streets, and now Google Maps. Because zooming Mario Kart-style through Tokyo wasn't enough, or bringing the IRL concept to Australia either, you can now spend the next week getting navigational directions from everyone's favourite cartoon plumber. Plus, he'll not only pop-up on the app, but as you drive along the road, he'll drive along with you on Maps — in celebration of Mario Day, which is March 10 (or MAR 10). [caption id="attachment_659698" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Google Maps[/caption] Anyone keen to take a drive with Mario simply needs to update their Maps app, then look for a question mark-shaped box that resembles a block from Super Mario Brothers. That's all there is to it — and it's not quite as fun as being able to actually play Mario Kart on Google Maps, like their Pac-Man April Fool's Day update a few years back, but it'll probably make you look up directions more often than you actually need over the next seven days. It goes without saying, but you you should still be watching the road as you drive — and not Mario on your phone, as cute as the gimmick may be. How else are you going to keep your eyes peeled for bananas, shells or gold coins? Via Google Maps.
Is this the real life? Yes, Queen — the legendary rock band behind hits Bohemian Rhapsody, Don't Stop Me Now and We Will Rock You — is coming to Australia. And, they are hoping to rock you. Two of the original band members Brian May (lead guitar) and Roger Taylor (drums) will be heading Down Under, along with long-time collaborator and frontman Adam Lambert — a Grammy nominated American singer who has been touring with the group since 2011 — keyboardist Spike Edney (who's been performing with the band since the 80s), Neil Fairclough on bass and Tyler Warren on percussion. Lambert will be performing Queen hits — made famous by iconic moustached frontman Freddie Mercury, who passed away in the early 90s — from across the band's 15 albums. John Deacon, the band's original bass player, retired in the late 90s will also not be part of the Australian tour. [caption id="attachment_696706" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody[/caption] Queen rose to prominence in the 70s and 80s, with their famed Live Aid performance — oft referred to as one of the greatest concerts in rock history — happening at Wembley Stadium in 1985. But, the band has once again been in the spotlight with the release of the Rami Malek-starring film Bohemian Rhapsody. After the biopic was released, the song 'Bohemian Rhapsody' reentered the US top 100 — for the third time. While the Aussie Rhapsody Tour — hitting Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast in February 2020 — won't star Mercury (or Deacon), it's set to be one rockin' show. With tickets most likely to sell out, put the below dates in your calendar ASAP. QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT 'THE RHAPSODY TOUR' 2020 DATES Brisbane — Suncorp Stadium, Thursday, February 13 Sydney — ANZ Stadium, Saturday, February 15 Melbourne — AAMI Park, Wednesday, February 19 Perth — Optus Stadium, Sunday, February 23 Adelaide — Adelaide Oval, Wednesday, February 26 Gold Coast — Metricon Stadium, Saturday, February 29 Queen + Adam Lambert The Rhapsody Tour pre-sales start on Wednesday, April 10 with general sale from Monday, April 15. For all sale times, head to the Ticketek website. Image: Queen + Adam Lambert, 2014. Photo: Diana Kat, Wiki Commons.
Award-winning 400 Gradi chef Johnny Di Francesco is bringing another little slice of Venice to Brunswick this year, by opening up a ciccetti bar next door to his World Pizza Championship-topper Lygon Street establishment. Housing up to 50 patrons, 400 Gradi Cicchetti will have a slightly different atmosphere to the buzzing pizzeria next door but will maintain an air of authenticity and tradition. While no details have been released in regards to the menu, we’re assured there will be a well-considered and extensive drinks list to wash it all down. Cicchetti, for those who are yet to get amongst it, are small Italian snacks or side dishes and are traditionally a Venetian style of food. They’re often served at small bars called bàcari and are consumed after breakfast, for lunch or as afternoon snacks. A few common cicchetti include marinated olives, small dishes of meat or fish and mini arancini (meat-filled rice balls). Think of it like Italian tapas, if that helps. Earlier this year Johnny Di Francesco took out the number one spot at the World Pizza Championship (Campionato Mondiale della Pizza) in Parma, Italy. His Neapolitan-style pizza is undeniably amongst the best that Melbourne has to offer, so it’s pretty safe to say this next door endeavour will have tables full from the get-go. Find 400 Gradi Cicchetti at 99 Lygon Street, Brunswick East (right next door to 400 Gradi).
This time each year, for close to three decades, the Singapore Food Festival has dished up one of Southeast Asia's best-known culinary celebrations. But for those who can't jump on a plane to catch the real deal, Windsor's Hawker Hall is serving up a local fix, with its own Singapore Food Festival running from Wednesday, August 24–Sunday, September 11. Across the two-and-a-half weeks, you'll be able to sate your travel cravings with riffs on classic Singaporean dishes, such as spicy seafood laksa, chilli lobster with fluffy mantou steamed buns, hawker-style barbecue wings and rojak fruit salad. [caption id="attachment_843531" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hawker Hall[/caption] Meanwhile, the bar has created two festival-exclusive cocktails to pair with your hawker feast, including the tequila- and umeshu-infused Cala Chameleon, and a tweaked Singapore Sling featuring gin, pineapple, cherry brandy, benedictine and curacao. And on Saturday, September 10, Hawker Hall Head Chef Andrea Kok leads a yum cha cooking class for those keen to learn how to recreate the magic at home. Tickets are $99 (available online), which includes a hefty post-class hawker feast.
Melbourne has entered yet another snap lockdown, which is set to run until at least 8pm on Thursday, August 12. It means the city's hospitality venues must keep their dine-in services closed, switching the focus to takeaway and delivery. Luckily, this isn't their first rodeo, so many of them have been able to pivot and pivot fast. The result of this head-spinning feat is that bars, cafes and restaurants across the city are already offering takeaway food and delivery meals. So, you can put down that fifth can of tuna — or give up on your most recent attempt at making sourdough — and pick up the phone, knowing you'll be doing a local business a solid while also getting to eat a tasty, fancy, succulent meal. Here are all the restaurant-quality eats where you can order takeaway or have it delivered to your doorstep. To find out exactly what you can and can't do during lockdown 6.0, head to the DHHS website. Remember, if you live in Melbourne — the five reasons to leave the house apply. Exercise is still limited to two hours a day with your household members, your intimate partner or one other person who is not from your household or your partner, but you can venture up to five kilometres from your house while you're working out or shopping. [caption id="attachment_683821" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Capitano by Kate Shanasy[/caption] VENUES OFFERING TAKEAWAY AND DELIVERY Babajan (Carlton North) This Middle Eastern spot is offering takeaway, for pick up and delivery, including the likes of moussaka, borek, bottles of wine and gift hampers. You can order online — there's a $15 fee for deliveries within 15 kilometres, with a minimum order of $100. Baby Pizza (Richmond) Pizzas, pastas, desserts and wine are all available daily for pick up and delivery from this Richmond restaurant. Order here and enjoy free delivery if you live within five kilometres. Burch & Purchese (South Yarra) Need a sugar fix? You'll find this sweet studio's usual lineup of dreamy dessert creations available for in-store pick-up, as well as delivery to select suburbs. What's more, from August 8–15, it's hosting Cheesecake Week, with a limited-edition menu of mouthwatering cheesecake varieties also on offer. Shop online here. Cannoleria by That's Amore (various locations) You can now get Cannoleria's small, large and gluten-free cannoli, as well as DIY cannoli kits delivered across most of metro Melbourne for a $5 fee (on purchases over $23). Order here. Capitano (Carlton) This corner pizza joint is offering takeaway and delivery once again, with vodka sauce tortiglioni, square pizzas, tiramisu and bottled cocktails all available to order. To nab yours, call 9134 8555 or head to the website. Chin Chin (CBD and Richmond) The Flinders Lane restaurant is again offering takeaway and delivery of its signature dishes, such as massaman curry and twice-cooked beef short rib. Also on the menu: beers, wine and a coconut panna cotta dessert. Order over here and enjoy free delivery within five kilometres of Chin Chin, or of its sibling kitchen in Richmond. As a bonus, Chin Chin's also slinging batched cocktail packs and finish-at-home dinner kits, with the latter available for delivery only this Friday, August 13 and Saturday, August 14. [caption id="attachment_729226" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dari Korean Cafe by Julia Sansone[/caption] Dari Korean Cafe (CBD) This Korean cafe is doing bulgogi burgers, fat toasties, pumpkin pie shakes and fusion cocktails (plus much more) for takeaway and delivery — with a cheeky 10 percent discount, no less. You can order over here. David's (CBD) Hot pot at home? Yep, you can order it from David's. The CBD restaurant has two different set menus available for delivery, with zero delivery fees for those within 20 kilometres of the CBD. Order by shooting them an Instagram DM, or calling 0404 960 196. Estelle (Northcote) You can pick up meals — such as chicken and coriander spring rolls, a two-person fish pie and strawberry gum profiteroles — nightly from 4.45–8pm. Or, try Estelle's selection of finish-at-home dishes, delivered via Providoor. Green Acre (Brunswick) This low-waste pizzeria is whipping up its much-loved pies for pick up, as well as delivering locally via Mr Yum. Jump online to place an order and you might even spy some weekly specials. Hanoi Hannah Vol. II (Elsternwick) and Express Lane (Windsor) Jump online to order vermicelli bowls, rice paper rolls and warming bowls of pho for pick-up from either of these Hanoi Hannah stores. Deliveroo and UberEats delivery is also available. And for something new, try the deliciously messy Drip Drop Banh Mi, loaded with chicken and lemongrass sauce, and served with a side of warm pho-inspired gravy. Hawker Hall (Windsor) This hawker-style eatery has chicken and potato curry puffs, dumplings aplenty, noods, vino and beer available for pick up and delivery daily. You can order over at the website. Horn Please (Fitzroy North) Available from 4.30pm daily, Horn Please's takeaway menu of curries and rice is 30 percent off the usual price if you order direct and pick it up. You can order via the website or by calling (03) 9497 8101. Otherwise, get the full offering of non-traditional Indian fare delivered straight to your door via Deliveroo or Uber Eats. Ichi Ni Nana (Fitzroy) and Ichi Ni Izakaya (St Kilda) A menu of Japanese classics and loaded bento boxes are now being whipped up for takeaway by the Ichi Ni kitchen in St Kilda from 5–9pm. You can pick up in-store, or have your meal dropped to your door by one of five delivery partners. Order here. Indu (CBD) This modern Sri Lankan restaurant has finish-at-home dinner boxes for two — as well as add-ons like a slow-cooked lamb raan — available to order via the website for both pick up and delivery. Find them here. For this week (August 9–15), $10 jugs of takeaway sangria are also on offer until sold out each day. Kickin'Inn (Port Melbourne) Fancy diving into a deliciously messy mixed seafood feast at home? Well, you're in luck, because this Port Melbourne newcomer is offering its Cajun-inspired menu of ocean-fresh goodies for takeaway and (free) delivery via Menulog. Right now, you'll also score 10 percent off mixed bags and Kickin'Licious products if you mention the deal upon ordering — place your order here. King and Godfree (Carlton) Offering delivery to a hefty list of Melbourne suburbs, King and Godfree's menu features everything from vacuum-sealed pizzas and loaded antipasto boxes, to pasta night packs and giant eggplant parmigianas. And plenty of vino, of course. Order online. Lagoon Dining (Carlton) You can enjoy a range of clever mod-Chinese eats from this Lygon Street diner, available for pick up (Wednesday to Saturday), as well as for delivery via Providoor (Wednesday to Sunday). Place your Providoor order here, or jump over here to pre-order for in-store collection. Little Prince Wine (St Kilda) The Prince Hotel's Euro-inspired wine bar, food store and bottle shop have lots of goodies available daily for takeaway — including coffees, sandwiches and salads, cheese, charcuterie, ready-to-eat meals and top-notch wines. You'll also find a selection of snack platters, deli goods and booze offered via Providoor. Maker & Monger (South Yarra) One word: cheese. Maker & Monger is selling the stuff to-go, delivering cheese in both 150-gram and 250-gram wedges, along with other cheese platter essentials and four of its cult-favourite cheese toasties, which you can finish off at home (so they're extra hot, not soggy). Order delivery over here. [caption id="attachment_728071" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maker & Monger[/caption] Mejico (CBD) Hankering for some Mexican eats? This CBD spot is slinging plates like brisket empanadas, salt-baked trout tacos and margarita cheesecakes, for pick up six days a week. Order here, or jump to the website to organise a finish-at-home dinner kit for delivery instead. Mister Bianco (Kew) This Kew restaurant is back to offering its Italian Job finish-at-home meal boxes for pick up and delivery (August 11–14 — check here for details). It's also got a menu of ready-to-eat fare, including dishes like the famed duck pappardelle and gnocchi osso buco — order from that lineup here, Thursday–Saturday. New Shanghai (various locations) Get your dumpling fix courtesy of this legendary restaurant group's impressive take-home and delivery menu. Order everything from xiao long bao, to kung pao chicken and wonton soup, by calling either the Emporium or Chadstone store. Panda Hot Pot (Carlton) This Carlton spot's signature Sichuan hot pot is now available to enjoy at home. Choose your spice level, then order here for pick-up or delivery. Minimum order varies depending on your delivery location. Palermo (CBD) Palermo might be closed, but it's still offering finish-at-home meals including empanadas, beef short ribs and loaded date night dinner boxes for delivery via Providoor. Order over here. [caption id="attachment_753574" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Patient Wolf Distilling Co by Dean Schmideg[/caption] Patient Wolf Distilling Co (Southbank) This inner city distillery's bottle shop will remain open on select days for takeaways, but you can also get cocktail packs, batched drinks and signature G&T cans delivered to your door by heading over here. Red Sparrow (Collingwood and Prahran) Collingwood's plant-based pizzeria is delivering its vegan slices, sides and desserts to your door via Doordash, Tuesday to Saturday. Or, you can pick up your feed from either store. For the latter, order here. Rice Paper Scissors (Fitzroy) Right now, the Rice Paper Scissors kitchen is serving up Southeast Asian banquets, signature sauces and popular dishes — like the sticky soy tofu and the sugar cane prawns — for takeaway and delivery. Jump online to see the menu and order. Also available for Lockdown 6.0 is an indulgent boozy brunch box, complete with curated playlist, clocking in at $45 per person — order yours here by 4pm for next-day delivery or pick up. Scoopy Milk Bar (CBD) Just because you're in lockdown, doesn't mean you need to forgo dessert. Scoopy Milk bar is offering its bingsu — a colourful Korean shaved ice dessert — for pick up and delivery, doing drop-offs to a different suburb area each day. Check out full details and order here. Spring Street Grocer (CBD) Shop an impressive selection of vino, cheese, hampers, platters, pantry items and chef-made ready-to-heat meals over at Spring Street Grocer's online store. Both click-and-collect and delivery are available — see the range here. Tahina (Northcote and Fitzroy) If you're keen to get your mitts on some top-notch vegetarian Middle Eastern eats, Tahina's two stores are currently open daily for pick up and local delivery. Head here to order dishes like falafel-stuffed pita and plump sabich, plus feasting options like a $39 date night feed and the $89 family spread. That's Amore (Thomastown) Get your lockdown cheese fix dropped straight to your door, courtesy of That's Amore's expansive online store selection. Delivery is available for orders over $20 — place yours here. The onsite Cheesery is also open for takeaway. The B.East (Brunswick East) and The B.East of Brunswick Street (Fitzroy) You'll find The B.East's next-level burgers, sides and vegan eats available both for local delivery and takeaway — order online. Or, swing by either store from 12–2pm daily to grab brekkie burgers and Espresso Quarantinis from the Brettfast Club pop-up. The Happy Mexican (Abbotsford) Abbotsford's colourful Mexican spot is offering both delivery (free if you spend over $45) and pick up during lockdown, with a menu of favourites including tortas, burrito bowls and taco platters. The popular Taco Tuesday specials continue to run as well. Order here. The Left-Handed Chef (South Melbourne) This Israeli eatery is slinging a menu of hummus bowls, challah schnitzel sandwiches, traditional salads and feasting packs, available to pick up or to have delivered to your door. Check out the lineup and order here. Tipico (Windsor) Through its website, Tipico is serving hot dishes like beef pappardelle, eggplant parmigiana and veal cotoletta for pick up and delivery. But you'll also find a great selection of finish-at-home options for delivery via Providoor, including a romantic feed for two. [caption id="attachment_793263" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mejico by Arianna Leggiero[/caption] VENUES OFFERING PICK-UP ONLY Bar Romantica (Brunswick East) This popular late-night joint is whipping up pizzas, cannoli and other Italian delights for pick up. Along with a range of wine, they're available Wednesday to Saturday — order here. Plus, from 12–3pm each Saturday, the venue's doubling as a pop-up pizzetta shop, slinging a tidy lineup of limited-edition creations to-go. Bellboy (Brunswick East) Not only is Bellboy's full brunch menu available to take away during lockdown, the cafe's also serving a special-edition brunch box for two. Each one comes stocked with a couple of loaded bagels, sourdough crumpets, coffees, chia pudding and crispy potato hash for $49. Pre-order from the full lineup here. Penny for Pound (Richmond) You can get some of the city's finest croissants to-go at Penny for Pound. Pop in, or be extra organised and pre-order over here the day prior to collection. Pretzel (CBD, South Yarra and Doncaster) Your go-to pretzel slingers are now offering click-and-collect orders from three of their Melbourne stores. Jump online to grab some sweet and savoury versions of the signature twisty treats, and maybe even a drink to wash it down. Rustica (South Yarra) The bakery's legendary bread, coffee and pastries are available to take away from the South Yarra outpost from 8am daily. Check out the menu in advance over here. Stray Neighbour (Preston) This popular Preston spot is keeping busy putting together breakfast boxes, aperitivo kits and two-person dinner packs, which you can pre-order for pick up by calling (03) 9471 1420. The venue's also open for takeaway — swing past to grab house-made breads, sourdough pizza slices, sweet treats and more. Tulum (Balaclava) During lockdown, Tulum is serving up a range of Turkish street food to-go. Think, Bosphorus-style fish sandwiches, house-made vegetarian boreks and simit (a Turkish riff on the bagel). Swing past the Carlisle Street site to see what's on today — the kitchen's cooking from 10am until sold out. Top image: Babajan by Arianna Leggiero. Have you come across one we've missed? Let us know at hello@concreteplayground.com
Designed by architect Robin Larsen, the Clifftop at Hepburn boasts seven remarkable cabins that will take your rural retreat to the next level. Floor-to-ceiling windows reveal views across the rolling bushland toward neighbouring cliff faces. With unconventional amenities like Lord of the Rings pinball machines and eclectic Japanese massage chairs, each cabin presents a bespoke design that blends perfectly into the hillside landscape. Nearby Daylesford and Hepburn Springs present some spectacular day-long hikes, or you can refresh yourself straight from the source at Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve. [caption id="attachment_722684" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria[/caption] Top images: Visit Victoria
First, it teamed up with Belles Hot Chicken to bring you this indulgent Malaysian twist on a fried chicken sando. Now, PappaRich has its eyes set on burgers. After a sneaky trial in Sydney stores last year, the Malaysian hawker chain has rolled out a nasi lamek burger across Australia — at all of its 29 stores. The burger takes the typical accompaniments in this Malaysian rice dish and sandwiches them all between two pillowy brioche buns. There are layers of crispy Malay fried chicken, spicy sambal, peanuts and anchovies, all topped with cucumber and a fried egg. As a side? Expect PappaRich's deep-fried chicken skin instead of fries, of course. On offer for lunch and dinner throughout July and August, it'll cost you $14.90 all up, which we reckon will be worth every penny. If you're in Sydney, you can grab one in Bankstown or on your lunch break at the express outlet inside Westfield in the city; in Melbourne, pop by Chadstone, Southern Cross or QV; and PappaRich in Wintergarden and Coorparoo Square will be selling them in Brisbane. There are a heap more locations though, so check the website if you're looking for one closer to you. The nasi lamek burger will be available for lunch and dinner from July 1 until the end of August at PappaRich locations across the country. Updated: July 26, 2019.
Finding new ways to spend time at home is a very 2020 problem. Cooking, watching, making, scrolling through your social media feeds — by now, we've all been there and done that (over and over in fact). But, we're guessing you haven't tucked into a three-course Italian meal, sipped your way through two litres of wine and shaped ten kilograms of clay into ceramics, all without leaving your house. On Sunday, August 2, ceramics studio Céramiques is teaming up with Vino Quarantino and Ellie's Table to offer Melburnians a unique way to spend an afternoon. To your door, the trio will deliver everything you need to enjoy all of the above — all as part of a Wine, Dine and Claytime Experience. For $180 for two people, you'll receive a Ceramiques claykit, a two-litre bottle of Vino Quarantino's cabernet sauvignon from Somerset Crossing Winery and two three-course dinners from Ellie's Table. On the food menu: focaccia, creamy seasonal beans and toasted artichoke hearts, homemade pappardelle with vodka sauce, plus toasted hazelnut tiramisu. And, if there's four of you, it'll cost you double, and you'll obviously receive double the clay, wine and meals as well. Available to order now, the Wine, Dine and Claytime Experience will be brought to your door via contactless delivery between 1–6pm on the day — and you'll need to live in Melbourne metropolitan and its surrounding suburbs. Once you've feasted, downed your vino and moulded your clay, you'll be able to Céramiques to arrange glazing and firing of your handcrafted pieces, too. [caption id="attachment_777573" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Ceramiques[/caption] Céramiques, Vino Quarantino and Ellie's Table's Wine, Dine and Claytime Experience are available to order now, for delivery from 1–6pm on Sunday, August 2.
This January, the sun is shining and music is in the air — with the latter courtesy of the team at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Now, technically, this year's festival isn't set to take place until June. But to tide you over until then, they've programmed five unique summer sessions, featuring an eclectic mix of musicians from around the world. The sessions begin on the evening of Saturday, January 9 at the Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, with a performance by the Vince Jones Quartet. Next up is improvised jazz trio Swooping Duck in Shebeen's Bandroom on Thursday, January 14, before the program heads back to Bennetts for a night with trailblazing Ethiopian jazz performer Hailu Mergia on Friday January 15. A group of local musicians will pay tribute to recently deceased Australian saxophonist David Ades on Saturday, January 16, before the program concludes with an evening of collaboration between Japanese duo Kaze and French collective Muzzix on Sunday, January 17. Starting times vary. For more information on the summer sessions, visit melbournejazz.com. Image: Kaz Harada.
Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005 novel, the film version of Never Let Me Go is equal parts science fiction and love triangle, with one pretty girl wistfully gazing after the attractive boy who falls for another and remains impervious to her waif-like charms. Starring Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley, who both scored Academy Award nominations for their performances, the film has earned itself critical acclaim and a reputation for possibly making you cry. Beginning as a British boarding school jaunt with a period feel, you quickly learn that this is no ordinary school. Instead, it unravels that theirs is a boarding school for clones designed to become organ donors in a dystopian alternate reality where humans create people with the express purpose of killing them. We follow the three main characters through school and into adulthood, as they have to begin to come to terms with the tumultuous feelings they have for each other, while they face the haunting future that awaits them all. We have 30 double passes on offer to the film, which opens on March 31. To enter, make sure you're a subscriber to the Concrete Playground newsletter, and then shoot us an email at hello@concreteplayground.com.au for your chance to win. https://youtube.com/watch?v=EUPsKjdtQSM
It's no secret that the last few years have seen the hospitality industry need make some swift changes to its modus operandi. Businesses had to adapt or run a very large risk of not making it through. Although this free fall-like state has surely been clear to all, Uber Eats has taken it a step further and surveyed hundreds of restaurant operators nationwide to co-produce Pulse Check: Restaurant Report 2022, a piece of analysis highlighting key areas of challenge and opportunity for the industry as it continues to manage the shockwaves brought upon by the pandemic. Interestingly, the data revealed a whopping 92% of restaurants remodelled their business in some way during lockdown. Of course, the industry took a lot of hits, but more than a few businesses have come out in better shape than they could've imagined. One such business is El Jannah, the widely loved — and continually expanding — charcoal chicken joint. Together with Uber Eats, we sat down to chat through the ins and outs of the hospitality industry with Brett Houldin, El Jannah's CEO. Our mission? To find out how he and his team work, what they focus on and why he thinks they've thrived during an obstacle-ridden time. Have a watch below, and read on for the low down. https://vimeo.com/756994014 AUTHENTICITY IS FRONT AND CENTRE Houldin puts authenticity front and centre — El Jannah does what it knows and does it well. (Some would even say it does it perfectly). Of course, some pivots were made — especially as orders via delivery services exploded — but the chicken aficionados held true to what customers love and expect in every visit, no reinvention in sight. How that was possible? Houldin reckons it's thanks to an unwillingness to compromise on "the food quality, the ingredients and the healthy attributes". THE EXPERIENCE Something else that relies on authenticity (and contributes greatly to a diner's experience) is an environment that's friendly and memorable. When expertly executed, this generates a deep loyalty in a customer base — an all too familiar situation where El Jannah's concerned. "[Our customers] treat it like an extension of their friends and family," Houldin shares. "They know people by name, they can tell you a lot about their last food occasion, their first experience. They want to tell their friends and family about what that looks like and how that felt. And I think that, in turn, brings a lot of people coming through." "CULT-LIKE BEHAVIOUR" What's certain is that El Jannah has created a dining experience (even when delivered to your home) that keeps people coming back. And without well-trained staff giving friendly, top-quality service, that probably wouldn't be achievable. "That cult-like behaviour is growing with us as we expand into more locations across Sydney and Melbourne," says Houldin. "That's what's made us stand out." All this chat put you in the mood for El Jannah chicken? Head to the website to find a location near you, or place your order via Uber Eats. Top image: Jarrad Shaw
When a movie premieres at the Cannes Film Festival, the literal applause it receives makes headlines. It happens every year — and at fellow major international film fests such as Berlin and Venice, too — with reports detailing the number of minutes that the audience put their hands together for while on their feet. Back in May 2024, The Apprentice was no different. While the time spent clapping varied depending on the source, this was still a story. But there was also another tale that followed swiftly after the feature's debut, as it was likely always bound to: the response from its subject to this unofficial biopic, or at least from his campaign, including a cease-and-desist letter attempting to stop anyone else from seeing it. The Apprentice's title tells everyone the who and the why of this situation. Before he was America's 45th president, Donald Trump spent over a decade hosting the reality-TV series that shares its moniker with Ali Abbasi's new film. This isn't a chronicle of Trump's time on the show, or in the Oval Office afterwards, however. It isn't just an unsanctioned big-screen Trump biography, either. Making his first English-language feature after 2016 Danish horror film Shelley, the Oscar-submitted 2018 Swedish standout Border and 2022's Persian-language serial-killer thriller Holy Spider, Copenhagen-based Iranian Danish filmmaker Abbasi also doesn't simply step through Trump's origin story in the 70s and 80s — although it chronicles his start in real estate, his relationship with his father and his marriage to Ivana. The movie's pitch-perfect name hones in on the most-crucial element of the picture: that this is a portrait of chasing power seen through a mentor-protege relationship. Trump is the apprentice. His guide: New York City attorney and political fixer Roy Cohn, who first came to fame in the 50s investigating suspected Communists with Senator Joseph McCarthy. Abbasi digs into how Cohn helped shape Trump, including the three rules of winning passed down from the former to the latter. Those tenets: first, attack, attack, attack. Then, admit nothing and deny everything. And lastly, claim victory while never ever admitting defeat. It's impossible to watch these rules outlined in The Apprentice — or even read them on the page — and not spot how they still dictate Trump's actions today. That's one of the film's many astute moves. Another: casting Sebastian Stan (Dumb Money), who gives one of his two phenomenal performances for 2024 alongside A Different Man, as Donald Trump. Seeing him anchor the familiar Trump mannerisms, speech patterns, talking points and attitudes — details that anyone who has even just spotted the IRL figure on the news across his political career in passing will instantly recognise — in the younger version of the man, an iteration brought to the screen with complexity, is both haunting and uncanny. Equally exceptional: a can't-look-away Jeremy Strong in his first post-Succession part as Cohn, in another of the film's performances that demands awards attention. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Oscar-nominee and Bodies Bodies Bodies star Maria Bakalova also leaves an impression as Ivana. And Abbasi remains one of the most-exciting directors working today in every choice that he makes throughout The Apprentice, including deploying a visual approach that scrapes away any gleam from his take on Trump at every moment. "I think we've been quite restrained," Abbasi tells Concrete Playground about the movie, talking about the instant backlash and the complicated response he knows it will continued to receive. "If we wanted to be controversial, we have ample, ample opportunities to be so." We also chatted with the director about the quest to get the film made and seen, building a portrait of someone that everyone in the world has an opinion of, why he wanted to bring this tale to the screen, getting Stan onboard, and the importance of diving into Trump and Cohn's relationship. On the Diverse Responses to the Film's Premiere, Including the Cannes Standing Ovation and the Trump Campaign's Reaction "It's sort of the same in a way. What do they say, you have to grab a compliment whenever, wherever you find it, whichever way you find it, in whatever form you find it? I think if the Trump campaign thinks that this is the worst — they have an actually really funny formulation, they're saying this is 'pure fictionalised trash'. And I'm like, that's a very general sentence you can basically write in the beginning of every feature film. It's pure fictionalised trash — that's a punk-rock way of saying 'this is the movie'. And look, I think we've been quite restrained. I think this is a quite a restrained movie. I do not understand where people talk about controversy, controversial. If we wanted to be controversial, we have ample, ample opportunities to be so and to do so, and include stuff. I mean, with this guy, the sky is the limit, right. And therefore it's a little bit difficult for me to understand. Of course, we're the underdogs in this game. We just want to get the movie released. So any help, any publicity is appreciated. I don't mind. But on the intellectual level, when people talk about this as being controversial, provocative and the Trump campaign bashing us, I'm like 'have you actually seen the movie? You know, you come out, I would say, much better than you might have'." On Building a Complex, Three-Dimensional Portrait of Someone That Everyone in the World Has an Opinion Of "There's this fable about this father and son, and they have this donkey and they want to go over a river or something like that. They try one way and then someone comes and says 'no, no you can't tie the donkey like that. You have to do it upside down'. And they do it upside down and they say 'no, no, it if you do it upside down, it's going to drown and die in water. You have to do it from the side'. And anyway, it ends up that the donkey goes in the water anyway and drowns. It's a little bit like this movie. It's impossible to get that balance because everyone has an opinion about this donkey. And especially, I think, I really see this acutely in the US. Because I feel like it's impossible, almost, for the Americans — at least, for the critics — to see this as a movie. They either hate the idea of a Trump movie or they think it's not enough — or they think there's nothing new about him that they couldn't read about. So it's a vicious cycle. It feeds itself. And in in reality, I think the only balance that matters is the balance of three dimensionality of character and the authenticity of character. Do I deeply care if we hurt Donald Trump? No, I don't give a fuck, you know. He doesn't care. Why would I care? But I do care about what I feel is fairness. I don't want us to either work for him or work against him. Everyone has different agendas around him and around this sort of political minefield we're living in, and I'm this one guy who actually does not have an agenda either way for against. My agenda is a humanist agenda. I think it's interesting to investigate these people, and the time and the political apparatuses which they're part of." On What Appealed About Bringing This Story to the Screen After Abbasi's Past Films Shelley, Border and Holy Spider "I think what was exciting about this project was the fact that it it's not an American movie — it's about America. And as someone who grew up in Iran, I have this really special relationship to America. I mean, Iran was an American colony until 79. And then after that, we became the archenemy and America became the great satan. And we had this very tense relationship. I think that if you grow up in the Middle East, you have a different view of American politics. You don't really see the difference between Democrats and Republicans in the same way. The outcome is the same. The outcome would end up being a bomb on your head anyway. So I think this this sort of tension and fascination got me curious about American politics, obviously, and the American political system, and this social Darwinism that sort of runs through a lot of things in in American society — this sportifying of everything, so to speak. Even the debates, I don't know if anyone can come up with any single substantive point from the last Trump-versus-Harris debate, but everyone was like 'who won? By what margin did they win?'. But I think there's also something more, there is another complexity in in this story — it's not a Trump movie. It's about this very formative relationship, which Trump is obviously part of. But it's also equally about Roy Cohn, who's as colourful character and as exciting a character, and not as in plain sight as Trump is. And how through this relationship, Trump becomes the person he is. In that way, again, it's also my chance of studying or investigating the system they're operating." On Finding the Right Actor to Play Donald Trump — and Getting Sebastian Stan Onboard "I think for me, casting is like 80 percent of my job. That's also why I am really, really picky and it takes very long time for me to cast my movies, because really once you cast someone, there is not a whole lot you can do about that choice on set either way. And I meant this in a sincere way. It's not a criticism, it's not a problem, but it's something — it's a commitment, I guess. That's a good way of putting it. And that commitment was something that Sebastian definitely paid to this. We start talking about this 2019. And then movie evolved and fell apart few times. It fell apart right after January 6, I remember, as an example of the times. And I think in a way, it is a difficult part to prepare for — not only on a technical level, not only in terms of research and all that, but also mentally. I think I went through a version of this with Holy Spider myself. I was like, the movie itself is one thing, the consequences of making the movie is something else. So I had to mentally prepare to do Holy Spider for many years before I actually made it. I think it's the same for Sebastian. I think maybe the one good thing that came out of all these years of waiting and rebuilding the project was he had time to mentally prepare for the fact that he is doing this person who's extremely polarising — and the aftermath, which is also going to be polarising — and it hasn't even started yet. I think we're going to see the real reactions when the movie comes out. It's different for me. I'm an outsider to this political system, to the US. I can't say I'm an outsider to Hollywood anymore, because now I'm part of it. But I have a sort of a safety distance. If everything goes wrong, if shit hits the fan, I'm still in Copenhagen — and that's not the case for Sebastian. That's not the case for Amy [executive producer Baer, Purple Hearts] and Gabe [screenwriter Gabriel Sherman, Alaska Daily], who started the project. These are people who are taking real risks with this. As much as I don't understand the controversiality and the risk of it, I do know that I'm not the audience. I'm not the masses — that would be seen very differently." On The Apprentice Living Up to Its Name by Unpacking Roy Cohn's Influence on Donald Trump "It's a little bit of a Frankenstein story in a way, like how the monster is created by the master. But in that case, I think politically speaking, I think it's very wrong to refer to Donald as a monster. Because that would also imply that there's a monster in town and there are some other innocent people who are not. And in fact, that's really not the case. I think anything that the opponents are accusing Trump of doing, they have done themselves in some degree, one way or the other. The argument is here is not that 'oh, there are some fine people on both sides' or everything is relative. I don't think it's relative. I think there's some stuff, like when he comes and says 'people are eating dogs', that's a despicable, stupid, racist, fascist thing to say. That's not relative. That's black and white. But in terms of the dynamics of it, back to Roy Cohn, I think that in the movie as in reality, he had an outsized influence on how Donald became the person he is, and how he learned to navigate and pull the levers of power. And also, most importantly, maybe, how to deal with media. Once you know the rules, you can see how he's on a daily basis using those rules. And there's something interesting about these characters, because in a way, they are pretty punk rock. Punk rock is not something you associate with the right that much — mostly anarchist leftwing, that vibe of it. But when you look at these people, they do what the fuck they want. They establish rules. They tear the rule book. They're colourful. They don't care. And I think that maybe in terms of mentality, that was maybe also a big contribution from Roy. You know, you don't have to give a shit about people. If you say something wrong in an interview, double down, triple down, quadruple down. Who cares? Fuck them, you know?" The Apprentice opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 11, 2024.
Expect native ingredients, beef dry-aged in-house, woodfired flavours and nostalgic cocktails on Blackbird Melbourne's modern-Australian menu. The three-level Flinders Lane venue is the interstate expansion of Ghanem Group's award-winning Blackbird Brisbane, offering a striking cocktail bar and lounge, a split-level dining space and a private events floor. Quartzite backlit bars, mirrored ceilings and dramatic chandeliers (curated by Space Cubed Design Studio) bring the group's intention — to establish a sophisticated dining experience that is "unmistakenly Melbourne" — to life. Manning the charcoals on the Josper Basque Grill are Ghanem Group Executive Chef Jake Nicolson, Executive Chef Melbourne Tim Menger (formerly of Entrecôte) and Blackbird Head Chef Josh Moroney (formerly of Nomad). Nicolson invites Melburnians to "experience one of the best steaks in the country" with showcase premium Australian cuts such as the chocolate-fed Mayura Station one-and-a-half to two-kilogram full-blood wagyu tomahawk headlining the menu. Dishes such as paté with lilly pilly jam, Paroo kangaroo with toasted pepperberry and riberry jus, and wood-roasted rock lobster with warrigal greens and native herb butter speak to the focus on foraged native ingredients. So too does the cocktail list, with concoctions like the Pacific Highball pairing Glenmorangie Original with Davidson plum apera and black walnut bitters. Beverage Manager Aaron Clark injects the drinks list with Aussie nostalgia, creating whimsical cocktails such as the Pavlova Punch, Mango Weiss Colada and the Tim-Tam Slam. The drinks offering is bolstered by a 650-bin wine list, so you're unlikely to leave thirsty. Images: supplied
Outer eastern suburbia is typically a leafy refuge, often mistaken as hilly outskirts heralded by hippies. And while parts of Lilydale are most definitely lush with greenery and farms boasting local produce, The Lilydale General doesn't reside there; the cafe has taken these elements of the surrounding region and settled amongst a large manufacturing area of the suburb. You can't miss it: the carefully manicured lawn, green and white striped awnings and a flawlessly painted picket fence stand out against the uninspiring industrial surroundings. It's a great expanse inside, too — high ceilings, window panes streaming sunlight and generous spacing between tables. The staff are jovial and homely — let them bring you a coffee made with beans from the guys at Coffee Supreme and allow a bit of time for a chat about your day before you place your order. They're locals interested in looking after their fellow residents. It won't be long before you'll be digging in. The bruschetta with tomatoes, avocado mash, feta, lemon rind and dukkah served on a slice of sourdough with an additional piece underneath ($15) is faultless in flavour, but the serving could be more liberal to compensate for the extra piece of bread and price. Add an egg for an extra two bucks for something more filling. The corn and leek fritters with rocket, tomatoes and feta ($17) are another winning savoury option. For those with a sweeter tooth, go for the black rice pudding with macadamia granola, lychee and coconut ($13). The fruity flavours are balanced by a light aniseed taste coming from the granola, a pleasant experience for the palate. Like any good current day cafe, not only has The Lilydale General adopted the smoothies-in-jars phenomenon, they also cover most dietary bases: vegan, gluten free and lactose free options are all available. Fresh sandwiches, big squares of vanilla slice, lemon tarts and a rotating menu of raw desserts make up the glass cabinet at the counter. Sure, the food isn't unlike what you’d find somewhere closer to the CBD, but it is for Lilydale and, most importantly, it's good quality. Owned and loved by locals, The Lilydale General is a peripheral delight.
The full bloom of television should come as no surprise to pop culture junkies. TV isn't the new film. It's just TV — a mature medium capable of developing its own conventions and arcs. Just like film, the quality of the 2013 offering inevitably ranged from abysmal (Two Broke Girls) and 'meh' (Sex Box) to polarising (Girls) and breathtaking (Top of the Lake). But where the major movie studios indulged in a catalogue of cinematic idiocy in the form of sequels, threequels and movie-park adaptations, home viewers were part of the beautifully conceived conclusion of Breaking Bad and the continued excellence of Mad Men, Enlightened, Rake, Puberty Blues and Boardwalk Empire. After all, when were stories ever wholly defined by the medium of their communication — they're all just stories, and they're beamed via digital transit onto small screens as well as projected into cinemas. David Lynch and Michael Frost knew that a whole two decades ago, as did those who grieved for Laura Palmer and loved all the freaks of Twin Peaks. The existential angst of Travis Bickle lives on in Don Draper, the maudlin chaos of Woody Allen in Michael Bluth, and the bleak search for optimism of Lester Burnham in Louie. Hopefully we can start looking forward to full-blooded, cinematically conceptualised feature films that merely debut on TV, with the respect and glory of Steven Soderbergh's HBO work Behind the Candelabra, which scarcely fits the old-school notion of a 'telemovie'. It's 2014, and everything's up for grabs. Here's what looks good in 2014 from the vantage point of January. Gracepoint Although the human race is already surely inundated with gratuitous US remakes, the fact that original lead actor David Tennant is also starring in the American version is a good sign of what's to come. The British original, Broadchurch, has received cultish worship and critical adoration for its exploration of a beachside community in the aftermath of a boy's mysterious murder. How and Why Film's transportation to the medium of television may be well and truly complete with Charlie Kaufman's new FX comedy series. Starring Michael Cera (perfect!), and telling the "story of a man who can explain how and why a nuclear reactor works, but is clueless about life", the longform series could be the peak vehicle for the funny, deadpan, melancholic musings we know from Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. https://youtube.com/watch?v=dunRvRJIm18 Believe Mexican super-director Alfonso Cuaron and The Forgotten's Mark Friedman are writing and steering this sci-fi mystery, executive producing with Lost's J.J. Abrams. The ingredients for profound awesomeness are all there: behind-the-scenes talent, obligatory supernatural child character, potential alien subplots, a solid trailer. In the wake of Gravity's impact on Earth, let's hope Believe will showcase the same science-fiction combo of smart visual effects and big ideas (what are we doing here?!). Jonah Takalua This is a controversial one, given the division in opinion around this year's relentless Ja'mie: Private School Girl. But Jonah was always Chris Lilley's most rounded and interesting character — a disadvantaged, endearing ratbag with a foul mouth and a lost-boy need for affection (from his violent father and Gumnut Cottage remedial teacher, Jan Palmer). Jonah let Lilley flesh out the best and the worst aspects of high school: the boredom, the institution's carelessness, the ill-equipped teachers' frustration, the kids' inflamed sense of injustice and their diehard devotion to their friends. Lilley clearly hasn't forgotten that young people's problems (their social cliques, family, love affairs) are just as real and important to them as adults' problems (rent, career, social cliques, family, love affairs) are to adults. Jonah will be vital viewing. Sense8 More film heavyweights defect to television — in fact, internet television (Netflix)! Matrix directors Andy and Lana Wachowski's ability to create complex longform narratives, engaging characters, surprising cinematic visual worlds and innovative special effects (remember when 'bullet time' didn't even exist?) will be stretched by their ten-episode science-fiction drama, Sense8. A mass of ostensibly disparate characters are linked by a shared and violent vision (of the past, future, or another world?). After the confusing and disappointing narrative experimentation of the duo's last feature, Cloud Atlas, perhaps television will afford them the slow-unfolding freedom they need to realise their filmic aspirations. Also on our radar Better Call Saul (A Breaking Bad spinoff centring on Walter White's crooked lawyer Saul Goodman); the animated and clearly shambolic BoJack Horseman (voiced by Will Arnett with Aaron Paul aka Jesse Pinkman of Breaking Bad); The Secret River, an ABC adaptation of the landmark Australian novel and play; Utopia, a satire from the guys from Frontline that "explores that moment when bureaucracy and grand dreams collide"; and two (two!) untitled Tina Fey Projects to air on Fox and NBC and quench the hollowness in our post-30 Rock lives.
Coffee is a complicated game. You need to source the right beans, grind them correctly, filter them for the specified time, perhaps froth the milk to that just-right temp and you need some pure-ass water. That's because coffee is 98 percent H2O, so some average water will mean your coffee will taste average — which is a damn shame if you've shelled out for some luxe Panama Geisha beans. Specialty coffee cafes are all over this and filter their water extensively, but baby home baristas aren't so diligent. So, to ensure they don't waste those beans on sub-par water, some genius has created a type of purified water specifically for making coffee. It's called Aquiem, and it's labelled its product as 'enhanced water'. While that sounds like total wank, it's essentially water that's been distilled to take all the extra stuff out of it. Then, a blend of good minerals that are supposedly meant to enhance the flavour of coffee are added back in. Then they're packaged and sold for a couple of dollars a pop. "What you definitely do not want is to have things like zinc and lead, fluoride, chlorine and large amounts of calcium in the water. All of that effects the taste of the coffee," co-founder Rob Vidacovich told Daily Coffee News. "What does have a favourable effect on coffee are things like magnesium, potassium, and a certain right blend of calcium." The whole idea is to allow non-pro baristas to make the most of their beans and drink a damn good cup of coffee every time. The Louisiana-based company has been working on the product for six years, but officially launched at the start of this year. Aquiem is currently sold in retailers in the state, but can be ordered online. Via Daily Coffee News.
For almost two decades, Love Actually has been everyone's go-to British rom-com with festive flavour. This year, Last Christmas wants to give the star-studded classic a run for its money. And, given that it pairs Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke with Crazy Rich Asians' Henry Golding, is directed by Bridesmaids and A Simple Favour's Paul Feig, and features the music of George Michael — including the Wham! tune that shares the movie's title, obviously — this new dose of cinematic sweetness might just achieve that aim. Admittedly, Last Christmas sounds a little like the result of overlapping Venn diagrams mapping things that absolutely everyone loves. Its leads hail from one of the biggest shows of this century and one of the huge film hits of the past year, respectively. Its director has a following of his own. Even folks who aren't all that fond of Christmas manage to find a soft spot for festive flicks. And, there's never a bad time for George Michael's music — or, as Always Be My Maybe demonstrated earlier this year, for upbeat rom-coms that take their title from a beloved pop track. But, based on the just-released first trailer, this Christmassy movie doesn't just hit obvious crowd-pleasing beats. It also has plenty of charm. The fact that it's co-written by Emma Thompson, who has an Oscar for screenwriting (for Sense and Sensibility) and also co-stars in the flick, clearly helps. And, if Michael's existing hits didn't provide enough of a soundtrack, the film will also feature new, previously unreleased tunes by the late singer. Story-wise, the movie follows the cynical, Scrooge-like Kate (Clarke), who works as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop but has a distinct lack of seasonal cheer herself. She has ample reasons for her unhappy demeanour, including her stern boss (Michelle Yeoh), although she might also have some motivation to start feeling more jovial when she keeps running into the endearing Tom (Golding). Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9CEIcmWmtA Last Christmas releases in Australian cinemas on November 7.
UPDATE, March 15, 2021: Skate Kitchen is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Skate Kitchen begins with a board, a banged-up pelvis and blood gushing down a leg. But stacking it once isn't going to keep Camille (Rachelle Vinberg) from shredding, grinding and nosesliding. Nor are stitches in her nether regions, or her mother's (Elizabeth Rodriguez) insistence that she give up her hobby. Instead, the film takes Camille gliding from the parks and pavements of Long Island to the streets of Manhattan, where a gang of girls skate like the city is their playground. They're the Skate Kitchen of Skate Kitchen. An all-female collective, they air, ollie and amble around town. They hang out, smoke joints, and shoot the breeze about anything and everything. They snap and record their tricks and kickflips, immortalising their antics on Instagram. And when they welcome Camille into the fold, it changes everything for the reserved, quiet 18-year-old. Early in what proves a laidback but layered movie, filmmaker Crystal Moselle captures Skate Kitchen's leisurely vibe and the effect it has on her picture's teenage protagonist. The irrepressibly catchy beats of Junior Senior's 'Move Your Feet' take over the soundtrack as the girls walk, dance and skate their way through New York City, and Camille couldn't look happier. As well as sending the film's frames freewheeling along with the group, cinematographer Shabier Kirchner cloaks his images in a warm glow — the kind that exists in your mind when you're simply content, regardless of what your eyes actually see. It's an ethereal sequence, and yet it's also grounded in naturalism. Sunny, carefree, comforting, vibrant: that's just how being part of Skate Kitchen feels. That's how watching Skate Kitchen feels as well, although Moselle's isn't a rosy coming-of-age portrait devoid of drama. Narrative-wise, the movie charts the push-and-pull that characterises Camille's life — first between the freedom of skating and the scolding of her overprotective mum, then between friends and family, and later between her new buddies and the wannabe photographer Devon (a flame-haired Jaden Smith) who they try to warn her away from. And, while the film marks Moselle's first fictional movie, Skate Kitchen itself is real. The endlessly fascinating Vinberg is one of its crew members. So is the scene-stealing Nina Moran, who plays the joker of the gang, as well as the affectionate Ardelia Lovelace, who becomes Camille's closest friend. Here, art both imitates life and does its utmost best to represent it accurately — even when sometimes packaged with a visual sheen that'd do Sofia Coppola proud. It's unmistakably rare to see a film featuring such authentic and candid conversations between teen girls. Such a diverse yet nuanced female group, spanning different races, sexualities and personalities, is hardly regular screen fodder either. And that's before noting the obvious: that depicting young women as skateboarders, letting them carve out a place in a male-dominated domain, and spending time with them just kicking around is so uncommon that it's almost revolutionary. Indeed, that's exactly why the movie's dreamy aesthetic is such a fitting choice. Until now, a film set in this world — that's intent on fighting back against gendered expectations, and that seems so achingly real — was basically a dream. Moselle knows a thing or two about stepping into an overlooked or undiscovered realm and revealing it to the masses. In 2015, her documentary The Wolfpack was a festival circuit hit, centring on seven home-schooled New York siblings — six boys and their sister — who were virtually forbidden to leave the house by their strict father. To experience the outside world, the factual flick's subjects escaped into movies, which they not only devoured on DVD but re-enacted and re-staged in an elaborate fashion. Skate Kitchen is The Wolfpack's fictionalised female-focused counterpart in many ways, and it also sees Moselle take her doco's core idea to the next level. There, cinema helped a sheltered family feel like they existed. Here, skateboarding does just that for a lonely soul, while the overall film will provide the same sensation for anyone who has ever been a teenage girl. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VTFLvLtdYw
International travel might be off the cards for the next little while, but that means it's time to soak up all the goodness in your own backyard. Australia and New Zealand are chock full of world-class travel opportunities, with lush rainforests, dazzling coastline, pristine outback and more, just waiting to be explored. And one lucky local will get to hit the road and see part of it for free, thanks to a bumper new competition from Surf Stitch. The fashion retailer has joined forces with campervan hire crew Travellers Autobarn to give away a two-week road-tripping adventure of a lifetime. The winner will score 14-day van hire — with the chance to go cruising around either New Zealand or Australia with their besties, kicking off from a location of their choice — as well as a $1500 wardrobe worth of fresh threads from Surf Stitch, to keep you all looking extra good on tour. Where and when your adventure will unfold, is entirely up to you — and COVID-19 restrictions, of course. At the moment, there are restrictions on travelling between states and territories in Australia, all of Victoria is in lockdown and you can't fly between Australia and NZ — so, if you do win, be sure to check the laws before heading off on your adventure. Restrictions aside, you could go tripping along NSW's north coast, splitting your time between sandy beach and rainforest. Touring the untouched wilderness of Tassie. Or maybe gallivanting your way around the famed Fiordland National Park and Milford Sound on New Zealand's south island. Whatever your local travel bucket-list looks like, this prize is sure to help you tick off a few gems, while giving that holiday itch a good scratch. To be in with a shot at winning your ultimate road trip, simply jump on the competition website and enter your details. Then, decide just which part of this grand old backyard is calling to you the loudest. You can enter the competition by filling in your details over at the Surf Stitch website. Entries close at 11.59pm AEST on Friday, August 14. The competition is open to citizens and permanent residents of Australia and NZ. 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.
Despite St Edmonds' garish exterior brickwork, entering the inner sanctum just off Greville Street, Prahran, is the complete opposite. Quiet, refined and welcoming, St Edmonds handles their space with an unassuming surety, especially in an age where new cafes pop up wherever there is room for a coffee machine. For a diner, there is nothing better than feeling at ease in your experience and knowing you'll be at liberty to let your mind wander or get caught up in conversation. Sit across the bar to inhale the selection of pastries ($5-6) on offer, or at one of the spacious tables. Either way, you'll be granted a slice of undisturbed privacy amongst fellow diners. Service is consistent and friendly, if unremarkable. The upside? Regardless of how long you spend seated you will remain undisturbed, such is the genuine, relaxed presence of St Edmonds. If you just want to dine in the presence of good company, this is certainly the place to do it. With an offering that expands to all-day eating, St Edmonds' menu is comprised of a cleverly created selection of enticing flavour combinations. The souffled omelette with smoked tomato, jamon serrano, basil and goats curd ($18) satisfies any salty cravings on hand, and in the opposite direction, the ricotta and honey pancakes with toasted pistachios, strawberry and pomegranate ($17, add bacon $20) is a decadently sweet choice. For something lighter, the seasonal fruits with honey and orange blossom ($11) finishes off a well-rounded brunch. Serves are generous and well proportioned, with a very clear emphasis on sourcing the freshest produce. Come later in the week and things become livelier; Thursday night is St Edmonds' famous burger night, and Happy Hour from 4-7pm every Thursday and Friday also provides a nice selection of vodka, wine, champagne and schooners ($5). St Edmonds is a reliable, unassuming edition to an area littered with dining options. A solid offering makes it the ideal place to while away a few wasted hours, although the enticing menu does permit just the right amount of fancy for a particular special occasion. Sleek and affable, let the food do the talking.
Some film festivals take audiences to corners of the globe they won't visit in the multiplex, shine a spotlight on different cinematic voices, and showcase the wealth of talent working beyond the English-speaking realm. That's not the British Film Festival's remit. Here, you'll find recognisable names and faces aplenty as the best new movies Old Blighty has to offer embark on a tour of the antipodes. Taking place between late October and early November, this year's lineup includes Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy in opening night film Breathe, which marks the directorial debut of The Lord of the Rings star Andy Serkis, as well as Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning in the eagerly anticipated How to Talk to Girls at Parties. The former tells a true tale of a couple striving to overcome a death sentence from polio, while the latter is a queer sci-fi rock-punk comedy based on a Neil Gaiman short story and directed by Hedwig and the Angry Inch's John Cameron Mitchell. Yep, this program might speak the same language as Australians, but it's serving up a variety of stories. If you're going to put one flick to put on your must-see list, make it The Death of Stalin. It's the latest from The Thick of It and Veep creator Armando Iannucci, and features everyone from Steve Buscemi to Jeffrey Tambor to Michael Palin. Other highlights include Fanning again in Mary Shelley, a biopic about the writer behind Frankenstein that's helmed by Wadjda director Haifaa Al-Mansour, as well as England is Mine, with Dunkirk's Jack Lowden playing none other than Morrissey. Elsewhere, Saoirse Ronan stars in On Chesil Beach, her latest Ian McEwan adaptation after coming to fame in Atonement, while true story 6 Days recreates the 1980 storming of the Iranian embassy in London with Mark Strong, Jamie Bell and Abbie Cornish. BFF also boasts docos about Manolo Blahnik and Eric Clapton, a biopic about AA Milne and the genesis of Winnie the Pooh, and one of the last films to feature the late John Hurt in That Good Night. Looking back as well as forward, a selection of Agatha Christie adaptations round out the lineup. Timed to coincide with the new version of Murder on the Orient Express, the program includes the 1974 take on the same tale, plus three other classics. The 2017 British Film Festival will screen at Sydney's Palace Norton Street and Palace Verona from October 24 to November 15, Melbourne's Palace Cinema Como, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay and The Astor Theatre from October 26 to November 15, and Brisbane's Palace Barracks and Palace Centro from October 25 to November 15. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the festival website.
Even after 112 years, creating a musical comedy about a disaster that claimed more than 2200 lives could feel tone deaf. So it's important to note that Titanique is not about a historic tragedy. Not really. This raucous and rib-tickling show began its life as an in-joke between three Broadway luminaries — performers Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli and director Tye Blue — who wanted to pose the question: what if the true hero of James Cameron's Titanic was, in fact, Canada's greatest icon, Céline Dion? The result is 90 minutes of pure joy, underpinned by the belting power ballads of Québec's most famous daughter and a shade of outrageous humour bluer than the Heart of the Ocean. Much like its humble off-Broadway origins, the Australian premiere of Titanique has been staged in one of Sydney's smaller theatres, The Grand Electric in Redfern. While packing a larger auditorium would have been an easy task for such a feel-good show, producers Michael Cassel and Eva Price's decision to place this production in such an intimate space is a master stroke. In these close quarters, where the performers are within touching distance, there are even more opportunities to bulldoze the fourth wall and amp up the camp extremes of the show's bawdy zingers. But Titanique doesn't just deliver laughs. While the bizarre plot — a fever dream retelling of Cameron's cinematic epic from the perspective of Céline Dion, via the songs of Céline Dion — offers comedy of the silliest kind, the singing prowess on display is no joke. Marney McQueen delivers a forensically detailed impression of Dion, backed up with astonishing vocals all but indistinguishable from the real thing. Indeed, the entire cast wow with their voices, which only acts to make the narrative absurdities even more hilarious — it's a truly unique experience to hear McQueen, Abigail Dixon as the "unsinkable" Molly Brown and Georgina Hopson as Rose, flawlessly nailing the chorus of 'Tell Him' while suggestively rubbing an eggplant. Much like The Book of Mormon (which is returning to Sydney next year), Titanique taps a rare yet potent duality: the guilty pleasure of gutter humour and the soaring thrill of a virtuosic performance. Through this double-dose of serotonin, peppered with crude one-liners, pop culture references (with some fresh Australian content added for local benefit) and a generous drenching of fabulosity, this is a show that will leave your heart full and your sides split. Images: Daniel Boud
Faces carve deep impressions in Longlegs, in both their presence and their absence. As Agent Lee Harker, Maika Monroe (God Is a Bullet) does so with a clenched jaw, permanently on-edge eyes and mere bursts of words, aka the guise of a woman who'll never stop being vigilant in every moment but doesn't always know exactly why. As the movie's namesake, as announced in the opening credits, Nicolas Cage (Dream Scenario) has audiences straining to catch whatever glimpse they can whenever they can — and when a full look comes, it's scorching and haunting in tandem in the stare alone. Blair Underwood (Origin) gives Harker's boss Carter a weary gaze, but with fully rounded life experience beyond his FBI gig evident behind it. Alicia Witt (Switch Up) plays Ruth Harker, mother to Lee, as distance and struggle personified. As she relays a tale as survivor Carrie Anne Camera, Kiernan Shipka (Twisters) demonstrates how disconnected a grim reality can be from a dream. For his fourth feature following 2015's The Blackcoat's Daughter, 2016's I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House and 2020's Gretel & Hansel — the first of which also starred Shipka — writer/director Osgood Perkins has clearly assembled an excellent cast for his unease-dripping, get-under-your-skin, torment-your-nightmares serial-killer thriller. Another face leaves an imprint beyond his actors, however. Bill Clinton's portrait assists with setting the scene as it adorns bureau offices, with the majority of the movie taking place in the 90s. Think the FBI and three decades back, and there's no lack of pop-culture touchstones. The Silence of the Lambs is one. Monroe's portrayal as a newly minted operative tracking a murderer is every bit as layered, complex and unforgettable — and awards-worthy — as Jodie Foster's (True Detective: Night Country) Oscar-winning performance was. Twin Peaks and The X-Files, Point Break, even Cage's own Face/Off: they all also hail from the 90s and spin stories around the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This lineage is impossible not to ponder every time that Perkins reminds Longlegs viewers of the period that he's working with via Clinton's likeness — and it's a bold move. Getting your audience recalling other films and TV shows can simply spark the wish that they were watching those titles instead, especially when the list is as glorious as the aforementioned flicks and series. But the filmmaker who first started out in horror as a child actor walking in his father's footsteps — Anthony Perkins played Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho; Osgood was young Norman in Psycho II — makes good on the gambit. No one with their peepers glued to Longlegs would rather be ingesting anything else, no matter how equally exceptional, as it weaves its hypnotic spell. Longlegs bedevils and bewitches early, and earlier than its main era. The pristine snow that surrounds a young girl (Lauren Acala, Motherland: Port Salem) in her yard is a visual blank slate, soon darkened in shadow when Longlegs arrives with happy birthday wishes — and the mood, as thrumming through in feature first-timer Andres Arochi's cinematography, plus Graham Fortin (Ari's Theme) and Greg Ng's (Allegiance) editing, is as thick as the white blanket across the ground with apprehension and tension. When the movie hops forward, already festering is the feeling of an innocent state sullied. That's before learning about Harker and Carter's case, with a string of murder-suicides resembling each other garnering their attention. Families perish, fathers attacking before turning their violence upon themselves, which might be open and shut if there weren't a spate of such incidents over decades, if questions about motive weren't glaring, if a compulsive force — supernatural or otherwise — hadn't earned some thought and if letters in code signed by Longlegs weren't also found at the scenes. There's more than a tightly wound ball of anxiety to Harker, who sports a surname that brings being pursued and toyed with by Dracula — who Cage played in 2023's Renfield — to mind. (Longlegs is the second 2024 horror film to nod to Bram Stoker in its characters' monikers, after Ishana Night Shyamalan's The Watchers.) The movie's lead is also a source of intuition and perhaps clairvoyance, which the FBI is keen to capitalise upon. Indeed, that's why she's been assigned to the Longlegs investigation. She's as dedicated as dedicated comes when sifting through the analogue array of clues, too, with paper and tape amid dimly lit, cabin-esque interiors adding to the tactile sensation. As terse phone calls with her mum illustrate, there's nothing distracting her from her gig, either. Via framing, frequently with symmetry, Perkins conveys that Harker isn't just consumed by chasing down Longlegs — it might be the on-screen fate of ample detectives, including in Se7en and Zodiac, two David Fincher masterpieces that are also patent influences, but the hunt is consuming her back. With the fellow chillers that beat Longlegs to existence, and with elements as familiar in horror as serial killers, the occult, crime-solving procedural crusades, fixated sleuths and all-encompassing disquiet — to name just a few genre go-tos plastered across Perkins' cinematic mood board — the approach is fondness-meets-the filmmaker's own interpretation. That's the picture's guiding principle everywhere, including in Monroe and Cage's immense contributions, each of which is among their respective career highlights. All of Longlegs' key parties know that viewers have seen plenty of these same pieces before in a myriad of ways, and possess a single-minded resolve to avoiding serving up the same. Monroe does this with It Follows and The Guest on her filmography, the 2014 one-two punch about evil lurking among the ordinary and safe spaces terrorised. Cage does it with four decades of efforts that've solidified him as not just a singular actor but the singular actor, and ceaselessly able to surprise. Perkins crafts Longlegs as a dollmaker might, with the utmost of care apparent in each and every component, all building a creation that feels like it's staring piercingly back at you. He isn't afraid of a surreal Lynchian vibe, showing that waking life can immerse you in as much of a frightscape as the worst that your brain can conceive while slumbering — perhaps the most-alarming realisation that there is — but, again, as run through his own filter. He also isn't scared of using sound design to burrow that agitation deep into the audience's subconscious, so that Longlegs is distressing your soul before you, like Harker, are even aware. Chief among the film's strokes of genius is how inescapable its intense dread is, regardless of which traditional horror symbols taunt those watching or how much of Cage as Longlegs can be seen. In an instant classic, all of its pivotal faces are mirrors, then, reflecting the viewer's own.
Trying new kicks on in-store is one thing, but how about really putting them through their paces in a multi-sensory obstacle course? Next weekend, Nike's celebrating its new Epic React running shoes by bringing its House of Go pop-up to Melbourne. Taking over the Collingwood Arts Precinct on March 3 and 4, it's a chance for punters to score a first-hand taste of Nike's latest and greatest running technology...or simply to have some good old-fashioned kidult fun. Perfect if you missed out on last month's inflatable obstacle course. Sign yourself up for one of the free 30-minute sessions and you'll get to don a pair of Nike's whizz-bang new kicks, to best experience all the House of Go activities on offer. Get some air-time jumping through a giant treadmill, squelch through a room of foam, slip down slides and feast your eyes on dazzling light installations along the way. Out the other end, you'll be greeted by striking works by acclaimed Indigenous artist Reko Rennie as you recover with ice cream and groove to beats by Nike's resident DJ.
It takes a brave filmmaker to see cancer and climate change, and think of art, evolution and eroticism in a possible future. It takes a bold director to have a character proclaim that "surgery is the new sex", too. David Cronenberg has always been that kind of visionary, even before doing all of the above in his sublime latest release — and having the Scanners, Videodrome and The Fly helmer back on his body-horror bent for the first time in more than two decades is exactly the wild and weird dream that cinephiles want it to be. The Canadian auteur makes his first movie at all since 2014's Maps to the Stars, in fact, and this tale of pleasure and pain is as Cronenbergian as anything can be. He borrows Crimes of the Future's title from his second-ever feature dating back 50-plus years, brings all of his corporeal fascinations to the fore, and moulds a viscerally and cerebrally mesmerising film that it feels like he's always been working towards. Long live the new flesh, again. Long live the old Cronenberg as well. In this portrait of a potential time to come, the human body has undergone two significant changes. Three, perhaps, as glimpsed in a disquieting opening where an eight-year-old called Brecken (debutant Sotiris Siozos) snacks on a plastic bin, and is then murdered by his mother Djuna (Lihi Kornowski, Ballistic). That incident isn't unimportant, but Crimes of the Future has other departures from today's status quo to carve into — and they're equally absorbing. Physical agony has disappeared, creating a trade in "desktop surgery" as performance art. Also, a condition dubbed Accelerated Evolution Syndrome causes some folks, such as artist Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen, Thirteen Lives), to grow abnormal organs. These tumours are removed and tattooed in avant-garde shows by his doctor/lover Caprice (Léa Seydoux, No Time to Die), then catalogued by the National Organ Register's Wippit (Don McKellar, reteaming with Cronenberg after eXistenZ) and Timlin (Kristen Stewart, Spencer). When Crimes of the Future stages one of Saul and Caprice's gigs, it drips not with blood but spectacle and seduction. Indeed, it's no wonder that a curious Timlin utters that catchy observation about medical slicing and intimate arousal shortly afterwards. Alluring, eerie, grotesque and enthralling — and the epitome of the feature's sparse yet entrancing look and mood in the process — it's a powerhouse of a scene, with a self-autopsy pod at its centre. Saul lies still, Caprice uses an eXistenZ-esque fleshy video-game controller to get the contraption cutting, and an enraptured audience hang on every incision. Saul and Caprice do, too, although their visibly aroused reactions have nothing on their time later in the suite alone. (Cronenberg does love eschewing traditional ideas about what titillates; see also: his 1996 film Crash, about characters excited by car crashes. It's a clear precursor to this, and the movie that purred so that 2021 Palme d'Or winner Titane, by filmmaker Julia Ducournau, could rev.) Crimes of the Future's scalpel-equipped coffin is just one of Saul and Caprice's Lifeform Ware gadgets; if eXistenZ, Naked Lunch and Dead Ringers procreated, these are the devices the three flicks would spawn. HR Giger could've conjured them up as well, and thinking of the biomechanical artist's contribution to Alien, which saw him share an Oscar for visual effects, is as natural as feeling spellbound and perturbed by Cronenberg's movie in unison. This is a grimy world where a bed covered with skin and tentacles floats in Saul's home, calibrated to cater to his "designer cancer"-riddled body's needs as it slumbers — and where a chair that looks like a skeleton reassembled as furniture contorts Saul as he's eating, something he is having increasing trouble with otherwise. In other words, it's a world where the old flesh isn't doing what it always has, new flesh is sprouting in a changing and devastated reality, and technology fills in the gaps as it is always designed to. Is Crimes of the Future a Cronenbergian nightmare painted using tools of horror as a brush, just as Caprice uses the autopsy bed as hers? Is it a probing and penetrating pondering of what lies in store on this planet of ours, where machinery keeps progressing, the environment continues to be pushed to its limits, and human bodies are in a state of metamorphosis? The answer: it's both, just as it's sensual and sinister — and, story-wise and thematically, there's still more to come. Writing as well as directing, Cronenberg works with his own original ideas for the first time since the constantly relevant eXistenZ, and doesn't stop questioning what physical, emotional, intellectual and psychological mutations may await humanity. Unsurprisingly, in a script he penned back in 1999, what he posits is bleak — his sci-fi body-horror visions always are — and thoroughly riveting. Connecting the dots, Cronenberg brings Brecken's plight into Saul and Caprice's life via a request by the shadowy Lang (Scott Speedman, Best Sellers), the boy's father, for a public autopsy. The feature has Saul carrying out missions for a detective (Welket Bengué, Berlin Alexanderplatz), and sees a pair of Lifeform Ware technicians (Yellowstone's Tanaya Beatty and Private Eyes' Nadia Litz) hovering around. Plus, Crimes of the Future spans an Inner Beauty Contest, with a zipper inserted in Saul's stomach for the occasion, which Caprice licks in the film's most carnally salacious moment. If Cronenberg's name hadn't already been adapted to describe his aesthetic, fascinations and narratives, it would be based on this movie. Actually, the filmmaker takes it back. He's shared the term with a raft of imitators, but no one holds a blade to Cronenberg at his best. Well, one fellow director comes close: his son Brandon, whose Antiviral and Possessor couldn't be more worthy of the family moniker. Crimes of the Future is an art-world and celebrity satire among everything else — when artists modifying bodies become stars, as happens here, how can it not be? And, joining the list, it's as strong an example there is of Cronenberg's masterful ability to use the instruments at his disposal to bring disturbing but enticing musings to a stunning fruition. There isn't a misstep among his cast, including his cloaked-up A History of Violence, Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method star Mortensen oozing vulnerability and looking like death (a The Seventh Seal-style figure, to be exact); Seydoux serving up a picture of slinky passion; and Stewart delivering a delightfully nervy supporting turn. Every shot lensed by Douglas Koch (Funny Boy) exudes a ravaged air in multiple ways, and the score by Cronenberg's usual composer Howard Shore is devilishly menacing. Surrendering to their skills, and to Crimes of the Future's thrills, proves just like evolution: inescapable.
Hiking through forests and swimming around coral reefs can be great fun, but some of the best adventure holidays include those with close and personal wildlife experiences — and that doesn't mean just looking at birds in trees or visiting a zoo. This kind of epic getaway will have you witnessing exotic animals in their natural habitat, getting as close as you can without causing them any harm. To help you get on one of these trips, we teamed up with a bunch of local and international tour providers who curate experiences for animal lovers especially. Read on to find your fave and book your spot through Concrete Playground Trips. A HUMPBACK WHALE ADVENTURE This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of travel experience. Adventure lovers will spend seven nights in Tonga, diving around the island almost every day. Each day, you'll follow the lead of Jono Allen — the ocean photographer, environmental scientist, marine megafauna guide and filmmaker — as he takes you to a series of different dive spots. Every year, thousands of magnificent humpback whales migrate from the freezing feeding grounds of Antarctica to Tonga's warm, azure paradise to mate and give birth. You're not totally guaranteed to see these majestic sea creatures, but this place'll be your best bet. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_899178" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Red Charlie (Unsplash)[/caption] FIVE-NIGHT LUXURY SERENGETI SAFARI This Tanzanian trek takes animal lovers to some of the country's most famous safari destinations, including Rift Valley and the Ngorongoro Crater. You'll traverse savannah grasslands in a 4WD car with only a couple of other tourists. Here, you've got an ideal vantage point for spotting zebras, leopards, giraffes and all other kinds of native wildlife. You'll also stay in incredibly glam accommodation along the way. Specifically, the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, Arusha Coffee Lodge and Grand Melia. It's guaranteed that you'll safari in total style on this Serengeti tour. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_893317" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Colin Meg (Unsplash)[/caption] 10-DAY BORNEO WILDLIFE EXPEDITION Borneo is a bucket list travel destination for so many nature lovers. People flock to this part of the world for its wild rainforests, rugged coastline and traditional villages full of friendly locals. Fantastically, this 10-day tour takes you to all of Borneo's best bits, including an orangutan sanctuary where you can get up close with the intelligent creatures. You'll also cruise along the Kinabatangan River, chill out on the stunning Manukan Island and get a taste of city life in Kota Kinabalu — spending your nights in luxe resorts, hotels and lodges. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_895302" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Western Australia[/caption] SWIM WITH WHALE SHARKS ON THIS NINGALOO REEF GETAWAY Swimming with the whale sharks on Ningaloo Reef should be at the top of everyone's travel hit-list when visiting Western Australia's Coral Coast. Exmouth is the gateway to the world's largest fringing reef — the iconic Ningaloo Reef — and that's exactly where you're headed on this exclusive three-day adventure. You'll enjoy a full day here, diving headfirst into the pristine aquatic wonderland that's home to dolphins, manta rays, turtles, humpback whales and, of course, the much-loved gentle giants: whale sharks. Spend the rest of your days at your own leisure. Our hot tips? Hitting up the iconic Cape Range National Park, home to native wildlife and epic walking trails. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_899180" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Juli Kosolapova (Unsplash)[/caption] CROSS THE SOUTH GOBI DESERT BY CAMEL This isn't the usual two-hour camel tour you'll find Down Under — it is altogether more epic. You'll spend 11 days trekking around the largest desert in Asia, all from atop your humped steed. Wake up, jump aboard and explore Mongolia's Gobi Desert with local guides. This part of the locale is rich in mineral resources, diverse flora and fauna, thousands of unrevealed dinosaur fossils and rare paleo findings, as well as stacks of historical and archaeological sites. And seeing them via camel just makes your trip that much more unique and fun-filled. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_899177" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jorge Tung (Unsplash)[/caption] LUXURY SAFARI AROUND KENYA This seven-day tour takes adventure travellers to some of the greatest national parks and conservation reserves in Kenya. You'll see lions, elephants and rhinos in their habitats as they thrive in protected areas — a true must-do experience. Each night will be spent in a different luxury lodge located close to the wildebeest migration routes — meaning guests will likely get the chance to see these astonishing wild animals close-up (say, while having brekkie or swimming in their private plunge pool). If an African safari is on the cards this year, consider this exclusive offering from Concrete Playground Trips. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_899195" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nick Dunn (Unsplash)[/caption] SMALL GROUP FULL-DAY TOUR OF KANGAROO ISLAND Kangaroo Island is one of the top places to visit in Australia — and this tour will let travellers see some of its cutest and most rare wildlife. Start the morning with a cuppa and some homemade treats with fellow travellers before walking along koala-filled paths by the beach. After you're fuelled, you'll be taken to a series of natural sites that'll have you right up close to wallabies and sea lions. Watch pups nursing or playing in the surf, see old bulls bearing the scars of territorial disputes and learn about their unique breeding biology. The trip even includes lunch at a private bush camp, where you'll dine on locally caught fish and drink plenty of South Australian wine. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_899184" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 2H Media (Unsplash)[/caption] EXCLUSIVE GORILLA TOUR OF UGANDA Live your Gorillas in the Mist fantasy (sans scary poachers) on this seven-day primate tour in Uganda. You'll trek around the rainforests keeping your eyes peeled for all kinds of primates — think chimpanzees, monkeys and the almighty gorilla — and even jump aboard a river boat for a day. Throughout the animal-filled getaway, travellers will stay in Rushaga Gorilla Camp, Simba Safari Camp and the Isunga Lodge — each surrounded by nature and wildlife. It's one of the greatest ways to explore this part of the world. 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. Top image: Hu Chen (Unsplash).
As another summer begins, it'll be time for the NGV International to show off the latest edition of its annual Architecture Commission. Launching Monday, December 6 (until April 2022), this year's winning design is made up of two parts: a vibrant pink pond that's meant to nod to Victoria's inland salt lakes, and a body of Indigenous plants. The installation is called Pond[er], and hails from Melbourne-based architecture firm Taylor Knights in collaboration with artist James Carey. Their work will see patrons wander through a series of interconnected walkways and accessible platforms and, with one of Pond[er]'s main purposes being to provide somewhere for gallery visitors to cool off, you'll be able to step right in and wade through the water. The installation is also designed to reflect upon the environment in various ways. By filling the pond with pink-hued water, the piece is designed to get people thinking about its scarcity and importance. And by using Victorian wildflowers among its plants — which will bloom at different times throughout the installation — it also aims to inspire visitors to contemplate just how fleeting and precarious our natural environment can be. [caption id="attachment_840623" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tom Ross[/caption] Top Images: Derek Swalwell and Tom Ross
Melbourne often goes in waves with its international influences on dining. From Mexican taco trucks to Spanish tapas to Korean barbecue, there are no limits to our cravings for international cuisine. One craze we cannot ignore any longer has to go to the land of the free and home of the brave, with American style platefuls still popping up left right and centre. Yes, American-inspired food and drink is not new to Melbourne, but boy do we love it right now. Whether you're craving dude food like Philly steaks and curly fries, want to snuggle into an American-style diner or simply won't settle for anything short of some southern Gumbo, there's a place for you here. Fourth of July celebrations were surprisingly abundant this year, and so the masses have spoken: USA is A-OK. So when you've got the urge for something from the States without the 22-hour flight, here's where you should head. Po' Boy Quarter The permanent residence from the team behind Creole food truck Gumbo Kitchen is perfect for those looking for southern comfort food. The po' boys, popular New Orleans street food, are filled with fried shrimp, deep-fried catfish or pulled pork — and you can’t go past the gumbo. Fantastic for those looking for a big feed on a budget as well, they often have drink and food specials (just keep an eye out on their Facebook page). The bar out the back, Huey Long's, has also recently started stocking craft beer from Louisiana for authenticity. They also serve great American style cocktails; rye mint julep served with crushed ice in pewter cups will be our go-to beverage the second the weather warms up. 295 Smith Street, Fitzroy, (03) 9419 2130, gumbokitchen.com.au The Beaufort This nautical dive bar is all about the booze, boats and buns — we're assuming of the hamburger nature — and if you can have more fun at a bar while keeping your clothes on, we'll eat our hat. Ike's Rack Shack is where it's at for delicious ribs. The tasty bits of meat and bone are covered in a salt and pepper rub and smoked overnight, then glazed with a Bulliet bourbon and maple syrup concoction. If you've got room for desert they’ve also got a bourbon caramel-topped walnut and vanilla sundae — along with apple pie, of course. 421 Rathdowne Street, Carlton, (03)9347 8171, thebeaufort.com.au Meatmother The dedicated folk at Meatmother are up bright and early to get slabs of beef brisket, pork and ribs to smoke over oak for 12 hours before they reach your lips. We recommend getting the meat tray to test out their days work, and adding a side of either chipotle slaw or mac and cheese. As for drinks, they offer a great selection of both American and Australian craft beers, bourbon and cocktails. With rusty meat cleavers adorning the walls, this isn't a prime choice for vegetarians (as the name suggests). But, if you like your meat to fall apart and full of flavour, you can't go wrong here. 167 Swan Street, Richmond, (03) 9041 5393, meatmother.com.au Big Boy BBQ The motto at Big Boy BBQ is 'Slow Food… Fast', meaning that their meat is generously rubbed with spices and slow cooked for up to 16 hours, but they can still dish them out quick sticks once orders start coming in. It may be 'fast food' but the meat is actually low fat, and low carb meal options are available. Give 'The Dorothy' a go: Kansas style saucy beef brisket with pickles and coleslaw. Another great thing about Big Boy is that they have BYO for only $1 surcharge per person. You can find these guys in either Caulfield South or Hardware Lane if the desire for shredded tender meat grabs you at a moments notice. 764 Glen Huntly Road, Caulfield South, (03) 9523 7410 and 27-31 Hardware Lane, Melbourne, (03) 9670 9388, bigboybbq.com.au Le Bon Ton Brought to you by the boys who have already proven they can nail Mexican food with Chingon, Le Bon Ton is another place serving up the New Orleans-inspired goods. The chicken wings smoked over cherry wood for two hours have been described as smokier than Keith Richards (we're assured that's a good thing). Also worth a stab is the 12-hour mesquite-smoked pork shoulder — it will change your life. We're also not about to argue with Sierra Nevada on tap, and for those after a serious cocktail there is the 'French Quarter' with Martell, Bulleit rye whiskey and sweet vermouth, with lashings of bitters and Bénédictine liqueur. And then there's the homemade pies for dessert: pecan, chocolate cream, banana cream and apple. This will be a food coma well deserved. 51 Gipps Street, Collingwood, (03) 9416 4341, lebonton.com.au Fancy Hanks Bar-B-Que If you're craving a big hunk of BBQ meat to get you through this winter, you should definitely drop by Fancy Hank's. 16-hour pulled pork shoulder for $6 per 100g or beer can chicken are popular items on the Bar-b-que menu, available at The Mercat Wednesday to Sunday. Add a side of 'Rosanne Cash' potato salad or some traditional cornbread and you won't need to eat for days. They also have happy hour between 4pm-7pm on Fridays with 2 for 1 on-tap beers. Also, what the hell is a pulled pork sundae you ask? You'd better get down there and investigate. The Mercat, 456 Queen Street, Melbourne, (03) 9348 9998, fancyhanks.com.au Miss Katie’s Crab Shack Previously known as Dr Juicy Jay's Crab Shack (and originally started by the Chingon boys), Miss Katie's is all about the American-style cooked blue swimmer crab. There is no holding back when it comes to these crabs — you just gotta grab a bib and hammer, and get stuck into these delicious crustaceans. The seasonal jambalaya, a paella-like dish with rice, seasonal vegetables and a selection of meats is created depending on what looked good at the market that day — just ask the staff for details. For those not so in favour of seafood there's KFC (that’s Katie's Fried Chicken), and vegetarians have not been forgotten here, with the sweetcorn and sweet potato burger doing the trick. The Public Bar, 238 Victoria Street, North Melbourne, (03) 9329 9888, misskatiescrabshack.com Bowery to Williamsburg For those looking for a taste of the USA in daylight hours, this cafe will take care of your bagel cravings. Channeling the industrial NY Subway station, this cafe pumps out Padre coffee all day, and something a little stronger for the afternoon crowd. The breakfast pastrami bagel is a hard one to pass up, a with fried egg, jalapeños, shmeer and rocket to get your day off to a great start. More recently they have added po' boys to their menu and some incredibly irresistible cronuts — that's a croissant crossed with a doughnut for the uninitiated. 16 Oliver Lane, Melbourne, twitter.com/bowerytowilliam Trunk If we're going to include a diner on our list, we think it should be Trunk. While Trunk's restaurant section is slightly more serious business, Trunk's New York-style diner is for those looking for something a bit quicker and light hearted. Try the Breaking Bad Dog: a bacon-wrapped hot dog with mustard, ketchup, fresh tomato salsa and jalapeños. Add some Wagyu chili fries to the order and you're laughing. Plus, you can never go wrong with a dessert menu only consisting of Sundaes — the salted caramel with toffee peanuts and caramelised popcorn for us, thanks. 275 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, (03) 9663 7994, trunktown.com.au Nieuw Amsterdam Ex-Cookie owner Michael Roszbach has opened a New York-inspired eatery and late night bar, and it doesn't disappoint. Serving food for lunch and into the night, the fare is decidedly American, with Gritz Fritters and a New York clam chowder filled with leeks, bacon, potatoes, clam veloute. Of course, with all things American that can be found in Melbourne, there is a pit grill to satisfy the carnivores amongst us, with lamb ribs and pork belly chops to boot. Pumpkin doughnuts and peanut butter waffles beckon us for dessert — but then again, so does the bar. An impressive list of Negronis and a 'NY Sour' with rye whiskey, cognac, lemon juice, egg white, and an absinthe rinse could be just what the doctor ordered. 106-112 Hardware Street, Melbourne, (03) 9602 2111, nieuwamsterdam.com.au Belle's Hot Chicken We know this is number 11 of the list, but we thought Belle's Hot Chicken — which has recently opened, replacing Belle's Diner — was worth of a mention on this list. The Gertrude Street diner is set to close mid-July and reopen to exclusively serve Nashville-style fried chicken. They'll be plating up their spicy-coated chicken with sides of fermented pickles, hot sauce, slaw, and potato salad in August. Their focus is to do one thing and do it really well — and we're volunteering ourselves to be their test crowd. 150 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, (03) 9077 0788, bellesnightlunchdiner.com Po' Boy Quarter images thanks to e1cam1n0 via Instagram. View all Melbourne Restaurants.
Archer's restaurant at Melbourne Marriott Hotel Docklands has partnered with several independent Victorian distillers to host a monthly whisky tasting and dinner experience in its main dining room. Following a sold-out whisky dinner in May, the team has decided to revive the concept for three more monthly events. The series kicks off on Saturday, September 2 and will be hosted in collaboration with Morris Whisky — a local distiller that's been around since 1859. This will be followed by Timboon Distillery on Saturday, October 7 and Chief's Son Distillery on Saturday, November 4. Each of the three evenings will see guests tuck into a one-time-only menu designed by Archer's Executive Chef Ryan Flaherty (The Fat Duck and Stokehouse), made to be paired with a selection of whiskies curated by the distillers themselves. The four-course meal with matched whiskies comes in at $130 per person and can easily be followed by more good times in the hotel's main bar, Ada's — which boasts its own whisky cart that gets rolled around each evening. If you want to claim a spot at Archer's monthly whisky dinners, head to the restaurant's website.
With the Australian Centre for the Moving Image's major 2023 winter exhibition Goddess, the Melbourne cultural institution is going big on an essential topic: how women are represented on-screen. For six months from Wednesday, April 5–Sunday, October 1, the venue's new world-premiere showcase will pay tribute to formidable ladies in cinema, femininity across screen history, and what female talents have represented — and been forced to deal with — about the society around them. And, thanks to a new one-day conference with Geena Davis as its headline speaker, all that musing on representation, equality and diversity won't just be gracing ACMI's gallery spaces. Announced to celebrate International Women's Day, Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation will run on Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion's opening day. Davis will take to the stage to speak as part of a range of discussions, on behalf of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media — which the Academy Award-winning actor founded in 2004, and has been working to create gender balance in the industry for almost two decades now — and as the exhibition's lead ambassador. [caption id="attachment_891918" align="alignnone" width="1920"] GabboT via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] In addition to the rare opportunity to hear from Thelma & Louise, Beetlejuice, The Fly and A League of Their Own star Davis herself live in Australia, the Melbourne conference will also feature Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media President and CEO Madeline Di Nonno and a heap of Aussie talent. The latter includes 52 Tuesdays and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande filmmaker Sophie Hyde, journalist and TV presenter Jan Fran, actor Pallavi Sharda and casting director Anousha Zarkesh, as well as 2023 Australian of the Year Taryn Brumfitt. Goddess itself is quite the drawcard, of course, whether or not you head along on opening day. Both a massive and a landmark exhibition, it's set to display more than 150 original objects, artworks, props and sketches, all championing oh-so-many talented women and their impact upon cinema. [caption id="attachment_882193" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, 2020, Margot Robbie, © Warner Bros. Image courtesy of LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo.[/caption] That lineup covers costumes that've never been displayed before, various cinematic treasures, large-scale projections and other interactive experiences. Silent-era sirens, classic Hollywood heroines, unforgettable femme fatales and villains, Bollywood stars, women in China and Japan's cinematic histories: they're all being given the spotlight. Goddess will also dive into provocative on-screen moments from Hollywood's silent days through to today that've not only left an imprint, but also played a part in defining (and altering) what's considered the feminine ideal. Think: Marlene Dietrich in 1930's Morocco, Pam Grier's spectacular Blaxploitation career, Tilda Swinton in 1992's Orlando and Margot Robbie via 2020's Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Plus, Mae West's sky-high heels from 1934's Belle of the Nineties, costumes worn by Davis and Susan Sarandon in 1991's aforementioned Thelma & Louise and Michelle Yeoh's fight-ready silks from 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will also feature. [caption id="attachment_882194" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Blonde Venus, 1932, Marlene Dietrich. Image courtesy of PARAMOUNT PICTURES / Ronald Grant Archive / Alamy Stock Photo.[/caption] The list goes on, clearly, spanning Anna May Wong, Marilyn Monroe, Laverne Cox and Zendaya as well. And, expect everything from Glenn Close's Cruella de Vil in 102 Dalmatians to the Carey Mulligan-starring Promising Young Woman to get time to shine. Goddess will pair its wide-ranging display with soundscapes by Melbourne-based composer Chiara Kickdrum, and also feature a sprawling events program complete with late-night parties, performances and talks — and film screenings, of course. ACMI has also just revealed further details about those other activities, including in-depth monthly curator tours of the exhibition, which'll take place after hours and dive deep into the showcase. [caption id="attachment_882188" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Britt Romstad, 2022, photo by Phoebe Powell. Costume: Kitty (Elaine Crombie) costume, Kiki and Kitty, Australia, 2017, designed by Amelia Gebler, courtesy of Jetty Distribution Pty Limited. Backdrop: Marilyn Monroe on the set of Some Like It Hot, photo by Don Ornitz, © Globe Photos / ZUMAPRESS.com. Image courtesy of ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo.[/caption] There's also a music program called Goddess Nights from late May, which'll focus on three femme-centric live music lineups with performances by DJ JNETT, CD, POOKIE and Ayebatonye — and a curated range of food and booze put together just for each evening. For film buffs, movie series Divine Trailblazers will focus on contemporary actors at the height of their powers, while the Goddess Sundays is all about on-screen personas. So, the first includes Angela Bassett's Oscar-nominated performance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, fellow Academy Award contenders Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis in Everything Everywhere All At Once, Cate Blanchett also earning that description for Tár, Viola Davis in warrior mode in The Woman King, Filipino actor Dolly De Leon stealing every scene she's in in Triangle of Sadness, and Leah Purcell writing, directing, producing and starring in The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson. And, the weekly Sunday afternoon lineup includes Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, Pam Grier in Jackie Brown, Daniela Vega in A Fantastic Woman and more. After showing in Melbourne for its premiere season, Goddess will then tour internationally, taking ACMI's celebration of women on-screen to the world. Goddess will display at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square, Melbourne, from Wednesday, April 5–Sunday, October 1, 2023. For more information — including about Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation on Wednesday, April 5 — head to the ACMI website. Top image: Thelma and Louise, 1991, L-R Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, © MGM. Image courtesy of Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo.
Here's something that 2023 has that 2022 didn't: a Golden Globes ceremony. In his opening monologue, this year's host Jerrod Carmichael addressed the reasons why, including the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's historical lack of diversity. He also unpacked why he was asked to take to the microphone: "because I'm Black". Sparkling dresses, gleaming tuxedos, almost every famous face ever, plenty of shiny trophies going to worthy talents: that was all a part of the 2023 Golden Globes, which handed out its gongs on Wednesday, January 11 Australian and New Zealand time. So were frank speeches about the state of the industry, and the paths that many of this year's award-winners took to getting the accolades they deserve. When Ke Huy Quan said that "for so many years, I was afraid I had nothing more to offer" — chatting about the gap between starring in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as a kid to making Everything Everywhere All At Once in 2022 — there really shouldn't have been a dry eye in the house. When his co-star Michelle Yeoh spoke about the surprise she garnered when people in the US discovered that she could speak English, the anger was palpable. Yeoh and Quan are just two of this year's Golden Globe winners, emerging victorious from a hefty list of nominees. Covering big- and small-screen contenders, they had ample company. And, among award recipients and presenters alike, the important and entertaining moments kept coming, such as Colin Farrell thanking Jenny the donkey from The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis' Austin Butler asking to be played off to 'Suspicious Minds', Wednesday's Jenna Ortega telling everyone to watch 1962 French New Wave classic Jules and Jim, and Carmichael apologising "as a gay man" to Jennifer Coolidge in response to The White Lotus' second season. Also among the highlights: Carol Burnett Award-recipient Ryan Murphy giving 2022 Globe-winner MJ Rodriguez, the first trans woman to score a Golden Globe, a moment of recognition to make up for last year's lack of a ceremony; Volodymyr Zelenskyy's beamed-in speech; Steven Spielberg talking about finally being ready to dive into his own past directly after flirting with it across his filmography; Coolidge's mile-a-minute run-through of her rollercoaster career, and saying she'd come back for more American Pie; and Quinta Brunson's shoutout to Bob Odenkirk. Next stop for winners of the Golden Globe's film categories: the Academy Awards. Is Australia's own Cate Blanchett set to win her third Oscar, after picking up a Globe for Tár? Can Bollywood gem RRR keep winning fans everywhere it goes? Will 2023 keep being Yeoh and Quan's year, as 2022 was? These are your new questions. Amid all of the above, if you're wondering who and what else nabbed Golden Globes this year, the full rundown is below — and you can also check out our picks for the 15 winners you can watch right now: GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEES AND WINNERS: BEST MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Avatar: The Way of Water Elvis The Fabelmans — WINNER Tár Top Gun: Maverick BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Cate Blanchett, Tár — WINNER Olivia Colman, Empire of Light Viola Davis, The Woman King Ana de Armas, Blonde Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Austin Butler, Elvis — WINNER Brendan Fraser, The Whale — WINNER Hugh Jackman, The Son Bill Nighy, Living Jeremy Pope, The Inspection BEST MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Babylon The Banshees of Inisherin — WINNER Everything Everywhere All at Once Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Triangle of Sadness BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Lesley Manville, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris Margot Robbie, Babylon Anya Taylor-Joy, The Menu Emma Thompson, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Diego Calva, Babylon Daniel Craig, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Adam Driver, White Noise Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin — WINNER Ralph Fiennes, The Menu BEST MOTION PICTURE — ANIMATED Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio — WINNER Inu-Oh Marcel the Shell with Shoes On Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Turning Red BEST MOTION PICTURE — NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE All Quiet on the Western Front Argentina, 1985 — WINNER Close Decision to Leave RRR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — WINNER Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once Dolly De Leon, Triangle of Sadness Carey Mulligan, She Said BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin Brad Pitt, Babylon Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once — WINNER Eddie Redmayne, The Good Nurse BEST DIRECTOR — MOTION PICTURE James Cameron, Avatar: The Way of Water Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once Baz Luhrmann, Elvis Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans — WINNER BEST SCREENPLAY — MOTION PICTURE Todd Field, Tár Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin — WINNER Sarah Polley, Women Talking Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner, The Fabelmans BEST ORIGINAL SCORE — MOTION PICTURE Carter Burwell, The Banshees of Inisherin Alexandre Desplat, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Hildur Guðnadóttir, Women Talking Justin Hurwitz, Babylon — WINNER John Williams, The Fabelmans BEST ORIGINAL SONG — MOTION PICTURE 'Carolina' by Taylor Swift, Where the Crawdads Sing 'Ciao Papa' by Alexandre Desplat, Guillermo del Toro, Roeban Katz, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio 'Hold My Hand' by Lady Gaga, BloodPop, Benjamin Rice, Top Gun: Maverick 'Lift Me Up' by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 'Naatu Naatu' by Kala Bhairava, M.M. Keeravani, Kala Bhairava, Rahul Sipligunj, RRR — WINNER BEST TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Better Call Saul The Crown House of the Dragon — WINNER Ozark Severance BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Emma D'Arcy, House of the Dragon Laura Linney, Ozark Imelda Staunton, The Crown Hilary Swank, Alaska Daily Zendaya, Euphoria — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Jeff Bridges, The Old Man Kevin Costner, Yellowstone — WINNER Diego Luna, Andor Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul Adam Scott, Severance BEST TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Abbott Elementary — WINNER The Bear Hacks Only Murders in the Building Wednesday BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary — WINNER Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building Jenna Ortega, Wednesday Jean Smart, Hacks BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Donald Glover, Atlanta Bill Hader, Barry Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building Jeremy Allen White, The Bear — WINNER BEST TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Black Bird DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story The Dropout Pam & Tommy The White Lotus — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jessica Chastain, George and Tammy Julia Garner, Inventing Anna Lily James, Pam & Tommy Julia Roberts, Gaslit Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Taron Egerton, Black Bird Colin Firth, The Staircase Andrew Garfield, Under the Banner of Heaven Evan Peters, Dahmer — MONSTER: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story — WINNER Sebastian Stan, Pam & Tommy BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus — WINNER Claire Danes, Fleishman Is in Trouble Daisy Edgar-Jones, Under the Banner of Heaven Niecy Nash, Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Aubrey Plaza, The White Lotus BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION F. Murray Abraham, The White Lotus Domhnall Gleeson, The Patient Paul Walter Hauser, Black Bird — WINNER Richard Jenkins, Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Seth Rogen, Pam & Tommy BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL-COMEDY OR DRAMA TELEVISION SERIES Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown Hannah Einbinder, Hacks Julia Garner, Ozark — WINNER Janelle James, Abbott Elementary Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL-COMEDY OR DRAMA TELEVISION SERIES John Lithgow, The Old Man Jonathan Pryce, The Crown John Turturro, Severance Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary — WINNER Henry Winkler, Barry For further details about the 2023 Golden Globes, head to the awards' website.
2023 was the year of the Matildas. Here's hoping that 2024 will be as well. Australia's national women's soccer team made history on the pitch and on TV screens at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, and inspired the word 'Matilda' to be chosen as the Australian National Dictionary Centre's 2023 Word of the Year. The squad's current aim: making it to this year's Paris Olympics, with two matches standing between them and playing at the games. The Tillies competed in three qualifiers in Perth in October and November 2023, winning all three. The next step is a two-match fixture against Uzbekistan, which will determine whether the Aussies score one of the Asian Football Confederation's two places in Paris. First up, on Saturday, February 24, the Steph Catley-led squad will play at Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent. Then, they're coming home to take to the pitch at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on Wednesday, February 28. If you'll be in Melbourne on the second date and you don't already have tickets, you've missed your chance to head along live. But, as always, 10Play and Paramount+ are your destinations — plus Network 10 on regular TV — to watch from home. As for the squad, Sam Kerr won't be playing after injuring her ACL at a training camp for Women's Super League team Chelsea, which is why Catley will wear the captain's armband. Familiar names abound from there, including Mackenzie Arnold, Mary Fowler, Alanna Kennedy, Ellie Carpenter, Caitlin Foord, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Katrina Gorry, Hayley Raso, Emily van Egmond and Tameka Yallop. Cortnee Vine will sit out the games for personal reasons, while Michelle Heyman rejoins the squad for the first time in six years. The Matildas are hoping not only to get through to the Olympics, but to best the 2020 games' fourth placing, which is the team's best result yet. In the qualifiers, Japan will play North Korea in two matches on the same February dates, with the winner securing the other Asian Football Confederation spot. Whatever happens against Uzbekistan, the Tillies will hit the turf again in April, thanks to a friendly against Mexico in San Antonio in the US. Matildas Final Paris Olympics Qualifying Matches vs Uzbekistan: Saturday, February 24 — kickoff at 8pm AEDT / 7pm AEST / 5pm AWST Wednesday, February 28 — kickoff at 8pm AEDT / 7pm AEST / 5pm AWST The Matildas' final Olympic qualifiers take place on Saturday, February 24 and Wednesday, February 28 — and you can watch via 10Play and Paramount+. Images: Tiff Williams.
What's better than Ability Fest, Australia's most-inclusive music festival, returning for another year? The fully accessible event, which launched in 2018 as the brainchild of 2022 Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott, taking its setup and live tunes to two spots around the country. The fest started in Melbourne, which is the only place that it has called home since — but in October 2024 it'll play both the Victorian capital and its Queensland counterpart. Melburnians, you have a date for your calendar. Brisbanites, so do you, for a music festival that's arriving in the River City for the first time ever. And for folks everywhere else, you have two locations to choose from if you're keen to book a weekend away to head along. [caption id="attachment_963996" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Chloe Hall[/caption] Ability Fest will first unleash its 2024 lineup — which hasn't yet been revealed — on Saturday, October 19 at Alexandra Gardens/Birrarung Marr in Melbourne. Then, the following week on Saturday, October 26, it'll make its Sunshine State debut at Victoria Park/Barrambin in Brisbane. "First and foremost, Ability Fest is a ripper festival at its core, but with the added plus that it can bring people of all abilities together," said Alcott about bringing the event north. [caption id="attachment_963997" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Glenn Hunt[/caption] "We'll have a completely accessible venue with elevated viewing platforms, pathways, quiet zones and sensory areas, ensuring that everyone has the ability to have an unreal day." "Gaining the support of the Queensland Government means we get to share our passion for great music and good vibes with the Sunshine State, and offer an inclusive and incredible festival experience for every single person," Alcott continued. [caption id="attachment_963992" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Ian Laidlaw[/caption] The Brisbane festival will cater to around 5000 people, and Ability Fest is committed to being financially accessible during the current cost-of-living crisis in both of its stops. Accordingly, tickets will only cost $60 plus booking fee, and carers will receive complimentary entry. The fest is also lowering the age of admission to 16 so more folks can head along. "For many Australians, the cost-of-living crisis has created significant financial strain. We believe that music has the power to unite communities, bring people together and lift our spirits, especially during challenging times," said Alcott. [caption id="attachment_963990" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Chloe Hall[/caption] From the get-go, Ability Fest has been carefully designed to be completely accessible and as inclusive as they come. It features ramps and pathways for easy access, Auslan interpreters working alongside the artists, and elevated platforms to give everyone a shot at seeing the stage. Plus, there's also quiet zones, dedicated sensory areas and accessible toilets. While dishing up primo live tunes and music experiences to Aussies of all abilities, the not-for-profit fest also raises money for the Dylan Alcott Foundation, with 100-percent of its ticket proceeds going to the organisation. Ability Fest 2024 Dates and Venues: Saturday, October 19 — Alexandra Gardens/Birrarung Marr, Melbourne Saturday, October 26 — Victoria Park/Barrambin, Brisbane [caption id="attachment_963995" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Chloe Hall[/caption] [caption id="attachment_963991" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Chloe Hall[/caption] Ability Fest 2024 will hit Melbourne and Brisbane in October 2024. Pre-sale tickets will be available from 12pm AEST on Wednesday, July 10 (register online), with general tickets selling online from 12pm on Thursday, July 11. Head to the festival website for more details.
When Parasite became a smash that just kept winning awards — including Cannes' Palm d'Or, Sydney Film Festival's annual prize and a heap of Oscars — news arrived that the best film of 2019 would also get the TV treatment. So far, that hasn't come to fruition, sadly. But another stone-cold South Korean thriller masterpiece is now on its way to the small screen: Park Chan-wook's Oldboy. 2024 marks 21 years since the Decision to Leave, The Handmaiden, Joint Security Area, Thirst and Stoker director gave the world the first screen adaptation the Japanese manga of the same name — and also a middle chapter to his Vengeance Trilogy, following 2002's Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and preceding 2005's Lady Vengeance. Now, after an American movie remake popped up in 2013 directed by none other than Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods), Oldboy is making the leap to television. Just as with the US flick, the TV show will be in English. "Lionsgate Television shares my creative vision for bringing Oldboy into the world of television," said Park in a statement, as reported by Variety. "I look forward to working with a studio whose brand stands for bold, original and risk-taking storytelling," he continued. Park will produce the series, adding another small-screen effort to his resume alongside 2018's The Little Drummer Girl and 2024's The Sympathizer. Park's Oldboy kicks off in 1988, when Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik, Big Bet) gets too drunk to attend his daughter's fourth birthday, even ending up at the police station. He doesn't get home from there, instead becoming imprisoned in a hotel room for 15 years by kidnappers intent on keeping him alive. When freedom finally comes, so does a bloody revenge quest. "Park is one of the most visionary storytellers of our generation, and we're excited to partner with him in bringing his cinematic masterpiece to the television screen," said Lionsgate Television's Executive Vice President and Head of Scripted Development Scott Herbst about the new TV show. While there's no word yet about how closely the storyline will adhere to the original — and nothing on casting, either, or when the show will release — Herbst also advised that "this series adaptation of Oldboy will feature the raw emotional power, iconic fight scenes and visceral style that made the film a classic." There's obviously no sneak peek yet for the Oldboy TV series — but find the trailer for Park's film above and Lee's film below: The Oldboy TV series doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when more details are announced. Via Variety.
If you listen carefully, you might just hear the sound of a light- to medium-bodied red wine sloshing around a glass. That's because the world's favourite celebration of pinot noir is finally returning, with the news Pinot Palooza will make its comeback in just a few short months. In its 10 years of life, the Melbourne-born wine tasting festival has become a global affair, with an estimated 65,000 tickets sold, worldwide. But once COVID hit in 2020, it saw the popular event shelved for two-and-a-half years. Now, that hiatus is finally over, with a huge tenth-anniversary edition of Pinot Palooza set to hit Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland in 2022. The comeback tour kicks off this autumn, returning to the festival's homeland of Melbourne with a couple of wine-filled days at Port Melbourne's Timber Yard from May 6–7. Brisbane Showgrounds are up next, hosting Pinot Palooza from May 20–21, before Sydney gets its shot on June 17 and 18. The festival then crosses the ditch for its Auckland edition from October 15–16. While the wine-sipping fun will play out similarly to before, across three sessions at each event, there is one big new addition in store — a dedicated Tasmanian hub set to showcase a curation of wine, spirits, cider and cheese from over 20 top Tassie producers. As always, you'll spend your event session swirling and sampling a huge array of pinot noir from across Australia, New Zealand and the world. Word is, over 70 winemakers are coming to the party. Also like before, there'll be pop-up bars and food stalls to keep you busy in between sips, with favourites Burn City Smokers, Taco Truck and Nama already confirmed for the Melbourne edition. Pinot Palooza 2022 will hit Melbourne on May 6–7, Brisbane on May 20–21, Sydney on June 17–18 and Auckland on October 15–16. To nab tickets or find out more, jump over to the website.
In NGV International's Federation Court stands an imposing sculpture in a solemn pietà pose. At seven metres tall, Gone (2019) by Kaws is the world-renowned Brooklyn-based artist's largest bronze sculpture to date. It's part of the gallery's Kaws: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness exhibition, which you'll be able to get up close and personal with on Saturday, February 22. The gallery is hosting a one-off mass meditation right underneath the giant bronze sculpture. The morning will kick off at 9am with a meditation led by A-Space founder Manoj Dias — suitable for all levels of experience — which'll be accompanied by a live musical performance. After that, you'll get exclusive access to the exhibition from 9.45am. Explore Kaws' vivid murals and distinctive, pop culture-inspired characters before the rest of the riff-raff are let in at 10am. You're probably familiar with the artist's reinterpretations of iconic figures like Mickey Mouse, Snoopy and The Smurfs, all reworked with those signature Xs over the eyes — and you'll get to see them all here. Tickets will set you back $40, which includes meditation and access to the exhibition. [caption id="attachment_742493" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kaws, What Party (2019) photo by Tom Ross[/caption] Top image: Kaws, Gone (2019) by Tom Ross.
When your nine-to-five plays out like a well-oiled machine, it can sometimes feel like each week is a little same-same. But Melbourne is brimming with a fine bounty of things to experience and explore each and every day. So aside from casual laziness and a little lack of inspiration, there's really nothing stopping you from squeezing some adventure and spontaneity into your schedule. We've teamed up with Mazda3 to help you celebrate the little things that bring a sense of adventure to life. Shake things up, as we give you seven different detours to take each week in Melbourne. From Monday to Sunday, enrich your everyday with one completely achievable activity that inspires you to take the scenic route as you go about your daily routine. This week, eat the best pizza in the world, go barefoot bowling and try out a float tank. Plus, we've got your future detours sorted for the new few weeks here. All require no more effort than a tiny break from the norm — what's your excuse for not trying them all?
The premise of Between Two Ferns couldn't be more simple. Zach Galifianakis interviews other famous folks, all while sitting in the middle of two leafy plants. Staged to look like a no-budget community television show, it's purposefully silly and surreal, whether Galifianakis is nattering with Natalie Portman, Brad Pitt, Justin Bieber, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Starting off as a short film, then becoming one of Funny or Die's hit webseries over the past decade, the wholly improvised show satirises the Hollywood publicity machine by making fun of the polished promotional chats that are so common whenever a big star has a new movie or TV series to plug. In its latest incarnation, Between Two Ferns will jump on another trend, turning its anarchic antics into a Netflix film. If you're wondering just how the Between Two Ferns concept can sustain a whole movie, there's a story to go with it. Embarrassed by the viral mockery he received when Will Ferrell uploaded his original series, Galifianakis — well, the show's version of Galifianakis — tries to track down a heap of celebrities in attempt to restore his reputation. That involves hitting the road, sitting down with everyone from Paul Rudd to Keanu Reeves and Tessa Thompson, and even momentarily killing Matthew McConaughey. Calling Jon Hamm an idiot and getting propositioned by Chrissy Teigen are also on the agenda. The list of high-profile figures making an appearance goes on — and includes Brie Larson, Peter Dinklage, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Letterman, Adam Scott, John Cho, Chance the Rapper and Rashida Jones. Based on the just-dropped trailer, all of the above folks are in for a rather ridiculous experience — as are Netflix viewers, too. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjljgkCQv5c&feature=youtu.be Between Two Ferns: The Movie hits Netflix on September 20. Image: Adam Rose.
Nearly two years ago, the Village Belle Hotel — a St Kilda institution built in 1890 — announced that it was gearing up for a mega makeover. That process, conducted to the tune of $15 million, is now done and dusted. And the results are open for business. Given that the hotel is heritage-listed, many of its features are protected, but there have been a few significant additions. Next time you head in for a drink, look out for the Garden Bar, the Balcony Bar, the Public Bar and the Doulton Lounge, which is open until late. In the kitchen, you'll find Mat McCartney (The Lake House, Daylesford, Chateau Yering) in charge. He's been busy sourcing local and sustainable produce to create a refreshing and ever-changing, yet accessible, menu. Current dishes include eggplant tofu with goats curd, ash bread, crispy kale and grilled vegetables; handmade pumpkin tortellini with sage beurre noisette, Persian fetta, spinach and pine nuts; and crema Catalana, which is like a crème brûlee, but with a thinner crust and a dash of extra zing, thanks to addition of orange rind. There's also a new cocktail menu to mark the revamp. Among the signature concoctions are the vanilla margarita, the belle-ini (with white peach reduction and sparkling wine) and the lemon meringue cocktail (with house-made lemon curd and meringue infused with Licor 43 and Agwa). The Village Belle Hotel is at 202 Barkly St, St Kilda. Opening hours are Monday to Wednesday, 9am to 1am; Thursday to Saturday, 9am to 3am; and Sunday, 10am to 12am. For more information, visit the pub's website.
Google's self-driving car has already brought widespread automated-automobiling one step closer. Now, a UK town has announced plans to establish a driverless public transportation system. Milton Keynes, home to about 40,000 residents, and situated approximately 87 kilometres northwest of London, will soon host a fleet of 100 self-driving pods. Each has the capacity to carry two passengers, as well as luggage, and can travel up to 19km per hour. Electronic motors provide power and, at first, the pods will travel in their own lanes. These are likely to be dispensed with once passengers have developed the confidence to travel driver-free. A smartphone app will facilitate the reservation and payment of journeys, which will take place between the Milton Keynes train station and various locations in the town centre — about 1.6km away. Each trip is expected to cost 2 GBP ($3.44), with total revenue to amount to 1 million GBP after 12 months. The system will begin its test run in 2015. Initially, just twenty pods, featuring joysticks or steering wheels enabling human intervention, will be used, with all 100 expected to be in full swing by 2017. The trial period will last five years, at a cost of 65 million GBP. Driverless pods have been used at Terminal 5, Heathrow Airport, since 2011. During the past two years, a fleet of 21 vehicles travelling along a 3.8km track has transported more than 700,000 passengers. The difference with the pods planned for Milton Keynes is that they will not have the advantage of an installed guideway. Instead, their technology is closer to that utilised in self-driving automobiles, dependent on a combination of GPS, sensors and HD cameras. Via the Independent.
With mountains to the west, beaches to the east and pretty Tuggerah Lake on its doorstep, the little Central Coast town of Wyong has adventures for everyone and every season. Set up home base at the Mercure Koonidah Waters Central Coast and follow our guide to the area. Start your day whale watching from a windswept headland, spend your afternoon horse riding through rolling paddocks and drift into the evening with a dreamy sunset over the Great Dividing Range. Along the way, there's a milk factory-turned-cafe (and pub), an old-school Italian restaurant and a bunch of other eateries to explore. Wyong lies just 80 minutes' north of Sydney, which means you don't have to spend too much of your precious weekend stuck behind the wheel. EAT AND DRINK You'll eat well in Wyong, with restaurants here drawing on fresh produce sourced from the Central Coast and the farms just beyond. But first thing upon arrival, how about starting with coffee? Head to the Milk Factory, on the idyllic banks of Wyong River, a couple of kilometres west of Wyong. Built in 1906, this rather epic property still produces food of the best kind: chocolate and cheese. It's also home to a cafe — where hearty eats include brioche French toast with berries, pecans and maple syrup — as well as a friendly pub. Come back at lunchtime for classics like Wagyu rump or a pulled pork burger with slaw and smoked barbecue sauce, accompanied by a craft brew — be it a Mountain Goat from Melbourne or a Murray's from Port Stephens. Another option is to jump in your car and drive southeast for 20 minutes to Wamberal, where you'll find Lotus Cafe. This airy, sun-filled spot does Toby's Estate coffee and decadent dishes like breakfast coconut panna cotta with mango puree, seasonal fruit and granola. Say yes to a Nutella hot chocolate afterwards — that's the whole point of a winter weekender. By the way, the beach is just a stumble away over the dunes. Back in Wyong, book a table at Osteria A'Mano for dinner. This top-notch Italian restaurant occupies a beautifully restored 1914 building, with original timber floorboards and tiles. Head chef Alessandro Cigola oversees the creation of traditional dishes featuring fresh, premium-quality produce sourced from nearby. Start on duck liver pâté with red wine jelly, sour cherries and pickles, followed by homemade fettuccine with lamb ragu, mint and pecorino. All pastas, breads and desserts are made from scratch, while the featured Italian and Australian wines area all made "the old way". Another option is Karinyas, within the Mercure Kooindah Waters. Here, the emphasis is on simple yet creative combinations, driven by local produce. Think scallops with burnt butter and local macadamia nut sauce and duck breast with cauliflower puree, asparagus and sour cranberry jus. There's also a long, long wine list, big on local drops. The Hunter Valley is just an hour's drive away, after all. DO If there's one surefire, environmentally friendly way to warm up on a cold day, it's got to be a bike ride. The Tuggerah Lakes Cycleway begins just six kilometres from Wyong in Chittaway Bay then follows the foreshore for a peaceful 12 kilometres before reaching The Entrance. Don't have your own bike? Hire from a self-service station — there's one at The Entrance visitor's centre on Marine Parade. Once you've conquered that, your next stop is Crackneck Lookout on the coast, around 20 minutes' drive southeast of Wyong. Anytime between May and August is ideal for whale watching. Moreover, this spot doubles as a stop along the three-kilometre Coast Walking Track, which stretches to Bateau Bay in the north and Forresters Beach in the south. Meanwhile, on Wyong's inland side lie vast expanses of state forest, conservation area and national park. Among them is the TreeTops adventure park in Ourimbah State Forest, where you can ride the world's longest roller coaster zip line, a one-kilometre adrenaline rush at canopy level. There are also three high ropes courses, covering more than 100 obstacles, from ladders and bridges to tunnels and cargo nets. For scenery, the Watagan Mountains — around an hour's drive north — are particularly spectacular; immerse yourself in rainforest on the Circuit Walk or valley views at Monkey Face Lookout. Alternatively, if you're keen to get in the saddle, then give Peppercorn Park a call. The good folks there will happily take you on a trail ride around the stunning property, just ten minutes' north of Wyong, in Jilliby. Adventures begin at $70 for a 90-minute beginner's journey, and lessons and overnight treks are available, too. SLEEP To surround yourself with nature without resorting to a tent — book a sleepover at Mercure Kooindah Waters Central Coast, a golf resort and spa encircled by wetlands and bush. If you're travelling in solo or duo mode, sleep over in a King Room; if you're with buddies, there are one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, all of which come with golf-course views. The resort also knows how to settle in for the winter — they provide giant Jenga (and other board games), which you can enjoy on the terrace while toasting equally oversized marshmallows made by the chef in-house. Mulled wine or Baileys-infused hot chocolate complete the winter idyll. Don't forget to make the most of the facilities. Among them, you'll find two pools, tennis courts, a gym, barbecues and a day spa. Go to the AccorHotels website to book your stay in Wyong, and to discover more of regional NSW, swing by Visit NSW.
Malthouse Theatre's production debut Because the Night isn't just a one stage, one cast situation. Rather, this envelope-pushing immersive theatre show unfolds at each audience member's own whim, staged across 30 custom-built rooms within the historic Malthouse building. As a spectator, you're invited to adventure through the play's fictional world at your own leisure, following along with the main storylines as they're played out by the actors, or heading off to unearth the secret rooms and hidden stories that lie just beyond the periphery. The production itself reimagines the famed story of Hamlet, though set in some 1980s wood-logging town in the lead-up to its annual winter solstice carnival. Tensions arise after the king dies, the workers revolt and secrets about the nearby ancient forest are revealed. The tale's brought to life by two rotating casts, starring the likes of Keegan Joyce (Cloudstreet), Nicole Nabout (Good Muslim Boy) and Belinda McClory (Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.) There'll be two shows held nightly (6pm and 8.30pm, Tuesday to Sunday), each featuring a different six-strong cast performing to an intimate audience of just 60. Images: Pia Johnson
Thailand's floating cinema blows its drive-in counterparts out of the water. Designed by Beijing-based architect Ole Scheeren, the Archipelago Cinema and Six Senses Resort hosted the final screenings of the Film on the Rocks Yao Noi Festival early last month. Moviegoers were transported by boat to their floating seats, which were situated on a raft-like apparatus in the Nae Pi Lae lagoon of Kudu Island. Opposite the seats, and nestled in between two looming rocks, was the full-sized, floating screen. Scheeren describes the atmosphere of his cinema as "a sense of temporality, randomness, almost like driftwood. Or maybe something more architectural: Modular pieces, loosely assembled, like a group of little islands that congregate to form an auditorium." All components of the floating cinema were composed of recycled materials gathered by local fisherman, who previously used it to build floating lobster farms. The cinema is indeed recyclable itself: after the festival, it is set to be dismantled and donated to the Yao Noi community for use as a playground and a floating stage. [via Architizer]
If you're lucky enough to score tickets to Meredith Music Festival in any year via the event's ballot, one of Australia's best fests awaits no matter the lineup. 2025's roster of acts is characteristically impressive, however. On the just-dropped bill: TV on the Radio, Atarashii Gakko! and Perfume Genius, for starters, as well as Thee Sacred Souls, Pa Salieu, HAAi, Bar Italia, Colin Hay and Mildlife. And, there's still more where the came from. Folk Bitch Trio, Saya Gray, RONA. and Omar Souleyman are on the lineup, too. So are Dames Brown, Radio Free Alice, Sam Austins RP Boo, Wax'o Paradiso, Florist and Jack J. Add in Drifting Clouds, Dr Sure's Unusual Practice, Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir, Mouseatouille, Brown Spirits and Lazy Susan on MC duties, and expect a jam-packed three days across Friday, December 5–Sunday, December 7, 2025. [caption id="attachment_1017126" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sumner Dilworth[/caption] How is the fest crew describing this year's event? "One of the best places on earth to spend a weekend, the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre has been natured and nurtured and then natured again, for the singular purpose of hosting the time of your life," organisers advise. So, expect "a permanent and purpose-built underground wunderland that provides optimal conditions for rarefied reverie", as well as to get "lost in music, lost in one another, for three days and two nights of Sup'ed up saucery". 2025 marks the beloved festival's 33rd year, with this three-decade-plus tradition taking over its namesake Victorian locale to kick off summer. The first round of the ticket ballot for the three-day BYO camping festival opened in July and ended on Monday, August 11, 2025, but you still have a chance to enter. The second round is now open, and you've got until 10.33pm AEST on Tuesday, August 19, 2025 to put your name in. So, book that long weekend, go in the running for tickets, then cross your fingers that you'll be spending a trio of days at The Sup with Tunde Adebimpe and company. [caption id="attachment_1017128" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cody Critcheloe[/caption] Meredith Music Festival 2025 Lineup TV on the Radio Atarashii Gakko! Perfume Genius Thee Sacred Souls Pa Salieu HAAi Bar Italia Colin Hay Mildlife Folk Bitch Trio Saya Gray RONA. Omar Souleyman Dames Brown Radio Free Alice Sam Austins RP Boo Wax'o Paradiso Florist Jack J Drifting Clouds Dr Sure's Unusual Practice Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir Mouseatouille Brown Spirits Lazy Susan Meredith Music Festival returns to Meredith from Friday, December 5–Sunday, December 7, 2025. To put your name in the second round of the ballot to get your hands on tickets, head to the festival's website before 10.33pm AEST on Tuesday, August 19. Meredith Music Festival images: Chip Mooney, Leah Hulst, Ben Fletcher, Chelsea King and Steve Benn.
Years of travelling back and forth between Jakarta and Melbourne cultivated an affinity for Australian culture for Le Bajo founder and owner, Jason Gunawan. After successfully co-running Bali's famous Potato Head Beach Club, he was about to depart on his next venture before the pandemic hit. Labuan Bajo was set to open on Flores, an Indonesian island known for its Komodo dragons, as well as a diverse sea life of manta rays and turtles. But as the project had to be postponed further and further, Gunawan was determined to not let nearly nine months of planning go to waste. He decided to bring part of the concept to North Melbourne instead, in a spacious garage home to a collection of old-school Mercs and Porsches. Seeking the help of hospitality friends and northside neighbours, Gunawan reached out to Kantaro Okada, owner of 279, to open Le Bajo with him. "Forced to stay in Melbourne, I decided to work with Kan, who has been in the industry for a few decades. We swapped ideas and decided that, with a mutual appreciation for Japanese food and culture, we would open a sando bar," says Gunawan. With a concept locked in, the team set to work sourcing old farm and corner store furniture — gathered in the midst of Melbourne's 2020 stage-four lockdown. Wooden countertops, chairs, glass cabinets and cupboards were given a new life. Inspired by the disappearing milkbars of Australia, Gunawan took the opportunity to make Le Bajo a place to reminisce about Australiana. Retro hand-painted signs, lamps and thrifted ornaments fill the cafe, offering it an old-time aesthetic that feels both familiar and quaint. Lush plants also line the space, further transforming this industrial venue into a welcoming abode. "We wanted it to be a friendly place that everyone is welcome — just like a milkbar," says Gunawan. "The vintage furniture gives the space warmth, so it doesn't feel like a cafe that just opened up; we want to feel like we've been here for 30 or 40 years." And while the menu has its nods to Australian classics, such as milkshakes and milk coffees, the food at Le Bajo is otherwise distinctly Japanese. The team roasts its own coffee and bakes its own shokupan bread — a much-loved fluffy milk bread that is cut thick for sandos and toast. "Japanese people are very particular about every single component of their products," Gunawan says. "Every step: the produce used, the precise ingredients and even the packaging. We bake our bread in-house so it has a certain softness and sweetness to it — there's nothing like it." One of the venue's most sought out items, the fruit sando, is a triangle of vibrant fresh fruits and whipped cream wedged between two slices of cloud-like bread. For more savoury options, the spicy cod roe toast or spicy tako sando are two house favourites. For a complete food experience, Gunawan recommends the morning set, a staple breakfast originating from Negoya — a city in the Chūbu region of Japan where many of the staff at Le Bajo are from. "This set is a combination of toast, potato salad, boiled egg, yogurt with homemade jam and a batch-brew coffee," Gunawan explains. "It offers a savoury and sweet flavour combination that you can mix and match across the plate." To drink, Le Bajo has a rotating origin coffee menu, and proudly roasts its own beans for a batch brew. This coffee is light in body and tea-like, but packs a caffeinated punch. There are also Japanese sodas on offer, made with housemade peach and strawberry jams — making it a perfect palette refresher. With the importance of community at the forefront following Melbourne's lockdowns, Le Bajo is also home to a coffee and car meetup every Saturday between 8–10am for car enthusiasts and coffee lovers alike. "Melbourne is a second home to me, and I want Le Bajo to be a home for everyone — from our North Melbourne locals to travellers that come all the way from Geelong on the weekends to visit us. We are very grateful." Find Le Bajo Milkbar at 8–14 Howards Street, North Melbourne — open from 7.30am–4pm Tuesday–Friday and 8am–4pm Saturday–Sunday. Images: Julia Sansone.
The Alliance Francais French Film Festival is back for another year, ready to celebrate the best in French cinema. Returning to select Palace locations around the country, this year’s program is packed with exciting goodies, including dramas, comedies, docos, kids' films and an entire stream dedicated to movies about the First World War. With almost 50 movies on offer — most of them Australian premieres — it’s shaping up to be one of the festival’s most exciting years ever. Of all those titles, we’ve selected five that you absolutely owe it to yourself to see. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Lea Seydoux (Blue Is the Warmest Colour) and Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) star in this sumptuous adaptation of the classic French fairy tale. An enormous French-German co-production, the film’s trailer is absolutely packed with gorgeous visuals, and appears to have a darker edge than the animated Disney version we all know and love. The last couple of years have seen a bunch of big budget Hollywood “reboots” of fairy tale stories, most of them not very good. Here’s hoping the French (and the Germans) can get it right. GIRLHOOD Aged just 36, writer-director Celine Sciamma first caught our attention with Tomboy, a tender coming-of-age story about a 10-year-old girl pretending to be a boy. Her follow-up, Girlhood, belongs to a similar genre, although this time her protagonists are a little older. The film explores the dynamic between four reckless teenage girls as they struggle to pave a future for themselves in one of the poorer parts of Paris. The film has received a ton of buzz on the international festival circuit, and we can’t wait to check it out. THE NEW GIRLFRIEND When it comes to sexually provocative cinema, no one does it better than director Francois Ozon. The man behind such films as In the House and Swimming Pool, Ozon has made a career out of titillating pulp, and his latest film looks to be absolutely no exception. A story of death and deception with some cross-dressing thrown in, The New Girlfriend has been described as a mix of Hitchcockian thriller and Almodóvar-style sexual comedy. It should probably go without saying, but this one’s for adults only. SAINT LAURENT Last year saw the release of Yves Saint Laurent, the first in a pair of competing biographical dramas about the legendary French fashion designer. Unfortunately, that film was pretty bloody awful. But we’re holding out hope for this alternate version, which competed for the Palme d’Or at last year’s Festival de Cannes and got much kinder notices from critics. TOKYO FIANCEE Finishing off our list with something a little lighter, romantic comedy Tokyo Fiancee has drawn comparisons to Amelie — and presumably not just because their protagonists have the same name. The film concerns a young French woman obsessed with all things Japanese, who decides to book herself a one-way ticket to Tokyo. Once there she finds work as a French tutor, only to begin a relationship with one of her students. The film is one of the favourites of festival patrons David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz. And really, who are we to argue with them? The Alliance Francaise French Film Festival is on around Australia in March. Catch it in Sydney from March 3-22, Melbourne from March 4-22 and Brisbane from March 13 - April 1. Check the festival website for the full program.
Combining camping in comfort with drinking in a vineyard, winery glamping is the trend that absolutely no one will ever complain about. It's been popping up all over the country, from Bendigo in regional Victoria, to Mount Cotton just outside of Brisbane, to a luxury pod-based version in South Australia's McLaren Vale — and now the Mornington Peninsula is getting in on the action. Meet Mornington Peninsula Glamping, which is now up and running at Blue Range Estate Wines in Rosebud. At a site overlooking not only the vineyard, but with views out over Port Phillip Bay, it features a number of luxe five-by-five-metre tents. There's three onsite at the time of writing; however there'll be ten by mid-October. Available for $265 per night, each tent is decked out with a queen-sized bed with 1000-thread-count sheets, two armchairs and a coffee table, plus solar power to keep your devices juiced. Visitors also have access to a shared cooking and eating area with two barbecues, hot water, and a choice of boutique tea or coffee, plus a luxury bathrooms in a shipping container. Mornington Peninsula Glamping is the brainchild of Christian Melone, whose family own and run vineyard, with his grandparents establishing the site back in the 80s. If you glamp over Thursday to Sunday, you can also mosey up to the winery's restaurant for a meal, tucking into the likes of tagliatelle with bay scallops and prawns, slow-roasted lamb shoulder with truffled mashed potatoes and ocean trout fillet with blood orange butter. Find Mornington Peninsula Glamping at Blue Range Estate Wines, 155 Gardens Road, Rosebud, Victoria.
Pop a cork of your finest wine because the Grampians Fine Wine Festival is back, and it's safe to say this month-long festival is the most exciting event in any wine enthusiast's calendar. With wine tastings, trivia nights, vineyard celebrations and progressive lunches galore, there's no shortage of excitement for lovers of the grape. This October, sip and savour the best of Grampians / Gariwerd wine country, known for its cool-climate shiraz, historic cellar doors and boutique family-run vineyards. With more than 160 years of winemarking heritage, this year's festival celebrates that legacy with a dozen standout experiences. Highlights include a three-course progressive degustation lunch at Pomonal Estate starring a selection of gourmet dishes paired with hand-crafted wines. And if you're wondering what a progressive degustation lunch means? It's a tour of multiple wineries with gourmet dishes at each stop. As part of the Grampians Fine Wine Festival, you are also invited to a five-course degustation dinner headed by their in-house chef. Test your pop-culture knowledge with Mrs Smith's Trivia on Thursday, October 9 or round out the month with OktoberBEST (Sunday, October 26), a festival very akin to Oktoberfest, but with a wine twist. Meanwhile, wine buffs can explore a vertical shiraz tasting at Mountainside Wines, and sparkling fans can tour Seppelt's historic underground Drives for a sparkling and street-food dining experience. Finally, beware of Black & Ginger's Wine Shed as there's been a murder, one you'll have to solve along with a hefty glass of shiraz (Saturday, October 18). Pricing varies per event, so make sure to head to the Grampians Fine Wine Festival website to find out more about what's on offer this October.
