UPDATE: MAY 27, 2019 — Due to an overwhelming response, Matty Matheson's Sydney and Brisbane shows have been moved to bigger venues. The former will now take place at Marrickville's Factory Theatre (previously Oxford Art Factory) and the latter at Newstead's The Triffid (previously Brightside). All tickets already purchased will be valid for the new venues. New tickets for Sydney can be purchased here and Brisbane here. Chef Matty Matheson is stepping out of the kitchen and onto the stage, heading Down Under for an expletive-laden speaking tour next month. Known for his hit TV shows Dead Set On Life and It's Suppertime — and his new New York Times best-selling book, Matty Matheson: A Cookbook — the culinary star and award-winning author will hit up Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. A colourful character famed for his larger-than-life personality, Matheson will be dishing up a his cooking (and life) tips, with an audience Q&A and a meet-and-greet session, too. He's set to serve his home truths on topics like addiction and mental health, the #MeToo movement and its impact on the food industry, and a few of his own life's ups and downs, as well as talking about his new web series, Just A Dash. https://www.instagram.com/p/BjKhY6iHrRZ/ Audiences will be treated to a true taste of this foodie legend, as Matheson tweaks each show to best represent himself, even down to the soundtrack plucked straight from his own playlists. MATTY MATHESON 2019 DATES Perth — Rosemount Hotel, Saturday, June 22 Sydney — Factory Theatre (previously Oxford Art Factory), Sunday, June 23 Melbourne — Corner, Tuesday, June 25 Brisbane —The Triffid (previously Brightside), Thursday, June 27 Tickets are $49 and go on sale at 9am on Tuesday, May 21 via the Secret Sounds website.
Takeaway or dine in? It's the question that everyone who can't be bothered cooking dinner has faced, and it is more complicated than it sounds. Perhaps you'll be flying solo with your containers of food, but feel like some company? Or, maybe you and your pals all want meals delivered from different places, but know that's a bit impractical. A Helsinki pop-up has the answer, whether you're looking for an alternative to eating alone or trying to keep your gang of fellow diners happy. Called Take In, the kitchen-less venue is all about pulling up a chair, picking from around 20 restaurants, and enjoying the space as your dining room away from home — plus, making sure you have someone to share it with, even if your mates are all already busy. There's also a bar on-site, so that's the drinking side of the equation taken care of (or some liquid courage if chatting to folks you don't know makes you a little nervous). Customers can drop in just for a tipple, too; however eating out alone, but not alone is the main aim of the game. For anyone finding themselves in Finland in in the near future, the pop-up runs until April. Via Eater.
Architecture aficionados and self-confessed sticky-beaks, listen up. The historic city of Bendigo, located an easy two-hour drive from Melbourne, will throw the doors open on some of its top buildings again this year, for one weekend this month. Across October 26–27, locals and visitors will get the chance to see inside spaces that are generally closed to the public. A boom town during the gold rush period, Bendigo is home to a rich architectural heritage that has been met with rapid development in recent years. Hop on one of the vintage trams and explore the city from the inside. The Open House weekend is a chance to engage with city planners and discuss Bendigo's design future. Visitors are welcome to explore the most notable designs of the city, from private homes and heritage buildings to commercial and civic developments. Over 20 buildings will be on display — highlights include Kooroork House II, a 160 square metre family home created by e+ architecture; the Eaglehawk Heritage Precinct including the Mechanics Institute; former Eaglehawk Town Hall (now operating as the Star Cinema Boutique); and the Eaglehawk Courthouse. Plus, be the first to enter the newly renovated historic Beehive Building at the Bendigo Mining Exchange, which has been restored to its former glory. Alongside the program will be a series of talks and public workshops. For more information or to pre-book tours, head to the Open House Bendigo website.
Becoming something of a winter tradition in recent years, Pidapipo Gelateria's hot chocolate is back again for the season, making it easy to warm up your hands with a drink-meets-dessert creation. Borrowing techniques from the world of pastry, Pidapipo Co-Founder Lisa Valmorbida developed this recipe back in 2023 alongside Head of Production Nicola Totaro, resulting in the ultimate winter comfort. For first-timers, expect a cup of pure indulgence, where rich and silky hot chocolate is crafted from 70% dark chocolate, meaning there's soothing warmth in every sip. Topped with a generous scoop of Pidapipo's signature house-churned fior di latte gelato folded with marshmallows, the hot chocolate is crowned with caramelised hazelnut croccante — ensuring the ideal sweet crunch finish. "We didn't expect our hot chocolate to become such a thing – but it did, and it's been so nice hearing how much you all missed it. So yes – it's back, and we're so excited to share it with you again!" says Valmorbida. While previous years saw Pidapipo's beloved hot chocolate only available at select stores, the good news is that now every location is serving up this heartwarming beverage until the end of August. Featuring an unchanged recipe that resonates with nostalgic goodness, don't miss your chance to order one from the Fitzroy Laboratorio, alongside the Windsor, Degraves Street and Carlton stores. Perfect for a cold snap pick-me-up or just an extra sweet treat, have no doubt that this decadent drink will bring a little more warmth to your chilly bones this winter. Ready to sip? Pidapipo's cult-followed hot chocolate is available now for $10.50. Pidapipo Gelateria's hot chocolate is now available at all locations — Fitzroy, Degraves Street, Carlton and Windsor — until Sunday, August 31. Head to the website for more information.
There'll be a fresh tune flowing through the Melbourne CBD, as Murmur on Warburton Lane gets set to relaunch as the city's first dedicated piano bar. Set to start tickling the ivories on the final day of November, Murmur Piano Bar takes its cues from venues in Chicago, New Orleans and New York, and will play host to a rotating roster of local musicians beginning with acclaimed entertainer Matt Ganim. "Melbourne's bar scene has rapidly evolved and a regular bar just doesn't cut it anymore," said venue manager Charlie Haggarty in a statement. "People need a bigger reason to venture out, get off the couch and step away from the Netflix series they're binging on." "Murmur Piano Bar gives people a reason to leave the house again" On the beverage front, Murmur Piano Bar will offer a mix cocktails with a focus on whiskey and gin. The list will feature predominately Australian drops, with a few Spanish numbers thrown in. The Spanish influence can also be seen in the food offerings, with tapas available courtesy of Portello Rosso downstairs. Think fresh charcuterie, ham hock croquettes and sweet, sweet churros. Find Murmur Piano Bar upstairs at 17 Warburton Lane, Melbourne from November 30. For more information visit www.murmur.com.au.
Drop whatever it is that you're doing: the ticket ballot for the 27th Meredith Music Festival is officially open. Running from December 8–10, the latest edition of the much-loved dickhead-free music festival will take place at its usual digs, Meredith's Supernatural Amphitheatre, which last year got itself a brand new sound system and this year will no doubt take us to magical places once more. Aunty, meanwhile, has been working hard on the lineup, of which she has divulged just one part of this morning: self-described "gothic folk" New Zealand singer-songwriter Aldous Harding, who will play on the Friday night. Standouts from last year included Peaches, Kelela, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, BADBADNOTGOOD and Angel Olsen. The Meredith Ballot will be open from now until 10.27pm on Monday, August 7. Head on over to the festival website to sign up.
Early 2000s, Apple-powered minimalism. It's a thing. At least one this designer is running with. German designer Klaus Geiger has resurrected the now-retired Apple Power Mac G5, the once proud must-have of the post-millennium hoo-ha, in a stunning new furniture line we're chomping at the bit to have in the office. If it's not too painful, cast your mind back to 2003. Botttles full o' bub were being swilled by Fiddy Cent. Ol' Delta Goodrem gave the finger to Neighbours. The US launched a slight little you know, invasion of Iraq. Things were on the move. Apparently the still slick-looking Mac was the fastest in the Apple family when it hit shelves in the same golden year of 2003, now it lies dormant, superseded by Airs and Pros. But old models don't just vanish into the ether. Geiger's elegant-as-blazes project BENCHMA(®)C rounded up the old towers and transformed them into sleek desks, shelving units, drawers that make you remember the Macs of the millenium not as this: but as sleek marvels of minimalist design. Like this: We're signing up now. Via The Verge. All images Klaus Geiger
If you've been needing to restock your bookshelf at home, and you find looking at lines of orange-and-white Penguin classics soothing to the soul, then time to strike while the iron is hot — as well as doing some good for charity. The annual Penguin Random House charity book sale will take place at Collins Square on Tuesday, July 31, with books starting from a mere $4. Entry costs a gold coin, and the proceeds will go towards The Indigenous Literacy Foundation, one of Penguin Random House's charity partners. Last year, the book sale raised more than $18,000. This year, the aim is to outdo that, so toss your old collection of the Twilight series and stock up on some classics. The sale runs from 8am-3pm or until sold out — head to West Pod at Collins Square to find it.
The country's largest celebration of short form filmmaking is back for another year. Following on from its 30th birthday celebrations in 2013, the St Kilda Film Festival will light up the esplanade once more, serving bite-sized movie morsels from all around Australia and the world. Opening night at the Palais Theatre will showcase standouts from the 10 day line-up, before the festival jumps across town to The Astor. As always, the backbone of the program consists of the Top 100 Australian Shorts, stretched strategically across 14 separate sessions. From Cannes competitors to Tropfest finalists, there's no shortage of local talent on display. Outside of the main program, a partnership with the Palms Spring Film Festival in the US ensures a selection of international shorts, while the returning Under the Radar contest highlights films by directors under 21. There's also a music video competition, a zombie shorts marathon and costume party, plus forums with filmmakers and a variety of other industry pros. For the full St Kilda Film Festival Program, visit their website. Photo credit: Jim Lee.
Imagine an informercial, but instead of steak knives and stain-proof trousers, this one's selling nothing less than The Great Society itself. You've got your host, Michael Moore, waddling his way from one set piece to the next and reacting with staged incredulity to every deal and reveal ("you get HOW MUCH annual leave in Italy!?") Then there are the interviews, not strictly scripted, but painstakingly selected to ensure they provide every piece of tantalising information without any of the fine print or shortcomings. And, finally, the offer: "Act NOW to adopt the Norwegian penitentiary system and we'll throw in Finnish tertiary studies ABSOLUTELY FREE!" The thing is, unlike so many of those late night absurdities, this one's genuinely enticing. The premise of Moore's latest documentary is a simple one: America hasn't won a war since WWII, so he's giving the US Armed Forces a well-earned stand down order and is instead single-handedly invading countries to steal the things America's most desperately in need of, including France's healthy school lunches, Germany's recognition of past national atrocities, and Italy's fair workplace conditions. Yes, Moore is selective in his 'spoils of war', only showing us the instances where such programs work, but as a model for better government, better business…better living, it's a forgivable choice. Unlike many of Moore's previous films such as Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Capitalism: A Love Story, there's a refreshing absence of cynicism in Where To Invade Next. Even with the overarching message, which basically boils down to "look how much better than us the world does these things", the film ends by reminding us how so many of those initiatives were born in America and, with just a little legislative courage, could easily be reintroduced to sudden and sweeping effect. Greed, unsurprisingly, is identified by Moore as the chief source of America's ills, and it's no grand revelation that the privatisation of prisons, schools and healthcare invariably precipitates a clash between value and values. However, as Moore seeks to prove, a healthy and educated society where welfare is considered a strength rather than an embarrassment is, in the long run, both a cheaper and a more productive one. Moore's trademark one-liners, musical gags and, for want of a better term, 'clowning', repeatedly threaten to distract (or even detract) from his message. Thankfully he demonstrates enough reserve throughout to let the compelling facts speak largely for themselves. And they are compelling, speaking directly to many of the same shortcomings here in Australia that few would deny are in need of significant redress. Most notable of these are Norway's humane treatment of incarcerated criminals to combat recidivism, and Iceland's massively increased female representation at the executive level across both business and politics. This is a film that shows you how things can be done better, then compels you to ask why it's not already the case. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KeAZho8TKo
Titles matter. A film with a good one can intrigue, inspire and entice audiences from far and wide, just as a bad one can turn you off faster than a date swearing at a waiter. The grey area is when things get literal. Everything's okay so long as it's just a case of 'does what it says on the can' — your Ghostbusters, your Ferris Bueller's Day Off, your The Pianist — but what about when it gives something away? That poor choice of words can destroy all semblance of mystery for a movie. It's why studios ultimately didn't go with: 'Bruce Willis Is a Ghost', 'Don't Trust the Gimp with the Limp' or 'It's...His...Sled'. With that in mind, the decision to title Peter Berg's new film Lone Survivor would seem a miscalculation. "Four Navy SEALs go into Afghanistan to target a Taliban leader, but how many make it out ali- oh, wait, it's one. Just one. A 'lone survivor'. Says so right there on the poster. And yet, despite having directed Battleship, Peter Berg's no idiot. Mindful that the details of this true (and widely publicised) military mission were already known to many, he realised the most compelling question was not 'how many would survive?' but rather 'how did ANY of them survive?' That disastrous mission was Operation Red Wings, and the reason for its failure was essentially the SEAL team's decision to not kill three unarmed farmers who'd stumbled across their position. For the (moral) armchair general, it's a no-brainer. Rules of engagement and all that. But in the moment, knowing that to let the civilians go was to guarantee an attack by the Taliban and fail the mission… the ethics of combat became a lot murkier. Mark Wahlberg, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Taylor Kitsch play those four imperilled SEALs, and from the moment they elect to abort the mission, Lone Survivor becomes a heart-in-mouth, hug-yourself-for-two-hours, ball-breaker of a film. Pursued through inhospitable mountains by several hundred Taliban and cut off from their support, the feats of those four soldiers quite simply defy belief. That's where the film's opening titles come into play: a montage of real-life footage from the SEALs' infamous 'Hell Week' training program that effectively acts as a 'proof of concept' for what you're about to see (if you're interested: youtu.be/sg2vF4UQMmQ). This is a war movie at its most confronting; it terrifyingly captures the confusion, brutality, chaos and intensity of combat in a way not seen since 1998's Saving Private Ryan. It's a suffocating sort of tension, and whilst there's no question the movie suffers from some clumsy jingoism, the experience is so tactile and overwhelming, you frequently find yourself ducking in your own seat. The author and journalist Sebastian Junger observed after his embedment in Afghanistan that "War is a lot of things and it's useless to pretend that exciting isn't one of them." From an adrenaline standpoint that might well be the case, but in every other respect, from every other possible viewpoint, it's an inescapable waking nightmare that you'd never wish upon anyone. If that doesn't ring true for you, go see Lone Survivor. https://youtube.com/watch?v=yoLFk4JK_RM
There are a few certified methods for keeping the winter blues at bay and one of them involves holing up in a cosy restaurant with some good company, some great eating and a few whisky cocktails to wash it all down. Handily enough, that's the very situation that will soon await you at Victoria by Farmer's Daughters each Saturday. Running from May 13–July 29, the Winter Saturday Sessions promise to warm your cockles with an enticing blend of booze and produce-driven fare. Choose one of two weekly sittings (11.30am–1.30pm, 2.30pm–4.30pm) and you'll sit down to a seasonal brunch feast guided by the kitchen's passion for celebrating top-notch Victorian ingredients. Expect bites like a flaky roasted root vegetable pie, barbecued pork belly skewers, farmhouse-style cheeses and chips made using Spud Sisters' famed potatoes. Meanwhile, a bar takeover by the legends at Starward will sort you out with bottomless sips to match, including reworked classics like a whisky-infused dark and stormy, and the cherry lemon old fashioned. A range of local beers and vino is also on offer. Victoria's Winter Saturday Sessions clock in at $99 per person, which'll get you a hearty spread of food teamed with two hours of free-flowing drinks. Images: Arianna Leggiero
Jeez Frozen was a terrific film. Catchy tunes, loveable sidekicks, a woodsman hero and – at its heart – two sisterly princesses thrown into turmoil after one of them discovers her power to manipulate ice and flees to establish an unforgiving frozen kingdom in the north. Jeez The Huntsman: Winter War isn't a terrific film. No tunes, stilted sidekicks, a woodsman hero with a comically bad Scottish(?) accent and – at its heart – two sisterly princesses thrown into turmoil after one of them discovers her power to manipulate ice and flees to establish an unforgiving frozen kingdom in the north. Perhaps you could forgive the makers of The Huntsman for trying to leverage some of the success of the former. After all, it is the ninth highest grossing film of all time. But 'beautiful girl doing cool shit with chilly water' isn't enough to constitute an entire story. You still need, well, 'a story', and it's on that front where The Huntsman: Winter War really falls apart. It begins with Liam Neeson's voice telling us we're about to see a prequel to 2012's Snow White & The Huntsman. And Neeson – like the proverbial mirror on the wall – does not lie. But then, about half an hour in, The Huntsman: Winter War suddenly turns into a sequel, making this about as close as a film will ever come to possessing a literal 'plot twist'. Eventually deciding it's set after Snow White has vanquished the evil Ravenna (Charlize Theron), we find our Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) moping about the South and mourning the loss of his wife (Jessica Chastain), before committing to foil the evil ice queen Freya (Emily Blunt) in her attempt to secure the famous mirror. The rest of the movie is little more than a collection of special effects, shaky fight scenes and a few funny lines from dwarf sidekicks Nick Frost and Rob Brydon. Theron, it must be said, lights up every scene she's in, reminding us that she is still absolutely the fairest and most interesting in the land. Alas, her screen time is also the most restricted, reducing her menacing smile and genuinely engaging relationship with her sister to mere bookends around an otherwise entirely dull affair. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W65ndip7MM
One device to brew them all? Blending slow cold drip coffee with cold/hot pourovers in one genius brewing device, two Queensland coffee companies are teaming up to crowdfund the Brewover. Green coffee supplier Bean Grean and roaster Manna Beans are trying to raise $65,000 toward this new controllable flow hot/cold brewer, which would prick the ears of many an Australian cafe needing to save on space (or straight-up coffee nerds in general). The Kickstarter campaign, which prices the Brewover at around $60 a pop, has currently raised $13,300 with 29 days to go. So how does it work? Coffee purists might turn their nose up, but the team truly know what's up when it comes to coffee brewing methods. The Brewover all hinges on what's called the flow control valve, allowing to switch between three different brewing methods: hot/cold pourovers and cold drip. Pourovers are easy stuff; just pop a Chemex filter in the glass cone and brew hot/cold as usual. Cold drip? Just use the same glass cone as a water reservoir and attach an Aeropress filter under the brew chamber. Pure, well-brewed genius. Via Daily Coffee News.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Rekorderlig. Foraging through the snow in search of electronic music just got significantly easier; Rekorderlig (ever keen to demonstrate that Aussies should be tackling winter with a tad more brio than a pack of grizzlies) has revealed the 'mystery location' for free upcoming music event Sounds in the Snow. On September 13, just as the flakes start to melt and smack bang in the middle of the Toyota One Hit Wonder Mountain Festival, Sounds in the Snow will take place by the Rekorderlig Hot Pools at the Thredbo Alpine Hotel. Sydney synth pop boys Panama will appear in Thredbo to deliver their so-called hopeful house music live. Fronted by Perth-born songwriter and classically-trained pianist Jarrah McCleary, the trio are currently touring Europe and the United States on the back of sophomore EP Always. Sounds in the Snow is just one of the many excuses that Rekorderlig's giving you to head to the snow this season. Afternoon sessions are happening at the Thredbo Alpine Hotel every Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 3pm and 6pm; fire pits are burning; the Rekorderlig Hot Pool is providing serious apres-ski relaxation; and their tasty cinnamon and vanilla-fused Winter Cider is at the top of the drinks menu. Sounds in the Snow is a free gig happening from 4-5pm on Saturday, September 13 by the Rekorderlig Hot Pools at the Thredbo Alpine Hotel. For the latest updates, join the Rekorderlig Facebook page. https://youtube.com/watch?v=UylPrMcurB8
With events across the world being cancelled and postponed in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19, the live music industry is being hit hard. According to website I Lost My Gig, as of 11am on Saturday, March 21, approximately 274,000 events and gigs have been cancelled, which has impacted 599,000 artists and crew, and equated to about $300 million in lost income. And that's just in Australia alone. To help raise money for some of those musicians out of work, a group of global volunteers has created Sofa King Fest. Dubbed an "emergency response online music and arts benefit festival", the website is a curation of all the best music live-streams happening around the world — all in one spot, all available to watch from the comfort of your sofa. Musicians are scheduled to perform at hour or half-hour intervals and have included the likes of Willie Nelson, Cypress Hill, Diplo, Big Freedia and A-Trak. On a more local level, all Aussie artists will be curated by the Mary's Group — who are behind cult-favourite Mary's burgers and the revival of two long-standing Sydney live music venues: The Landsdowne Hotel and Mary's Underground (formerly The Basement). [caption id="attachment_757840" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Lansdowne Hotel[/caption] While the artists are playing, you can donate directly to out-of-work musicians or to the artist's charity of choice, with all funds controlled by the artist and their team. Melissa Etheridge, who's performing today, Tuesday, March 24, for example, will be donating her funds to the World Food Kitchen. If you're an artist that's keen to be part of the live-stream, you can signup directly via Sofa King Fest website. As well as raising funds for musicians hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, the website is a great way to get your culture and music fix while also practising social-distancing or adhering to self-isolation measures. Sofa King Fest is now live and accepting donations. Top image: Willie Nelson by BSC Photography. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
Come Friday night, the Coburg Night Market is undoubtedly the place to be. The market in Melbourne's north, which starts this Friday, boasts crafty gifts from local artisans, tastes from food truckers, and music of all kinds to vibe to. The market is also the perfect place to embrace your inner child (if you can't at least take one with you) and receive a lick of paint to the face, before you jump on a castle and slip down an inflatable slide. For the more tranquil reveller, wander over to the key stage where music will be floating to your ears from a multitude sounds. It would be unhealthy to miss Public Opinion Six, who are delivering funk medicine directly to your soul with their West African afro-beats — a consciousness melding messages of political justice and positivity with fiery beats and rhythm. One-man blues band Juzzie Smith will be there with his eight-strap harmonica belt as well as the honeyed-harmonies from Little Rabbit who mix bluegrass and old timey sounds with their real fancy finger-work on the strings. Also making an appearance on stage will be Perch Creek, The Everymen and Tracey McNeil & the GoodLife. After you've finishing rocking along to these sick beats, get a little sicker by rolling over to see some fierce divas dance. The Brunswick BeyDance broads will show you how to twerk, in one helluva flawless fashion. Then be prepared to swing and jive along to Anna’s GoGo Academy, who have been known to play everything from Elvis' Jailhouse Rock to ACDC's Jailbreak. There will also be food on hand from Mr Burger, Lil Nomnoms, White Guy Cooks Thai, Billy Van Creamery and Burn City Smokers. The Coburg Night Market will run every Friday for four weeks, starting November 27, 5.30 - 10pm. For more information, visit coburgnightmarket.com
That most wonderful of foodstuffs is getting one day to call its own when Queen Vic Market dedicates a whole ten hours to the dumplings of the world. The market is celebrating tasty things in parcels from Italy, Nepal, India, Poland and Japan when it hosts the Melbourne International Dumpling Festival. Wander through the market's stalls anytime from midday to 10pm on Monday, November 4, and you'll find xiao long bao, pierogies, momos, matzah balls, gyoza and more to gorge. If you need a short break from stuffing your face with dumplings, you'll be able to pause and enjoy roaming performers, face painting and DJs. If you want to eat even more, we suggest joining the all-important dumpling eating competition. While entry is free, you will need to register online to get in — so hop to it over here. Melbourne International Dumpling Festival runs from midday–10pm.
We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems long Sunday afternoons in the beer garden in your short-shorts might be done for the foreseeable future. But as we wave goodbye to summer, we're also ushering in chilly evenings — you know, the ones that let you snuggle up in a pub next to a fireplace, warming your outsides with pants and your insides with beer. But there are still ways you can pretend that it's not getting dark before 6pm and your fingers don't keep going numb. All you need is good friends, good food, good beer and something fun to do. To help you keep the summer dream alive, we've teamed up with Coopers' latest Session Ale — a refreshing new beer with distinct tropical fruit aromas and a crisp bitterness — to pull together five activities to keep summer kicking for you. It isn't over yet, Melbourne — keep the dream alive. SWIM SOME LAPS Just because swimming is a refreshing activity to do outdoors in summer, doesn't mean the tables don't turn in winter. There are quite a few heated pools around town, and the colder weather means you'll have less lane traffic to contend with. In Glen Iris, the Harold Holt Swim Centre's 50-metre outdoor pool is heated and will allow you to either go for a splash or do your laps in cosy comfort — plus it's open till 9pm Monday to Thursday. Or, if you're looking for somewhere close to your office, try Melbourne City Baths for some chlorinated charm in the form of the 30-metre heated indoor pool. SPEND THE EVENING AT A NIGHT MARKET Markets aren't just the territory of warm summer evenings and sitting in the sunset with a beverage. You can certainly be assured that the Queen Victoria Winter Night Market has you set and ready to go this cold season. The whole set-up is sheltered, so even if it's raining, you can weave through 30 food stalls hawking everything from pasta to paella to ice cream (if you're game). Wandering around being tempted by smells and tastes and listening to the live music will warm the cockles of your heart — even if you're holding an ice-cold Coopers. COP IT AND GO FOR ICE CREAM Come on, you'll be fine. You'll find a queue outside Pidapipo come rain or shine, hail or sleet — and probably snow too. The gelato makers here obviously know what they're doing, so don scarves and gloves (pro tip: mittens make it hard to hold a cone) and join the line snaking outside the gelaterias in Carlton or Windsor, or the just-opened CBD store. Lining up solely for the hot Nutella tap is fine, too — we've all been there. [caption id="attachment_611786" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Arbory Bar via Facebook.[/caption] PARK YOURSELF NEXT TO THE RIVER Ah, the Yarra. Icon of the city, banks of your summer….and potential atmospheric winter date spot too. Chase the summer (feelings of which are immediately exacerbated when you're looking over a body of water, even one that is mostly unswimmable) by heading to Arbory. Looking over the Yarra and down towards Southbank, it may be outdoors but there are enough heaters and warming food to forget about any chilly toes. TRY A PUB WITH A FIREPLACE What better place to drink down your Session Ales than someplace that'll give you warm, toasty vibes by way of a fireplace? The Grace Darling on Smith Street capitalises firmly on this, warming patrons right up and making them forget about any nasty weather business happening outside. Add to your cosiness with the Sunday roast or the Monday curry. Eat in the plant-filled atrium — there's enough tropical looking greenery in there to make you feel like you're not too far away from that sweltering beer garden on a summer's day. Grab a Coopers Session Ale and make the most of summer, all year round.
One of Melbourne's most unique venues will welcome some of the biggest names in standup, as part of an unusual collaboration with this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesday throughout the fest — which runs March 28 through to April 22 — the river-adjacent Arbory Bar & Eatery will once again host the Silent Comedy Festival. They assure us it will be a lot funnier than it sounds. Jimeoin, Dave Hughes, Bev Killick and Mandy Nolan are but a few of the comedians who are set to take part in an event inspired by silent discos. Each performer's microphone will be connected to headphones worn by audience members, who, from the perspective of anyone passing by, will be laughing at the sound of silence. Tickets to the Silent Comedy Festival cost $25 and include three stand-up sets.
For over 100 years the Abbotsford Convent held a dark secret. The now hollow Magdalen Laundry once acted as a prison/work camp for women who were deemed “lost and wayward” by concerned members of society. With such a provocative heritage, it’s exciting to think of an arts festival dedicated to strange, outlandish and unapologetically fierce performances taking place within these walls. Found Festival is doing just that. With over 80 artists involved including musicians, comedians, academics, performers and workshop hosts, the festival promises a week of engaging creativity. The Found initiative is based on the ideas of inclusivity, celebration and the immense power of positive action. It's the brain child of Kirsty Hulm, who upon learning of the location’s past believed it necessary to pay tribute to the women who suffered. Whilst the festival has a serious message, the program is by no means straight. It celebrates the funny, the raunchy, the intelligent, the provocative and the ridiculous. The event website suggests that we bring our thinking hats and dancing shoes, so if you like thinking and you like dancing (and if you like neither, what are you doing here?) then Found is right up your alley. Check the festival website for program details.
Rock legend Patti Smith will soon see her most iconic pageturner made into your newest binge watch. The 68-year-old's immortal Just Kids memoir is being made into a Showtime miniseries. The best bit? Smith is producing and co-writing the series — alongside Penny Dreadful showrunner John Logan. Announced at this year's Television Critics Association press tour, Showtime’s new series will follow Smith's National Book Award-winning memoir detailing her years spent living in New York City with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. No cast or release date has been announced, but uppity predictions will inevitably flow over the next few months. Costumes though: It goes without saying, the series already has one hell of a script. Smith, whose sequel memoir M Train is set to hit shelves on October 6, is keen to delve further into her own NYC youth with the series. “A limited series on Showtime will allow us to explore the characters more deeply, enabling us to develop stories beyond the book and allow a measure of unorthodox presentation,” said Smith in her media statement. “The medium of a television limited series offers narrative freedom and a chance to expand upon the themes of the book.” Via Flavorwire.
When it was first announced that Pirate Life was heading to Victoria, the brewery's South Melbourne venue was slated to open in mid-2023. Sadly, that time came and went, and we were left sans Pirate Life. Argh. But craft beer fans didn't have too long. In March, the South Australian brewing legends officially welcomed guests into the new site. Set within a former mechanic's garage, Pirate Life South Melbourne is about a whole lot more than just beer. Maria Delengas and Nicolas Lopez work together as co-head chefs, infusing their Greek and South American heritages throughout the food menu. Proximity to the South Melbourne Market also means they get the bulk of their produce from local traders, using it to create a bunch of sharing-friendly eats. There is a selection of small snacking dishes, bigger plates and trays to share, sides and desserts. Pair your beers with cold dishes like fresh oysters and the pickled octopus carpaccio. Or go for something hot, like the smoked goat spring rolls, asado beef ribs and barbecued leeks. Beers are all shipped in from South Australia, including Pirate Life's core range of brews, limited-edition releases and The Market Street Lager, which is only poured at the South Melbourne venue. Brewery bars know that they can't just serve beers though, so Pirate Life has tasked sommelier Foni Pollitt with creating a top-notch wine list. Punters can expect a mostly organic and sustainable lineup of wines from Australia and across Europe. The wines are clearly far more than a mere afterthought and worth perusing as much as the extensive beer options. South Australian-based architecture and design firm Studio Gram has done up the space without removing its industrial charm. It's not trying to look too flashy, featuring plenty of exposed brickwork, polished concrete, plants, murals and roaming exhibitions. Find Pirate Life South Melbourne at 139–145 Market Street, open from 11am–10pm Monday–Thursday and 11am–late on Friday and Saturday. For more information, head to the venue's website.
As fans across the globe gear up for the Arctic Monkeys' sixth album to drop later this week, the acclaimed English rockers have pushed the excitement levels even further, announcing a series of international pop-ups and film screenings to coincide with the launch. And even Australia's getting a look-in, with the local edition of the store — named after the forthcoming album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino — is popping up at Sydney's Golden Age Cinema and Bar, this Friday, May 11, and Saturday, May 12. According to the Arctic Monkeys' website, the TBHC pop-ups will offer a range of "unique and limited album and merchandise items", alongside screenings of the band's favourite 70s flicks. Titles include Le Cercle Rouge, Inherent Vice, The Last Waltz and Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Eclisse. The event's running at the Surry Hills theatre from 11am until 8.30pm each day, though as you can imagine, tickets to the screenings are already selling fast. Only a handful of other lucky cities will also host these Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino pop-ups: Berlin, Tokyo, Paris, New York and the band's own hometown of Sheffield. The Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino will pop up at Sydney's Golden Age Cinema and Bar, 80 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills. Tickets to the Sydney screenings are on sale here.
One of Melbourne's biggest beer gardens is turning into a jungle this year, for an OTT party to say goodbye to 2019 and hello to the roaring 20s — and by roaring, we mean like a tiger. Get dressed up in your wildest looks (think ferns, sexy monkeys, rhinos a la Ace Ventura — just nothing culturally appropriative) and head north to Welcome to Thornbury's New Year's Eve Jungle Party. There'll be a DJ Boombox Truck, the usual food truck lineup, wild live entertainment and complimentary party favours like jungle-themed costume pieces. There are three tickets to choose from: The Jungle Boy ($99) gets you four hours of bottomless house beer, wine, sparkling and soft drink, and canapes; The Baloo ($135) secures you all that plus bottomless house spirits; or splurge for The King of the Jungle ($159) to add unlimited tiki cocktails to the mix. If you want to get down early, Welcome to Thornbury will be open from midday, but the party (and drinks packages) won't really start until 8pm.
Whatever lunch plans you have for the second week of June, cancel them immediately. To celebrate their first birthday, the legends at New Shanghai are giving out free pan-fried pork buns. And no, that’s not a typo. Free. Gratis. Without cost. As in you don’t have to pay for them. The complimentary parcels of golden brown, piping hot deliciousness will be available between 11am and 12pm on Monday, June 8 through to Thursday, June 11, with regular diners on Thursday also receiving an additional pork bun with every meal, no matter the time of day. No word on if there’s a limit per customer or what happens if they run out, so we’ll be queuing up early with an array of elaborate fake moustaches, just in case. Located on Level 3 of the Emporium Building on Lonsdale Street in the CBD, New Shanghai has done a roaring trade and garnered rave reviews since opening up this time last year — their traditional dumplings have been named some of the best in Melbourne. We even got some lessons in xiao long bao dumping-making from their veteran dim sum chef Yihua Wu back in February — and if this doesn’t make you salivate, then we don’t know what will. New Shanghai’s Melbourne restaurant compliments a number of locations in Sydney, as well as outposts in Brisbane and actual Shanghai. For more information about their pork bun giveaway, visit New Shanghai on Facebook and at their website.
When Robert De Niro asked his reflection who it was talking to, Joe Pesci questioned whether he was funny, and Leonardo DiCaprio crawled along the ground under the influence of Quaaludes, one man was responsible. Over a career spanning almost six decades, Martin Scorsese has brought tales of taxi drivers, goodfellas and wolf-like stockbrokers to the screen — and now an exhibition dedicated to his work is coming to Australia. From May 26 to September 18, the Melbourne's Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) will pay tribute to one of America's most iconic directors, exploring everything from his early experimental beginnings to the award-winning films that have shaped many a movie buff. If you're already a fan, you'll be in Scorsese heaven. If you've somehow resisted the charms of (or completely missed) the likes of Raging Bull, The Departed and Hugo — or his concert flicks such as The Last Waltz and Shine a Light, or even Boardwalk Empire and Vinyl on TV — then prepare to have your eyes opened. [caption id="attachment_561113" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Exhibition section "New York". Photo: Deutsche Kinemathek / M. Stefanowski, 2013.[/caption] In its only Australian stop after wowing Berlin, Ghent, Turin and Paris, SCORSESE will present a collection of more than 600 objects spanning the filmmaker's entire cinema resume, as curated by the Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin's Museum of Film and Television. Expect storyboards, hand-annotated film scripts, unpublished production stills, costumes, film clips and more, all drawn from the private collections of De Niro, Taxi Driver writer Paul Schrader, and Scorsese himself. No ACMI exhibition would be complete without a bustling lineup of screenings, talks and other events, so expect plenty of those as well. The complete program is yet to be announced, but we'd advise blocking out a few days to delve into the influence and impact of the guy who hasn't only mastered movies, but directed the music video for Michael Jackson's 'Bad' too. SCORSESE will run from May 26 to September 18 at ACMI in Melbourne. For more information, visit the ACMI website. Top image: Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Paul Sorvino, Martin Scorsese, Joe Pesci in GOODFELLAS, USA (1990). Source: Sikelia Productions, New York.
In the 17 years that Gelato Messina has been in business, over 4000 special flavours have made their way through its 20 gelato cabinets around the country. To celebrate some of these oldies but goodies, Messina is dedicating an entire weekend to its top 40 greatest hits. From July 27–28, lucky Melburnians will be able to treat themselves to an entire cabinet worth of limited-edition gelato flavours. The deal will only be available at the Fitzroy store, where none of the classic flavours will be available. Instead, expect specials like the Just Like a Milkshake and Have a Gay Old Time. You'll definitely get to taste the Jon Snow (white chocolate gelato with dark chocolate mud cake and almond praline), the Fairy Bread (toast and butter gelato with 100s & 1000s) and the Robert Brownie Jnr (milk chocolate gelato, chocolate brownie and chocolate fudge sauce). Also making the cut is red velvet cheesecake number and peanut butter gelato with chocolate brownie and dulce de leche. Messina took suggestions for the whole 40-flavour lineup, which means that some of your own favourites might've made the list. Here's the full rundown — happy eating: Fairy Bread Montgomery's Goldmine Caramel Cheesecake Hodor Just Like A Milkshake Dark Side Tanti Baci Oreogasm Mango Pancake Pavlova Twixed Goregeous Dave True Romance Cremino Bishop's Banana Lady Of Winterfell The Boss's Wife Drop It Like White Choc Hello Sailor Lamington Sticky First Date Alfajores Ramsay Bolton Yuzu Sorbet Cinnie Bunstein Mamma's Cheesecake Finger Bun Red Wedding Coco Loco Lychee Sorbet Robert Brownie Jr. Have A Gay Old Time Jon Snow Nyc Breakfast In Canberra A Salt On The Senses Dr. Evil Number Two Chocolate Hazelnut Tiramisu Iron Born Gelato Messina's Greatest Hits will be available from July 27–28 at Melbourne's Fitzroy (237 Smith Street) store. Only the top 40 specials will be available from 12pm until sold out — no classic flavours and no Deliveroo.
One of the world's top chefs is opening a new restaurant in Sydney later this year. But unlike the many (many) upscale restaurants coming and going in our city, this latest project by Massimo Bottura — the culinary powerhouse and chef behind the world's best restaurant, Osteria Francescana — is not for those with big budgets, but rather for the less affluent. The restaurant, which will be run in collaboration with Australian food rescue charity OzHarvest, was announced at an on-stage conversation Bottura held at the State Theatre last night. The event was largely a platform to promote the chef's charitable Food for Soul project which, akin to Sydney-based not-for-profit OzHarvest, seeks to promote awareness about food wastage and hunger. And it won't be the first time Bottura has worked with OzHarvest and its Founder Ronni Kahn, either. The pair partnered up for a one-off charitable dinner back in 2017, raising money for both OzHarvest and Food for Soul. Kahn says the restaurant — or refettorio, a communal kitchens for socially vulnerable groups — came as a natural progression of this. "I first met Massimo in 2016 — it was like meeting a kindred spirit that I had known all my life," said Kahn in a statement. "We share the same passion, values and vision to create a better world…I'm excited and privileged to be able to bring his refettorio to life in Australia." [caption id="attachment_715651" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Massimo Bottura, Ronni Kahn and the team behind 2017's Cooking with a Conscience dinner. Image: Nikki To[/caption] The restaurant will be Bottura's fifth refettorio with the other venues located in Milan, Rio de Janeiro, London and Paris. At all of his kitchens, Bottura uses rescued food to create the meals — and often teams up with the city's best chefs to do so — for homeless communities and those living in poverty. Currently scoping out potential locations, Kahn and Bottura are hopeful the restaurant will open sometime this year. It will be run by both chefs and volunteers — expect to see some of the faces above in the kitchen — and might expand beyond the current refettorio model of serving vulnerable people to offer meals for the whole community. So, by the end of the year, you might be eating Bottura's food right here in Sydney. The Sydney refettorio is slated to open by the end of the year. We'll update you as soon as we know more.
Under normal circumstances, when a new-release movie starts playing in cinemas, audiences can't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the pandemic forcing film industry to make quite a few changes over the past year — widespread movie theatre closures will do that — that's no longer always the case. Perhaps you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Given the hefty amount of films now releasing each week, maybe you missed something. Film distributors have been fast-tracking some of their recent releases from cinemas to streaming lately — movies that might still be playing in theatres in some parts of the country, too. In preparation for your next couch session, here's eight you can watch right now at home. NOBODY As both a comedian and a dramatic actor, Bob Odenkirk has earned a lifetime's worth of well-deserved praise. Writing for Saturday Night Live and starring in Mr Show with Bob and David each sit on his resume, as does his pivotal part in Breaking Bad and lead role in the exceptional Better Call Saul. But in Nobody, Odenkirk highlights a facet of his work that's easy to overlook. Jumping into a new genre, he makes viewers realise a truth that cuts to the heart of his talents. Every actor wants to be the person that can't be replaced, and to turn in the type of performances that no one can emulate; however, only the very best, including Odenkirk, manage exactly that. A movie so forged from the John Wick mould that it's penned by the same screenwriter — and boasts the first film's co-director David Leitch (Atomic Blonde) as a producer, too — Nobody could've featured any existing action go-to. It could've been an easy knockoff of well-known hit, joining the swathe of direct-to-video and -streaming titles that use that very template. It could've given Bruce Willis his next role to sleepwalk through, added yet another Taken-style thriller to Liam Neeson's resume or proven one of Nicolas Cage's more straightforward vehicles of late. Thankfully, though, Nobody is all about the ever-watchable Odenkirk and his peerless and compelling ability to play slippery characters. When Nobody begins, Hutch Mansell's (Odenkirk) life has become such a routine that his weeks all unfurl in the same fashion. Plodding through a sexless marriage to real estate agent Becca (Connie Nielsen, Wonder Woman 1984), and barely paid any notice by his teenage son Blake (Gage Munroe, Guest of Honour) and younger daughter Abby (debutant Paisley Cadorath), he catches public transport to his manufacturing company job every weekday, always puts the bins out too late for the garbage truck on Tuesday mornings, and usually earns little more than polite smiles from his family while he's cooking them breakfast that they fail to eat. Then, the Mansells' suburban home is randomly burgled. Hutch confronts the thieves in the act, has a chance to swing a golf club their way, yet holds back. But when Abby notices that her beloved cat bracelet is missing in the aftermath, he decides to take action — a choice that leads him to an unrelated bus filled with obnoxious guys hassling a female passenger, and eventually sees unhinged Russian mobster Yulian Kuznetsov (Aleksey Serebryakov, Leviathan) threatening everything that Hutch holds dear. Nobody is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Read our full review. WRATH OF MAN With revenge thriller Wrath of Man, filmmaker Guy Ritchie (The Gentlemen) and actor Jason Statham (The Meg) reunite. The pair both came to fame with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, repeated the feat with Snatch, then unsuccessfully tried again with Revolver, but they've spend the past 16 years heading in their own directions. During that stretch, the former subjected the world to his terrible Sherlock Holmes films, fared better with left-field additions to his resume like The Man From UNCLE and Aladdin, but didn't quite know what to do with King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. The latter has become an action go-to over the same time — with both forgettable and memorable flicks resulting, including three Fast and Furious movies and a stint scowling at Dwayne Johnson in the franchise's odd-couple spinoff Hobbs & Shaw. Thankfully, now that they're collaborating again, they're not just interested in rehashing their shared past glories. From Wrath of Man's first moments, with its tense, droning score, its high-strung mood and its filming of an armoured van robbery from inside the vehicle, a relentlessly grim tone is established. When Statham shows up shortly afterwards, he's firmly in stoic mode, too. He does spout a few quippy lines, and Ritchie once again unfurls his narrative by jumping between different people, events and time periods, but Lock, Stock Again or Snatch Harder this isn't. Instead, Wrath of Man is a remake of 2004 French film Le Convoyeur. While walking in someone else's shoes turned out horrendously for Ritchie with the Madonna-starring Swept Away, that isn't the case with this efficient, effective and engaging crime-fuelled effort, which finds its niche — and it's a new one for its central duo, at least together. Statham plays Patrick Hill, the newest employee at the Los Angeles-based cash truck company Fortico Securities. On his first day, his colleague Bullet (Holt McCallany, Mindhunter) dubs him H — "like the bomb, or Jesus H," he says — and the nickname quickly sticks. H joins the outfit a few months after the aforementioned holdup, with the memory of the two coworkers and civilian killed in the incident still fresh in everyone's minds. So, when gunmen interrupt his first post-training run with Bullet and Boy Sweat Dave (Josh Hartnett, Penny Dreadful), they're unsurprisingly jumpy; however, H deals with the situation with lethal efficiency. Cue glowing praise from Fortico's owner (Rob Delaney, Tom & Jerry), concern from his by-the-book manager (Eddie Marsan, Vice) and intrigue about his past from the rest of the team (such as Angel Has Fallen's Rocci Williams and Calm with Horses' Niamh Algar). Wrath of Man is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Read our full review. SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW With Spiral: From the Book of Saw, what came first: the decision to call its protagonist Ezekiel, or the casting of Samuel L Jackson as said character's father? Either way, the film's creative team must've felt mighty pleased with themselves; getting the Pulp Fiction actor to utter the name that's been synonymous with his bible-quoting, Quentin Tarantino-penned monologue for more than a quarter-century doesn't happen by accident. What now four-time franchise director Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, Saw III and Saw IV) and Jigsaw screenwriters Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger mightn't have realised, though, is just how clumsily this choice comes across. The Saw series has made almost a billion dollars at the worldwide box office, but now it's resorting to winking and nodding to one of its latest stars' past movies. Perhaps Bousman and company didn't notice because almost everything about Spiral feels that forced, awkward, clunky and badly thought-out. Jackson and Chris Rock might gift the long-running franchise a couple of high-profile new faces; however, this ostensible reboot is exactly as derivative as you'd expect of the ninth instalment in a 17-year-old shock- and gore-driven saga. Focusing on a wisecracking, gung-ho, about-to-be-divorced police detective known for exposing his dirty colleagues, Spiral tries to coil the series in a different direction, at least superficially — and pretends to have meaty matters on its mind. Ezekiel 'Zeke' Banks (Rock, The Witches) has been crusading for honesty, integrity, fairness and honour in law enforcement for years. Starting back when his now-retired dad Marcus (Jackson, Death to 2020) was the precinct's chief, he's been vilified by his peers for his efforts. When a killer appears to be targeting rotten cops, too, Zeke is desperate to lead the case. Initially, he just wants to avenge the death of the first victim, one of the only co-workers he called a friend, but he's soon trying to track down a murderer that seems to be following in franchise villain Jigsaw's footsteps. A lone wolf-type not by choice but necessity, Banks also happens to be saddled with a rookie partner (Max Minghella, The Handmaid's Tale) as he attempts to stop the bodies from piling up. Spiral: From the Book of Saw is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Read our full review. THE UNITED STATES VS BILLIE HOLIDAY More than 80 years after it was first sung and heard, Billie Holiday's 'Strange Fruit' still isn't easily forgotten. Drawn from a poem penned to protest lynchings, it's meant to shock and haunt. It's designed to galvanise and mobilise, too, as drawing attention to the extrajudicial killings of Black Americans should. Indeed, so vivid is the song in its language — "Black bodies swingin' in the southern breeze" describes the third line — US authorities demanded that Holiday stop performing it. She refused repeatedly, so there were repercussions. Concerned that the track would spark change, inspire Holiday's fans to fight for civil rights and justice, and perhaps motivate riots against against oppression and discrimination as well, the US Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics went after the musician for her drug use. If it couldn't get her to cease crooning the controversial tune via other means, such as overt warnings and a prominent police presence at her shows, it'd do whatever it could to keep her from reaching the stage night after night. With Andra Day (Marshall) turning in an intense, impassioned, career-defining portrayal as its eponymous figure (and in her first lead film role, too), so tells The United States vs Billie Holiday, the latest Oscar-nominated biopic to step through its namesake's life. Back in 1972, Lady Sings the Blues loosely adapted Holiday's autobiography of the same name, enlisting Diana Ross to play the singer — but, in taking inspiration instead from Johann Hari's non-fiction book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, this latest big-screen vision of the music icon's story adopts its own angle. Holiday's troubled childhood and youth has its part in this tale, which is scripted for the screen by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. Her addiction, and the personal woes that she tried to blot out, clearly don't escape filmmaker Lee Daniels' (The Butler) attention, either. But The United States vs Billie Holiday also falls in alongside Seberg, MLK/FBI and Judas and the Black Messiah in interrogating bleak truths about mid-20th century America. In a film that manages to be both rousing and standard, that includes surveying the misplaced priorities of its government during multiple administrations, and the blatant determination shown by an array of agencies under various presidents to undermine, persecute and silence those considered a supposedly un-American threat to the status quo. The United States vs Billie Holiday is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and Amazon Video. Read our full review. THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD A smokejumper stationed to a Montana watchtower, plagued by past traumas and forced to help a teenage boy evade hired killers, Those Who Wish Me Dead's Hannah Faber actually first debuted on the page. Watching Angelina Jolie bring the whisky-swilling, no-nonsense, one of the boys-type figure to the screen, it's easy to assume otherwise. The part doesn't quite feel as if it was written specifically for the smouldering movie star, though. Rather, it seems like the kind of role that might've been penned with Liam Neeson or Denzel Washington in mind — see: this year's The Marksman for the former, and 2004's Man on Fire for the latter — then flipped, gender-wise, to gift Jolie a new star vehicle. On the one hand, let's be thankful that that's not how this character came about. Kudos to author Michael Koryta, who also co-writes the screenplay here based on his 2016 novel, for conjuring up Hannah to begin with. But on the other hand, it's never a great sign when a female protagonist plays like a grab bag of stock-standard macho hero traits, just dressed up in a shapelier guise. It has been six years since Jolie has stepped into a mere mortal's shoes — since 2015's By the Sea, which she wrote and directed — and she leaves no doubt that Hannah is flesh and blood. There's still an iciness to the firefighter, and she still has the actor's cheekbones and pout, but Maleficent, she isn't. She's bruised, internally, by a fire that got away and left a body count. After hanging out with her colleagues, parachuting out of cars and brooding in her tower, she's soon physically in harm's way as well. As Those Who Wish Me Dead's plot gets her to this juncture, it also cuts back and forth between forensic accountant Owen Casserly (Jake Weber, Midway) and his son Connor (Finn Little, Angel of Mine), plus assassins Patrick and Jack (The Great's Nicholas Hoult and Game of Thrones' Aiden Gillen). Thanks to a treasure trove of incriminating evidence against important people that no one was ever supposed to find, these two duos are on a collision course. When they do cross paths — while Owen is trying to take Connor to stay with Ethan (Jon Bernthal, The Peanut Butter Falcon), his brother-in-law, a sheriff's deputy and one of Hannah's colleagues — it also nudges the boy into the smokejumper's orbit. Those Who Wish Me Dead is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Read our full review. LOCKED DOWN Sparked by the pandemic, lockdown films aren't just an exercise in adapting to stay-at-home conditions — or a way to keep actors, directors and other industry professionals busy and working at a challenging time. The genre also provides a window into how the creatives behind its flicks view everyday life and ordinary people. Arising from a global event that's placed many of the planet's inhabitants in similar circumstances, these features tell us which stories filmmakers deem worth telling, which visions of normality they choose to focus on and who they think is living an average life. With Malcolm & Marie, a hotshot young director and an ex-addict were the only options offered. In Language Lessons, which premiered at this year's virtual Berlin Film Festival, a wealthy widower and a Spanish teacher were the movie's two choices. Now Locked Down directs its attention towards a CEO and a courier, the latter of which stresses that he's only in the gig because his criminal record has robbed him of other opportunities. Yes, these films and their characters speak volumes about how Hollywood perceives its paying customers. That's not the only thing that Locked Down says. Directed by Doug Liman (Chaos Walking) and scripted by Steven Knight (Locke), this romantic comedy-meets-heist flick is verbose to a farcical degree — awkwardly rather than purposefully. The repetitive and grating misfire is primarily comprised of monologues, Zoom calls and bickering between its central couple. Well-off Londoners Linda (Anne Hathaway, The Witches) and Paxton (Chiwetel Ejiofor, The Old Guard) are weeks into 2020's first lockdown, and their ten-year relationship has become a casualty. Whether chatting to each other or virtually with others, both commit a torrent of words to the subject. Linda has decided they're done, which Paxton has trouble accepting. She's also unhappy with her high-flying job, especially after she's forced to fire an entire team online, but gets scolded by her boss (Ben Stiller, Brad's Status) for not telling her now-sacked colleagues they're still like family. Tired of driving a van, Paxton is willing to do whatever his employer (Ben Kingsley, Life) needs to climb his way up the ladder. That said, he's still tied to the road, with the ex-rebel's decision to sell his beloved motorbike — a symbol of his wilder youth, and its fun, freedom and risks — hitting hard. Locked Down is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Read our full review. GREAT WHITE When a giant shark chomps its way through the cinematic ocean, audiences are meant to side with its scared human prey. But some creature features give viewers multiple reasons to do the opposite — and to find their own way to liven up a dull and formulaic movie. Perhaps the film's non-fish characters are woefully one-note or unlikeable, or both. Maybe the script is so simplistic, even in a well-worn genre, that a shark munching random keys on a typewriter probably could've written something better. Or, it could be that every plot development, performance, visual, and score choice is so overwhelmingly predictable that tension is as rare as a vegan great white. Actually, there's no maybes about any of the last three statements when it comes to horror's latest shark-centric outing, which turns Queensland's waters into a buffet for a ravenous critter. Great White marks the feature debut of director Martin Wilson, and only the second movie script for screenwriter Michael Boughen (Dying Breed); however, that its producers have 2010 Aussie shark film The Reef and its now-in-production sequel The Reef: Stalked on their resumes — plus homegrown 2007 crocodile flick Black Water and its 2020 sequel Black Water: Abyss — will surprise absolutely no one. Great White's setup will be familiar to anyone who has even heard of a shark movie before, let alone watched one. The twist: despite reassurances by marine biologist-turned-seaplane pilot Charlie (Aaron Jakubenko, Tidelands) that the time just isn't right for teeth-gnashing ocean predators to fill their empty stomachs, climate change seems to have changed the titular species' habits. So, on a lucrative charter gig that'll help keep his business financially afloat, Charlie, his girlfriend Kaz (Katrina Bowden, 30 Rock), their cook Benny (Te Kohe Tuhaka, Love and Monsters), and their paying customers Joji (Tim Kano, Neighbours) and Michelle (Kimie Tsukakoshi, The Family Law) find themselves under threat. They've headed to a remote island of personal significance to Michelle, and Joji is clashing with Benny before they even spot the resident great white's last victim. To ramp up the stakes, Kaz is telling Charlie that she's pregnant, too. Quickly, the quintet become the creature's next targets, including while cast adrift in a life raft that could use Life of Pi's Richard Parker for company. Just as speedily, Great White's audience will wish that something — anything — that hasn't previously graced Jaws, The Shallows, 47 Metres Down or even The Meg's frames would happen in this thrill-free bob into been-there, done-that waters. Great White is available to stream via iTunes. THE UNHOLY The Exorcist was not an easy movie to make, as exceptional documentary Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist made clear. But over the past four decades, the horror masterpiece has proven a very easy film to emulate again and again — or, to try to ape in anything that pairs religion and scares, at least. Copying it is nowhere near the same as matching it, of course. That's especially the case when most one-note flicks that attempt the feat simply think that crosses, creepy females and stilted, unnatural body movements are all that it takes. The Unholy is the latest example, to uninspired, unengaging, unoriginal, unconvincing and thoroughly unsurprising results. Adapted from the 1983 James Herbert novel Shrine by seasoned screenwriter turned first-time feature director Evan Spiliotopoulos (Charlie's Angels, Beauty and the Beast, The Huntsman: Winter's War), the movie's premise has promise: what if a site of a supposed vision of the Virgin Mary and subsequent claimed miracles, such as Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal, was targeted by a sinister spirit instead? But, despite also boasting the always-charismatic Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead) as its lead, all that eventuates here is a dull, derivative and not even remotely unsettling shocker of a horror flick. The fact that The Evil Dead and Drag Me to Hell's Sam Raimi is one of its producers delivers The Unholy's biggest scare. Looking constantly perplexed but still proving one of the best things about the film, Morgan plays disgraced journalist Gerry Fenn. After losing his fame and acclaim when he was caught fabricating stories, he now makes $150 per assignment chasing the slightest of flimsy supernatural leads. His current line of work brings him to the small Massachusetts town inhabited by Father Hagan (William Sadler, Bill & Ted Face the Music) and his niece Alice (Cricket Brown, Dukeland), the latter of whom is deaf. Thanks to a barren tree, a creepy doll, an eerie chapter of history and a strange run-in with Gerry, however, she can soon suddenly hear and speak. She says that can see the Virgin Mary, too. Swiftly, word about her story catches the church, media and public's attention. Even if Spiliotopoulos had kept the novel's title, it'd remain obvious that all isn't what it seems — the film starts nearly two centuries ago with a woman being burned alive at the aforementioned tree, so nothing here is subtle. But instead of pairing an exploration of the dangers of having faith without question with demonic bumps and jumps, The Unholy embraces cliches with the same passion that satan stereotypically has for fire. The cheap-looking visuals, Cary Elwes' (Black Christmas) wavering accent and the bored look on co-star Katie Aselton's (Synchronic) face hardly help, either. The Unholy is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and Amazon Video. Looking for more at-home viewing options? Here's our list of movies fast-tracked from cinemas to streaming back in May — and you can also check out our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows.
A recent episode of This American Life told the story of Ralph, an earnest Texan with a pet Brahman bull. When the bull (named Chance) died, he had him 'brought back from the dead' with the help of science — they cloned him. Ralph goes on for years believing that the clone is his bull reincarnated, but it becomes clear that the new one (named Second Chance) is not the same as the other when it attacks him quite violently. It's surprisingly touching stuff. The episode was initially aired in 2007, but the sentiment remains the same: although they might have some of the same DNA, clones are not one and the same. They're totally different. And that's what should be kept in mind when visiting Code Black Howard Street, the new North Melbourne sister cafe to Brunswick favourite, Code Black Coffee. It's a smaller space (no attached coffee roastery here), and it's light, airy — less Sydney Road, more Copenhagen — and immaculately designed. There's an explosion of blonde wood in the tables, the front door and up above, detailing the small mezzanine dining level; the whitewashed walls are a nice change to the black of Brunswick, as is the sunny disposition of it all. The appearance of the new outpost — which appears to be the yin to Brunswick's yang — is not the only thing that's different here. The menu doesn't seem to borrow much from the existing kitchen, with breakfast dishes like the acai bowl ($14.50) and salted apple caramel hotcakes being thrown into the mix. The apple wood hot-smoked salmon on a citrus and herb potato cake ($18) seemed to be getting quite a fanfare on our visit, but we'd suggest the black beans with jalapeno cornbread ($12). The beans make an extra comforting bed for the fried egg and lime, and the cornbread is a nice alternative to regular sourdough. It's a relatively small dish, so add the pork belly — you won't regret it. And while it's good to see Code Black departing from a menu they already know works, it didn't seem to match the offering in Brunswick. There just seemed to be less choice in comparison to the great menu a few suburbs north. There are less gluten free options, too. Their signature coffee is a constant, with the same smooth Code Black beans making an excellent cup. And in its own right, Code Black Howard Street is a great cafe serving good coffee and a solid all-day breakfast and lunch menu. It isn't just Code Black #2, this is a whole new cafe.
For everyone who has ever had a cringeworthy boss, annoying co-worker or soul-crushing office job, one sitcom franchise has understood for more than two decades now. It was back in 2001 that the original UK version of The Office arrived, introducing the world to the literally paper-pushing David Brent. And, in 2005, an American series featuring the also-awkward Michael Scott hit the small screen as well. More international takes on the show have followed, including an in-the-works Australian series that'll mark the 13th iteration beyond Britain to-date. Next, so might a big return, with the US version reportedly set to score a reboot. Might, could, apparently, rumoured, possibly, hopefully: they all fit this news, which Puck dropped in the wake of Hollywood's current writers' strike looking like it is nearing its end. "Greg Daniels is set to do a reboot of The Office," the publication noted in its wrap-up of where things stand now that the Writers Guild of America has reached a provisional deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. That sentence, naming the US version of The Office's creator (who has also been behind Space Force and Upload), is all there is to go on for now; however, it hails from an outlet that's all about insider conversation in Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Wall Street and Washington. As for how a restocked take on the Dunder Mifflin-set The Office might work, who'd star, if any of the OG cast will return, if it'll still feature Scranton in Pennsylvania, how many desk supplies might get put in jelly and all the other burning questions that everyone has right now, there's no answers as yet. On its first go-around, the American The Office proved one of the rare instances where a TV remake is better than the original. It was also immensely easy to just keep rewatching, as fans have known since the 2005–13 show finished its run. Of course, that's what you get when you round up Steve Carell (Asteroid City), John Krasinski (Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan), Jenna Fischer (Splitting Up Together), Rainn Wilson (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), Mindy Kaling (Velma), Ed Helms (Rutherford Falls), Ellie Kemper (Happiness for Beginners), Craig Robinson (Killing It) and more in the same show, and let all of them break out their comedic best. As for The Office Australia — which comes after everywhere from Canada, France and Germany to Israel, India and Poland have similarly given the idea a go — it's on its way in 2024 thanks to Prime Video. In the Aussie series, it will be Hannah Howard's turn to become the manager that no one wants but everyone has worked for. Played by actor and comedian Felicity Ward (Wakefield), she'll oversee a packaging company called Flinley Craddick. And, when she receives news that head office is shutting down her branch — with everyone working from home instead — she's determined to keep her team together. Obviously that won't go smoothly, or there'd be no sitcom antics to be had in The Office Australia. Joining Ward is a hefty cast spanning Edith Poor (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Steen Raskopoulos (The Duchess), Shari Sebbens (Preppers), Josh Thomson (Young Rock), Jonny Brugh (What We Do in the Shadows), Pallavi Sharda (The Twelve), Susan Ling Young (Barons), Raj Labade (Back of the Net), Lucy Schmit and Firass Dirani (House Husbands). There's no sneak peek yet at whatever the US reboot of The Office pans out to be, and no trailer yet for The Office Australia, either. But, in the interim, you can check out a couple clips from the US version below: The rumoured reboot of the US version of The Office doesn't have a release date yet — we'll update you with more information when it is announced. The Office Australia will stream via Prime Video sometime in 2024 — we'll update you with an exact launch date when one is announced.
We know there's nothing sweeter than the sound the brown paper bag makes as you whip it off your bottle(s) of grog at a table, and nothing better than the taste of your favourite beer accompanying a delicious meal. But it's not at every restaurant you can do this — and drinking sneakily out of your handbag at non-BYO joints is both illegal and a surefire way to ruin your bag. Let us guide you to the places that allow you to BYO beer in your city to avoid any of that, with the added bonus of being A+ places to eat more than heartily. Winter is for nothing if not overindulging on dumplings or Greek feasts and then waddling home, right? Grab your six-pack and put on your eating pants. SYDNEY: CHINATOWN NOODLE RESTAURANT Before you head to Chinatown Noodle Restaurant in Haymarket, beware: if you're coming for dinner, be prepared to queue for a while and wait for a table — or you can check out the neighbouring Chinese Noodle Restaurant and see if you can grab a seat. Otherwise, set up camp in the line, send a scout out to get beers from a bottle shop (there's one in Market City next door) and wait it out. Once you're in, service is quick, dumplings are countless and spring onion pancakes are hot. Crack open a beer or two to wash down the too-many dumplings that you'll no doubt eat. Haven't you had yourself a night? SYDNEY: THE SULTAN'S TABLE The Sultan's Table in Enmore is the sort of place you want to head to if your feet and nose are numb and you're craving some hot meat. If your hunger has never been greater than consider the banquet option for $38 per head. A very reasonable price delivers plate after plate of dips, pita, kebab, pides, veg stuffed with rice and grilled meats, followed by sweets, tea or coffee. If you're not quite up for such an intense fill, the chargrilled kebabs are obviously where it's at (unless you're a vegetarian and then the ample vego menu is more your vibe). Whether you're in it to win it with the banquet or just grabbing a pide, Sultan's Table serving sizes are good value for money and great fare for cold nights. Sit a while, finish your beers, and don't forget to nab a baklava at the end. MELBOURNE: MAMAK One word: roti. Another three words: get the roti. Mamak is famous for a good reason, and that reason is flaky, buttery, delicious and dipped in curry. The Melbourne branch of the Malaysian restaurant sits in the middle of the CBD on Lonsdale Street, with branches also in Sydney and now, Seminyak in Bali. Obviously, you'll hit up the roti menu (try the roti canai at a breezy $7.50) but don't bypass the satay options — they're just as good. There's also dessert roti FYI, so make sure to try and exercise a minute amount of self-control and leave space. And on top of all that greatness, Mamak is BYO at $2 per person. [caption id="attachment_637824" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Leah Hulst.[/caption] MELBOURNE: JIM'S GREEK TAVERN It's not a proper Greek feast unless you're calling an Uber home because you've eaten too much to be able to exist in a public place such as a tram. Wear your loosest pants (a large poncho might be best) and partake in the delicious roulette that is dining at Jim's; there's no menu as such. The staff will ask you what you feel like eating and then bring out dishes for you. Trust them, they've been doing it for years — just shut up and eat the saganaki (as if you really need your arm twisted for that though). Generally, you'll get whatever is fresh and good on the day you go — fish, lamb and calamari will all probably make an appearance, as well as the homemade galaktoboureko (custard cake). The food is traditional, the vibe is bustling, and your stomach will be happy. Best washed down with a lager or two — corkage is cheap, too. BRISBANE: CHOP CHOP CHANG'S Chop Chop Chang's in Brisbane's West End serves up pan-Asian street food fare, reminiscent of what you'd be eating if you were strolling through the markets and street stalls of Asia. With a focus on fresh and locally sourced produce, Chop Chop Chang's do brunch, lunch and dinner, but also four banquet menus with options increasing in decadence and starting at only $38 a head. If you're just picking from the menu, best give the curry section a good look, and don't go past the green curry chicken dumplings ($10). On the subject of dumplings, the dessert menu is hawking spiced apple dumplings ($14), so there are lots to think about while you leisurely sip your beer and mull things over. BRISBANE: VERVE Verve in the CBD is many things: it's a bar, a restaurant, a cider house, is situated in some cool basement digs and has you sorted for your winter pasta needs. Need even more than that? You can bring your own beer in. Check out the venue, originally Brisbane's first basement bar, below ground level at the Metro Arts building. With more pasta options than you can count on all your fingers and toes, you'll be happily carbing it up here — try the homemade gnocchi for a solid feed that'll probably keep you going until dinner the next night. Verve offers ample gluten-free and vegan options too, so you coeliac carb-fiends need not miss out. There's also something called brandy tortellini ($22.90) which, well, yes, please. Gather some mates and head to one of these top-notch eateries with an appetite and a six-pack of Hahn, too.
One of Eddie the Eagle's many training montages is set to the toe-tapping refrains of Hall & Oates' 'You Make My Dreams'. For an '80s-set film about a sporting wannabe trying to achieve Olympic glory, it's an appropriate choice in a multitude of ways. It's also rather clichéd. Still, it fits — and the feature knows that it's obvious, making it even more apt. That's Eddie the Eagle in a nutshell: a bit cheesy but completely aware of that fact, and utterly warm and enjoyable as a result. Those who aren't up to date on their British sporting history might be surprised to discover that Eddie Edwards (Taron Egerton) changed the face of the nation's ski jumping team. Actually, he was the face of the nation's ski jumping team. After struggling to become a downhill skier, the good-natured lad turned his attention to soaring not only down the snowy slopes but through the frosty air as well. England didn't have any other competitors in the field that year. In fact, they'd never had any competitors in the field in any year. But with his dad (Keith Allen) far from impressed, his coach (Hugh Jackman) a heavy-drinking, washed-up former athlete, and his own experience severely lacking, Eddie's Olympic quest wasn't exactly easy. Eddie the Eagle is a crowd-pleaser through and through — and while the term can sometimes have not-so-flattering connotations, that isn't the case here. Indeed, much of the film's success springs from director Dexter Fletcher's happy embrace of the tried-and-tested sports movie formula. While plenty of liberties have been taken with the truth to bolster the film's feel-good credentials, they all suit the story. If only sticking to the inspirational underdog playbook was always this entertaining. Fletcher seems to be following a specific train of thought: if it worked for Cool Runnings, which told of another against-the-odds story at the exact same Winter Olympics, then it can work here too. The actor-turned-filmmaker even nods to the Jamaican bobsled team, and to his own background around the same time, courtesy of a brief appearance from one of his late '80s Press Gang co-stars. Accordingly, his feature isn't just lazily throwing together the usual elements and hoping that something sticks. It's doing so knowingly with a wink, a nod and a smile, and while wearing its retro style and upbeat cheer on both sleeves. A number of other factors assist the all-round amiable effort enormously, including broad but winning performances by Egerton and Jackman in vintage earnest protégé and reluctant mentor mode, respectively. Add a canny splash of visual spectacle, a well-earned sense of genuine tension during the jumping scenes, and other time- and theme-appropriate tunes on the soundtrack, and Eddie the Eagle soars.
As if your morning CBD coffee run wasn't sweet enough already, Ngoc Le — baker extraordinaire and founder of Dessert Parlour — is set to make it that bit sweeter. Le is setting up shop in Queen Street's Workshop Brothers Specialty Coffee each Sunday for the next month to sell her sweet creations. And yes, there will be macaronuts. The pop-up will start on Sunday, July 31 and continue each week until Sunday, August 21, operating from 10am till 3pm each day. Although the offering is set to change throughout the month, you can expect to be eating (and Instagramming) their gold-dusted baked doughnuts and matcha choux pastry puffs. But what we're most looking forward to is the macaronuts. Initially a collaboration between Dessert Parlour and the Macaron Sisters, the creation is a macaron-doughnut hybrid has been a runaway success. They'll have matcha coconut, chocolate raspberry and Oreo on-hand at the pop-up. Just look at them. A photo posted by Dessert Parlour | Melbourne (@dessertparlour) on Jul 31, 2016 at 5:02pm PDT Images: Michelle Froidevaux and Ngoc Le.
Gearing up for one last hoorah, celebrated partystarters Yacht Club DJs are hitting the road for their nationwide farewell tour set to be a shindig like no other. Lining up 14 shows in the space of just three months, Ballarat-born pair Gaz Harrison and Guy Chappell will be spinning their way from coast to coast for one final escapade. The past six years have seen these two tackle some seriously epic projects. Regulars in both Sydney and Melbourne, the crew have three stellar appearances at farmland Victoria’s iconic Meredith Music Festival under their belt, after supporting the likes of Haim and Mumford and Sons abroad. From all reports, these guys know how to put on a killer show. Melburnians can nab a slice of 'The Hooroo! Tour' in November at the Corner Hotel. Faithful fans and newcomers alike, it's a mighty fine excuse to dust off those dancing and/or boat shoes.
Clear your calendars, art lovers. Melbourne's largest queer arts and culture bash, the Midsumma Festival has showcased the talents of local creatives from within the city's LGBTIQ community every year since 1988 — and its 2016 program is due to kick off this Sunday, January 17. Running for three straight weeks, the festival will be spread across more than 80 different venues, and will cover everything from visual art and performance to community events and parties. As has become tradition, the festival's centrepiece event will be the annual Pride March along Fitzroy Street in St Kilda. This year, the march will put an emphasis on the fight for marriage equality. Other flagship events include the Midsumma Carnival and T Dance, which will once again kick off the festival with a five-hour lineup of free live music and entertainment in Alexandra Gardens. But there are many more events to get your art-loving self to during Midsumma 2016. Here are our top picks.
This Friday, May 3, the National Gallery of Victoria will reveal its next impressive exhibition, A Fairy Tale in Red Times. Showcasing large-scale and never-before-seen works from Sydney's White Rabbit Gallery's collection, the exhibition will explore questions of identity and personal and cultural memory. Featuring 26 Chinese and Taiwanese artists from across two generations — the first post-Mao generation and a younger generation for whom the Cultural Revolution is ancient history — A Fairy Tale in Red is an examination of the dramatic generational change in Chinese society and culture, and its impact on contemporary art as well as, more generally, today's China. Works include Shi Yong's A Bunch of Happy Fantasies (2009) installation of upside down neon-lit Chinese characters and the eponymous A Fairy Tale in Red Times (2003–07): a collection of vibrant, large-scale photographs by husband and wife duo Shao Yinong and Muchen. Plus, pieces never exhibited before in Australia will be on display, including Zhu Jinshi's large scale immersive installation The Ship of Time (2018) made from 14,000 sheets of xuan paper, 1800 pieces of fine bamboo and 2000 cotton threads; and Mao Tongqiang's Order (2015), a stainless-steel installation shot repeatedly with bullets. [caption id="attachment_718755" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Ship of Time (2018), Zhu Jinshi, courtesy of Tang Contemporary and the artist.[/caption] The exhibition is a collaboration between White Rabbit's founder Judith Neilson and the NGV — and it's the first time the NGV will dedicate and entire exhibition to works from the Sydney gallery. Coinciding with White Rabbit Gallery's tenth anniversary and the release of a new NGV publication The Centre: On Art and Urbanism in China, the exhibition opens this week, and will run from May 3 until October 6. As a bonus, it's also free to enter. A Fairy Tale in Red Times will show at NGV International from May 3–October 6, 2019. Entry is free. Top image: A Bunch of Happy Fantasies (2009), Shi Yong, courtesy of ShanghArt Gallery and the artist.
Step into your local arthouse theatre these days and you'd be hard pressed not to find a regional film festival going on. From established cinematic powerhouses like France, Germany and Japan, to less spotlighted industries such as Poland, Indonesia and Serbia, the sheer amount of world cinema on the cultural calendar means there's almost always an alternative to the latest blockbuster out of Hollywood. As long as you don't mind reading subtitles, that is. In 2014, the line-up is getting that little bit more crowded, with the inaugural edition of a brand new festival highlighting the films from Europe's frozen north. Covering Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, the first annual Scandinavian Film Festival is set to put the kvikmynd in kvikmyndahátíð. One area where contemporary Scandinavian cinema really seems to excel is the crime genre. Case in point, the Easy Money trilogy, starring Joel 'RoboCop' Kinnaman as a uni student turned drug runner. All three films will screen at the festival — see them before the scheduled US reboot featuring Zac Efron. From across the bridge in Denmark, meanwhile, comes police thriller The Keeper of Lost Causes, one the highest grossing films at the Danish box office last year. Continuing the dramatic thread, Metalhead, out of Iceland, tells the story of a pre-teen girl who copes with her brother's accidental death by taking on his identity. Sounds a little strange, sure, but the film has drawn rave reviews on the international festival circuit and scored a record-breaking 16 nominations at Iceland's prestigious Edda Awards. Thankfully, despite the region's chilly climate, not everything on the program is so severe. Finland's August Fools is a rom-com set against a Cold War era backdrop, while opening night features the informatively titled Swedish comedy The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. For more information about the Scandinavian Film Festival, visit their website.
Melbourne has been a real pageant queen lately, having now been crowned Miss Most Liveable City for seven years in a row. We've all seen the glossy shots of laneway cafes and Federation Square that we're known for, and it's true that Melbourne looks great under the sun. But locals know that after dark is when Melbourne truly shines. The city's nightlife is the best on offer in Australia at the moment, and with public transport running all night on weekends, you can enjoy it even more. Instead of waiting out surges, jostling for cabs or sharking innocent pedestrians in an attempt to nab a park, jump on a late-night tram, train or bus and own the night. There's so much on offer at all hours of the eve, and we've got some tips to help you get to know the darker side of Melbourne. SUNSET AT THE BEACH Start your night by jumping on the 96 tram and heading to St Kilda beach. Grab an ice cream or pastry along Acland Street (don't worry about eating dessert before dinner — there are no rules tonight) and head to the sand to sit back and watch as the sun goes down and Luna Park lights up. People-watching is the name of the game here, and dusk is the time of day when all the kookiest subjects come out to play. COCKTAILS AND JAPANESE WITH A TWIST When you've brushed all the sand out of your crevices, it's time to eat. Jump on the 5 tram to Chapel Street, get off at stop 32, and wander down Chapel Street as it comes alive for the dinner rush. Head to Mr Miyagi for dinner, a southside favourite. They don't take bookings for groups of five or less, which is excellent news for cocktail lovers. Wait for your table in their adjacent bar, Yukie's, and sample from their experimental cocktail menu — try the salted watermelon martini garnished with Midori-infused faux olives. Once you're installed at Mr Miyagi's, try their signature snack: the salmon nori taco with grilled salmon belly, sushi rice and spicy mayo, all wrapped up in a seaweed case. Excellent fuel for the long night ahead. POST-DINNER ROOFTOP FEATURE Once you're sufficiently stuffed, prepare your bod for a digestive respite. Head to Windsor Station to get the train to Flinders Street Station. From there, jump on a tram heading up Swanston Street (heck yeah, free tram zone), get off at Bourke Street Mall and head to Rooftop Cinema. For the next few months, they'll be running a cinema program on the roof of the Curtin House building. It features a good mix of cult classics, new releases, deckchairs and a killer view of the city — it's the perfect intermission for your late-night antics. POOL, CRAZY MILKSHAKES OR AFTER-HOURS BOWLS Once you've fully digested both film and food, it's time to kick it up a notch. You have a few options. Take the 86 or 96 trams out to Fitzroy and stop in at the Red Triangle Pool Hall on Argyle Street. Play a few games of pool, and to keep it interesting, make it so the loser buys the winner one of Red Triangle's disgustingly indulgent milkshakes. But if you like your balls close to the ground, stay on the tram a little longer and head up to Fitzroy Bowls Club — it stays open until 10pm and is fully licensed. We recommend booking ahead to guarantee your spot. MIDNIGHT CBD BAR HOPPING Once you're deep in the night, jump on the 86 or 96, and head back into the city. From here, you can choose your own adventure depending on how you feel. We recommend Boilermaker House on Lonsdale for excellent craft beer; Heartbreaker on Russell for pizza, dancing and more pool; Siglo on Spring Street for pure class; Gin Palace down Russell Place for quiet, sexy ambience; or New Guernica to get heavy. Or better yet, take advantage of that free tram zone and stop in at them all. LATE NIGHT KARAOKE No late night is complete without a spot of karaoke. If you need privacy to belt out your heartfelt rendition of When Doves Cry (no judgement — we respect your craft), head to KBOX on La Trobe and book yourself a booth. If you know no shame and want the world to hear your siren song, head to Jankara Karaoke. This tiny, weird karaoke bar on Russell Street is always packed full of people who have no business doing karaoke, but who do it anyway and with unbridled enthusiasm. [caption id="attachment_639262" align="alignnone" width="1620"] Anwyn Howarth.[/caption] EVENING'S END EATS When the night is wrapping up, the sun is peeping over the horizon and you're in serious need of a snack, late night food options are abundant in the city. Shujinko on Russell is 24-hours and Stalactites, everyone's favourite late-night souvas slinger, is also open 'round the clock. And if you need a pick me up, Little Bean Blue on Little Collins opens at 6am, ready to caffeinate you so you don't fall asleep on the tram home — that's definitely not a good look. Whatever you're planning for the weekend, whether it's staying out after midnight or up until dawn, the Night Network will take you wherever you need to go — and then get you home again. Lead image: Brook James.
Memory is weird. Sometimes it makes sense and other times it runs in loops, unfinished and unresolved. Memorandum seeks to demonstrate the disconnection between memory and reality, and the strangeness of recollection itself. In this intimate and immersive piece, Kate Hunter explores the weirdness and unreliability of the mind. "I have this ongoing image on my mind from childhood of a number of people — grownups — who have nappies on. So I don’t know what that’s about." The show features Hunter retelling stories varying formats, all the while second guessing the truth of her memory. The topic was actually developed after Hunter spent four years researching cognitive neuroscience for her PHD in Performance Studies. Her performance is strong, her storytelling skills are admirable, and her memories (whether they are accurate or not) are fascinatingly obscure. However among the constantly changing and confusing dialogue, I struggled to find a richer meaning other than 'Goddamn it, why can’t I remember things better?' It would have been good to see a bit more of the scientific side of the concept, or at the very least, a deeper exploration of the concept. Part poetry, part physical theatre, part audio/visual show, Memorandum perhaps tries to cross too many theatre 'to dos' off the list. One that really got me was the microphone capturing Hunter’s breath. Perhaps it was an attempt to remind us of the frailty of the mind, or the life force that drives memory — but really it was just kind of distracting. Plus I hate bodily noises, so... Visually, the piece is beautiful. Hunter crawls through pools of light, stands amidst projections of herself and creates ghoulish shadows across the back wall. There is a particularly striking moment of audiovisual design where words trip down panels of cloth featuring projections of Hunter herself while she recalls yet another unbelievable story from her life. While the production looked good, and the stories were engaging, I didn’t feel particularly challenged by the piece, despite it making a statement I wasn’t sure I understood. However, with such a short work — just under an hour — it was simply a pleasure to be immersed in Hunter’s weird and wonderful mind. Photo credit: Leo Dale.
To the joy of folks who love ice cream but don't consume animal products, tucking into a creamy frozen dessert that's 100-percent vegan is much easier than it used to be. You'll find vegan Magnums, Cornettos and Weiss Bars in your supermarket freezer, vegan choc tops at Event Cinemas in Sydney and Brisbane, vegan ice cream sandwiches at Lord of the Fries around the country, and a selection of vegan sorbets at Gelato Messina — and now you'll find a new vegan lineup at gelato chain Gelatissimo as well. Gelatissimo already has its own vegan sorbet range, spanning flavours such as green apple, lemon, mango, passionfruit, raspberry, strawberry and coconut. Now, it's also scooping up dairy-free gelato. As part of the new selection, two varieties are on offer at present, with a third still to come — and they're the first in the chain's ongoing commitment to providing flavours for all dietary preferences. If you like your frosty desserts with a dash of decadence, you're in luck, with caramel mudcake and triple chocolate flavours on the menu. When you're licking your way through a cup or cone of caramel mudcake vegan gelato, you'll be enjoying vegan caramel gelato combined with caramelised sugar, as well as chunks of vegan caramel mudcake. As for the vegan triple chocolate gelato, it blends West African cocoa, vegan dark chocolate morsels and vegan chocolate sauce, then dusts the whole thing with cocoa powder. Available until Thursday, April 2 — or until stocks last — in all Australian stores, both dairy-free flavours use coconut and soy milk. Just what the third vegan gelato flavour will be, or when it'll be available, hasn't been revealed as yet. Gelatissimo's new vegan range is available from all stores nationwide until Thursday, April 2 — or until stocks last. If you're choosing to go out and support local businesses, have a look at the latest COVID-19 advice and social-distancing guidelines from the Department of Health.
When it comes to street art exhibitions, it really doesn't get any bigger than this. A retrospective of Banksy's work is making its way to Australia, featuring more than 80 of the artist's off-street masterpieces. From October 7 to January 22, The Paddock in Melbourne's Federation Square will play host to The Art of Banksy, a massive collection of pieces by the art world's chief enigma — including the darkly satirical, overtly political work that has turned the stencil-loving artist into such an infamous icon. Endeavouring to take audiences on a journey through Banksy's output and mindset, the exhibition will include the well-known Girl with Balloon, Flag Wall and Laugh Now pieces, as well as three efforts that have never before been displayed to the public. If it sounds epic, that's because it is. The art featured has been sourced from over 40 different private collectors around the world, and comprises the largest showcase of Banksy pieces to ever make its way to our shores. As curated by the artist's former manager Steve Lazarides, the exhibition is also a little controversial. While every piece is original, unique and authentic, The Art of Banksy proudly boasts that the entire show is 100 percent unauthorised. No, Banksy hasn't signed off on the event. As well as displaying Banksy's work in a custom-built enclosure, The Art of Banksy will also shine a light on a range of pieces by well-known and emerging local street artists. Expect to find them on the surrounding external surfaces and the inside walls of the exhibition's own Circle Bar, which will serve craft beers and cocktails. Outside, the Welcome to Thornbury team will corral a heap of food trucks into an area called 'The Railyard'. Plus, on Friday nights and Saturday arvos, DJs will also provide appropriate tunes to suit the occasion. Of course, Melburnians will know that this isn't the mysterious figure's first dalliance with the city. The artist's stencils have popped up around the city previously courtesy of a visit in 2003, though many have been destroyed and damaged in the years since. [competition]591262[/competition]
For local whisky lovers, Christmas has come early, as CBD bar Whisky & Alement cracks open its prized cellar for the public to shop — for the first time in eight years. Featuring a mind-blowing collection of rare and covetable whiskies, this treasure trove is the result of years of careful scouting by owners Brooke Hayman and Julian White. And now it's ripe for the picking, open to the public by request in the lead-up to Christmas. It'll complement the already hefty selection of single malts available from the Whisky & Alement bottle shop, with White on-hand during weekdays offering his expert guidance. The lineup runs to hard-to-find drops, discontinued product and bottles not normally available outside of the distilleries where they were made. Some of the most exciting stuff includes a super rare 2013 Japanese number called Ichiro's Malt Port Pipe, and a 24-year-old single cask iteration from the since demolished North Port distillery in Brechin. Find the ultimate Christmas pressie for the whisky fiend in your life, or treat your own damn self to something a bit special for the festive season. Best get in quick though. Whisky & Alement is open from 4pm every day (except for Saturdays, when it opens at 7pm) at 270 Russell Street, Melbourne. For more information, visit the Facebook page.
After taking two years off, the Chapel Street Precinct Association has decided to bring back its Chapel Champion Awards for 2024, which sees the public vote for their favourite local businesses across a range of categories. But these awards don't just give the winners ultimate bragging rights. The winner of each of the 16 categories also receives a cash and marketing package to the value of a cool $5000. [caption id="attachment_902834" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Leonard's House of Love[/caption] The big hospo gongs — for best cafe, bar and restaurant — will be hotly fought over by big and small names in the game, but we've got our eyes on the brand-new top toastie award, which has seen a bunch of venues creating new eats just for the occasion. They've been tasked with making "out-of-the-box toasties that have the X-factor to make people travel from all over Melbourne and possibly Australia to try them out". And by the looks of it, this going to be a hard-fought fight. Windsor cafe Delilah has created an unbelievably spicy tiger bread toastie stacked with chorizo, chimichurri and chilli sauce featuring Carolina Reaper chillies — the second hottest chilli in the world. You've also got Naughty Nancy's Toasted Yorkie, which is basically a whole chicken roast dinner wrapped in a huge Yorkshire pudding and drizzled in gravy because why not, tbh. [caption id="attachment_963772" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Entrecote[/caption] Entrecote has also joined the race by turning its famous steak frites into a baguette toastie, while Kaneffi has made a dessert toastie which sees a croissant stuffed with kaneffi cheese and topped with pistachio sauce, melted chocolate and gold flakes. Caffe e Cucina, Neptune, Rossi Bar, Norman South Yarra, Acai Brothers Prahran, Lasagna Lab, Reverie Cafe, Rustica, Kookaburra's Canteen, OPPEN Cafe and Abacus have also made their own unique toasties that could see them win that $5000 prize. [caption id="attachment_963773" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Abacus[/caption] If you've got a favourite local business that you'd like to win an award, be sure to vote online during the first round before 12pm on Wednesday, July 10. Public voting for the finalists in each category then opens on Friday, July 12 and closes at 12pm on Friday, July 26. "We're ecstatic to announce the highly anticipated return of the Chapel Champion Awards to crown the best businesses our iconic strip has on offer," said Chapel Street Precinct Association General Manager Matt Lanigan. "Unlike the soulless shopping centres that litter Australia, Chapel Street prides itself on its individuality and unique assortment of businesses, many of which you can't find anywhere else in the country. "This makes crowning a select few as Chapel Champions so challenging, and with more than 100 new businesses launching since the 2022 awards, this year's competition is expected to be the biggest challenge yet." [caption id="attachment_961410" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Windsor Wine Room[/caption] The full list of categories includes: Best Toasted Sandwich Hair and Beauty Stay and Accommodation Cafe Restaurant Business Service Entertainment Venue Bar Retail Art Gyms and Fitness Health and Wellness Fashion Hidden Gems Customer Service Soul of Chapel [caption id="attachment_736968" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chapel Street Bazaar by Parker Blain.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_945738" align="alignnone" width="1920"] David's Prahran[/caption] [caption id="attachment_920570" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chapel off Chapel[/caption] You can vote in the 2024 Chapel Champion Awards via the Chapel Street Precinct Association's website. Top image: Lamb on Chapel.
Held every two months in the indoor comfort of Brunswick Town Hall, the Sisters' Market special December event aligns perfectly with the silly season and the desire to pamper your loved ones (or yourself) with locally made and ethically sourced creations. Splurge on handmade clothing, well-crafted jewellery and accessories, one-of-kind stationary, soy candles and delightful beauty treats and more. With only 60 stalls, this market has a spot of difference as all stallholders have been hand-picked by siblings Marianna Gentilin and Roberta Parisito to represent the values and philosophies of the homemade market. Unique stalls to watch out for include the buzzing sensation of Marzrian Queen Bee Jewellery who turns dead bees into stunning wearable works of art, and cute illustrations from the award-winning illustrator and author Elise Hurst. Another bonus is that the market is fully decked out with cash and card facilities saving you from pesky dashes to the ATM. Christmas shopping sorted.
Sydney will play host to the best bartenders in the world next year, when the 11th annual Diageo World Class Bartender of the Year Global Final heads Down Under. If you haven't heard of it, the competition pits the best bartenders from over 60 countries against each other. Apart from the main tournament, the competition includes a week-long festival of pop-ups, collaborations and tastings. So, while nothing has been announced just yet, expect Sydney to be buzzing with exciting one-off events come next spring. Launched in 2009, the competition boasts some notable local winners, including Bulletin Place's Tim Philips-Johansson (2012) and, most recently, Lûmé's Orlando Marzo (2018). This year's World Class, held in Glasgow, featured another Aussie finalist: Alex Boon — the lauded bar manager at the Melbourne instalment of The Speakeasy Group's famed Viking-inspired restaurant Mjolner. Bannie Kang of Singapore bar Antidote took out the top gong for 2019. [caption id="attachment_721694" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bulletin Place by Cesar Echeverri[/caption] The competition comes to Sydney at an exciting time, too, with Sydney's lockout laws set to be scrapped in the CBD early next year and the City of Sydney planning to introduce 24-hour trading in the area. The CBD is also home to an exciting lineup of new bars — including Maybe Sammy, Employees Only, Prince of York, Cantina OK! and Double Deuce Lounge — which have all opened in the last twelve months, and join world-class stalwarts like Bulletin Place, The Baxter Inn, The Lobo Plantation and PS40. The 11th annual Diego World Class Bartender of the Year Global Final will take place in Sydney in 2020. For more information and to stay up to date, head to the website. Top image: World Class 2018 winners, Orlando Marzo and Alex Boon.
Just when you thought IKEA had ruined enough relationships with its 'easy-to-follow' 'three-step' 'anyone-can-do-it' DIY furniture, they're now giving punters the opportunity to do it all again over dinner. The Swedish company will next week launch The Dining Club, a pop-up 'DIY' restaurant on London's Shoreditch High Street. If you're thinking a 'DIY restaurant' sounds a little suss — it is. It's like a restaurant in that there will be tables, chairs and food, but less like one in that you have to cook the meal yourself. There will be a sous chef and maître de on-hand to help out though. The whole thing is meant to allow punters to have "an intimate foodie experience in a homely kitchen environment", according to a statement on IKEA's website. Sittings will run for brunch, lunch and dinner, and will feature "a range of modern sharing dishes, including some Scandinavian classics" — which we'll take to mean meatballs will totally be on the menu. The whole experience — including the food, drinks and service — is free of charge but there's only 38 up for grabs in a ballot-like system. Hopeful hosts can register their interest (which includes dreaming up a creative answer to 'who would you invite?') and, if selected by the IKEA gods, can bring along 7-19 friends. Earlier this year IKEA announced it will finally launch an online store for Australian customers — so who knows, maybe a pop-up kitchen will be coming our way too? The Dining Club will run from September 10-25 at 3-10 Shoreditch High Street, London. If you're in London, you can register your interest for a booking at ikeathediningclub.com. Image: Jay Wennington.
Chances are that you've sipped a few brews within the historic Pentridge Prison precinct since Scotland's BrewDog opened the doors to its first Melbourne venue there in November. Well, now you've got an excuse to return to the heritage Coburg site for a spot of wine appreciation, with the launch of its newest drinking destination Olivine. Opening on Friday, April 14, this elegant wine bar marks the latest phase of the precinct's multimillion-dollar redevelopment, having carved out a chic home within the one-time cells of the prison's B Division. Boasting room for 100, Olivine is a dapper affair, complete with its own walk-in cellar door. The iconic bluestone walls lend a moodiness to the space, while a plush fitout by CHADA pulls together pops of turquoise and gold with deep green marble and a splash of velvet. Primed to be a serious wine-sipping destination, it's pouring a lineup of more than 500 bottles assembled by celebrated sommelier Liinaa Berry. The hard-copy list, dubbed The Book of Wine, is a hefty tome that's split handily into chapters, broken up by watercolour illustrations by local artist Elizabeth Nicholls. Olivine's vinous curation spans old-world and new-world styles alike, paying equal respect to emerging talent and established legends, and tripping right across the globe in the process. You'll find small-batch gems, unearth unsung heroes and get acquainted with some stellar international drops. And you'd best be prepared to walk away with some fresh knowledge and a few stories, too. Meanwhile, the bar's pouring a strong crop of craft spirits and a range of signature cocktails to round out the boozy fun. Olivine's food menu ensures some high-quality grazing to match your tipple of choice, running to plates like chicken liver parfait with brown butter tuille, pork fritters sided with a ravigote dressing, and tins of caviar served with smoked cream cheese. Scallop tarts are finished with dried tomato and dotted with a yuzu emulsion, while taramasalata and salmon roe accompany the potato rosti. And of course, you can bank on plenty of expert guidance when it comes to nailing that food and wine pairing. Find Olivine at 1 Pentridge Boulevard, Coburg, from Friday April 14. It'll open daily from 4pm–late.
Don't be fooled by the unchanged name — The Carlton Wine Room's had quite the shake-up, reopening today, Monday, February 26, with new owners, a new look and a revamped offering. At the helm is sommelier Travis Howe (Coda, Tonka) and McConnell group alum Andrew Joy, who's had his eye on the space since his days working across the road at the former Three, One, Two (which used to be in the space where The Town Mouse is now vacating). Now, the pair's stripped things back to create the kind of wine-focused haunt that begs to put on high rotation, with fresh, simple styling, an ever-evolving menu and the easygoing feel of a tried-and-true local. In the kitchen, John Paul Twomey (former head chef at Cutler & Co. and Gilson) is also keeping things simple with a pared-back menu of produce-driven modern Australian fare. It's a regularly changing lineup designed to work a treat alongside a glass or two of vino, from after-work snacking sessions to lazy weekend lunches. Fresh ingredients are the focus here, with a revolving pasta special showing off the best of each week's market haul. As for that wine list, it's a cracker, with a 100-bottle rotation Howe's sourced from all over the world. Throw in the option of BYO each Monday night and you've got yourself the makings of an instant neighbourhood favourite. The latest edition of The Carlton Wine Room opens today — Monday, February 26 — at 172–174 Faraday Street, Carlton. It's open midday till 11pm Thursday to Monday and 4–11pm Wednesday. For more info, visit thecarltonwineroom.com.au. Image: Google Street View.
