Fans of malatang will now find it even easier to get their hands on their favourite Sichuan-style street food, as local masters Dragon Hot Pot open the doors to two more Melbourne restaurants. Heroing the popular Chinese cuisine that's essentially a customised hot pot for one, Dragon has set up shop both at Box Hill Central's North Precinct and within QV Melbourne in the CBD. These follow current outposts on Russell Street, Elizabeth Street and Swanston Street in the city, as well as one in Glen Waverley, which have all opened within the past year. The hot pot newcomers are offering the same pick-and-mix scenario as their siblings: diners select fresh ingredients from over 100 different options, with each choice priced at $3.20 per 100 grams. You'll need to clock in at a minimum of 400 grams — though, with a dizzying array of meat, noodles, seafood, offal, tofu and fresh veggies, that's probably not going to be a hard task. To match the wide range of add-ons, Dragon Hot Pot offers five different flavour-packed base stocks, including the signature Ma La Tang number, a thick, rich stock made to an ancient Sichuan recipe, cooked with over 24 varieties of wild herb sourced from China's Mount Emei. Of course, diners also have a choice of spiciness, with four levels ranging from mild, to the fiery 'dragon hot'. Found yourself hooked? Luckily, Dragon Hot Pot offers 24-hour service at its Russell Street outpost, and plans to roll it out at all of its CBD spots — QV included — by the end of 2019. Find Dragon Hot Pot's newest restaurants at FC54 Box Hill Central North, 17-21 Market Street, Box Hill, and Shop 27-01, QV, 210 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. Images: Griffin Simm.
On Northcote's main High Street strip, burger joints have been few and far between. So there are sure to be a few locals happy about the arrival of its new burger-flipping resident, 300 Grams. Especially since the store is celebrating its launch by handing out a stack of freebies. Making its home next door to the Northcote Social Club, this newcomer is from the same minds behind Port Melbourne fish shop D'Lish. And, while it officially opens its doors on Monday, September 16, the real fun comes with the Grand Opening Giveaway on Thursday, September 19. The new 300 Grams will be showing off its Hot Black-designed space, while handing out unlimited free vegan burgers, fried chicken burgers and cheeseburgers between 4 and 7pm. You'll also be able to pick up one of 400 free cans of Remedy kombucha, too. The 300 Grams menu features seven signature options — from a plant-based number with fried mushrooms to the namesake 300 Gs with a beef patty, cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickles and the house special '300 sauce'. The kitchen's also whipping up extras like sweet potato fries, cauliflower bites and a range of vegan sundaes made with coconut water-based soft serve. 300 Grams is giving away unlimited free burgers from 4–7pm.
Opening this November, a historical event 3000 years in the making is coming to Sydney's Australian Museum. Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs will be an unmissable exhibition for any lover of history, arts and culture. As the name suggests, the exhibition profiles Pharaoh Ramses II, often referred to as Ramses the Great. So great in fact was Ramses, that in his 90-plus years of life he held the second-longest reign of all Pharaohs, a ruler so respected that many of his subjects feared the world would end when he died in 1213 BCE. The world kept turning but Ramses II left a permanent mark on Egypt — nine future pharaohs would be his namesake out of respect. And statues and artefacts from his reign still exist today — including the 181 objects bound for this exhibition comprising sarcophagi, animal mummies, royal masks, jewellery, amulets and other golden items from the ruler's tomb. Chief among them is the sarcophagi (royal coffin) that Ramses himself was entombed in on its first tour outside of Egypt. Many of these objects have never left Egypt before, let alone landed on Australian shores, with the entire collection loaned and supported by the Egyptian government. You can also upgrade your ticket to include a multisensory VR experience, allowing you to step inside two of the most significant structures from the era — the tomb of Queen Nefertari and the temples of Abu Simbel. Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs opens on Saturday, November 18 and will run until Sunday, May 19, 2024. For more information or to book tickets, visit the Australian Museum website.
If there's one thing that Ben & Jerry's loves above all else, it's the obvious: ice cream in a huge array of ridiculously named flavours. It's the brand behind Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia, Phish Food and The Tonight Dough — and has been responsible for Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yoghurt, Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream and Schweddy Balls, too. And, once a year to the delight of your sweet treat-loving tastebuds, it loves giving away free scoops just as much. Indeed, to share its wares with the masses for nix, these frozen confection masterminds gave the world Free Cone Day, which is exactly what it sounds like — a day where your ice cream is on the house. It ran annually until the pandemic, then took a break for obvious reasons. And on Monday, April 3, it's finally back for the first time since 2019. Here's how it works: if you adore ice cream as much as Ben & Jerry's adores ice cream, then you just need to hit up your local participating store between 12–8pm AEST. You can choose whichever flavour you like, and you can also line up for a free cone as many times as you like within that eight-hour period. Free Cone Day is happening Australia-wide — worldwide, too, in more than 35 countries — at both Ben & Jerry's Scoop Stores and its Hoyts outlets. In New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, that means hitting up Manly, Bondi Beach, Newtown and Parramatta, plus cinemas in Blacktown, Wetherill Park, Penrith, Broadway, Phillip and Belconnen. Victorians have St Kilda and Burwood East stores, and Hoyts venues in Melbourne Central, Docklands, Ringwood, Chadstone, Greensborough, Maribyrnong and Ringwood to choose from. If you're in Queensland, head to South Brisbane, Broadbeach Waters, Burleigh Heads, Gold Coast, Mooloolaba, Noosa Heads and Cairns, or Hoyts Sunnybank. In Western Australia, Fremantle, Hillarys and Northbridge Scoop Shops are taking part, plus Karrinyup and Cannington cinemas. And in South Australia, Hoyts Norwood is your destination. Free Cone Day runs from 12–8pm on Monday, April 3, 2023 at Ben & Jerry's Australian stores. Head to the brand's website for further details.
Kitty Green doesn't just direct films that demand attention; she makes movies where paying the utmost notice to small moments and details couldn't be more pivotal. With her 2013 debut Ukraine Is Not a Brothel, she deployed her documentarian's eye to explore protest group Femen with revealing and probing intimacy. With 2017's bold and unforgettable Casting JonBenet, Green honed in on the minutiae that can swirl around a crime — especially when true crime has become its own genre, sparking non-stop theories even decades later — all while structuring her picture around holding auditions for a film about the infamous case that shares the feature's name. The Melbourne-born filmmaker moved into fiction with 2019's The Assistant, and now stays there with The Royal Hotel. The shift has still seen Green unpacking reality. The Assistant is a #MeToo movie set in a film production company's office where sexual harassment at its head honcho's hands has become distressingly normalised. The Royal Hotel sprang to life after Green watched Australian documentary Hotel Coolgardie, about two Finnish women encountering the worst of Australia's drinking culture while working in Western Australia's Denver City Hotel, with the director then inspired to dramatise the situation. Diving into insidious everyday horrors in topical thrillers: that's Green's fictional niche right now, even with both The Assistant and The Royal Hotel born from facts. Getting three-time Ozark Emmy-winner Julia Garner playing women confronted with problematic gender dynamics and power imbalances in ominous spaces is also her current terrain — as is peering as closely and intently as Green can. "People keep asking about how my background in documentary helps, and I'm not sure it does really," Green tells Concrete Playground about taking her cues from Hotel Coolgardie this time around, and how her time making docos factors in. "I mean, I think maybe it affects what I watch and my references, and what sort of inspires me." "I really like the close stuff. I like movies that are about these tiny moments. That's something you can't really do in documentaries, because have to stay wide because you don't know what will happen. But with a fiction film, you can really hone in on a facial expression or gesture or a glance — these kinds of little moments that can make you know that a woman in that space feels very uncomfortable, but often get missed by the environment at large. So I was able to amplify those moments with a fiction film." The Assistant spends a day in the life of Garner's Jane, lingering claustrophobically in her New York workplace as the junior staffer navigates the impact of her boss' actions, as well as the hostilities engrained in the industry for women in general. The Royal Hotel finds its terrors in an outback pub where backpackers man the bar, with Garner's Hanna and Jessica Henwick's (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) Liv the latest arrivals at the titular mining-town watering hole. In both, unsettling men surround young women doing a job, with The Royal Hotel's male cast reading like a who's who of Australian talent. In her first Aussie-made feature, Green enlists Hugo Weaving (Love Me) as the pub proprietor, with Toby Wallace (Babyteeth), James Frecheville (The Dry) and Daniel Henshall (Mystery Road: Origin) among the regulars. "It's been good to have it back home," Green explains of the film, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, also played Toronto and London, then opened the first-ever SXSW Sydney Screen Festival and the 2023 Adelaide Film Festival. "Honestly, we screened it in the US, in Canada, in Spain and in the UK, and I feel like while they seem to really enjoy it and it seemed to play really well, I think it there's an element, a lot of kind of nuances, that they miss. There's a lot of Australian humour that they don't really pick up on over there." With The Royal Hotel now showing in Aussie cinemas — and The Assistant a must-see since it first arrived a few years back — we spoke to Green about taking inspiration not only from Hotel Coolgardie, how her two fictional features pair well together and the importance of casting, as well as adopting a female perspective on Australia's drinking culture, working Kylie Minogue's 'The Locomotion' onto the soundtrack and the hope to do a third film with Garner. ON BEING INSPIRED TO MAKE THE ROYAL HOTEL AFTER WATCHING HOTEL COOLGARDIE "I was just immediately struck by Hotel Coolgardie, and just the dynamics at play in it. And I had seen Australian drinking culture on film before, but I haven't seen it through the eyes of two young women, foreign women, who didn't understand the rules of it and were trying to make sense of it. So that to me was really interesting and great territory for a film to take place. It became the jumping off point for our screenplay. I worked with co-writer Oscar Redding (Van Diemen's Land), who lives in regional Australia. The two of us threw around a lot of the dialogue and figured it out that way. But mostly it's based on our own experiences of being in pubs and seeing things happen, and stories our friends told us. You basically soak a bunch of things up, it sits in your brain, and then you figure out what you want to use, and what's fun and what works, and what adds to the tension. It's definitely never one thing. It's all come from a few different places, I think." ON THE ROYAL HOTEL'S PARALLELS WITH THE ASSISTANT "You always want a challenge with the next project you take on, but I also liked the idea that I could work with Julia again. It was something I knew could work in a similar way — that is, a character trying to make sense of her environment. But with The Royal Hotel, everything is up. Everything is wilder and weirder and stranger — a lot more noise and craziness. So it was a fun challenge to take on." ON RETEAMING WITH JULIA GARNER FOR THE SECOND FILM IN A ROW "We worked really well together on The Assistant. And often we don't get the biggest budgets in the world, so we have to work quite quickly. So there's a shorthand that we have, we have this ability to communicate — you don't have to discuss things at length. We get each other, in a way, so that really works. So I was hoping to work with her again, and this project, when I saw Hotel Coolgardie, I was like 'ohh this could be a role for Julia which is interesting to me' — putting her in that environment was interesting to me. So yeah, it just fit. I dragged her out here, and she did it, which was great. She was excited about the project. I think landing here, we drove them [Garner and Henwick] straight out to the middle of nowhere, and I think they were a bit freaked out for a moment there. We kind of had to live the movie a little bit. We put them up in pubs nearby our shooting location, so they really had the full experience — which, I think they had a great time, but it took them a second just feel comfortable in the place and figure out who the people were. Yeah, it took a minute, but they really, honestly, they had such a good time, the two of them. They were so happy." [caption id="attachment_927983" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Royal Hotel[/caption] ON CASTING THE ROYAL HOTEL'S MEN "The set was a pretty warm and loving place. When you call cut, it feels very safe. That was something we intentionally tried to create, which was making sure we cast the right men, essentially, to play those roles — who understood the sensitivity of the material. I think we got the right people and it was able to feel good for everyone. We wanted them all to feel a little different. We wanted them all to have their own energy. They all bring something something different. And they're all wonderful and warm and kind lovely people, which was great, too. We knew we needed someone cheeky and young to play Mattie, and Toby Wallace was available and a sweetheart, and understood what we're trying to do. Then James [Frecheville], I'd loved in Animal Kingdom, so it was exciting to get to work with him. And Dan [Henshall] was in Snowtown and was absolutely terrifying, so I knew that he could deliver in terms of Dolly. We have fun with that because I think Australians come to it with that understanding. Americans don't, but they still find him really intense. He's not like that in real life, though. Somehow we convinced them all to say yes, and put ourselves together a lovely group." ON SEEING AUSTRALIA DIFFERENTLY BY EXPLORING THE OUTBACK AND COUNTRY'S DRINKING CULTURE THROUGH THE EYES OF WOMEN "That became the agenda, I guess, in a way, but it wasn't a political thing. It was more just this is a story I want to tell, and this is something I have experienced in ways, and it felt real and it felt honest. It was about getting the right collaborators who understand what you're doing. I know that when we were pitching it around, people wanted more violence, they wanted Wolf Creek, but we weren't going to give them that. You have to just find the right partners that understand the project, and the mission statement, and once you've got the right collaborators, it should fall into place, really, from there." ON AVOIDING TURNING HANNA AND LIV'S EXPERIENCES INTO WOLF CREEK "We were looking at the type of behaviour that's the entry point for sexual violence — like how do we prevent it from ever getting to that point? And so the film is about trying to figure out when you can speak up for yourself, when you can say no before the behaviour crosses the line — just when it's dancing on the line. So the aim of it is to prevent that sort of behaviour from ever happening. If we can be a little more responsive a little earlier, then maybe we can create safer spaces for everyone. Essentially, this is the conversation that we want to have." ON PUTTING THE ROYAL HOTEL'S AUDIENCE IN HANNA'S SHOES "That's what they do really have to. They do that with The Assistant, too. I think a lot of these, it's about the behaviour that gets missed in big spaces like that where there's a lot going on. It can be someone creepy, but other people wouldn't really notice it — but Hanna's character would. So it's giving audiences a glimpse of what it's like to be that person behind the bar who's a little worried and feeling a little uncomfortable and not sure how to express it." [caption id="attachment_927984" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Royal Hotel[/caption] ON A QUINTESSENTIAL AUSSIE PUB AS A SETTING, BACKDROPPED BY THE AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPE "When you're coming to a project, it's about what's the right environment for some drama and some tension, and I think an Aussie pub is a great one. Not only is it for the interior of this pub, and the claustrophobia of it and all these men — there's 60 miners in that pub and two young women serving them, just that kind of dynamic is interesting to me — but also the exteriors, and this idea that they're in the middle of nowhere in the remote setting adding to that tension, and the isolation making it feel a little terrifying. It just was a really great starting point for a story. The isolation really adds to the tension. It's nice to keep a lot of the action in the bar, and to feel that claustrophobia of being kind of trapped in there. But also the idea, that even though they're not claustrophobic outside, it's somehow just as terrifying but for very different reasons. The contrast of the two spaces was really interesting to play around with. I haven't made an Australian film since film school, so it was nice, if I'm going to make an Australian film, to take advantage of the uniqueness of the landscape and play around with that." ON GETTING KYLIE MINOGUE'S 'THE LOCOMOTION' ON THE SOUNDTRACK "It was about going 'if you're going to teach some foreigners about Australia, where do you begin?'. And so Kylie Minogue, swimming in a water hole, seeing a kangaroo — ticking a few of those boxes." ON POTENTIALLY MAKING A THIRD FILM WITH GARNER TO ROUND OUT A THEMATIC TRILOGY "We would love to do a third one. We've just got to figure out what that should look like and how to get that done, and how to make sure it's a little different. If we're going do it again, we need to play around with it. I mean, hopefully we get to get a chance to do it. It'd be great to work with Julia again." ON WHAT GETS GREEN EXCITED ABOUT A PROJECT "It has to feel like something — often it's something like a gut instinct, and it's something that I feel in my bones, like a story that needs to be told. And often it's because I haven't seen it elsewhere, or it's something that I want say. With The Assistant, we were looking at the larger picture — the news was focusing on Harvey Weinstein and we were saying that we want to look at something wider, like at the systemic problem, sexism in the industry, and how that creates an unsafe workspace and contributes to all of that sexual violence. So then with The Royal Hotel, it was looking at, I guess, just looking at my own discomfort in some of those spaces and how we can voice our concerns a little more, and kind of ripping that apart. Generally, it's just something that gets me interested in something [where] I feel like 'oh, I want to say something here'. That's the starting point, and then there's a lot of people involved. It takes a village to get a movie to the screen, so it changes as it goes, but often I go in with the kernel of an idea that I think is interesting." The Royal Hotel opened in Australian cinemas in November 23. Read our review. Images: Neon / Transmission / See-Saw Films.
It's time to break out those picnic rugs 'cause The Peninsula Picnic is back for its annual celebration of food, wine and good times. Taking over the Mornington Racecourse on Saturday, March 30, this year's lineup promises to be as impressive as ever, showcasing the region's finest epicurean delights, alongside a rather nifty musical offering. Showing off their goods on the day — and ensuring bellies and wine glasses stay happily full — will be a hand-picked selection of local producers. Expect offerings from renowned wineries like T'Gallent, Quealy and Prancing Horse, and dining hot-spots like Jackalope Hotel's Rare Hare, Max's Restaurant, Green Olive and Montalto. There'll also be brews from Wild Yak and cocktails from Pimm's, plus a series of wine masterclasses and market stalls. Topping it all off, The Peninsula Picnic has landed a cracking lineup of live tunes, headlined by Sydney band The Rubens. The five-piece rockers — who've just dropped their third album Lo La Ru — will be joined by loved Aussie singer Sarah Blasko, alt-indie artist Tia Gostelow, emerging local act Fraser A Gordon and Latin music performers San Lazaro.
Australia's hospitality scene has endured a tough couple of years, cycling through lockdowns, restrictions and stints where almost everyone in town seemed to be in isolation. But for diners keen for restaurant dishes without heading out, Providoor arrived with some sweet relief: an innovative new meal delivery platform that hit Sydney and Melbourne in 2020, and Brisbane earlier in 2022. Even now that being mandated to stay at home is a thing of the past, the service can still give you an eating-out level meal without leaving the house — and, as of Monday, October 17, on the same day that you order. Don't like planning too far ahead? As long as you place an order by 1pm daily, you'll be tucking into restaurant dishes in your own dining room that very evening. You do need to live within 15–20 kilometres of the city centre; however, if that's you, you can now enjoy a same-day feast from spots such as Manta, Gourmet Life and Lotus in Sydney; The Everleigh, Lona Misa and Maha in Melbourne; and Phoenix, Naim and Siffredi's in Brisbane. Providoor works with some of each city's best dining institutions, stepping up the takeout game by dropping high-end dishes to customers' doorsteps. The brainchild of Maha Chef-Owner Shane Delia, it drops off its chef-prepared meals via cold-freight within its service area. Then, once the dish is in your kitchen, you'll follow the supplied instructions to add the finishing touches: heating up a red pepper sauce, perhaps, popping some brisket in the oven for its final minutes of cooking or getting crafty with the plating up process. After that, voila! — the end result is a pretty close replica of what might arrive at your restaurant table, hot off the pass. No soggy dumplings or lukewarm potato in sight. "We are delighted to be able to expand the remit of Providoor's mission by offering same-day delivery to our customers. Our aim has always been to help the hospitality industry by opening new avenues of sales, and same-day delivery does just that by increasing consumer convenience," said Delia. "With this update, diners can take meal planning out of consideration, and simply decide what they feel like on the day, straight from the menus of their favourite restaurants." The lineup of venues taking part is impressive — and broader delivery areas include Sydney Metro, regional New South Wales including the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Newcastle and Wollongong, and Byron Bay and Tweed Heads in NSW; Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula, Bellarine Peninsula, Gippsland, Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and greater Geelong in Victoria; and Brisbane Metro, Gold Coast, Noosa, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba in Queensland. Providoor has also updated its website so that you can only see restaurants relevant to where you are, and also filter dishes according to dietary requirements, allergens and preparation time. For more information about Providoor, or to order via the service, head to its website.
Legendary Sydney crew Mary's opened its debaucherous Melbourne burger bar earlier this year, then COVID-19 happened and it had to close its doors to punters for a while. Sure, you could get it delivered, but you missed out on the good times that got served up alongside your burgers and fries. Well, come Thursday June 4, the boys are back — and you can bet they're celebrating. Co-owners Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham know that lots of Aussies have had their salaries reduced during the crisis, so they're temporarily reducing the price of food at five Mary's venues. From Thursday, June 4 till Wednesday, June 10, you can get 30 percent off burgers, chook and mash at Mary's Melbourne outpost — as well as four Sydney venues— with the deal valid for sit-in meals as well as for takeaway and via Deliveroo. Expect favourites such as the Mary's burger, the fried chook and the much-loved mash and gravy, plus the full vegan menu being dished up for a fraction of the usual cost. The brand's grungy, rock 'n' roll attitude will be alive and well, too. And it would be rude not to at least glance at the top-notch, very fun wine list. Images: Kitti Gould and Mary's
Long-standing Brunswick East haunt The B.East is known for its hefty burgers, rock 'n' roll and good times aplenty. And that should give you some idea of what to expect when its brand-new sibling dances into Fitzroy this week. The B.East of Brunswick Street makes its official debut on February 18, but you're invited to help christen the space across four huge days of opening celebrations, from Thursday, February 20, to Sunday, February 23. Across the weekend, expect a smorgasbord of DJs — including 3RRR's Annaliese Replica, Northside Records' Chris Gill and Bone Soup DJs — while the new kitchen struts its stuff with a raft of tasty specials. Think, $10 cheeseburgers all day Thursday, $2 classic and vego burgers from 12–4pm on Friday and all-day $10 recovery burgers to help your Sunday run smoothly. From 6pm on Friday, you can try your luck at nabbing $3 tinnies in a heads or tails 'Toss The Boss' coin toss, while on February 22, that competitive streak can get a work out in The B.East of Brunswick Beer Pong League. Throw in a few $2 margaritas for World Margarita Day on Saturday (6–9pm), and $10 bloody marys and caesars matched with some free pool on Sunday and you've got yourself one heck of a welcome party.
If Christmas has snuck up on you as it has us, you're in luck, because Melbourne Quarter has you covered with a lineup of fun events this season to take some of the pressure off. That's right, Season's Eatings is here to add that extra sprinkle of joy to your December days, running from Monday, December 4 to Thursday, December 15. And guess what? It's all free, though some events are ticketed with limited spots — so get your RSVP in quick. Kick off the festivities on Monday, December 4, by popping in to see Melbourne Quarter's festive decorations, crafted by local artist Justine McAllister. Then, on Tuesday, December 5, start your morning the right way by heading to Peddler Espresso and nabbing yourself a free coffee and mini danish. As the week progresses, your tastebuds are in for a treat with Royal Stacks' slider-tasting lunch on Wednesday, December 6, featuring mini versions of its most popular burgers plus fries and live DJ tunes. And if you're craving a bit of Italian flair, Saluministi's pop-up on Thursday, December 7, offers the perfect opportunity to chat with founders Peter Mastro and Frank Bressi while munching on their famous panini and cannoli. There's more. Fishbowl's latest 'Street Food' menu offerings await you on Wednesday, December 13, in the form of a VIP lunch. And to wrap up, Sergy Boy is hosting a pretty damn sweet happy hour deal on Thursday, December 14, from 4.30pm to 6.30pm, with a free drink on arrival, and all drinks half-price thereafter. So, gather your mates, or make some new ones, and enjoy the festivities at one of Melbourne's newest hang-out spots. See you at Melbourne Quarter. To RSVP to events and see the full program, head to the Melbourne Quarter website.
Before the pandemic, when a new-release movie started playing in cinemas, audiences couldn't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the past few years forcing film industry to make quite a few changes — widespread movie theatre closures and plenty of people staying home in iso will do that — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you've had a close-contact run-in. 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 simply missed something. Film distributors have been fast-tracking some of their new releases from cinemas to streaming recently — movies that might still be playing in theatres in some parts of the country, too. In preparation for your next couch session, here are 14 that you can watch right now at home. X In new slasher standout X, the eponymous letter doesn't simply mark a spot; it isn't by accident that the film takes its moniker from the classification given to the most violent and pornographic movies made. This is a horror flick set amid a porn shoot, after all, and it heartily embraces the fact that people like to watch from the get-go. Swaggering producer Wayne (Martin Henderson, The Gloaming), aspiring starlet Maxine Minx (Mia Goth, Emma), old-pro fellow actors Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow, Pitch Perfect 3) and Jackson Hole (Scott Mescudi, Don't Look Up), and arty director RJ (Owen Campbell, The Miseducation of Cameron Post) and his girlfriend/sound recorder Lorraine (Jenna Ortega, doing triple horror duty in 2022 so far in Scream, Studio 666 and now this) are counting on that truth to catapult themselves to fame. Hailing from Houston and aroused at the idea of repeating Debbie Does Dallas' success, they're heading out on the road to quieter climes to make the skin flick they're staking their futures on, and they desperately hope there's an audience. X is set in the 70s, as both the home-entertainment pornography market and big-screen slashers were beginning to blossom. As a result, it's similarly well aware that sex and death are cinema's traditional taboos, and that they'll always be linked. That's art imitating life, because sex begets life and life begets death, but rare is the recent horror movie that stresses the connection so explicitly yet playfully. Making those links is Ti West, the writer/director responsible for several indie horror gems over the past decade or so — see: cult favourites The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers — and thrusting a smart, savage and salacious delight towards his viewers here. Yes, he could've gone with The Texas Porn-Shoot Massacre for the feature's title, but he isn't remaking the obvious seminal piece of genre inspiration. X is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. C'MON C'MON The last time that Joaquin Phoenix appeared in cinemas, he played an overlooked and unheard man. "You don't listen, do you?" Arthur Fleck asked his social worker, and the entirety of Joker — and of Phoenix's magnetic Oscar-winning performance as the Batman foe in the 2019 film, too — provided the obvious answer. Returning to the big screen in a feature that couldn't be more different to his last, Phoenix now plays a professional listener. A radio journalist and podcaster who'd slide in seamlessly alongside Ira Glass on America's NPR, Johnny's niche is chatting with children. Travelling around the country from his New York base, C'mon C'mon's protagonist seeks thoughts about life, hopes, dreams, the future and the world in general, but never in a Kids Say the Darndest Things-type fashion. As Phoenix's sensitive, pensive gaze conveys under the tender guidance of Beginners and 20th Century Women filmmaker Mike Mills, Johnny truly and gratefully hears what his young interviewees utter. Phoenix is all gentle care, quiet understanding and rippling melancholy as Johnny. All naturalism and attentiveness as well, he's also firmly at his best, no matter what's inscribed on his Academy Award. Here, Phoenix is as phenomenal as he was in his career highlight to-date, aka the exceptional You Were Never Really Here, in a part that again has his character pushed out of his comfort zone by a child. C'mon C'mon's Johnny spends his days talking with kids, but that doesn't mean he's equipped to look after his nine-year-old nephew Jesse (Woody Norman, The War of the Worlds) in Los Angeles when his sister Viv (Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent) needs to assist her husband Paul (Scoot McNairy, A Quiet Place Part II) with his mental health. Johnny and Viv haven't spoken since their mother died a year earlier, and Johnny has previously overstepped when it comes to Paul — with the siblings' relationship so precarious that he barely knows Jesse — but volunteering to help is his immediate reflex. C'mon C'mon is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE BATMAN When The Batman begins (not to be confused with Batman Begins), it's with the slaying of a powerful Gotham figure. A shocking crime that scandalises the city, it leaves a traumatised boy behind, and couldn't be more influential in the detective-style tale of blood and vengeance that follows. But viewers haven't seen this story before, despite appearances. It isn't the start of pop culture's lonesome billionaire orphan's usual plight, although he's there, all dressed in black, and has an instant affinity for the sorrowful kid. Behold the first standout feat achieved by this excellent latest take on the Dark Knight (not to be confused with The Dark Knight): realising that no one needs to see Bruce Wayne's parents meet their end for what'd feel like the millionth time. The elder Waynes are still dead, and have been for two decades. Bruce (Robert Pattinson, Tenet) still festers with pain over their loss. And the prince of Gotham still turns vigilante by night, cleaning up the lawless streets one no-good punk at a time with only trusty butler Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis, Long Shot) in on his secret. As directed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes' Matt Reeves, and co-scripted with The Unforgivable's Peter Craig, The Batman clocks something crucial about its namesake and the audiences that watch him, however. The caped crusader's every move stems from his inescapable grief as always, but no one has to witness its origins yet again to glean why he's become the conflicted protector of his anarchic city. Instead, here he's overtly anguished, upset, broken, broiling with hurt and working his way through those feelings in each affray — a suave, smooth and slick one-percenter playboy in his downtime, he isn't — and it's a more absorbing version of the character than seen in many of the past Bat flicks that've fluttered through cinemas. The Batman is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. DRIVE MY CAR Inspired by Haruki Murakami's short story of the same name, Drive My Car's setup couldn't be simpler. Still recovering from a personal tragedy, actor and director Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima, Silent Tokyo) agrees to helm a stage version of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima — but the company behind it insists on giving him a chauffeur for the duration of his stay. He declines, yet they contend it is mandatory for insurance and liability reasons, so Misaki (Toko Miura, Spaghetti Code Love) becomes a regular part of his working stint in the city. Friendship springs, slowly and gradually, but Murakami's name is one of the first signs that this won't follow a standard road. The other: Japanese filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, who makes layered, thoughtful and probing reflections upon connection, as seen in his other efforts Happy Hour, Asako I & II and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy. Drive My Car doesn't hurry to its narrative destination, clocking in at a minute shy of three hours, but it's a patient, engrossing and rewarding trip. It's a gorgeously shot and affectingly performed one, too, whether taking to the road, spending time with its central pair, or chronicling Yusuke's involving auditions and rehearsals. Another thing that Hamaguchi does disarmingly well: ponder possibilities and acceptance, two notions that echo through both Yusuke and Misaki's tales, and resonate with that always-winning combination of specificity and universality. Drive My Car is intimate and detailed about every element of its on-screen voyage and its character studies, and also a road map to soulful, relatable truths. Drive My Car is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. DOG Like pouring kibble into a bowl for a hungry pooch each morning, Dog is dutiful with the basics: a man, a mutt, an odd-couple arrangement between seeming opposites with more in common than the human among them first thinks, and an emotional journey. Turner & Hooch-esque comedic hijinks ensue along the way, naturally, although that Tom Hanks-starring 80s flick didn't involve anyone getting cock-blocked from having a threesome with two tantric sex gurus by its four-legged scamp. Given that Channing Tatum's (Free Guy) Jackson Briggs needs to take Belgian Malinois Lulu 1500 miles from Montana to Arizona by car — she won't fly — Dog is also a road-trip film, complete with episodic antics involving weed farmers and fancy hotels at its pitstops. That's all so standard that it may as well be cinema's best friend, but this flick also reckons with combat-induced post-traumatic stress disorder of both the human and animal kind, and ideas of masculinity and strength attached to military service. When Briggs is introduced by co-director Tatum and his fellow helmer/screenwriter Reid Carolin (who penned Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL), he's working in fast food by necessity — think Breaking Bad's fate for Saul Goodman, with Tatum even channelling the same stoic demeanour — as he waits to get redeployed. All he wants is to head back on active duty, but his higher-ups need convincing after the brain injury he received on his last tour. Still, his direct superior (Luke Forbes, SWAT) throws him a bone: if Briggs escorts Lulu to their former squad member's funeral, after he drove himself into a tree at 120 miles per hour, he'll sign off on his re-enlistment. Lulu has also been changed by her service, so much so that this'll be her last hurrah. Afterwards, Briggs is to return her to the nearest base where she'll be euthanised; however, the bond that springs between the two throws a bone into that distressing plan. Dog is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review. BERGMAN ISLAND Each filmmaker walks in the shadows of all who came before them — and as the cinema's history lengthens, so will those penumbras. With Bergman Island, French director Mia Hansen-Løve doesn't merely ponder that idea; she makes it the foundation of her narrative, as well a launching pad for a playful and resonant look at love, work and creativity. Her central couple, both filmmakers, literally tread in the footsteps of the great Ingmar Bergman. Visiting Fårö, the island off Sweden's southeastern coast that he called home and his base, Chris (Vicky Krieps, Old) and Tony Sanders (Tim Roth, The Misfits) couldn't escape his imprint if they wanted to. They don't, of course, as they're searching for as much inspiration as they can find; however, the idea of being haunted by people and their creations soon spills over to Chris' work. These Fårö escapades only fill half of the movie, because Bergman Island also brings Chris' budding screenplay to life. There, fellow filmmaker Amy (Mia Wasikowska, Blackbird) visits an island, too — dancing to ABBA and crossing paths with her ex Joseph (The Worst Person in the World's Anders Danielsen Lie). That tumultuous relationship is as bedevilled by other art and the past as Chris' quest to put pen to paper. And, via the film-within-a-film concept, there's a sense of mirroring that couldn't spring any firmer from Bergman himself. That said, the end result is as savvy and soulful as anything on Hansen-Løve's resume (including the stellar Eden and Things to Come) — and, due to Krieps and Wasikowska, as exceptionally acted. Bergman Island is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. FLEE When Flee won the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, it collected its first accolade. The wrenchingly affecting animated documentary hasn't stopped notching up deserving acclaim since. A spate of other gongs have come its way, in fact, including a history-making trifecta of nominations for Best International Feature, Best Documentary and Best Animated Feature at this year's Oscars, becoming the first picture to ever earn nods in all three categories at once. Mere minutes into watching, it's easy to glean why this moving and compassionate movie keeps garnering awards and attention. Pairing animation with factual storytelling is still rare enough that it stands out, but that blend alone isn't what makes Flee special. Writer/director Jonas Poher Rasmussen (What He Did) has created one of the best instances of the combination yet — a feature that could only have the impact it does by spilling its contents in such a way, like Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir before it — however, it's the tale he shares and the care with which he tells it that makes this something unshakeably exceptional. Rasmussen's subject is Amin Nawabi, an Afghan refugee using a pseudonym. As his story fills Flee's frames, it's also plain to see why it can only be told through animation. Indeed, the film doesn't cover an easy plight — or a unique one, sadly — but Rasmussen renders every detail not just with eye-catching imagery, but with visuals that flow with empathy at every moment. The filmmaker's protagonist is a friend of his and has been for decades, and yet no one, not even the director himself, had ever previously heard him step through the events that the movie chronicles. Amin is now in his 40s, but he was once a kid in war-torn Kabul, then a teenager seeking asylum in Copenhagen. His life to-date has cast him in other roles in other countries, too, on his journey to house-hunting with his boyfriend as he chats through the ups and downs for his pal. Flee is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. CYRANO Love can spring quickly, igniting sparks instantly. Or, it can build gradually and gracefully, including over a lifetime. It can be swift and bold like a lightning strike, too, or it can linger, evolve and swell like a gentle breeze. In the sumptuous confines of Cyrano, the newest period piece from Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement and Anna Karenina), all of the above happens. The latest adaptation of Edmond Rostand's 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac, this time as a musical via playwright Erica Schmidt's own song-filled on-stage version, lends its attention to two men who've fallen for the plucky Roxanne (Haley Bennett, Hillbilly Elegy) in opposite ways. Charming soldier Christian de Neuvillette (Kelvin Harrison Jr, The Trial of the Chicago 7) gets the fast-and-infatuated experience, while the movie's namesake (Peter Dinklage, I Care a Lot), a poet also handy in battle, has ached for his childhood pal for as long as he can remember. Roxanne's two suitors make a chalk-and-cheese pair, with their contrasting approaches to matters of the heart — specifically, to winning her heart and helping ensure that she doesn't have to marry the rich and ruthless De Guiche (Ben Mendelsohn, The Outsider) to secure her future — driving much of Cyrano's drama. Also present and accounted for, as all takes on the tale have included (see also: 80s rom-com Roxanne with Steve Martin, the Gérard Depardieu-starring Cyrano de Bergerac, 90s rom-com The Truth About Cats & Dogs with Uma Thurman and Janeane Garofalo, plus recent Netflix teen flicks Sierra Burgess Is a Loser and The Half of It): insecurities about appearance, a way with words and a ghostwriting gambit. Short in stature given Dinklage's casting, Cyrano can't even dream that Roxanne could love him. But he wants her to be happy above all else and knows that she's smitten with Christian, so he secretly lends his romantic rival his letter-penning abilities to help woo her by lyrical prose. Cyrano is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. STUDIO 666 As the drummer for Nirvana and the frontman for Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl doesn't have many mixed bags on his resume. The music superstar has been in the spotlight for three-plus decades now, and boasts success after success to his name, complete with a list of awards and hits bound to make almost everyone else in the industry envious. But all their lives, Grohl and his fellow Foos must've dreamt of being horror movie stars — and the result, the pandemic-shot Studio 666, shouldn't entice any of them to quit their day jobs. A haunted-house horror-comedy, this rockstar lark is gonzo, gory and extremely goofy. It's a clear bit of fun for everyone involved, and it's made with overflowing love for the genre it slips into and parodies. But it's an indulgent and stretched exercise in famous folks following their whims at times like these, too. Achievement unlocked: there's Grohl's mixed bag. Studio 666's setup revolves around Grohl, now-late drummer Taylor Hawkins, guitarists Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear, bassist Nate Mendel and keyboardist Rami Jaffee packing their bags for a live-in recording session at an Encino mansion. As the movie's 1993-set prologue shows, their temporary new home has a dark past, after the last group that inhabited the spot met bloody ends; however, ignorance is bliss for the Foo Fighters. Actually, an obligation to deliver their tenth album to their overbearing manager (Jeff Garlin, Curb Your Enthusiasm) inspires the move, as does the band's creative lull in conjuring up the record otherwise. Grohl instantly falls for the sound of the space as well, to an unhinged degree, and his bandmates begrudgingly agree to the month-long stay to make musical magic happen. Recording an album doesn't usually spark The Evil Dead-style murderous mayhem, cursed book and all, but that's Studio 666's gambit. Studio 666 is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. UNCHARTED Some movies sport monikers so out of sync with their contents that someone really should've had a rethink before they reached screens. Uncharted is one of them, but it was never going to switch its name. The action-adventure flick comes to cinemas following a decade and a half of trying, after the first Uncharted video game reached consoles in 2007 and the journey to turning it into a movie began the year after. Accordingly, this Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home)- and Mark Wahlberg (Joe Bell)-starring film was fated to keep its franchise's title, which references its globe-trotting, treasure hunting, dark passageway-crawling, dusty map-coveting storyline. But unexplored, unfamiliar and undiscovered, this terrain definitely isn't — as four Indiana Jones films to-date, two National Treasure flicks, three Tomb Raider movies, 80s duo Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile, and theme park ride-to-screen adaptation Jungle Cruise have already demonstrated. In a film that acts as a prequel to its button-mashing counterparts, Holland plays Drake as a 20-something with brother issues, a vast knowledge of cocktail histories that's handy for his bartending gig, an obsession with 16th-century Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and the gold he might've hidden, and very light fingers. Nate's elder sibling dipped out of his life after the pair were caught trying to steal a Magellan map as orphanage-dwelling kids, in fact, which Sully uses to his advantage when he first crosses his path in a New York bar — and, after some convincing, Nate has soon signed up to finish the quest he's been dreaming about since childhood. Naturally, this newly formed duo aren't the only ones on the Magellan treasure's trail. The wealthy Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas, The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard) is descended from the explorer's original financiers and boasts a hefty sense of entitlement, while knife-wielding mercenary Jo Braddock (Tati Gabrielle, You) and enterprising fortune-hunter Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali, India Sweets and Spices) are each chasing a windfall. Uncharted is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. MARRY ME Releasing a rom-com starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson in 2022 toys with time a little. Its source material doesn't date back 25 years, to when its stars were both in Anaconda, but its broad strokes could've still fuelled a late-90s addition to the romantic-comedy genre. That's how creaky it feels; of course, that timing would've meant spinning a story without livestreamed concerts — and livestreamed lives, outside of films such as The Truman Show and EdTV — but it also would've rid the movie of one of its biggest crutches. Directed by Kat Coiro (A Case of You), Marry Me finds it too easy to blame too many character choices on the always-online, always-performing, always-oversharing mentality that's now the status quo. It too lazily uses the divide between constantly broadcasting one's every move via social media and happily living life offline to fuel its opposites-attract setup as well. It's no wonder that the movie always feels shallow, even for an obvious fairytale, and even as the script attempts to layer in knowing nods to how women like its central pop star are treated by the world whether or not they record and share every moment they're awake. That singing celebrity is Kat Valdez, aka Lopez playing a part that could've easily been originally penned with her in mind. Kat is a global superstar who, to her dismay, is known as much for her hits as for her personal life. That said, she also willingly combines the two in the track 'Marry Me', a duet with her fiancé Bastian (Colombian singer Maluma) that the pair plan to get married to during a show livestreamed to 20 million people. But moments before Kat ascends to the on-stage altar, news that Bastian has been unfaithful spreads across the internet. Sick of being unlucky in love — and just as fed up with being publicly ridiculed for her romantic misfortunes — she picks out Owen's middle-school maths teacher Charlie Gilbert from the crowd and weds him instead. He's just holding a banner with the movie's title on it for his pal and fellow educator Parker Debbs (Sarah Silverman, Don't Look Up), and he's accompanied by his daughter Lou (Claudia Coleman, Gunpowder Milkshake), but he still says yes. Marry Me is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. MISS MARX Daughter of Karl Marx, a socialist activist in her own right, a translator of Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck and Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, and first seen in Miss Marx giving her father's eulogy in 1883, Eleanor Marx was many things — but she wasn't a fan of punk music. She simply couldn't have been, thanks to the gap between the timing of her life and the genre's arrival, with seven decades separating them. Still, that doesn't stop filmmaker Susanna Nicchiarelli (Nico, 1988) from soundtracking her biopic about the youngest Marx with rollicking punk tracks courtesy of current rockers by Downtown Boys, including a cover of Bruce Springsteen's 'Dancing in the Dark'. Such a decision is anachronistic in fact but not in spirit, Miss Marx contends, and it's a savvy observation. In much about her life — her willingness to break free of her father's and society's expectations, her anti-establishment activism, and her rejection of mainstream norms among them — Eleanor fits the tunes. If only Miss Marx moshed into cinemas with more than that smart idea layered over an otherwise by-the-numbers period drama — one that, despite its namesake's progressive quest for women's wrights, better working conditions for the masses and education across both genders, focuses on her ties to men, too. It boasts two particularly marvellous and playful scenes, one involving that punk soundtrack and an opium-fuelled dance by star Romola Garai (Suffragette) for the ages, the other toying with the dynamic between Eleanor and her paramour Edward Aveling (Patrick Kennedy, The Queen's Gambit), but a willingness to break the mould, thrash outside the lines and upset the status quo is rarely part of the movie. Eleanor's existence was defined by her dad since birth, of course. It was then linked to the already-married Edward when she decided to live with him as wife in all but the paperwork. But bringing her tale to the screen with such a focus feels not only much too straightforward, but also reductive. Miss Marx is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Read our full review. WYRMWOOD: APOCALYPSE Add The Castle to the list of influences flavouring Australian zombie franchise Wyrmwood: here, as in the beloved homegrown comedy, it's the vibe of the thing. Starting with 2014's low-budget labour of love Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead and now continuing with Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, this bushland-set saga has atmosphere to spare. Free-flowing gore, a crash-and-bash urgency and a can-do attitude splatter across the screen in abundance, too. They're key factors in all movies about a dystopian future ravaged by the undead, but filmmaking siblings Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner ask that mood and tone to do much of their series' heavy lifting. The Wyrmwood films blast away with affection for all of the zombie flicks that've preceded them, and all of the outback thrillers, Ozploitation fare and mad scientist-fuelled tales as well — and they couldn't be more blatant about it — but, even with that teeming passion and prominent energy, they still prove less than the sum of their evident sources of inspiration. Writer/director/editor Kiah and writer/producer Tristan stick with the most obvious protagonist the second time around: Rhys (Luke McKenzie, Wentworth), a special forces soldier who also happens to be the twin of a crucial figure from the prior film. He weathers dystopian life by holing up in a fenced-in compound where he uses a pen full of zombies to his advantage — aided by various contraptions, plenty of chains and shackles, plus blood-dripping carcasses as incentives — and by driving a Mad Max-style vehicle to round up undead test subjects for The Surgeon (Nicholas Boshier, The Moth Effect). In fact, after crossing paths with Tasia Zalar's (Streamline) Grace, he delivers her for military-approved experiments, but Shantae Barnes-Cowan's (Firebite) Maxi soon demands that he help set her free. Rhys has been operating under the assumption that The Surgeon and his armed pals had humanity's best interests in mind, despite all glaring appearances otherwise, a misguided belief that Maxi quickly vanquishes. Wyrmwood: Apocalypse is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. BOOK OF LOVE In 2018's The Nightingale, Sam Claflin gave the performance of his career so far while playing thoroughly against type. As a British lieutenant in colonial-era Tasmania, he terrorised the film's female protagonist to a nerve-rattlingly distressing degree — and his work, just like the phenomenal feature he's in, isn't easy to watch. Book of Love, his latest movie, couldn't be more different; however, Claflin's portrayal could use even a sliver of the commitment he demonstrated four years back. The film around him could, too. Here, he plays a floundering novelist who doesn't want to do a very long list of things, so it makes sense that he takes to the part with a dissatisfied attitude that drips with not only unhappiness, but pouting petulance. He's meant to be one of this dire rom-com's romantic leads, however, and he constantly looks like he'd rather be doing anything else. Author of The Sensible Heart, Claflin's Henry Copper is instantly as dour as his book sounds. It too is a romance, but he's proud of its sexlessness — to the point of boasting about it to bored would-be readers who definitely don't make a purchase afterwards. He's also seen using his novel as a pick-up line early in the movie, and that goes just as badly. In fact, his whole career seems to be a shambles, and the prim-and-proper Brit can't understand why. But he's also surprised when he's told that his latest has become a bestseller in Mexico, and he's hardly thrilled about the whirlwind promotional tour his brassy agent (Lucy Punch, The Prince) swiftly books him on. Upon arrival, where his local translator Maria Rodríguez (My Heart Goes Boom!) doubles as his minder, he's visibly displeased about everything he's asked to do — more so when he discovers that she's taken the liberty to spice up his work. Sparks somehow fly between them, otherwise there wouldn't be a movie, but nothing can ignite this cliched slog for audiences. Book of Love is available to stream via iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Looking for more at-home viewing options? Take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows, or check out the movies that were fast-tracked to digital in January, February, March and April.
Preston's foodie revolution continues, with modern Mexican haunt Benzina Cantina opening on High Street over the weekend. A collaboration between Bruno Carreto — the mind behind cult Brunswick taqueria Los Hermanos — and motorcycle stuntman, 'Lukey Luke' Follacchio, sparked by the mates' shared love of tacos and motorbikes. Adjacent to Follacchio's bike workshop, Benzina Garage, the laidback venue's tapping into those warehouse vibes, with a minimalist, industrial fitout and its own rooftop space. The kitchen here is riffing on Los Hermanos' much-loved menu of authentic Mexican fare, with tacos and tequila the stars of the show. To start, there's Carreto's 'gorditas' — handmade corn flour pockets stuffed with refried beans and either cheese or chilli mince beef — alongside bites like chipotle grilled corn and cactus salad. Crafty taco varieties feature the likes of beer battered fish with red cabbage, or twice-cooked beef with carrots and potato, and a slew of options for meat-free diners — including cactus mole and tortillas topped with smoky mushrooms. To wash it down, choose between a tidy mix of local craft beers and Mexican imports, a concise crop of wines from Australia, Chile and Spain, and a hefty lineup of cocktails. Settle in with one of the Watermelon Margaritas, or the tequila-infused Espresso Martini and summer won't feel so far off at all. Find Benzina Cantina at 84 High Street, Preston. Images: Alex Jovanovic
"You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?" Jack Nicholson's (How Do You Know) version of the Joker asked in 1989's Batman, just because he liked the sound of it. Here's another question: have you ever seen the Tim Burton (Wednesday)-helmed, Michael Keaton (The Flash)-starring classic caped-crusader movie on the big screen with a live orchestra playing its score? Whatever your answer to the first query, you can soon respond to the second with a hearty yes. To celebrate 35 years since the superhero classic initially reached cinemas, Batman is making a silver-screen comeback Down Under to see out 2024 and start 2025 — and in each of its six stops, beginning in Melbourne then heading to Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Hobart and Sydney, it's giving the film's tunes the symphonic treatment. It's Batman in concert, with the movie playing, plus John Foreman's Australian Pops Orchestra, Southern Cross Symphony, Perth Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and The Metropolitan Orchestra picking up their instruments as the flick screens. They'll be busting out Danny Elfman's Grammy-nominated score, which is just one of the feature's music highlights. The other: songs by the one and only Prince. As well as marking three-and-a-half decades since the picture debuted, these concert screenings also commemorate 85 years of the character on the page — and have been announced just as Burton and Keaton reteam again for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. For the Batman Live in Concert sessions, audiences can follow the bat signal to Melbourne's Regent Theatre across Thursday, October 24–Saturday, October 26; AEC Arena in Adelaide across Wednesday, November 13–Thursday, November 14; Perth's PCEC Riverside Theatre on Friday, November 29–Saturday, November 30; the BCEC Great Hall in Brisbane from Tuesday December, 3–Wednesday, December 4; MyState Bank Arena in Hobart over Friday December, 13–Saturday, December 14; and ICC Sydney Theatre on Friday, January 10. Keaton's stint in Bruce Wayne's slick suits by day and Batman's cape by night kicked off a big-screen four-movie series that ran from 1989–1997, and also saw Val Kilmer (Top Gun: Maverick) and George Clooney (IF) inhabit the role — a character played elsewhere by everyone from Adam West and Christian Bale (Amsterdam) to Ben Affleck (Air) and Robert Pattinson (The Batman). As part of a global tour of events, only Batman going the concert route so far, not Batman Returns, Batman Forever or Batman and Robin. If you're keen to dress up to attend, that's encouraged — and there'll also be merchandise on sale. Batman Live in Concert Dates: Thursday, October 24–Saturday, October 26, 2024 — Regent Theatre, Melbourne with John Foreman's Australian Pops Orchestra Wednesday, November 13–Thursday, November 14, 2024 — AEC Arena, Adelaide with Southern Cross Symphony Friday, November 29–Saturday, November 30, 2024 — PCEC Riverside Theatre, Perth with Perth Symphony Orchestra Tuesday December, 3–Wednesday, December 4, 2024 — BCEC Great Hall, Brisbane with The Metropolitan Orchestra Friday December, 13–Saturday, December 14, 2024 — MyState Bank Arena, Hobart with Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Friday, January 10, 2025 — ICC Sydney Theatre, Sydney with The Metropolitan Orchestra Batman Live in Concert is touring Australia from October 2024–January 2025. Head to the event website for tickets and further details.
When a standard villa and self-made holiday itinerary simply won't do, you could turn your attention to Hotel Clicquot — a world first entry to all-in luxury accommodation by French champagne house, Veuve Clicquot. Here's the skinny: The hotel is popping up in the Byron Bay hinterland at Cooper's Shoot, a prime location for exceptional ocean vistas (and possible Zac Efron sightings), from 24 November to 5 December 2021. As per the description: A quintessential part of a stay at Hotel Clicquot is the daily calendar of unique, money-can't-buy experiences, all of which are entirely optional. Do or do not! Once there, you'll be looking at two nights and three days of activities (or no activities!), pre-arranged for you, so the only decision-making required is whether or not you should have another glass of champers. There's a 24hour butler service. There will be an in-house sommelier to guide you on a journey through the French champagne house's finest drops. A massage therapist will be at your disposal. Meals will be prepared for you and your cohort, one by up-and-coming chef Alanna Sapwell and the other by David Moyle of acclaimed local spot Harvest Newrybar, who will host a 'garden gastronomy' dinner. And, it should go without saying, but yes: there is of course an infinity edge pool. Helicopter transfers are optional. And if you need to fill a seat, I solemnly nominate myself for the task. Bookings are available from 1 November and you can register your interest here.
Plastic shopping bags might seem to last forever, but Australian's reliance upon the pesky, flimsy carriers has an expiration date — and it's finally here. In a massive move for the industry — and a huge hug for the environment — the country's supermarkets are ditching single-use plastic bags from this week. Last July, three of the country's biggest grocery chains announced that they'll be banning the bag: Woolworths, Coles and the New South Wales-based Harris Farm. Harris Farm stopping stocking bags at the start of the year, and now it's time for the big two to do the same. Coles will pull the plug on Sunday, July 1, while Woolies — which also includes Big W and BWS — will get in first and remove the bags from checkout from this Wednesday, June 20. The move will impact Woolworths and Coles locations around the country — bringing New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia into line with South Australia, ACT, the Northern Territory and Tasmania, where state-wide plastic bans are already in place. So, without the bags, what are your options? Well, you'll still be able to get plastic bags at the checkout at both supermarkets fro 15 cents each. These ones are apparently thicker, more durable and are made from 80 percent recycled plastic — but, even though they're meant to be more reusable, it's hard to say if people will use them any differently to the way they use single-use bags now. Woolworths will also be offering another fold-up 99-cent bag option, as well as the regular, bulkier green bags. If you get your groceries delivered, you'll be able to choose a no-bag option. Queensland will flat-out ban single-use plastic bags from July 1, and Victoria is set to do the same later this year. NSW is the only state that hasn't committed to banning them. Getting rid the ever-present items everyone has too many of is the latest example of Aussie businesses putting the planet first. Bars around the country have banned plastic straws, Closed Loop has been trialling ways to recycle takeaway coffee cups, and reusable coffee cups have been gaining popularity all over the place — with some cafes offering discounts, and others banning disposable containers completely.
The eighth movie in the Mission: Impossible comes with a loaded title: Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. The film's trailers, both the first teaser in 2024 and the just-dropped full sneak peek now, also play up the idea that everything has been leading to this. Does Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick) only have one more stint in Ethan Hunt's shoes left in him? That's the vibe that the promotional campaign for The Final Reckoning is aiming for. Whether or not that actually proves accurate, its star is doing what he always his in this action-packed spy franchise, ever since he stepped into it almost three decades ago: testing his limits through death-defying stunts. Initially, this new chapter was called called Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two, given that it directly follows on from 2023's Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. But then the film was delayed during Hollywood's strikes, pushing back its release by almost 12 months. Now, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is getting ready for potentially seeing the last of Cruise as Hunt come May. The feature's two trailers so far traverse everywhere from snow and sky-high heights to under the sea and frozen in ice — and, as always, include plenty of Cruise running. Story details are sparse, however, but of course the film's star is seen hanging off of a plane. Another focus: that everything that happens to us, and Hunt, is the truly sum of our choices. Indeed, the franchise's protagonist isn't just sighted in the trailer, but discussed at length. Viewers can expect more world-hopping intrigue, explosions, chases and fights, though, as regularly occurs when Ethan Hunt and his Impossible Missions Force team return. Also back: a cast including Simon Pegg (The Boys), Ving Rhames (The Wild Robot) and Hayley Atwell (Heartstopper), Vanessa Kirby (Napoleon), Esai Morales (Crescent City), Pom Klementieff (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Henry Czerny (Zombie Town), Angela Bassett (9-1-1) and Shea Whigham (Lawmen: Bass Reeves) — and, behind the camera, director Christopher McQuarrie helms again after doing the same on Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, Mission: Impossible — Fallout and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. On-screen, Holt McCallany (The Lincoln Lawyer), Janet McTeer (The Old Man), Nick Offerman (Civil War) and Hannah Waddingham (The Fall Guy) feature, too. Check out the full trailer for Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning below: Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning will release in cinemas Down Under on Saturday, May 17, 2025. Read our review of Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. Images: Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Melbourne four-piece The Harpoons are set to release their debut album Falling For You, which features singles such as the utterly gorgeous 'Unforgettable' and slightly more chilled gem 'Can We Work This Out'. To celebrate this long-awaited LP, they’ll be playing shows in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. The Harpoons consist of brothers Jack and Henry Madin, stunning vocals from Bec Rigby and man about town Martin King (you might remember him from the likes of Oscar and Martin) Sweet one moment, breathtakingly soulful the next, get ready to go through a kaleidoscope of emotions and feel all the feels. The Harpoons pair flawless vocals with hypnotic beats and Aunty aptly described them as the R'n'B of both today and yesteryear. Their album launch at Howler will include other local favourites Kirkis, Dorkus Malorkus and DJ LA Pocock.
Enjoying a glass of wine might come with plenty of medical benefits, but having a tipple isn't typically an exercise-heavy pastime. You sit. You drink. You get up, top up your beverage and repeat. You usually don't walk particularly far, let alone run. At a new series of wine-tasting fun runs about to take place around Australia, however, you'll put in the hard yards before you get the boozy rewards. The Grapest 5K run consists of two sections. First, you sprint, jog or set forth at whatever pace suits you best, making your way through scenic vineyard surroundings. Then, you walk another kilometre — yes, in addition to the first five, or ten if you're feeling extra energetic — while stopping at tasting stations along the way and sampling the good stuff. Don't worry, if you're not up to the first part and you're simply keen on wandering and sipping, that's an option (although it does defeat the idea of combining fitness with throwing back drinks). The first run takes place on February 11 at Balgownie Estate in Bendigo, with a second scheduled on March 4 at Coolangatta Estate in Shoalhaven, south of Woollongong. Further events are mooted in the Hunter Valley, Brisbane, Margaret River in Western Australia, Langhorne Creek in South Australia and Canberra throughout the rest of the year. For more information, visit the Grapest 5k run website.
Located just off Collins St in the heart of Melbourne's CBD, Curry Vault offers modern Indian dishes with a special attention to its wine list. It's the perfect place to kick back for a long lunch (Monday-Friday) or a special dinner (Monday-Saturday). Inside, expect a mix of casual art gallery, classic Indian diner and local bar. This is somewhat formal dining but not at the price of fun. There's a casual and relaxed atmosphere where you can easily spend a few hours like they were minutes. The menu kicks off with a handful of hot appetisers, including traditional Nepalese momo made with minced chicken or seasonal vegetables and served with chutney, and govi pakora – deep-fried cauliflower in a chickpea flour batter. Inside the tandoor, king prawns, chicken, lamb cutlets and fish are cooking. Opt for the mixed platter if you can't decide which you'd prefer. The selection of vegetarian dishes runs from the spicy paneer chilli through to the mild and creamy malai kofta. Or if meat is more your thing, there are seafood, chicken, beef and lamb specials to suit everyone. The prawn malawari stands out, a generous serving of king prawns in a coconut cream sauce. As well as being an Indian restaurant, Curry Vault is also something of a wine bar, specialising in pairing your order with a glass of wine. Their list includes a large selection by the glass or bottle and there is something to complement every dish. Top drops include Castelforte Soave from Veneto in Italy and the Argyle Heathcote shiraz. While they offer up serious food and wine to match, Curry Vault is the kind of place to come in and relax. There's no hurrying you out the door here, and there is always another wine to sample.
As we enter holiday mode, it's time to celebrate with our nearest and dearest. But entertaining can be stressful — and we can't all be master cocktail makers. Luckily, Archie Rose has made it easy for us to enjoy a delicious cocktail without needing to do any heavy lifting, thanks to its range of limited-edition bottled cocktails that bring the bar to you. Whether you want a refreshing beverage on a hot summer's day or a classy nightcap to impress guests at your next dinner party, these pre-made cocktails are a sure thing. And even though the drinks are already taken care of, you can take your serve to the next level with our picks of easy (but effective) garnishes that will make anyone look like a master bartender. THE MOOD: Bright and summery THE SERVE: Salted Mango Spritz with sparkling wine and dehydrated mango For something bright and fresh, grab a bottle of the limited-release Salted Mango Spritz. This cocktail is summer in a bottle, and features Archie Rose Native Botanical vodka, tropical mango, salted caramel and chamomile. This salty sweet beverage is impressive enough when served straight from the fridge neat. However, you can really up your game with a couple of additions. Balance out the sweetness — and add a bit of sparkle — by topping up your glass with a splash of champagne or sparkling wine. Finally, add a slice of dehydrated mango as a garnish for an extra special touch. THE MOOD: Cool and refreshing THE SERVE: Cucumber Collins with elderflower tonic and a ribbon of cucumber If you're after something refreshing and aromatic to enjoy poolside, the Cucumber Collins is a perfect addition to any summer's day. It features juniper notes from Archie Rose's Bone Dry Gin, as well as accents of cucumber and jasmine. This cocktail will impress any guest for your end-of-year entertaining, especially with a couple of simple tweaks. Sure, you could serve it neat, but we recommend you jazz it up with soda or tonic water — try Fever-Tree elderflower for an extra hint of sweetness. Finally, add a cucumber ribbon (simply by taking a peeler to a cucumber) to enhance the flavours in the serve. THE MOOD: Smooth and sexy THE SERVE: Red Centre Negroni with pink grapefruit tonic There's nothing like a negroni on the rocks to kick-start an evening. This bottled version is from the Archie Rose Native Australian range celebrates local ingredients and adds a homegrown twist to the classic. This all-Australian negroni features gin with sweet vermouth by Victorian-based maker Maidenii, and Økar Island Bitter sourced from South Australia's Applewood Distillery. With notes of native riberry and strawberry gum, this cocktail is bursting with flavour. To take it to the next level, top with soda water, sparkling wine or Fentimans pink grapefruit tonic water. Garnish with a twist of grapefruit, a slice of orange, or a sprig of rosemary to compliment those native flavours. THE MOOD: A classy nightcap THE SERVE: Caperberry Martini garnished with a rosemary-speared olive For a classy nightcap to impress your guests, try a Caperberry Martini. This twist on the classic is crafted using Bone Dry Gin, Belsazar dry vermouth, sake and caperberry. Keep your bottle in the freezer and serve neat, or over ice if that's your thing. Or, you could enhance the subtle savoury flavours with a garnish to really bring the bar into your home. A classic Sicilian olive speared in a sprig of rosemary is a great addition for some fragrance. Or keep it simple with a whole-stemmed caperberry. If you really want to impress, then make a lemon twist with a knife or a peeler and wipe around the rim of the glass before serving to add an aroma of citrus. Discover Archie Rose's full range of pre-bottled cocktails at the website.
When a venue opens in Docklands, despite its allure and promise, there's always a hint of hesitation. A pocket of the city still under a cloud of doubt, a venture west of the CBD border seems questionable: will it all be worth it? But making your way to Long Shot, the newest addition to the Collins Square corporate complex that already houses Bar Nacional, is one effort that is amply rewarded. In actual fact, Long Shot just sits on the cusp of Docklands on Collins Street, barely over the bridge and a short walk from Southern Cross. It joins Halyard Coffee and Duke's Story Coffee & Foodstore in the new movement to provide specialty coffee to a previously sparse area; those that work in Docklands now have access to the same quality brew that the rest of the city affords in such a capacity. The coffee in question is from St. Ali and is expertly executed by head barista Joshua Willis (ex Proud Mary). While the line at the takeaway window can build up prior to 9am, there is enough room to linger over a latte and freshly baked pastry or two. Either settle into a window seat or the round communal table and — with the rush passing the cafe — savour the idle time and the menu. Undoubtedly, the main drawcard for Long Shot is its worship-worthy cake display. Baked fresh on site by Shaun Quade and Jo Barrett, you can expect crisp and chewy almond croissants and juicy fruit Danishes ($4.50), but other sweet treats — such as sticky cinnamon scrolls, doughnuts, savoury muffins and a gluten free lemon meringue pie — change daily. We wouldn't stress too much though, it's choosing just one that's the hard part. A few sit down breakfast options cover all the bases from soft cooked eggs with maple glazed bacon and house made sourdough ($14.50) to a fully handmade gluten free cereal ($12.50). The yoghurt is pot set in house too and, with apple pie jam and puffed grains, it is creamy and tartly cut with the jam to surpass all expectations ($8). For lunch, gourmet salads and sandwiches go on display and it becomes acceptable to order a glass of organic wine ($9) or the German wheat beer on tap. Adding to the sheer self-sufficiency of Long Shot, Quade also ferments his own soda and has created his own range of imaginative bottled flavoured milks. Try the sweet Vietnamese coffee, the caramel corn and burnt butter or the rice pudding and cinnamon, which absolutely bursts in your mouth ($4.50). Satisfying the three C's — coffee, cereal, cake and cinnamon milk — Long Shot is adding to Docklands' burgeoning coffee scene. In the food game, there are some things worth the risk. This is one long shot you can bet on.
Following a series of four pop-up stores, Far Fetched Designs founders Rachael DiMauro and Belinda Miller decided it was time to open their own space. Inspired by the craft markets the pair have visited around Australia, they wanted to provide Seddon's locals with the chance to buy the most impressive arts and crafts without having to go on their own road trip. Supporting small businesses and independent creatives across the country, Far Fetched Designs lets the makers set their own price, while only taking a small commission. If you're after small-run jewellery, homewares or knick-knacks, there's a good chance you'll find something special at Far Fetched Designs. Images: Parker Blain.
We can't think of a much better way to celebrate Melbourne's recent serve of balmy weather, than with a few generous scoops of gelato. Except, of course, with a few generous scoops of free gelato. Dolce House has already won plenty of hearts in Melbourne's southeast —where its McKinnon dessert bar has long been slinging top-notch gelato, shakes, waffles and other decadent sweet treats — but now the team's venturing north, opening a second spot in Moonee Ponds. And it's celebrating with a big, tasty giveaway, doling out a whopping 500 free scoops from 5–7pm, on Friday, October 26 and Saturday, October 27 (250 each day). To score your free scoop, simply follow the neon blue ice cream cone down Mount Alexander Road — then decide between signature chocolate, vanilla gelato or a dairy-free blood orange sorbet. For the rest of opening week at Dolce House's new store, you'll find a selection of milkshakes, thickshakes, gelato and desserts, with the full range to follow soon after (including New York-style baked cheesecakes, brownies and tarts).
As the city continues to wake from its lockdown-induced slumber, we've got a brand-new laneway market experience to add to the calendar. Kicking off November 19 and running Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until January 30, Postal Lane Markets is set to deliver a weekly curation of locally-made wares, tasty eats, live tunes and summery sips. Making its home in the iconic Postal Lane adjacent to the GPO building, the market aims to bring a touch of buzz back to the CBD, while celebrating some great local talent. Friday evening sessions (4–8pm) will be all about the food, with stalls slinging a tasty array of cheese, pastries, bread and gourmet pantry goodies, alongside a bar offering. And an extended footprint on Saturdays and Sundays (10am–6pm) will host a shopper's oasis, slinging fashion, skincare, accessories, jewellery, art, plants and more. Some of the stallholders already on the roster include leisurewear label Jasmine Alexa, Japanese kitchen Nama, IRock Jewellery and Long Paddock Cheese, with plenty more set to join the mix. Top Image: Kit Edwards
What happens when a former punk rock singer and his hip hop DJ wife, both originally from Japan, decide to open a cosy venue in Fitzroy? Well, if you're Fumi and Takako Tamura, the end result looks a lot like new jazz-infused, Gertrude Street Japanese joint, Tamura Sake Bar. Heroing an inviting combination of vinyl, izakaya-style plates and sake, it's a refreshing taste of home for the couple — a little more grown-up than their earlier venue Horse Bazaar, and sure to spark a few memories of your own jaunts to Japan. The space is intimate and the food offering broad, headlined by Japanese snacks designed to be enjoyed with a drink in hand and good company at the table. There's a daily changing pickle option, along with a selection of yakitori and bites like miso eggplant and crispy salmon skin. A lineup of sashimi is also on offer and might feature black sesame tuna or fresh scallops matched with shio kombu salt. Elsewhere, you'll find yourself tucking into crunchy Japanese fried chicken, rich bowls of ramen and mixed vegetable tempura. [caption id="attachment_722463" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kate Shanasy[/caption] A variety of set menus keeps things easy, starting at just $35 for an assortment of yakitori, fried delights, rice, miso soup and karaage. Pair it with a WA wine or an Asian craft brew (including a matcha IPA from Kyoto and an Okinawa sour), or take advantage of a sake selection that's both considered and approachable. Umeshu (plum wine) and whisky are also in strong supply. The matching vinyls — which spin every night and are also available to buy — have been curated by a crew of acclaimed Japanese DJs and producers, featuring a healthy dose of jazz, a sprinkling of hip hop and even a few records that usually aren't usually available outside of Japan. Find Tamura Sake Bar at 43 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy. It's open midday–11pm, Monday to Saturday. Images: Kate Shanasy
Slow motion drips, close-up pourovers, helicoptered overheads of sprawling plantations — Brandon Loper knows how to write a love letter to his favourite bean-shaped subject. Premiering his straight-up stunning A Film About Coffee in Seattle in April, Loper's celebrated project has been subject to pretty limited screenings worldwide. Lucky for coffee fiends and doco lovers, the film is now available to stream online (for a teeny fee, just over the price of a cappuccino). Created with adorably-named production company Avocados and Coconuts, A Film About Coffee is an indulgence for the eyes and a bit of a wake-up call (fittingly), meandering through the story of specialty coffee from its organic beginnings to your morning cup. Loper's jaw-dropping cinematography makes for some serious foodporn — any hardcore baristas or coffee tragics need to get over here — but also captures some intimate interviews with the world's top coffee aficionados (featuring Kent Bakke, Devin Chapman, James Freeman, Katie Carguilo, Chris Owens, Darrin Daniel, Peter Giuliano, Eileen Hassi Rinaldi, Kyle Glanville, George Howell, Michael Phillips, Ben Kaminsky and Kevin Bohlin). While the film is scheduled to screen throughout Europe, the UK, US and Canada, plans haven't yet been announced for an Australian screening. For now, you can rent the film at home and stream until your caffeine addiction's content. Just throw the team a measly $4.99 for a 72-hour streaming rental (or $12.99 to own it, if that's a Thing any more) and hold your own screening with all the cheaper-than-Event-Cinemas popcorn you bloody well want. Here's the trailer, so, so pretty. Via Daily Coffee News.
When it comes to unearthing furnishings and bespoke goods from a bygone age, there aren't many better at it than Scout House owner Orlando Mesiti. Having long been a collector of weird and wonderful objects from vintage markets across Europe, his St Kilda shopfront should be your first stop when you're trying to hunt down something truly original. From furniture and fine works of art to homewares and peculiar knick-knacks, Scout House's offering is certain to have your home looking fresher than any coat of paint could manage. And, as an extra plus, Scout House also manufactures its own sofas, daybeds and other decorative goodies. Images: Tracey Ah-kee.
When bushfires raged across Australia over the spring of 2019 and the summer of 2019–20, the Hunter Valley's wine community was among the areas affected. Due to smoke from the blazes, huge hordes of grapes can no longer be used for their original winemaking purpose — so distillery Archie Rose is getting experimental and salvaging more than 50 tonnes as part of a new spirit range. The first of the series' three products is eau de vie Hunter Valley Shiraz Spirit, which is made from smoke-tainted Hunter Valley 2020 shiraz and cabernet sauvignon grapes. Clear, colourless and fruity, it's described by the company as having "notes of shortbread, icing sugar and vine leaves" — as well as hints of pineapple, guava and honeydew. Expect to taste mango, raspberry jam, crème fraîche and wafers, too, plus a slight suggestion of campfire. When you're sipping a glass, you'll be aiding Archie Rose's efforts to help Hunter Valley producers and growers, especially those with team members and and families affected by crop and income write-offs due to the fires. As well as receiving support themselves, Tulloch Wines and First Creek Wines worked with the folks at Archie Rose to identify eight smaller growers in need of assistance — particularly in the Pokolbin, Broke Fordwich and Upper Hunter sub-regions. On sale from Monday, May 25 from the Archie Rose Bar in Rosebery, Sydney, bottle shops and the company's website, 1000 bottles of the Hunter Valley Shiraz Spirit are available — in 700-millilitre sizes, for $99. Archie Rose has also suggested a range of cocktail recipes using the Hunter Valley Shiraz Spirit, so prepare to pair it with oat milk in the 'Milk & Honey' and with grapefruit in 'The Pokolbin'. Also in the works is a Hunter Valley Shiraz Brandy, using the salvaged smoke-tainted grapes — however, given that the spirit will need to be aged, it'll be available in future years. Archie Rose's Hunter Valley Shiraz Spirit goes on sale on Monday, May 25 from the Archie Rose Bar in Rosebery, Sydney, bottle shops and the company's website, with pre-orders currently available online.
Whether your wardrobe is all gorpcore, or you just appreciate good comfort when cruising the streets, Salomon has got a new partnership made for permanent self-expression. That's because the alpine-turned-fashion brand is teaming up with Richmond's Mela House for a one-day-only tattoo takeover. Celebrating the brand's existing community — you need to be wearing your Salomons to get inked — you're invited to score a free flash tattoo from one of Mela House's talented artists. First in, first tattooed, minimalist designs up to four centimetres will find a home on your arms or legs, in black ink only. Running from 11am–4pm on Sunday, March 1, this community experience is taken to greater heights with an on-site DJ alongside sangies by Mela House neighbour, Hugo's Deli. Consider it as a small thanks to those who made Salomon into the fashion powerhouse it is today — all without losing its hiking cred. "Tattooing, for me, has always been about trust and connection. It's a shared moment that turns into something permanent, something lived in," says Mela House director Melanie Thorn. "I'm excited to build something with Salomon that feels honest, considered and true to the people at the centre of it."
Forget only celebrating Christmas for one day, or even just 12. Don't limit yourself to a mere 25 days of getting festive, either. At Lune for the entire month of December — including on Christmas Day at some stores — the specials menu is enjoying a merry makeover. Whether you're after croissants, cruffins or a savoury pastry, there's something to suit the occasion right through until Tuesday, December 31, 2024. Each month, Lune Croissanterie whips up a fresh batch of limited-time offerings, giving you something tasty to look forward to when you flip over your calendar. If you've tucked into hot cross cruffins, lasagne pastries and Tim Tam pains au chocolat this year, you'll have tasted the results. Now, with festive season upon us, the Kate Reid co-founded bakery brand is dishing up appropriate treats. Start with stuffed turkey pastries, then move onto gingerbread croissants. First, the sweet stuff. Lune's gingerbread special is a twice-baked croissant made with pecan frangipane, baked gingerbread and molasses caramel, then topped with frangipane, gingerbread, white icing and gold dusted chocolate pearls. From 2023's specials, the choc peppermint twice-baked pain au chocolat is back for 2024, featuring chocolate frangipane and a peppermint patty, then dark chocolate crumb, melted chocolate and crushed candy cane on top. It wouldn't be Christmas without eggnog and pudding, with Lune whipping up its own versions. You can eat your eggnog, rather than simply drink it, courtesy of Lune's latest cruffin. It's stuffed with rum syrup and eggnog custard, then dusted with icing sugar, and also finished with sweetened meringue cream, nutmeg and a spiced chocolate quill. The bakery's Christmas pudding comes filled with brandy caramel and muscovado brandy soaked fruit cake, and is then brushed with a caramel glaze, before being topped with brandy crème pâtissière, candied orange peel and grated nutmeg. For a savoury option, enter The Stuffed Turkey. This pastry is filled with a turkey and croissant pastry stuffing, with sage powder, cranberry sauce, crispy chicken skin and fried sage leaves added on top. Back on sweet dishes, Lune is giving Brisbane a bonus special. Befitting the River City's sultry weather, the chain's ice cream sandwich will be on offer — only at the South Brisbane store, and only between Monday, December 2–Tuesday, December 31. It takes a pain au chocolat, slices it open, then pops in two scoops of croissant infused ice-cream that's been folded with caramelised croissant pieces. After starting off as an off-menu staff snack, it's now being shared with customers. Lune currently operates in Melbourne and Brisbane, so you'll find its December specials available at its Melbourne CBD, Fitzroy and Armadale stores in the former, plus South Brisbane and Burnett Lane in the latter — but the range varies per venue. Online pre-orders are also available at some shops, for some products. Over the Christmas break, stores will be operating as normal until Christmas Eve, then just Fitzroy and South Brisbane will open from 8–11am on Christmas itself. All venues will be up and running from 8am–3pm from Boxing Day until New Year's Day, then standard operating hours return from Thursday, January 2, 2025. Lune's December specials menu runs from Sunday, December 1–Tuesday, December 31, 2024, with different specials on offer at Armadale, Fitzroy and the CBD in Melbourne, and South Brisbane and Burnett Lane in Brisbane. From some stores, you can also order them online. Images: Peter Dillon.
Wanderer Festival is a fresh face on the Australian festival scene that's managed to pull together a blockbuster lineup for its inaugural edition. Taking over the NSW Sapphire Coast, a six-hour drive south of Sydney or seven-hour trip north of Melbourne, the three-day event will bring together a collection of folk, soul, indie and rock bands to the pristine coastal area. The big names heading up the lineup are 2000s alternate rockers The Dandy Warhols who will be coming over from the US to grace us with hits like 'Bohemian Like You' and 'We Used To Be Friends', alongside local favourites like DMA's, The Tesky Brothers, Winston Surfshirt and Confidence Man. Atlanta soul singer Curtis Harding will also be making a special appearance at the festival — his only Australian show on this tour. There's also plenty on offer for those who want to discover their next favourite act. Fast-rising acts like Didirri, Body Type, Grentperez, B Wise, Maple Glider and The Grogans will all take to the stage, as will a heap of local south coast NSW musicians including the Bega Valley Men's Choir, Djinama Yilga, Benji and the Saltwater Soundsystem and the Big Lost Band — a huge rock and roll orchestra made up of musicians from local high schools and arts communities. This focus on supporting regional creatives is key for the new festival and is clearly highlighted through its programming. "It's been a real pleasure meeting up with the incredible artists living here on the Coast," Arts Program Curator Ian Pidd said. "Those visitors unaware of the remarkable cultural capacity of this community are in for a treat!" [caption id="attachment_860196" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Curtis Harding[/caption] WANDERER FESTIVAL 2022 LINEUP Ziggy Alberts DMA's The Teskey Brothers The Dandy Warhols Curtis Harding (only Australian show) Winston Surfshirt Sarah Blasko Jack River Isabella Manfredi Josh Pyke Confidence Man Pierce Brothers DZ Deathrays Emma Donovan & the Putbacks Didirri Cookin' On 3 Burners The Grogans Maple Glider Jess Ribeiro Anactoria Magic Machine Benji & The Saltwater Sound System Gabadu B Wise Grentperez Pania Body Type Bakers Eddy Djinama Yilaga Bega Valley Men's Choir Heath Cullen Robyn Martin Bega Sound Collective Cephalopods The Scaramouche Felicity Dowd Top image: Confidence Man at BIGSOUND 2017 by Bec Taylor
This January marks the launch of the South Melbourne Night Market's 12th summer season, and its program is bigger and tastier than ever, jam-packed with treats suitable for you and anyone you want to bring along. Making the move from Thursday to Wednesday evenings, the twilight markets will run weekly from January 8 until February 5 with a summer-perfect mix of eats and drinks, so you can take full advantage of those balmy nights. There'll be 30 food trucks and stalls serving up vegan gelato, Mexican ice creams on sticks, Taiwanese street snacks, melty raclette cheese, cones of calamari, Nepalese dumplings, Jamm'd desserts (a cross between pancakes and doughnuts) and American-style barbecue from Smokin Barry's. Pair all this with drinks from ice-cold drinks from pop-up bar Cecil. Once you've had your fill of eats and drinks, you can browse artisanal wares from the likes of local jewellery label Perlu, organic skincare brand Redhelm and eco-friendly household product makeres Blue and Sunny, while listening to live tunes. There's even a kids club, so if you're bringing littlies along, you can keep them entertained with workshops and art and craft projects of their own. Entry and rooftop parking is free, with the markets opening from 12–9.30pm each week.
Prepare to stare at the moon in all of its glory — up close, without a telescope and without zooming into space. Measuring seven metres in diameter and featuring renderings of the celestial body's surface based on NASA imagery, the Museum of the Moon is a detailed installation by UK-based artist Luke Jerram. The giant sculpture has been touring the world since 2016, displaying in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai and plenty of spots around Europe. Between December 1, 2018 and April 28, 2019, it'll add Melbourne to its orbit. Inspired by Jerram's time living in Bristol and "noticing the huge tidal variation as he cycled over the Avon Cut each day" according to the Museum of the Moon's website, the artwork recreates the moon at a scale of approximately 1:500,000, with each centimetre equating to five kilometres of the lunar surface. And if you're wondering just how intricate the 120dpi imagery is, the high-resolution NASA photograph that it uses is 21 metres wide, and was taken by by a satellite carrying the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. The spherical sculpture is lit from within, so it'll add a glow when it comes to Scienceworks for five months. It also combines its imagery and light with a surround sound piece created by composer and sound designer Dan Jones, and just how each venue displays it is up to them. Basically, it's never the exact same installation twice. Jerram has multiple moons, with several touring simultaneously — so the Museum of Moon will also be on display in Newcastle in the UK across some of the same period. Its stint at Scienceworks will mark the Museum of the Moon's second visit Australia, following 12-day showing on the Gold Coast during the city's Commonwealth Games-adjacent arts festival earlier this year.
You've travelled there for the beaches, you've travelled for the wineries — and next month, it'll be a big weekend of live tunes that draws you down to the Mornington Peninsula, when NinchFest returns for its sixth instalment. Taking over the St Andrews Beach Recreation Club from Friday, February 10–Saturday, February 11, the fest will serve up an impressive lineup of musical talent, spanning an even wilder array of genres than previous outings. [caption id="attachment_885786" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Birdz[/caption] Heading the bill is Melbourne surf-rock trio The Grogans, First Nations rapper Birdz, ARIA Award-winning singer-songwriter William Crighton and DJ Dexter of The Avalanches fame. Also taking the stage: power-pop outfit The Prize, Brisbane-based neo-psych act Nice Biscuit, 'cosmic country' star Freya Josephine Hollick, Noongar artist Bumpy and stacks, stacks more. It's a laidback, family-friendly affair — and you can enjoy it all from the comfort of your picnic rug. BYO spread, or take advantage of the day's hefty lineup of food stalls and pop-up bars. Single-day tickets stat from $100, with weekend passes also available. Images: Beatrix Fisher.
Imagine yourself deep in the middle of summer, bringing cosmic energy to an openair dance floor in rural East Gippsland, as you move to sounds from a bumper lineup of electronic, house and techno acts. If that sounds like your ultimate summer weekender, get ready to pack your bags and immerse yourself in the creative delights of Interstellar Groove Festival, which is set to return from Friday, January 27–Monday, January 30, 2023. This time, the celebration of arts and music is taking over Glenaladale's Coonawarra Farm Resort, with its two stages playing host to names like Weekend Heroes, Amber Long, Butterz, N.O.X, Saskia, Emok, Einmusik, Yarra and stacks more. On top of the tunes, you can get stuck into a program of workshops, talks and performances, and feast your way through an array of food and drink stalls across the weekend. Festivalgoers can choose to set up camp among the property's rolling green hills, or book a stay in one of the onsite cabins or group-friendly lodges. As an added bonus, Coonawarra Farm even has a lake and outdoor pool for cooling post-dance-floor dips. Festival entry tickets start from $280 online, with various accommodation options available to add on. [caption id="attachment_873353" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Coonawarra Farm Resort[/caption] Images: Dan White
Famous for its 55-minute workouts and worldwide following, Barry's Bootcamp has become a fitness heavyweight since first setting up shop in West Hollywood back in 1998 — and now it's bringing its studios to Melbourne. Later this year, Melburnians will be able to put themselves through Barry's high-intensity interval training sessions in both the CBD and South Yarra. While it won't be the company's first Aussie studios — it has two already in Sydney — they will be its first in Victoria. If you're a gym junkie, celebrity obsessive or just familiar with the term "Barry's body", then you'll have heard of Barry's. Already active in 18 cities around the globe — including Los Angeles, New York, Milan, London and Dubai — it's claimed that the studio's sessions burn over 4000 kilojoules. That's thanks to a regimented program that incorporates 25 minutes of treadmill work, 25 minutes of strength and conditioning with free weights and resistance bands, and then a five-minute cool-down. The focus of each class changes daily across Barry's weekly schedule, with each session targeting a different muscle group. As extra motivation, Barry's classes are held in high-energy red rooms, complete with mood lighting and the kind of music you're more likely to hear in a nightclub. Adding to the vibe, each location features its own bar serving up shakes and smoothies — and patrons will also be able to buy workout outfits onsite. As expected, the world-renowned bootcamp class comes with hefty price tag — $36 a pop. You could, alternatively, purchase a 50-class pack for $1550, which works out at $31 a class, or pay a $89 weekly fee. Barry's Bootcamp is slated to open in the CBD and South Yarra in September, 2019. We'll keep you updated when they do.
Whatever your opinion of Julia Gillard's prime ministership, national politics and gender were as inseparable as Tony Abbott and his speedos between June 2010 and June 2013. Whether it was Howard Sattler's obsession with her sex life or Grace Collier's obsession with her cleavage, none of us were allowed to forget for a moment that Gillard was, is, indeed, a woman. Of course, the nation's first female Prime Minister did not fail to air her perspective to the world with that speech that went viral. So it's fitting that in her very first public appearance since her June farewell speech, Gillard will appear in conversation with one-time head of the Hawke government's Office of the Status of Women, Anne Summers. After Gillard's exit, the author, journalist and editor wrote, "We are now, apparently unashamedly, a country where bullying, stalking, undermining and outright treachery are not just tolerated but the new way of doing business. So the next time your child comes home complaining about being bullied in the schoolyard, you will have to say, 'Suck it up kid, this is the way we are.'" Three months down the track, Gillard and Summers will spend two evenings together in the Sydney Opera House's Concert Hall and the Melbourne Town Hall, reflecting on what Gillard's experience meant, and might mean, to the story of Australian politics. According to the promo, Gillard has committed to "a candid and wide-ranging conversation", and there'll be time for an audience-driven Q & A session. It's the first event in 'Anne Summers Conversations', a series of live one-on-one interviews featuring various personalities to have appeared in Anne Summers' online magazine The Looking Glass. Julia Gillard and Anne Summers will be appearing at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on Monday, 30 September, and at Melbourne Town Hall on Tuesday, 1 October. Tickets are available from the Sydney Opera House website and Eventbrite.
The historic Normanby Chambers site at 430 Collins Street has notched up some serious culinary street cred over the years, first home to Shannon Bennett's Bistro Vue and more recently housing his follow-up, seafood restaurant Iki-Jime. Now, fellow renowned chef Scott Pickett is hoping to continue the venue's tradition with his latest venture Chancery Lane. Opening its doors just before Christmas, the European bistro is certainly off to a good start, settling into the space with its moodily lit dining zones, curved banquettes and arched windows framed in dapper black steel. Raft Studio and design firm Bergman & Co have teamed up with Creative Director Stuart Neil (Ezard, Estelle by Scott Pickett) to bring the vision to life, with finishes showcasing bespoke wares from local artisans, as well as a collection of antique finds. Head Chef Rob Kabboord (Lekker, Quay, Merricote) is plating up a menu of Euro-accented bistro fare that's at once timeless and unafraid of modern technique. An expansive seafood selection kicks things off, featuring a range of caviar served by the gram or the tin, alongside bites like the Storm Bay clam finished with chive and cucumber, and Hervey Bay scallops starring fennel and finger lime. If this section is where your heart lies, you can even opt for a two- or four-person seafood platter. [caption id="attachment_797481" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tania Bahr Vollrath[/caption] A rich black truffle and foie gras toastie makes for a decadent snack, as does the gruyère-laced dry-aged duck and shiitake burger — surely a cult favourite in the making. Deeper in, you might find yourself tucking into a delicate Robbins Island tartare topped with a potato crisp and caviar, the 'poulet au cidre' chicken done with calvados and apple, or a generous Yarra Valley Berkshire pork cutlet teamed with vichy-style carrots. And, while the cheese selection features an impressive, global lineup, prepare to be more than little swayed by lush desserts like the raspberry and gin baba. A grand, broad-ranging wine cellar rounds out the fun, including drops sourced from across Australia and the world, and a pick of top-shelf wines displayed artfully in a former safe within one of the dining room walls. Find Chancery Lane at 430 Little Collins Street, Melbourne. It's open 12pm–10pm Monday–Friday and from 6pm–10pm Saturdays. Images: Tania Bahr-Vollrath
Melbourne is pretty packed with excellent record shops, but Greville Records is one of the oldest, having stocked local and international independent albums for over 30 years. Digging around for records could be considered half the fun (even when you're purchasing it as a gift for someone else's collection), so in terms of shopping adventures, this is a good one. The friendly staff here are up for a chat, and they can even order something specific in for you if they don't have it in stock — all you have to do is ask. Whether you're after a new release or a golden oldie, it's a pretty sure bet that these guys will have it, no matter how obscure the request. Images: Parker Blain.
It's time for another summer of dancing, drinking and good times at Piknic Électronik. The electronic music party series returns for its sixth iteration, bringing openair revelry to Sidney Myer Music Bowl from 10am–10pm one Sunday a month — this is a change from the weekly parties of previous years, to a jam-packed monthly event. Detroit's record label owner, DJ and musician Moodymann will bring soulful sounds to the December event, getting punters moving with his signature blend of techno and house, alongside co-headliner and old-school dance music master Mr G. Also on the lineup is Nastia — one of the biggest names in modern techno, all the way from Ukraine — supported by Melbourne's own Laura King. Piknic has again teamed up with Thick as Thieves to co-present February's festivities, curating sets from Cologne super house duo Andhim, Melbourne's Boogs, Brian Fantana and BINI. The lineup for the final Sunday of the season, March 29, is still being kept under wraps, but you can expect something epic to finish up the summer. In between sets, you can get a drink at the bar, fill up on treats from local food trucks and take a moment to relax in a dedicated chill-out zone. Images: Wade Malligan.
Last year's edition might have been axed due to the pandemic, but one of the country's longest-running music festivals is back, bigger than ever, and set on kicking off 2022 with a bang. The iconic St Kilda Festival will return next month in an expanded multi-day format, with a stacked program of performances featuring stars like Daryl Brathwaite, Emma Donovan, Archie Roach and more. From Saturday, February 5–Sunday, February 13, the bayside suburb's foreshore will come alive with multiple stages playing host to a diverse lineup of live tunes and dance performances, all backed by a jam-packed offering of tasty fare, market stalls, workshops and carnival rides. Firing up Melbourne's gig calendar for the new year, the Foreshore Stage at South Beach Reserve is set to serve up sounds from big-name acts like Braithwaite, Donovan with The Putbacks, Gordi, Baker Boy, Soju Gang and The Bamboos. Then, on February 12, catch the likes of Archie Roach, Chasing Ghosts, Kee'ahn and The Merindas as part of the Yaluk-ut Weelam Ngargee First Peoples arts and cultural showcase. Elsewhere, you'll find a sprinkling of pop courtesy of acts like Ashwarya and Devy, R&B tunes delivered by Vetta Borne and Squid the Kid, a touch of psychedelic rock via The Lazy Eyes, and a dose of signature sparkle from performance artists The Huxleys. Hitting the DJ decks are favourites like Big Rig, DJ pgz, Shaad and PET$, plus there's a whole roster of family-friendly entertainment peppered throughout the nine-day festival. Many local businesses will extend their trading hours for the occasion, amplifying the precinct's summertime buzz, and there'll be an array of food and market stalls to shop in between your musical adventures. St Kilda Festival is set to operate under a comprehensive COVID-safe plan, in accordance with any current restrictions and capacity limits. You'll also be able to catch any COVID-related updates over on the website or via the social channels. Catch St Kilda Festival 2022 from Saturday, February 5–Sunday, February 13, at St Kilda Foreshore, St Kilda. See the full program at the event's website. Images: Nathan Doran
The Woodhouse has been known for serving up some of the best steaks in Bendigo since it opened in 2012, but now it's also home to a new wine and cocktail bar. Here, the interiors follow the same aesthetic as the main restaurant, giving off those luxe steakhouse vibes thanks to the use of white marble tabletops, plenty of timber finishes and proper mood lighting. The wine offering here is the standout, with the team serving up 28 by the glass and over 300 by the bottle. There are a few hyper-local Bendigo drops, as well as some from across Australia and Europe. House cocktails, beers, ciders, and an extensive range of spirits (this includes rows of whisky) round out the drink offerings at The Woodhouse Bar. Either drop by for drinks and light bites before heading to some of Bendigo's top places to eat, or follow it up with dinner at the main dining room, perhaps sampling its five-course meat-heavy set menu. If you're after a steak, you'll still need to head next door, but Chefs and Co-Owners Paul Pitcher and Tony Panetta have created a special snacking menu just for the bar. Top-grade wagyu is unsurprisingly included throughout the menu, featuring in the beef tartare, mini sliders and brisket skewers. But a few solid seafood and vegetarian dishes also make it on the list, alongside some salumi and cheese boards. You'll find The Woodhouse Bar at 101 Williamson Street, Bendigo, open from 5pm till late on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and from 3pm till late from Thursday to Saturday. For more details, check out the venue's website.
Some of gothic horror's greatest masterpieces foresaw their longevity. Bram Stoker's Dracula will never die, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein will never stop being brought to life, either. Shake & Stir Theatre Co took on the former back in 2015 and 2017, in a brand-new world-premiere stage production that sunk its fangs into the most famous vampire tale there is. Now, the South Brisbane-based theatre company has turned its attention to Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Shake & Stir's new version of Frankenstein debuted in Queensland in 2023, and will now head to Melbourne and Sydney before 2024 is out. The story remains the same as it has since 1818, of course, following a young scientist tormented by grief, a bold push to thwart mortality, plus the consequences sparked by his act of playing god. And, as always, it covers the impact upon the being that's spliced together, jolted into existence, yearns to belong, but is swiftly and cruelly shunned. "Gothic fiction is a passion of the company, and Shelley's ground-breaking novel, credited for both its gothic roots and for pioneering the science fiction genre, presents an excitingly monstrous challenge in mounting it for the stage," said Shake & Stir Co-Artistic Director Nick Skubij, who is also directing Frankenstein, when the Brisbane season was announced. "We couldn't be more excited to be presenting this brilliant production to audiences in Melbourne and Sydney. Those eager to see an absolute classic story live on stage will be appeased, along with those hungry to be impressed by new theatrical forms," added Skubij about the new seasons. "This production invites audiences on a journey into the mind of a madman and they will see things on stage that they've seldom seen before. This is Shelley's classic story told in a brand-new, hi-tech monster of a show. Multiple axis of automation, over 140 square metres of LED video panels, pyrotechnics and a cinematic, sweeping score — all working seamlessly together to bring Shelly's tale to visceral life." Accordingly, audiences at Melbourne's Princess Theatre from Friday, August 23–Sunday, September 1 and Sydney Theatre Royal from Saturday, September 28–Sunday, October 13, 2024 can expect an immersive performance that steps through Shelley's classic — and with a big emphasis on production design. Think: those video and digital elements playing a hefty part, and the meticulous sound design setting the mood. Shake & Stir's Frankenstein follows not only Dracula, but also Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, A Christmas Carol, Macbeth, Othello, Animal Farm, The Twits, Fantastic Mr Fox and Romeo & Juliet among the company's looks backwards. In the past few years, the theatre group has brought Fourteen and Tae Tae in the Land of Yaaas! — both personal stories, with the first based on the memoir of the same name — to the stage as well. The oft-adapted Frankenstein is no stranger to audiences, including earning a stunning Royal National Theatre iteration by Danny Boyle (Yesterday) starring Benedict Cumberbatch (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar) and Jonny Lee Miller (Guy Ritchie's The Covenant) in 2011 — with the two actors rotating roles between Victor and the creature each night — that's been playing cinemas worldwide ever since thanks to NT Live. With Shake & Stir's take, Skubij sees the timelessness of the work, plus the current parallels. "It's been fascinating to consider this incredible work dealing with themes of advancement, progress and pushing the limits of possibility alongside contemporary advances in AI technology today. The story could not be more relevant," he noted. "Like Victor Frankenstein's creation, AI is arguably neither good nor bad; it's how it's built and used that dictates its legacy." "Frankenstein's monster is just that: a living, breathing 'being' far superior in capabilities than any natural human could ever be. But what are the consequences of using science to play God?" Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Adapted by Shake & Stir Theatre Co Dates: Friday, August 23–Sunday, September 1, 2024 — Princess Theatre, Melbourne Saturday, September 28–Sunday, October 13, 2024 — Sydney Theatre Royal, Sydney Shake & Stir Theatre Co's Frankenstein will play Melbourne in August and September 2024, and Sydney in September and October 2024. Head to the production's website for further information — and for tickets from Friday, May 17. Images: Joel Devereaux.
When is a hotel not really a hotel? When it's a hotel-themed bar that decks out its interiors like somewhere you can stay — taking a few cues from Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shining's Overlook Hotel, in fact — but doesn't actually include slumbering in its rooms. When is an escape room bar not at all an escape room bar? When it takes the escape room concept of theming different spaces — those aforementioned hotel-style rooms — and decks them out with challenges instead. Yes, the premise behind Hijinx Hotel needs a bit of explaining. It also gleans inspiration from all those supremely Instagrammable pop-up installations that include ball pits, but this one is sticking around in one spot permanently. Plus, it jams in three different bars for multiple cocktail-sipping opportunities, nods to New York hotels in its facade, and ensures that each one of its rooms pays homage to either a movie or a board game from the 80s and 90s. First announced back in mid-April, and now opening its doors in Sydney on Friday, June 17, Hijinx Hotel is basically an OTT nostalgia bomb — and something that Willy Wonka would've been proud to dream up if the fictional character branched out beyond making chocolate and candy. It hails from a team that know a few things about indulgent kidulting experiences, with Funlab also behind venues such as Strike, Holey Moley, Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq, and B Lucky and Sons. And, Hijinx Hotel also sits next to a brand-new 27-hole Holey Moley, too, with the boozy mini-golf spot's latest venue going big on Alice in Wonderland vibes. Escapism is clearly the name of the game here, and partying like you would've before you were old enough to drink alcohol — but with the hard stuff definitely on offer. Wondering what that entails? Yes, it's as chaotic as it all sounds. Firstly, you enter via the faux hotel lobby bar that's full of colour and surrealist touches. You won't miss the purple unicorn in the centre of the bar, for instance. Instead of merely checking in, though, you'll down cocktails in the neon-lit space — including a particularly potent Red Bull number that's served in a golden owl-shaped vessel, multiple types of margaritas, and the bubble-topped Bubble and Pop (made with tequila, white chocolate, passionfruit, lemon and egg white, and that scented bubble) — and hang out in booths. As for the not-quite-hotel rooms themselves, there's 15 of them, with ten opening at launch and five more unveiling their wonders in the weeks afterwards. To gain access, you do need to head to reception t0 pick up a swipe card. Next, you'll follow the concierge's instructions to the red elevator — without a river of blood flowing out of it, thankfully. Inside the rooms, prepare to play games inspired by Twister, Scrabble and Tetris — here called Poke A Dot, Scrambled and Shape'n Up — in separate spaces. Or, Tom Hanks fans can live out their Big dreams in the piano room, which features a giant keyboard across the floor, and requires you to play it with your feet. Prefer Titanic? Then make a date with the Draw Me Like One Of Your French Girls room, which is designed to make you feel like you're in the middle of a sinking ship. Other highlights include a pastel ball pit that resembles a huge bowl of cereal, a room that releases balls from the top of the wall like you're in a life-sized pinball machine, and another that's all about shooting hoops. In each, you'll need to complete a challenge within a set time — with set packages spanning five rooms starting at $25 per adult for 30 minutes. As well as that already-mentioned lobby bar, there are two other places in quench your thirst — and you can snack on bites such as fries, pizzas and two-cheese toasted sandwiches. Whether you're a Sydneysider scoping out your next boozy bit of fun, or you live elsewhere and you're making plans for a trip to the Harbour City, you now have somewhere new to head to. And, as well as that new Holey Moley, there's also an Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq in the same complex. Usually, Funlab launches its new concepts in one city, then shares the love across other east coast capitals. So Melburnians and Brisbanites, cross your fingers that more Hijinx Hotels will eventually pop up closer to home. Find Hijinx Hotel at 75 O'Riordan Street, Alexandria, Sydney, from Friday, June 17. For further information or to make a booking, head to the venue's website.
They're the masters of immersive thrills, such as smash-hit shipping container installations Seance, Coma and Flight. But, as we learned last year, not even the folks at Realscape Productions are immune to the realities of pandemic life. When they were locked down with the rest of Melbourne the first time around, they put their nerve-jangling real-life projects on hiatus — and teamed up with UK creators Darkfield on three brand-new audio experiences that fans could enjoy from the comfort of home. With Melbourne currently experiencing a case of stay-at-home deja vu, Realscape and Darkfield are bringing their trio of audio shows back — just for the duration of the current lockdown. Sick of looking at the TV and checking the exposure sites list? Already had your two hours of exercise for the day? Now you've got something else to put on your to-do list: getting creeped out just by listening. You can also nab a ticket if you're located elsewhere around the country. While Double, Visitors and Eternal are all designed to be delivered remotely, they're also geared to be every bit as eerie and unsettling as their IRL predecessors. With Double, for instance, you'll be plunged into an immersive experience that's meant to perplex the senses — this time, with the use of a 360-degree binaural sound that's played through your own headphones. Inspired by the Capgras delusion, a condition which sees a sufferer convinced that a loved one has been replaced by an imposter (sometimes an evil-intentioned one), it requires a two-person set-up, with players seated across a table from each other. The pair of you will then tune into a special 20-minute broadcast, at the exact time as hundreds of other players across the country. And there's just one rule to follow: everyone has to be who they say they are. Visitors uses the same sound setup, and is also designed for two people to listen to at once. It starts with another two folks as well: a dead couple who invite themselves into the your home. They're eager to escape their current state, even if only temporarily. "We didn't know where else to go," they'll tell you — and then you'll each hear two different sides of the story. Only Eternal is designed to be heard on your lonesome. It's inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula, aka one of the best horror novels ever written (and certainly the best vampire novel), and you're meant to play it while you're alone in bed. Originally commissioned by Ireland's Bram Stoker Festival, the 20-minute-long experience explores the allure of living forever — and will get you pondering what you'd willingly do to avoid death. The uneasiness everyone feels when they hear something go bump in the night also plays a part, because that's just the kind of sensation the production aims to conjure up. At the time of writing, all three productions will be available to listen to until Thursday, June 3 — with lockdown currently set to end at 11.59pm that evening. And, if you want to make a night of it, you can get access to the trio with one $40 ticket. Double, Visitors and Eternal are available to listen to until Thursday, June 3. For more information and to buy tickets, head to the Darkfield website. Images: Alex Purcell
When that sweet tooth of yours starts hankering for treats this weekend, we know just where to take it. Sate those sugar cravings by heading down to Tarts Anon's Collingwood digs for an irresistibly sweet food pop-up. From Saturday, April 1–Sunday, April 2, the legendary dessert pit-stop is teaming up with your mates at ice cream brand Connoisseur to serve up some limited edition goodies — and to give away a stack of freebies. Head along from 11am each day to try two new creations made using the new line of Connoisseur Laneway Sweets ice cream tubs. The two new flavours, Crunchy Peanut Butter and Baked Choc Chip Cookie, are being scooped into bespoke Tarts Anon bases then sprinkled with a house-made dessert crumb to finish. You'll get to try the collaboration treats for free, though there's only a limited number up for grabs each day. There'll also be a range of chocolate-coated ice cream sticks to sample and live tunes keeping the festive vibes flowing all day long.
Think of Thornbury and you probably don't think of the surf — after all, it's over ten kilometres to the nearest beach, and at least an hour's drive from any surfable ones. This landlocked reality did not stop Zak Koniaris from opening up a shrine to all things surf on Thornbury's Victoria Road over two decades ago (and another in Newport soon after). Then known as Zak Surfboards, the store became more than just a place to pick up surf equipment and apparel — it helped to foster a community of surfers from all over Melbourne. The store rebranded in 2020 to Melbourne Surf Board Shop, and continues to stock everything you need to take on the waves, from surfboards (both new and secondhand) and board parts to towels and sunscreen. If you get your kicks from something a little more land-based, Melbourne Surf Board Shop also stocks a great range of skateboarding equipment. Image: Daniel Fuge
This article is sponsored by our partners, Bombay Sapphire. Bombay Sapphire has always been a pretty classy gin. Its alluring blue bottle always catches your eye in the bottle-o and all its talk of enriching botanicals makes it sound like some mythical nectar of the forest. In fact, Bombay is so god-damned classy that it's giving you a month-long dedicated gin hangout in North Melbourne this month. From November 19-December 6, Project Botanicals will be dishing up quality Bombay cocktails and paired gourmet fare to boot. But this isn't any lowly pub grub; the 10 dishes on show have been specially curated for the event by none other than Masterchef's own Gary Mehigan. Your ticket price ($35) will cover the cost of two cocktails and two dishes and, if you want to come in ready and raring to go, we've got the lowdown on the best of the bunch. Get pickin' now. Moonlight Flat Oysters What better way to welcome the summer months than gin and seafood. As it wouldn't make any sense to pair light spirits with big fat steaks, the Project Botanicals menu is stacked full of delicious treats from the sea. In a twist from the usual couple o' lemon wedges, these locally sourced oysters will come served with lemon and almond cream, as well as a samphire and rose water granita. To complement this fresh summer offering, Botanicals will be slingin' you an Almond Swizzle. Drawing from the ingredients in the dish, this cocktail will mix Bombay with fresh lemon juice, Orgeat almond syrup, sugar syrup, and bitters with crushed ice, orange and mint. It's definitely best served while kickin' back in the sun and dreaming of the beach. Blue Swimmer Crab Toasts Sticking with that coastal theme, no seafood lover will be able to go past the blue swimmer crab. Served with roasted garlic, lavender and a pecan dukkah, this nom-fest will be served on moorish toasts — a definite step above the cheese on toast (plus tomato if you're feeling fancy) combo you're used to whipping up at home. This will then be served with a special take on the classic G&T. Inspired by the juniper found in their classic gin, Bombay Sapphire have whipped up the Juniper Sublime G&T. With the usual gin, Fever Tree tonic, and lime, this cheeky drink will also be infused with a juniper-flavoured aromatic fog. That's right people, you're not doing a G&T justice unless you're flavouring its air. Tartine of Field Mushrooms If seafood just isn't your jam, this fancy tartine should be just the thing. Comprised of Jamon Iberico (a meat not dissimilar to prosciutto), field mushrooms, quail egg and crisp shallots, this open sandwich will have you pining for a summer picnic basket. To round out that killer Euro vibe, this dish is served with a classic Negroni. Bombay, Martini Rosso, and Campari will be stirred with dehydrated orange and Hoshizaki ice. Be warned: with no mixers in sight, this is a drink for hardcore gin fiends. Crunchy Chicken Slider If you're craving something a little more hearty (read: fried), you can't go past the chicken slider. Served with apple slaw, cress and lavender, this cheeky little slice of chicken-based heaven will have your mouth watering from the get go. It also comes with one of the most exotic cocktails of the menu. The Cubeb Berry Fizz will feature Bombay with lavender syrup, vanilla syrup, lemon juice, egg white, soda water and lavender bitters (trust us, it's a thing). Lavender has come a long way from being the primary ingredient of your mum's perfume. (Fancy) Strawberries and Cream If you're anything like us, you'll be hankering for a sweet treat by this point. But don't worry — this menu caters to all tastes. In particular, this absolute winner of a dish will see the classic strawberries and cream combo improved with candied violets, lemon cream and warm breton crumble. This sweet overload will then be tempered with a citrus-based cocktail. Orris Aviation combines Bombay, Creme Yvette, Maraschino and edible violets with fresh lemon juice. Yes, it's still super sweet, but trust us — when you're sipping on violet and cherry liqueur, it's very difficult to complain about anything. Project Botanicals will be open every Wednesday-Sunday evening at 64 Sutton Street, North Melbourne. For just $35 per person, you'll be treated to two cocktails and matching tapas style dishes. Book your tickets here.
The joining of whisky and beer has seen incarnations aplenty — from considered, craft-focused boilermaker pairings, to hard shandies, to the old Scottish favourite, the 'hauf an' a hauf'. But now, Glaswegian whisky Auchentoshan (pronounced ock-un-tosh-un) is steering this boozy union to a clever new place, reimagining that age-old 'hauf an' a hauf' as a refreshing cocktail for the discerning scotch-sippers of today. Not a beer, not a whisky, not even a boilermaker, the Auchentoshan & Ale is something refreshingly different, says brand ambassador Michael Nouri. Shaking up cocktail lists at select local bars this month until the end of June, the Auchentoshan & Ale is whisky and beer's latest manifestation. Smooth, uniquely triple-distilled and a great whisky for cocktails, Auchentoshan American Oak complements a blend of pale ale, fresh lemon juice and sugar syrup, making one warming, yet refreshing drink. It's a new way of drinking two birds with one stone — that's how the saying goes, right? Find out where you can sip your own Auchentoshan & Ale in Melbourne below. LULIE ST TAVERN, ABBOTSFORD A laidback gem set among the backstreets of Abbotsford, Lulie Street Tavern's warehouse space is an outright charmer. Life's rarely as sweet as when you're kicking back in a place like this with some whisky and beer, shooting some pool, vibing off a friendly crowd of regulars and grooving to a banging soundtrack of vinyl tunes. THE KILBURN, HAWTHORN Housed in a stunning heritage building and with a style that cleverly mixes old and new, The Kilburn is the drinking destination you need in your back pocket. A bar well-versed in the art of fine boozing, its star features include a 600-strong curation of whisky and a blissful rotation of boutique brews. [caption id="attachment_624436" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tofu Studios[/caption] THE WOOLSHED, DOCKLANDS With its newly reworked interiors and idyllic harbourside location just a few skips out of the CBD, The Woolshed is after-work drinks gold. Here, the suave surrounds of the fireside room prove the perfect winter escape, especially with a prime cut steak in your belly and a fine whisky cocktail exciting your palate. CAMPARI HOUSE, CBD One of Melbourne's original laneway haunts, the multi-level Campari House has a space for every mood and occasion. Get comfy in the dining room with a feast of rustic Italian fare, unwind over cocktails and DJ tunes in the upstairs lounge, or venture to the Astroturfed rooftop bar to team an Auchentoshan & Ale with sweeping city views. THE RAILWAY HOTEL, BRUNSWICK The historic facade of The Railway Hotel gives way to sprawling, contemporary interiors, where a killer live music program pulls folks from far and wide. Inspiring mid-week pub hangs and late-night revelry in equal measure, it's a space just as well suited to low-key pizzas and jugs, as to that 3am, DJ-driven dance floor session. Add in this whisky and beer match, and you're in for a night of full-frontal merriment. Learn more about why whisky and beer go so well together, and get yourself down to one of these Melbourne haunts for an Auchentoshan & Ale.
