If your fitness regime is in need of a little post-summer pick-me-up, then this free wellness day might just hit the spot. On Sunday, March 15, the Bayside suburb of Port Melbourne is hosting a health-packed community open day, as some of its most-loved gyms, spa retreats and health food stores open their doors — for free. A program of free activities and sessions will give guests a taste of some of the suburb's best wellness offerings. You can try your hand at a boxing, spin classes, hot yoga or pilates — all held on a beachside stage next to Port Melbourne Yacht Club — indulge in a free massage, sit in on one of the expert-led health workshops and sample stacks of great local fare. Some of the area's top gyms and wellness operators will have extra goodies in store for visitors on the day, too, from specials on personal training to offers on skin and body treatments. The whole thing is free and if you register you'll be in with a chance to win some fab prizes. Gold-coin donations will be encouraged on the day, with all proceeds going towards bushfire-recovery efforts in the Lakes Entrance community. Port Melbourne's free day of wellness runs from 7.30am–2pm.
If you looking to write something poignant but can't seem to get the words to form in your mind or onto the page, you may just need a bit of inspiration to kick your creativity into gear. Some words of wisdom from the mouths of some of history's best writers and poets may help you do just that. From T.S. Eliot to George Orwell, here are some creative tips to help you put pen to paper. Elmore Leonard Anton Chekhov F. Scott Fitzgerald George Orwell Ernest Hemingway Kurt Vonnegut Mark Twain Saul Bellow T.S. Eliot G.K. Chesterton Gertrude Stein Toni Morrison [Via Buzzfeed]
Massachusetts Institute of Technology looks like a rad place to study. Dotted around Killian Court in the university grounds are SOFT Rockers, solar powered lounge chairs which let you recharge yourself and your electronics between classes. The seats rotate on an axis to soak up the sun, and the rocking motion created when you sit inside generates extra electricity. All of which powers three USB ports plus a light strip on the inside of the chair. Professor Sheila Kennedy and a team of students created this concept for the Festival of Art+Science+Technology (FAST) as a sustainable alternative to "conventional 'hard' urban infrastructure." [Via Engadget]
Wearable technology has been around for a few years now, but hasn't really taken off. Google Glass tried to get everyone to stick a computer on their face, while the Apple Watch attempted to move smartphones onto everyone's wrists — but, as cool and suitably futuristic as both are, they're hardly must-have gadgets. That's where Snapchat comes in. A few months ago they announced they would make their first foray into the hardware realm with Spectacles, a pair of sunglasses that can capture ten-second bursts of video. And now they're officially available to the public. But you can't just go online and order a pair. Oh no — that'd be way too easy. Instead, Snapchat will be selling the specs from a roaming yellow vending machine (that doesn't look unlike a Minion). Punters have to check the Snapchat website to see where it will be set up each day. Earlier today it was at Venice Beach in LA. pic.twitter.com/ECQhbYZBPa — Spectacles (@Spectacles) November 10, 2016 So what do the Spectacles actually do? Well, they're basically a cheaper version of Google's eyewear with one specific function: to take Snapchats. But as well as turning the act of taking photos into a mostly hands-free task (unless you can press buttons with your mind, you're still going to have to lift a finger to the frames to start each clip, sadly), Spectacles boast two major drawcards. Firstly, they look like regular glasses, rather than Robocop-like attire, complete with black, teal and coral styles. And even better, they're going to be affordable, at $130 USD a pair. Other features include a 115-degree lens designed to mimic the human field of vision, as well as the ability to capture circular images to approximate our natural perspective. And yes, everything you record with your new toy will then upload to your Snapchat account, after connecting to your phone via wifi. No word as yet regarding a local release date. By Sarah Ward and Lauren Vadnjal.
Visitors along Victoria's legendary Great Ocean Road who are planning to swing by the famous Great Apostles will soon have to have a card or cash ready — the legendary coastal landmark is enacting an entry tax for visitors in a controversial new decision from the Victorian government announced on Monday. Attached to the upcoming Twelve Apostles Visitor Experience Centre, a construction project costing $128 million that's set to open up at the end of the year, the new entry fee is intended to go towards the centre's upkeep, as well as funding ongoing upkeep and restorations to beaches and other landmarks in the Great Ocean Road region. Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos explained that "We're investing in the future of the Great Ocean Road region and making sure every single cent spent in the region stays there," adding that "It's only fair that visitors to the region pay a small fee to visit this world-class destination so that we can maintain it for future generations." [caption id="attachment_1081243" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] iStock[/caption] The exact cost of the new fee is yet to be determined, but will be decided in consultation with local councils, traditional owners and businesses throughout southwest Victoria. Locals and members of the Eastern Maar community will not be charged. To help mitigate the flow of visitors (according to the ABC, on average, two million of the Great Ocean Road's typical six million tourists visit the Twelve Apostles), a new booking system will also be enacted to guarantee parking at peak times. Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism Chair, Andrew Jeffers, said "Managing visitation at the Twelve Apostles will help protect the landscape, support local communities, reduce congestion and ensure visitors have a much better experience when they come to see one of Australia's most iconic natural attractions," adding that many natural landmarks around Australia and the world now charge entry fees. Expectedly, many are unhappy about the change. When The Guardian shared the news, one commenter wrote "I don't mind a fee for visitors, like most National Parks in the USA and Canada charge, but I think Victorian residents should be exempt," while one user in 9 News Melbourne's comments section added pointedly "I'm only paying if I can see all 12 of them." [caption id="attachment_1081244" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] iStock[/caption]
One of Australia's largest Greek Festivals, Antipodes is a bit of an institution. It has taken over Lonsdale Street in the CBD with dancing, loukoumades and ouzo every year for more than three decades — and it shows little sign of slowing down. This year, the festivities start on Saturday, February 29, with market stalls, live music, dance and cultural performances, and all of the delicious Greek food and drinks your stomach can handle. Sip an iced cold kafe kai frappe, enjoy a yiros, load up on sugary loukoumades, and unwind with a few Mythos beers and an ouzo or two. The festivities continue on Sunday, with more food (and more ouzo). Also on the bill: a zorba till you drop contest, songs by top Greek performer Yiota Nega and a pastito cooking competition — as well as a cocktail party that'll have you dancing on tables. Antipodes Lonsdale Street Greek Festival will run from 10am until late on Saturday and Sunday. Images: The Greek Centre.
For ten years, Royale Brothers has been known as the spot to go for burgers in Brighton. This hole-in-the-wall burger joint was started by the owners of The Pantry — more or less a local institution — who know a thing or two about running a cafe. And so, following such success, have decided to transform Royale Brothers into Royale, a contemporary cafe inspired by old-school Australian diners (not to be mistaken with American diners). Thankfully, most of its burgers remain on the menu. But the team is now also slinging breakfast dishes and classic Aussie diner fare. Kick things off with waffles or pancakes with a bunch of toppings; a brekkie bun, brekkie burger and brekkie sandwich; avocado on toast; and a big breakfast platter with bacon, hash browns and guacamole. For lunch, you've then got spaghetti bolognese, a range of different chicken schnitzels with chips, caesar salad, seafood basket and nachos. It's a really playful menu full of crowd-pleasing dishes. Thickshakes, coffee, juice and sodas round out the offerings here, all served up within newly designed digs. And we do hope booze will eventually make it to the menu, as it would make a stellar boozy brunch spot. You'll find the newly revamped Royale at 1 Church Street, Brighton, open 10am–8.30pm from Sunday–Thursday, and 10am–9pm on Friday and Saturday. For more details, you can check out the venue's website.
No, this isn't The Onion or an ad for Portlandia. It may be the most hipster headline we've written for some time, but the news is interesting all the same. In 2002, New York-based artist Peter Coffin began a project called Music For Plants. Exploring the idea that plants can hear and respond to different types of sounds, he enlisted the help of a bunch of famous musicians and got to recording music in greenhouses all over the world. Twelve years later, he's released the relaxing, flower child goodness unto all of the internet and it's safe to say your Sunday listening has got significantly more chilled. With special compositions performed by Sonic Youth, Ariel Pink, Mice Parade, Yoko Ono, and members of Animal Collective, the two volumes Coffin has released via Soundcloud are surprisingly star-studded. Though you may find a couple of them familiar — Ariel Pink's offering 'Passing the Petal 2 U' also appeared on their 2007 EP Scared Famous — the general audience for most tracks has so far consisted of ferns and flowers. Of course, this is something you can deduct from the general meandering, floaty, chillwave style of both volumes. Most tracks are characterised by birds quietly chirping alongside delicate guitar picking, slow-paced melody and, one happy occasion, a vibraphone makes an appearance. One wouldn't usually pick Sonic Youth for such a collection, but their instrumental track 'Creepers and Climbers' fits in well; the perfect choice for the alternative pot plant among the bunch. Coffin has released both volumes online as publicity for his recent installation in New York. With the goal of recording a third volume, artists such as Kelela, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Teengirl Fantasy are currently bunkered down in a gallery greenhouse serenading more lucky foliage. Though we fully realise you are not a plant of any kind, we still recommend listening to the volumes below if you're after a weekend chill session. For optimum enjoyment, we suggest listening to the music while basking in the sun or being lightly sprinkled with a Spring rain. Though the music has not yet been tested on human brains, we're secretly holding out hope that it will somehow make us slightly taller. Via Pitchfork and Dazed Digital.
First postponed from July to October, Splendour in the Grass has now pulled the plug on all plans for a 2020 festival, announcing today, June 10, that its 20th-anniversary event will now be held in winter 2021. There is some good news, though, with the long lead time, the festival is intending to rebook as much of its 2020 lineup as possible. And, it's one helluva lineup. Flume was slated to head back Down Under, together with IGOR-creator Tyler, The Creator and The Strokes, who were set to perform their first new album in seven years, The New Abnormal. Of course, these artists heading to North Byron Parklands all hangs on the reopening of Australia's borders — which we hope, with a vaccine slated for 10-15 months, will be a reality by next winter. If the borders aren't open, Splendour in the Grass will still have a solid local lineup, including the one-and-only Midnight Oil, who have recently started recording music together for the first time in two decades. Also part of the OG local contingent, and hopefully set to return next July: Stella Donnelly, Violent Soho, Thelma Plum, Jack River and Alice Ivy. You can check out the full original lineup over here. https://www.facebook.com/splendourinthegrass/photos/a.140253397435/10158443101642436/ If you've already purchased a ticket for SITG 2020, you'll be happy to know that it's valid for the 2021 edition. If you haven't, more tickets will be available from 12pm on Monday, June 15. Yes, next week. Buying a festival tickets 13 months ahead is certainly novel, and kinda strange, but 2020 isn't so normal. The exact details — and lineup — for SITG 2021 are still up in the air, but we'll let you know as soon as anything is confirmed. Splendour in the Grass has been postponed again and will now take over North Byron Bay Parkland from July 23–25, 2021. All 2020 tickets are valid for 2021, and new tickets will go on sale at 12pm on Monday, June 15 via splendourinthegrass.com. Top image: Byron Bay's Splendour in the Grass 2017 by Charlie Hardy
There has certainly been a bit of buzz surrounding Chuckle Deli since its opening earlier in the month. The party starters behind New Guernica and the lovely hidden gem that is Chuckle Park have gone one step further by setting up an old-school deli in one of Melbourne's unsuspecting laneways. Chef Brian Narciso (ex La Luna and Gorski & Jones) is at the helm, teaming up with New Guernica DJ Nick Jamieson to write up the daily changing menu. Their food offerings include five fresh salads and, usually, three types of sandwiches. Also located in the cabinets are cured meats and cheese that you're welcome to take home. The walls are adorned with imported wine, as well as a collection of the owner's favourite spirits — just in case the mood strikes you for a midday or late afternoon tipple. Also featured on the walls are large jars of Chuckle's very own homemade preserved lemons, tomato relish and pickles. And any venue that goes to the trouble of bottling their own creations so we can consume them at home is immediately a winner in our book. While the sandwiches were just starting to come out as we arrived — and they certainly looked darn good — we decided to get some bang for our buck by sampling three salads for $10. We tried the smoky chicken, the kisir salad and the zucchini ribbon. The kisir, a traditionally Turkish type of tabbouleh, is made up of bulgur wheat, seared tomatoes, parsley, onions and pomegranate molasses, as well as actual pomegranates that burst in flavour with every unsuspecting mouthful. The zucchini ribbon was light and refreshing with pine nuts, mint and dates, but hands down, the smoked chicken was our favourite. Juicy home-smoked chicken met with crunchy walnuts, creamy feta, and ribbons of fennel. It's exactly what you want in a winter salad. The coffee here is reliable and up to the lofty Melbourne standard, but let's get one thing straight: this isn't a cafe. It's clear that the main attraction at Chuckle Deli is the food, and the time and energy preparing even the smallest details of each dish does not go unnoticed. The staff are friendly and happy to answer any questions. Although we did visit at a quieter moment of the day, they strike you as the kind of people who are happy to have a chat about what they do and how they do it. Friendly staff + a daily rotating menu + value for money = a return visit from us. Forget what you've heard, you can totally make friends with salad.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. RED ROCKET It might sound crazy, but it ain't no lie: Red Rocket's *NSYNC needle drops, the cost of which likely almost eclipsed the rest of the film's budget, provide a sensational mix of movie music moments in an all-round sensational picture. A portrait of an ex-porn star's knotty homecoming to the oil-and-gas hub that is Texas City, the feature only actually includes one song by the Justin Timberlake-fronted late-90s/early-00s boyband, but it makes the most of it. That tune is 'Bye Bye Bye', and it's a doozy. With its instantly recognisable blend of synth and violins, it first kicks in as the film itself does, and as the bruised face of Mikey Saber (Simon Rex, Scary Movie 3, 4 and 5) peers out of a bus window en route from Los Angeles. Its lyrics — "I'm doing this tonight, you're probably gonna start a fight, I know this can't be right" — couldn't fit the situation better. The infectiously catchy vibe couldn't be more perfect as well, and nor could the contrast that all those upbeat sounds have always had with the track's words. As he demonstrates with every film, Red Rocket writer/director/editor Sean Baker is one of the best and shrewdest filmmakers working today — one of the most perceptive helmers taking slice-of-life looks at American existence on the margins, too. His latest movie joins Starlet, Tangerine and The Florida Project on a resume that just keeps impressing, but there's an edge here born of open recognition that Mikey is no one's hero. He's a narcissist, sociopath and self-aggrandiser who knows how to talk his way into anything, claim success from anyone else's wins and blame the world for all his own woes. He's someone that everyone in his orbit can't take no more and wants to see out that door, as if *NSYNC's now-22-year-old lyrics were specifically penned about him. He's also a charismatic charmer who draws people in like a whirlwind. He's the beat and the words of 'Bye Bye Bye' come to life, in fact, even if the song wasn't originally in Red Rocket's script. Mikey's return after decades away isn't greeted with smiles or cheers; his estranged wife Lexi (Bree Elrod, Shutter Island), also his ex on-screen partner, is horrified when he arrives on her doorstep unannounced with $22 to his name. It takes him mere minutes to convince her and her mother Lil (Brenda Deiss) to let him crash on their couch, though — and just days to work his way back into Lexi's bed. The begrudging inevitability of their reunion echoes as firmly as Red Rocket's chosen anthem, and both keep repeating throughout the film. Unable to get a job despite his glee when explaining the big gap in his resume ("Google me," he exclaims, revealing his porn past to prospective employers), he's reluctantly given back his old weed-dealing gig by local dealer Leondra (Judy Hill), who clearly isn't thrilled. The two new connections Mikey makes — with a neighbour and a 17-year-old doughnut store cashier — also smack of the same feeling. Both relationships leave as much of an imprint upon Mikey's life as anything can — although, no matter what he contends about every bad turn he's endured, all the chaos plaguing his every waking moment is his own doing. With Lonnie (Ethan Darbone), he gets an adoring sidekick who thinks he can do no wrong and, most importantly, a driver to taxi him around town. With Strawberry (Suzanna Son, chief among the film's many first-timers), he hopes to turn his lust into a way back into the adult film industry, grooming her to make her own thrusts into porn. Both naive and aware of Mikey's brimming bullshit, Strawberry isn't quite as taken in with his promises as he imagines her to be, however. Still, she might quote "it ain't no lie, bye bye bye" about him, but she's also willing enough to go along for the ride. Read our full review. THE KING'S MAN When something shows you its true colours, believe it. The Kingsman franchise certainly did when it debuted in 2014, as viewers have been witnessing ever since. That initial entry, Kingsman: The Secret Service, gave the espionage genre an irreverent and energetic spin, and landed partway between update and parody. But, while making Taron Egerton a star and proving engaging-enough, it didn't know when to call it quits, serving up one of the most ill-judged closing moments that spy flicks have ever seen. Since then, all things Kingsman haven't known when to end either, which is why subpar sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle arrived in 2017, and now unnecessary prequel The King's Man. Another year, another dull origin story. Another year, another stretched Bond knockoff, too. Stepping from 007's latest instalments, including No Time to Die, to this pale imitation, Ralph Fiennes takes over leading man duties in this mostly World War I-centric affair. He looks as if he'd rather be bossing Bond around again, though, sporting the discomfort of someone who finds himself in a movie that doesn't shake out the way it was meant to, or should've, and mirroring the expression likely to sit on viewers' faces while watching. Simply by existing, The King's Man shows that this series just keeps pushing on when that's hardly the best option. It overextends its running time and narrative as well. But as it unfurls the beginnings of the intelligence agency hidden within a Saville Row tailor shop, it ditches everything else that made its predecessors work — when they did work, that is. Most fatally, it jettisons its class clashes and genre satire, and is instead content with being an outlandish period movie about the rich and powerful creating their own secret club. Adapted from Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar's 2012 comics, the Kingsman series hasn't cut too deeply in its past two movies, but it did make the most of its central fish-out-of-water idea. It asked: what if a kid from the supposed wrong side of the tracks entered the espionage realm that's so firmly been established as suave and well-heeled by 007? Finding out why there's even a covert spy organisation staffed by the wealthy and impeccably dressed for that young man to join is a far less intriguing idea, but returning filmmaker Matthew Vaughn — who has now helmed all three Kingsman films — and co-screenwriter Karl Gajdusek (The Last Days of American Crime) don't seem to care. Vaughn has mostly ditched the coarse sex gags this time, too, and for the better, but hasn't found much in the way of personality to replace them. It's in a prologue in 1902 that Fiennes makes his first appearance as Orlando Oxford, a duke travelling to South Africa during the Boer War — and soon made a widower, because The King's Man starts with the tiresome dead wife trope. Twelve years later, Oxford is staunchly a pacifist, so much so that he forbids his now-teenage son Conrad (Harris Dickinson, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) from enlisting when WWI breaks out. But the duke hasn't completely given away serving his country himself, overseeing an off-the-books intelligence network with the help of his servants Shola (Djimon Hounsou, A Quiet Place Part II) and Polly (Gemma Arterton, Summerland). That comes in handy when a nefarious Scottish figure known only as The Shepherd interferes in world affairs, with King George V of England, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (all cousins, and all played by Bohemian Rhapsody's Tom Hollander) his targets. Read our full review. I'M WANITA In Amy, Whitney: Can I Be Me, Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry and similar documentaries, audiences nabbed behind-the-scenes glimpses at music superstars. Via personal and candid footage not initially intended for mass consumption, viewers peeked behind the facade of celebrity — but I'm Wanita evokes the same feelings of intimacy and revelation by pointing its lens at a singer who isn't yet a household name. The self-described 'Australian queen of honky tonk', Wanita Bahtiyar hasn't given filmmaker Matthew Walker a treasure trove of archival materials to weave through his feature debut. Rather, the Tamworth local opens up her daily existence to his observational gaze. Following his 2015 short film about Wanita, Heart of the Queen, Walker spent five years capturing her life — and the resulting doco is as wily as its subject is unpredictable. I'm Wanita mightn't spring from a dream archive of existing footage, but it does dedicate its frames to a dream point of focus; its namesake is the type of subject documentarians surely pray they stumble across. Since becoming obsessed with Hank Williams and Loretta Lynn as a child, Wanita has chased music stardom. Her voice earned her ample attention from her teen years onwards, and her first album received rave reviews that she giddily quotes now; however, she's spent her adult life drinking, partying, and supplementing occasional gigs with sex work. Today, she's a legend in her own head, and also an erratic whirlwind. I'm Wanita charts her trip to Nashville to finally make the record she's always wanted, and yet it never paints her tale as a simplistic portrait of talent unrealised. At home with her beleaguered Turkish husband, rustling up the cash for her big trip with fellow muso and her now-stressed manager Gleny Rae Virus, and in the studio she's always fantasised about, Wanita consistently dances to her own song. She spits out frank and pithy quotes that Walker splashes across the screen as text a little too often, too, but her determination to succeed (and her certainty about her talent) isn't matched by any skerrick of willingness to take a plain, breezy and direct route. It's to Walker's credit that he lets I'm Wanita follow its eponymous figure on that messy and meandering journey, rather than simmering down her story to fit a neat narrative. A Star Is Born, this isn't — even with a glorious closing number that could easily cap off a Hollywood melodrama. Indeed, this is a film about challenges, clashes, contradictions, and careening from highs to lows, with every flat note in Wanita's quest for fame and acclaim largely stemming from the woman herself. It's as rich and engaging a character study that a filmmaker could hope for, because there's simply so much to examine and interrogate (be it Wanita's complicated relationship with her mother and the impact it had on her own efforts with her now mostly estranged daughter, or her belief that alcohol improves her performance versus the reality of seeing her sauced in the studio). Crucially, this is a documentary about pluck, passion, self-belief and self-sabotage, and it steadfastly sees every extreme and everything in-between with clear eyes. In other words, it's the music doco equivalent of a country song, turning hopes and heartbreak into affecting art. I'm Wanita opened in Brisbane cinemas in 2021, and now screens in Sydney and Melbourne. SHANE Paul Kelly named a song after him. Eddie Perfect went one better and wrote an entire musical. But if Shane Warne had lived out his childhood dream, he would've played AFL for St Kilda instead of becoming a tune- and stage show-inspiring star cricketer. That tidbit isn't new news; however, Warne talks it through in new Australian documentary Shane — an early inclusion that demonstrates the film's handling of its well-known central figure. Warne's sporting career rose spectacularly from his failed attempt at Aussie Rules, which he also chats through. It dipped via several scandals, professional and personal alike, which he takes to with considerably less glee. Warne is a candid and engaging interviewee and, while joined by other cricketing and celebrity figures in recounting his life to-date, he's Shane's main source of information, but the film still spins the story that he's happy to share. There's no shortage of details for directors David Alrich (Griff's Great Australian Rail Trip), Jon Carey (Forbidden Games: The Justin Fashanu Story) and Jackie Munro to cover, all of which they unfurl in chronological order. Warne was an AFL-obsessed kid who played under-19s and one reserves game, only to be told he wouldn't make it at the top level. He then considered tennis, but found his calling — and global renown and acclaim — in spin-bowling wickets. Even to viewers unfussed by cricket, Warne's achievements are common knowledge, as are his decades in the spotlight. So too are his controversies; the bookmaker situation, the match-fixing proposition put to him by Pakistani captain Salim Malik, the year-long suspension for taking a banned diuretic and the breakdown of his marriage all get a mention, and all earn Warne's current thoughts. He's also especially eager to discuss his prowess for sledging. Hearing famous faces tell their tales is a documentary format that'll never get old, but perhaps the most surprising thing about Shane is the balance between Warne's on- and off-field exploits. The second gets almost as much attention as the first, with his ex-wife Simone, children Brooke, Jackson and Summer, parents Keith and Bridgette, and brother Jason joining the roster of heads — and his kids are particularly frank about missing time with their dad when he spent nine months a year on the road while they were growing up. A film can be honest and also highly authorised, though, and there's never any doubt that this is an act of adoring portraiture. Like most such features, it even enlists pointless praise from unneeded celebs — in this case Ed Sheeran and Chris Martin, the latter introducing himself by explaining "I'm in the band called Coldplay". Actually, Shane does bowl another surprise viewers' way: its accessibility to the cricket-ambivalent. Even thrusting both personal and professional antics to the fore, sporting documentaries can be guilty of simply preaching to existing fans, rather than explaining why their subject has earned their own film; however, being a leg-spin fiend or spending your summers obsessing about runs and wickets isn't a prerequisite for getting something out of Shane. Indeed, cricket aficionados might even find it lacking in match footage, although the "ball of the century" — Warne's first-ever wicket with his first-ever ball in his first-ever Ashes test — unsurprisingly gets ample time in the spotlight. Also given plenty of focus: a seemingly never-ending array of former English captains sharing their takes on Warne, and the man himself doing his best 'loveable larrikin' act, because Shane knows its chosen pitch and sticks to it. THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2 In every generation, a new version of The Addams Family is born, or has been since the creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky characters debuted in print in the 1938, then made the leap from New Yorker cartoons to TV in the 60s. That hit sitcom set the bar, leaving each subsequent take on this all-together ooky crew with a difficult task: tinkering with something eerie, madcap, macabre and widely adored. When two movies attempted the feat in the 90s, however, they became instant classics. Starring Raul Julia, Anjelica Houston, Christopher Lee and Christina Ricci, 1991's The Addams Family and 1993's Addams Family Values weren't just great three decades ago — they're still excellent now, and not just due to nostalgia. The less said about their woeful direct-to-video follow-up Addams Family Reunion, the better, although it bears more in common with the current crop of animated Addams Family flicks, all of which simply think that popping their titular figures into any situation is amusing enough. At a time when Ricci is killing it on the small screen in Yellowjackets, aka one of the best new shows of the past year, the strange and deranged characters that helped push her to fame when she was a child are sadly stuck languishing in their worst iteration yet. 2019's stop-motion The Addams Family was generic at best, and kept mistaking groan-worthily obvious jokes for humour — and thinking that viewers of these weird and wonderful folks wanted the standard serving of pop culture-themed gags, throwaway lines, non sequiturs and pointless jukebox-style needle drops — a strategy that The Addams Family 2 is happy to let bubble again. Here, though, it isn't the entire eponymous group that stands out against the world around them. They still do, of course, but the focus sits with teenager Wednesday (Chloë Grace Moretz, Tom and Jerry), who feels she doesn't fit in with her relatives even before she's told she might've been switched at birth. As its immediate predecessor did, The Addams Family 2 boasts a few stellar strokes of voice casting, but that can't save a film that's distressingly eager to be as bland, flat and lazy as possible. Once again, returning directors Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon (Sausage Party) — who team up with first-time co-helmers Laura Brousseau and Kevin Pavlovic — only manage to make viewers wish that Oscar Isaac (Dune) and Charlize Theron (Fast and Furious 9) could've played Gomez and Morticia in a new live-action film, instead of lending their voices to this mess. The lines they're tasked with uttering, as penned by screenwriters Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit (Pokémon: Detective Pikachu) along with Ben Queen (Cars 2) and Susanna Fogel (Booksmart), have less life (and inspire fewer laughs) than a corpse. And, as with the first animated movie, they're still caught up in a flick that has Snoop Dogg cast Cousin Itt so that it can drop in his songs (and yes, that's supposed to be funny, apparently). Forget the dark humour that's always been the backbone of The Addams Family. Forget any sense of personality that isn't just "ooh, they're odd and they like grim things" — and forget anything that you wouldn't see in any other all-ages film, too. The script could've been written for any old characters, then had Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley (Javon 'Wanna' Walton, Utopia), Uncle Fester (Nick Kroll, Sing 2), Thing and company shoehorned in, although its family vacation setup does take all the wrong cues from the aforementioned Addams Family Reunion. It hardly helps that the animation style looks ghoulishly unpleasant, but at least the character designs nod to Charles Addams' original cartoons. Nothing else about this unwanted sequel even comes close, in a feature that proves the antithesis of its characters: mundane, safe, routine and only unnerving in how terrible it is. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on September 2, September 9, September 16, September 23 and September 30; October 7, October 14, October 21 and October 28; November 4, November 11, November 18 and November 25; December 2, December 9, December 16 and December 26; and January 1. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Streamline, Coming Home in the Dark, Pig, Big Deal, The Killing of Two Lovers, Nitram, Riders of Justice, The Alpinist, A Fire Inside, Lamb, The Last Duel, Malignant, The Harder They Fall, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, Halloween Kills, Passing, Eternals, The Many Saints of Newark, Julia, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Zola, Last Night in Soho, Blue Bayou, The Rescue, Titane, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Dune, Encanto, The Card Counter, The Lost Leonardo, The French Dispatch, Don't Look Up, Dear Evan Hansen, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Lost Daughter, The Scary of Sixty-First, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza, The Matrix Resurrections, The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Worst Person in the World, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and House of Gucci.
This chat about Talk to Me was meant to be with both of Australia's now world-famous filmmaking twins. But amid a whirlwind past year that's taken Adelaide-born pair Danny and Michael Philippou from a hometown premiere to an international debut at Sundance, then saw their first-ever feature part of a bidding war won by A24, Michael might've accidentally slumbered through our planned rendezvous. The energetic, eager-to-natter Danny is apologetic, and also notes that Michael was a week late to Talk to Me's pre-production, after "he got COVID in Hawaii or something, so he was held back and he couldn't get on the plane". When it comes to getting some shuteye, Michael obviously hasn't watched his own movie lately. There's little snoozing done after seeing this deliciously creepy new Aussie horror standout that's rightly getting the globe's genre lovers buzzing. Now helming 2023's eeriest flick, the Philippous cross over from making viral YouTube videos like Harry Potter VS Star Wars and Driving the World's First Underwater Car as RackaRacka, achieving a dream they've had since they were nine and getting filming in the backyard with their mates. Initially, those aspirations were fed by Goosebumps books, then by getting taken to MA-rated horror flicks. "I remember Michael being really terrified and scared of the remake of Texas Chain Saw Massacre — like he ran out of the cinema, he was so scared," Danny shares. Talk to Me spins its terrors around a helluva concept: an embalmed hand passing dead-and-hating-it spirits into the living's bodies as long as they're giving each other some skin. The film's Aussie teens oblige, including 17-year-old Mia (Sophie Wilde, The Portable Door), her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen, Joe vs Carole) and the latter's 14-year-old brother Riley (Joe Bird, First Day). More than that, they get high on the experience, turning it into a party game. And, they're as savvy about internet eyeballs as their directors, also turning their possession party footage into social-media content. The movie's irresistible underlying idea initially came from a short film script by Daley Pearson, executive producer of Bluey and Content, although the hand wasn't initially a part of the story. Danny, who co-wrote the feature script with fellow first-timer Bill Hinzman, grasped onto the disturbing limb as a symbol of connection — and it's now impossible to imagine Talk to Me without its cursed appendage. As the film has hopped around the globe leading up to its theatrical release — the Berlin International Film Festival and fellow Germany festival Fantasy FilmFest also screened it, as did South by Southwest in Austin — the response has been anything but damned. Sitting in A24's catalogue alongside The Witch, Hereditary, Midsommar and In Fabric, plus X, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Pearl and Beau Is Afraid as well, is no minor feat, either. "The whole thing has just been so crazy and overwhelming, and feels so unbelievable. It's so odd. It just still feels like we're dreaming. It feels so surreal," Danny advises. With Talk to Me opening in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, July 27, Danny also chatted with Concrete Playground about wanting to direct movies since the twins were kids, crafting a film about connection, the concept of getting possessed to get high, making the leap from YouTube and crew gigs on The Babadook to the big screen, and whether there's more of Talk to Me's nightmares in horror fans' futures. ON THE ORIGINAL FILMMAKING DREAM — AND MAKING IT HAPPEN "It was always our goal from from nine years old, ever since we started making stuff — we always wanted to make films and television. That's always been our dream and our goal and, yeah, you always just picture it and envision it. But it's just happening on such a massive scale now that it still feels unbelievable. I remember we were making stuff all the way through our childhood, and we had this series that we were doing with our best friends. We just did that all the way through high school, like 13 to 18 years old, about ten seasons of this show — and we ended the last couple of seasons with these big movies. On the sixth and final film of this series that we're doing, everyone was losing interest and growing up, everyone was getting jobs, getting girlfriends, doing this, doing that. And then we were just still wanting to do this stuff, and we could only get together on the weekends — and everyone's like 'hey, we don't really want to do this anymore'. So we still needed to find a way to express ourselves creatively, and then we started the internet stuff. Within the first year of RackaRacka, we somehow we we got a million subscribers in the first year, and it just became our careers. But we got carried away doing that. It was so much fun because there's instant gratification of shooting, uploading, shooting, uploading. But we always wanted to return back to the film stuff, and it just happened. In 2018 or 19, we decided to sit down and actually focus on trying to get a film made." ON RECEIVING DALEY PEARSON'S SCRIPT, THEN COMING UP WITH THE HAND "He gave us a short film. It was a comedy-horror about these kids that were having fun with possession, and it was so cool. So I did a pass and made it a bit more serious, and then I inserted the characters that I really loved that I was working on for another project, which was Mia and Riley and Jade. Once I started writing, I couldn't stop — and it was like 80 pages within five days. I sent it over to my co-writer Bill Hinzman. He went through, we started like bouncing back and forth. Probably around the second draft, we found the hand as the device that they're using. Hands and the connections between people was always such a strong motif in the film already, and it fits thematically. I remember this story from when I was 16, and I was in a really bad car accident, and they thought I might have broken my spine. And I had this big cut on my face, I was bleeding everywhere — and I was in hospital, and I was shaking and shaking, and I couldn't stop shaking. And they're putting the heaters on. They're giving me all these blankets. But I just couldn't stop shaking. Then my sister came in to visit me, and she held my hand and the shaking just stopped. It wasn't because I was cold, with the shaking. It was because I was in shock and the touch of someone I loved brought me out of it. And so that always stuck with me, that experience — there was just something powerful to me about human connection. So that was just all the way through the script already, like I'd written so much of it in there. Then we just found that device, in that second pass. It just felt strong." ON THE CONCEPT OF GETTING POSSESSED TO GET HIGH, AND FILMING IT "Another big inspiring point for me was these neighbours we watched grow up. Then one of them, as he was getting older, was experimenting with drugs — and he was on the floor convulsing and having a really negative reaction. And the kids he was with were filming him and laughing at him. I remember seeing that footage, and it really freaking me out. I just tapped into that when I was writing — like, when I saw that footage, that was all the way through this film. And it just feels like what would actually happen. Everyone has such a morbid curiosity and obsession with true crime and the paranormal. People want haunted experiences. They want to do the Ouija board and film it — everything's recorded now. So it just makes sense to me." ON DIVING INTO BUSY HORROR TERRITORY, YET MAKING A MOVIE THAT STANDS OUT "I think that not being scared of the tropes is one thing. And not being ashamed that we're making a horror film — like embracing the horror of it, and embracing the tropes of certain elements and scenes. But also just writing a story that wasn't trying to be a big Hollywood movie, or trying to be like other films. It's writing something that's just personal to me, and to my experience, and my friends' experiences or family's experiences. It's tapping into stuff like my family's history of mental illness, and then exploring that. It was always about writing things that scared me personally. And so that was the way of expressing it, at the table with co-writer Bill Hinzman, it was just tapping at the things that scared us personally. It has to feel unique because it's your own story. And then it has to feel unique with the actors that we got because they were able to put themselves into their characters and completely embody it. It can't feel like anything else, because it's unlike anything else, because it's so personal." ON LEANING INTO SOME HORROR TROPES BUT AVOIDING OTHERS "Even things like their voices changing and and being in a body with someone else, I really love that in in horror. It's even small things like the animal — there's like a trope in horror of the dead animal on the side of the road, and I liked doing our Australian spin on it. And I also like that it just tied so well into the things that we're playing with already. So that's an example of a trope that we embraced. And a trope that we avoided — I didn't want it to get too big and crazy. I didn't want all the lights to go too crazy, be flashing and stuff, be flying around the room, and everyone's hair be blowing everywhere. I wanted the possessions to still be grounded in some sort of reality." ON RACKARACKA AND THE BABADOOK AS PREPARATION FOR MAKING A FEATURE "We had so much experience with so many things, even the makeup effects. Bec Buratto, who would help us with all of our Racka stuff for free, we got on to be the head of department in the film. So it was bringing those people with us as well. But each of those videos, and every project that you do, your experience grows and you learn from everything. So we just learned so much that when it was time to do the film, we'd done VFX before, we'd done special effects makeup, we'd worked with actors, we'd built sets. We know how to communicate what we want to do, and we'd developed our own style. So we weren't going in there not really knowing what we're doing — we'd worked on film sets before, and we'd worked on so many Racka productions that we had a clear voice. We used to do so much work experience and volunteer work on a bunch of different films just to be on set, because we were so obsessed with it. And so when Mike was 19, he'd done a whole bunch of jobs for free, and the producer, one of the line producers, was like 'I'm going to get you a paid job — you can't keep doing this for free'. So he got him his first paid job, which was The Babadook. It was the runner on there, so he drove around Essie Davis and Jennifer Kent. And he was able really able to be on set, and listen and learn, and just to see how sets are navigated and run. Then I was on set just helping out the lighting department. We both, Michael and I, could see how passionate Jen was. And it was one of the first directors, I think the first director that we saw, that cared so much. This wasn't just like a job or just making something to make something. She was making art. And she was putting her soul into it. So that was so inspiring to see someone so passionate, and to live and breathe their project. That rubbed off on us for sure." ON SPENDING MORE TIME IN TALK TO ME'S WORLD "It's so funny — we've written such an in-depth mythology bible about the backstory of the hand, the spirits that are possessing the kids, and there's just so many seeds that we planted. Even when we're writing the first film, I was writing scenes for a second film — and me and the other writer were always discussing it and talking about it. The idea of franchising or doing a sequel is so exciting to us. I'd love the opportunity to do that — that be so, so cool." Talk to Me opens in Australian and New Zealand cinemas on July 27. Read our review.
Known as one of Australia's prosecco pioneers, the King Valley's Dal Zotto Wines is a full family-run affair spanning the generations. First opened by Otto and Elena Dal Zotto in 1987, the winery and attached trattoria are now run by the second generation of Dal Zottos. Focused on Italian grape varietals, the winery has a distinctly European feel, with the trattoria dishing up fresh pasta and Italian classics crafted from fresh ingredients grown in the kitchen garden, maintained by Nonna Elena. Dogs are welcome to make themselves at home in the sunny outdoor spaces, so nab a table on the lawn and settle in for a wine-matched pizza feast, while your pup explores. Oh, and this winery was the first to make prosecco, so make sure you enjoy at least one of the several bubbly options available.
Byron Bay is a standout spot. An iconic holiday destination for Aussies and celebrities alike, the coastal town draws crowds year-round with its gorgeous beaches, thriving wellness scene and bottomless good vibes. Byron does, however, get a bit crowded in the summertime. Escape the summer crowds and embrace the peace and quiet of Byron Bay during winter instead. Enjoy long walks on the beach, scenic hikes in the hinterland, and indulge in a laid-back lifestyle designed to unplug you from the fast-paced nine to five, a lifestyle that makes this town a special spot. We've teamed up with Crystalbrook Byron to give one lucky CP reader and a plus one that very getaway. Embrace the beauty of northern NSW with a stay in the luxurious Crystalbrook Byron — which is offering a special treat for anyone that's in need of a break, an intimate winter getaway for you and a plus one that includes: two nights of accommodation in a luxe suite, daily breakfast in Forest Byron Bay, complimentary bubbles, $500 spa credit in Eléme Day Spa and return flights from your home city. All that comes out to quite a lovely experience in one of NSW's loveliest towns. And if you fancy a return visit, you can join the Crystalbrook Crowd to get 20% off bookings until Saturday, September 30. To enter this giveaway, all you need to do is complete the form below. [competition]904144[/competition]
German artist Martin Klimas is painting with sound, endeavouring to answer the question: 'what does music look like?' Klimas put his idea into practice by splattering paint on a scrim, placed over a speaker while playing music. By turning the volume up, the paint colourfully vibrates off the scrim allowing Klimas to seize these moments as photographs. Through this series, Klimas has captured what music would look like as a physical object. Taking over 6 months and 1000 photographs to create, music from the likes of Miles Davis, Kraftwerk and Steve Reich and Musicians was featured. It makes you wonder what it would look like to have your favourite song framed. [via Gizmodo & NY Times]
It's easy enough to understand why so many people move from sunless England to Australia each year, but it's pretty rare for a whole restaurant and its staff to pack up their bags collectively. Yet that's just what's happening with one of the world's most famous chefs, Heston Blumenthal, and his molecular gastronomy stronghold The Fat Duck. They'll be shutting down the iconic Berkshire restaurant and 'relocating' it to the Crown Melbourne for six months. "This is not a popup restaurant," Heston obliquely insisted at this morning's announcement. Although The Fat Duck won't be opening until February 2015, you'll probably need to develop your booking strategy soon if you want to sample the likes of snail porridge, egg and bacon ice-cream and the aurally enhanced Sound of the Sea. The sensational food experience ought to wash away that bitter taste you get from having to pass through the casino to reach it. Funnily enough, The Fat Duck is not the only world-renowned restaurant to try an international exchange: Rene Redzepi yesterday tweeted that Noma would be moving its operation to Tokyo for two months in 2015. If these two chefs are on board, expect to see many more taking up the experiment soon. Heston's Melbourne non-popup temporary restaurant will leave a different, permanent one in its wake, dubbed Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. Meanwhile, rumours of a Sydney Blumenthal excursion abound.
There's an international day for everything these days, but regardless of this saturation of the market, we're still pretty damn happy there's an International Hummus Day. And seeing as it's today, we thought there was no better time to dig into a mass bowl of the stuff. But before you go to Woolies to buy a tub of hummus and a packet of corn chips, just hang on for a seccy. We've convinced the guys from Thievery to slip us their burnt butter paprika hummus recipe. If you've had this at their Glebe restaurant, you'll know it's about as out of this world as hummus could possibly be. So before your mates come over for a few glasses of plonk tonight, whip this baby up — you'll just need a blender, a packet of chickpeas and a few other basic ingredients. While you're at it, you might want to make their baba ghanoush too. Thievery's Burnt Butter Paprika Hummus 1kg dry chickpeas 1500ml water 16g fine sea salt 80ml fresh lemon juice 80ml extra virgin olive oil 4g crushed garlic 120g tahini For the paprika burnt butter 100g butter 10g paprika Method Soak the chickpeas in water overnight and cook until soft and tender. This will take about two to three hours. In the morning, strain the chickpeas and then blend until the consistency is relatively smooth. Reserve some of the liquid to add back into the mixture (about one cup will be enough). Blend the chickpea puree with the oil, salt, lemon juice and garlic. If the mixture is too stiff, add a little of the liquid to ensure the hummus comes out with a smooth and silky consistency. In a bowl, whisk together the tahini and any extra salt to taste. For the burnt butter, melt the butter over a low heat until the milk solids separate. Leave it until the butter turns a golden brown (this usually happens at about 150 degrees celsius). Whisk in the paprika. Pour the burnt butter paprika mixture over the hummus. Then get stuck in. Image: Nikki To.
As disclosed in the very first trailer for Ripley, not one but two actors with its title role on their resume appear in this latest take on the eponymous conman. Prior to Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers) stepping into the part here, and magnificently, John Malkovich (The New Look) did the honours in 2002 movie Ripley's Game. The latter isn't reprising his past work in Netflix's eight-episode series, which streams from Thursday, April 4. He's tasked with bringing an entirely different character to life, and firmly as a cameo at that. But his involvement late in the piece offers crucial reinforcement of a fact that's baked into this new adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 1955 book The Talented Mr Ripley, and also into all versions: that while most folks won't attempt to level up their lives by social climbing via murder and fraud, yearning for a sunnier existence is as intrinsic for humanity as breathing. Screen Ripley iterations keep coming, with Highsmith's five-novel series continuing to fascinate readers, audiences and filmmakers for that very reason: everyone dreams of having more than they've got. In the darkest fashion, so explores a story that's given rise to 1960 crime-thriller Purple Noon, as led by French acting icon Alain Delon; 1999's Matt Damon (Oppenheimer)-starring The Talented Mr Ripley, the definitive take until now; and Scott proving slippery as one of pop culture's most-famous swindlers. Malkovich's stint in the part was based on a different book, which shared that film's name. 1977's The American Friend with Dennis Hopper (as helmed by Perfect Days director Wim Wenders) took its cues from the same source. Barry Pepper (Bass Reeves) featured in 2005's Ripley Under Ground, hailing from yet another novel. Each adds layers to a picture of envy and opportunism that'll never stop being painted, even if no more Ripley-related fare ever reaches TV or cinemas again. Indeed, as Netflix's miniseries follows a man of far more modest means than the friend that he's suddenly glued to, his overt coveting of a life less ordinary than his own, plus his sinister scheme to lie and kill his way to a shinier existence, another title might come to mind. It was evident in late 2023 that Saltburn owed Highsmith and Tom Ripley a debt. It will never stop being apparent. Again, such tales — about Tom or not — resound like echoes of each other because they'll always be linked to an inescapable aspect of human nature. Take note of Ripley's monochrome colour scheme: there's nothing gleaming about the ways that Tom goes about claiming his fantasies, no matter how gorgeous the scenery. Boasting The Night Of's Steven Zaillian as its sole writer and director — joining a list of credits that includes penning Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York and The Irishman, and also winning an Oscar for Schindler's List — this jump into the Ripley realm doesn't splash around black-and-white hues as a mere stylistic preference. The setting is still coastal Italy at its most picturesque, and therefore a place that most would want to revel in visually; Anthony Minghella, The Talented Mr Ripley's director a quarter-century back, did so with an intoxicating glow. For Zaillian, however, stripping away the warm rays and beaches and hair, blue seas and skies, and tanned skin as well, ensures that all that glitters is never gold or even just golden in tone. There's never even a glint of a hint of a travelogue aesthetic, with viewers confronted with the starkness of Tom's choices and actions, the shadows that he persists in lurking in and the impossibility of ever grasping everything that he desires in full colour. On the page and on the screen both before and now, the overarching story remains the same, though. It's the early 60s rather than the late 50s, but Tom is in New York, running fake debt-collection schemes and clinging to the edges of high-society circles, when he's made a proposal that he was never going to refuse. Herbert Greenleaf (filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan, who has also acted in his own three features You Can Count on Me, Margaret and Manchester by the Sea) enlists him to sail to Europe to reunite with a friend, the shipping magnate's son Dickie (Johnny Flynn, One Life). As a paid gig, Tom is to convince the business heir to finally return home. But Dickie has no intention of giving up his Mediterranean leisure as he lackadaisically pursues painting — and more passionately spends his time with girlfriend Marge Sherwood (Dakota Fanning, The Equalizer 3) — to join the family business. The complications hampering Tom's job remain familiar, too. He's a grifter who isn't being truthful about being old university pals with Dickie. He wants his welcoming friend's privilege as his own, plus his Italian idyll — ravenously and determinedly so. Marge is instantly suspicious, including of whether there's an amorous angle to Tom's intentions. Soon, the entire situation turns desperate and deadly. Freddie Miles (Eliot Sumner, Pretty Red Dress), one of Dickie's acquaintances, is also far from welcoming. And when Inspector Pietro Ravini (Maurizio Lombardi, Romeo è Giulietta) starts investigating the deaths that begin to surround Tom and Dickie, the former's deceptions keep mounting. Matching his protagonist's mindset, Zaillian brings a cool, calculated air to Ripley — and not just through its crisp and meticulously imagery, which is lensed with an eye for sumptuous beauty tainted by ominous urges, and for keen observation, with command by cinematographer Robert Elswit (Bob Marley: One Love, and also an Oscar-winner for There Will Be Blood). This masterful telling relishes noir as its guiding genre and mood, but patiently. It lingers and waits, as Tom does. It stares on probingly from all angles. It isn't in a rush for a second. Accordingly, Ripley is more intimate, especially in the ins and outs of Tom's decisions and their messy aftermaths, than its predecessors. It's also less enamoured with its central figure's charms. It dwells on minutiae, all of it revealing, whether it's the choice of a robe for Dickie or the all-seeing glare of an apartment-block cat. And when, earlier than might be expected, Tom and Dickie take to the ocean in San Remo, Zaillian's handling of the cleanup — its physical arduousness, but also the way that Tom knows exactly what he's doing — says everything about the show's key character study. Walking in Dickie's shoes is an act of treachery within Ripley's narrative. Following in Delon, Hopper, Damon, Malkovich and Pepper's footsteps feels fated for Scott — that's how mesmerising he is in the part. The ease of his Fleabag hot priest, the haunting longing simmering in his stunning All of Us Strangers performance, the guile of his time as Moriarty in Sherlock: blend them together and that's just his starting point. He knows, as Zaillian does, that it isn't enough to simply see why Dickie embraces Tom's presence, and why Marge is wary and Freddie dismissive in tandem. In those roles, Flynn, Fanning and Sumner are all excellent. Lombardi is scene-stealingly gripping, also. But to watch Scott as Tom is to peer at someone who could be anyone, and yet would do anything in the quest to be someone other than himself. Ripley is a limited series, but it's now time to begin pining for Scott to return in adaptations of Ripley Under Ground, Ripley's Game, The Boy Who Followed Ripley and Ripley Under Water as well. Check out the trailer for Ripley below: Ripley streams via Netflix from Thursday, April 4, 2024. Images: Netflix.
Cosmos at the ready. When Sex and the City and its sequel series And Just Like That... are streaming across the screen, that's the only drink that will do. Your next excuse to sip vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and lime juice will arrive in June, when Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon all return to the New York-based characters they've been playing on and off for a quarter century. Yes, that's when And Just Like That... will be back for season two. If you've spent any part of the past two-and-a-half decades dreaming about being a fabulously dressed Big Apple writer who seems to do very little work but can still afford a fantasy wardrobe — or if you've just filled it drinking a lot of pink-coloured cocktails — then you'll already be excited. And, you'll know that the first season of And Just Like That... was both announced and premiered in 2021, 17 years after Sex and the City wrapped up its HBO run. Two years later, the show will start dropping its second season from Thursday, June 22 on Binge in Australia, this time spanning 11 episodes — one more than season one — and bringing back another familiar Sex and the City face. As seen in the first teaser trailer for season two, and also first revealed back at the beginning of 2023, John Corbett (To All the Boys: Always and Forever) is reprising his role as Aidan Shaw. He'll return to make Carrie's post-Big love life even more complicated after the world's most infamous Peloton workout. Also on the way: more of Carrie (Parker, Hocus Pocus 2), Miranda (Nixon, The Gilded Age) and Charlotte (Davis, Deadly Illusions) going about their lives and friendships in their 50s, when things are even more complicated than they were two decades ago. Season two will also feature Sara Ramírez (Madam Secretary), Sarita Choudhury (Ramy), Nicole Ari Parker (Chicago PD), Karen Pittman (The Morning Show), Mario Cantone (Better Things), David Eigenberg (Chicago Fire), Evan Handler (Power), Christopher Jackson (Space Oddity), Niall Cunningham (Poker Face), Cathy Ang (My Best Friend's Exorcism) and Alexa Swinton (Old), all similarly returning from season one. A reminder: due to Kim Cattrall's absence, And Just Like That... has been badged as a "new chapter' in the Sex and the City story, rather than an additional season of the existing 1998–2004 program. Parker, Davis and Nixon are also executive producers on And Just Like That..., alongside Michael Patrick King, who worked as a writer, director and executive producer on the original (and on the two terrible 2008 and 2010 Sex and the City movies). Check out the first teaser for And Just Like That..., season two below: And Just Like That... season two will start streaming via Binge in Australia from Thursday, June 22. Images: HBO.
In 1996, Independence Day topped the worldwide box office. In music, Los del Rio's 'Macarena' did the same on America's Billboard chart. And, on television, 3rd Rock From the Sun and Sabrina the Teenage Witch made their debuts. Get nostalgic for that year, no matter whether you lived through it or not, and you'll likely think about all or some of the above — plus everything from fellow movie hits Twister and Scream through to tunes such as 'Ironic' and '1979'. Well, unless you're the women of returning 2021–2022 standout Yellowjackets, that is. For Shauna (Melanie Lynskey, The Last of Us), Natalie (Juliette Lewis, Welcome to Chippendales), Taissa (Tawny Cypress, Billions), Misty (Christina Ricci, Wednesday), Lottie (Simone Kessell, Muru) and Van (Lauren Ambrose, Servant), 1996 will always be the year that their plane plunged into the Canadian wilderness, stranding them for 19 tough months. As teenagers (as played by The Kid Detective's Sophie Nélisse, The Book of Boba Fett's Sophie Thatcher, Scream VI's Jasmin Savoy, Shameless' Samantha Hanratty, Mad Max: Fury Road's Courtney Eaton and Santa Clarita Diet's Liv Hewson), they were members of the show's titular high-school soccer squad, travelling from their New Jersey home town to Seattle for a national tournament, when the worst eventuated. Films, songs and shows couldn't be more trivial when an incident like that sears itself in your history. [caption id="attachment_894477" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Colin Bentley/Showtime.[/caption] Afterwards, life would never be the same — not during the time they spent fending for themselves in the forest, and not a quarter-century later as well. In both its instantly addictive Emmy-nominated debut season and just-arrived second go-around, which streams weekly via Australia's Paramount+ and Aotearoa's Neon from Friday, March 24, Yellowjackets flits between these two time frames. Hailing from creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Dispatches From Elsewhere), it openly courts nostalgia itself in the process. References abound to pop-culture touchstones of the era, the soundtrack is a dark and grungy 90s dream, and the show's theme tune 'No Return' echoes with killer throwback vibes (even if Shrill's Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker, the program's resident composers, created it anew for the series). All that looking back cuts deep, though, with Yellowjackets pondering what happens when someone's yearning for days long passed is forever tainted by trauma. There's far more than wistfulness lost, robbed and infected at the heart of this survivalist thriller, of course; when it premiered, it was understandably pegged as Lost-meets-Lord of the Flies with an Alive twist, a neat but accurate-enough basic summary. All isn't always what it seems as Shauna and company endeavour to endure in the elements. Also, tearing into each other occurs more than just metaphorically. Plus, literally sinking one's teeth in has been teased and flirted with since episode one, too. But Yellowjackets will always be about what it means to face something so difficult that it forever colours and changes who you are — and constantly leaves a reminder of who you might've been. That's where the series' jumping back and forth remains so crucial, exploring shattering turns of events and the choices they spark, then watching their ripples keep biting hard decades later. When Yellowjackets ended its first season, it was with as many questions as answers. Naturally, it starts season two in the same way. In the present, mere days have elapsed — and Shauna and her husband Jeff (Warren Kole, Shades of Blue), who was also her best friend Jackie's (Ella Purnell, Sweetbitter) boyfriend before the crash, are trying to avoid drawing any attention over the disappearance of Shauna's artist lover Adam (Peter Gadiot, Queen of the South). Tai has been elected as a state senator, but her nocturnal activities have seen her wife Simone (Rukiya Bernard, Van Helsing) move out with their son Sammy (Aiden Stoxx, Supergirl). Thanks to purple-wearing kidnappers, Nat has been spirited off, leaving Misty desperate to find her — even enlisting fellow citizen detective Walter (Elijah Wood, Come to Daddy) to help. These narrative threads each connect backwards, where two months have gone by since season one wrapped up. There, as winter makes searching for food and staying warm an immense feat, Shauna is heavily pregnant and also severely grief-stricken. Van thinks that she has a solution for Tai's nighttime departures, but they're stubborn. Nat spends her days scouring the woods with Travis (Kevin Alves, Locke & Key), one of their coach's sons, for his missing brother Javi (Luciano Leroux, A Million Little Things) — and her nights attempting to counter Lottie's "witch-doctor messiah" turn. And Misty has a new pal there, too, courtesy of theatre devotee (and fellow survivor and soccer-team member) Crystal (Nuha Jes Izman, FBI). [caption id="attachment_894479" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kailey Schwerman/Showtime.[/caption] Prepare to get meaty: where the rightly buzzed-about initial season was happy mostly hinting at its wilderness secrets, season two ramps up the eeriness, chills and gore. Seeing still isn't always believing in Yellowjackets, but the pivotal crash keeps unleashing vicious consequences — and savagery not only festers but grows the longer that the 90s team is on its own in the cold, lacking a secure source of sustenance, and fraying mentally and as a group. Their predicament never stops being visceral; however, Yellowjackets has always known that the troubles firing up in everyone's hearts and heads are just ferocious. Indeed, cue a bigger dose of fantasy sequences, hallucinations and the supernatural, as the series retains its commitment to examining how the bleakest and most brutal twists of fate, and the options they inspire, turn coping into a lifelong struggle. In Yellowjackets' two timelines, it couldn't have assembled a better cast to slice into trauma, coping, yearning and ripping apart nostalgia — and anchor a series that's a psychological horror show, black comedy and teen drama as well. While its mysteries and cliffhangers made the first season make-a-date weekly viewing, Yellowjackets doesn't merely survive but thoroughly thrives because it feels so acutely human. Its women, then and now, navigate messy situations that no one should face in their worst nightmares. And yet, how these ladies process that fact, and persist — even how they fracture and fight, escape into whatever assists, latch onto the tiniest slivers of hope, and make devastating decisions, right and wrong alike — remains intensely relatable thanks to both complex writing and stunning performances. Lynskey, Lewis and Ricci on the same bill is another of the show's 90s dreams, and that trio is well-paired with Cypress, Ambrose and Kessell, not to mention well-matched by their younger counterparts. This ravenous TV feast will continue, too, with Yellowjackets unsurprisingly renewed for season three in advance of season two. Check out the full trailer for Yellowjackets season two below: Season two of Yellowjackets streams weekly from Friday, March 24 via Paramount+ in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. Read our review of season one. Top image: Kailey Schwerman/Showtime.
'I Miss You' isn't just the name of a beloved blink-182 song. It isn't just a track they'll likely bust out on their 2024 tour Down Under, either. It's also the vibe being felt around Australia right now, clearly, because the band's tour keeps proving a huge hit — and adding new dates. Last week, blink-182 revealed that they were reforming their classic lineup of Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker, then hitting the road — and that Aussie fans would get their chance to see the end result live in February 2024. Then, they added more dates before tickets to the first gigs even went on sale, because the demand was already that huge. Now, another batch of shows is being added again. The first run of dates is already sold out, with tickets to those shows going on sale on Thursday, October 20. Now, one extra show per city has been added in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide — and tickets for those are up for grabs at 12pm local time today, Friday, October 21. Perth residents can now try to score tickets for Thursday, February 8 at RAC Arena, Melburnians can do the same for Monday, February 26 at Rod Laver Arena, and Sydneysiders can have an extra shot in Friday, February 23 at Qudos Bank Arena. As for Brisbanites, they have a new date on Wednesday, February 21 at Brisbane Entertainment Centre to pick from. DeLonge, Hoppus and Barker will play with Rise Against in support, starting their Australian run in Perth, then head to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane — then back to Sydney and Melbourne. For three decades, blink-182 have been the voice inside punk and rock fans' heads, especially in the late 90s and early 00s thanks to albums Enema of the State and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. Now that they're back together after DeLonge left the band in 2015, blink-182 are also recording new music together, with single 'Edging' out now. Expect to hear everything from 'Dammit' and 'Josie' to 'What's My Age Again?' and 'All the Small Things' live, though. BLINK-182 2024 AUSTRALIAN TOUR: Thursday, February 8–Friday, February 9 — RAC Arena, Perth Sunday, February 11 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Tuesday, February 13–Wednesday, February 14 + Monday, February 26 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Friday, February 16–Saturday, February 17 + Friday, February 23 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Monday, February 19, Tuesday, February 20 + Wednesday, February 21 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Blink-182 will tour Australia and New Zealand in February 2024. Tickets to new shows in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne go on sale at 12pm on Friday, October 21 local time. For more information, head to the Live Nation website. Top image: Jack Bridgland.
For thousands of years, humans have had a contentious relationship with a certain neighbouring apex predator. As long as we've turned to the sea for food, leisure and new horizons, we've had to contend with sharks — predators that have ruled the seas for over 450 million years — far, far longer than we have even pretended to rule the land, let alone the sea. Throughout recorded human history, shark attacks have been infrequent, but consistent occurrence. Sadly, thanks to rising water temperatures, shark attacks are on the rise in Australia, with our island home recording the most fatal shark attacks of any country in 2025. Experts like Emily Best, Curatorial Supervisor and Senior Aquarist at SEA LIFE Sydney, believe it's more important than ever for people to be shark-safe in Australia. "The likelihood of someone encountering a shark whilst in the ocean is statistically very low, on average around ten people per year are fatally attacked by sharks," Best explains. "One statistic suggests there is around a one in 300 million chance of being attacked by a shark — you're more likely to be killed by a bee sting or lightning. Unfortunately, with the population of people that live on the coast in Australia and with the lifestyle we all enjoy, this predisposes us for that number to be higher." [caption id="attachment_1077163" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Bull shark[/caption] So, how can we all stay safe in the water without further disrupting the oceanic environment we all know and love? The first step is to know the basic risks. According to the Australian Shark Incident Database (ASID), of the 180 species of shark in Australian waters, only 21 have bitten humans, and just three are responsible for the most fatal incidents. In the last 235 years, White Sharks (aka Great Whites), common in cooler waters across southern Australia, have been involved in 81 fatal unprovoked attacks. Bull Sharks, which live in saltwater and freshwater estuaries (aka where rivers meet the sea), are common in areas like Sydney Harbour and have been behind 63 fatal attacks in Australia. Then the Tiger Shark, common in tropical and subtropical waters around Australia and identifiable by its prominent white stripes, has been involved in 56 fatal attacks. [caption id="attachment_1077162" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] White Shark[/caption] But as Best explains, none of these animals are bloodthirsty killers, "contrary to popular belief, sharks don't actually choose to hunt humans or actively seek them out — we simply aren't in their food chain — and most attacks are that of mistaken identity". "Juvenile and sub-adult sharks are more likely to be the culprit of an attack, due to their changing diet preferences. For species such as Bull, White and Tiger sharks, they will transition from fish to mammals, such as seals, as they mature. During this time, they'll be figuring out how and what to hunt. People swimming and surfing, especially in darker coloured wetsuits, look exactly like a seal from underneath." "Sharks also have very poor eyesight, [they] see in grayscale and rely on their other senses to hunt. They have small, jelly-filled pores on their snouts called Ampullae of Lorenzini that pick up the electrical impulses given off by muscle movements in both humans and animals. This is why swimming or surfing at dawn and dusk is riskier, lower light conditions only increases the chances of a shark mistaking a human for food." [caption id="attachment_1077161" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Tiger Shark[/caption] It needs to be remembered, then, that the likelihood of an attack is often determined by the conditions of the water, not the sharks swimming in it, and Best elaborates that "when the water is more murky is the prime time for a shark attack to occur." "[The chance] increases after particularly heavy rain events over the summer, as species like Bull Sharks will move out of the river systems when they open to the sea. Warmer waters also leads to an increase in fish activity, and in turn, sharks, as well as the amount of people in the ocean — this combination creates a more likely chance of encounter." [caption id="attachment_1077171" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Mihtiander via iStock[/caption] Best offers five simple rules to limit your risks of encountering a shark. Don't swim or surf around dawn or dusk, this is prime time for sharks to be more active. Don't swim after heavy rain — rain brings increased nutrients into the water that attracts fish, and subsequently sharks. It will also be more murky, increasing chances of mistaken identity. Don't swim or enter areas where there is high activity of sea birds or fish, especially bait balls. Always swim with a buddy where possible, and in patrolled areas between the flags. Don't swim or surf in popular recreational or commercial fishing areas, or near boat ramps and jetties. Should the impossibly unlikely worst happen, and you do find yourself in danger from a shark, you likely won't see it coming unless you have a SCUBA mask on. If divers or spearfishers, the latter of which might attract more attention by carrying fish, see a shark coming, Best advises looking for signs of hunting behaviour like "erratic swimming, darting around, pectoral fins angled down slightly, and approaching and swimming away multiple times, generally hanging around the area." [caption id="attachment_1077178" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Divepic via iStock[/caption] The best thing to do is establish and hold eye contact while backing away. "If the shark approaches," Best adds, "keep your arm straight in front of you, lock your elbow and push off the top of their nose and over the animal. Most species can move sideways and down faster than they can upwards. Targeting the gills or eyes is also a potential method to deter the animal if it does bite, these are sensitive areas and will likely cause it to move off." Most importantly, we should all maintain a healthy respect for sharks, remembering that they're important for healthy oceans and that we're guests in their territory. Besides, Best makes a point that "we don't actually taste very good, we are land animals and not in their food chain," but all oceangoers should "have a decent amount of trepidation for sharks, we shouldn't fear them, but they have evolved over 400 million years to be the perfect hunter." For more advice and up-to-date information on NSW shark reports download the Shark Smart app; For Australia-wide sightings, download the community-operated app Dorsal. Images via iStock
The man knows how to rock a hat: Timothy Olyphant (Full Circle), that is. He knows how to play a determined lawman with a piercing stare and an unassailable sense of honour, too, and television has been all the better for it for nearing two decades. Pop culture's revival culture has benefited as well — first with HBO's 2004–06 western masterpiece Deadwood returning as 2019's Deadwood: The Movie, and now with 2010–15's US Marshal drama Justified making a comeback as miniseries Justified: City Primeval. Olyphant was perfect in both the first time around, and proves the same the second. Indeed, Deadwood: The Movie's only problem was that it was just a made-for-TV film, not a another season; Justified: City Primeval's sole issue is that it spans only eight episodes, and that a next date with the Stetson-wearing Raylan Givens hasn't yet been locked in Streaming Down Under via Disney+, this continuation of Justified's initial six seasons arrives eight years after the show ended for viewers, but also finds Raylan with a 15-year-old daughter. It's with Willa (Vivian Olyphant, Timothy Olyphant's real-life offspring) that he's hitting the road when a couple of criminals reroute their plans. Now based in Miami, Florida rather than Justified's Harlan, Kentucky, Raylan is meant to be taking Willa to camp, only to be forced to detour to Detroit, Michigan to testify. It isn't a brief stop, after the Deputy US Marshal makes the wrong impression on Judge Alvin Guy (Keith David, Nope), then is personally requested to investigate an assassination attempt against the same jurist — teaming up with local detectives who are adamant about Detroit's particular ways, including Maureen Downey (Marin Ireland, The Boogeyman), Norbert Beryl (Norbert Leo Butz, The Girl From Plainville) and Wendell Robinson (Victor Williams, The Righteous Gemstones). You can take Raylan out of rural America and into the Motor City, as Justified: City Primeval does, but even with silver hair atop his calm glare he's still Raylan. So, he'll always stride around like a lone gunslinger who has seen it all, will confront anything, and is perennially valiant and resolute — and silently exasperated about humanity's worst impulses, too — as Justified: City Primeval welcomes. New location, passing years, the responsibilities of fatherhood, more and more lowlife crooks: they haven't changed this character, and audiences wouldn't have wanted that to happen. One of Justified: City Primeval's chief joys is how comfortably that Raylan, and Olyphant playing him, steps straight back onto the screen like the figure, thespian and franchise never left. In Detroit, the Deputy US Marshal meets his latest lawbreaking adversary in Clement Mansell (Boyd Holbrook, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), aka the Oklahoma Wildman, whose love of singing The White Stripes and Beach Boys songs is only matched by his penchant for wreaking illicit havoc. Mansell is ruthless, including in committing murder, and also enlisting reluctant past acquaintance Marcus "Sweety" Sweeton (Vondie Curtis-Hall, Blue Bayou) — a musician who almost made it onto George Clinton's 'Atomic Dog' and now owns a dive bar — in his violent rampages. He's equally calculating in using his girlfriend Sandy Stanton (Adelaide Clemens, Under the Banner of Heaven) to conjure up a shakedown scam with ties to the Albanian mob, all while promising her that they'll get a big payday and get away. Even his attorney Carolyn Wilder (Aunjanue Ellis, an Oscar-nominee for King Richard), who has seen more than her fair share of dirtbags because that's the gig, knows that he's a sociopath. Seasoned Justified viewers will spy Justified: City Primeval's overarching narrative path going in. As long as they've seen a crime drama before, newcomers will as well. Raylan has a villain to take down in a deeply corrupt world — but, taking over from the OG series' creator Graham Yost (Silo, and an executive producer here), fellow Justified veterans Dave Andron (Snowfall) and Michael Dinner (Electric Dreams) can't be accused of connecting easy dots or making obvious choices. Both before and now, Justified has always been as much about painting rich portraits of its characters, good and bad, as it has been about its righteous-versus-evil face-offs. So, Justified: City Primeval delivers ample intriguing new additions, most of which pair up with Raylan so winningly that they could earn their own spinoffs. A series about Raylan and Willa, her teen rebelliousness bouncing off his perpetually wearied mood? The younger Olyphant makes a memorable impression, and adds seeing more of that dynamic to the wishlist. An odd-couple cop setup with Raylan and Robinson? That'd also work. Raylan's pursuit of the unhinged Mansell, and the latter's eagerness to keep it going, give Justified: City Primeval a compelling duel — and plenty of mirroring; they both drip charm, are whip-smart and canny, just on opposite sides of the law-and-order divide — but Raylan and Wilder are the show's meatiest duo. Sharing a sense of exhaustion, the Marshal and the lawyer each understand what it's like to ride through a murky and compromised world, endeavour to try to find a way to cope, and have to live with the costs. (That Ellis is as phenomenal as the older Olyphant assists.) 2023 marks 30 years since Raylan first appeared in print, in the pages of iconic crime writer Elmore Leonard's 1993 novel Pronto. While he returned in 1995 sequel Riding the Rap, it was 2001 short story Fire in the Hole that inspired Justified. Once the show became a hit, Leonard wrote 2012's Raylan, in what'd become his last published tome before his death in 2013. To revisit the character with Justified: City Primeval, however, Andron and Dinner dive into the author's back catalogue elsewhere, adapting and reworking 1980's City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit. The text's full title virtually screams for Raylan. On the screen, he slides in so seamlessly that it feels like he's always been in this tale. That's a testament to a series that doesn't just know its protagonist, but the work of the man who created him. Raylan might be Leonard's best character, but his bibliography is a wealth of riches — complete with Out of Sight, which became Steven Soderbergh's sparkling crime caper and shares a connection to Justified: City Primeval; and Rum Punch, which Quentin Tarantino turned into the sublime Jackie Brown. Justified: City Primeval excels at bringing Raylan Givens back to the screen, and Timothy Olyphant in the part. It's fantastic as a Leonard adaptation. And, although visually filled with thematically appropriate shadows, it's as shiny as Raylan's badge as a revival. The widespread trend keeps embracing beloved programs from years gone by, but the difference between the very best — see: Twin Peaks, aka the most stunning example there is and likely ever will be, and also Deadwood: The Movie, Veronica Mars, and the recent Party Down and Futurama — and the rest is considerable. Justified was a superb modern western from the get-go. Now Justified: City Primeval is a first-rate city-set neo-western that knows how to feature its familiar ingredients expertly, evolve them, and use them to comment on what changes and doesn't about humanity. Check out the trailer for Justified: City Primeval below: Justified: City Primeval streams via Disney+. Images: FX.
All That Jazz isn't one of Damien Chazelle's films. It hit cinemas in 1979, six years before the Whiplash and La La Land filmmaker was born, so it can't be. But the Oscar-winning writer/director sure has taken those three words to heart. With the exception of his last flick until now, 2018's Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, Chazelle adores all that jazz — and he adores pumping it through his movies, too. So, returning to the big screen after making jazz club drama The Eddy for Netflix in 2020, of course he's heading back to an era in history known as the jazz age. Babylon dances through Hollywood's Golden Age with a jazz (what else?) soundtrack, following Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt as they wreak havoc throughout Tinseltown. Robbie (The Suicide Squad) plays Nellie LaRoy, a 1920s actor. After winning an Oscar for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — set in a different era of Los Angeles' past — Pitt (Bullet Train) plays Jack Conrad, an industry veteran. As the decade comes to an end and Hollywood changes, the two characters have much to grapple with in this tale of ambition and excess. As the just-dropped first trailer makes plain, they have plenty of parties to attend, too — decadently staged affairs that look right out of The Great Gatsby, or at least as if Chazelle is channelling his inner Baz Luhrmann. And if you weren't already thinking that anyway, up pops Tobey Maguire in only his fifth movie role since The Great Gatsby. (Also on his resume since then: the wholly unrelated 2014 TV series The Spoils of Babylon). Since capturing Hollywood's attention back in 2014 with Whiplash, Chazelle hasn't been known for holding back — and in a trailer that opens with Robbie and a table of drugs, ends with her fighting a snake, gleams with golden sights in-between, and splashes around so much alcohol that you're forgiven for feeling a little boozy while watching it, that's clearly the case with Babylon. The official plot synopsis promises to "trace the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood" — and if that's your tempo, the end result hits cinemas in January 2023. Also among the cast: a massive who's who of Hollywood today, including Diego Calva (Narcos: Mexico), Jean Smart (Hacks), Jovan Adepo (The Stand), Li Jun Li (Sex/Life), PJ Byrne (The Boys), Lukas Haas (Widows), Olivia Hamilton (First Man), Max Minghella (The Handmaid's Tale), Rory Scovel (Physical), Katherine Waterston (The Third Day), Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Eric Roberts (The Righteous Gemstones), Ethan Suplee (Dog), Samara Weaving (Nine Perfect Strangers) and Olivia Wilde (Don't Worry Darling). Check out the trailer for Babylon below: Babylon releases in cinemas Down Under on January 19, 2023. Images: courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
In The Guest Edit we hand the reins over to some of the most interesting, tasteful and (or) entertaining people in Australia and New Zealand. For this instalment, we've enlisted the effortlessly elegant and professionally organised Beck Wadworth — Creative Director and Founder of minimalist stationery brand An Organised Life — to share some of her favourite books from the past year. As a woman whose business is about beautifully-made paper life-tools, who better to turn to for good book tips. And, as it's the end of the year and all, we'd be remiss if we didn't nudge you in the direction of the customisable 2022 diaries available on An Organised Life to start your year with minimal chaos. BECK WADWORTH: Naturally as a lover of pen to paper and all its forms, I love how versatile a book can be. After spending a lot of time at home during New Zealand lockdown, books have become a much needed comfort and I'm drawn to inspiring words, interiors, architecture and art… all things you can find within the pages of a beautiful coffee table book. NEW NORDIC HOUSES BY DOMINIC BRADBURY A birthday gift I received this year, with a love for architecture & minimalism, this beautiful book has quickly become a favourite of mine. The book features over forty of Scandinavia's finest and most innovative houses including rural cabins, coastal retreats, town houses & country homes. I fall in love with a different one every time I open the book. Find it now at: Booktopia How much: $70 (recommended retail price but more affordable at most online book stores) CLARITY & CONNECTION BY YUNG PUEBLO Last year I did a lot of self reflection & self work. It was a personal goal of mine to make the time to do this. One of the books that inspired me the most over this time was Yung Pueblo's Inward. This year he released Clarity & Connection, and naturally it's high on my list of books to get my hands on. His poetic style makes for deep, thought-provoking conversations. Find it now at: Booktopia and Angus & Robertson How much: $29.99 rrp LIVE BEAUTIFUL BY ATHENA CALDERONE A style icon of mine both for her interiors and fashion, Athena Calderone's new book Live Beautiful is the perfect addition to any coffee table. The book isn't just pleasant to look at, it improves the quality of our lives. It helps foster the tradition, rituals and ceremonies we create in our homes. Find it now at: Norsu Interiors and Booktopia How much: $59.99 rrp 2022 A4 DAILY PLANNER BY AN ORGANISED LIFE Of course, I have to recommend one of our very on 2022 diaries. Not only do they help you manage your schedule and workload but they are also filled with lots of tools, tips and more. Goal set, budget, change a habit, reflect, write down your favourite moments and much more with this all-in-one must have. Find it now at: An Organised Life How much: $79.99 ATLAS OF THE HEART BY BRENE BROWN I love Brene Brown's work and often listen to podcasts she's a guest on while on my evening walks. At the top of my list to read this summer is her new book Atlas Of The Heart which examines the 87 emotions and experiences that define us, and provides a compelling framework to help us all become more emotionally fluent and connected. Find it now at: Abbey's books How much: $45 THE WIDOW CLICQUOT: THE STORY OF A CHAMPAGNE EMPIRE AND THE WOMAN WHO RULED IT BY TILAR J MAZZEO I was lucky enough to be a Veuve Clicquot ambassador for seven years, and over that time I became obsessed with the history of the brand. Madame Clicquot was an amazing woman who succeeded in a man's world. She was fearless and a true inspiration of her time. This book tells her incredible story. Find it now at: Booktopia How much: $26.99 rrp ARK JOURNAL My favourite magazine at the moment for all things interiors & architecture. Find it now at: Ark Journal website or select news agents and magazine stores How much: €20 per issue
In the centuries since William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, plenty of other projects have attempted to take his lead, spinning perhaps the most famous love story there is into both straightforward and creative new adaptations. Some have simply brought the exact same story to the stage or screen. Others have kept all the details, but filtered them through a filmmaker's own style, as Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet did. And, back in 1957 on Broadway and 1961 in cinemas, West Side Story revamped the narrative and transferred it to the Big Apple. Created more than six decades ago by famed musical figures Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents, West Side Story is the adaptation that's taken on a life of its own. It's rarely far from stages worldwide, and that now 60-year-old film is a classic. It's also set to dance its way across the big screen again — and sing, too — with its New York neighbourhood rivalry returning to cinemas Down Under via a new remake this Boxing Day. Yes, the Jets and the Sharks are facing off once more. As both the new movie's initial teaser and its just-dropped full trailer show, Tony (Ansel Elgort, The Goldfinch) and María (film debutant Rachel Zegler) will fall head over heels again as well, because that's how the story goes. This time around, Steven Spielberg is in the director's chair, but West Side Story's storyline will obviously remain the same. So, in NYC in 1957, the aforementioned pair will feel sparks fly despite their backgrounds — because Tony's best friend Riff (Mike Faist, Panic) leads the Jets, and María is the younger sister of Sharks head honcho Bernardo (David Alvarez). Also popping up among the cast: Ariana DeBose (The Prom), Josh Andrés Rivera, Ana Isabelle (Imprisoned), Corey Stoll (Ratched) and Brian d'Arcy James (Devs), plus the great Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time) — who also played the role of Anita, Bernardo's girlfriend, in the original movie. The film's long list of talent continues off-screen, too, with West Side Story circa 2021's screenplay penned by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winner Tony Kushner (Lincoln), and the choreography coming courtesy of fellow Tony-recipient Justin Peck. Spielberg and company are taking the original Broadway musical rather than its first movie adaptation as their basis, and the results look vibrant and lively, but still with a classic old-school musical sheen. Thankfully — and unsurprisingly — it also looks worlds away from the filmmaker's last feature, Ready Player One. Check out the trailer below: West Side Story is set to open in Australian cinemas on December 26. Top image: Niko Tavernise, 2020 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
If you're one of those people who's always meaning to give blood, now might be the perfect time to roll up your sleeve. The Australian Red Cross Blood Service needs 99,000 new donors, so it's hosting Australia's first 24-hour donate-a-thon — with some bloody great incentives to get you through the door. A CBD donor centre on Collins Street will be open for 24-hours from 7pm on Thursday, June 13 through to 7pm on Friday, June 14 (aka World Blood Donor Day). To encourage you to donate, there'll be live music, live magic and free food. Oh, and you'll be helping to save up to three lives. We all know it's important to have a bite to eat after giving blood, and for once it'll be more than just a cookie and a party pie. Celebrity chef Frank Camorra of Movida will be serving up 'donor' kebabs, chicken empanadas and Catalan-style custard tarts. And Gelato Messina has created a new flavour just for the occasion — blood orange cheesecake gelato with red velvet cake and raspberry puree. How very fitting.
For movie lovers, there'll never be anything quite like watching a film in a cinema. It's the place where big-screen dreams shine bright in the darkness, and where nothing — as long as your fellow audience is respectful enough — can get between you and its celluloid fantasies. It's also where the latest version of West Side Story looked an absolute treat when it hit picture palaces last Boxing Day; however, a great flick will still draw you in even if you watch it at home. Come Wednesday, March 2, this Steven Spielberg-directed, Golden Globe-winning, seven-time Oscar-nominated version of the beloved musical will hit streaming via Disney+, following a long list of recent movies — Dune, The Matrix Resurrections, The French Dispatch and Spencer among them — to get fast-tracked from cinemas to home viewing. So, if you missed it on the silver screen when COVID-19 cases went up over Christmas, or just didn't make it along because life doesn't always find a way, you can now settle in for the famed NYC-set spin on Romeo and Juliet on your couch. Yes, that means that the Jets and the Sharks are facing off once more — on your TV screen. If you're new to all things West Side Story, the two gangs have long been tussling within the movie's narrative, and also on the stage and in film. That first happened back in 1957 on Broadway, thanks to iconic musical figures Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents. West Side Story has rarely been far from theatres worldwide since — and, in 1961, when the first movie version followed, it became an instant classic. The westside-set story: in fair NYC and its rubble-strewn titular neighbourhood where the flick lays its 1950s-era scene, the Jets and the Sharks aren't quite two households both alike in dignity. Led by the swaggering and dogged Riff (Mike Faist, a Tony-nominee for the Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen), the Jets are young, scrappy, angry and full of resentment for anyone they fear is encroaching on their terrain (anyone who isn't white especially). Meanwhile, with boxer Bernardo (David Alvarez, a Tony-winner for Billy Elliot) at the helm, the Sharks have tried to establish new lives outside of their native Puerto Rico through study, jobs and their own businesses. Both gangs refuse to coexist peacefully in the only part of New York where either feels at home — even with the threat of gentrification looming large in every torn-down building, signs for shiny new amenities such as Lincoln Centre popping up around the place and, when either local cops Officer Krupke (Brian d'Arcy James, Hawkeye) or Lieutenant Schrank (Corey Stoll, The Many Saints of Newark) interrupt their feuding, after they're overtly warned as well. But it's a night at a dance, and the love-at-first-sight connection that blooms between Riff's best friend Tony (Ansel Elgort, The Goldfinch) and Bernardo's younger sister María (feature debutant Rachel Zegler), that sparks a showdown. This rumble will decide westside supremacy once and for all, the two sides agree. Also popping up among the cast: Ariana DeBose (The Prom), who looks set to win an Oscar for playing Bernado's girlfriend Anita, plus the great Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time) — who also played that exact role in the original movie and earned an Academy Award for her efforts. And, the film's long list of talent continues off-screen, thanks to a screenplay penned by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winner Tony Kushner (Lincoln), and choreography courtesy of fellow Tony-recipient Justin Peck. The result is lavish and dynamic, with Spielberg pirouetting back from the awful Ready Player One to make one helluva first musical — a swooning, socially aware story of star-crossed lovers that dances across the screen with rhythmic swirls and thematic twirls. Tonight, tonight, there's only this lavish and dynamic version of West Side Story tonight. Check out the trailer below: West Side Story will be available to stream via Disney+ on Wednesday, March 2. Read our full review.
"Superheroes, they're just like us" has been an unspoken refrain humming beneath what feels like millions of caped-crusader tales that've reached screens in recent decades. Possessing great powers doesn't mean inherently and instantly knowing how to wield power, or greatness, or how to navigate the daily elements of life that don't revolve around possessing great powers, as movies and TV shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Extended Universe and beyond have kept stressing amid their planet-saving, evil-vanquishing, existence-defending battles. Even as it dispenses a much-needed antidote to superhero worship's saturation of big- and small-screen entertainment — even as it has made distrusting the spandex-clad and preternaturally gifted its baseline — The Boys has also told this story. Across the entire extent of human history, what's more recognisable than power and dominance bringing out the worst in people? As brought to Prime Video from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comics series of the same name by showrunner Eric Kripke (Supernatural) since 2019 — with season two arriving in 2020, season three in 2022 and now season four streaming from Thursday, June 13, 2024 — The Boys has stared unflinchingly at the grimmest vision of a world with tights-adorned supposed saviours. This is a series where murder at the hands of supes, which is then covered up by the company profiting from elevating them above the masses, is an everyday reality. It's a dark satire. It's gleeful in its onslaught of OTT violence and sightings of genitals. But with what it means to grapple with the struggle to hold onto humanity firmly at its core since its first episode — and likely right until its last, which will hit with its fifth season, Kripke has announced — The Boys remains a mirror. It has never been hard to see where art imitates life in this account of its namesake rag-tag crew saying "enough is enough" to the US' downward spiral. With flying, laser-eyed, super-strong, supernaturally speedy and otherwise-enhanced beings commercialised by a behemoth of a company called Vought International, The Boys has never been subtle at pointing its fingers at the many ways in which pop culture and the corporations behind it hold sway. The show's parallels with American politics in its portrait of a factionalised nation torn apart over a polarising leader who considers himself above the law are equally overt. Of course, the series is just as blatant in unpacking the consequences of letting the pursuit of power run riot. In its narrative, in chasing supremacy above all else, humans and supes really are just like each other — a truth season four doesn't ever let slip from view. At the end of 2022's batch of episodes, Vought's invincible leader Homelander (Antony Starr, Guy Ritchie's The Covenant) — the chief of its prime superhero team The Seven, but also calling the shots everywhere — unleashed his fiery gaze upon a supporter of his ex-colleague Starlight (Erin Moriarty, Captain Fantastic). The watching world saw the fatal ramifications, as well as the shattered pretence that caped crusaders can do no harm. But in a culture war, most folks' downright murder is Homelander and his devotees' justified act and fuel for more horrors. While there's no humanity in the Captain America-esque figure's quest to rule — and to his son Ryan (Cameron Crovetti, Boy Kills World), who is just learning to use his abilities, the unhinged ringleader is scathing in his perspective of people as disposable toys — does battling back by Butcher (Karl Urban, Thor: Ragnarok), Hughie (Jack Quaid, Oppenheimer), MM (Laz Alonso, Wrath of Man), Frenchie (Tomer Capone, One on One) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara, Bullet Train) need to entail resorting to the same mindset? As it thrusts its reflection of IRL US politics even further into focus not just via Homelander's trial, but also a presidential election and the certification of its results, The Boys season four proves as bleak and brutal as the series can get (although this is a show that treats every season as a challenge to top the last, so expect season five to double down again when it surfaces). Can only oblivion await? Again, as The Boys tells of a fight for control where the media is weaponised, fascism threatens democracy, billionaires pull strings and an oligarchy is the preferred outcome for many — a dictatorship for some, too — the comparisons with today outside the screen couldn't be more glaring. There's also an urgency to this season above and beyond its predecessors. Taking Homelander's sadistic lead is the status quo within Vought, where the ultra-brainy Sister Sage (Susan Heyward, Hello Tomorrow!) and conspiracy theorist Firecracker (Valorie Curry, The Lost Symbol) are the fresh faces among The Seven. The former is charged with masterminding a new world order, and the latter is enlisted to corral the internet public to the cause. Among The Boys themselves, Butcher now has mere months to live and encouragement (via Jeffrey Dean Morgan, The Walking Dead) egging him on to take the most-drastic actions. For the whole gang, death, trauma and past mistakes haunt their every move. And if Hughie and co stick to the path that they're on, what they're rallying for — and against — could fade out of sight. If it sounds as if the fourth season of The Boys is as jam-packed as one of the series' orgies — with characters, including returning The Seven members A-Train (Jessie T Usher, Smile) and The Deep (Chace Crawford, Gossip Girl), Vought PR head-turned-CEO Ashley (Colby Minifie, I'm Thinking of Ending Things), and supe-in-hiding politician Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit, Where'd You Go, Bernadette); with storylines weaving them all in, too — that's because it is. And, it's that full to the brim before connecting to the events of college-set spinoff Gen V, which dropped its first season in 2023 and has already been renewed for season two, becomes part of the plot. The Boys has never been short on ambition, either, as is especially the case the bigger that the franchise and its stakes get. For all of its similarities with real life, the buzzing chaos pulsing through its scripts and vibe, and the feverish determination to emphasise the point with raucous, gross-out violence and comedy, The Boys as a show practices what it preaches: it doesn't forget the humanity coursing through its frames itself. Staring into a mirror is an empty gesture if you don't feel like you truly see a person staring back, after all. From the most-empathetic traits to the most-sociopathic, this cast takes its job of reflecting what makes us human — for better and so often for worse — seriously. Its two acting MVPs haven't changed, however, including as big names continue to make cameos. Starr and Urban are exceptional once more, still tussling to prove the idea beating at The Boys' heart: that Butcher and Homelander, and their respective crews and crusades, aren't fated to be two sides of the same coin. Check out the trailer for The Boys season four below: The fourth season of The Boys streams via Prime Video from Thursday, June 13, 2024. Read our reviews of The Boys season three and Gen V.
Adapting movies into TV shows doesn't always work. But when it does, as the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Wet Hot American Summer and Westworld have all shown, it can turn into something spectacular. Australia has its very own example, too, in the form of beloved 90s teen drama Heartbreak High — which started as a spinoff to the Claudia Karvan and Alex Dimitriades-starring 1993 movie The Heartbreak Kid. Screening for seven seasons and 210 episodes between 1994–9, Heartbreak High was the high school-set Aussie show of the 90s. It was filled with now-familiar faces, including Dimitriades, a pre-Home and Away Ada Nicodemou, and Avengers: Endgame and Mystery Road's Callan Mulvey as Drazic. It painted a multicultural picture of Australia that was unlike anything else on TV at the time. And, for its six-year run across two Aussie networks, the Sydney-shot show was must-see television. So the news that it is making a comeback is very welcome indeed. Netflix has already brought back the original show by adding it to its streaming catalogue, so you can now revisit the influential series whenever you like. But the platform is also going one better and rebooting it for the 2020s — courtesy of a new series that will be "inspired by the original 90s series, but totally reimagined for a new generation" it announced in a statement. You will need to wait until 2022 to watch it, though. And, the show's first season will only span eight episodes. Also, just who'll be in it — and whether it'll take the lead of other rebooted teen shows, like the recent new version of Saved By the Bell, and bring back a few of its original stars — hasn't yet been revealed. Still, if you're feeling nostalgic, you've now got a new series to add to your 2022 must-watch list. And yes, Netflix knows that the new show will attract plenty of fans of the original. Revealing the news, Netflix's Director of Originals in Australia Que Minh Luu noted that "we haven't had a rebellious Australian YA series on screen since the original Heartbreak High, so this is well overdue. The new Heartbreak High is for young people in Australia today to feel seen — showcasing their stories, senses of humour and aesthetics to the world, and reminding everyone that they are much, much cooler than us. It's also for the 90s kids, fans of the original series who remember what it's like to feel understood by a TV show, then racking off." Need a quick glimpse of the original? Revisit its opening credits (and get its theme song stuck back in your head) below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZMKNxI4Izc The new version of Heartbreak High is set to hit Netflix sometime in 2022 — we'll update you when an exact launch date is announced.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations — giving you a little inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we take you to Epvalis Hotel in Greece, a picturesque, openair delight overlooking the water on the sunny island of Santorini. If you're dreaming of a sun-soaked Mediterranean adventure this summer, think about spending a few nights here. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? Epvalis is a four-star hotel that overlooks the village of Kamari on the famous Greek island of Santorini. The area is known for its volcanic black beaches — and you'll feel be able to finally find that sense of inner calm while gazing out at the azure waters of the Aegean sea. THE ROOMS The 45 rooms available at Epvalis are designed in the Cycladian style that Santorini is famous for. Think neutral whitewashed walls, rounded external corners, flat roofs and stone-paved floors. Each room has all the amenities you'll need, as well as private balconies overlooking either the gorgeous Santorini architecture or the sapphire bay below. Sound like a bit of you? Not only are the rooms gorgeous, but we've got an epic deal to make your Santorini snoozing even sweeter. Book the Epvalis through CP Trips and you'll knock a huge chunk off the price for a five-night stay — and nab perks like free cancellation and parking. [caption id="attachment_888518" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Karl Solano - Pexels[/caption] FOOD AND DRINK If you're headed for Santorini, you're probably prepared for a hearty Greek feed or three. You could choose to stay in and dine at the deli, or order a meal to your room to enjoy with sunset views. Every guest also will get to enjoy a complimentary buffet breakfast, which is open for three hours daily. In terms of onsite drinks, there are two bars: one an indoor lounge and the other a poolside bar. Epvalis is tucked away in the far south corner of Kamari, which keeps you away from the noise, but it does mean a night out is a roughly 15-minute beach walk away. Hey, all the more reason to stop and take in the waves. THE LOCAL AREA Kamari is a bustling seaside village on the southeast coast of Santorini, which is famous for its volcanic black sand beach. Along said beach are all the bars and cafes you could ever need to fuel your Mediterranean getaway, as well as thousands of beach chairs and umbrellas for hire. Looking for an activity? No worries — you can choose from watersports, art studios and even an openair cinema. [caption id="attachment_888517" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Dimitris Mourousiadis - Pexels[/caption] THE EXTRAS One of the most popular destinations in Kamari is Mesa Vouno, the second-largest mountain on Santorini. Epvalis lies on the foothills of the peak, which puts you within driving or walking distance of the ruins of Ancient Thera, a large Greek city that dates back as far as the 8th century. The ruins stretch across the top of the mountain and as far down to the beach, where a small shrine to Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, keeps watch over swimmers. On the summit, you'll find ancient excavated theatres, markets, temples, bathhouses and more. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world.
The AFL season might be drawing to a close, but we've found another very tasty reason for you to be venturing towards the MCG long after this year's final siren sounds. Just opposite the stadium on Wellington Parade, The Cliveden Bar & Dining has opened its doors as the latest part of Pullman Melbourne on The Park's $6 million makeover. Steeped in history, the new all-day operation sits at the East Melbourne address made famous in the '80s and '90s by The Cliveden Room — a fine dining icon and one-time haunt of the A-listers of the era, like Barry Humphries and Bert Newton. Today's iteration has a culinary focus that's equally sophisticated yet thoroughly modern, as executive chef John Ross showcases "a new way to buffet" centred around artisan produce. Within an enormous, 202-seat restaurant space, diners are invited to enjoy five unique buffet menus, running from a European and Mediterranean dinner offering spanning dishes like Spanish chicken pie and confit duck, through to a seafood-heavy Sunday brunch buffet complete with egg station. That's in addition to a lineup of share plates, charcuterie and a soon-to-launch high tea selection. Meanwhile, the bar situation is an exciting proposition in itself, not least of all for the 116-seat designer lounge area. Headlining the drinks list is a range of buzzworthy signature cocktails like the Bloody Aussie Negroni, which is crafted on Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin, Red Økar Amaro from South Australia and Maidenii sweet vermouth. The wine list tips its hat to top Victorian talent from across The Yarra Valley and Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas, backed by a curation of European varietals and solid selections of craft beer and cider. Find The Cliveden Bar & Dining at 192 Wellington Pde, East Melbourne, or head to the venue's website or Facebook page for more information.
These days, we're all on the hunt for cheap eats in Melbourne. And Brunswick East is already home to plenty of good spots — CDMX, Wild Life Bakery, Mankoushe, Nico's Sandwich Deli and Thaila Thai are all affordable faves. But there's always room for more. Enter Tawooq, the casual Lebanese spot on the buzzy Brunswick East end of Lygon Street. The tight menu consists of just nine items — spanning wraps, baguettes and burgers — and the most you'll pay for one is $14. The wraps come stuffed with either falafel, beef shawarma, fries or the signature chicken tawooq (grilled chicken covered in a creamy yogurt-based marinade), while baguettes are loaded with either spicy sausage (makanek or sujuk), tomatoes, pickles and sauces, or succulent asbe (grilled chicken liver). Pair your lunch or late-night meal (Tawooq is open till 2am on Friday and Saturday nights) with a soft drink or something a little more substantial from Tawooq's sister brand Laiimoon, located within the same space. Try a traditional Lebanese sahlab (milk pudding) or a smoothie packed with fresh fruit. It's a small selection of food and drink, but you've only got to master a few to become a true food destination in Melbourne.
Did someone say freshly made Japanese cheesecake? Melbourne is in love with this simple dessert, and you can't be the only person, resident or visitor, to miss out. One of the joys of Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Cheesecake shop is the simplicity — the store doesn't sell much, just a couple of simple variations on the perfect combination of wheat, egg, milk and cheese. A slice of the original signature Japanese cheesecake is melt-in-your-mouth soft and fluffy. Also, you buy these bad boys by the cake, not by the slice, meaning you can take some home for later. At $17.99 a pop, you might as well pick up a couple while you're there.
With shelves and shelves crammed full of options, wine buying can be a little bit daunting. But now there's a new kid in town that promises to make life that little bit simpler. Set to open its doors this Friday, October 12, Act of Wine is Southbank's new boutique bottle shop, heroing the small, the natural and the sustainably produced. It's from the same minds that brought you Broad Bean Organic Grocer next door, and boasts a similar passion for things well made. Here, the big name winemakers take a back seat, in favour of a carefully selected range that focuses on "smaller producers making honest wine". You'll find a solid selection of drops made with minimal intervention and are sure to discover plenty of less familiar names, covering the funky, the traditional, and everything in between. A discerning lineup of craft beer and artisan spirits rounds out the offering. But the wine selection isn't as expansive as what you'd encounter at your usual bottle-o, so you won't need to spend hours browsing — and you know whatever you do pick up will be quality and tasty. To complement the natural-driven booze philosophy, the award-winning Zwei Interiors Architecture have created a warm, organic-inspired fit-out, filled with lots of concrete, timber and natural elements. Be among the first to check out Act of Wine at its grand opening celebrations from 6-8pm this Friday, October 12. There'll be tastings from local brewery La Sirène, and wineries from across Australia. Find Act of Wine at 22 Fanning Street, Southbank, open from Friday, October 12.
Desserts are having a moment in Australia, from croissants that have locals and visitors lining up around the block to sweet degustations and high tea parties popping up around town. Standards are impossibly high for Instagram-ready desserts, but Melbourne's talented pastry chefs never disappoint. We're lucky to have access to some obsession-worthy sweets — from 100-year-old cheesecake recipes from Poland to modern takes on the beloved pavlova, there are cult-like desserts out that are equally unforgettable and affordable. One key ingredient that unites these cult desserts is the humble egg. Whether it's creating a fluffy Japanese-style cheesecake or whisking up frangipane filling for an almond croissant, eggs are an essential part of the mix. You can find all the nutritional benefits as well as recipes for muffins, biscuits and tarts on the Australian Eggs website. Read on for some of the best cult desserts in Melbourne that cost less than you might think.
After cancelling his 2018 Australian tour due to an ongoing injury, Childish Gambino has this morning announced he'll be returning Down Under this July. The US hip hop star will be hitting up Sydney on July 24, Melbourne on July 17 and Perth on July 14 for stadium shows — and to Byron Bay for an already announced headline spot at Splendour in the Grass. This will be Childish Gambino's — AKA Donald Glover, AKA writer/director/star of Atlanta, if you haven't already worked that out — first Aussie shows since performing at Falls Festival in 2016. At the shows, expect to hear 'This Is America' and last year's two-song Summer Pack, as well as hits from his lauded three albums Camp, Because the Internet and Awaken, My Love!. While you're waiting for tickets to go on sale, you can watch his new movie, Guava Island, which co-stars Rihanna. It premiered for free on Amazon Prime yesterday, and is now only available for subscribers. If you don't have a subscription, you can still catch a couple of teasers on Childish Gambino's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwLNcCxn6Fd/ Tickets for the three shows will go on sale at midday on Thursday, April 18. Childish Gambino will perform at RAC Arena, Perth on Sunday, July 14; Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne on Wednesday, July 17 and Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney on Wednesday ,July 24.
One of the most stylish hotel chains there is has finally opened its doors Down Under, ready for sleek-as-hell winter Sydney staycations and interstate getaways. Ace Hotel has built itself up a cult following since opening in 1999, with the boutique chain going for a luxe-vintage vibe — and now, after announcing its first Australian site back in 2019, dropping a sneak peek in 2021, and revealing its food and drink lineup earlier this year, the brand's 18-storey Surry Hills outpost is open for business. This isn't just the US chain's first Aussie location. It's also its first in the Southern Hemisphere. The brand kicked off in Seattle, then spread to Portland, New York, Los Angeles, London, Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Chicago in the US, and opened its first international location in London in 2013. And, before the pandemic, it was probably on your must-stay list thanks to its great bars, pools, cool branding and merchandise, and quirky locations — such as a converted Denny's and a historic YMCA building. Each Ace Hotel is individually designed to reflect its surroundings. In Sydney, its new venue has been designed in partnership with Flack Studio — and it's making the most of its Surry Hills location. That spot: the site of Australia's earliest kiln discovery, where convict potter Jonathan Leak produced domestic pottery as early as the 1820s. It then became the Tyne Building, with the brick structure constructed in 1916 as the factory and distribution centre of Washington H Soul Pattinson Chemists. Decor-wise, think: minimalist designs, warm and earthy tones, and cues aplenty taken from them Australian landscape. Standout touches include an ochre-red marble staircase reaching up from the lobby, burnt orange and tan hues in the ground-floor sunken lounge and a heap of greenery. And, an impressive art collection. On display, you'll find pieces by everyone from Tony Albert, Sydney Ball, Glenn Barkley, Karen Black, Barbara Cleveland, Laith McGregor and Sanné Mestrom through to Julia Gutman, Nadia Hernandez, Joanna Lamb, James Lemon, Nabilah Nordin, Jahnne Pasco-White, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Justene Williams. The venue also boasts an artist-in-residence program, which'll launch soon, as curated by Nina Fitzgerald of The Impact Lab. Ace clearly boasts plenty to look at as soon as you walk in its doors — and it's also home to a number of spaces to hang out in, too. Open now is the site's lobby cocktail bar in that aforementioned sunken lounge, plus ground-floor neighbourhood restaurant Loam. In the coming weeks and months, they'll be joined by laneway cafe and bar Good Chemistry; Kiln, a rooftop restaurant and bar by chef and partner Mitch Orr; and a wine program by P&V Wine's Mike Bennie. Obviously, staying in impressive surroundings is the main drawcard — and the cosy yet chic rooms here fit the bill. There's 257 of them, with some allowing pets. Among the features: custom lighting, furniture and fixtures; an in-room vinyl collection curated by Efficient Space's Michael Kucyk; Deiji Studios robes; and minibars packed with wares from local providers. Already planning for your first Ace Hotels experience? Under high-season rates, rooms start at $359. Find Ace Hotel at 47–53 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney.
Cicciolina is a veteran, but she's still delivering the goods. No, we're not talking about the Hungarian-Italian porn star and politician — we're referring to the 22-year-old Italian restaurant on Acland Street. Having been open for so long, Ciccolina is some what of a fixture on the St Kilda street. It must be something about the balmy European vibe that keeps customers crawling back. The food is simple yet innovative, and follows the Italian culinary philosophy: focus on a few key, high quality ingredients. Cicciolina's waitstaff are their own comedy show, oozing with wit and quirkiness. As you waltz in, they instantly greet you with a smile, sometimes a wink and often a joke. Regardless of where you are seated, clusters of artworks mounted on whitewashed brick walls peer over your shoulder, as if they're intrigued by what you are going to order. Near the entrance, a 3x3 chalkboard holds the specials. Kick things off with a shucked oyster dressed in a shallot and chardonnay vinaigrette ($4). It's virtually impossible to choose wrong if you go down the pasta path — especially if that choice is the smoked salmon linguini with braised leek ($30.50). Usually there's ragu pasta dish on special. If so, order it. Immediately. Leaving before having dessert? Good one — now, sit back down. Ordering the créme brûlée with blood plum compote ($16.50) will be one of the wisest food decisions you ever make. Cicciolina has a 150 bottle wine list, with over 20 options available by the glass. The restaurant houses everything from an Ottelia Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon ($13 glass, $32 bottle) to a Clic Pinot Grigio from Friuli-Venezia, Italy ($12 glass, $30 bottle). If you're not in a grape mood, perhaps try a Must-Have Martini: chilli-infused vodka with ginger liqueur, Liquor 43, apple juice and mint. All martinis and cocktails stand at $18.50. During dinnertime, it can be tricky getting a table — and the restaurant doesn't take bookings. If you want something more low key, slide into the restaurant's back bar. On Monday nights, you can score a beer and bolognaise for $20. Cicciolina is a people-pleaser. Whether you take a friend, your mum, or a date, they'll all walk out happy.
The nationwide domination of Betty's Burgers & Concrete Co. continues this week with the Queensland-born cult burger joint opening another restaurant in Windsor on Monday, November 26. This marks the second Melbourne outpost for the 1950s-inspired burger shack, after opening in the CBD in late-2016. To celebrate its brand new home in Melbourne's southeast, Betty's Burgers & Concrete Co. has teamed up with a local 'celebrity' to design an exclusive version of its popular dessert, the Concrete. Morgan Hipworth — the teenage doughnut entrepreneur at the helm of Prahran sensation Bistro Morgan — has lent his wildly creative mind to create a new flavour of the frozen custard, which will be available all week at the new Windsor store. This indulgent creation is a riff on the existing Cookie Butter Concrete, featuring vanilla custard, crumbled cookies, cookie butter and cinnamon sugar. Hipworth's version takes the decadence one step further by adding a cinnamon-coated doughnut ball filled with more cookie butter and topped with Nutella sauce. Drooling yet? And if you need an added incentive, all sales from this dessert will be donated directly to St Kilda Mums, a local charity that supports families in need. While you're there, be sure to check out the saucy competition going on in-store, too. Betty's has partnered with Chapel Street Precinct Association to give away a $2000 shopping spree and free Betty's Burgers for twelve months. To check out the rest of the Betty's Burgers menu, visit the website here.
UPDATE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19: Live at the Bowl's extended lineup has been announced. On top of all the acts below, you can now catch the like of Ball Park Music and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard performing as part of the Summer Sounds series alongside Piknic Electronik, The Cat Empire, The Avalanches and many more. Check out the full event schedule via Live at the Bowl. When the warm weather rolls around each year, Melburnians usually have multiple reasons to head to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. For those feeling festive, it's where Carols by Candlelight is held. And for anyone keen on catching orchestral shows under the evening sky, it's where the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has held its free summer series for decades. Come 2021, the iconic venue will also play host to a new event: Live at the Bowl. It's a response to this past chaotic year, with holding a COVID-safe summer festival its number-one aim. Well, that and giving the city's residents something fun to add to their calendars after 2020's struggles. Live at the Bowl will run from Friday, January 8–Friday, April 23 and will feature more than 40 performances. The eclectic lineup is stacked with local talent from different eras and genres including Missy Higgins, Lime Cordiale, Daryl Braithwaite, Sampa the Great and Birds of Tokyo performing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. If you're looking to laugh, Emmy Award-winner Hannah Gadsby is also heading up a night of comedy alongside Zoë Coombs Marr. It'll be a socially distanced affair, obviously, which the renders of the event illustrate — including separate platforms that split the audience up into groups, as festivals overseas have already been using. Tickets are on sale Wednesday, December 16 via Ticketek. Check out the full program below and find out more via Live at the Bowl. LIVE AT THE BOWL LINEUP Spinifex Gum — Friday, January 8 Human Nature — Saturday, January 9 Piknic Électronik — Sunday, January 10 A Symphonic Celebration — Thursday, January 14 Soju Gang presents SorBaes — Friday, January 15 Mo'Ju with Orchestra Victoria — Saturday, January 16 Teeny Tiny Stevies — Sunday, January 17 Ocean Alley — Thursday, January 21 Birds of Tokyo with the MSO — Friday, January 22 Share the Spirit 2021 — Tuesday, January 26 Missy Higgins — Wednesday, January 27 2021 Sidney Myer Free Concerts — Friday, January 29, Saturday, February 6 and Wednesday, February 10 Sun Cycle — Saturday, January 30 Lime Cordiale — Thursday, February 4 Running Touch — Friday, February 5 Rock the Bowl with Jon Stevens, Daryl Braithwaite and The Black Sorrows — Friday, February 12 Chinese New Year — Saturday, February 13 Vika & Linda — Sunday, February 14 Hannah Gadsby — Wednesday, February 17 Sampa the Great — Saturday, March 13 No Friend But the Mountains — Sunday, March 21 Top Image: Piknic Électronik by Wade Malligan
A seminal piece of Australian gothic horror is coming to the Malthouse Theatre — but not in the way you might expect. Kenneth Cook's landmark novel Wake in Fright has been adapted a number of times over the past 50 years, captivating audiences as a famed motion picture as well a recent miniseries on Stan. Now, it finds new life as a one-woman show, with actress Zahra Newman taking centre stage in this grim tale of violent masculinity in the dark heart of the Australian outback. When bookish school teacher John Grant finds himself stranded in the isolated mining town of Bundanyabba, his ideas of polite society soon fall away as he descends into a haze of drunkenness and brutality. Under the direction of acclaimed theatre-maker Declan Greene, and aided by a score from art-electronica band, friendships, Newman will bring the oppressive menace of Cook's work to the stage, forcing us to look inwards in ways we might otherwise avoid.
Jackie, by Chilean director Pablo Larrain, is a captivating and unflinching portrait of private grief amidst one of history's most public tragedies. It is, as the name suggests, neither a film about JFK's assassination nor about JFK himself, but rather a study of first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and the unfathomable burden of responsibility she both assumed and had thrust upon her in the immediate aftermath of her husband's murder. Portrayed by Natalie Portman with uncanny fidelity, Jackie's story is told via a series of flashbacks as she gives her account of events to Pulitzer-winning journalist Theodore H. White (listed in the credits merely as 'the journalist' and played by the ever reliable Billy Crudup). White's handwritten notes of that interview were made public the year after Jackie's death, and reveal the extent to which she insisted upon oversight of the final copy to ensure JFK's legacy was honoured – including her emphasis of the 'Camelot' theme that would forever become synonymous with the late President's name. Much like Clint Eastwood's recent Sully, the most dramatic moment in Jackie – her husband's assassination – is reserved for only the final stages of the film. For the bulk of the running time, Larrain instead chooses to focus squarely on the minutes, hours and days that followed the Dallas shooting. Gone for the most part are the glitzy ballrooms and lavish parties, replaced by hospital waiting rooms, cramped bathrooms and the back seat of a hearse. The choice is well considered, demonstrating precisely how alone Jackie was in those trying days, save for Robert Kennedy (Peter Sarsgaard) and her faithful White House social secretary Nancy Tuckerman (Greta Gerwig). Jackie was a woman in a man's world, and everyone of them felt entitled to tell her what to do, where to go and, most importantly, how to feel. That in that environment, under those conditions, she still found the strength to stand up to so many is a testament to Jackie's character, and forms the bulk of the film's thematic line. Portman's performance is phenomenal, an extraordinary embodiment of the physical and aural cues that made Jackie such an icon in her own right. It's such a remarkable likeness, in fact, that the film does on occasion veer dangerously towards a mere showcase of Portman's abilities at the expense of advancing the story. Thankfully, these moments are short lived and quickly forgotten. Portman has honoured her subject with a fine portrayal that, like Jackie herself, refuses to hide behind artifice – an unflinching, bare bones turn that only grows stronger the closer the camera comes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZTXv5NpgaI
In a surprising move that contradicts their usually pricey products, German sporting giant Adidas are set to launch a US$1 shoe under their subsidiary brand, Reebok. A similar project was undertaken by Adidas in 2010 in Bangladesh, but was abandoned after an initial run of 5000 pairs. This was due to production and import costs of US$6.50 exceeding the shoe's low price point. Adidas has now looked to neighbouring India as its new major growth market. With its booming population and high levels of poverty, the nation is an ideal market for durable and affordable clothing. Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer said that Adidas' surprisingly high sales have allowed them to undertake this venture. Furthermore, he told German newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag that "the shoe will be sold in villages through a distribution network... We want the product to be self-funding." Standing at US$1, or 52 rupees, this is a hard offer to turn down. [Via PSFK]
Pestival 2013 is a festival with a mission: to change your views about insects — largely by getting you to eat them. The unique insect-appreciation festival arrives in London next month with a wide array of events to turn us all pro-bugs. These include a variety of exhibitions to celebrate insects in art and the art of being an insect. However, the centrepiece of the pun-tastic festival is its pop-up restaurant: Exploring the Deliciousness of Insects. The diner, appearing for two nights only, will allow its guests to consume the crawliest cuisine imaginable. It is presented by Nordic Food Lab, the company behind the three-time best restaurant in the world Noma, who seek to "find the deliciousness latent in insects". According to head chef Rene Redzepi in an interview with the Guardian, this deliciousness can be found in ants, which taste like "seared lemon rind", and bee larvae, which makes a sweet mayonnaise. Those two options are just the tip of the ant hill, with more than 1900 edible insect species now on the menu according to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. With insects eaten in one form or another by 70 percent of the world's cultures, Pestival provides the perfect platform to present this gastronomic value to Western palates. And what better time to do so? With famine rising across the world, and food prices rising at home, insects offer a proficient alternative source of protein that is highly unlikely to become extinct. Pestival 2013 thus showcases a flavoursome solution to the food crisis of the future.
There's no simple, obvious or clear-cut way to approach the story of Donald Crowhurst. An amateur British sailor who tried to circumnavigate the globe for publicity and prize money, his is a tale so strange that it can only be true. For those unfamiliar with the 50-year-old saga, Crowhurst jumped from selling homemade navigational equipment to sailing around the world as part of a lucrative 1968 contest. Participants were required to complete their voyage alone and without making any stops — something that, at the time, had never been done before. Setting off with virtually no experience on a barely seaworthy boat that he'd designed himself, Crowhurst unsurprisingly ventured straight into troubled waters — and made many questionable decisions once he got there. As a quest for fame and glory, his efforts smack of misplaced hubris. At the same time, with a struggling business to his name and a family to support, he was facing considerable financial pressures both before and after he committed to the trip. His need to win the race, and the £5,000 cash that came with it, was sparked by more than just a desire to stroke his own ego. With Colin Firth taking on the role of Crowhurst, Rachel Weisz co-starring as his wife Clare, and David Thewlis popping up as the pushy publicist keen to sell the story (and embellish it where needed), The Mercy endeavours to depict both sides of its protagonist. The film chronicles the bluster and bravado that undeniably drove Crowhurst's fateful actions, while also exploring the pain and pressure behind them. The details are not only fascinating, infuriating and heartbreaking, but also incredibly complex. Still, just like sailing the seven seas solo, communicating all of that on screen is a hard task to master. No stranger to the real-life plights of obsessive men determined to succeed, director James Marsh (Man on Wire, The Theory of Everything) turns The Mercy into two films in one; a plucky underdog adventure crashing into an All Is Lost-style survivalist epic. Both have their merits, but they don't quite fit together — like much of Crowhurst's vessel, appropriately. While it's easy to admire the efforts of Marsh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns (Contagion) to offer a well-rounded account, the first half of the movie often feels like it's just ticking as many melodramatic boxes as it can. Instead, the film hits its stride when it leans into the drama of the voyage itself, flitting between Crowhurst's escalating struggles at sea and Clare's own troubles at home. It's these later scenes that showcase Marsh's versatility, as set to a well-pitched score by the late composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Arrival). With the assistance of cinematographer Eric Gautier (Into the Wild), the filmmaker finds visually expressive ways to convey the physical perils and emotional stresses faced by Crowhurst, while handling Clare's efforts to keep afloat (economically rather than literally) with a suitably reserved yet resonant air. In the process, he also showcases Firth and Weisz's adaptability, whether transitioning from eager to regretful and afraid, or from supportive to strong in the face of tragedy. Firth, understandably, gets more of a chance to shine than Weisz, but their respective character arcs prove equally compelling and convincing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L03PXWLmfQE&feature=youtu.be
Part cafe, part convenience store, Brother Alec is where you can pick up a carton of free-range eggs and organic, fairtrade coffee to take home as you order a handheld hangover buster and an iced batch brew for right now. The team opened the Thornbury eatery in 2011, and Jess, Malia and the rest of the hospo crew pride themselves on the family welcome they impart on everyone who wanders by. Brother Alec also caters, so you can feast on the vegan club, or ham and cheddar ciabatta rolls during your team meeting or family get-together. But we suggest sitting in and ordering one of the HLAT sandwiches — halloumi, rocket, avocado and tomato – that's just as salty as its bacon brother, but a little healthier. It's so popular the team can't take it off the menu. Image: Katie Wilton.
Netflix's hefty stable of original programming spans every genre imaginable, from nostalgic sci-fi thrillers such as Stranger Things and smart existential comedies like Russian Doll to crime procedurals such as Mindhunter and period dramas like The Crown. But as fans of Making a Murderer, Tiger King and Unbelievable all know, the streaming platform has also been leaning rather heavily upon true tales in recent years — both via docuseries and dramatised versions. Add Unorthodox to the latter pile, with the new four-part miniseries based on Deborah Feldman's best-selling 2012 autobiography Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots. As the book's title makes plain, the memoir and the TV adaptation each explore her decision to leave her ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Williamsburg, New York, flee her arranged marriage and everyone she's ever known, and escape to Berlin to start a brand new life. Names and details have been changed, as tends to be the case with dramas based on real-life stories; however Unorthodox still follows the same overall path. In a tense but instantly commanding opening to the show's first episode, 19-year-old Esther 'Esty' Shapiro (Shira Haas) slips out of the apartment she shares with her husband Yanky (Amit Rahav), picks up a passport from her piano teacher and nervously heads to the airport. Once she arrives in Berlin, she's just as anxious and uncertain — whether she's thinking about contacting her estranged mother (Alex Reid), who lives in the German capital; trying to work out where she'll sleep, given that she knows no one and brought nothing with her; or befriending a group of music students, cherishing making new connections and hoping she can join them at city's conservatory. Netflix's first original series primarily in Yiddish, Unorthodox then jumps between multiple narrative strands — chronicling Esty's sudden awakening into a secular existence far removed from her previous life; charting Yanky's desperate efforts to track her down under orders of their rabbi, with his cousin Moische (Jeff Wilbusch) on hand to help; and flashing back to Esty's childhood, her time with her beloved grandmother (Dina Doron), the lead up to her marriage and the wedding itself. Directed by German actress-turned-filmmaker Maria Schrader (Deutschland 83 and Deutschland 86), the end result proves a unique and intriguing coming-of-age tale, a thoughtful thriller, and an eye-opening but always careful and respectful look at a culture that's rarely depicted on-screen in such depth. Israeli actress Haas (The Zookeeper's Wife, Foxtrot, Mary Magdalene) turns in a nuanced, weighty and gripping performance as Esty, too — which is absolutely pivotal in making Unorthodox so compelling to watch. And, for viewers stuck at home and eager for a window into the wider world, the series makes great use of its Berlin setting — viewing the busy city with the same wide-eyed wonder as its protagonist. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zVhRId0BTw Unorthodox is currently streaming on Netflix. Images: Anika Molnar/Netflix.
Been sharpening up your swing in anticipation of the Australian Open? Wondering how your skills might stack up in a match against Rafael Nadal or Li Na? The world's first 'connected' tennis racquet is at your service. Unveiled this week at the international CES, held January 7-10, in Las Vegas, the product is the brainchild of tennis equipment company Babolat. It's built according to the dimensions of a regular racquet, but with a difference. Sensors located in the handle measure pretty much every detail of your performance, including power, impact, spin, forehand, backhand, overhead smash and serves. An interface called 'The Pulse' collates and analyses the data, scoring your game in terms of power, endurance and technique. Some of the world's biggest tennis names have put their support behind it. Nadal thinks it's "great because you have the chance to know much more about your tennis, much more about the way you are hitting the ball, the way that you want to improve ... you can have fun with that." Na says, "You get a much deeper understanding of your game." An app allows the user to record statistics, thereby keeping track of when and how their performance is improving. There's also a limitless online community, where information can be shared and compared with others. The Babolat Play retails for US$399. Via PSFK.
Move over Adelaide; according to The Economist Intelligence Unit's Global 2022 Liveability Index, Melbourne is now the most liveable city in Australia — again. While the Victorian capital spent much of 2021 under stay-at-home restrictions, it has beaten out every other city Down Under for this year in the annual list, placing first among Aussie spots and equal tenth worldwide. Melbourne has previously topped the rankings — for seven years running between 2010–2017, in fact, but that span came to an end in 2018. Back then, it was dethroned by Vienna in Austria, which again took out first place this year as it did from 2018–20. Vienna's 2022 victory came at the expense of 2021's top placeholder Auckland, which tumbled from first down to 34th. Last year's top ten was filled with Australian and New Zealand cities, including Adelaide, Wellington, Perth and Brisbane as well. They've all dropped significantly, with Adelaide moving from third to 30th, Wellington plummeting from fourth to 50th, Perth moving from sixth to 32nd, and Brisbane from tenth to 27th. Melbourne tied for eighth in 2021, so although it still made the top ten in 2022, it has also dropped two spots. The report explains that both Australia and New Zealand "benefited in early 2021, when COVID vaccines were scarce: their closed borders kept cases down, keeping liveability high... However, this changed as a more infectious covid-19 wave struck in late 2021, which made closed borders less of a defence." The Economist Intelligence Unit continued: "although New Zealand's lockdowns ended in December, before our survey period, its cities no longer have a COVID advantage over well-vaccinated European and Canadian cities. In Australia, some states were slower to lift restrictions than others. As a result, Perth and Adelaide have lost ground since last year, and Melbourne is once again Australia's highest-ranked city." As well as Vienna in first spot, Melbourne was joined in the top ten by Copenhagen at second, Zurich in third, Canada's Calgary and Vancouver in fourth and fifth, Geneva at sixth, Frankfurt at seventh, Toronto at eighth and Amsterdam at ninth — with Osaka sharing tenth position. The annual index ranks cities on stability, healthcare, education, infrastructure, culture and environment, giving each city a rating out of 100. Vienna achieved a score of 99.1 overall, and Melbourne received 95.1 — and, at the other end of the list, Damascus in Syria scored 30.7, ranking in 172nd spot. Narrowly missing the top ten for the second year in a row: Sydney, which came in 13th, after sitting at 11th in 2021. It had ranked third back in 2019. To read the full Global 2022 Liveability Index, head to the Economist Intelligence Unit's website.
