If you're a true sweet tooth, you'll know that one course of dessert is never enough. The cacao masters at Mörk Chocolate Brew House are on the same page, and they're hosting a series of dessert-focused degustations where the sweet stuff reigns supreme from first course to the very last. Running each Friday in October, Mörk's four-course dessert nights offer Head Pastry Chef Kate Robertson (ex-Cutler & Co. and London's St John) the chance to indulge her experimental side, transforming high-end cacao into all sorts of clever, thought-provoking dessert creations. If you've ever experienced one of Mörk's mesmerising campfire hot chocolates, you'll know these guys aren't afraid to push the boundaries when it comes to chocoalte. One course of the degustation will hero a range of native Australian ingredients, while another is crafted around the unique, double-fermented Itakuja chocolate, which is built on passionfruit pulp. Each night will have two sittings of just 18 seats, so you'll want to be quick to snap up tickets — the earlier seating has already sold out. Reservations are open now, with tickets priced at $45.
The countdown is on. In 50 days the National Gallery of Victoria will open its most ambitious collection to date, featuring 300 artists, architects, designers and creative practitioners. Melbourne Now celebrates what makes Melbourne the buzzing, cultural and creative hub we know and love. The architecture and design element of the collection will feature a large Community Hall designed by McBride Charles Ryan to be set up in the foyer of the NGV International. There are over 600 events programmed at for the venue during the four months of Melbourne Now. Ewan McEoin's work also looks to be an intriguing feature, as his immersive light installation will explore the city and how we navigate our way through it. The fashion, textiles and jewellery section will include the likes of the wonderful Toni Maticevski, cult brand Perks and Mini and the endless talent found at the Designer Thinking group exhibition. Shoe lovers will be drawn towards Preston Zly Design, where famous shoes from children's classics (think Dorothy's ruby shoes and Cinderella's glass slipper) have been recreated, and there is also the Shoemakers exhibition for more fancy footwear fun. This is just a small sample of the immense creative talent this exhibition will have to offer. The Community Hall also encourages participation — check out the NGV blog to see how you could get involved. If you are passionate about Melbourne and its dynamic, creative identity, this comprehensive collection of exceptional work is not to be missed. Melbourne Now opens on November 22 and runs until March 23, 2013.
East Malvern's humble Central Park isn't quite as grand as the one in NYC, but it'll certainly be tastier with the East Malvern Food and Wine Festival coming to its green lawns in November. The weather will be warming up definitively by then and it'll be a wise call to spend a day in the park — especially when you add a vast range of winery and brewery produce into the mix. Go along to taste vino from Bendigo and Heathcote regions, beers from local craft breweries, and taste till your heart is content and you've forgotten tomorrow is Monday. Food-wise, there'll be offerings from Riserva and Nepal Dining, as well as pop-ups from Richmond Oysters, That's Amore Cheeses and a Christmas pudding stall where you can really go all out and treat yourself. You'll be able to stock up on artisanal produce and, if you or your mates have kids, you can send them to a magician masterclass. Meanwhile, your other (furrier) kids can score some doggie treats from the Canine Wellness Truck.
If we had to come up with a shortlist of sentences that we don't think we'll ever get tired of writing, "Melbourne is getting a brand new burger joint" would definitely be close to the top. Which is lucky, because frankly, it's something we have to write a lot. Case in point: restaurateur Dani Zeini is firing up the grill at Royal Stacks Brunswick, his second American-style fast food eatery to open this year. With a resume that includes Dandenong Pavilion, Grand Trailer Park Taverna, Easey's and Truck Stop Deluxe, it's safe to say that when it comes to hamburgers, Zeini is no slouch. The first Royal Stacks opened in the CBD in January, and this offshoot will use high quality Australian ingredients, including beef free from GMO, hormones and antibiotics. And, in a point of difference to the CBD restaurant, Brunswick will have halal options on the menu. "We're very excited to launch a Royal Stacks in Brunswick that offers a options for those who want to eat halal," says Zeini. "Catering for the local community has always been a big part of all the venues I've been involved in." The wildly popular burgers that have been going gangbusters at the CBD venue will naturally be at Brunswick too, including the Double Stack, the Prince Harry and The King (that's the one with the mac 'n' cheese croquettes). Burgers and fries aside, there's also the insane honest-to-God frozen custard machine. New flavours like rosewater and pistachio, baklava and kunafeh (a sugar-soaked cheese pastry) will also make an appearance at the new store.
Almost every Aussie state has its wine region, with the Hunter Valley in NSW and the Barossa in SA being some of the most popular destinations for wine weekenders on this side of the equator. But the star of the show is down in Victoria, with the Yarra Valley being one of Australia's finest options for a quick getaway. It's less than an hour's drive from Melbourne, and these verdant fields couldn't be a better break from the hustle and bustle of the big smoke. That's why we've teamed up with Visit Yarra Valley to show you how to swap the office desk for a midweek vineyard escape, and to recommend some local wineries for you to hit along the way. Chandon The first entry on our list might not be immediately what you're expecting. Chandon might be a global sparkling wine brand spread across four continents and five countries, but it does indeed have a branch in our very own Yarra Valley. It was during the 1980s when then Chandon bosses visited Victoria to inspect it as an area for a potential expansion into Australia; the cool climate and varied terroir of the Yarra led it to become the winner, a moment that really put the region on the global wine stage. Sparkling wine works best in a cool climate, so Victoria was well-suited for sparkling wine specialists like Chandon. Today, visitors to the property can enjoy guided and à la carte tastings, hands-on winemaking experiences, tipples in the lounge bar, multi-course meals in the restaurant, sparkling brunches, outdoor picnics and more. [caption id="attachment_982897" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Anitra Wells[/caption] Oakridge Wines Oakridge set up shop in its current Coldstream property in 1998, but has been growing in the Yarra Valley since the late 70s. Oakridge's attention to detail has taken it to the forefront of Australia's cool-climate wine scene and made it a must-visit location in the Yarra Valley, highlighting everything that makes the area a great destination: city-level luxury with countryside scenery and world class cuisine. The winery looks as good as its wines taste with its panoramic windows and vineyard-to-mountain scenery, and visitors to the cellar door can take part in five tasting experiences, ranging from a tasting of its most awarded wines to luxurious barrel tastings, tours and helicopter flights. Oakridge also boasts two dining experiences: the fine-dining restaurant and, for more casual bites, the Terrace. Both of which use produce sourced from their own kitchen garden or a network of small, ethical producers, all served with a side of vineyard to mountain views. [caption id="attachment_982898" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Lauren Bertaccini Photography[/caption] Punt Road Wines Nestled in Coldstream, Punt Road Wines is all about offering good times and great drops with everyone — from seasoned sippers to wine-curious beginners. With 160 years of growing grapes under its belt, the 58-acre vineyard estate produces crowd-favourites like pinot noir, chardonnay, and cabernet sauvignon alongside rarer finds like gamay and the experimental Airlie Bank range of wines. Visitors to the cellar door can enjoy all of them in tasting flights with or without matching charcuterie and cheeses. Either way, you can browse through a mix of local and international nibbles in the Picnic Pantry before you take a seat to enjoy them in the Marquee Bar or — if the weather is cooperating, pick out a grassy slice of the garden grounds for a proper picnic. [caption id="attachment_983538" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Sharyn Cairns[/caption] Giant Steps What happens when a massive jazz fan trades the Margaret River for the Yarra Valley in search of his perfect winery? Giant Steps, that's what. The jazz fan in question was Phil Sexton, and his bold new venture was fittingly named after his favourite John Coltrane album. From the first plantings in 1997 to being named the Halliday Winery of the Year for 2025, Giant Steps has garnered a reputation for its standout pinot noir and chardonnay, grown across single sites throughout the valley. The use of single sites ensures that the wine never stays the same, aside from the fact that it stays excellent. Fret not; you don't need to hit multiple wineries to try it all; just head to Healesville and the Giant Steps tasting room. There are four tasting experiences on offer, from a seasonal selection to a deep dive into the single-vineyard wines they do best. As always, walk-ins are welcome, but bookings are best. St Huberts St Huberts is another Yarra Valley mainstay, having been established way back in 1862, but a 162-year-old winery has never looked so damn good. Led by acclaimed winemaker Greg Jarratt since 2006, St Huberts specialises in cabernet sauvignon but takes advantage of the Yarra environment that drew winemakers here all those years ago. Beyond cab sav is a whole host of cold-climate wines that find their way to shelves, cellars and glasses across Australia. St Huberts also boasts a gorgeous cellar door, launched with a contemporary makeover in 2022. Think smooth stone, dark wood panels, leather couches and stags aplenty (in keeping with its seventh century namesake, St Hubert: the patron saint of the hunt). All that makes for a luxe and comfortable environment for tastings and charcuterie. Otherwise, a full dining experience can be found at onsite restaurant Quarters, which serves seasonally selected modern Aussie favourites and European-inspired dishes. Chateau Yering All this drinking wine is bound to really take it out of you, it's a hard life sipping chardonnay and eating cheese in the sun, after all. If you're to do the Yarra justice, you need to make it an overnight adventure. Our advice? Go all out. Go to Chateau Yering. This five-star Victorian-style (era, not state) mansion sits on a spacious 250-hectare property. 32 Luxurious and uniquely appointed suites? Check. Yarra Valley views? Heritage garden? Check. Whether you fancy a leisurely stroll by the flowerbeds, a cup of tea as you watch the sunset on your private balcony, or just collapsing into a plush bed, you can do it here. Get dinner at the lavish Eleonore's Restaurant and breakfast at the conservatory-style Sweetwater Cafe before you head out for another day of tastings and adventures among the rolling green hills of the Yarra Valley. Is your interest piqued? Do you fancy wetting your whistle the Yarra Valley way? We've also teamed up with Visit Yarra Valley to give one lucky reader and a guest the chance to score a two-night stay at Chateau Yering with all sorts of extras — including a $400 voucher to spend at any of the above wineries. To find out more and put your name in the running to win, check out the competition here. For more information on the Yarra Valley and to start planning the rest of your adventure, head to the Visit Yarra Valley website.
In the shadows of Luna Park, Veg Out is a volunteer-run community garden set on a former bowling green. The space is home to over 140 plots allowing members, friends and community groups to roll up their sleeves and get their hands in the soil. The community gardens also host regular farmers markets, open days and working bees, all of which showcase the sense of community and conservation that runs through this outdoor space. Want to get involved? Become a Friend of Veg Out for $15, which is the first step towards getting a plot of your own to tinker around in. Image: Elaine Casap
After a lengthy 13-year break, the Northcote Rise Festival is back thanks to help from the Victorian Government. On Sunday, February 18, Northcote's High Street will close to traffic and be consumed by food stalls, local artists and over 300 entertainers. Musical acts will be out in droves, taking over some of the small and large stages located all along the main street — from James Street to Separation Street. Expect to hear everything from indie pop and rhythm and blues to Latin rock and jazz as you wander through the festival. Post-punk grunge group Moody Beaches, 90s-influenced psychedelic band Mature Themes and pop artist Jacqui Lumsden will be some of the artists to feature in the lineup. There will also be plenty of events for kids, including an interactive storytime from the Spencer Street Drag Queen, magic shows, music, Lego workshops, face painting, a petting zoo, and a Garden Adventure where visitors can paint plant pots and plant seeds. Food-wise, local restaurants and bars on this part of the strip will be open to the masses, plus stacks of street food stalls will pop up just for the day. It will be a massive occasion for the community, highlighting how Melbourne's main streets can and should be used to support local businesses and artists. [caption id="attachment_922596" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tinker[/caption] Top image: Josie Withers for Visit Victoria.
So long Saigon Sally — after more than four years in business, the popular Vietnamese eatery in Windsor is set to close its doors next month. But diners won't be mourning long, with the venue set to reopen as a Thai joint just a few weeks later. "We have a very loyal clientele and we want to keep them stimulated and inspired," said Saigon Sally co-owner Simon Blacher in a statement announcing the news. "This is why we have decided to re-invent the restaurant offering." Named after the bustling Thai capital, BKK will be headed by head chef Sean Judd, previously of Longrain and Chin Chin, as well as Bangkok's Nahm. Under his direction, menu highlights will include gai yang (turmeric and lemongrass chicken cooked over smoke) and som tam tod (a crispy papaya nest salad). The refurbished space will also feature a cocktail bar and function space, both of which are expected to open before Christmas. As for Sally, her spirit will live on at sister Vietnamese venue Hanoi Hannah, on whose menu Blacher says we can expect some of Sally's signature dishes to pop up before too long. He's also teased the possibility of resurrecting the beloved lady in the CBD, or maybe even interstate. You can also visit the team's Japanese restaurant Tokyo Tina just around the corner. The restaurant relaunch is something that quite a few Melbourne venues are testing at the moment. Just this week Green Park announced it would become Park Street, while, just around the corner in Prahran, Toko has closed to make way for new karaoke bar tokosan. Saigon Sally will continue to operate as normal at 2 Duke Street, Windsor until September 3. BKK is expected to begin service later that month. For more information or to make a booking before they close, visit saigonsally.com.au.
Fancy Hanks has long been one of Melbourne's premiere destinations when it comes to old school American-style barbecue. But if you think that's the only string to their bow, then prepare to be pleasantly surprised. Taking over an Abbotsford warehouse for two nights in July, Hank's Majestic Hawker pop-up will see the brisket and pulled pork substituted for an array of Singaporean dishes — including soy marinated chicken wings with chilli vinegar, sambal stingray served in banana leaf, rice noodles with Chinese sausage, fishcake and egg, and fried banana fritters with pandan coconut ice-cream. Turns out Americans aren't the only ones who know their way around a charcoal grill. Fittingly, the chef in charge of the pop-up is none other than Alicia Cheong, who previously ran Hank's kitchen when they were based at The Mercat Cross Hotel. Cheong is back in Melbourne after a year-long stint at the Michelin-starred Restaurant Par Andre in her native Singapore. But Cheong isn't Hank's only South East Asian connection — co-owner Daragh Kan's father was born in Malaysia. "My childhood holidays were mainly spent having satay eating competitions with my brothers at hawker centres," he says. Tickets to Majestic Hawker cost $30 for three dishes — a one from the BBQ, one from the wok, and one for dessert. For $50 you also get drinks included, with both beers and cocktails on offer. Majestic Hawker will be open at 274 Johnston Street, Abbotsford on the evenings of Friday, July 14 and Saturday, July 15. Tickets here.
With its award-winning barrel-aged, bloody shiraz, rare dry, spiced negroni, Christmas and overproof gins, Four Pillars has won plenty of fans — and as of today, one big buyer. If you're keen on creative takes on juniper spirits, you might've snapped up plenty of the brand's coveted tipples, but only beer giant Lion has become the distillery's new partner. It's the first foray into the craft spirit market for the huge beverage company, which is owned by Japan's Kirin Holdings and boasts beer labels such as James Squire, Little Creatures, Furphy, White Rabbit, Hahn, Tooheys, James Boag's and XXXX to its name. Picking up a 50 percent stake in Four Pillars, it's clearly hoping to capitalise upon the gin outfit's growing popularity. According to the Australian Financial Review, the Healesville-based boozemakers are expected to sell half a million bottles this year. The sale comes little more than five years after Four Pillars was established by Stuart Gregor, Cameron Mackenzie and Matt Jones — and Gregor say it's "the start of a really exciting new chapter for our business". It's not the first time the trio has been approached by potential buyers, but when it came to pairing up with Lion, they liked "the fact we will be their first and most important craft spirit brand". Gregor, Mackenzie and Jones will still be running the show, and they'll still keep their existing Yarra Valley digs as their base. But Four Pillars aficionados can look forward to a few changes — including more small batch gin experiments, more attempts to push boundaries, when it comes to both distilling and botanicals, and more collaborations with renowned bartenders, chefs and other creatives. The company will also build a new hospitality and production space next to its current location, which'll give it the capacity to make and bottle more than one million bottles of gin a year. And, in good news for anyone who considers Bloody Shiraz Gin day the best day of the year, a new website that doesn't crash when each new batch goes on sale is also on the cards. If you're wondering, as it has previously, the much-loved variety will go on sale on June 1.
With winter on our doorstep, you've likely got a few hearty cook-ups and comfort food sessions in mind. And some fresh kitchen gear wouldn't go astray, right? Well, local cooking whizzes are in luck, because famed French cookware label Le Creuset is hosting a huge Melbourne warehouse sale this weekend. Taking over Melbourne Showgrounds' Agricultural Hall on Saturday, June 1, it'll feature a whole heap of bargains, with up to 70 percent off across a sprawling range of high-quality stoneware, stainless steel pots, toughened non-stick pans, cast iron cookware and wine accessories. Le Creuset's colourful pieces don't usually come cheap — but they do last a lifetime — so this is an opportunity not to miss. The sale only lasts for one day, kicking off at 9am, so if you want to score some kitchen bargains, you might want to forego that Saturday sleep-in. It's also a cash-free event, so be sure to bring your plastic. Le Creuset Melbourne Warehouse Sale runs from 9am–5pm.
Australian-born, New York-based artist TV Moore is bringing his latest work to ACCA this August and September as part of their annual Influential Australian Artists program. Moore is heralded as one of Australia’s first artists to explore video in art, and has continued to focus on the moving image in a variety of forms throughout his career to date. His work is vibrant and psychedelic, where pop clashes with surrealism, as he explores technology and media consumption across high and low culture. This solo exhibition, Love & Squalor, will feature his video animation Tripasso in Wackyland, where we experience a mash-up of pop culture from Kubrick to Looney Toons to Fantasia. The Way Things Grow, another recent animation work of Moore’s, will also be on display, as will sound project When Cats Dream of Everything, which was specifically created for this exhibition.
One of Australia's largest contemporary multi-arts centres has gone into voluntary administration as the industry is hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. After being forced to close in late March and standing down almost half its core staff in mid-April, Carriageworks in Sydney's inner city has this morning, Tuesday, May 5 announced the appointment of Phil Quinlan and Morgan Kelly of KPMG as its administrators. In a statement, the Eveleigh multi-arts centre said, "the sudden cancellation or postponement of six months of activities due to restrictions on public gatherings has resulted in an irreparable loss of income." Upcoming events set to take place at Carriageworks included Sydney Writers' Festival, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and Semi Permanent, all of which have been cancelled or postponed in line with the government's restrictions on mass gatherings. The ongoing Farmers Market, which saw up to 5000 Sydneysiders visit each Saturday, has also been put on hold during the pandemic. [caption id="attachment_716971" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Carriageworks Night Market by Daniel Boud.[/caption] On the closure, Carriageworks CEO Blair French said in a statement: "Since opening in 2007, Carriageworks has enjoyed the support of both the NSW and Federal Governments, and the generosity of its many partners and donors. With restrictions on social gatherings likely to remain in place for some time to come, the Board determined that it had no alternative but to place the company into Voluntary Administration." While Carriageworks relies partially on government funding, it generates 75 percent of its revenue from "on-site events and programs". Carriageworks administrator Quinlan said that "all options are on the table" for the future of the arts organisation, with stabilising its financial position and allowing it to "continue its important role for Australian arts and culture" being one of them. French echoed this sentiment, saying, "the Board remain hopeful that the Carriageworks facility will be able re-open to artists and community alike once NSW emerges from the effects of the current pandemic." Top image: Jacquie Manning
Advanced Style is a fashion documentary with a twist. Based on a blog by the same name, it is a movement away from thin models on catwalks and glossy magazine trends. The documentary focuses on the lives of older New York women who dress with flair and refuse to succumb to expectations of how older women should present themselves. The camera follows these women as they go about their daily lives, explaining how individual style and dressing up makes them feel. These characters were captured by street photographer Ari Seth Cohen, who wanted to gain an insight into the lives of women who he perceived as the caretakers of style. All the women spiritedly challenge established ideas about beauty and ageing in Western culture — one says dressing up is an "an exercise in creativity". Advanced Style is in cinemas on October 2. Thanks to Madman Entertainment we have ten double in-season passes to give away. One major prize winner will also get copies of The September Issue on DVD and the CR Fashion Book Issue 1. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=ccai-E36BfI
This American Life no longer requires any introduction. You and your youngish, globalised, culture-hungry friends are probably all over this podcasted hour of digestible journalism and storytelling. What's slightly less well known is the producers' experiments in translating the show's trademark style to visual media, including through a Showtime TV show and stage show The Invisible Made Visible. They're playful, inventive forays for our cross-platform age. Now comes phase (approx.) four: the movie. Co-written and produced by Ira Glass, Sleepwalk with Me is the feature-length adaptation of Mike Birbiglia's very memorable extreme-sleepwalking/relationship-breakdown stand-up routine, which was included in the TAL episode 'Fear of Sleep'. He has to preface this story with an assurance that it's true, because as he goes from fighting an imaginary jackal to falling off a shelving unit he's climbed in the belief it's a winner's podium to waking up bloodied on a hotel lawn, it increasingly doesn't sound like the cute, ha-ha version of sleepwalking we know. As Mike (or 'Matt Pandamiglio' as he's known in the movie) tells it, his sleepwalking gets worse as his girlfriend of eight years, Abby (Lauren Ambrose), starts to hint at marriage, babies and other grown-up things he's not ready for. He starts using the relationship concerns he can't vocalise to her in his stand-up, getting laughs for the first time. If you've heard the comedy routine that underlies Sleepwalk with Me on TAL, you'll know its engrossing, winningly self-deprecating and very funny. But it's as if the creative team felt that to make it worthy of a feature film they had to emphasise the relationship element, and that's just not the story's strong point. The idea of the man-boy who can't commit is rather '90s, and neither the narrative nor style brings it forward two decades, to where it should be. Sleepwalk with Me is still funny, but nothing in its bones suggests the creativity, forward-thinking or immediacy that This American Life has cultivated as its brand. And that dulls the experience of watching it. Birbiglia certainly makes some adorable, true-ringing observations about life and love. Just be prepared that the laughter-to-irritation ratio may not be one you find favourable. https://youtube.com/watch?v=u9tRN7bok4o
There are some big, green changes afoot in the ACT, with the nation's capital today — Wednesday, September 25 — legalising the possession and cultivation of cannabis for personal use. The ACT Parliament gave a green light to the bill put forward by Labor backbencher Michael Pettersson, called Drugs of Dependence (Personal Cannabis Use) Amendment Bill 2018, which allows residents over the age of 18 to possess up to 50 grams of dry cannabis (or 150 grams of wet) and to have two cannabis plants growing at their house, with a maximum of four per household. The new laws, which are set to come into effect from January 31, 2020, aren't clearcut, however. You still won't be able to buy, sell, give or even share marijuana under the new laws — which means your only option is to grow your own. The ACT's Chief Police Officer Ray Johnson told the ABC Radio earlier today (via The Canberra Times), that even sharing a joint would be considered 'drug supply'. "If there's evidence that someone is providing cannabis to someone else, that's supply and that's an offence," Johnson said. Cannabis will still remain an illegal drug under Commonwealth law, which means that Canberrans risk fines and prison time for possessing the drug. At the moment, it's unsure how ACT police offers will react, as they have the ability to enforce both ACT and Commonwealth laws. It's also possible the Commonwealth could overrule the ACT decision, as it did with the Territory's same-sex marriage decision back in 2013 (yes, the ACT independently legalised same-sex marriage before any other jurisdiction), saying the ACT's law was inconsistent with the Federal law. You also can't smoke in public places or around minors, and, just as before, there'll also be penalties for any minor caught with cannabis, for driving under the influence and, importantly, artificial cultivation. Which means, any cultivation with the aid of light or heat is still illegal — so you won't be able to set up a hydroponics system in your cupboard or basement a la Pineapple Express. So, while things are looking suitably murky for now, if all proceeds as expected, Canberrans will be able to light up from early next year. It'll be interesting to see if this influences laws in any other states or territories. The ACT's Drugs of Dependence (Personal Cannabis Use) Amendment Bill 2018 is set to be signed in on January 31, 2020. We'll let you know if anything changes. Via The Canberra Times
When you consider the conventional response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, one of impassioned environmental outrage, you almost feel like director Peter Berg accepted his latest film as a dare. "Hey Pete, here's one for ya. You know that Deepwater thing that happened back in 2010? Worst oil disaster in US history? 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico? 11 workers missing and never found. Millions upon millions of marine animals wiped out and a $100 billion company doing everything it could to avoid liability? Yeah, well…make that an uplifting story". Impressively – and to Berg's definite credit – he's done a more than solid job of it. Deepwater Horizon does indeed find its heart by telling the story of the 'roughnecks' who kept the rig running right until it didn't: the engineers, the riggers, the crane operators and the cleaners. BP executives feature too, but you'd better believe they're the bad guys, especially in the eyes of the Deepwater team. Penny-pinching and regulation-bending, the BP/Transocean head honchos (led by John Malkovich) come across like comic book villains, delivering silver-tongued insults and making unyielding demands of their subordinates through toothy, moustachioed grins and deep-south Louisiana drawls. If Deepwater Horizon were a cartoon, Foghorn Leghorn would be the first one cast ("I say, I say, I say, I do protest sir that this here rig be nigh on 43 days past delivery date, yiiiih-ha!!") Squaring up against the suits is a solid ensemble cast of hard-arses and hillbillies from the Transocean team responsible for keeping the Deepwater rig afloat. At the helm, Mark Wahlberg plays Mike Williams, a straight-talking electronics technician, husband (to Kate Hudson) and father who tells his buddies how to fix their cars and his superiors how to fix their floating oil station. Alongside his boss Mr Jimmy (Kurt Russell), Williams has no difficulty in seeing that BP's determination to complete the drilling project and advance to the next site as quickly as possible puts at risk not just the oil reserve but all the crew members responsible for drilling it. Greed and gross negligence, in the film's frustratingly simplistic estimation, explain what happened next. We say frustrating, because in Deepwater Horizon there existed an opportunity to delve deep into the specifics of what precipitated the massive blow-out and subsequent explosion on that fateful evening. Sadly the script, based on the New York Times article "Deepwater Horizon's Final Hours", rarely advances beyond repeated mentions of a 'cement bond log test' not being performed. Berg's focus is clear from the beginning: this is a human story centred on a very specific couple of hours from within a much larger tale. But whatever the movie lacks in narrative depth, it does its best to make up for in action. As with any real-world disaster movie, the inevitable cataclysmic conclusion endows it with an inherent suspense. Berg's job is to simply build the pressure until its explosive release can be held no longer – and he's happy to take his time. As in Clint Eastwood's recently released Sully, the film's patience in delivering the heart-thumping disaster moment means its eventual arrival is almost overwhelming, aptly showcasing the horrors endured by those on board, and the heroism of the few whose actions saw so many others survive. An intense and gripping piece of cinema, Deepwater Horizon ultimately resonates more than one might have expected for a film of this type and subject matter, offering at once an earnest tribute to the men who lost their lives and a solid rebuke to those who were responsible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-UPJyEHmM0
The term "passion project" is usually thrown around when a filmmaker tries to make something near and dear to them, but doesn't quite achieve the success they'd hoped for. Fences clearly meets the first half of that definition, with Denzel Washington directing and starring in a stage-to-screen adaptation of the play he previously won a Tony award for on Broadway. With the aid of his co-star Viola Davis, who also follows the project from the theatre to film, Washington crafts a picture full of commanding lead performances and blistering drama. And yet, like so many passion projects, it's never quite everything that it could be. Just why that's the case is apparent from the outset, when Pittsburgh garbage collector Troy (Washington) returns home on a Friday afternoon with both his pay packet and a bottle of gin in his hand. The working week is over, and so he's jovial, tipsy, talkative, and cheekily playing up for his dutiful wife Rose (Davis) and his long term friend and work colleague Jim Bono (Stephen Henderson). It's the type of performance-centric opening scene designed to make an impact, and in a theatre it would certainly cause an immediate splash. On film, it simply offers the first of many reminders of the movie's origins on the stage. In a script written by the late August Wilson based on his own Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Troy unleashes his thoughts, problems and memories upon Rose, their teenage son Cory (Jovan Adepo), his first son from a previous relationship Lyons (Russell Hornsby) and his brother (Mykelti Williamson). He wants to become a driver, while Cory yearns to pursue a football career against his father's wishes, and Rose remains suffering but still poised in the middle. The more Troy talks as time passes, the more revelations are in store. Slowly, his bravado and bluster fades. The almost constant chatter continues, only quieter, with the characters weighed down by their mounting troubles. If that sounds like a whole lot of arguing, that's because Fences doesn't shy away from the spoken word. The script serves the film's cast well, and each player delivers their lines with passion and conviction. Above all else, this is an actor's showcase. Washington perfects the transformation from confident to wearied, while Davis charts the opposite trajectory. The space where they collide is the place where pride is undone, legacies are shattered, hearts are broken, and racial and socio-economic truths are exposed. Distilling all of that into their performances, it's almost enough just to watch them circle around each other for 139 minutes. Of course, the key word there is almost. As a filmmaker, Washington obviously believes in the strength of the scenario and the acting it inspires. In a way, that's the problem, since it means his direction ends up feeling rather stagey. Given that the film's characters are both fenced in and trying to burst beyond their confines, a sense of constraint comes with the territory. And yet, for all its attempts at intimacy, the end result still keeps viewers at a distance. Fences feels more like a great play captured on camera, rather than a great movie in its own right. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtkjUJoSPa4
In its sixth year, the Gertrude Street Projection Festival is turning Gertrude Street into a hub of creativity, community and, of course, lights for 10 nights starting on July 19. Thirty sites, from buildings to shopfronts to squares on the pavement, will show the length of Gertrude Street in a way you're unlikely to see again. With each year a different story, it's bound to be a new experience each time. 'Illuminate' is the theme and illuminate they will. Artists include Melbourne-based video artist Alesh Macak; Amanda Morgan, who is exploring the relationship between the material and immaterial; and Yandell Walton, who will look at our emotional responses to our world. The Festival Hub, upstairs at Brown Couch, will house events made to complement the festival, from musicians to workshops to panel forums. Gertrude Street Projection Festival is one of those beautiful moments where participating in art consists of simply standing in the street and looking up.
Victorians have spent a (large) chunk of 2020 inside their own state — and their own homes, thanks to some pretty serious COVID-19 restrictions. But, after 14 consecutive days of zero new cases, things are looking up for interstate travel. By the end of the month, Melburnians are set to be able to visit both NSW (from November 23) and Tasmania (from November 27) — and from midnight on Tuesday, December 1, they'll be able to pack their bags and head south for a wine-fuelled venture into South Australia. In a press conference held today, Friday, November 13, Premier Steven Marshall revealed that SA will allow travellers from Victoria in from the first of next month without having to quarantine for 14 days first. "This has been a border which has been in place for an extended period of time," the Premier said at the conference. "It's been a very important border to keep our state safe, but this border will be removed as of midnight on 1 December. And this will be a huge relief to people as we head into December." If that's the sort of think you enjoy, you can watch the entire press conference here. In more good news for those looking to book an interstate trip as soon as they can, Virgin Australia has today launched a huge domestic flight sale with more than 500,000 flights dropping to as low as $75. And, as a happy coincidence, cheap flights are available for journeys from December 1. SA was initially meant to reopen its border for all interstate travel back in July, before a spike of cases put this on ice. If you're now eager to start planning an SA getaway, we have suggestions — whether you're eager to hit up Adelaide, or sip and sightsee your way around the Fleurieu Peninsula, the Limestone Coast or the Clare Valley. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in South Australia, and the state's corresponding restrictions, visit its online COVID-19 hub. Top image: d'Arenberg Cube
If the words "stair climbing challenge" fill you with excitement instead of dread, read on. The MCG will again play host to Stadium Stomp, a fun-filled romp for your calves which involves climbing up and down the thousands of stairs (there are 100,024 seats, so there are also a lot of stairs.) As part of the challenge, you can climb up and down the stairs in the full course (7300 stairs), or the short course (a mere 1900). There's also a Stomp Unlimited option, which is stairs until the end of time or you collapse. There will be rest stops and drink stations to help ease the pain, and music playing to distract from the burn. Also, the rules are no skipping stairs, so no doing three at a time and calling it a day. The first wave kicks off at 7.45am, with waves following every 15 minutes after. Tickets are selling fast, so get in quick.
From the hearty dishes of Africa, best teamed with spongy injera, to Thailand's fiery coconut-based concoctions, there's no doubt the world loves a good curry. And no matter which country's dishing up your favourite version, you're sure to find it celebrated at the Dandenong Market's first-ever Curry Festival, this Sunday, September 2. Heating things right up for Father's Day, the marketplace will be paying homage to delicious curry dishes from every corner of the globe. A multicultural lineup of street food vendors are set to take your tastebuds on a worldwide curry tour, each putting its own traditional and new-school spins on the beloved dish. Sample modern Indian creations courtesy of Curry Up Now, let Delicious Mauritius treat you to a taste of island life, or experience Sri Lankan curry creations as imagined by the team at Taka Taka. Dished up alongside the culinary treats will be a jam-packed program of cultural fun, flying the flag for all those countries that love their curry — catch some African drumming, Mauritian live tunes, Bollywood dancing, and even a sing-a-long Sri Lankan cooking demonstration. Image: Kate Shanasy
Everyone should see Henry Rollins on a stage. Luckily, audiences have had ample opportunities for more than four decades. The musician first came to fame singing behind the microphone in punk-rock band Black Flag and then Rollins Band, but is now just as renowned for his spoken-word shows, where he waxes lyrical (and candid and amusing) about his life, fame and the state of the world. Australians are no stranger to Rollins getting chatty; however, thanks to the pandemic, he hasn't taken to stages Down Under since 2016. That's changing this winter, with the icon, actor, author and radio host heading around the country on a 17-city tour. Rollins' spoken-word gigs always sell out, and they're always an entertaining — and unflinchingly honest — night spent listening to the Sons of Anarchy, Lost Highway and Heat star. This time, he's visiting both capitals and regional centres, and notching up every Aussie state and territory, on a tour dubbed 'Good to See You'. His Melbourne stops: Saturday, June 24–Sunday, June 25 at Hamer Hall. Attendees can look forward to Rollins looking back over the past seven years since he last visited Australia, stepping through his life from 2016 until COVID-19 hit — and, of course, exploring what's happened since. Fingers crossed for more mullet insights, too. Rollins makes his way around Australia after a massive leg in Europe, where he's been flitting from Croatia, Poland and Finland to Sweden, Germany, France and the United Kingdom — and more. And, his latest tour comes after he added two more books to his name in 2022: Sic, which draws upon the frustration of not knowing if his touring life would ever return; and Stay Fanatic!!! Vol. 3. Top image: Morten Jensen via Wikimedia Commons.
Ever wanted to channel Step Brothers and unleash some party vibes at a Catalina Wine Mixer? Well, thanks to the crew at Welcome To Thornbury, your time to shine is now. The northside food truck park is turning comedic art into reality and hosting a real-life rendition of the fictional shindig. From 1pm on Saturday, March 4, you're invited to don your finest yachting get-up and launch into autumn with a day of live tunes, wine quaffing and general Will Ferrell-inspired frivolity. Entry to the party is free, with a variety of tickets and packages available, depending on how thirsty you find yourself. For example, the $55 option will get you two hours of free-flowing wine, plus house spritzes, bubbly and a couple of tacos courtesy of Maria's Taqueria. You might even fancy splashing out and adding on a loaded cheese platter for two. While bare-handed giraffe wrestling isn't on the day's agenda, there is a whole stack of other entertainment in store, including a magician, a roving saxophonist, DJs spinning through the day and a live band kicking off at 5pm. Everyone will be getting low in the limbo competition and you'll even have the chance to join in attempt to create the world's longest conga line. Images: Chip Mooney
Whether or not we wanted it to, the pandemic threw a stick in the hamster wheel of life. For some, it caused a permanent change to their 9-to-5s. For others, holidays and plans halted. For many, it meant stepping back and reassessing: with regular life on pause, were there any changes to make before it all starts spinning again? Career and sea changes aside, this could mean choosing to swap the screen for stargazing — or working overtime on the weekend for two days of waterfall chasing — a little more often. In the words of twins Cam and Chris Grant, maybe now's the time to live a life a little more unyoked. The Grant brothers founded Aussie startup Unyoked back in 2017 and now have 15 — soon-to-be 17 — off-grid cabins across NSW, Victoria and Queensland, including one designed by Matthew McConaughey. All properties have been placed in secret patches of wilderness, in the middle of nowhere, allowing you to well and truly escape the big smoke. Each cabin is designed to make you feel like you're part of the surrounding landscape. Think timber, oversized windows, solar power, composting toilets and a blissful lack of wi-fi. At the same time, though, simple comforts are taken care of, so you get a cosy bed, kitchen appliances, firewood, Single O coffee, cocktails made in collaboration with Archie Rose and Capital brews. With its remote cabins, Unyoked encourages Aussies to travel more, log off more and challenge the typical 9-to-5. To help you do just that, the company is giving you the chance to break free from the grind and get off-grid with two-night getaways in a remote cabin — every three months for the rest of your life. Yep, it's the offer of a lifetime. To win, Unyoked needs your help naming one of its new cabins. The company names all its locations after 'unyoked' people Chris and Cam have met on their travels. There's the Lucia, named after a woman they met in London who had quit her media gig to travel; and the Miguel, who was "floating around the jungle outside Chiang Mai" in Thailand when the twins met him. So, if you know a free-spirit who inspires you to live a little more nomadic, you just need to put their name forward. Then, if your suggested name is chosen, you'll be able to escape to any of Unyoked's cabins for two nights, four times a year, every year — and be a little bit more like your nominated unyoked mate. While it's not a prize anyone in metro Melbourne or Mitchell Shire can redeem right away — with the current stay-at-home orders in place, adventuring out of the city is off the cards for the moment — it is a prize that would help sitting tight through the rest of the areas' six-week lockdown 2.0 a little less painful. [caption id="attachment_774963" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maddy Tonks[/caption] To enter, see details below. [competition]777221[/competition]
Feeling tired? Wound up? Are your shoulders tight? Relax, we've got good news. From Thursday, October 19–Monday, October 23, Ovolo South Yarra is hosting a rejuvenating spa pop-up. And it's not just any spa. James Vivian, the 'face whisperer' and 2023's ABIA Australian Clinic of the Year winner, is teaming up with massage guru Joey Beecher from STILL Beauty to leave you feeling refreshed and pampered. The duo is taking over Ovolo's GoGo rooms to offer a mix of body scrubs, facials, rejuvenating treatments and melt-into-the-floor massages. The face treatment menu offers gems like the Pollution Solution facial, if you're looking to fight off the wear and tear that comes with city living. Or maybe you're after the (Don't) Be Home by Midnight facial, so you can look your best for whatever (or whoever) the evening holds. And if you've had one too many drinks the night before, they've got you covered with the aptly named Rough Night? treatment. It's not all about the face, though. Body treatments like Limber Me Up or Scrub the Night Away are also available. Expectant mums aren't left out either with the For the Mamas to Be massage. Slots are open from 10am–6pm, so you can start your morning right or pamper yourself before hitting the town. Intrigued? Book your spot because they're going fast. Go on, treat yourself.
Turn off the main drag of Toorak Road and onto Avoca Street — it's here that you'll find another small offering of designer boutiques and cafes. One local favourite is Home and Abroad, which showcases a specially curated collection ranging from clothing and ceramics to baby goods and basketware. As the name suggests, many of these fashionable creations are imported from overseas, with owner Sara Lees having a particularly good taste in products from Portugal, India and France. Perfect for finding a unique gift or something to add a touch of class to any space, Home and Abroad is a South Yarra gem. Image: Parker Blain.
When it comes to creating smash-hit venues, legendary chef Andrew McConnell knows what's what. He's the mind behind favourites like Cumulus Inc, Cutler & Co, Supernormal and Marion, to name a few. And now, Melbourne is about to score another, with McConnell opening a new cocktail bar and restaurant in the 1920s heritage Cavendish House building at 33 Russell Street in the CBD this July. It'll be his first new project in five years. Sydney-based architecture and design studio Acme is heading up the build, which sees this historic building filled black and gold marble bars, leather booths, geometric tiles and honeycomb chandeliers inspired by famed Italian architect Carlo Scarpa. Considering the studio is responsible for highly Instagrammed venues like The Grounds Of Alexandria, Charlie Parker's and Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, you can expect it to be very impressive. Split into four spaces — a cocktail bar, an elegant clothed-table restaurant on the upper level, a 12-person private dining area and a more casual space on the lower level — the restaurant feels very elegant French bistro. And the food echoes this. Designed by Andrew McConnell together with Head Chef Allan Doert Eccles (Cutler & Co), the menu makes its way from escargot and and crab toast with sea urchin through to dry-aged duck cooked in a wood oven. But, it's certainly not all French. Flounder comes with pil-pil (a boldly flavoured Basque sauce), potatoes are roasted with taleggio and dessert includes gelati. Eccles says the food is "leaning on Europe and America, a bit of old world mixed with new world sensibility" — and, like the space, it's also a little bit indulgent. Expect caviar, champagne and truffles aplenty. [caption id="attachment_773819" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sharyn Cairns[/caption] To start, Gimlet is opening for a series of preview events from June 30, with dinner on offer first, followed by lunch from July 3. But, from July 14, the team will be plating up food, pouring wine and playing sauve tunes from midday every weekday, and from 9am for brunch on weekends The building — which was previously a fancy flagship for Bang & Olufsen — is located on the corner of Flinders Lane and Russell Street, only a short walk from McConnell's Supernormal and in the middle of the Flinders Lane dining action. Gimlet at Cavendish House is opening at 33 Russell Street, Melbourne from July 14. It will also be open for a series of preview events, with dinner ($85 set menu) from Tuesday–Sunday from Tuesday, June 30 and lunch ($70 menu) from Friday–Sunday from Friday, July 3. To book, call (03) 9277 9777. Images: Sharyn Cairns
The World Rice Festival is headed to Melbourne from December 7–9 to celebrate the diversity of this global food staple. Rice-heavy dishes are found all over the world, from the Philippines and Thailand to India and Spain — and you'll get to taste it all under one roof here, alongside cooking demonstrations, live music and cultural performances. Expect around 20 vendors to set up at Birrarung Marr — think lamb ribs and pork belly (with rice, of course) from Rice Paper Scissors, Thai sticky rice boxes from Farang Thai Issan BBQ, and Filipino lechon cebu from Hoy Pinoy, plus stalls selling dosas, paella and rice paper rolls. Each stall will serve a special rice dish for the occasion, along with other signature menu items. The cherry on top is dessert from like torched rice pudding from the Brûlée Cart and rice flour durian mochi from Duria. The drinks will be supplied by HWKR, which will have its own 'chill out' lounge, serving cocktails, sushi and other snacks. The A'Beckett Street food hall will also host the launch party on Wednesday, December 5. For $41, you'll get five mini rice dishes, one dessert and a boozy beverage. Entry to the festival itself is free, and will be open from 5–10pm on Friday, 10–10pm on Saturday and 12–5pm on Sunday.
On your waltz home from work, stop by Flinders Street Station's Degraves Lane underpass. Here you'll find The Dirty Dozen, a public art gallery of 12 display windows, each showcasing an ephemeral installation. Artists aren't only on show, 'creative practitioners', as dubbed by Melbourne City Council — meaning tradies, lawyers and everyone in between — can also set up installations reflecting their professions and a theme or issue within it. Slow your mid-week rush, and see what the people of Melbourne have to show, from the meeting point of art and science by the engineers and scientists of Skunk Control, to the morphing, evolving art by Monash University fine art honours students.
Ain't no party like a New Year's Day beach party, especially when three venues come together to put on an epic bash. Captain Baxter, Encore and the Sea Baths Rooftop are all joining forces for a day of music, food and festivities. Full cocktail bar and restaurant facilities will be available in Captain Baxter and Encore, and there will be complimentary canapés from 1pm-3pm. International acts for the day includes DJ Spen, Poolside, James Curd, as well as local players Prequel, DJ Peril and Anyo also on the bill.
UPDATE, Friday, January 12, 2024: Killers of the Flower Moon streams via Apple TV+ from Friday, January 12, and via Google Play, YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Death comes to Killers of the Flower Moon quickly. Death comes to Killers of the Flower Moon often. While Martin Scorsese will later briefly fill the film's frames with a fiery orange vision — with what almost appears to be a lake of flames deep in oil country, as dotted with silhouettes of men — death blazes through his 26th feature from the moment that the picture starts rolling. Adapted from journalist David Grann's 2017 non-fiction novel Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, with the filmmaker himself and Dune's Eric Roth penning the screenplay, this is a masterpiece of a movie about a heartbreakingly horrible spate of deaths sparked by pure and unapologetic greed and persecution a century back. Scorsese's two favourite actors in Leonardo DiCaprio (Don't Look Up) and Robert De Niro (Amsterdam) are its stars, alongside hopefully his next go-to in Lily Gladstone (Reservation Dogs), but murder and genocide are as much at its centre — all in a tale that's devastatingly true. As Mollie Kyle, a member of the Osage Nation in Grey Horse, Oklahoma, incomparable Certain Women standout Gladstone talks through some of the movie's homicides early. Before her character meets DiCaprio's World War I veteran Ernest Burkhart — nephew to De Niro's cattle rancher and self-proclaimed 'king of the Osage' William King Hale — she notes that several Indigenous Americans that have been killed, with Mollie mentioning a mere few to meet untimely ends. There's nothing easy about this list, nor is there meant to be. Some are found dead, others seen laid out for their eternal rest, and each one delivers a difficult image. But a gun fired at a young mother pushing a pram inspires a shock befitting a horror film. The genre fits here, in its way, as do many others: American crime saga, aka the realm that Scorsese has virtually made his own, as well as romance, relationship drama, western, true crime and crime procedural. Although this chapter of history has hardly been splashed across the screen with frequency, its new place among the iconic director's filmography helps him to continue making a statement that he's been beaming at audiences for most of his filmmaking life. The specifics differ from flick to flick, but Scorsese keeps surveying the appallingly corrupt and violent deeds done in the pursuit of power, wealth and influence. He constantly peers into humanity's souls, seeing some of its worst impulses staring back. Indeed, there's no doubting that Killers of the Flower Moon hails from the same person as Goodfellas, Casino and Gangs of New York, or The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman, too. It also easily belongs on a filmography with entries as varied as Raging Bull, The Age of Innocence, Kundun, The Departed and Shutter Island. Between them, DiCaprio and De Niro have starred in most of those movies. Now, they combine for the first time in a Scorsese feature to basically rekindle their This Boy's Life dynamic from three decades back, all while plumbing the depths of money-coveting men chasing land rights, aka Osage headrights, through a cruel, brutal and disarmingly patient plan. "The finest, the wealthiest and the most beautiful people on god's earth" is how Hale describes the Osage Nation to Ernest when the latter is freshly back on US soil, off the train in Fairfax and getting reacquainted with his uncle. Those riches stem from being pushed out of Kansas, resettled, then striking black gold in a stroke of good fortune that brings more misfortune. Hale wants a piece and more, and gets seemingly every other white man in Oklahoma joining his pursuit. In an extraordinary performance, De Niro gives Hale quietly formidable potency — the kind that doesn't need raised voices or a weapon to command a room, evoke unease and enforce his might. Scorsese lets the outwardly supportive, not-so-privately manipulative town anchor become the open villain almost instantly. Killers of the Flower Moon isn't a whodunnit, but rather a living-with-knowing-who's-doing-it film. It tells its atrocity-filled tale about evil in plain sight carefully, exactingly and unhurriedly — earning each and every one of its 206 minutes — with narrative inevitably breeding suspense and emotional tension. Sporting an injured gut from combat, Ernest turns to chauffeuring to make a living under Hale's wing. When he begins driving the graceful and stately Mollie, his uncle has already laid out his scheme to get Osage property and wealth gushing their family's way. Still, everything about Ernest and Mollie's romance is genuine. DiCaprio and Gladstone are exquisite, including when their characters are flirting over cab rides and storm-backdropped sips of whiskey, resting their foreheads together in a gesture that gets them saying everything without saying anything, and stealing other silently happy moments. But the bodies keep mounting, with many of Mollie's nearest and dearest — such as her sisters Minnie (Jillian Dion, Alaska Daily), Anna (Cara Jade Myers, Rutherford Falls) and Reta (Janae Collins, Reservation Dogs), plus their mother Lizzie Q (Tantoo Cardinal, Three Pines) — in Hale's way. While the gangster-film label mightn't fit Killers of the Flower Moon as neatly as Mean Streets and company, this is still a gangster film. Scorsese is in his element, not that he's ever been out of it on any feature that isn't a gangster flick — but that's never the only place that he wants to be. As cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Barbie) lenses both the eye-catching landscape and dark interiors, editor Thelma Schoonmaker (who has done his splicing since Raging Bull) gives the movie its meticulous pacing and the now-late Robbie Robertson (who starred in Scorsese music documentary The Last Waltz as part of The Band) imparts a slinkily propulsive beat amid a pitch-perfectly anxious score, this is also a movie of blistering anger and interrogation. As the saga of Ernest, Mollie, Hale and pervasive death always thrums at its core, so does a reckoning. Killers of the Flower Moon carves into the injustices of America's past, plus their impact upon the present, to stress the blood and bones that the US was built upon. It sees how much about today ties back to its tragedy of oppression and slaughter, how distressingly familiar this situation is around the world and, in a stunner of a coda, how such realities are regularly exploited rather than addressed. Bold and brilliant, epic yet intimate, ambitious and absorbing, as meaningful as it is monumental, a quintessential Martin Scorsese movie: every single one applies to Killers of the Flower Moon. It's also rich and riveting in each touch and instant, from building its lived-in portrait of the 1920s midwest to the magnificent cast that also spans Jesse Plemons (Love & Death) as a federal investigator — even if the Birth of the FBI part of the feature's source material is scaled down — and both John Lithgow (Sharper) and Brendan Fraser (The Whale) as lawyers. Three and a half hours almost doesn't seem long enough to spend revelling in this superbly complicated film, or to confront the many difficult truths explored. It definitely isn't long enough with its three outstanding key players, who each turn in shattering portrayals whether playing it slick, nervy or soulful. Killers of the Flower Moon is steeped in so much heartwrenching death, and unforgettably so, yet it could't have been better brought to on-screen life.
If there’s one thing we take seriously in Melbourne, it’s our music, man. Now in its second year, Melbourne Music Week celebrates our city’s commitment to the grand tradition of the live gig, with around two hundred acts playing a stack of venues around town. The old Argus Building, temporarily renamed the Where?House, is being used as the Festival Hub, pumping out tunes day and night, while a slew of local bands will be playing everywhere from popular venues like the Toff, Bennett's Lane and Cherry Bar to more offbeat settings such as Melbourne University's underground car park. You can have indie pop for breakfast and punk for lunch, or even rock out on a tram. The “week” runs for nine days, there’s so much on, and peaks on the 22nd, when ten venues are putting on free gigs for the Live Music Safari. It will most certainly rock.
Stare at The False Mirror at Magritte, one of the Art Gallery of New South Wales' big summer exhibitions for 2024–25, and the masterpiece of a painting from 1929 will peer right back. Among the Belgian surrealist René Magritte's most-famous creations, the piece features a giant eye looking at the viewer, while also filled with a cloudy blue sky. It's an unforgettable work, and it's one of the stars of the latest showcase as part of Sydney International Art Series. Another striking painting that's on display in the Harbour City from Saturday, October 26, 2024–Sunday, February 9, 2025: Golconda, Magritte's 1953 work that brings two other pieces of popular culture to mind. Just try not to think about Mary Poppins and The Weather Girls' song 'It's Raining Men' while you feast your eyes on the sight of bowler hat-wearing men streaming down from the heavens. At Magritte, which is exclusive to Sydney, The False Mirror, Golconda and 1952's The Listening Room (La Chambre d'Écoute) — which shows an oversized apple — have ample company at AGNSW's south building Naala Nura. In total, 100-plus works are on display. This is not only a huge retrospective dedicated to the artist, but also Australia's first retrospective dedicated to Magritte. More than 80 of the pieces are paintings, demonstrating why Magritte is considered one of the most-influential figures in 20th-century surrealism; however, archival materials, photographs and films also feature. Sydney International Art Series isn't just about one major exclusive showcase, of course. From Saturday, November 30, 2024–Sunday, April 13, 2025, AGNSW is also hosting Cao Fei: My City. Over at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia from Friday, November 29, 2024–Sunday, April 27, 2025, Julie Mehretu is on display as well. Images: installation view of the 'Magritte' exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 26 October 2024 – 9 February 2025, artworks © Copyright Agency, Sydney 2024, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Mim Stirling.
From contemporary furniture and wall art to jewellery and modern decor, Ashburton's Kiss With Style is a one-stop shop for adding a tasteful touch to your home. The store is laid out as one big showroom, so when you pay it a visit you'll be able to explore how all the products mix and match, and imagine how they'll look within your own setting. Combining the best of design and functionality while still encouraging affordability, Kiss With Style is perfect for when you need to add a luxurious element to freshen up your space.
Thursday night is movie night at Point Park in Yarra's Edge, Docklands, with the return of the popular openair films series Movies Under the Stars. After a successful first season last summer, this year's program once again features a trio of recent favourites, beginning with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes followed by Skyfall and everyone favourite new-Disney guilty pleasure Frozen. Live music will while away the last few hours of daylight, and each movie will also be preceded by a short film from a local director. Dinner-wise, you can choose from a number of food trucks who’ll be cooking on site, or you can choose to BYO picnic. Best of all, unlike most of the city's favourite outdoor cinemas, entry into screenings is absolutely free. They’re even sorting out your transport for you, with a free return ferry service departing from Federation Square’s Riverside Berth at 6.30pm. As the icing on the cake, gold coins collected on the night will be donated to Melbourne-based charity Kids Under Cover. PROGRAM 26 February — Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (MIM short film preview — Miniature Melbourne) 5 March — Skyfall (MIM short film preview – Bless You) 12 March — Frozen (MIM short film preview – The Adventures of Lucy)
It was one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind. And now, five decades on, the anniversary of that achievement is being celebrated all around the world. Saturday, July 20 marks a whole fifty years since the first moon landing and Scienceworks is helping you relive the magic, with an astronomical program of cosmic fun. On July 20 itself, an after-hours session called Footsteps on the Moon will explore all things Apollo 11, through a series of experiences, exhibitions and even some live moon- (and star-) gazing through telescopes. The Planetarium foyer will host a showcase of photos taken by Apollo 11 astronauts themselves and screen a doco about the flight, while the Earthlight installation will see you immersed in a VR version of the International Space Station, moving around in zero gravity, using astronaut tools and taking in those stunning earth views. You can also kick back with a drink while catching a panel discussion with industry legends like head of the Australian Space Agency Dr Megan Clarke AC, Professor Alan Duffy, The Science Show's Robyn Williams AM and former astronaut trainer Dr. Gail Iles. Elements cafe will be open all night, serving galactic cocktails, local brews and snacks.
For one week only, the Arts Centre Melbourne is hosting a fancy schmancy piano recital. And it's going to go spectacularly badly. The latest one-man show from New Zealand stage performer Thomas Monckton, in collaboration with Finnish circus company Circo Aereo, The Pianist operates on a simple comedic principal: if something can go wrong, it most certainly will. Drawing his inspirations from the great silent comics, including Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and of course Mr. Bean, Monckton plays the eponymous musician, a man so obsessed with impressing his audience he fails to realise his show is collapsing around his ears. A madcap physical theatre piece, The Pianist has garnered rave reviews across New Zealand and Europe, earning a nomination for best circus show at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe. Monckton will also take part in a post-show discussion on Wednesday, January 13.
Do you often feel like a douchebag for the way you treat artists? If you're anything like me, you love art but kind of expect exhibitions to be free. You think artists are completely crucial to a well-rounded culture but have only actually bought one artwork. Off a friend. For mates rates. This unsettling logic plagues many of the creative industries, writing included. *Nervously jerks at own shirt collar*. But, this Tuesday, November 26, the folk at Kings ARI are taking a step in the right direction with a one-night only exhibition of local artists' wares for realistically affordable prices ($20 - $500). Running from 6-9pm, the exhibition which is curated by performance and visual artist, Lucy Farmer, will feature work from Cat Rabbit, Sean Morris (pictured), Beth Croce, Lucy Farmer, Kimberley Denson, Lia Tabrah, Nior, and Karen Cromwell. For the lovers of classics there will be a large selection of jewellery and craft, and for the kookier amongst us, there'll be some unconventional biomedical prints and hand-illustrated beer coasters. Who needs Melbourne Now? As long as people are willing to come along and support talented local artists every so often, the contemporary art world will kick on. Image: Dead Meat (detail), 2013 © Sean Morris
Group hangs have just got a little more interesting, thanks to a couple of new entertainment experiences that have landed at Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq's Docklands outpost. In the heart of The District, Funlab's 'hospo-tainment' hub has unveiled two new immersive games that promise to tempt you and your crew off the couch this winter. First up, there's the Zero Latency Virtual Reality experience — a heart-pumping free-roam VR game that's built on the latest zero-latency tech, boasting 5K resolution graphics and 3D spatial audio to really mess with your sense of reality. Pop on a headset and take on one of eight different immersive game scenarios, using your controller to battle killer robots ('Singularity'), fight off zombies ('Undead Arena') or even defy gravity ('Engineerium'). Developed in conjunction with Taiwan-based tech giant and international VR masters HTC, and played in an arena the size of a tennis court, it's a gaming experience that's destined to impress. [caption id="attachment_694069" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Archie Brothers Docklands[/caption] For some slightly more reality-based thrills, you can hop around to the precinct's new laser tag, where you'll need to duck and dive away from your mates' laser attacks while maneuvering around an arena that's decked out like an abandoned carnival. The two new experiences join Archie Brothers' existing offering of arcade games, ten-pin bowling, bumper cars and other indoor entertainment. And if fending off all those virtual zombies leaves you in need of a refuel, there's a menu of sandos, burgers and riotous circus-themed cocktails to keep you going. Play the new Laser Tag and Zero Latency Virtual Reality games at Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq, The District, 440 Docklands Drive, Docklands. Book online via the website. Images: Eugene Hyland
Get excited, festivalgoers: Pitch Music & Arts is returning to Grampian Plains in 2025, complete with a jam-packed roster of talent. Joy Orbison, Honey Dijon, Funk Tribu, 2manydjs: they're all on the bill. So are Daria Kolosova, SPFDJ, 999999999, Shanti Celeste, FJAAK, Lady Shaka and Job Jobse, with the list going on from there. Everyone should make the trip to the Grampians at least once, and here's as ace an excuse to do so as any: the return of the much-loved camping festival, which will host its eighth edition, taking over Moyston again. Next years' festivities are happening from Friday, March 7–Tuesday, March 11. Not only will its three stages play host to a sparkling lineup of local and international musical talent, as always, but the tunes will be backed by a hefty program of interactive art and installations. Basically, no matter who makes it onto the bill, attendees are in for a very big, very busy four days. Joy Orbison's 'flight fm' and 'better' were used in teaser videos for 2025's fest, which was indeed a huge advance lineup hint. You can also look forward to catching Gabber Eleganza, BASHKKA, Funk Assault, Baraka, ISAbella, Ogazón, southstar, Midland, Dax J, Anetha and plenty more, including Osmosis Jones, Moopie, DJ PGZ, Stev Zar, Jennifer Loveless and Mabel. On the Pitch Music & Arts arts lineup: Adnate, Anatolik Belikov, Ash Keating, Builders Club, Clayton Blake, EJ Son, ENOKi, Georgia Treloar, Henry Howson & Ambrose Zacharakis, Jaqui Munoz, Joan Sandoval, Lukas Rafik Mayer, ØFFËRÎNGŠ (aka Melissa Gilbert), Petra Péterffy, Rachel Lyn & Cameron Trafford, Raquel Villa, Reelize Studio, Sam Hayes, TERRAIN, Tetrik and UnitePlayPerform. In between all of the dance-floor sessions and arty things, festivalgoers will again be able to make themselves at home in the Pitch Pavilion, which is where yoga classes, meditation and sound baths usually help patrons unwind. The local-focused Club Serra will be new in 2025, championing homegrown talent. Pitch Music & Arts 2025 Lineup 2 LUBLY 2manydjs (DJ set) 6 SENSE 999999999 Anetha Audrey Danza BADSISTA Baraka (LIVE) BASHKKA D. Tiffany Daria Kolosova b2b SPFDJ Dax J Diffrent DJ Fuckoff DJ Gigola DJ Paulette DJ PGZ b2b Moopie Ed Kent Ela Minus Elli Acula Fadi Mohem FJAAK (LIVE) Funk Assault Funk Tribu Gabber Eleganza presents the Hakke Show GiGi FM Guy Contact Honey Dijon ISAbella Jennifer Loveless Job Jobse Joy Orbison Kasper Marott Kia Kuzco (LIVE) Lacchesi Lady Shaka Leo Pol Maara Mabel Maruwa Mia Koden Midland Mikalah Watego Miley Serious Naycab Ned Bennett Objekt Ogazón Ollie Lishman Osmosis Jones Pablo Bozzi Pegassi Shanti Celeste southstar Stev Zar Sugar Free Surf 2 Glory Taylah Elaine The Illustrious Blacks Trym VOLVOX Y U QT Images: Duncographic, William Hamilton Coates, Max Roux and Ashlea Caygill.
The only show at the Melbourne Cabaret Festival where the crayons are provided, The Naked Truth is part cabaret, part art class. Armed with her ukulele, life drawing model Taryn Ryan recounts the pitfalls of her chosen profession, from cramps to crying to accidentally passing wind. Between stories, audience members are encouraged to try a little sketching, and may even get the chance to join Ryan on stage. Oh, and while it should probably go without saying, the show contains nudity — so consider yourself forewarned.
If you love cookies, you've no doubt tried one of Butterbing's cookie sandwiches. The delicious morsels can be found in cafe cabinets across the city, but this weekend, Butterbing will hold their very first pop-up at North Fitzroy ice cream joint Billy Van Creamy. To ring in Butterbing's third birthday celebrations, the crew has been busy whipping up a whole range of brand new flavours, which'll be showcased alongside the classics at the Flavour Frenzy pop-up this Saturday, October 28. There'll be a total of 35 tasty varieties up for grabs during the two-hour event, including a few wild and wacky concoctions born of recent fan requests. What's more, they'll be slinging each of them for more than 35 percent off the standard retail price. Also on the program is the one-off Billy Bing collaboration, featuring a scoop of Billy Van Creamy gelato sandwiched between two of those decadent Butterbing brownie cookies. What's more, these beauties are freezer-friendly — so bring a bag, stock up now and have sweet treats on hand for whenever you get a rampant cookie craving.
Over the coming months, rooftop spot Heroes will really be living up to its name, celebrating some of Melbourne's (and the State's) culinary champions with a new series of monthly yum cha parties, kicking off on Sunday, February 17. The venue, from the same minds behind barbecue joint Fancy Hank's and its rooftop counterpart Good Heavens, has fast earned a reputation for its exciting menu of Singaporean hawker-style barbecue fare. Now, each of the yum cha events will see Head Chef Alicia Cheong teaming up with another kitchen hero, with both chefs whipping up a signature meat and vegetarian dish. First up, Harlow Bar's Telina Menzies is joining Cheong to deliver a lineup of barbecued dishes and yum cha staples, such as deep-fried sambal buns, steamed chive dumplings, congee and spring onion pancakes. In March, acclaimed chef Elliot Moss will travel Down Under all the way from Buxton Hall Barbecue in North Carolina. Finally, chef Rhys Hunter from St Kilda's Pontoon will be heading to the colourful rooftop to whip up smoky, charred dishes. For $45, you'll get your pick of two dishes, matched with classic yum cha sides and two hours of bottomless beer, bellinis and mimosas. When the food and drinks windup at 3pm, the music starts — there'll be open mic karaoke with playlists chosen by the guest chefs. Last year's series sold out, so we recommend booking your spot ASAP via the website.
Throughout a fruitful international career, German-born photographer Francis Reiss produced many iconic photographs of both landscapes and people. Working extensively around the world for numerous acclaimed publications — in particular LIFE and Time Magazine — Reiss became enamoured by Australia, eventually becoming a citizen in 1989. In was then that he set about capturing the many eccentricities of Australian culture and lifestyle, which have since become important collections for institutions such as the State Library of Victoria and the National Library. People I Have Met: Portraits by Francis Reiss presents many of Reiss' most famous images, many of which feature leading Australian artists and personalities such as John Perceval, Inge King, Chris Wallace-Crabbe and many others. This free exhibition runs until April 29 and is presented at the Whitehorse Art Space in Box Hill. Image: Francis Reiss, Inge King (detail) (1996).
UPDATE, December 11, 2020: The Prom is screening in select cinemas in Melbourne, and is available to stream via Netflix. A word of warning to filmmakers eager to make the next big on-screen musical: cast James Corden at your peril. It may now seem like a lifetime ago that Cats proved a gobsmacking catastrophe, but that 2019 movie's horrors are impossible to shake — and while Corden's latest, The Prom, thankfully doesn't resort to repeating the word 'jellicle' over and over again to try to convince the world that it means something, it still follows in the feline-focused flick's paw prints as this year's all-singing, all-dancing misfire. The two films' common star is grating and relies upon gratuitous overacting in both features. He's hardly alone in bombing and flailing, though. In The Prom's case, a 2018 Broadway success with an important message about acceptance and being true to one's self has been transformed into an over-long star vehicle, as well as a movie that can't see past its sequin-studded pageantry and smug attitude to actually practise what it preaches. Miscast from the get-go, Corden plays Barry, a Broadway veteran playing second fiddle to multi-Tony-winning drama diva Dee Dee (Meryl Streep, Little Women) in Eleanor!, a new production about former US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Initially, the pair is on top of the world after the show's opening night — but then the reviews start piling in and piling on. Distraught from the critical savaging as they drown their sorrows with perennial chorus girl Angie (Nicole Kidman, The Undoing) and Juilliard-trained actor-turned-sitcom lead-turned bartender Trent (Andrew Rannells, The Boys in the Band), they concoct a plan to get back in the showbiz industry's good graces. Scrolling through Twitter, Angie spies a news story about Indiana teenager Emma (feature debutant Jo Ellen Pellman), whose high school has just completely cancelled the prom because she wanted to bring her girlfriend. As quick as a burst of confetti, Barry, Dee Dee, Trent and Angie are on a Godspell tour bus to America's midwest to rally against this injustice and whip themselves up some flattering publicity. In the screenplay written by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, both of whom worked on the original stage production, this is all meant to be a joke: that fading, has-been and never-were celebrities shallowly and calculatingly try to use one young woman's horrific plight for their own gain, that is. But The Prom likes the gag so much that it misguidedly decides that favouring stars over substance is the best approach in general. No one is disparaging Streep, Kidman, Rannells or Corden's fame or status, or that of their fellow well-known costars Keegan-Michael Key (Playing with Fire) and Kerry Washington (Little Fires Everywhere). While Corden is terrible, some of his high-profile colleagues have their moments — a flame-haired Streep eats the often neon-hued scenery and loves every bite, for example. When there's a tale to be told about an ostracised queer teen who is cruelly rejected by her school's Parents and Teachers' Association and her peers, and who sees her quest to simply be treated like everyone else become a national scandal, though, that story is far more interesting than the arrival of a self-centred quartet of blow-ins from New York. Perhaps balancing the two parts of The Prom's narrative works on the stage; on the screen, Emma seems as much of an afterthought to director Ryan Murphy (Eat Pray Love, plus TV's Pose and American Horror Story) as she is to Dee Dee and company. Both the movie and the characters it chooses to focus on have their own senses of worth pumped up by even feigning to care about something else, but the fact that the film and its main players can all convince themselves they're great doesn't mean they can do the same with those watching. Again, this terrain is designed to fuel the feature's main gags. Case in point: we're supposed to laugh heartily and knowingly when Dee Dee interrupts the latest PTA meeting — where Key, as a caring principal, is battling Washington, who plays the conservative parent leading the charge against Emma — with a song called 'It's Not About Me'. Alas, almost everything about The Prom constantly falls so flat that its attempt at self-referential humour is as hackneyed as the concept that a bunch of celebs can solve homophobia with a few ditties, a splash of dancing, and some fabulous outfits and decor. When Rannells' Trent heads to the local mall and attempts to do just that on one occasion — pointing out that Emma's schoolmates are picking and choosing which parts of the bible they're faithful about upholding, all via singing and breaking out fancy footwork on an escalator — it does give The Prom one of its best moments. The scene in question also emphasises how far the film is from many better, smarter, savvier-executed musicals on-screen and on-stage, however. Rannells has sung about faith and its contradictions before as an original Broadway cast member in the brutally clever The Book of Mormon, a comparison The Prom really shouldn't be trying to conjure up in viewers' heads. With Glee, Murphy made an entire teen-centric TV show that nodded to pop culture influences it could never live up to, so The Prom really just sees the filmmaker do more of the same but worse. That said, when the film actually spends time with Emma, her secret girlfriend Alyssa (Hamilton's Ariana DeBose) and even their anti-LGBTQIA+ classmates — following in Glee's footsteps in another way — it's a better movie. But the temptation to value flash over meaning, and to think that simply saying 'discrimination is bad, here's some glitter', never subsidies. Although it's shot by the acclaimed Matthew Libatique (an Oscar-nominee for Black Swan and A Star Is Born), the film's continually, needlessly and irritatingly circling cinematography captures The Prom's struggles perfectly, because it's too caught up in shiny things, recognisable faces and disposable songs to let everything that should matter, including its message, have any real impact. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ0jBNa6JUQ
Move aside, democracy sausage — when this Election Day rolls around on Saturday, May 21, you can swap your usual solo snag for a full-blown barbecue spread with top-notch craft brews to match. The meat masters at Burn City Smokers are teaming up with their mates at Toronto-based brewery Bellwoods and taking over Footscray's Mr West Bar & Bottleshop for the inaugural Democracy Barbecue. Grab an $89 ticket and you'll enjoy a snack on arrival, followed by a three-course barbecue lunch feast — with a Canadian twist, in honour of the day's special beer guests. The lunch will double as a beer showcase for Pint of Origin (normally held as part of Good Beer Week), featuring a range of Bellwood brews. That means your barbecue spread will include six of the brewery's signature beers, carefully paired to Burn City Smokers' fire-licked food. Top Image: Burn City Smokers, by Simon Shiff. Mr West, supplied.
When Michael Crichton put pen to paper and conjured up a modern-day dinosaur-filled amusement park, he couldn't have known exactly what he'd done. The author easily imagined the story making its way to the big screen, because the Jurassic Park novel started out as a screenplay. He could've also perceived that a whole film franchise could follow, and that folks would be quoting the movies for decades. And yet, we're guessing that he didn't predict the latest development: a recreation of Jurassic World, the fourth movie in the series, out of Lego. Melburnians can now wander through and peer at more than 50 dinosaurs, props and scenes from the 2015 movie that have all been recreated with the popular plastic bricks. They're on display at Jurassic World by Brickman, an exhibition displaying at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre until Monday, May 31 before touring the rest of the country. More than six million Lego blocks have been used in the exhibition, to create the four-metre-tall park gates, the lab where the dinosaurs are genetically engineered, those instantly recognisable jeeps, a petting zoo, a heap of creatures and more. Lego dinosaurs are obviously the main attraction, and this event is going big. You'll see a life-sized brachiosaurus that weighs more than two tonnes, a huge tyrannosaurus rex, two life-sized velociraptors (Blue and Delta), and everything from a stegosaurus to a triceratops, too. And, you'll spy some in a baby dinosaur enclosure, encounter others on the loose, and learn how to track them over the exhibition's recreation of Isla Nublar (while using your imagination a whole heap, obviously). If it all sounds rather sizeable, Jurassic World by Brickman will be the largest Lego experience in Australia. And if getting a closer look at Jurassic World sounds a little familiar, you might remember the non-Lego exhibition that hit Melbourne back in 2016. Lego aficionados will also be able to get building while they're there, with 2.5 million bricks to play with. Obviously, this'll be a family-friendly affair, so expect to have plenty of small dinosaur fans for socially distanced company. Jurassic World by Brickman makes its world premiere in Melbourne and, after hitting up the rest of Australia, will also tour globally. And if you're wondering when you'll next see a Jurassic World flick on the big screen, Jurassic World: Dominion — the followup to 2018's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — is due to release in June 2022.
From this Friday, Melbourne's annual celebration of all things wining and dining rocks into town, with this year's Melbourne Food & Wine Festival promising as tasty a lineup as ever before. From epic sit-down dinners with a low-waste approach, to a food truck burger face-off, there's something among this smorgasbord of events to suit every palate and budget. Time to break out the stretchy clothes and feast yourself silly — here are ten MFWF events you can still grab tickets to.
