As winter closes in, you might be tempted to take anything that requires leaving your warm and toasty home off of your schedule. We get it. But it's no excuse. Even if it's cold outside, there are plenty of winter-friendly (and delicious) reasons to get out and about this season — especially down south. Tasmania might be known for its chilly weather, but, these days, it's also got quite the reputation as a culinary destination — and for good reason. Top-notch culinary menus make use of the freshest, seasonal and local produce and can be found all over the Apple Isle. That's why we've made it our mission to discover the Tassie restaurants that'll warm both your belly and your cold little hands this winter. Here are five of the best. Hope you're hungry. [caption id="attachment_719307" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chris Crerar.[/caption] STILLWATER — LAUNCESTON Stillwater is quite possibly the best-known restaurant in Tasmania. Situated on the edge of the Tamar River in Launceston — and set within a restored 1830s flour mill — the space is cosy, with warm lighting and timber furnishings, and boasts stunning views. The seasonal menu is a love letter to the island state, celebrating fresh, local produce and the region's best vineyards, distilleries and brewhouses. Our tip: opt for the Arras sparkling, which some might call Australia's best answer to Champagne, paired with flavour-packed seafood dishes like the fresh Moulting Bay oysters or the Tasmanian blacklip abalone with whipped tofu, brown butter ponzu, enoki and avruga caviar for a particularly indulgent experience. A visit on a clear winter day is something special — not only will you get a great view over the water, but be treated to the spoils of a Tassie winter. Expect a menu that makes the most of the abundant and rich produce available in winter like cauliflower, beetroot and brussels sprouts along with treats like oysters and black truffle. TEMPLO — HOBART Tucked away in the back streets of Hobart, Templo is all about intimacy. Which makes it a dream find on a cold winter night. Eating at this 20-seat restaurant feels as if you're at a friend's dinner party, with the exposed brick walls, low hanging lights and close quarters creating a warm atmosphere and cheerful vibe. Choose from a concise list of unique wines, and look to the large blackboard for the ever-changing, seasonal food offering. But while the dishes rotate often, they have a consistently Italian flair to them that's unmistakable and are all made with the freshest produce. If it's available, the gnocchetti with crunchy fried bread will knock your socks off. While seemingly simple, Templo is about shared food, unique wines and a solid communal vibe, making it a charming neighbourhood stalwart and an absolute must during Tasmanian winters. FRANKLIN — HOBART There's a confidence to Franklin that's reflected in every aspect of the restaurant. The contrast of the raw, exposed concrete interior and the soft kangaroo hides and heated floors (which are a real godsend when you step in from the cold) elevates the large space from a classy wine bar to something unexpectedly elegant. Housed in an old Ford showroom within Hobart's historic Mercury Newspaper Building, Franklin is the epitome of industrial-chic. And it's not just the interior design that's special — the food is distinctive, too. With one of Australia's most talented young chefs, Analiese Gregory, and a ten-ton woodfired scotch oven both in the open kitchen, the restaurant serves a menu featuring a made-from-scratch mentality. Everything occurs on-site — whole beasts are broken down, bread is baked daily, cheeses are made and meats are cured. It's a feast for both the eyes and the tastebuds that truly champions local produce. GERONIMO APERITIVO BAR AND RESTAURANT — LAUNCESTON The second you walk into Launceston's Geronimo Aperitivo Bar and Restaurant, your winter blues will disappear. Packed with old-school charm, the space is adorned with Carrara marble, recycled timber, Greek metals, Italian ceramics and lots of warming Euro food on every table. Each dish is designed to share, so it's best to cosy up with some mates and order up. When it's cold outside you'll want to make a beeline for the confit duck leg — which is spiced with orange and star anise and comes with hazelnuts and cabbage — or maybe the fried polenta dumplings and a serve of winter veg. The bar's cherry-tinted take on the manhattan will send you home warm, full and slightly boozed. DIER MAKR — HOBART Dier Makr is made for winter. Broody and a little bit dark, the eatery sits within a large, nondescript, grey building. It doesn't exactly scream "this is one of the best restaurants in town" — but that's beside the point. Once you've found your way inside, you'll find a sleek, intimate bistro and bar where a playful degustation menu will take you on a journey of the senses. Try the seared mussels with chicken fat and mizuna-spiked golden ale. And opt for the cauliflower cooked so many different ways — you'll never look at the humble vegetable the same. Dier Makr is all about showing off the best Tasmanian produce, with a selection of natural and minimal intervention wines to match. Plus, there's a walk-in cellar if you want to bring back a souvenir. Top image: Stillwater, courtesy Tourism Tasmania and Rob Burnett.
Razor sharp in wit and dress, the Barry Award-nominated Rhys Nicholson has made a name for himself as one of the country's funniest stand-up comics. His show at last year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival was an absolute highlight, tackling everything from sex to mental health in a manner that was both relatable and utterly hilarious. His follow-up is titled Seminal, and shapes up as one of the must-see sets of the fest.
What do films about bickering neighbours, wannabe heavy metal bands and a boy wandering through the forest all have in common? They're on this year's Scandinavian Film Festival bill. While the annual event always surveys the cinema output of a variety of countries — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, namely — it also dives into movies on a range of topics. Case in point: one title explores the college exploits of a teenager with supernatural abilities, but it's definitely not the kind of movie that you're thinking of, and another tracks youths trying to survive a mass shooting. They're some of the highlights of the 2018 fest, which tours Australia between July 10 and August — and if you'd like to hear more, keep reading. The full lineup includes everything from border patrol officers and Saint Bernards to icy westerns and an extremely different take on capitalism-drive class clashes. From all of the above and more, here are our six must-sees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJghTR5y9U0 UNDER THE TREE It sounds like a storyline on any routine soap opera: two neighbouring families get into a turf war over the most ordinary of issues. And yes, as the title suggests, it's a tree. Overhanging branches aren't the only things casting a shadow over these particular lives, however, as marital woes, Ikea, family pets and more become involved in this bleak but hilarious study of bad behaviour. One side acts, the other retaliates, and the film's various spats escalate, although the emotions at the movie's core always remain believable and relatable. As well as featuring a number of impressive performances by Icelandic talents, especially from veteran Edda Björgvinsdóttir, Under the Tree represents another winning effort from writer/director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson. Like his earlier feature Either Way, which was remade as Prince Avalanche, don't be surprised if this gets the English-language treatment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi2N-DFfe7Q THELMA The best super-powered film of the past year doesn't involve Wonder Woman, Black Panther or any other Marvel or DC characters. We're not saying that the big end of town hasn't turned out some great caped crusader flicks (and some terrible ones, too) over the last 12 months or so, but Thelma plays with extraordinary abilities in a completely different manner. The latest work from Oslo, August 31st and Louder Than Bombs' filmmaker Joachim Trier, it's a thriller about a college freshman (Eili Harboe) who copes with her new Oslo surroundings — and adjusts to her new bond with fellow student Anja (Kaya Wilkins) — in ways that surprise, astonish and truly cut to the heart of being a confused, anxious soul in a troubling world. Part sci-fi, part horror, part coming-of-age effort, the end result is a piercing exploration of identity that looks as impressive as it feels. HEAVY TRIP They're the world's first symphonic, post-apocalyptic, reindeer-grinding, Christ-abusing, extreme war pagan, Fennoscandian metal group, as they describe themselves, but these four Finnish villagers don't quite know how to chase their dreams. After 12 years of rehearsing in a slaughterhouse basement, the twenty-somethings finally record their own song — and after accidentally drenching a Norwegian festival promoter with a barrel of blood, Turo (Johannes Holopainen) starts telling everyone that they've scored a huge first gig. What happens next both follows the expected path and throws in plenty of unexpected incidents, altercations and antics, with the comedy caper including everything from a love triangle to grave-robbing to sailing on a viking ship. Still, even when it veers into silly territory, Heavy Trip remains inventive, heartfelt and very amusing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2WRsAyC-K4 VALLEY OF SHADOWS The gothic horror tradition is alive and well in moody, brooding Norwegian effort Valley of Shadows, which proves as haunting and gorgeously gloomy as its title suggests. The film might send a youngster trampling through creepy surroundings, but it carves its own path away from the current Stranger Things-inspired trend and its various offshoots. In fact, anything that seems familiar in the narrative is soon eclipsed by this confident and unnerving movie's commanding tone, as well as its eye-catching 35mm-shot images. Story-wise, the debut by writer/director Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen follows a six-year-old's (Adam Ekeli) foray into a nearby forest in search of his runaway dog, and the folklore-like events that eventuate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0RaGwzqLBE WINTER BROTHERS Danish drama Winter Brothers has won multiple awards for its cinematography, and it's immediately easy to see why — shot on 16mm film and casting its lens over snowy landscapes, remote homes, dark mines and the general inner workings of industrial settings, it's never less than striking to look at. As a study of masculinity left to fester in an isolated environment, it's also an emotionally powerful piece, winning Best Picture at the Danish Academy Awards for its troubles. Examining the lives of two miner siblings (Elliott Crosset Hove and Simon Sears) as they engage in a spat with their neighbours (yes, that seems to be a theme this festival) and make moonshine, this tense, textured movie knows exactly how it wants its viewers to feel. Helping perfect the ideal unsettling mood is a score that knows when to drone with ominous purpose, and knows when silence says everything it needs to. U — JULY 22 There's nothing new about recreating a harrowing real-life event from the perspective of those who were there, and giving audiences an on-the-ground view of their horrifying experiences. There's nothing new about adopting that approach when it comes to mass shootings either, or just generally unravelling a tense and terrifying situation in a single shot. Still, Norwegian effort U — July 22 finds the best way to plunge viewers into the thick of one of the most traumatic incidents in the country's history. On the eponymous date in 2011, a right-wing extremist gunned down 69 of the 500 attendees at a youth summer camp on the island of Utøya, with filmmaker Erik Poppe following one 19-year-old's efforts to survive. Lead actress Andrea Berntzen is fantastic as the desperate young woman searching for her sister, and for a way to make it out alive, in a feature that's never easy to watch but remains heartbreakingly engrossing — and important — from start to finish. The Scandinavian Film Festival tours the country between July 10 and August 5, screening at Sydney's Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona and Palace Central from July 10–29; Melbourne's Palace Cinema Como, Palace Brighton Bay and Palace Westgarth from July 12–29; and Brisbane's Palace Barracks from July 19 to August 5. For the full program, visit the festival website.
Nestled on the banks of the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals has played as big a role in the history of American music as Nashville, Chicago or Detroit. At a time when the South remained defiant to the civil rights movement, and the rhythm and blues scene was still very much in its infancy, this small Alabama town was the place where artists like Aretha Franklin and Jimmy Hughes first put soul to vinyl. Later, the Shoals’ became a sight of pilgrimage for major acts such as Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and The Rolling Stones, who used as it as a place to get away from the limelight and record some of their most iconic songs. Slickly made, Greg Camalier’s historical documentary of the town, simply entitled Muscle Shoals, focuses primarily on Rick Hall, the founder of the appropriately named FAME Studios. After a bumpy beginning, the recording venue soon became a magnet for high profile acts, many of whom were eager to work with Hall’s soulful backup band The Swampers — a band that no one could believe was made up of white guys. A part of the local music scene to this day, Hall makes for a logical central character, although his tendency to lapse into melancholic personal anecdotes doesn’t do the movie any favours. More interesting than Hall are the people that he worked with. Jagger, Richards, Winwood, Bono and Franklin are just a few of the famous faces to chime in with what the Shoal’s mean to them as Camalier mixes their interviews with archival footage of their much younger selves. Many of the artists (okay, so it’s mostly Bono) attribute the town a mystical quality, while the film also makes reference to a Native American myth about a woman in the river whose singing protected her tribe. Such romantic proclamations are nice if a bit hokey. Ultimately, they’re far less important than the music’s real social impact during the period, particularly in changing attitudes about race and segregation. Though Muscle Shoals can seem a little conventional, you could never say the same thing of its soundtrack. Camalier has the music to really pull it off— even if you don’t believe Bono, and don't think there’s something special in the water, you can’t deny the magic of tracks such as 'Free Bird', 'Steal Away' and 'Respect'.
One (wo)man shows are a tricky beast — their success, regardless of the quality of the material, lives and dies on the shoulders of just one actor. Failing an absolute powerhouse performance, even the most fascinating of character studies can descend into one dimensionality. Local group If Theatre's new show, Boxman, starring young African-born actor Terry Yeboah, presents a captivating story that is only bettered by the nuances of the solo performance. Written by Daniel Keene and directed by Matt Scholten, Boxman tells the story of a former child soldier and refugee whose life again hits rock bottom when he finds himself displaced, homeless and creating shelter from the discarded waste of strangers. Somehow this production manages to find hope and joy in the most desolate of situations, thanks to a character who refuses to let life crush his fighting spirit. While it doesn't hurt that Boxman was created specifically for Yeboah by Keene, the actor does more than perform the part: he disappears into the role until he becomes the former child soldier. With a cruelly brief two-day theatrical run, don't think twice. Image via gasworks.org.au
One of the main events of Chinatown's annual Lunar New Year festivities, the Dragon Parade is truly a sight to behold. At 11.30am on Sunday, February 14, the Dai Loong ("big dragon") will emerge from its home at the Chinese Museum and make its way through the streets of Melbourne, heralding the New Year and the beginning of the Spring Festival. There'll be dancing and drumming and colourful costumes as far as the eye can see. And if all the parading leaves you feeling peckish — well, you'll be in Chinatown now, won't you? Image: Chris Phutully via Flickr.
Dear readers, you can’t say that we at Concrete Playground don’t do things for you. You were probably curious about Teleny. Maybe you’ve seen the posters or the Facebook ads; all bare skin and sultry eyes. Maybe you’ve heard of the novel it's adapted from — a 19th century porno frequently, if questionably, attributed to Oscar Wilde and his circle of literary friends. What would this possibly be like on stage? Dare you go? Well we went to see it for you, we sat through all of it, all three and a half hours of it, so now you don’t have to. Seldom has so little drama been extracted from such sensationalist material. The story has a torrid gay love affair between a young Parisian and an exotic pianist, a Bacchanalian all-male orgy, sex on a piano, a mother sleeping with her son’s boyfriend, murder, rape, suicide, drug use, blackmail, you name it. One thing it should not have been was dull. However, the show plodded along, weighed down with long-winded monologues by the protagonist Camille (Tom Byers), as if the writer had not realised adapting a novel for theatre meant more than simply speaking the novel to the audience. Camille spoke over the top of everything, including ruining an almost effective love scene by turning away from his lover (Jackson Raine as Teleny) and breaking into a detailed description of what they had for dinner. For what was supposedly intended as erotica, there were very few sexy moments, although the cast did come alive a bit when they all got to be naked for the orgy scene. The acting at least was of authentic porno standard throughout, mostly stilted but occasionally over the top. The running time could probably have been slashed simply by reducing the number of dramatic pauses, which were applied both excessively ("I… could… never… love… a… WOMAN!") and pointlessly ("I… will… have… a… champagne… and a BISCUIT!") It had the kind of ridiculous staging where characters would climb onto a table for no reason other than to be dramatic, pop up cartoonishly from behind a chaise longue or throw themselves randomly to their knees, including one scene where Camille does this onto the keys of a piano. It was meant to be in Paris, though the accents were all over the place: some tried French, some went for Cockney, one guy opted for both in the same character. There was even a "comtesse" (Jonathan Duffy) doing a reedy drag American. The snippets of attempted French scattered through the script were, ah mon dieu, truly horrible. At the end of the gruelling two-hour first act, a good half of the audience bailed. The second act was when we got the big gay orgy, the officer being buggered with a bottle and the cross-dressing doctor, so those quitters missed out. As should you, if you’re wise. Look, if the play was a normal length, Teleny could possibly claim a so-bad-it’s-fun kind of appeal but three-and-a-half hours (which, be advised, is its actual running time not what's advertised) is too much time just to get a few giggles when it tries to be sexy or dramatic. We sat through every second to save you from it, dear readers, please don’t let our sacrifice be in vain. Photo credit: Dushan Philip.
Hawthorn has welcomed a new wining and dining destination into its fold — though, as you'll quickly see, Ate One Ate is following a very different recipe to most of its Glenferrie Road neighbours. The brainchild of restaurateur Stephen Papagelou, this two-week-old eatery hits that casual-meets-refined formula that inner-city Melburnians go mad for. So, amid a sea of laidback cafés and budget-friendly Asian restaurants, this contemporary 180-seat venue offers a slightly upscale take on all-day dining. Its menus are best described as modern Australian, spliced with a swag of European and Mediterranean flavours. Breakfast here might see you swapping out your usual eggs Benny for glammed-up gear like a carrot hot dog with black kale and vegan cheddar, or organic protein pancakes with activated buckwheat. Meanwhile, the dinner menu can sort you out with freshly shucked oysters, pasta dishes Nonna would be proud of, and elegant seafood plates up until 11pm. Over behind the stylish bar, Ate One Ate's cocktail selection is a mix of classics and signatures, and the wine list takes a brief jaunt through the more familiar regions of Europe and Australia. All the while, Studio Equator's glossy interior of marble and peach-hued banquettes will fool you, like the food, into thinking you're a whole lot closer to the CBD than you actually are. Ate One Ate is now open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week at 818 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn. For more info, visit ateoneate.com.au. Images: Ewen Bell.
Have you ever noticed how much Brad Pitt eats in his movies? He's like some sort of human garbage disposal, slamming down burgers, cookies, chips, Twinkies and whatever else he can find into his (perfect) cakehole. He also has a knack of making whatever it is he's eating (from gruel and stale bread to cheesy nachos) look like the most delicious, sensual food in the world. Go on, look: He eats without restraint, without delicacy, as we all should sometimes, and for that reason he's the central figure in a new cookbook called (appropriately but incorrectly) Fat Brad. The team from Long Prawn have collaborated on the project with photographer Ben Clement, PractiseStudioPractise, Tristan Ceddia, Ali Currey-Voumard and Mietta Coventry. The cookbook is a tongue-in-cheek collection of recipes based on Brad's most iconic food moments on film. You'll find instructions for a knuckle sandwich (Fight Club), game bird with taters and Guinness gravy (Snatch), Bellagio Shrimp Cocktail (Ocean's 11), roast turkey drumstick and Grecian salad (Troy) and bloodied roast (Mr and Mrs Smith) amongst others. As well as being straight-up hilarious, the Fat Brad cookbook is also just a really good looking (like its namesake) addition to your cookbook shelf. It's the first in a series of pop culture cookbooks by the Long Prawn crew, so keep an eye out and grab your Fat Brad: The Cookbook here. Have a little preview:
If you peek through the velvet curtains on Hardware Lane and adventure down the stairs, you'll find cocktail and dim sum hotspot Golden Monkey. Owners Adam Ong and Michael Chen have managed to blend Shanghai 1920s nightspot with moody opium den and make it work with Melbourne's nightlife. Successfully, evidently, as the venue's been open since 2005. It has a hint of mystery, romance and decadence — moody red lights illuminate the entrance, and folding shades provide an intimate space for booths and couches. It's open Thursday through Saturday and each night features a musical twist, from live bands performing R&B and soul, to DJs capturing the essence of Melbourne's nightlife on a weekend. You can expect cocktails from three menus – see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil – which cover everything from old-time favourites to in-house specialties. If you're feeling extra thirsty, order your group a punch bowl. The Concubine's Last Kiss, for example, features tequila, Pimms, Aperol, peach sencha and will comfortably quench four people for $58. There are snacks, too, like signature steamed soup dumplings, barbecue pork bao and custard buns, which are brought down from the kitchen upstairs at the adjoining East China Trading Company. Images: Julia Sansone.
To text, post, like, swipe, chat and livestream, or not to? In today's always-online times, that truly is the question. For wannabe influencer Lucy (Charlotte Nicdao), the answer is simple, much to her friend and housemate Daisy's (Gemma Bird Matheson) growing dismay. The perky, impulsive and attention-seeking Brisbanite isn't going to become famous for living the best version of her life if no one's watching, after all. No, for her dream of internet stardom to come true, she'll need to have her fingers constantly glued to her smartphone's buttons. Welcome to the world of Content, the ABC's new short-form web series, which is dropping episodes on ABC iView and YouTube weekly. With the show playing out on Lucy and Daisy's smartphone screens, that title does double duty. Firstly, it recognises that pumping out an endless stream of texts, DMs, Facebook posts, Instagram pics, Tinder swipes, video chats and other online content is just part and parcel of modern-day living. We're all smartphone addicts, and we might as well admit it, really. But the show unpacks the flipside as well, realising that continually negotiating our existence via an always-connected rectangle might not be the best path to lasting happiness. Lucy and Daisy are each accustomed to a ceaseless sea of notifications lighting up their screens. Working, dating, driving, bushwalking, graduating from uni — regardless of what they happen to be doing at any given moment, their smartphones are in their hands. Lucy takes that notion to another level, however, with her determined quest for glory knowing no bounds. When she hops behind the wheel, she livestreams it. When she crashes, she keeps filming. When the cops arrive at the scene, she's more interested in chatting to her followers than being taken to hospital. And when the video of her accident goes viral and becomes a meme, giving Lucy the moniker '#Flipgirl', it's the best moment of her life. If the above story sounds familiar, that's because it has been splashed across news headlines over the past week. After Content's first episode dropped, footage of Lucy's fictional fender bender hit Reddit, was mistaken for the real thing, and the reaction spread quickly. Art imitated life, then life imitated art, with a show about a millennial going viral almost instantly going viral itself. Created by Ludo Studios, directed by Daley Pearson and Walter Woodman, and written by Anna Barnes, the seven-part series proves equally hilarious, insightful and — as the Reddit incident demonstrates — authentic. It's both a sign of the times and a window into our 21st-century souls. Looking over someone's shoulder to steal a peek at their smartphone screen has become today's ultimate casual act of voyeurism, because the pocket-sized computers are just that integral to our lives. So, with that in mind, Content lets us watch. The end result isn't just equally perceptive and entertaining, although both terms apply. Framed vertically — aka designed to be watched on your own smartphone, naturally — Content is part of a growing trend called 'screenlife'. Relaying narratives purely through computer and phone displays, the technique has driven films such as Unfriended, Profile and Searching. And, as long as we all keep living our lives through our screens like Lucy, that list will only keep growing. Check out the first episode of Content below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALEdgJj1iQI&feature=youtu.be New episodes of Content drop weekly on ABC iView and YouTube.
Get your fill of the best vegan food in town at the Vegan Day Out. Come March 9 and 10, The Cruelty Free Shop is putting together another walking tour of vegan cafes, restaurants and retailers, many of which will be offering discounts, deals and free samples to anyone who stops by. For Saturday and Sunday, socially conscious eaters can stop by The Cruelty Free Shop on Johnston Street, and grab a map outlining their route. From there, it's all about making your way to to plant-based delights aplenty — and making a day (or two) of it. Whether you're a dyed-in-the-wool vegan or just curious to give it a go, you'll find a whole world of retailers catering to animal-free eating, offering meal deals, two-for-ones, coffee, wine tastings and savings on vegan groceries. The Cruelty Free Shop will also be running its own tastings throughout the day, as well as offering discounts on some of its 3000+ products. The Vegan Day Out runs from 9am–5pm on Saturday and 10am–5pm on Sunday.
When it comes to succulent pieces of poultry, Australia boasts plenty, but you know what they say: you can't get too much of a good thing. Trying to help make that case is newcomer 4Fingers, the Singaporean fried chicken favourite that's just brought their crispy chook to our shores. Setting up their first two stores in Melbourne's Bourke Street and at Brisbane's new food precinct at Westfield Chermside (and another set to open on Albert Street in Brisbane soon), 4Fingers is all about farm-to-fork free-range chicken served up in their signature crispy style. It's hand-brushed and prepared to order in wingettes, drumettes and legs. Sure, that's what other greasy chook place offers, but why mess with a winning formula? If you're eager for something different, it's 4Fingers' extra bits and pieces that might motivate you to hop on in. Fancy a katsu sandwich with daily-fermented kimchi coleslaw, crispy chicken chops or chicken, garlic and button mushrooms on an artisanal charcoal bun? You do now. Wings and legs with rice, a selection of seafood and three types of salad are also on the menu. 4Fingers is now open at 189-191 Bourke Street, Melbourne and at Westside Chermside, corner Gympie and Hamilton Streets, Chermside in Brisbane. Another store is set to open at 108 Albert Street, Brisbane soon. For more information, keep an eye on their website and Facebook page. Updates: July 3, 2017.
Contemporary art featured in galleries around the world will be on display at The Hotel Windsor this week, as part of the fifth annual Spring 1883. Returning to the iconic Spring Street venue in August, the free collaborative event is spread over the hotel's four floors and is part the Melbourne Art Fair. Open to the public from noon until 7pm August 2 to 4, this year's event will boast art from more than two dozen galleries. Head in after 8pm on Friday, August 3, and join the artist party, where there'll be live music and a bar. Among the international contingent you'll find work from Dutton gallery in New York and Wellington's {Suit}, while local players include Sydney's Roslyn Oxley9 and Alaska Projects, and Melbourne's Murray White Room. The pieces on display promise to be similarly diverse, ranging from photography to ceramics to portraiture and more. In one room you may find In Bloom — Cecilia Fox's floral-themed artwork and flower installation — and in another, an inflatable installation by Cindy Sherman.
Last year's The Old Man and the Gun and Clint Eastwood's new film The Mule share three things in common. First, they both star Hollywood octogenarian greats Robert Redford (82) and Eastwood (88). Second, they're both based on real life stories of unlikely elderly criminals and the men who pursued them. Thirdly, they share a pronounced nostalgia for civility; a yearning for a bygone era where nothing, not even law-breaking, should come at the cost of common decency. But where Redford's film maintained a light and tender tone throughout, Eastwood's latest lacks consistency, veering from awkward cynicism to thin familial sentimentality. As a vehicle for Eastwood's first on-screen role in six years, The Mule seems perfect. Written by Nick Schenk, who previously worked alongside Eastwood on Gran Torino, the film tells the fascinating true tale of Leo Sharp (named Earl Stone here), a 90 year-old WWII veteran and award-winning horticulturalist who became a big-time drug runner for a Mexican cartel after his own business ran into financial trouble. Stone is grizzled, bitter, grumpy and a little bit racist. In short, Eastwood embodies the look and feel of the man immediately. When Stone agrees to run a package across the country, no questions asked, he reveals himself to be the perfect mule for Andy Garcia's cartel, and as his illicit load increases with each new run, so too does his reward. Accompanied throughout by cartel minders, the setup is perfect for a black comedy. But whilst there are a few terrific moments (a carpool karaoke version of 'Ain't That A Kick In The Head' being the best), too much of the film falls flat, lacking the full lighthearted touch but at the same time failing to follow the darker path it also could have taken. In supporting roles, Eastwood brings back some of his recent regulars, including Bradley Cooper and Michael Pêna as the DEA agents charged with tracking Stone down and bringing him to justice. As with The Old Man and the Gun, it takes some time to dawn on the authorities that they're pursuing a man in his 80s – which of course was precisely why the Cartel went that direction in the beginning. Eastwood has always been impressive in his embracing of ageing, even tabling Unforgiven for over a decade until he felt he was old enough to do the role justice. Here in The Mule, though, the age card offers so many tantalising possibilities for the story, yet is used far too sparingly and too easily, resorting to mostly tired tropes like technological dyslexia (wait, how do you text again?). Moreover, while Stone is a remorseful man insofar as his troubled family history goes, he shows none for his part in supporting a violent and brutal cartel (at least not until the film's final stages). The end result is a film that looks great (it's Eastwood in the chair, after all), but feels like a middle child of genre; funny but not a comedy, dark but not a thriller, on the road but not a road movie and moving but not fully a drama. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_QksSzK7sI
With Victoria now in lockdown until 11.59pm on Thursday, June 3, home cooking and takeaway is back on the menu. Fancy the latter more than the former? Spent too much time baking during January's similar stint at home? Eager to order in for any reason possible? If you fall into any of the above categories, and you're keen to both support local eateries and keep an eye on your bank balance, Deliveroo is ditching its delivery fees for orders from most restaurants for seven days. Until lockdown ends on Thursday, June 3, the service is doing free delivery from a range of Victoria eateries. While the service hasn't revealed just how many places are taking part, Royal Stacks, Misschu, Oriental Tea House and Danny's Burgers rank among the participating Melbourne eateries, with places in Ballarat, Geelong and Bendigo also on the list. The aim: to encourage Victorians to help local restaurants during this second 2021 stay-at-home period and, because that's the world we live in, to help stop panic buying at supermarkets as well. To ensure that all of the eateries involved aren't missing out on revenue or left out of pocket, Deliveroo is footing the bill for the discounted amount, too. If you're suddenly hungry, you'll need to place an order via the Deliveroo app. There are a few caveats, unsurprisingly, with the free delivery deal not extending to bottle shops, KFC, Crust or Domino's, or to places listed in the app as 'delivered by restaurant'. You'll also need to spend at least $10 at most eateries, $12 at McDonald's, Subway and Baskin-Robbins, and $15 if you're purchasing from Red Rooster. Deliveroo is doing free delivery across Victoria eateries until 11.59pm on Thursday, June 3. To make an order, head to the Deliveroo app. Top image: Royal Stacks.
The Yarra Valley and the Great Ocean Road boast scenic sights as far as the eye can see, but that's not their own attraction. Both areas are also home to a combined chocolaterie and ice creamery. Exploring the countryside, snacking on hand-crafted chocolates, licking your way through an array of gelato flavours — what's not to love? Now, the Mornington Peninsula has also joined its regional counterparts, welcoming its very own purveyor of sweets. It's the third venue for Ian and Leanne Neeland, who've created a petite-sized sibling to their Yarra Valley and the Great Ocean Road stores. As well as serving up chocolate and ice cream in the seaside town of Flinders, their new location will also feature a brownie bar. Taking over the space formerly occupied by Mornington Peninsula Chocolates on Cook Street, the chocolaterie and ice creamery combines a bit of the old and the new — although, regarding which is which, it depends on how you look at it. The store will continue to make truffles in flavours made popular by the site's previous owners, such as chilli and tequila, blood orange and tonka beans, and tangy lime caramel. And, it sells over 300 unique chocolate varieties made by Belgian and French chocolatiers Thomas Wierinck and Anna Guinet, who also provide the sweets for the Neelands' other spots. Among the chocolate range, nut clusters, rocky road, giant chocolate freckles, and choc-coated ginger, honeycomb and nougat are all on offer. At the ice creamery, a range of Italian gelato flavours are available, too. And as for the brownie bar, it's baking a revolving menu that includes triple choc, mint, Cherry Ripe, Nutella and Baileys varieties. Milkshakes, hot chocolates and barista-made coffee are also be on the menu. If you're super keen on chocolate, you can enjoy a 20-minute hosted tasting session, which take place at 11am, 12pm and 1pm each day. Or, you can book into a chocolate discovery class, where you'll not only taste a few choccies — you'll also make some. Find Mornington Peninsula Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery at 45 Cook Street, Flinders — open Monday to Sunday from 9am–5pm.
If you were diagnosed with coeliac disease over ten years ago you were given a packet of rice crackers, an apple and an apologetic smile as you were sent out into the big, bad, wheat-filled world. Now, it's a different story. For folks that can't tolerate gluten, there are now (really good) gluten-free pizza places, breweries that brew only gluten-free beer and even a totally gluten-free multi-story Mexican restaurant in the CBD. And, once a year, there's also an entire expo over an entire weekend just for gluten-free foods. On the weekend of October 5–6, the Convention and Exhibition Centre will be wall-to-wall with gluten-free snacks. We're talking plenty of free samples from the likes of Well and Good, Arnotts, Senza, Two Bays Brewing Co. and Venerdi. Plus, you can learn more about coeliac disease at one of the talks happening throughout the day, or get tips on cooking without contamination. If there's ever a time you don't have to worry about pesky traces of gluten, it's here. Go forth and feast, friends.
Suspended is an original site-specific dance work by choreographer and dancer Yahna Fookes, developed exclusively for the City of Melbourne Arts Program for 2013. Inspired by iconic American modern dancer Trisha Brown’s Roof Piece (1971), it seems only fitting for Fookes’ performance to be realised at Melbourne’s own beloved Rooftop Bar over three nights. This open-air space is as important as the piece itself, allowing the anticipated boundaries between audience, stage and performer to dissolve by encouraging a sense of equality and balance within these pre-determined roles. Through the integration of pre-recorded film, sound and design, Suspended pushes our traditional perceptions of dance, and pulls the complementary nature of these areas together to create a highly conceptual collaborative performance. Drawing from a curated selection of promising Australian talent, the piece embraces the creativity and expression of each individual response to the work from dancers Jessica Wong and James Shannon, sound designer Matthew Brown, costume deisgners and winners of the LMFF National Designer Award From Britten, cinematographer Rudi Siira and post-producer Ana Jimenez. This harmony of creative fields is an aspect of the performance that is bound to elevate — or suspend it — to a place of heightened sensory experience. Suspended will be performed over three nights at the Rooftop Bar. Check out a sneak peek of the show here.
The Irishman screens in cinemas from Thursday, November 7, and will also stream via Netflix from Wednesday, November 27. Is Martin Scorsese cinema's foremost purveyor of pissing contests? In the posturing men that fill the filmmaker's frames, penis-measuring and ego battles keep bubbling up. The urge to assert one's superiority and claim one's domain pulsates through gangster classics such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas and The Departed. It's also evident in The Wolf of Wall Street, which takes aim at the need to one-up everyone and everything. But, spread across six decades and told with a deeply melancholy sense of contemplation, this notion seeps through The Irishman with particular weight and purpose. It's impossible not to notice it when, surrounded by mob heavies on one side and a corrupt labor union leader on the other, the film's central hitman observes these two opposing forces agitating for supremacy — by any means possible, and frequently to their own detriment. That hitman is Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), after the World War II veteran-turned-truck driver crosses paths with Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci). Taken under the crime boss's wing, he rises through the ranks as far as any non-Sicilian can — becoming, at his mentor's behest, the mob's conduit to outspoken Teamsters head Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). Adapted by Steven Zaillian (The Night Of) from Charles Brandt's 2004 non-fiction text I Heard You Paint Houses, Scorsese's film is told from the octogenarian Sheeran's perspective, as he reflects on his life's volatile ups and downs while remembering a pivotal road trip, and the events that led to it. It's no spoiler to say that, in bookending scenes, he's whiling away his remaining days in a nursing home. And even if you don't know your 20th century American history, it's no spoiler to say that Sheeran's cronies don't all enjoy the same fate. Sometimes, Scorsese introduces bit-players via text outlining their name, date of death and its cause, stressing the cutthroat nature of the gangster world. In the process, he illustrates the cost of behaviour that's as common as breathing in The Irishman, and that his protagonist becomes accustomed to. As Sheeran progresses from stealing steaks to grease mob wheels, to "painting houses" (read: killing), to taking on a union role to help control the headstrong Hoffa, he's thrust into the thick of ego-driven conflict. He not only adapts, but prospers at the expense of many a life, with this violent true tale doubling as an indictment of the destructive deeds and mindsets that remain baked into society. It's telling that, when a remorseful Sheeran finally confronts the fallout from these constant power struggles, he's no longer cool, calm and collected. It's just as potent when, after seeing her dad at his worst, his daughter Peggy (played by Lucy Gallina as a child and Anna Paquin as an adult) makes the movie's biggest statement by shunning this dog-eat-dog regime, and refusing to even really speak. Scorsese ruminates on the consequences of acquiescing, and the strength required to avoid being complicit — ideas that reach far wider than Sheeran's story. The director has probed the murky basis of American life in complex gangster flicks for half a century, with The Irishman proving a meaty musing on the subject as filtered through one mobster's recollection. And, what a gangster flick this is. Nearing 80 himself, Scorsese is as stunning a filmmaker as ever. The Irishman swaps the endless energy of his earlier output for a more patient but still lively unravelling across three-and-a-half hours — and revelling in the minutiae, hearing conversations that seem to go nowhere, and spying the cycles and repetition is all by design. Stylistically, the film is classic Scorsese from the opening tracking shot that recalls Goodfellas through to the devastating final image, all thanks to cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Silence). As she's done since Who's That Knocking at My Door and Raging Bull, editor Thelma Schoonmaker not only gives the movie its pace, but moves seamlessly between time periods as Sheeran's story jumps back and forth between decades. What would a Scorsese film be without his on-screen muses, though? De Niro is a powerhouse, taking the ebbs and flows of Sheeran's life in his stride, and acting his way past the barely noticeable de-aging special effects that help wind back the clock. Somehow, this is Scorsese and Pacino's first pairing, but the director and actor are on the same wavelength, especially when they're at their most boisterous. Harvey Keitel steps in front of the filmmaker's lens for the sixth time, and Vinyl's Bobby Cannavale and Ray Romano make an imprint as fellow mobsters, too. If one star acts as weathervane for The Irishman, though, it's the inimitable Pesci in his welcome return. He has barely acted since Casino, and he's in quietly menacing rather than frenetically ferocious mode, which sums up this compelling epic perfectly. Gangster chest-beating resonates through every second of the phenomenal crime drama, which earns its lengthy running time — but the toll that's left unsaid echoes far louder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHXxVmeGQUc
The festive season is well under way: we're hurrying off to end-of-year catch ups every weekend, (hopefully) pouring sensational vinos and merrily sipping away our days. So, if you're like us, the pressure of trying to find the perfect gift can cast a dark shadow on the season. Sure, picking out the perfect gift for a special someone can be fun, but let's face it, it's pretty tricky to nail it year after year. The trick? Ditch the generic gifts and find something straight up your giftee's alley. And it's fair to assume we probably all know someone who is passionate about wine. The fine people at Handpicked Wines certainly are. With vineyards in the Mornington Peninsula, Barossa, Yarra Valley and down in Tassie, the biz makes region-specific drops with a sustainability-focused mindset. Beyond growing, prepping, juicing and fermenting the fruit, Handpicked Wines also have two urban cellar doors — one in Sydney and one in Melbourne. Together with Handpicked Wines, we've put our noses to the ground and found some brownie-point-scoring pressies especially for wine lovers (yourself included). Whether you're shopping for an office Kris Kringle or want to impress the in-laws this silly season, we've got options aplenty. HANDPICKED WINES CURATED WINE PACK, Prices vary Serious wine connoisseurs can be picky about their bottles. But fear not, Handpicked Wines is here to help you impress any sommelier (professional or wannabe) on your Christmas list. As a start, for the eighth year in a row, the winery has received a 5-red-star rating from the Halliday Wine Companion, the bestselling and definitive guide to Australian wine. Where to start? It's hard to go past the Summer Pack ($87), featuring three wines classified as "outstanding" in the 2023 edition of the guide. If you're going all out, plump for the Top Scorer pack ($200), which features six of Handpicked Wines' highest-rated drops from the 2023 Halliday Wine Companion. Whichever you choose, you know you'll be gifting some A-grade wine. For something a little different, gift your loved one the Sam Studd Pack. Along with their vinos, they'll receive three stand-out fromages curated by curd connoisseur Sam Studd — and quince paste and lavosh crackers, too. HANDPICKED WINES CELLAR DOOR EXPERIENCE, $72 If you'd prefer a more experiential gift for your vino-obsessed, opt for a gift voucher to the Handpicked Wines Cellar Door on Collins Street. They'll be table to take a special friend (aka you, the glorious gifter) and immerse themselves in an urban cellar door experience. For $72, the pair of you can each enjoy two delicious glasses from the Handpicked Wines Regional Selections range alongside two exceptional cheeses. It's the perfect gift for city slickers who enjoy a holiday to wine country — from this sleek central location, you'll discover (or taste, more like it) premium drops from the winery's vineyards across the Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley, Barossa and Tassie. [caption id="attachment_880772" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Samantha Payne[/caption] FULL GLASSES McLAREN VALE CANDLE, $45 If you're looking to get a little more creative, think wine-adjacent. Maybe your wine-loving friend already has an extensive collection of bottles and has travelled to all the hot spots for a drop? If so, gift them the scent of that special vineyard. Sydney-based sommelier Samantha Payne, of Full Glasses, has created her own line of wine-centric candles focused on her memories and experiences in different wine regions. Her recommendation? The McLaren Vale ($45), which blends fresh figs and eucalyptus trees for a sweet take on the Aussie bush. But there's also Pinot Noir ($65), which marries the scents of grape skins, strawberries, cloves and cinnamon bark, Chardonnay ($65), for a hit of lemon, apple and oak, and more. Each candle is hand-poured and decorated — an extra special gift. CORAVIN TIMELESS THREE SL, $299.95 One for the wine lover with an extensive collection (and sure to put you firmly in the good books): the Coravin Timeless Three SL ($299.95). With this sleek, handy gadget — which is the easy-to-use preservation system working in tandem with Coravin's argon capsules — still wines will stay perfectly primed for weeks (or months or years, even). That friend of yours will be pouring their favourite drops without pulling the cork, so a glass of that extra special drop can be enjoyed without committing to the whole bottle. MAISON BALZAC WINE GLASSES, $129 This is perhaps for the wine-lover in your life that can't help but be persuaded by a beautiful label on their bottle. If they're into natural, fruity drops or can't look past a pet-nat, Maison Balzac's Pom Pom Wine Glasses ($129) are the ideal gift. This handblown pair is adorned with adorable cherry-red "earrings", but there are three other colourways to choose from. It's an extra-special gift for the new-age wine lover that doesn't take themselves too seriously. FESTIVE TABLEWARE, Prices vary Artful, style-heavy and deliciously unique tableware is a gift that will be eagerly received by the wine lovers in your life — chances are, if they like a good vino, they'll like to curate a vibe-heavy setting to sip it in. They'll kick their 2023 entertaining off with a bang with these hyperrealistic Heirloom Tomato Candles ($85) from Nonna's Grocer, sure to spruce up any and every tablescape; and a set of the brightly hued Cecilia Coasters ($29) from Sage and Clare for an aesthetically pleasing place to pop that drink. Or, stick with decor masquerading as food, and pick up this sweeter-than-sweet canelé from Corey Ashford, the candle holder ($125) sure to keep it moody. WANDERING FOLK LOVERS PICNIC BASKET, $195 For a gift that's perhaps a little more romantic, opt for a basket (with dedicated spots for wine) to bring on picnic dates. The picnic experts at Wandering Folk have you covered with the Lovers Picnic Basket ($195). Designed in Australia and woven by women in Vietnam, it's a stand-out gift that's been crafted consciously and creatively. Plus, if you're feeling generous, you can even stock up your gift with a couple of their favourite bottles and some picnic essentials. GIGI & TOM SEA SNAIL ICE BUCKET, $49.95 With a sea snail keeping a celebratory bottle of sparkling cool, this one's for the ocean-loving oenophile in your life. Unique, summery and chic, Gigi & Tom have you sorted with its Resin Sea Snail Centrepiece ($49.95). Practical? Tick. Fun? Tick. Meets the criteria for a winning gift. Watch them swoon. For the wine lover in your life, your best spot to start is with Handpicked Wines. Head to the website to get your gifting sorted.
Big Paws Little Paws wants to celebrate dog mums and their furry families this Mother's Day, with a day of dog-friendly activities. Bring your fur baby along to an indoor dog playground in Ravenhall on Saturday, May 11, for a morning of crafts, socialising, gifts and giveaways. Be greeted with a Pawtini upon arrival before getting busy with a doggy glamour station, professional photoshoots, a craft station, Woof Wonderland Market and other activities. In addition, every ticket comes with a $10 voucher for Big Paws Little Paws services and a $2 contribution to Second Chance Animal Rescue. Check out Eventbrite for additional details and to purchase a ticket for $20 (doggos get free entry). Mama Paws will take place on Saturday, May 11, with two sessions from 10–11.30am and 11.30am–1pm.
Theatre and storytelling have long been one and the same, but Malthouse Theatre are bridging that gap completely with their 2015 program. Presenting works in a new chapter format, the bustling year ahead looks a little like a storybook. First we have an exploration of the self (Body // Language), then a look at how it relates to their digital world (Post // Love), and finally we examine society at large (Ritual // Extinction). It's a tidy way to organise such enormous ideas, but the works in each chapter are far from a simple variation on a theme. Before you even step inside a theatre, the party will be kicking off with Blak Cabaret — a prologue to the chapter format featuring Indigenous comedians, musicians, dancers and poets. After premiering at Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival last year, this year's run of the show will play out in the forecourt of Malthouse's home on Southbank. Featuring three works from the 2015 Dance Massive program, the first official chapter of the season will have a big emphasis on the body. In Nothing to Lose, Force Majeure, choreographer Kate Champion and fat activist Kelli Jean Drinkwater join forces to challenge body expectations and reclaim the stage for large bodies. Do You Speak Chinese? then sees Australian-born Victoria Chiu explore the expectations of her Asian heritage through dance, and Depth of Field examines life in the city with Chunky Move's Anouk van Dijk in the Malthouse forecourt. The one work without a focus on dance is Wot? No Fish!!. A story of love, history and family, this one-man play written by and starring Danny Braverman was an absolute hit at last year's Edinburgh Fringe. Post // Love starts up with an ambitious and critically-acclaimed story from Caryl Churchill. Directed by Kip Williams, Love and Information will be a postmodern series of vignettes that sees the talented cast playing over 100 roles. Definitely pencil this one in your diaries, it comes sporting a five-star review from The New York Times. Ash Flanders then takes the stage for an interrogation of YouTube stardom and digital identity in Meme Girls, while Lally Katz rounds out the chapter with her new comedic work Timeshare. Starring Marg Downey from Kath and Kim, this is definitely going to be one to lift the spirits. As winter encroaches, things get a little darker in Ritual // Extinction. Jane Montgomery Griffiths reimagines the tragedy of Sophocles with Antigone, while Declan Greene and Matthew Lutton take a look at life from behind bars in I Am a Miracle. Famous for her comedic social critque, Nicola Gunn takes on the world of business in A Social Service; then the chapter is rounded out with They Saw a Thylacine — a work that's toured the fringe circuit with its hunt for the Tasmanian tiger. As enormous and exciting as the program is, it's also going to be supplemented by related events throughout the year. To celebrate the body and language you can attend a fitness session with an eight-year-old trainer. To explore relationships in the digital age, Aphids will be organising a mysterious interactive game. And, to get on board with the best ritual of them all, the NGV will be hosting a part-performance, part-banquet version of the last supper. If that's not enough for you, The Wheeler Centre will also be hosting a series of discussions on each chapter. There's certainly a lot to talk about. For full program details, see the Malthouse website.
I was going to begin with a witty little quip that involved red-headed people, their imminent extinction, something about safaris (I haven’t quite ironed out exact details at this stage), but we’re all better than that aren’t we? This isn’t 2009. I’m sorry I almost underestimated you. Outdated jokes aside, let’s get down to business. Bringing their self-titled LP to life, the lovely young men from Jinja Safari will be putting on their performing pants and playing in Melbourne as part of their 16 show nationwide tour, The Bay of Fires. Having spent time sharing their shoulder-shimmying tunes and dreamy vibes all over the world, the Sydney-based band will be wiggling their toes in Australian soil over September and October, grooving out at The Forum for a one night only show on September 27. I said one night only everybody, this is not a drill! The Triple j featured band will be supported by local lovelies Okenyo and Cub Scouts, raising the good times to the power of three. We’re talking about good times cubed here. I’m no mathematician, but that is a lot of funk. Known for their energetic live performances and infectious dance rhythms, you had better start warming up that finger clicking and toe tapping as soon as possible in preparation. Tickets are available for purchase here.
Australia might be working through a few issues, but delivering top-shelf world-class cocktail bars sure ain't one of them, as again proved at last night's World's 50 Best Bars awards in London. Now in its ninth year, the prestigious awards ranked Melbourne's iconic Black Pearl at number 22, the same spot it claimed in 2016's list. This year, however, the bar backed it up with a few extra accolades, scooping the gong for Best Bar in Australasia and honoured with the title of Legend of the List, for its efforts in making the cut each year the awards have been held. Sydney bar The Baxter Inn also made a return to the list, this time clocking in at number 45 and rounding out the Australian contingent. Taking out top spot, along with the title of Best Bar in Europe, was The American Bar at London's Savoy Hotel. This is a win for us Aussies also — the international cocktail icon just announced it'll take over The Black Pearl and Sydney's Eau De Vie for a series of pop-ups later this month. London again proved the most represented city in the list, honoured with eight top 50 placings. The World's 50 Best Bars awards are decided by a group of over 500 industry experts from across 55 countries.
Join some of the brightest minds in science, design and architecture as they tackle arguably the most important question facing humanity today. As the global population creeps towards nine billion and global temperatures reach a tipping point, cleaner, more resilient cities could hold the key to our salvation. But only if we're willing to build them that way. This high energy symposium, co-presented by Melbourne Design Week and The New York Times, will be chaired by Craig Reucassel of The Chaser and War on Waste, and will feature Breathe Architecture director Bonnie Herring, Finding Infinity founder Ross Harding, University of Newcastle professor Sue Anne Ware, and environmental activist Joost Bakker. It will also include an interactive keynote address by Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde about the social role of art and design. Image: Daan Roosegaarde.
If you're in need of some rejuvenation, a weekend in Mansfield among stunning vistas and beautiful vineyards could be just for you. That's where Delatite Wines will be hosting its first Harvest Moon Festival from Friday, May 13–Sunday, May 15. Get ready to feel energised under a full moon — or, an almost full moon — as harvest comes to an end. The three-day event will be held at Delatite's new cellar door and restaurant. Kick off the festivities with a hot air balloon ride, then spend the weekend doing yoga among the vines, meditating and even indulging in a cold water submersion in the dam. There'll obviously be plenty of drops going around for tasting, plus a good balance of local produce markets and food trucks. And, you can also some fine dining with a fire-roasted feast by Pope Joan's Bente Grysbaek. The program also has a strong focus on sustainability through exploring all the natural elements, curating a wholesome experience that marries nature, wine and wellness. If you're keen, you can delve into the world of regenerative and open-gate farming, sustainable architecture and biodynamics thanks to the festival's seminar program. Then, to wrap things up, you can end the weekend with a free tree planting session. Some sessions are free, others are ticketed — and you can find the full program on the festival's website.
From Monet to Basquiat, and from Chanel to Picasso, The NGV has spotlighted plenty of huge international art names in recent years. But now it's set to turn its attention to some artistic legends located a little closer to home. Next autumn, The Ian Potter Centre will kick off the second instalment of its Melbourne Now exhibition, showcasing works from more than 200 Victorian-based artists, designers and studios. Running from Friday, March 24–Sunday, August 20, the exhibition is set to feature hundreds of artworks, including 60 world-premiere pieces commissioned especially by the NGV. The major collection ranges from fashion, photography and sculpture, to ceramics, virtual reality and performance. In the lineup, expect to see a diverse spread of emerging and established talent, including names like Atong Atem, Christian Thompson, Nicholas Mangan, Anu Kumar, Lisa Reid, Meagan Streader, Esther Stewart, Pitcha Makin Fellas and more. [caption id="attachment_874505" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Meagan Streader. Photo by Anne Moffat.[/caption] The exhibition's scope is huge, speaking to all kinds of themes and inspirations. You'll encounter a giant sculpture featuring a pile of inflatable walking frames, Rel Pham's enormous neon-lit 'temple' made from thousands of computer fans, and a multi-artist photography installation dedicated to challenging the usual conventions of the practice. A work by Larrakia/Wardaman/Karajarri artist Jenna Lee features luminous hand-painted paper lanterns in the shape of traditional First Nations Gulumerridjin dilly bags, while a 10-metre-long installation by Lee Darroch is made up of collected driftwood representing men and women from Victoria's 38 Indigenous language groups. Also in the mix: a diverse collection of fashion designs, a photobooth installation, an AI chatbot that's programmed to fall in love and a Design Wall showcasing a bunch of consumer products designed right here in Melbourne over the past 10 years. [caption id="attachment_874506" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of Design Wall, on display for 'Melbourne Now' 2013 at the NGV. Photo courtesy of the NGV.[/caption] 'Melbourne Now' will show at The Ian Potter Centre from March 24–August 20, 2023. Top Image: Atong Atem, photo by Eugene Hyland
Fine dining luxury in Rural Victoria. Bounty from a kitchen garden on a 20-hectare estate. The majestic Mt Sturgeon. Chef, Dan Hunter. The Royal Mail Hotel plates up intelligent food from a serious kitchen in the 'middle of nowhere' – the kind of Dunkeld 'nowhere' both national and international foodies justify as worth the pilgrimage. Brainchild of multi-millionaire barrister and pastoralist Allan Myers, the Royal Mail Hotel is a prodigious example of a restaurant built on plenty of money; a restaurant that is more like a mountain escape compound complete with hotel rooms and cottages. But hey, we're not complaining. We want you to meet Chef Hunter. He's a fine dining rockstar. After four years in Spain, two of which were spent heading up one of the world's top restaurants, Maugaritz in the Basque Country, Hunter returned to the motherland and was too experienced and thus 'unemployable'. It was back then, in 2007, the Royal Mail Hotel beckoned. Now we're going to be upfront about this. The Mail experience is not for everyone. It's not for those with conservative food tastes and it's definitely not for those seeking out a mindless dining experience. The restaurant is more than a three hour drive from Melbourne and the 13 course degustation will set you back $170 a head or $285 with matching wines. But let us say this, everything about this place, in our opinion, is totally worth it: the unrivaled service, best produce, and stunning surrounds. Enough with the justifications. We started with rice paper, finger lime and salmon roe. The dish was texturally exciting and offered a balance of sweet and sour. Rainbow trout, coffee, black treacle was next followed by chicken crisp. At this stage we were still indulging in the 1996 Pol Roger Cuvee Reserve, Epernay France. The pancetta and spanner crab, rye cream and candied radish was a highlight as was the 1996 Crawford River Riesling, Henty Victoria. The delicacy of the nutty cream combined with the richly meaty pancetta and silky crab was hearty, intense in flavour and completely satisfying. The eel and bone marrow, eggplant and pickled vegetables was probably what I was thinking about when I spoke of the Mail not being for those with conservative food tastes. Smoked eel sits atop a heavy bone marrow, alongside pungent eggplant puree. Then there's those miniature pickled vegetables to provide the pop and crunch effect. 2005 Pio Cesare, Barbaresco Italy, has gone down a treat. Hunter's Fallen Fruit examples his fondness of nature. Bite into the crisp apple, that has been treated with calcium hydroxide, to discover a gooey inside. The almond, caramel and chamomile additions welcomed an extra sweetness to this dessert as did the 1999 Dr Loosen, Mosel Germany. For the dairy intolerant, it's likely the Mail will treat you to a quince macaroon - delectably light and fruity. So is it worth the trek? Most certainly. Hunter's food is respectful of flavours and textures. The ornate aesthetic of his menu matches perfectly the delicacy ingrained within each dish. His food is clever, attitude persevering, and hospitality unmatched.
Whether the folks in charge like it or not, Melbourne's myki system has been associated with more headaches and grumbles than it has with positive reviews. Now, probably for the first time, it's inspired something fun, with local design duo Dyl & Oscar launching a card game based on our public transport network. The tabletop game Touched On sees players attempt to fare evade their way around Melbourne's tram, train, and bus systems, while avoiding the cards marked as undercover ticket inspectors. Basically, it's the perfect way to indulge your inner law-breaker, without getting caught (and having to pay an on-the-spot fine) IRL. Dyl & Oscar have started a Kickstarter campaign to fund and sell Touched On, which can be snapped up for the Kris Kringle-friendly price of just $22. The pair has even created a few fun extras, including unisex socks inspired by that oh-so-familiar tram seat print. Pledges for the project are open until Monday, December 19, and the finished game is expected to ship in March next year. UPDATE: More than a week before the end of Touched On's funding period, the project has met its goal, ensuring that public transport-themed card game antics really will become a reality. For more information on Touched on or to make a pledge, visit their Kickstarter page.
Amid wondering how everything and anything would cope with feelings — elements such as water, fire, air and earth being the current example — Pixar also enjoys venturing to infinity and beyond. The Disney-owned animation studio first became famous and beloved thanks to the Toy Story franchise, and a space ranger figurine who loved spouting an intergalactic catchphrase, but the company is no stranger to heading into the heavens in its movies. With 2022's Lightyear, Pixar left earth for obvious reasons. When you're making a film about said space ranger toy — well, about its inspiration, to be exact — space is part of the package. With 2024's upcoming Elio, the studio is instead playing with aliens and putting earth on trial. Oh, and hanging out with a kid who says he's the planet's leader. That child is the movie's namesake, who isn't short on imagination, but could never have dreamed up the adventure that awaits. In the feature's just-dropped first teaser trailer, Elio goes on an out-of-this-world journey when he's beamed up to the Communiverse. That's an interplanetary organisation that looks after galaxies far and wide — and it mistakes the kid for earth's ambassador. How does an otherwise ordinary child cope with being in space, meeting alien lifeforms and being put through a number of challenges? What does he learn about himself along the way? Cinemagoers will find out on February 29, 2024, with Pixar's next flick after Elemental arriving on leap day — a date that no one should forget. Adrian Molina, screenwriter and co-director of the gorgeous Coco, helms the movie, while the cast includes Yonas Kibreab (Sweet Tooth) as Elio, America Ferrera (Superstore) as Elio's mom Olga, Jameela Jamil (Poker Face) as Ambassador Questa and Brad Garrett (High Desert) as Ambassador Grigon. While 2023 will only see one Pixar movie hit screens, Elio is one of two slated for 2024. Also on the lineup next year: Inside Out 2. Check out the teaser trailer for Elio below: Elio will release in cinemas Down Under on February 29, 2024.
I'm a late convert to live theatre. For a combination of socioeconomic and cultural factors, the theatre always seemed to me like something other people did. I grew up thinking it was for fancy people. Rich people. Not people like me. Thankfully, life has its twists and turns, and, as an adult, I can now say I love the theatre — and I'm making up for lost time. There's one musical I've had my eyes on for a while. In 1989, a show hit the stage that would become a phenomenon in the theatre world. Miss Saigon, the brainchild of the creators of Les Misérables, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, is a saga of love, loss and resilience set against the grim backdrop of the Vietnam War. The story sweeps us into the life of Kim, a young Vietnamese woman (well, 'woman' — she's 17 at curtain open) whose life is upended by war. She finds herself working in a brothel owned and led by a charismatic being known only as 'The Engineer'. It's here she meets Chris, an American soldier, and it's here where they fall in love, only to be torn apart by the tumultuous fall of Saigon. Even though the story is well known, I still feel like it's best not to give away the rest. And by well known, I mean well known. Since its debut, Miss Saigon has traversed the globe, mesmerising audiences in 32 countries and 373 cities, performed in 15 languages, and racked up over 70 theatre awards. From its record-breaking premiere in London to its storied runs on Broadway and everything in between, the show has continually evolved with the times in which it is presented. The latest Australian production, which just wrapped a stunning run at the Sydney Opera House, is a testament to the show's enduring appeal. Directed by Jean Pierre van Der Spuy, with musical staging by the late great Bob Avian, and additional choreography by Richard Jones, the production is wild. The set design by Matt Kinley and Totie Driver — inspired by Adrian Vaux's original concept — is mesmerising. And then there's the music. A blend of powerful orchestration and Eastern percussion that sonically transports you straight to 70s Saigon. In fact, Miss Saigon uses the widest range of far Eastern percussion instruments of any Western musical with featured instruments including baos (Chinese opera gongs), hyoshi-gi (Japanese kabuki clappers), chū-daiko (Japanese taiko drums), kyeezee (Burmese temple bells) and Thai ching cymbals. When I took my seat at Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre, I expected a good show — there must be a reason the narrative is still going strong all these decades later. What I didn't anticipate was the sheer physicality and emotion that exuded from every character. Every single person who stepped on that stage killed it. Wild to think that as much as it's a magic night for the audience, for the cast, it's just another day of showbiz — the impressive jumps and flips and gut-wrenching cries and passionate make-outs will be repeated the following day, and the next day, and the next day. Isn't that insane to think about? How some humans can just reproduce magic, whenever they want!? And we, the ones in the crowd, get to bask in the marvel of it all. Abigail Adriano, as Kim, was a force of nature. The way she commanded the stage was so incredible to witness, especially for someone so young (19!). Her voice is a real joy to hear live; it boggles the mind that people can be so talented. She plays every arc of Kim so convincingly, from shy and awkward at the beginning to every complicated spectrum of human emotion possible as her story evolves. When things get tragic, her performance becomes even more believable. Her pain is almost palpable, with a certain scene leaving the audience dead quiet in awe. Starring alongside Abigail are Nigel Huckle and Nick Afoa, playing American soldier Chris and his best friend John respectively. The pair brought their characters' internal battles and moral dilemmas to life. But it's Seann Miley Moore as The Engineer who really stole the show. What an absolute raging inferno of charisma and talent. And what an honour it was to witness. Every scene involving Seann became a battle of what to focus on, because you so badly wanted to see what was going on in the crowded background scenes but there was no way you were taking your eyes off Seann. Speaking of background. The show had so many layers, it's something you could easily see multiple times and keep taking something new away. The background actors gave incredible performances, and the choreography was so impressive to witness — the stage was full of B and C and D plots flashing in and out of our periphery while the main plot took the limelight, making it so hard to pay attention (in the best possible way) because everywhere you looked you saw magic. The technical aspects of the show also blew me away. The set pieces, including a giant Ho Chi Minh head and Statue of Liberty face, were imposing and pretty damn cool. But the real star was the helicopter scene. I've now learned it's famous as a showcase of onstage practical effects, but at the time it genuinely surprised me and it was so realistically executed that you could almost feel the wind from its blades. And here's something that blew my mind post-show — the music is performed live by a full orchestra tucked away beneath the stage. So hidden were they that I didn't even realise until the show was over and my companion pointed it out to me. My page space is running out, even though I could keep ranting and raving, so I'll leave you with this. Miss Saigon isn't just a musical, it's a journey that encapsulates the human experience in times of conflict, reminding us that humans can find beauty in even the worst circumstances. Whether you're a seasoned theatre-enjoyer or a first-timer, Miss Saigon is well worth your butt on the seat. You'll see an excellent show and also witness a narrative that has now carved its way into theatrical history. Which I think is pretty damn cool. Catch Miss Saigon at Her Majesty's Theatre until Saturday, December 16. Grab your tickets here.
Download the free Apple iBooks version for iPad here, and the free printable PDF book version here. Well folks, it's that time of year again, when the rising mercury sends us outdoors en masse, pumping our concrete playground with an energy of revelry and renewal. The spirit of summer is a celebration of what it means to be alive. We rediscover our joie de vivre with sandy toes, burnished skin, BBQs by the beach, and one too many margaritas. But with so much going on at this time of year it's hard to know where to begin, and what is supposed to be some well-deserved chill time can become a full-blown panic attack. So, what do you do when overwhelmed with options? Welcome to the Concrete Playground Summer Guide, crafted in partnership with our friends at Old Mout Cider. It's a comprehensive shortlist of the best Melbourne has to offer over the next three months, from rooftop bars to outdoor dining and much more. With your printable PDF book in hand, you'll never be without access to the best of everything, because the year's too long and summer's too short to waste time on the mediocre. Now slap on your invisible zinc and get out there, blue skies wait for no one (and don't we know it). Summer, we salute you.
Few could deny the cinematic juggernaut that is the Marvel machine right now. In just the past decade we've had one Captain America, two Hulks, three Iron Men, four Spidermen and five X-Men movies, to say nothing of 2012's billion-dollar blockbuster The Avengers. In a few weeks another Captain America film hits cinemas, but opening this week is the second instalment from yet another Avengers spinoff, Thor: The Dark World. The original Thor was released in 2011 and, under the direction of Kenneth Branagh, proved equal parts action and comedy as the impossibly-ripped Chris Hemsworth hammered his way through hordes of alien something-or-others then saved Earth. Two years later he's back, hammering his way through all-new hordes of alien something-or-others by day, whilst pining for his human, earth-dwelling girlfriend, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), by night. When she inadvertently releases an ancient mystical threat, the two star-crossed (or rather Bifrost) lovers are reunited, forced to evade and then confront yet another horde of aliens, known as the Dark Elves. As appealing and charming as Hemsworth is in the lead, once again it's Tom Hiddleston as the mischievous Loki who proves himself the franchise's most charismatic and essential figure, grinning through clenched teeth and staring with burning intensity as the world around him crumbles. There is more depth to his character than all the others combined; a petulant villain seething with jealousy yet privately vulnerable and burdened with unspoken regret. Hiddleston's sublime performance manages to draw focus even when there's a full-blown, four-alarm CGI clusterfuck going on around him, and in this film that's a common occurrence. Humour has always played a key part in the Marvel franchises, and — as with the original Thor — The Dark World derives most of its comedy from 'Norse-demigod-out-of-water' scenarios, this time juxtaposing the majesty of Thor with the banality of London's daily grind. It's missing the deftness of Branagh's touch, and while it doesn't play for laughs quite as often, those that feature generally land firmly. In some cases, exquisitely so. Most importantly, though, Thor: The Dark World is a fun film to watch. The script is snappy, the action sequences are well paced and the final battle in Greenwich offers up a diabolical, Portal-like component that brings an exciting new meaning to 'war of the worlds'. Portman is more likeable this time round, too, dropping much of the goofy, doe-eyed traits that felt so out of place for an actress of her calibre in the original. Lastly, Thor: The Dark World features not one, but two post-credits scenes, giving fans twice as many reasons to stay seated and discover who performed 'Key Grip' on set. https://youtube.com/watch?v=npvJ9FTgZbM
Ganesh Versus the Third Reich is a play about the famous Hindu god, Ganesh — recently popularised by the T-shirts of a thousand faux hippie festivalgoers, teamed with a bindi — and his imagined quest to reclaim the Sanskrit swastika symbol from Nazi Germany’s Third Reich. Ganesh is the god of overcoming obstacles, and judging from the story's premise, his journey throughout director Bruce Gladwin’s performance will acutely test his ability to do so. At the same time, in a parallel universe, the cast of the Back to Back Theatre company who are to perform the piece must overcome the tribulations that accompany their attempts to tackle such contentious subject matter, with this second narrative also played out onstage. An interesting factor that is perhaps best approached head on, as it is in the play, is that all actors in the cast can be classed as "intellectually disabled". Whilst the abilities or disabilities of the actors are not explicitly a focal point, the way they sit alongside a story set amidst Word War II Germany, when the Nazis were attempting to create a "pure" race through unnatural methods of brutality, cannot be overlooked. The audience must confront both general questions of humanity, prejudice, and guilt, alongside their own motives, reactions, and motivations as participants in the part fiction, part reality of the performance. Image via backtobacktheatre.com
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. NOPE Kudos to Jordan Peele for giving his third feature as a writer/director a haters-gonna-hate-hate-hate name: for anyone unimpressed with Nope, the response is right there. Kudos, too, to the Get Out and Us filmmaker for making his third bold, intelligent and supremely entertaining horror movie in a row — a reach-for-the-skies masterpiece that's ambitious and eerie, imaginative and expertly crafted, as savvy about cinema as it is about spectacle, and inspires the exact opposite term to its moniker. Reteaming with Peele after nabbing an Oscar nomination for Get Out, Daniel Kaluuya utters the titular word more than once in Nope. Exclaiming "yep" in your head each time he does is an instant reaction. Everything about the film evokes that same thrilled endorsement, but it comes particularly easily whenever Kaluuya's character surveys the wild and weird events around him. We say yay to his nays because we know we'd respond the same way if confronted by even half the chaos that Peele whooshes through the movie. As played with near-silent weariness by the always-excellent Judas and the Black Messiah Oscar-winner, Haywood's Hollywood Horses trainer OJ doesn't just dismiss the strange thing in the heavens, though. He can't, even if he doesn't realise the full extent of what's happening when his father (Keith David, Love Life) suddenly slumps on his steed on an otherwise ordinary day. Six months later, OJ and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer, Lightyear) are trying to keep the family business running; he does the wrangling, she does the on-set safety spiels, which double as a primer on the Haywoods' lengthy links to the movie industry. The first moving images ever presented, by Eadweard Muybridge of a galloping horse in the 1800s, featured their great-great-great grandfather as the jockey, Emerald explains. His image was immortalised, but not his name — and, although she doesn't say it directly, that's a fate she isn't eager to share. In fact, Emerald ends her patter by proclaiming that she's available for almost any Hollywood job that might come up. Unsurprisingly, OJ is horrified about the hustle. Her big chance is indeed tied to their ranch, but not in the way that Emerald initially realises either — because who'd predict that something would be lurking above the Haywoods' Agua Dulce property? Just as Get Out saw Peele reinterrogate the possession movie and Us did the same with doppelgängers, Nope goes all in on flying saucers. So, Emerald wants the kind of proof that only video footage can offer. She wants her "Oprah shot", as well as a hefty payday. Soon, the brother-sister duo are buying new surveillance equipment — which piques the interest of UFO-obsessed electronics salesman Angel Torres (Brandon Perea, The OA) — and also enlisting renowned cinematographer Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott, Veni Vidi Vici) to capture the lucrative image. Cue plenty of faces staring up in shock and wonder, as Steven Spielberg has made a mainstay of his films — and cue a movie that nods to Jaws as much as Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Peele makes smartly and playfully cineliterate flicks, which aren't content to merely wink and nudge, but instead say "yep" themselves: yep to all the tropes and symbols that the comedian-turned-filmmaker can filter through his own lens, and his determination to unearth the reality of living in America today, just as he did when he was making some of this century's best skits on Key & Peele. Indeed, Nope is keenly aware of the lure and power of spectacle, especially the on-screen kind, which also echoes through in the picture's other pivotal character. Ricky 'Jupe' Park (Steven Yeun, Minari) isn't involved in the Haywoods' attempts to snap upwards, but the former child star runs a neighbouring theme park called Jupiter's Claim, which cashes in on his big hit role in a movie called Kid Sheriff. He's known for short-lived 90s sitcom Gordy's Home, too, starring opposite a chimpanzee, and moments of the show also pop up in Peele's film. Read our full review. THE PRINCESS Finding a moment or statement from The Princess to sum up The Princess is easy. Unlike the powerful documentary's subject in almost all aspects of her life from meeting the future King of England onwards, viewers have the luxury of choice. Working solely with archival materials, writer/director Ed Perkins (Tell Me Who I Am) doesn't lack in chances to demonstrate how distressing it was to be Diana, Princess of Wales — and the fact that his film can even exist also underscores that point. While both The Crown and Spencer have dramatised Diana's struggles with applauded results, The Princess tells the same tale as it was incessantly chronicled in the media between 1981–1997. The portrait that emanates from this collage of news footage, tabloid snaps and TV clips borders on dystopian. It's certainly disturbing. What kind tormented world gives rise to this type of treatment just because someone is famous? The one we all live in, sadly. Perkins begins The Princess with shaky visuals from late in August 1997, in Paris, when Diana and Dodi Fayed were fleeing the paparazzi on what would be the pair's last evening. The random voice behind the camera is excited at the crowds and commotion, not knowing how fatefully the night would end. That's telling, haunting and unsettling, and so is the clip that immediately follows. The filmmaker jumps back to 1981, to a then 19-year-old Diana being accosted as she steps into the street. Reporters demand answers on whether an engagement will be announced, as though extracting private details from a teenager because she's dating Prince Charles is a right. The Princess continues in the same fashion, with editors Jinx Godfrey (Chernobyl) and Daniel Lapira (The Boat) stitching together example after example of a woman forced to be a commodity and expected to be a spectacle, all to be devoured and consumed. Listing comparable moments within The Princess' riveting frames is easy; they snowball relentlessly into an avalanche. Indeed, after the film shows Charles and Diana's betrothal news and how it's received by the press and public, the media scrutiny directed Diana's way becomes the subject of a TV conversation. "I think it's going to be much easier. I think we're going to see a change in the attitude of the press. I think that now she's publicly one of the royal family, all this telephoto lens business will stop," a talking head from four decades back asserts — and it isn't merely the benefit of hindsight that makes that claim sound deeply preposterous. Later, Perkins features a soundbite from a paparazzo, which proves equally foolish, not to mention a cop-out. "All we do is take pictures. The decision to buy the pictures is taken by the picture editors of the world, and they buy the pictures so their readers can see them. So at the end of the day, the buck stops with the readers," the photographer contends. The Princess isn't here to simplistically and squarely blame the public, but it does let the material it assembles — and the fact that there's so much of it, and that nothing here is new or astonishing even for a second because it's already been seen before — speak for itself. What a story that all unfurls, and how, including pondering the line between mass fascination and being complicit. Perkins eschews contemporary interviews and any other method of providing recent context, and also makes plain what everyone watching already knows: that escaping Diana has been impossible for more than 40 years now, during her life and after her death a quarter-century ago as well, but it was always worse by several orders of magnitude for Diana herself. The expressions that flicker across her face over the years, evolving from shy and awkward to determined and anguished, don't just speak volumes but downright scream. In the audio samples overlaid on paparazzi shots and ceaseless news coverage, that's dissected, too, and rarely with kindness for the woman herself. Read our full review. 6 FESTIVALS Three friends, a huge music festival worth making a mega mission to get to and an essential bag of goon: if you didn't experience that exact combination growing up in Australia, did you really grow up in Australia? That's the mix that starts 6 Festivals, too, with the Aussie feature throwing in a few other instantly familiar inclusions to set the scene. Powderfinger sing-alongs, scenic surroundings and sun-dappled moments have all filled plenty of teenage fest trips, and so has an anything-it-takes mentality — and for the film's central trio of Maxie (Rasmus King, Barons), Summer (Yasmin Honeychurch, Back of the Net) and James (Rory Potter, Ruby's Choice), they're part of their trip to Utopia Valley. But amid dancing to Lime Cordiale and Running Touch, then missing out on Peking Duk's stroke-of-midnight New Year's Eve set after a run-in with security, a shattering piece of news drops. Suddenly these festival-loving friends have a new quest: catching as much live music as they can to help James cope with cancer. The first narrative feature by Bra Boys and Fighting Fear director Macario De Souza, 6 Festivals follows Maxie, Summer and James' efforts to tour their way along the east coast festival circuit. No, there are no prizes for guessing how many gigs are on their list, with the Big Pineapple Music Festival, Yours and Owls and Lunar Electric among the events on their itinerary. Largely road-tripping between real fests, and also showcasing real sets by artists spanning Dune Rats, Bliss n Eso, G Flip, B Wise, Ruby Fields, Dope Lemon, Stace Cadet and more, 6 Festivals dances into the mud, sweat and buzz — the crowds, cheeky beers and dalliances with other substances that help form this coming-of-age rite-of-passage, aka cramming in as many festivals as you possibly can from the moment your parents will let you, as well. This is also a cancer drama, however, which makes for an unsurprisingly tricky balancing act, especially after fellow Aussie movie Babyteeth tackled the latter so devastatingly well so recently. Take that deservedly award-winning film, throw in whichever music festival documentary takes your fancy, then add The Bucket List but with teens — that's 6 Festivals. There's a touch of the concert-set 9 Songs as well, obviously sans sex scenes. Spotting the dots connected by De Souza and Sean Nash's (a Home and Away and Neighbours alum) script isn't difficult. That said, neither is spying the movie's well-intentioned aim. Riding the ecstatically bustling festival vibe, and surveying everything from the anticipation-laden pre-fest excitement through to the back-to-reality crash afterwards, 6 Festivals is an attempt to capture and celebrate the fest experience, as well as a concerted effort to face a crucial fact: that, as much as a day in the mosh pit feels like an escape and is always worth cherishing, it only sweeps away life's stark truths momentarily. The film's core threesome have their fair share of stresses; pivotally, 6 Festivals sticks with believable dramas. James faces his diagnosis, treatment and his mother's (Briony Williams, Total Control) worries, all while trying to recruit the feature's array of musical acts for his own dream event. Scoring backstage access comes courtesy of up-and-coming Indigenous muso Marley (debutant Guyala Bayles), who graces most of the lineups and shared a childhood with Summer, united by their respective mothers' struggles with addiction — and, now they've crossed paths again, offers to mentor her pal's own singing career. As for Maxie, his drug-dealing older brother Kane (Kyuss King, also from Barons) is usually at the same fests pressuring him into carrying his stash. They're the only family each other has, so saying no doesn't seem an option. Read our full review. 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 May 5, May 12, May 19 and May 26; June 2, June 9, June 16, June 23 and June 30; and July 7, July 14, July 21 and July 28, and August 4. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Petite Maman, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Firestarter, Operation Mincemeat, To Chiara, This Much I Know to Be True, The Innocents, Top Gun: Maverick, The Bob's Burgers Movie, Ablaze, Hatching, Mothering Sunday, Jurassic World Dominion, A Hero, Benediction, Lightyear, Men, Elvis, Lost Illusions, Nude Tuesday, Ali & Ava, Thor: Love and Thunder, Compartment No. 6, Sundown, The Gray Man, The Phantom of the Open, The Black Phone, Where the Crawdads Sing, Official Competition, The Forgiven, Full Time, Murder Party and Bullet Train.
With over 45 million visitors globally, Body Worlds is one of the world's most visited health and wellness exhibitions. It's also frequently described as a "life changing experience" — visitors can expect to leave with an understanding of the marvel that is the human body. Now, the original exhibition of real human bodies is coming to Australia for the first time this August. The Body Worlds Vital exhibition, on display at the Melbourne Showgrounds from August 13 till November 18, takes attendees on an intricate journey of the workings of the human body, through an authentic, visual display of over 150 donated specimens. The human bodies and body parts, donated for the benefit of public education, have gone through a meticulous process of plastination, and demonstrate the complexity, resilience and vulnerability of the human body in distress, disease and optimal health. The exhibitions were founded by anatomist and scientist Dr Gunther von Hagens and physician and conceptual designer Dr Angelina Whalley. And all the specimens displayed at the exhibitions are from an established body donation program with consenting donors — so far 17,000 bodies from around the world have been donated to Dr von Hagens' Institute for Plastination. The Australian tour specifically focuses on contemporary diseases and ailments and how everyday lifestyle choices can improve health and wellness, to live with vitality. The 150 specimens on display stem are preserved through a scientific process that replaces body fluids with polymers. Interactive elements include the Anatomical Mirror, where visitors will see how organs are positioned in their own body, a photo display that showcases longevity and healthy ageing, and healthy organs shown in direct comparison with diseased organs. The exhibition will be open daily, from 10am–5pm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 10am–6.30pm Thursday and Friday, and 9.30am–6.30pm Saturday and Sunday.
Starting at the end of November and stretching into 2014, the legendary tales of Sleeping Beauty and Spartacus will light up the nation’s silver screens. But these aren’t the classic films we’re talking about, but rather the latest productions from Moscow's celebrated Bolshoi Ballet, broadcast into cinemas around Australia (and the world). The 2013-14 cinema program includes five ballets, each of which will screen twice in select theatres around the country. The first, in late November, will be of Aram Khachaturian’s Spartacus, generally considered to be among the greatest works in the Bolshoi’s repertoire. December will see encore screenings of the company’s acclaimed 2012 performance of Marius Petipa’s Sleeping Beauty. This will allow the season to grand jeté into the new year with a trio of more recent works, beginning with Jewels in February, followed by Lost Illusions in March and concluding with The Golden Age in May. For a full list of participating cinemas, click here.
Good Food Month's 2021 comeback edition got a little sidetracked due to Melbourne's latest COVID-19 outbreak (thanks again, COVID). But now, with the snap lockdown done and dusted, it's kicking on to deliver a few tasty weeks of lunch feasts, chef-led dinners, wine-fuelled parties and more. The perfect post-lockdown treat for food-lovers, really, and an excellent way to give some love to Victoria's hospitality scene. Expect edible cocktails at a low-waste tiki party, indulge in a Turkish long lunch at Yagiz, or celebrate the return of Rocco's Bologna Discoteca with an evening of meatball subs and Italian wines. Here's our pick of all the Good Food Month 2021 events that promise to warm up your winter. Spots are limited, so book in now for a top-notch feed and leave the memory of lockdown cooking far behind you.
Melbourne's various arts festivals aren't short on highlights, but fans of cinema and music can usually look forward to a Hear My Eyes session come Melbourne International Film Festival time. That's when a beloved flick comes back to the big screen, accompanied by a live — and all-new, completely original — score that's played while film lovers sit, watch and listen. In 2023, however, Hear My Eyes is heading to citywide cultural festival RISING in June first. On the agenda: a film that's not even a decade old but is already a classic, as well as just one piece of proof in a long list that Robert Pattinson makes stellar role choices when he's not playing a sparkly vampire. In 2017, heist thriller Good Time was a standout. Following one wild night in New York City as small-time criminal Connie (Pattinson, The Batman) tries to find some cash to get his brother out of jail, it's a pulsating effort from directors Benny and Josh Safdie — who went on to make the also-exceptional Uncut Gems afterwards. Usually, Good Time boasts a helluva thumping, nerve-shredding electronic soundtrack by Oneohtrix Point Never, who also did the same for Uncut Gems. But Hear My Eyes is tasking Big Yawn and Teether with coming up with a brand-new live score on Friday, June 9 at the Melbourne Recital Centre. That means rhythm and rap, as designed to suit the film's relentless pace and vibe. This movie-and-music session joins past Hear My Eyes gigs such as Pan's Labyrinth, Chopper, Two Hands, Drive, Girlhood and Suspiria. Obviously, these shows are never the same twice. And, it sits on a packed RISING 2023 lineup that spans more than 400 artists over 12 days of visual art, culture, music, performance and food. A fellow highlight for movie lovers: Euphoria, a multi-screen film installation starring Cate Blanchett, which will fill Melbourne Town Hall.
Some stories are so wild that they can only be true, and the tale of Australian cult The Family is definitely one of them. That's worth remembering when it finally becomes your next homegrown streaming obsession — in fact, you probably won't be able to forget it — with Disney+ taking inspiration from the sinister Aussie sect for a new eight-part series called The Clearing. If you're new to The Family — and you didn't see the excellent and supremely creepy 2016 documentary that shares the cult's name, or the 2019 series The Cult of the Family, both by filmmaker Rosie Jones — then strap yourself in for quite the story. It was very real, forming in the 1960s around Melbourne, with charismatic yoga teacher Anne Hamilton-Byrne at its head. A cult run by a woman is already extremely rare, but this tale also includes adopting kids who looked identical, dressing them in matching clothing, claiming that Hamilton-Byrne was a living god and, because that's not enough, a lot of LSD. Police raided the sect's Lake Eildon compound back in 1987, all those children were removed from the property, and Hamilton-Byrne and her husband fled Australia, but were arrested in the US in 1993. [caption id="attachment_611844" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Family[/caption] There's more to this tale, which inspired JP Pomare's novel In the Clearing — and that's what The Clearing adapts. The show will step into the fictionalised but still chaotic details by following a woman who starts to confront her nightmarish past to stop a secret cult that's gathering up children to serve its master plan. Unsurprisingly, the mood will be tense, with the Disney+ series firmly a psychological thriller. Cast-wise, almost every famous Aussie acting name possible is involved, or so it seems, including Teresa Palmer (Ride Like a Girl), Miranda Otto (True Colours) and Guy Pearce (Mare of Easttown), as well as Claudia Karvan (Bump) and Mark Coles-Smith (Mystery Road: Origin). Also set to appear on-screen: Hazem Shammas (The Twelve), Kate Mulvany (Hunters), Xavier Samuel (Elvis), Anna Lise Phillips (Fires), Harry Greenwood (Wakefield) Erroll Shand (The Justice of Bunny King), Doris Younane (Five Bedrooms), Miah Madden (Dive Club), Julia Savage (Mr Inbetween), Gary Sweet (Wentworth), Alicia Gardiner (Offspring), Matt Okine (The Other Guy) and Jeremy Blewitt (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), plus Lily La Torre (Run Rabbit Run) and Ras-Samuel Welda'abzgi (Neighbours). We told you it was a hefty list. [caption id="attachment_862740" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Cult of the Family[/caption] Behind the lens, Jeffrey Walker (Lambs of God) and Gracie Otto (Seriously Red) are on directing duties, with Elise McCredie (Stateless) and Matt Cameron (Jack Irish) creating and writing The Clearing — with help from co-writer Osamah Sami (Ali's Wedding). The Clearing is one of Disney+'s first three newly commissioned local scripted dramas — its first three ever, in fact — alongside The Artful Dodger and Last Days of the Space Age. There's obviously no trailer for The Clearing yet, but you can check out the trailer for The Family below: The Clearing will stream via Disney+, with a release date yet to be revealed — we'll update you with further details when they're announced. Top image: The Cult of the Family.
Go to the cinema in India and you’re in for a real show — answering the blower at pivotal narrative moments and launching into loud, unbridled conversation, heavy jostling, impromptu sing-a-long's minus the bouncing red ball and throwing betel nut in particularly involving sequences are all common practice. Amidst all this lively commotion it’s easy to lose sight of the real action taking place onscreen, a crying shame considering the vividly crafted, infectiously emotive hyper-realities for which the Indian film industry has become world famous. This May, the second annual Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, which fortuitously falls on the 100 year anniversary of Indian films, brings a broad selection of more than 60 of India and the wider sub-continent’s best cinema to local Hoyts and ACMI theatres. Highlights include ACMI’s 100 Years of Indian Cinema program, pure sequin encrusted escapism via Hurrah Bollywood and the counter-balancing Beyond Bollywood, a collection of experimental, art house films that suggest a deeper side to the industry, beyond much appreciated heaving bosoms and random explosions of song. Those wishing to become part of the action, a la the aforementioned Indian fondness for audience participation, can partake in the Bollywood Dance Competition at Fed Square on May 4, or attend one of multiple corresponding masterclasses, hosted by Bollywood’s finest throughout the festival. BYO bindi. Image via Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2013
UPDATE, Wednesday, October 9: Cheri's opening has been delayed and is now set to open its doors on Wednesday, October 30. Darling Group is best known for opening and acquiring some of Melbourne's top cafes (Higher Ground, Top Paddock, The Terrace, Kettle Black), while recently branching out into the restaurant scene (Token and Stringers). Like many of the larger hospitality groups in Melbourne, the Darling Group continues to expand (even if the industry is struggling right now), preparing to open Cheri — a new all-day eatery located right across from South Melbourne Market — on Wednesday, October 9. Cheri has taken over neighbouring sites Bibelot and Chez Dre, transforming them into one huge 150-seat venue that will be open from 7am–5pm every day of the week. Darling Group's Executive Pastry Chef Michael Germanos is making sure Cheri will be home to incredible pastries, cakes and bread, made on-site every morning to be exclusively sold here and across all of Darling Group's other venues. Expect an expansive collection of sweet and savoury croissants, classic eclairs, small and large tarts and cakes, sourdough loaves, baguettes, piadinas and focaccia sandwiches. It's giving full bakery energy throughout the morning, while also serving up an all-day dining menu that covers most of your breakfast and lunch bases. Brekkie bites will include polenta porridge with confit spiced dates, mandarin, creme fraiche, cinnamon and pistachios; croissant loaf french toast with maple syrup and cultured butter; eggs benedict served on a croissant wheel; and a lamb merguez fry-up with poached eggs, za'atar yogurt, preserved lemon, mint and pita bread. This is a stacked morning menu that reads like those at Melbourne's best breakfast spots. For lunch, you've got ricotta gnocchi with pancetta, broad bean leaf verde, spring peas, stracciatella and green onion oil; chicken cotoletta with sprouting broccoli leaves, asparagus and cafe de Paris sauce; and seven different pizzas made with 72-hour fermented dough. Pair this all with some signature cocktails — you can never go wrong with a cheeky bloody mary — teas, shakes, sodas, and a decadent Cheri hot chocolate that's made with milk chocolate, whipped cream and crema di pistachio. You can drop by this spot for a quick takeaway pastry and coffee, or choose to sit in the main dining room or 50-person courtyard — when the sun is shining. We have high expectations for Cheri, not only because Darling Group has proven it knows how to cafe, but because this food menu sounds like an absolute banger. [caption id="attachment_974006" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Darling Group Director Nick Seoud, Executive Chef Ashley Hicks and Creative Director Chris Seoud.[/caption] Cheri — located at 285-287 Coventry Street, South Melbourne — is slated to open on Wednesday, October 9, and will be open from 7am–5pm daily. For more information, check out the venue's website. Images: Julian Lallo.
Looks like a few Black Keys-lovin' Bluesfest ticketholders will be reconsidering their Easter long weekend plans, The Black Keys have cancelled all Asia Pacific shows due to injury. Drummer Patrick Carney has sustained a serious shoulder injury, so the duo have cancelled all forthcoming concerts in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, part of their Turn Blue world tour, cancelled up until April 23. "We are very sorry to have to cancel our upcoming performances through April 23," the band said in an official statement. "Patrick sustained a dislocated and broken shoulder in January that required surgery. Working with the doctors, surgeons and physiotherapists since January, we had expected Patrick to be ready to return to touring in April. The recovery process and physical therapy has taken longer than anticipated and unfortunately Patrick is still unable to perform and needs additional time to heal. We thank all of our fans for their ongoing support and we look forward to getting back on the road as soon as possible.” "We were incredibly excited about the shows that were about to happen but there is no way around cancelling the tour with the extent of Pat’s injury," said Brian Taranto from Love Police Touring. "You just can’t have The Black Keys with no drums. We sincerely apologise for the hassle this cancellation will cause fans.” The cancellation isn't good news for Bluesfest in particular, coming just weeks after headliner Lenny Kravitz also pulled out of Bluesfest and his Australian shows due to conflicting touring commitments. All tickets (outside of Bluesfest Byron Bay) will be refunded — wherever you bought them from. Rescheduling ain't happening. For Bluesfest refund policies, visit bluesfest.com.au. CANCELLED TOUR DATES April 2 Riverstage - Brisbane, Australia April 3 Bluesfest - Byron Bay, Australia April 5 Rolling Green - Rochford Wines Yarra Valley, Australia April 7 Margaret Court Arena - Melbourne, Australia April 10 Qantas Credit Union Arena - Sydney, Australia April 11 Rolling Green - Bimbadgen Winery Hunter Valley, Australia April 14 Red Hill Auditorium - Perth, Australia April 16 Entertainment Centre Theatre - Adelaide, Australia April 18 Horncastle Arena - Christchurch, New Zealand April 19 Vector Arena - Auckland, New Zealand April 22 Studio Coast - Tokyo, Japan April 23 Studio Coast - Tokyo, Japan
Liquor lovers, prepare yourselves for a spirited affair at Cumulus Up in Flinders Lane. Coming to the CBD bar at the end of February, the Spirit Fair will celebrate some of the finest Australian small batches in the business. If you're looking to whet your whistle, this is the perfect place to do so. Set to take place from midday until 4pm on Saturday, February 23, the event will cater to drinkers of every persuasion. While the lineup has not yet been announced, last year's event saw the likes of Fire Drum Vodka, Four Pillars Gin, Applewood Distillery and best whisky in the world winners Sullivans Cove. And yes, your ticket entitles you to a taste of everything on offer — as well as a welcome drink on arival. You'll also get the chance to chat with many of the distillers about the best way to enjoy the boozy fruits of their labour. That's assuming you can string two words together, of course. Snacks from the Cumulus Up kitchen should help soak up some of the alcohol, with your ticket including one dish — either a slow-roasted suckling pig roll or the bar's signature confit duck waffle. Images: Harvard Wang.
Can one city have too many burger bars? Melbourne certainly seems determined to put that question to the test. Here to join the party is South Australian cult burger joint, Benny's, opening their first Victorian location on Chapel Street. It's a bold move, especially considering there's competition from Betty's, Hello Sam, Leonard's House of Love and Kung Fu Burger on all sides. Sleepy Adelaide this is not. But Benny's has developed a serious reputation in Adelaide as the go-to for a cheat meal, specialising in juicy, hard-to-hold-in-two-hands, American-style burgers. [caption id="attachment_902425" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Matt Turner[/caption] If this is your first visit to Benny's, start with something simple like the cheeseburger. Then work your way through the menu, up to monsters like the Fat Boy: an Angus beef patty, 8-hour slow-cooked brisket, double cheese, BBQ sauce and onion. All your usual burger friends are here too: mac and cheese, milkshakes you struggle to suck through a straw and chips smothered in gravy. There are over twenty on the menu and Benny's is even giving out 300 freebies on its opening day on Friday, June 2. Mark this one in your diaries, launch day freebies from 5pm will include the signature cheeseburger, a classic chicken burger or a vego cheeseburger, on the house. [caption id="attachment_902426" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Matt Turner[/caption] There are also plans to launch Melbourne's first bottomless burger brunch later in the year, which sounds like a truly incredible hangover cure. Images: supplied. Benny's officially opens on Friday, June 2 at 560 Chapel Street, just opposite Chapelli's. The free burger special is running that day only for the 300 customers who dine-in from 5pm, so get your skates on. After that, it will be open Monday–Thursdays and Sunday 11am–10pm, plus 11am–12am on Friday and Saturday.
It's mid-August, so you should probably start getting your New Year's Eve plans in order. Victorian NYE festival Beyond the Valley has just announced the lineup for their celebrated four-day festival in Lardner, Victoria and it's pretty bloody good, so could be a solid option. Just four festivals old, the Victorian festival is still pretty fresh on the New Year's circuit, starting out in 2014. Despite this, they've managed to secure a rather colossal lineup, featuring charismatic rap headliner Schoolboy Q, Sydney electro legends The Presets, falsetto-flaunting folk favourite Matt Corby, UK grime gem Stormzy, East London 'wonky funk' singer Nao and 21-year-old Channel Islands-born producer Mura Masa. Beyond the Valley takes over Lardner Park, Warragul, Victoria from December 28 to January 1. Anyway, here's what you came for. BEYOND THE VALLEY 2017 LINEUP: Schoolboy Q The Presets Matt Corby Stormzy Mura Masa Stephan Bodzin (live) Little Dragon 2MNANY DJs (DJ Set) Adana Twins Âme (live) Amy Shark Andhim The Belligerents B.Traits Crooked Colours Cub Sport Cut Copy Dean Lewis DMAs Dom Dolla FKJ GL George Maple Harvey Sutherland & Bermuda Hayden James Hot Dub Time Machine Ivan Ooze Jack River Lastlings Late Nite Tuff Guy Marek Hemmann Meg Mac NAO Patrick Topping Pleasurekraft The Preatures Princess Nokia Ruby Fields Sampa The Great San Cisco Skegss Beyond the Valley is happening December 28 to January 1 at Lardner Park, Warragul, Victoria. Presale tickets on sale Wednesday, August 16, with general tickets on sale Thursday. August 24, from www.beyondthevalley.com.au. Images: Beyond the Valley.
Among all of the dream jobs that everyone wishes they had, picking the globe's top stretches of sun, surf and sand sits up there with taste-testing new gins and trying out every bar and eatery in Tokyo. That particularly proves true whenever a new list of the world's best beaches is revealed — although, Australians can always pretend by heading to one of the high-ranking spots on our own shores. In FlightNetwork's just-announced lineup of the planet's best beaches, which ranks 50 idyllic locations, four Aussie spots made the cut. And, in news that will come as no surprise to anyone, the Whitsundays' Whitehaven Beach came in at number two. It's the latest accolade for the picturesque Queensland favourite, after it was named TripAdvisor's best Aussie beach earlier this year. Hyams Beach in New South Wales' Jervis Bay also made the top ten, placing eighth, while Western Australia was responsible for the country's other two top spots — with Lucky Bay at 18th and Turquoise Bay at 29th. If you're wondering which coastal oasis beat them all to first place, that'd be Grace Bay Beach in Turks and Caicos. A British Overseas Territory situated around 1,000 kilometres from Miami in the North Atlantic Ocean, it boasts warm Atlantic waters, its own barrier reef and sunny weather approximately 319 days of the year. The picks were made by more than 600 travel journalists, editors, bloggers and agencies, aka folks who work in the travel and beach trade, and therefore know their stuff. Among their other selections, Anse Lazio in Seychelles, Pink Sands Beach in the Bahamas, Navagio Beach in Greece, Baia Dos Porcos in Brazil, Playa Paraiso and Hidden Beach in Mexico, and Trunk Bay in the United States Virgin Islands all rounded out the top ten. Thinking about taking your own trip to Whitehaven Beach? Check out our Outside Guide to the Whitsundays. Via: FlightNetwork. Image: Damien Dempsey via Wikicommons.
Feeling warm, Melbourne? There's a very good reason for that. Seeing in 2019 with a scorcher, the city has been sweltering through quite the toasty day — the hottest in five years, in fact. As predicted earlier this week, the mercury soared past 42 degrees on Friday, January 4, hitting 42.6 in Melbourne, 45.8 at Avalon and 43.8 in Moorabbin. That's more than 16 degrees above Melbourne's average top January temperature according to Weatherzone, although it's still lower than the city's highest recorded January maximum of 45.6 degrees back in 1939. https://twitter.com/weatherzone/status/1081048522504298496 Extra scorching temperatures also blazed across the rest of the state — with highs of over 46 degrees experienced around Mildura, Swan Hill and Walpeup. The particularly hot spell comes after several similarly baking days last month, exceeding the 38-degree maximum experienced in Melbourne's brief early-December heatwave. And, it tops the city's efforts post-Christmas, when the mercury climbed to 37.4 degrees on December 27. Thankfully, the scorching summer blast is set to be short-lived. BOM expects a gusty southwest change to arrive late on Friday, heralding a return to mid-20s temps. In fact, the mercury is currently dropping around the state, including a 12-degree dip across a period of 10 minutes in Geelong. https://twitter.com/BOM_Vic/status/1081042375416442880 Melbourne's Saturday forecast is a considerably mild 21 degrees, with temps set to stay below 27 until Thursday, January 10. Via Weatherzone. Image: udeyismail via Flickr.
They're called twin films: two movies with a similar idea that reach screens around the same time. Think Deep Impact and Armageddon, Dark City and The Matrix, and The Prestige and The Illusionist — plus The Raid and Dredd, Upgrade and Venom, and Skate Kitchen and Mid90s. Yes, the list goes on (and on and on). The same concept applies on the small screen, too, as two of 2020's new shows are demonstrating. Earlier in the year, Netflix debuted Space Force, which starred Steve Carell as a military man tasked with establishing the space-focused new branch of the US armed forces. Now, via US network Showtime — and streaming service Stan in Australia — Moonbase 8 is also trying to turn the quest to leave earth into a sitcom. Featuring Fred Armisen, John C Reilly and Tim Heidecker, and set to start dropping from Sunday, November 8, Moonbase 8 follows three men who are eager to take part in a lunar mission. Skip (Portlandia's Armisen), Rook (Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'s Heidecker) and Cap (Reilly) are the epitome of enthusiastic, in fact, and they're doing their absolute best to complete their training at NASA's Moon Base Simulator in the desert in Winslow, Arizona. But whether they'll stay sane through the process is another matter entirely. The show's three stars also serve as Moonbase 8's executive producers, while the series is penned by Heidecker with Portlandia and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! writer — and Baskets creator — Jonathan Krisel. And, based on the just-dropped first trailer, the new comedy promises plenty of stir-crazy silliness between three characters living in close quarters — something immensely relatable in 2020, obviously. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KECl99n-DI0 Moonbase 8 starts streaming in Australia via Stan on Sunday, November 8. The New Zealand streaming date is yet to be confirmed — we'll update you with further details when they come to hand. Top image: Courtesy of A24 Films/SHOWTIME.
