UPDATE, November 13, 2020: Bohemian Rhapsody is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. To see Freddie Mercury take to the stage is to see a giant, one who leaps, slinks, prowls, thrusts and struts above the masses. Mercury wasn't a tall man, but he couldn't have had a bigger presence when he was performing. It's evident in every clip of Queen's gigs, and each of the British band's music videos too, but it's never more apparent than in the group's Live Aid show. For 20 minutes at Wembley Stadium on July 13, 1985, in a set played to 72,000 London concert-goers and beamed via television to a global audience of 1.9 billion, Mercury was the towering champion of the world. Unsurprisingly, Queen's Live Aid performance forms a crucial part of Bohemian Rhapsody. Mercury's walk to the stage gives the film its opening moments, via glimpses of his moustache, sunglasses, crotch and singlet-adorned back, while the actual set itself provides the movie's climax. Filmed on the first day of the picture's production, it's an electrifying sequence made all the more so by Rami Malek's spot-on performance as Mercury. But the fact that the blistering show was a greatest hits set really couldn't be more appropriate for the film endeavouring to recreate its glory. The Live Aid gig featured 'Bohemian Rhapsody', naturally, as well as 'Radio Ga Ga', 'We Will Rock You', 'We Are the Champions' and more, and it gave everyone watching exactly what they'd hoped for. Bohemian Rhapsody is a greatest hits movie. It's the neat, easily digestible version of Queen's career, and of Mercury's professional and personal ups and downs along with them. It's also highly sanitised, and even factually altered where it's more dramatically convenient. Here, the Zanzibar-born Parsi man originally known as Farrokh Bulsara chats to Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) at a pub gig on the night their lead singer quits, talks them into giving him a shot as their new vocalist, and unleashes his now-iconic four-octave range to change music history. Chart success, tours, fame and raucous parties all follow, even after the band's first record label exec insists that the six-minute 'Bohemian Rhapsody' will never be played on radio. Meanwhile, when he's not brandishing his flamboyant stage persona, Freddie struggles with the expectations of his stern father (Ace Bhatti), his complicated feelings for his girlfriend Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), his sexuality, plenty of drugs and his eventual diagnosis with HIV. Like the best-of releases that fill record stores and try to condense a musician or band's finest work to a single disc, a greatest hits film is never going to cut as deep as a proper album. That doesn't instantly make Bohemian Rhapsody a bad movie, or make best-of records bad records either. You know what you're getting when you listen to a greatest hits album, and it's exactly what's on offer with this formulaic biopic — but it's still largely enjoyable. This isn't exactly real life, and in many parts, it's purely fantasy. And yet, it's an engaging, albeit highly superficial interpretation of Queen and Mercury's heyday as painted with the broadest of strokes and featuring all of the expected tracks. As with many rock biopics before it, Bohemian Rhapsody is all about the gloss, sheen and popular hits that reinforce the existing image of Queen and Mercury, rather than daring to delve beneath the surface. Covering a 15-year time span, this is the band-approved version of the story, not the reportedly darker affair that was originally set to star Sacha Baron Cohen. Still, Bohemian Rhapsody energetically takes to its chosen task. Director Bryan Singer — as well as the uncredited Dexter Fletcher, who took over when Singer was fired two-thirds of the way through shooting — bounces through a template that strings simplistic drama between songs, often using the former to give weight to the latter. The filmmakers also capitalise on a fact that has made the Mamma Mia flicks such a huge success with fans: a killer soundtrack can do plenty of heavy lifting. Great songs don't make for a great movie by themselves, and Bohemian Rhapsody never reaches greatness, or even approaches it. It's entertaining as it hits its intended marks, although it remains noticeable (and even insulting to Mercury's legacy as a queer icon) that the picture skims over certain details. But, regardless of its handling of reality, the film delivers a supersonic turn by Malek. Far, far away from the reserved tension of Mr Robot, he walks, talks, belts out a tune, wears the tightest of pants and juts out his noticeable teeth just like the charismatic Mercury. Malek also gives texture to the movie's slight dives into deeper territory that isn't necessarily in the script — in particular, when Mercury grapples with the loneliness behind his life of excess, fights to retain his connection with Austin and learns of his illness. Both splashed loudly across big and small stages, and giving soulful, lonely stares in quiet moments, it's a performance that's a kind of magic. He will rock you, even if Bohemian Rhapsody itself favours making a big noise over taking on the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27zlBpzdOZg
The largest-ever showcase of living Australian artists will casually drop by Ballarat this spring, with the inaugural Biennale of Australian Art (BOAA) in town from September 21 until November 6. It's big news for the small city, with the six-week event set to be a major drawcard for the Central Highlands region of Victoria. There'll be 150 artists coming from all reaches of Australia, making up 65 curated solo exhibitions, as the Biennale aims to have equal representation of artists from every state and territory. Taking place in over 14 different venues across Ballarat, its art points will certainly be amped up several notches by the array of visual arts and live music set to take over the town. With the event boasting a strong focus on Indigenous talent, art from the Numina sisters, Abdul Abdullah, Kim Anderson, David Jensz and Peggy Griffiths will be on display, among work from over a hundred others. Music-wise, the BOAA Band Wagon will be doing the rounds: a specially built music truck that'll provide the sound staging for the event's outdoor gigs at Lake Wendouree and St Andrews Grounds, as well as concerts held at Ballarat's other music venues. In special events, there'll be a living sculpture fashion parade, an evening program called BOAA Dark and a lake sculpture walk, which turns Lake Wendouree into an outdoor gallery featuring 26 sculptures. Free mini buses, bikes and rickshaws will transport attendees around the art path, pausing at pit stops providing food and local beers and wines for your hungry, thirsty and very well-arted selves. With the Biennale expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors, Ballarat looks set to be a pretty busy little place over the six weeks. Two-day or six-week (festival) passes are available at $25 and $100 respectively, so start planning your road trips. The Biennale of Australian Art runs from September 21 until November 6 in Ballarat. For more information, visit the BOAA website.
As the Macrodata Refinement division has learned over two seasons so far, alongside a few other Lumon Industries staff as well, a company that literally messes with your brain as a condition of employment is hardly a great place to work. The shady organisation at the heart of Severance sure does love throwing parties for its hired hands, though — and whether you're keen on a music dance experience, a melon bar, an egg bar social, a waffle party, a coffee cozy, pineapple bobbing, a hall of funhouse mirrors or some choreography and merriment, you'll want to celebrate the Apple TV+ hit officially being renewed for season three. The news comes fresh from Severance's second season dropping its unforgettable final episode, and after a phenomenal sophomore run for the show in general — after it returned in January 2025 almost three years after its first season debuted. So, if you watched season two wrap up and instantly wondered if there'd be more to Mark S (Adam Scott, The Monkey) and Helly R's (Britt Lower, Darkest Miriam) tale, and everyone else's, you didn't have to wait long for an answer. "Making Severance has been one of the most-creatively exciting experiences I've ever been a part of," said Ben Stiller (Nutcrackers), one of the guiding forces behind the series — directing 11 episodes across two seasons to-date, including season two finale 'Cold Harbour', and also executive producing — announcing the show's renewal. "While I have no memory of this, I'm told making season three will be equally enjoyable, though any recollection of these future events will be forever and irrevocably wiped from my memory as well." Added Scott, who not only stars but is also among Severance's executive producers: "I couldn't be more excited to get back to work with Ben, Dan, the incredible cast and crew, Apple and the whole Severance team. Oh hey also — not a huge deal — but if you see my innie, please don't mention any of this to him. Thanks." There's no word yet as to when Severance season three will arrive, after Hollywood's strikes played a part in the extended wait for season two. The show's creator, writer and executive producer Dan Erickson noted that he "can't wait to continue spreading woe, frolic, dread and malice with these truly incredible people". Locking in Severance's return comes just a week after Apple TV+ also confirmed more episodes of another of its huge successes, Ted Lasso, which will be back for its fourth season sometime in the future. In season two of Severance, a few queries earned the show's attention. The first: what happens when a group of employees attempts to raise issues about their workplace? Mark S, Helly R and their colleagues Dylan (Zach Cherry, Fallout) and Irving (John Turturro, Mr & Mrs Smith) all found out, but also started asking more questions about their existence as innies, their forced subservience not only to Lumon but to their outies, and their hopes of releasing their own dreams and desires. Both within and beyond the company's walls, Mark's outie's quest to find his wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) also drives season two's narrative. Christopher Walken (Dune: Part Two), Patricia Arquette (High Desert), Tramell Tillman (Hunters), Jen Tullock (Perry Mason) and Michael Chernus (Carol & the End of the World) returned among the cast for season two, joined by new cast members Sarah Bock (Bruiser), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (La Palma), Gwendoline Christie (Wednesday), Bob Balaban (Asteroid City), Merritt Wever (Memory), Alia Shawkat (The Old Man) and John Noble (Twilight of the Gods). There's obviously no trailer for season three as yet, but check out the trailer for Severance season two below: Severance streams via Apple TV+ — and we'll update you with a release date for season three when one is announced. Read our review of season one and our season-two interview with Christopher Walken.
There are some truly incredible buildings in the world, but unless you have amazingly hi-res Google Street View or a platinum Amex there's just no way you can see them all. That's where architectural photography comes in. Bringing us images of the craziest buildings and landscapes around the world, these photographers constantly fill up our magazines, Tumblrs and Pinterests with pics from where we'd rather be. Now, they've been judged against one another. Each year the Arciad Awards pick the year's best work in architectural photography. There are thousands of dollars in prize money and the winners are bestowed with countless likes, shares and reblogs from all of the internet — and with good reason. The pictures picking up recognition at this year's awards documented Dubai's twister Cayan Tower (pictured above), the space-age Heydar Aliyev Center in Azerbaijan, and a sunken flea market in Barcelona. However the grandeur of the structure wasn't a prerequisite to photographic success. Other noted offerings included a tiny metropolitan roof space in South Korea, a cow shed in the Netherlands and a lone boxy home next to a creek in Ohio. The outright winner was a photograph (pictured below) that showed the aforementioned Azerbaijani architecture with jaw-dropping surrealism. Get ready to take a trip — these images will leave you with a serious case of wanderlust. All images via Arciad.
When it comes to what we drink, we can be creatures of habit. We reach for our go-tos: a cheap-yet-standout bottle of vino, ready-to-sip cocktail cans and brews we know and love. But, if you knew how simple it is to craft winning cocktails, you'd be stocking up your bar cart, filling your ice tray and inviting your mates round for a few cheeky ones ASAP. So together with The Bottle-O, and in honour of World Gin Day — which on Saturday, June 10, is fast approaching — we've found a few easy-peasy, three-step wintery cocktails that'll have you sipping gin like a pro. Ready to up your G&T game? Impress your mates with a martini? Add a slice of summer to the cooler months with a gimlet? We've got you. MALFY ROSA G&T The classic G&T is a favourite among many. It's deliciously bitter, spotlights your gin of choice and always refreshing. In this recipe, there's the added juiciness of Malfy Gin Rosa's grapefruit notes and the sweet kiss of a Med-inspired tonic. A wedge of citrus will add some party to your glass (and a sprig of rosemary will jazz it up further), but it'll be just as delicious without. And, if you're pressed for time (or really cannot be bothered), opt for a four-pack of Bombay Sapphire G&Ts or Gordon's Pink Gin & Sodas (if you'd rather leave the tonic) — just stealthily pour the fizz into a glass and your pals won't know the difference. Ingredients Serves one 30ml Malfy Gin Rosa 60ml Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic Grapefruit to serve Method Add Malfy Gin Rosa to a glass with ice and top up with tonic water. Garnish with a wedge of grapefruit and enjoy. ROKU GIMLET If you're starting to feel the winter blues — and a tropical holiday is nowhere in sight — this short, sweet, citrusy cocktail is the drink for you. It looks fancy, but once you've secured your coupe, the hardest part is done. You want your glass to be chilly, the liquor to be a delicious pour like Roku Gin and a selection of salty snacks alongside. If you can't find the Japanese spirit, opt for any of the other top-quality (yet affordable) options, like Hendrick's or Four Pillars. Ingredients Serves one 50ml Roku Gin 50ml lime syrup Lime to garnish Method Add Roku Gin and lime syrup to a mixing glass with ice, then stir until the glass feels very cold. Strain into a chilled coupe glass, top with a slice of lime and enjoy. FOUR PILLARS RARE DRY GIN MARTINI If you're looking to impress, the martini is having somewhat of a resurgence. Although its taste divides cocktail-lovers everywhere (some think it's perfection, some know it's too strong), it's the hero on many a cocktail list. Well, the secret to a good martini is in the quality and temperature of your gin: you want something special, and you want it ice cold. Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin is the bottle for you. It's classic, herbaceous and citrus-forward — and it's Aussie made. Just quietly, a nip or two of Hendrick's would do nicely too. Ingredients Serves one 60ml Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin 15ml dry vermouth 2 dashes orange bitters Lemon peel to garnish Method Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice, stir and then strain into a chilled martini glass. Top with a twist of lemon peel and enjoy. Whether you're a seasoned gin lover that's looking for a hot new way to enjoy your pour this winter, or you're a newbie looking to take a delicious dive in, these three recipes will sort you out. Celebrating World Gin Day on Saturday, June 10 will be that much more exciting with a group of friends, some gin chilling in the freezer and a trio of recipes that are easy to nail. To begin with gin, head to your local The Bottle-O and take your pick. The Bottle-O is the independent store slinging your favourite boozy sips all over Australia — and a standout spot to nab the gin for your cocktail of choice this World Gin Day. Ready to dive in? Head to the website. Imagery: Declan Blackall.
Everyone has their favourite local cafe. Whether you're in for a morning coffee or a genius sandwich, there's always a handful of go-to, never-fail, delightfully reliable places that you know and love within a stone's throw of your door. So in the spirit of sharing, we thought we'd let you in on a few of our writers' favourite picks, in partnership with Milklab and its brand-new oat milk. These are the great Melbourne cafes that helped our team get through lockdown — and are now helping us stay fuelled in the reopened city. TICKLED PINK, ELWOOD A recently opened sister site to the Thornbury cafe of the same name, Tickled Pink on Elwood's leafy Tennyson Street is all about good coffee, good food and good vibes. The menu features updated takes on classic breakfast and lunch dishes — pumpkin spiced bircher muesli, chilli eggs, feta and house-made chilli on a croissant and truffle benedict on Alaysa bread. There's also a great selection of cold-pressed juices, milkshakes and smoothies to wash it all down. When it comes to the coffee, Tickled Pink's Milklab oat cap is impressively creamy with just the right amount of froth. [caption id="attachment_809989" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tofu Studio[/caption] KELSO'S SANDWICH SHOPPE, ABBOTSFORD Since 2016, Kelso's has been a northside go-to for sandwiches, burgers or a New York-style chop cheese. Take a seat at the old-school, loosely American-style diner and order a cup of Coffee Supreme house blend filter, then roll up your sleeves to get involved with sambos like the Tuck Shop Salad which is a nostalgic must-try, or the excellent tuna melt. Pair your sandwich with crispy fries or hash browns, which are very hard to say no to. You'll also find regular weekend specials that are worth looking out for. COMMA TUCKSHOP, MOORABBIN Tucked away in the backstreets of Moorabbin, Comma Tuckshop knows a thing or two about good quality coffee, bagels and salads. The cafe on Tuck Street, an offshoot of nearby wine bar Comma Food & Wine, specialises in loaded gourmet bagels. We're talking the likes of Ora King salmon cured overnight in peppercorns, coriander seeds and chilli, paired with caper cream cheese, house pickles, red onion and dill; or Cape Grim hanger steak, which comes with potato chips and dill-pickle mayo and smoked scamorza. If you feel like something lighter, you can grab the superfood-packed chermoula cauliflower salad with freekeh. CABIN, HAMPTON Cabin is a light-filled café in the heart of Hampton with a suitably relaxed and cosy vibe. The north-facing spot is perfect on sunny days for both brunch with mates or for a solo coffee and a read in the rays. Seasonal produce is championed throughout the tidy all-day menu, which also includes a number of baked goods if you're after something snack-sized. Cabin also offers the answer to any smoothie or milkshake cravings you might have, with a very decent selection of both on offer. [caption id="attachment_831729" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bold & Italic Media[/caption] BICYCLE THIEVES, NORTHCOTE With a name that pays tribute to Northcote's Italian heritage, High Street's Bicycle Thieves is named after the classic 1948 Italian film of the same name. Yet despite nodding to overseas roots, everything here is made from scratch in-house including butter which is churned daily. There's plenty of space both inside and out and the cafe caters to all dietary requirements and cravings, with a creative, all-day menu that spans crumpets to ramen. Coffee by Duke is complemented by an impressive drinks list, from cold brew to kombucha to a selection of brunch-ready cocktails. MACKIE, MULGRAVE Mackie is a beautiful sun-filled cafe just off Mulgrave's Mackie Road that offers an extensive breakfast and lunch menu. For breakfast, it's hard to go past the curry- and coriander-accented chilli scramble, or 'banoffles' (that's Belgian waffles with banana, ice cream, salted caramel, strawberries and walnuts). The lunch menu includes classic cafe fare prepared well. A chilli-spiked burrito bowl, Moroccan lamb shoulder and a Southern-style fried chicken burger all feature. Don't skip the coffee here, either — the award-winning house blend features notes of cocoa and berry, boasts a smooth body and long, sweet finish, flavours which are further enhanced with the addition of Milklab oat. We challenged one of our writers to switch to oat milk for a week. Find out what they discovered here. Ask your barista for Milklab Oat or head to the website for more information. Top image: Bicycle Thieves by Bold & Italic Media
If you're the type of spirits aficionado who likes their tipples to taste exactly how they always have, then you probably aren't all that fond of creative booze flavours. You mightn't be a fan of bloody shiraz gin, for instance. You likely didn't even give lamington vodka a try. And, well, peanut butter whiskey isn't going to be your thing either. For anyone that's now wondering how to make a peanut butter and jelly cocktail, this latest flavour from Sheep Dog Whiskey is probably already having the exact opposite effect. Yes, peanut butter whiskey is now a real thing that exists, and can be sipped by fans of both peanut butter and caramel-hued spirits. And, after launching in the US, where it's made, it is now available in Australian bottle shops. Taste-wise, you can expect the obvious — so, peanut butter and whiskey — however, this tipple also apparently comes with notes of vanilla and caramel popcorn as well. And if you're wondering how to drink it, the brand suggests going neat — or adding it to your next espresso martini. Other options include combining it with grape liqueur so that you really can have a PB&J-flavoured tipple, or whipping up a peanut butter old fashioned. Naturally, if you're not fond of peanuts, this definitely isn't for you. Sheep Dog Peanut Butter Whiskey is now available in Australia for $55 RRP a bottle — from BWS, Dan Murphy's and First Choice.
It didn't happen with Sofia Coppola in the director's chair, but taking a live-action swim in The Little Mermaid's ocean is definitely happening — in 2023, in cinemas everywhere, and with Halle Bailey (Grown-ish) slipping into Ariel's scales and tail. Wondering how that might turn out? Disney has just unveiled the initial teaser trailer for its latest double dip in its beloved catalogue, because the Mouse House just keeps giving its animated hits the flesh-and-blood treatment. Released at this year's D23, the company's fan expo and convention, the first sneak peek at the film doesn't dive into the story that viewers already know and adore — it doesn't need to given how popular the original movie is — but it does show Bailey as Ariel. More than that, it swishes through the mermaid's underwater realm, sunken ships, circular caves and all, and shows her staring up at the light above, pining for a different life. The soundtrack: the flick's star singing 'Part of Your World'. Fans of the original 1989 movie, aka everyone given how popular The Little Mermaid-themed events have proven over the years — such as screenings with live orchestral scores and cocktail experiences at aquariums — are well aware that Ariel dreams of being human, and is willing to make a deal with a sea witch to see her wishes come true. That involves a trade, though: giving up her voice to get legs in return, which'll allow her to live above the water. As well as Bailey as Ariel, this new version of The Little Mermaid features Jonah Hauer-King (World on Fire) as Eric, the human prince that Ariel falls for; Melissa McCarthy (Nine Perfect Strangers) as Ursula, said sea witch; and Javier Bardem (The Good Boss) as King Triton, Ariel's protective father. Also among the cast, on voice duties: Daveed Diggs (Snowpiercer) as Sebastian the crab, Jacob Tremblay (Doctor Sleep) as Flounder and Awkwafina (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) as Scuttle. Behind the camera, filmmaker Rob Marshall adds The Little Mermaid and its take on Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 fairy tale of the same name to his many big-screen musicals, alongside Chicago, Nine, Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns. And as for the tunes, they come courtesy of Alan Menken — returning from the original movie, as do all those old songs — and Lin-Manuel Miranda. If you're keeping track, when it hits cinemas next year, The Little Mermaid will join a hefty list. That's the list of animated Mouse House fare remade either with actors on-screen, photorealistic CGI or both, that is, and it includes Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, Lady and the Tramp, Mulan, Pinocchio and more. Check out the first trailer for The Little Mermaid below: The Little Mermaid will release in cinemas Down Under on May 25, 2023. Top image: Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you’re keen on your gin but not so passionate about the fake flavours that too often creep into your mixer, Karolina Partyka has a solution. She's the brains and brawn behind Blood Moon: an Australian, handcrafted tonic syrup that hit its $10,000 Pozible target in just three days and is now well on its way to a $20,000 stretch goal. Partyka has spent countless hours in her kitchen, grinding spices with an old-school mortar and pestle and mixing batch upon batch of tonic syrup, to come up with a winning recipe. She's also been digging up some ancient brews — and the rituals to go with them. Blood Moon is a non-alcoholic, concentrated syrup that's made to be diluted with either soda or still water and then matched with your favourite gin. Its key ingredient is cinchona bark — a 17th century answer to malaria and (most importantly) a natural source of quinine. This is what gives tonic its characteristically bitter hit, one far too often achieved via synthetic means. According to Partyka's Pozible campaign, one of Blood Moon’s early samplers described it as 'the difference between a single-origin cold-drip coffee and instant'. Not only does the syrup provide quinine as created by Mother Nature, it also delivers a rich, complex flavour profile — and therefore mixes well with tequila and whiskey too. Three variations will be released: Traditional Cinchona, which contains a combination of cinchona bark, citrus, herbs, spices and floral hints; Australian Native, which is the Traditional blend revamped with native fruits, seeds and leaves; and Unsweetened, which features all the goodness of the Traditional syrup, but without any sweeteners (real or artificial) at all. It's one for the sugar-quitters. To get yourself a bottle, get on board with Blood Moon’s Pozible campaign, which will run for another sixteen days.
The Swiss Alps has an impressive one. Canada's famed Whistler Bowl does as well. And now New South Wales' Kosciuszko National Park has just scored a spectacular suspension bridge, too. Head to this just-opened spot in the Snowy Mountains and you'll be walking across a record-breaking structure, in fact — because it takes the crown as Australia's highest suspension bridge. How high? Located between Guthega and Charlotte Pass in the Snowies, the new bridge sits a whopping 1627 metres above sea level. It's included in a new nine-kilometre track in the national park, and will eventually be part of the 55-kilometre Snowies Alpine Walk — which is opening in stages, with this marking the second leg. "The Snowies Alpine Walk is putting New South Wales on the map for multi-day hikes, and it'll be a must-do walk for anyone who loves Tasmania's Cradle Mountain Overland Track" said NSW Minister for Environment James Griffin, announcing the bridge's opening. "In fact, I reckon it'll be a strong competitor with the Overland," the Minister continued. Make the trek and you'll not only be moseying across the highest suspension bridge in the country — you'll be taking in the stunning scenery, including the alpine and sub-alpine landscapes that are unique to the Snowy Mountains region. Showcasing that terrain and its natural features, and helping cement the Snowies as a must-visit tourist destination, is understandably a key aim of the $17 million in funding that's been put towards the Snowies Alpine Walk by the NSW Government Regional Growth – Environment and Tourism Fund program. At the federal level, an extra $10 million has come from the Australian Government's Regional Recovery Partnerships program, which is targeted at the fourth stage of the trail. Just when the third and fourth legs will open hasn't been revealed, but the third will span from Charlotte Pass through to Perisher, and the last from Perisher to Bullocks Flat. For more information about the Snowies Alpine Walk, and the new bridge between Guthega and Charlotte Pass, head to the National Parks and Wildlife Services website. Images: Boen Ferguson / Department of Planning and Environment.
When trying to navigate city streets on a bike, it's not exactly the safest move to pull out your phone to use the GPS. With new product Hammerhead Navigation though, riders no longer have to worry about losing focus to find directions on an unfamiliar route. The appropriately named device looks like a hammerhead and features LED lights that guide directional change and indicate hazards on a course. The Hammerhead is mounted right in the cyclist's peripheral vision, making it safer to ride on terrain they've never biked on before. The purpose of the simple design is to not distract bikers with complicated screens and graphics. Instead, it uses simple intuitive signals that are not distracting. The route comes from the user's smartphone, which syncs with Hammerhead using a system based on biking apps MapMyRide and Strava. In addition, their app will utilise crowdsourcing to gather information about the best routes (depending on user-set preferences) and potential road hazards. Hammerhead users will also be able to suggest routes to their fellow riders. Once a user chooses a route from their phone, Hammerhead can function from a locked and stored smartphone. No GPS information is stored in the Hammerhead device; rather, it uses location information from the smartphone to navigate the predetermined route. Hammerhead benefits from having a 14-hour single charge lifespan, so you can be sure it will stick with you on longer rides. Because users' smartphones connect to the device using Bluetooth, it will not drain phone batteries like other GPS devices. Like most innovative products these days, the team behind Hammerhead Navigation used crowdfunding to develop their product. Hammerhead is expected to ship to its first backers by September 2014. Go ahead, bike the path less travelled. https://youtube.com/watch?v=lHtwvvKf65w Via Fast Company
If you've ever felt a little hungover or lazy in the last few years, you'll know exactly how incredible online ordering systems likeDelivery Hero are. Shopping online for pizza is a thing of beauty, and the fact that it can come straight to your door, already paid for with minimum human contact is a marvel of modern technology. But now they've gone one step further: Delivery Hero are introducing the same service for your pets. Currently only available in Sydney, Doggy Bag is an extenuation of the service you know and love that offers a range of "gourmet takeaway meals for pets". No, your dog won't be subjected to the greasy Pad Thai and pepperoni pizza you were planning on gorging on. These dishes will be made to sufficient nutrition standards with minimum seasoning — your loving pet really shouldn't be punished for how lazy you are. Ranging from $5-9, Doggy Bags are currently available from 10 Sydney restaurants including Erskineville Turkish Pide & Kebabs, Micky's Cafe in Paddington and Millennium Pizzeria in Darlington. The menu options will include penne in a meat sauce with chicken, zucchini, carrots and pumpkin; and boiled chicken fillet with tumeric and garden vegetables. "Everyone we approached was very excited to develop meals for pets," said Delivery Hero marketing executive Guillaume Papillion. "The restaurants were all briefed with what ingredients they should and should not use. Onions, for instance, are toxic to dogs." The owner of Taste of India in Double Bay even consulted a vet on whether dogs could eat tumeric (they can). Though it's only been available for a few days, the service looks promising. Delivery Hero claim they already have plans to expand the reach of Doggy Bags across Sydney and the rest of the country. So, look out: there's a good chance your pets will be eating better than you in the coming months. Via Good Food.
There's a reason Japanese food is the universally agreed-upon Best Food Ever. In choosing the cuisine you don't have to sacrifice dumplings for ramen, and you certainly don't have to choose fresh fish in favour of deep fried deliciousness. No, the Japanese love deep fried foods as much as the rest of us — and their national dishes include many a greasy, gritty dish. Matt Goulding knows this better than most, having downed many a Panko-crumbed morsel while traversing Japan's best (and greasiest) eateries for his new book Rice, Noodle, Fish. From convenience store korokke to Michelin-starred tempura temples, these are the fried foods you gotta try on your next trip to Japan. KOROKKE Filled with everything from mashed potatoes and mince meat to curry and cream of crab. Like a Spanish croquette but executed with Japanese precision. KARAAGE Chicken thighs marinated in soy, garlic, and ginger, then floured and fried. Also made with shrimp, octopus, and other sea creatures. KUSHIKATSU Fried meat on a stick eaten elbow-to-elbow at a bar and washed down with rivers of cold beer. What's not to love? Osaka invented the form, but you’ll find it everywhere. TONKATSU Panko-breaded pork loins fried to a greaseless crisp, served with hot mustard, sweet Worcestershire, steamed rice, and shredded cabbage. The best is made with kurobuta (black foot) pork. TEMPURA Shokunin dedicate entire lives to tempura, turning battering and frying into a high art form. For the full experience, go to a tempura-only restaurant and order the omakase: the chef's tasting menu. DEEP-FRIED DEPACHIKA Japanese department stores (called depachika) — wondrous centres of gastronomic greatness — trade in the entire spectrum of fried specialties. A fine place for korokke, katsu or tempura. (Be on high alert for free samples of each.) This is an edited extract from Rice, Noodle, Fish, written by Matt Goulding and published by Hardie Grant Books, RRP $45. The book is available in stores nationally.
Usually surrounded by trees and nestled into a remote, almost-hidden patch of forest, a secluded cabin in the woods is a familiar on-screen setting. When a group of people step inside, unpleasant events tend to follow, as the horror genre taught viewers long before there was a movie specifically called The Cabin in the Woods. And, in the very first episode of new HBO series Lovecraft Country, this exact scenario plays out — with returned soldier Atticus 'Tic' Freeman (Da 5 Bloods' Jonathan Majors), his uncle George (Project Power's Courtney B Vance) and his friend Leti Lewis ((Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)'s Jurnee Smollett). During a cross-country trip across America, the trio soon find themselves holed up in a rustic hut and fighting for their lives; however they're not just stuck in the kind of stock-standard unsettling scenario that audiences have seen several times over. Ravenous, towering, swift-moving beasts are definitely on Tic, George and Leti's trail, as Lovecraft Country makes creepily and compellingly plain. Also lurking outside: a team of racist police officers who pulled them over purely because of the colour of their skin, and had equally brutal plans before things took a turn into supernatural territory. The message here is obvious, showing both the paranormal and actual monsters the series' three central characters are forced to face. Of course, sometimes the most effective way to make a statement is to take the straightforward route — even if nothing about this textured and layered show can ever be classed as simple. If following the above train of thought has you thinking about Get Out or Us, two recent stellar films that also explored US race relations through a horror lens, that's hardly surprising. Lovecraft Country joins them on Jordan Peele's growing resume, after all. Whether he's co-writing and starring in sketch comedies, directing those two exceptional movies, producing BlacKkKlansman, reviving a science-fiction classic with The Twilight Zone or co-writing the upcoming new Candyman flick, the actor and filmmaker has amassed an impressive body of work that continually interrogates the reality faced by Black Americans. And, in terms of examining the insidious and ever-present horrors that have been a part of the US for far too long — including in the 50s, in the time of the Jim Crow racial segregation laws, when the ten-episode first season of Lovecraft Country is set — Peele's latest project is as powerful as anything else he's ever made. [caption id="attachment_782361" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Elizabeth Morris/HBO[/caption] As based on Matt Ruff's 2016 novel of the same name, executive produced by Peele with Lost and Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker's JJ Abrams, and overseen by showrunner and writer Misha Green (Underground), Lovecraft Country benefits from a smart and engaging overarching premise — one that's extremely well-executed from the get-go, too. Tic has come back to Chicago from Florida, where he has been living since returning from his Korean War service, to search for his suddenly missing dad Montrose (Michael Kenneth Williams, The Wire). That quest leads to a road trip into the US midwest, which also doubles as research to add African American-friendly places to the Green Book-style guide that George publishes. As for Leti, she's tagging along for the ride, en route to see her brother and sort out her own family problems. From teenagers spitting slurs at service stations to murderous white mobs chasing them out of small towns, Tic, George and Leti are treated abysmally from the moment they leave home. To call their encounters unwelcoming, discriminatory and hostile is accurate, but also underplays the heartbreak they endure. Indeed, when the show's titular elements complicate their path — with the series named for famed real-life sci-fi and horror writer HP Lovecraft, and travelling to a part of the country where he found inspiration for his tales — Lovecraft Country has already purposefully unnerved viewers with real-life terrors. From there, not only oversized creatures but also secret occult societies and haunted mansions await in the first three episodes alone, all while the series constantly and probingly conveys the experiences of black Americans. Impressive special effects help bring the otherworldly side of Lovecraft Country to life, but its other big drawcard — other than its concept, mastery of genre, potent message, excellent cast, and how commandingly and movingly it hits every target it aims for — is its detail. The lavishly made program couldn't look more meticulous in recreating the past, or feel more authentic at the same time. Every painstaking aspect of each set and scene is crucial not just in evoking the era, but in anchoring the wild journey its central characters traverse. This is a big, fantastical, pulpy horror series but, at every single instant, it's also grounded in recognisable experiences and actual emotions — and it never lets the audience forget it for a second. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvamPJp17Ds The first three episodes of Lovecraft Country are available to stream via Binge, with new episodes added weekly on Mondays. Top image: Eli Joshua Ade/HBO.
Love indulging in a few-too-many gins on a summer evening, but don't love the dull, dehydrated, hungover face you wake to the next day? We've now got the perfect solution, thanks to an exciting new collaboration between two beloved Aussie brands: Four Pillars Gin and Go-To Skincare. Together they've launched My New Go-To Gin, a new "wildly limited edition" spirit set to be your tipple of summer. The perfect Christmas present for both that skincare fanatic and gin connoisseur in your life, this new addition to your liquor cabinet has all of the peachy goodness you'd expect from Zoe Foster Blake's beloved beauty brand. Not only is it made with quandong, a native Aussie peach and some tart ruby grapefruit, the familiar Go-To label aesthetic means you could probably add it to your bathroom counter's line-up, and nobody would notice anything out of the ordinary. And if you sip a few too many the night before another event (hello, festive season) you're in luck: Every bottle comes with a Go-To 'Transformazing' sheet mask to soak your skin in much-needed moisture. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Go-To (@gotoskincare) Go-To Skincare has become well-known for its cult following of skincare fanatics across the world. The beauty venture from Foster-Blake has been so wildly successful since its 2014 launch, she just sold her majority stake in the company for a cool AU$89 million. Meanwhile, Aussie spirits producer Four Pillars has also become well-known known for innovation. Its inventive collaborations and tasty creations like the rare dry and bloody shiraz gin ranges have earned it the title of World's Best Gin for two years running now. With two very intense fanbases onboard, we imagine this one is going to sell out from shelves quick smart, so do yourself a favour and grab it while you can. Currently, it's just available for sale on the Four Pillars website, with orders limited to maximum of one per order — it's up to you if you gift it to a friend, or keep it for yourself. They've also included a specialty cocktail recipe, perfect for the festive season. Find more information about My New Go-To Gin on the Four Pillars website.
Articulate, enthusiastic, candid, and at least a little bit enamoured with the sound of his own voice — you only have to be in a room with John Landis for a few seconds to see he was born to be an entertainer. In town for a career tribute as part of this year's Melbourne Festival, the 63-year-old director behind beloved Hollywood films including The Blues Brothers, Trading Places and the music video to Michael Jackson's Thriller, seems totally at ease in a room full of journalists, as he recalls anecdotes from a career that spans more than 40 years. YOU CAN'T PICK WHICH WORKS WILL HAVE A LASTING IMPACT While we now look back at movies like Animal House and The Blues Brothers as era-defining comedies, when asked if he had any notion that his films would still be celebrated 30 years after being made, Landis shakes his head with a smile. "The truth is," the filmmaker explains, "you work the same on a successful movie as you do on an unsuccessful movie. [Peter] Bogdanovich was the one who said 'the only true test of a film is time'. And unfortunately we're in a very schizophrenic business, because according to the media and the industry, the only true test of success is money. So many great films come out and tank, and many terrible movies are huge hits. So there's no rule of thumb." "The one that surprised me the most was Thriller," Landis says. "The album was already the most successful album of all time when we made the short … The Thriller video, on Beta and VHS, was $29.95, and they sold 8 million of them. That amazed me. And I think what still delights me, because it's so nuts, is Thrill the World, where they do the thriller dance. And if you go online, they do the thriller dance at weddings and bar mitzvahs … I guess it's the power of Michael Jackson." BAD MOVIES DON'T ALWAYS START OUT BAD Of course, not all of Landis' films have been so successful. Asked about the woeful reception to Blues Brothers 2000, he grins and responds, "the biggest problem with Blues Brothers 2000 is that it's lousy. We had terrible interference from the studio. It was rewritten something like 17 times before they gave us the green light… it was a terrible script. But I'm very proud of the music." Another one of Landis' lesser known works is 1996's The Stupids, which sat unreleased on a shelf for years after the financing company went bankrupt. Upon release, the film tanked at the box office and was panned by critics, although as Landis points out, eventual distributor New Line Cinema bought the film for more than it cost to make, and so "we all made money." "It was mis-sold. It's a children's film, and they sold it as a teenage tits and ass comedy. It was a horrifying experience." IF YOU DOWNLOAD RATHER THAN GOING TO THE CINEMA, IT'S YOUR LOSS Perhaps it's in part due to his rocky relationship with the Hollywood studios that Landis has spent most of the last decade working in documentary and television. "Hollywood as it used to be hasn't existed for a long time", Landis reflects. "I started in the mail room at Fox in the '60s, and it was already dying then. The film business has changed just like every other business, because of globalisation and economics and all kinds of things. Now, Universal, Fox, MGM, Warner Brothers, they're small subdivisions of huge multinational corporations. And these giant corporations, they're their own nation states. They don't even fucking pay taxes! So it has changed, and it continues to change." Even so, Landis remains mostly optimistic about the state of affairs in the movie business. "I think good movies will always be made. One of the big ironies is that technology improved, so now literally anyone can make a movie. The only thing I don't like, the only thing that makes me feel like an old fart, is that it breaks my heart that generations will see Lawrence of Arabia on their cell phone. Because nothing can reproduce the theatrical experience. Big house; beautifully projected — and you know that film is communal. The more people you are with watching a movie, the better the movie works. Comedies are funnier. Scary movies are scarier. Sad movies are sadder. It's contagious." A retrospective of John's films will be screening as part of the Melbourne Festival during October. Check it out here.
Wellington is heaven for gourmands, combining all the ingredients that make for a brilliant culinary getaway. There are laneways crammed with cool, little artisanal producers; clandestine cocktail bars behind unmarked doorways; quiet suburbs hiding excellent, casual and international restaurants; centre-city breweries in abundance and a pack of wineries just over the hills. And then there's the fact that the city is wedged between a picturesque harbour and sprawling farmland, so the produce scene is very, very local. Wellington is a physically small city, so it's best explored on foot. This not only helps mitigate some of the effects of a food-filled holiday, but means there's also no stress about arranging transport or planning too far in advance. Just follow your nose and tastebuds. It's often said that Wellington has more bars and restaurants per capita than New York City. Whether or not there's any truth in this, it'll surely feel like it as you explore the many beaut spots, tasting your way through the city's unique culinary ethos. SHEPHERD Tucked away down Hannahs Laneway, Shepherd features framed botanical posters, taxidermy draped with fairy lights and jars of preserves used as decoration. And this unexpected and playful, yet refined decor is mirrored in its food. This is fine dining-quality fare in a wonderfully fun atmosphere where the staff know the origins of every ingredient. Expect plenty of local seafood, Asian condiments, fermented and pickled ingredients and some of the most creative desserts you'll ever taste. The pumpkin cardamom doughnut with peanut butter popcorn and whiskey anglaise is a favourite, but the menu is seasonal and changes almost daily so expect to find a new favourite each time you stop in. [caption id="attachment_635862" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Facebook / Fix & Fogg.[/caption] FIX & FOGG What started as a hobby for then-lawyers Roman and Andrea Jewell has turned into a bit of a peanut butter empire. Fix & Fogg was born from the couple's desire to learn new skills, and it quickly became one of the most delicious products coming out of Wellington. Swing by Hannahs Laneway, and if the peanut butter flag is out — you'll know it when you see it — then the PB will be flowing. The adorable shop window is literally tucked under a staircase and offers tastings, gourmet toast and the occasional peanut butter donut. [caption id="attachment_635860" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Facebook / Husk.[/caption] HUSK Another spot hidden down an alley, another spot that's the result of a collaboration between Wellington hospo stalwarts — HUSK is a lot of things: a cafe, a bar, a brewery, a coffee roastery and a restaurant. With true dedication, the coffee and beer venture is open from 8 or 9am till late every day. Swing by for a breakfast of sardines on toast and a Karamu Coffee flat white (with beans roasted onsite), lunch featuring pork shoulder tacos and a pint of Reet Petite, a stem ginger red IPA by Choice Bros (brewed onsite) and for cheeseburger spring rolls and a barrel-aged negroni for dinner. LAMASON BREW BAR Wellington runs on strong coffee, and Lamason is where you can try the best of it in a safe environment. You won't be mocked here if you're not really sure what the difference is between V60 and Swiss Gold. Lamason does do traditional espresso and they do serve a small selection of food, but what you really want to visit for is the specialty coffee. If you're a newbie, don't be afraid to ask the staff what they recommend. Their single origin beans each have their own unique flavour profiles, and they're beautifully profiled by siphon brewing — which is basically vacuum coffee extraction, otherwise known as magic. [caption id="attachment_635861" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Facebook / Harbourside Market.[/caption] HARBOURSIDE MARKET In Wellington, you bend the knee and swear allegiance to one of the weekend produce markets. There are a handful to choose from, but Harbourside Market is the true ruler of this realm. Every Sunday from sunrise to early arvo, locals and visitors flock to the market to get their week's fruit and veg, as well as bread, cheese, meat, fish, tofu, honey, eggs, peanut butter and so on. The markets also feature a bunch of food trucks and buskers. The roti wraps and cold brew coffee are a perfect cure to a foggy Sunday head, the waterfront vista is stunning and the people watching is excellent. Maybe you've been to Auckland, maybe you've gone to the snow in Queensland, but now it's time to set your sights on Wellington. The harbourside city may be compact, but that only makes for excellent walkability from its excellent restaurants, cafes and bars to its cultural hot spots and around the great outdoors. Use our planning guide to book your trip, then sort out your Wellington hit list with our food and drink, culture and outdoor guides.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to watching anything, we're here to help. From the latest and greatest to old favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue for October — and yes, we're guessing you've already hit up The Trial of the Chicago 7, Rebecca and On the Rocks. NEW STUFF TO WATCH NOW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rsa4U8mqkw BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM Of all that twists and turns that 2020 has delivered, the arrival of a new Borat movie ranks among the most unexpected. Watching Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, however, it's obvious why the famed fictional Kazakh journalist is making a comeback at this very moment — that is, just before the US election. Once again, Borat travels to America. Once again, he traverses the country, interviewing everyday people and exposing the abhorrent views that have become engrained in US society. Where its 2006 predecessor had everyone laughing along with it, though, there's also an uneasy and even angry undercurrent to Borat Subsequent Moviefilm that's reflective of these especially polarised times. It's worth noting that Sacha Baron Cohen's last project, 2018 TV series Who Is America?, also used the comedian's usual interview technique to paint a picture of the US today, and the results were as astute as they were horrifying. There are plenty of jokes in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, which bases its narrative around Borat's attempt to gift his 15-year-old daughter (instant scene-stealer Maria Bakalova) to Vice President Mike Pence and then ex-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani to help get Kazakhstan's own leader into President Donald Trump's good graces, but this is the unflinching work of a star passionate about making a statement. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is available to stream now via Amazon Prime Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Tm63y-S4s THE GOOD LORD BIRD In The Good Lord Bird's opening moments, the new seven-part mini-series tells viewers what'll happen to 19th-century US abolitionist John Brown (Ethan Hawke), its central figure. The audience sees Brown approach the gallows, with narration making plain that he's about to meet his end. Given that Brown was a real figure, the show is merely outlining his history in this regard. But even with the knowledge of his character's ultimate fate lodged firmly in viewers' minds from the outset, Hawke turns in a riveting performance every time he's on-screen. Brown not only opposed slavery, but was driven to use violence to liberate enslaved Black Americans — and the power of his conviction shines through in Hawke's blistering portrayal, as it does throughout the engaging series overall. The Good Lord Bird's voiceover and perspective comes from the fictional Henry 'Onion' Shackleford (Joshua Caleb Johnson), a boy that Brown saves but mistakes for a girl, and who also crosses paths with other historical personalities such as fellow reformer Frederick Douglass (Hamilton's Daveed Diggs) and Confederate general JEB Stuart (Wyatt Russell). As for this smart, irreverent, bold and vehement take on America's troubled past in general, it stems from the pages of James McBride's 2013 novel of the same name. The first three episodes of The Good Lord Bird are available to stream now via Stan, with new episodes added weekly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeYWT7CnFK0 SCARE ME Written and directed by Josh Ruben, and starring him also, Scare Me doesn't just like scary movies — it loves scary stories. Indeed, this pared-back horror film understands that sometimes all that's needed to keep an audience on the edge of their seats is a great tale told well. Its characters, both writers, are all about unfurling creepy narratives. Fred (Ruben) falls into the aspiring category, while Fanny (You're the Worst and The Boys' Aya Cash) has an acclaimed best-seller to her name. With each taking time out in the mountains to get some work done, these two strangers end up in Fred's cabin telling each other disturbing stories when the power goes out (and trying to one-up each other). For its first two-thirds, Scare Me makes the most of that basic concept. Fred and Fanny perform their tales, sound effects and ominous lighting kicks in — it's a stormy night, of course — and the mood is suitably perturbing. The film also demonstrates its self-awareness, namedropping other genre titles with frequency and sending in a pizza from the Overlook. When this Sundance-premiering feature decides to ponder real-life horrors as part of its layered stories, however, it proves especially potent. Scare Me is available to stream now via Shudder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10dsDHszrcY TOTALLY UNDER CONTROL Perhaps the most frightening film of 2020, Totally Under Control isn't a horror movie filled with traditional bumps and jumps. For anyone who has been keeping a close eye on the constantly unnerving news served up by this hectic year, it also doesn't tell viewers anything that isn't already known. But this US-focused documentary unsettles from start to finish, all by exploring the American response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Comparisons with other countries — including South Korea, which initially had a similar caseload back at the beginning of the year — are particularly effective. To-camera interviews by officials involved in the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus, and from one volunteer given far too much responsibility for solving crucial PPE shortages, are just as telling. This isn't the first doco about COVID-19 and it won't be the last; however, as co-directed by Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief) with Ophelia Harutyunyan and Suzanne Hillinger, it's absolutely essential viewing. Totally Under Control is available to stream now via DocPlay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWoiNlLqLR8 THE UNDOING If it was made less than a decade ago instead of now, The Undoing likely would've followed Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train to cinemas. This page-to-screen adaptation certainly has the cast for it — Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Donald Sutherland, A Quiet Place's Noah Jupe and Edgar Ramirez — as well as a knotty mystery premise and a tension-dripping tone. But hot on the heels of Big Little Lies, The Undoing is actually HBO's latest big-name mini-series. Kidman returns, obviously, as does well-known TV writer David E Kelley (LA Law, Ally McBeal, The Practice). The former plays a successful therapist, Grace Fraser, whose seemingly happy home life and marriage to Grant's paediatric oncologist Jonathan starts to collapse when someone linked to her son's ultra-wealthy private school turns up dead. Based on Jean Hanff Korelitz's novel You Should Have Known and directed by The Night Manager's Susanne Bier, this six-part series is the epitome of #richpeopleproblems — but whether exploring heated moments in lush surroundings, or noting the type of emotions and behaviours status and standing can both encourage and hide, it's firmly aware of that fact. Thanks to a twist at the end of each episode, it's also very addictive, even when it's predictable. The first episode of The Undoing is available to stream now via Binge, with new episodes added weekly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfTmT6C5DnM DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD Mortality is no one's favourite subject. Confronting the certainty of our own demise is so difficult, we all just generally carry on as though it won't happen. And the reality that everyone we know and love will die, including our parents, is just as tough to deal with. Facing not only the fact that her father is advancing in age, but that he's suffering dementia — meaning that she'll lose him mentally before he passes away physically — cinematographer and documentarian Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson) conjured up a playful and poignant project. In Dick Johnson Is Dead, she stages her dad's death over and over. He's very much alive and he takes part, with the father-daughter duo bonding during what time they have left together in the process. While it might sound morbid, this moving movie is anything but. As well as the scenes that give the film its title, it also provides an insightful chronicle of the Johnsons' lives. Tender, thoughtful, personal and intimate, and driven by both Dick and Kirsten's presence, the result is perhaps the most affecting feature of the year — and a very worth winner of the Special Jury Award for Innovation in Non-Fiction Storytelling at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Dick Johnson Is Dead is available to stream now via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WHZM-gDONo FEELS GOOD MAN If you've somehow managed to avoid Pepe the Frog over the past decade, then you clearly haven't spent enough time on the internet during that period. The green character became an online meme back in the 2000s, popping up on message boards and earning users' devotion. It was then was co-opted by the alt-right movement, not only becoming its symbol but getting quite a workout in the lead up to the 2016 US Presidential election. That's not how Pepe started out, however, as Arthur Jones' documentary Feels Good Man shows. Originally, Pepe was created by artist Matt Furie and featured in his Boys Club comics — and the kindly illustrator definitely didn't intend for his cute critter to become associated with prejudice, hate and offensive viewpoints. In addition to charting the history of Pepe, Feels Good Man works through Furie's ongoing fight to reclaim his creation. As you might expect given the above description, this is the type of tale that can only be true, and is also best understood by watching it unfurl. Feels Good Man does something else, though, documenting how online content can take on a life far beyond that initially envisaged, as well as offering a pivotal snapshot of how politicised every facet of American life seems to have become. Feels Good Man is available to stream now via DocPlay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4ISTHi45_s FARGO Last month, SBS added the first three seasons of Fargo to its streaming platform, in preparation for the long-awaited fourth season's arrival. Based on the Oscar-winning Coen brothers' film of the same name, this is an anthology series, so watching previous seasons before starting the new one isn't essential — but, as the latest batch of episodes demonstrates, soaking in all things Fargo is highly recommended. Dropping fresh instalments weekly, Fargo season four is easy to devour. Set in 1950 in Kansas City, Missouri, it steps into its favourite territory: a turf war. While the first episode explains that different groups have been fighting to control the city's underworld for decades, this time it's Loy Cannon (Chris Rock) and his fellow Black Americans' turn to challenge the Italian crime syndicate led by Josto Fadda (Jason Schwartzman). As always, the story from there proves both twisty and blackly comedic, and appears on-track to deliver yet another cautionary tale about the perils of underhanded and illicit activities. There's gravitas to Rock's portrayal of a man trying to carve out his place, and he's joined by a similarly top-notch cast including Jessie Buckley (I'm Thinking of Ending Things) as a nurse with a secret and Ben Whishaw (No Time to Die) as one of Fadda's put-upon offsiders. The first five episodes of Fargo's fourth season are available to stream now via SBS On Demand, with new episodes added weekly. ONES TO WATCH OUT FOR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW7Twd85m2g THE MANDALORIAN Travelling to a galaxy far, far away sounds rather nice at this point in 2020. If you're a Star Wars fan, that's actually quite easy, too. While this year won't deliver a new movie in the franchise for the first time since 2014, the second season of TV spinoff The Mandalorian is heading to Disney+ from Friday, October 30. For those that missed it or need a refresher — the Star Wars universe certainly does sprawl far and wide, both within its tales and in its many different movies, shows, books and games — the Emmy-nominated show follows the titular bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal). In the series' first season, which was set five years after Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi and aired last year, that meant tracking his latest gigs. And, it also involved charting his encounter with a fuzzy little creature officially known as The Child, but affectionately named Baby Yoda by everyone watching. Also on offer the first time around: Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito playing villain Moff Gideon, aka the ex-Galactic Empire security officer determined to capture The Child; everyone from Carl Weathers and Taika Waititi to Werner Herzog playing ex-magistrates, droids and enigmatic strangers; and plenty of planet-hopping. Yes, it was firmly a Star Wars TV series, and yes, it plans to continue in the same manner. The Mandalorian's second season starts streaming via Disney+ from Friday, October 30, CULT CLASSICS TO REVISIT AND REDISCOVER https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob_Sq__g01E THE HITCHCOCK COLLECTION Fans of thrillers, and of the filmmaker who became a legend by directing them, have two choices this month. Eighty years after Alfred Hitchcock first brought the story to the screen, Netflix has produced a lavish-looking new adaptation of Rebecca — a movie that intoxicates visually, but doesn't ever quite match the heights reached by the Master of Suspense's Oscar-winning version all those decades ago. But for those who'd rather luxuriate in all things Hitch, Stan is streaming a collection of his greatest hits. It doesn't include Rebecca, but when you're watching classics such as Psycho, The Birds and Rear Window — and Rope and Saboteur, too — you aren't likely to mind. All five will always stand the test of time, but Psycho's tale of a troubled man obsessed with his mother and the unfortunate woman who crosses his path has always been innately unnerving. When you're not revelling in its twists, and its famed screech-heavy shower scene, Rear Window's voyeurism-fuelled storyline (and the fact that its protagonist, played by a commanding James Stewart, is stuck at home) feels particularly relevant this year. Stan's Hitchcock collection is available to stream now. Top images: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm courtesy of Amazon Studios.
Lightyear wasn't the best Pixar movie, but when it flickered across the big screen halfway through 2022, it did something that the Disney-owned animation studio's films hadn't for a couple of years. Due to the pandemic's early days, the Mouse House skipped cinema releases for Soul, Luca and Turning Red between late 2020 and early 2022. It was the time of lockdowns, restrictions, and picture palaces either temporarily closing or having capacity limits, so all three features went straight to streaming platform Disney+. Wish you'd gotten a silver-screen experience while viewing this trio — or any one of them? Enter the new Pixar Film Fest to give you that chance. From Thursday, February 22–Wednesday, March 13, for a week apiece at various locations around Australia and New Zealand, it's debuting Soul, Luca and Turning Red in cinemas for the first time Down Under. Soul sports a premise that resembles Inside Out, which has a sequel arriving on the big screen in 2024. Instead of emotions having emotions, souls do. Rather than Amy Poehler (Moxie) doing voice work, Tina Fey (Mean Girls) does. And director Peter Docter (Up) helmed them both. But Soul is definitely its own feature — and takes quite the existential trip as it follows aspiring jazz musician-turned-music teacher Joe (Jamie Foxx, The Burial) after an accident where his soul leaves his body. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Killer), plus Jon Batiste (The First Wave), won an Oscar. The movie nabbed the Best Animated Feature accolade as well. It's releasing in cinemas from Thursday, February 22–Wednesday, February 28. Next up is Turning Red, which'll get projectors whirring from Thursday, February 29–Wednesday, March 6. The setup: what'd happen if the Hulk was a teenage girl, but became a super-cute red panda? Or, finding a different riff on the ol' werewolf situation, what if emotions rather than full moons inspired a case of not-quite-lycanthropy? Writer/director Domee Shi puts these queries at the centre of Turning Red, her debut feature after winning an Oscar for gorgeous 2018 short Bao. Set in 2002, the film focuses on 13-year-old Chinese Canadian high-schooler Meilin Lee (Rosalie Chiang, American Born Chinese), who has strict but caring mum Ming (Sandra Oh, Quiz Lady), loves boy band 4*Town and soon discovers that she's also a red panda in a puberty metaphor. Rounding out the lineup is Luca, which is similarly about transformation. This one takes place in Italy over a gorgeous summer, also spins a coming-of-age tale and nods to Frankenstein as well. Here, teenage sea monsters Luca (Jacob Tremblay, Orion and the Dark) and Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer, Shazam! Fury of the Gods) just want to fit in, but know that the village they decide to call home wouldn't accept them if they don't take on human form. When they befriend ordinary girl Giulia (Emma Berman, Superkitties) in a quest to win a race to nab a moped, their secret becomes harder to keep — as cinemagoers can see from Thursday, March 7–Wednesday, March 13. Check out the trailers for Soul, Luca and Turning Red below: Pixar Film Fest 2024 Lineup: Thursday, February 22–Wednesday, February 28 — Soul Thursday, February 29–Wednesday, March 6 — Turning Red Thursday, March 7–Wednesday, March 13 — Luca Disney's Pixar Film Fest runs from Thursday, February 22–Wednesday, March 13 at cinemas around Australia and New Zealand, including in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland and Wellington — check out your local picture palace for details. Read our reviews of Soul, Luca and Turning Red.
Mid-morning croissant cravings will no longer require a trip into the CBD or to Fitzroy — if you're in Melbourne's south and hankering for Lune Croissanterie's finest, that is. A decade after first launching and forever changing the way Melburnians think about flaky, buttery pastries, the beloved bakery is now adding its third homegrown location in Armadale. Set to open sometime this winter, Lune's latest Melbourne venue will serve up all those baked goods that fans know and love — traditional French croissants which take three days to prepare, of course, as well as everything from lemon curd cruffins and morning buns to its rotating range of monthly specials. Exactly where in the suburb it'll sit hasn't yet been revealed, but the chain announced the new store on its Instagram feed and is currently recruiting for a number of roles. "Friends south of the river, we know you've been dark on us ever since we packed up shop, crossed the Yarra and moved to Fitzroy. How about if we told you we were coming back? VERY SOON," the Instagram post advises. "Before the winter is out, the leafy streets of Armadale will have a buttery breeze care of Lune!!" View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lune Croissanterie (@lunecroissant) If you're still new to Lune's croissants, they've been described as "the finest you will find anywhere in the world" by The New York Times — and expect its Armadale spot to be busy when it does fling open the doors. Lining up for baked goods is a regular part of the Lune experience, including at its Brisbane outpost up north. Melbourne is scoring a third Lune location before Sydney even gets one, with the chain finally due to open in the NSW capital sometime in 2023. Lune is also setting up a second Brisbane venue this July, too. Wondering why Lune's tasty pastries are so coveted? Founder Kate Reid is an ex-Formula 1 aerodynamicist, and brings scientific precision to her craft. That includes the climate-controlled glass cube that Lune croissants are made and baked in, and the time-consuming process used to perfect each flaky pastry. It has been a big decade for the brand, which Reid co-owns Lune with her brother Cameron and restaurateur Nathan Toleman (Dessous, Hazel, Common Ground Project). The company's journey started back in 2012 with a tiny store in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood. Since then, Lune has grown into a converted warehouse space in Fitzroy (with those perpetual lines out the front), opened a second store in the Melbourne CBD and earned praise aplenty — including that aforementioned rave from The New York Times. Find Lune Croissanterie's third Melbourne store in Armadale, opening sometime this winter — we'll update you with an exact location and opening date when they're announced. Images: Marcie Raw.
It's official: on Monday, March 31, 2025, you'll need to subscribe to a new streaming service if you want to watch HBO shows in Australia. In 2024, the US network confirmed that it was bringing Max, its dedicated platform, Down Under in 2025. Now it has locked in the launch date. And yes, that timing means that you'll need to sign up to see the second season of The Last of Us. From House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and any other Game of Thrones spinoffs through to Euphoria and upcoming IT prequel series Welcome to Derry, HBO's lengthy list of must-see TV shows will have their own dedicated platform in Australia. The American station's streamer debuted in America in 2020, and has been rolling out through Latin America, the Caribbean, parts of Europe and Japan since as well, before setting its sights on Aussie audiences. While the great streaming service rush, when new platforms seemed to appear every few weeks or so, is a few years in the past, HBO bringing Max to Australia is huge news. At present, the US network's shows largely screen and stream to Aussie viewers via Binge and Foxtel. When the former launched, boasting HBO's catalogue was one of its big selling points. The deal between Binge, Foxtel and Warner Bros Discovery — which owns HBO — was extended in 2023, but it was reported at the time, accurately so it proves, that Max might debut in Australia from 2025. While the platform will be available direct to consumers via its website and app stores — so you'll sign up for it by itself — for viewing via mobile, tablet, gaming consoles and connected TV, it will still keep a connection with Foxtel. If you subscribe to the pay-TV service, you'll get access to the Max app without paying extra. For everyone else, details about Max's subscription options, which'll include premium, standard and an ad-supported tier, are still to come — as is pricing. HBO shows — HBO Originals and Max Originals alike — aren't all that's heading to Max. Warner Bros Discovery's stable of brands includes Warner Bros (of course), the DC Universe, Harry Potter, Discovery, Cartoon Network, TLC, ID and HGTV, to name a few. Max will also show movies from Warner Bros Pictures, including recent cinema releases such as Barbie, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice and Twisters. The Lord of the Rings and DC Universe franchises, And Just Like That..., Friends, Rick and Morty: they're just some of the other movies and TV shows that will be on Max as well. HBO is also behind The White Lotus, True Detective, The Rehearsal, The Penguin, Dune spinoff Prophecy, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Oz, Deadwood, Big Love, True Blood, Big Little Lies, Westworld, Succession, The Larry Sanders Show, Sex and the City, Flight of the Conchords, Bored to Death, Girls, Veep, Barry, Enlightened — and plenty more. "We've been clear that the globalisation of Max is a top priority, and Australia represents one of our biggest new markets and a significant opportunity to delight even more fans with the incredible stories told by our iconic brands. Combining an unrivalled breadth of high-quality content, legendary franchises and a strong product experience, Australians can look forward to the highest-calibre streaming proposition from March 31," said JB Perrette, CEO and President of Global Streaming and Games at WBD. "WBD has a long history in Australia, and we know our world-class content from HBO, Warner Bros, Discovery and more is incredibly popular with audiences here. We have a clear strategy to maximise reach through our direct-to-consumer app and distribution partnerships, and our collaboration with Foxtel at launch is a testament to that. We can't wait for fans across the country to experience Max," added WBD Australia and New Zealand General Manager Michael Brooks. Max launches in Australia on Monday, March 31, 2025 — head to the streaming service's website for more details.
2024 will be a year of many things, including the year that hitting the skies Down Under means travelling on the three safest airlines in the world. As it does every January, safety and rating website AirlineRatings.com has released its latest ranking of the best carriers to fly with. Coming out on top: Air New Zealand, closely followed by Qantas and Virgin Australia. Air NZ returned to first place after also doing the honours in 2022, taking over from 2023 winner Qantas. The latter has a long history of topping the list, doing so for eight years in a row from 2014–21. Virgin Australia has also proven a mainstay on the full rundowns each year, with the top 25 carriers named in 2024. "Our top 25 safest airlines are all standouts in the industry and are at the forefront of safety, innovation and launching of new aircraft. In fact, the safety margins between these top 25 airlines are very small," said AirlineRatings.com Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas. "Between Air New Zealand and Qantas there is only 1.5 points. It's incredibly close." Wondering how Air NZ topped the list, then? The website called out the airline's "firm focus on safety", while also advising that it "has excelled across a broad safety spectrum right down to the smallest detail, and its pilots operate in some very challenging environments". The highly sought-after accolade chose its safest airlines for 2024 from a pool of 385 carriers from around the world. Factors that influence a carrier's placement on the list include crash and incident records, safety initiatives, fleet age, profitability, training assessments for expert pilots, and audits by aviation governing bodies, industry bodies and governments. Bird strikes and turbulence injuries aren't take into consideration, however, and neither are weather diversions and lightning strikes, given that airlines have no control over these issues. If you're a budget-conscious flyer, the website also outlines the 20 safest low-cost airlines. The winner this year also came from Down Under, with Jetstar emerging victorious. TOP 25 SAFEST AIRLINES FOR 2024: Air New Zealand Qantas Virgin Australia Etihad Airways Qatar Airways Emirates All Nippon Airways Finnair Cathay Pacific Airways Alaska Airlines SAS Korean Air Singapore Airlines EVA Air British Airways Turkish Airlines TAP Air Portugal Lufthansa/Swiss Group KLM Japan Airlines Hawaiian Airlines American Airlines Air France Air Canada Group United Airlines TOP 20 SAFEST LOW-COST AIRLINES FOR 2024: Jetstar easyJet Ryanair Wizz Norwegian Frontier Vueling Vietjet Southwest Volaris flyduba AirAsia Group (AirAsia, AirAsia X, AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia India) Cebu Pacific Sun Country Spirit Westjet JetBlue Air Arabia Indigo Eurowings For the full AirlineRatings.com list, visit the airline safety and product rating review outfit's website.
Is the Avatar franchise set to win its third Academy Award for Best Visual Effects? With its characteristically rich and stunning visuals, the just-dropped first trailer for Avatar: Fire and Ash makes that case. The latest film in the sci-fi saga is set to arrive three years after Avatar: The Way of Water, and 13 years after all things Avatar initially hit cinemas with what's still the world's biggest box-office blockbuster. Get ready to return to Pandora: come December 2025, James Cameron will usher viewers back to the Na'vi-inhabited moon, and into the middle chapter in the director's planned five-film series. In past entries, forests and reefs have proven home to the franchise's blue-hued residents, but volcanic plains join in this time around. So, meet: the Ash People. Oona Chaplin (Treason) portrays Varang, the new clan's leader. Her message in the sneak peek: "your goddess has no dominion here". When Avatar: Fire and Ash plays in picture palaces Down Under from Thursday, December 18, viewers will also see Michelle Yeoh (Star Trek: Section 31) and David Thewlis (Sherlock & Daughter) among the cast. Leading the ensemble, Sam Worthington (Relay) and Emilia Pérez Oscar-winner Zoe Saldana (Elio) are back as Jake Sully and his warrior wife Neytiri, alongside fellow returnees Sigourney Weaver (The Gorge), Stephen Lang (House of David), Cliff Curtis (Invincible), Britain Dalton (Dark Harvest), Trinity Bliss (The Life of Chuck), Jack Champion (Everything's Going to Be Great), Bailey Bass (Interview with the Vampire) and Kate Winslet (Lee). Cameron once again directs, and co-wrote the screenplay with the also-returning Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Mulan). Since the first Avatar in 2009, the filmmaker behind it has only helmed movies in the franchise. If getting excited about one new Avatar film isn't enough, the two final flicks that are set to follow Avatar: Fire and Ash are slated for release in 2029 and 2031, respectively. Check out the Avatar: Fire and Ash trailer below: Avatar: Fire and Ash releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, December 18, 2025 Images: courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
UPDATE, APRIL 4: Due to concerns around the coronavirus, Paramount Pictures has announced that The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On the Run will no longer release on its initially scheduled date of Thursday, July 2, 2020, with the film now hitting cinemas in Victoria and Queensland on September 17, 2020, and cinemas in other Australian states on September 24, 2020. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Nostalgia and the big screen seem to go hand in hand these days. This is a year that's brought back everything from Dumbo, Pet Sematary and Aladdin to The Lion King, Zombieland and Charlie's Angels, after all. And next year is set to be no different, especially when it comes to two properties that were a staple of every 90s and 00s childhood: SpongeBob SquarePants and Sonic the Hedgehog. Flicks based on both will hit cinemas in 2020, although this isn't the first time at the movies for Bikini Bottom's resident yellow critter. The ever-perky SpongeBob has already featured in 2004's great The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and 2015's similarly entertaining The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, with the new The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On the Run marking the third in the film series. And yes, it looks as manic and irreverent — and as suitable for viewers young, old and in-between — as ever. Sponge On the Run does boast one particularly huge drawcard, too: Keanu Reeves. Fresh from voicing a character in Toy Story 4, he plays a sage shrub that's also a wisdom-dispensing sage. So, he gives SpongeBob advice when the eponymous figure's pet snail Gary is snail-napped, sparking a road trip with starfish Patrick to The Lost City of Atlantic City. Yep, of course that's what happens. As for Sonic the Hedgehog, the 90s video game character makes the leap to movies in a live-action film that co-stars Jim Carrey as his usual antagonist, Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Ben Schwartz, aka Parks and Recreation's Jean-Ralphio Saperstein, voices the speedy extraterrestrial blue hedgehog — and the picture isn't without its fair share of controversy. When an earlier trailer was released a few months back, Sonic's overall look caused a stir, with the film since undergoing a visual redesign to fix it. Check out the results — and the Sponge On the Run trailer, too — below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJJYewh4Nco&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_ZCtiWvBLk&feature=youtu.be After being delayed from its original release date of July 2, 2020, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On the Run will now open in cinemas in Victoria and Queensland on September 17, 2020, and cinemas in other Australian states on September 24, 2020. Sonic the Hedgehog releases on February 13, 2020.
Starting a new business is daunting, even if you're confident that you've got a game-changing idea or unrivalled product on your hands. We're here to help — we teamed up with the business solution experts at Square to chat to three stalwarts of Sydney's hospo scene, and got their key points for starting a small business. The Love Tilly Group know a thing or two about getting a business off the ground. Matthew Swieboda, Nathanial Hatwell and Scott McComas-Williams are behind some of Sydney's best restaurants and wine bars, including Love, Tilly Devine, Ragazzi, Fabbrica, Dear Saint Éloise and Palazzo Salato. Bitter Phew has been pouring craft beers from Australia and around the globe at its Oxford Street digs for a decade. Founded by Aaron Edwards and Jay Pollard, the upstairs bar was recognised as Australia's Best Beer Venue by the Australia Liquor Industry Awards in 2023, and voted Australia's Top Beer Venue by Beer & Brewer Magazine in 2020 and 2017. Helmed by Kenny Graham and Jake Smyth, The Mary's Group started with a burger shop in Newtown in 2013. Since then, the group has expanded to open five other eateries, two music venues (Liberty Hall and Mary's Underground) and natural wine brand P&V Wine + Liquor Merchants. From staying flexible and trialling new systems to the importance of communication and media, The Love Tilly Group, Bitter Phew and The Mary's Group share what they've uncovered from starting their respective businesses. What were the most important steps you took before opening your business? "We opened our first business, Love, Tilly Devine, in the backstreets of Darlinghurst way back in 2010. We were young and built the business on the smell of an oily rag with the idea of giving the people of Sydney access to premium and exciting wines, without the preconceived notion that wine bars needed to be stuffy," shared Managing Director Nathanial Hatwell. "At the time, we didn't know where this journey would take us, but the concept of Love Tilly still rings true to this day. Nailing that concept was fundamental to the success of the group that we have become." Though staying true to your original concept and brand is important, it's also vital to be able to adapt. Prior to opening each Mary's venue, Kenny Graham and Jake Smyth have tried to reevaluate and evolve the brand from its original roots on Newtown's back streets. "As we grow as people and as a company, we want to open the doors wider, metaphorically speaking. We wanted our own kids to be excited about going to a Mary's venue. [We tried to] Embrace current popular culture more, expand the offering a little, and make it fun for a wider range of people." Bitter Phew's Aaron Edwards had some practical tips. "Work on engaging events to garner new customers and help build your base." He added, "Have enough liquid cash — try to have reserves for those ups and down in the first year. Where possible, avoid borrowing excessive money as you want to have the freedom to work on your business." What's one key thing you wish you knew before you opened your doors? "As we've grown, systems and processes have been introduced in order to streamline our operations. Some of those have been trial and error, which have unfortunately cost us time and money," responded Hatwell. "In retrospect, we could have been better at doing our research in the lead-up and ensuring that the correct systems were introduced from the get-go." Edwards focused on the importance of communication, branding and media. "I thought that what we were doing would get enough attention, so I didn't push media enough. I would partner with media partners earlier and communicate clearly how you are building a diverse and interesting offering for the community." Graham and Smyth had a similar answer. "Speed, options, and clear and concise visual information is a must. People need to know at a glance who you are, what you do, and how they go about getting it. Barriers to entry need to be removed at any point." [caption id="attachment_780347" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To[/caption] What methods did you use to generate buzz and attract customers before opening? All three businesses emphasised the significance of communication, marketing and media. "Over the years, we've been lucky enough to work with some of the best in the industry when it comes to marketing, PR and social media engagement, which we continue to rely upon to this day," said Hatwell. Bitter Phew had an advantage by "Making sure our socials were up and running before [opening], and connecting with key influential people in our industry to ensure we were on the right track." "Great communication at every point is key," explained Graham and Smyth. "We engaged with local businesses and the community, and we spent months working on new branding ideas to help introduce ourselves to what we perceived as a new market. We engaged our PR Agency, Electric Collective, to help land some important media pieces. We staged a marketing campaign via our own social media and EDM channels. Little by little and piece by piece, it helps towards creating a structured and controlled narrative." [caption id="attachment_979760" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trent Van Der Jagt[/caption] How did Square help you stay organised? "Square makes the POS side of things super easy. It's modern tech for a modernising industry, and it takes the time and pain out of what used to be a laborious process," shared Graham and Smyth. "The system looks great, operates fluently and allows us to tap into our business instantly. We can check the app on our phone and see how business is going. The ease of transparency allows us to use the tools available to us to operate a more dynamic business. They say that retail is detail and Square helps us greatly with keeping our eyes on the important things." "The Square dashboard is phenomenal, providing oversight across all of our venues on a day-to-day basis," added Hatwell. "The payment terminals are super user-friendly and allow us the opportunity to customise the guest experience." Find out how Square can kickstart your business at squareup.com.
Don't you wish you could spend two-plus weeks closing out summer and welcoming autumn at the first WorldPride ever held in the southern hemisphere? In 2023, that's set to become a reality, all thanks to Sydney WorldPride. Don't you wish you could see a feast of big-name talent take to this stage for what's basically a mega Mardi Gras? That's coming true, too — and if you now have 'Don't Cha' stuck in your head, Nicole Scherzinger has just joined the bill. The Pussycat Dolls lead singer will headline the already-announced Bondi Beach Party on Saturday, March 4, which will turn the famed stretch of sand into an openair club. For one afternoon and evening only, a casual 12,000 people can dance by the water from dusk to the aforementioned 'Don't Cha', 'Buttons' and more tracks from across her career. As well as Scherzinger, the massive party will feature Australian DJs dameeeela, Jarred Baker, Jacqui Cunningham, DJ Charlie Villas and DJ Dan Murphy — taking to the decks and the sand. Unsurprisingly, the event already proved a hot ticket before the lineup announcement; however, there's a last batch of tickets on-sale now. Scherzinger's addition to the Sydney WorldPride bill slots in alongside Kylie Minogue and Charli XCX opening the festival, MUNA and G Flip closing it, Kelly Rowland headlining the Domain Dance Party and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade will return to Oxford Street. Also on the lineup from Friday, February 17–Sunday, March 5 around Sydney: more than 45 rainbow artworks all around town and a monumental pride march with 50,000-plus people walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, as part of a hefty program boasting more than 300 events over 17 days. This is the largest-ever LGBTQIA+ festival ever held in the region — and yes, it just got bigger. Sydney WorldPride will run from Friday, February 17–Sunday, March 5, 2023, with Bondi Beach Party happening from 3pm on Saturday, March 4. For more information, head to the event's website. Top image: Destination NSW.
Haruki Murakami's novel Norwegian Wood is filled with fuzziness, unreliability, landscapes that shift between the real and imagined, and the saturated sensation of tragedy. It's not the easiest thing to adapt to film, but director Tran Anh Hung (I Come with the Rain, The Scent of Green Papaya) has found a rich cinema language for it that's as affecting as Murakami's words. Concrete Playground spoke to him ahead of the film's Australian release. When did you first encounter Murakami's work? It was in '94. This book [Norwegian Wood], it was the first one. Since I really liked it, I didn't want to read other books from him and I didn't want to know anything about him. It's the way I work — I really want to keep my feelings for the book really fresh, and nothing can mix with it … I read his other books later on, during the editing of the movie. And what made you want to adapt Norwegian Wood into a movie? I loved the book because of the character and the story. Because it has to do with love and loss of love and that was a very strong thing, and something that talked to me directly, intimately. It's also about the burdens we acquire in youth that have to be left behind for us to move into adulthood. Tell us about the journey the main character, Watanabe, is on. It's someone who experiences love for the first time. It's a very strong feeling, and then the next day he loses it; Naoko just disappears. And it puts his life in suspense — like he's holding his breath. He's not breathing the same way as before. And when he meets Midori, she offers him her love and he cannot accept it because he has something unfinished with Naoko … [Where Watanabe's journey goes] is very disturbing, but behind it, there is something that is really beautiful, in terms of meaning and in terms of spiritual deliverance. Murakami's works are often regarded as 'unfilmable'. What were the challenges in adapting such a story to screen? There was one thing that was really strong in the book, and that was the feeling of melancholy ... For some scenes I need to give the feeling of something that is a little bit dreamy, that is between reality and dream ... Like the night when [Naoko] comes and kisses him and ask him if he loves her, this kind of scene is very like a dream. And this gives us the feeling that it could be something that will be later a souvenir for Watanabe; it has that texture of a souvenir. And it gives us that feeling of melancholy. And you made the story linear, cutting out the older Watanabe we meet at the beginning of the book? Yes, because if you keep that older Watanabe, then you have that structure of flashback, back and forth between the present time with the older Watanabe, 36 or 39, and the past when he was 20. It will give the audience a feeling of something that is very well known as a structure, so it was not interesting for me to use this. And also because when you go in a movie back and forth, you have to show what in the past influenced the present time. Then you need to create some events, some actions in the present time, because it's not in the book. And that doesn't make sense, because the book is so rich, too rich, I needed to get rid of a lot of things to be able to make a movie, so I'm not going to add some new scenes. And that's why I didn't keep the older Watanabe. You worked with cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bin, known for his work with Wong Kar-wai (In the Mood for Love). What was the vision the two of you had for how the film should look? What I really appreciate in working with Mark is he has this quality of being really sensual with movement of the camera ... I really need it for all of my movies because I like people to have a really sensual feeling of the image. And I ask everyone to work in a way to make the skin of the actor very obvious — not to enhance it, not to make it more beautiful, but to make it obvious — so that the people wish to touch it, to smell it on the screen. So with Mark I really asked him to use the light in a way so we can feel the skin, because for me, cinema is the art of incarnation. We put ideas and stories, drama in blood and flesh, meaning in the actor. So we need to see the skin very precisely. That's what I'm going for, because I don't like pretty pictures; the beauty must come from the fact the feeling is right, and it's right because its right with the story, with the psychology, with the characters. If everything is right, then it's beautiful. https://youtube.com/watch?v=kYBgsyBwYso
Ready for it? Whether you danced in the aisles at your local cinema or you haven't yet seen the concert film version of one of the biggest music tours currently traversing the globe, you'll be able to enjoy Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour at home from Thursday, December 14. Swifties, you'll be able to celebrate the pop star and newly crowned TIME Person of the Year's blockbuster film to celebrate the singer-songwriter's birthday. That falls on Wednesday, December 13 in 2023; however, with the time difference, Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour is hitting digital on the Thursday in Australia and New Zealand. If your wildest dreams have been about getting in on Taylor Swift's Eras tour since it was first announced, then the pop superstar comes bearing gorgeous and enchanted news, clearly — including while the movie is still in cinemas. Missed out on tickets to see Swift when she plays Melbourne and Sydney in early 2024? Consider this the next best thing. Look what the world made Swift do: turn her current massive tour into a movie that's also proven a smash, taking in almost $250 million at the worldwide box office since releasing in October, ranking it in the top 20 for takings so far this year. While fans have been able to experience a money-can't-buy view of the 'Shake It Off', 'We Are Never Getting Back Together' and 'Bad Blood' musician's gig — working through her entire career so far, playing tracks from each of her studio albums in a three-hour, 44-song, ten-act spectacular — on the big screen, the extended version is coming to digital. Accordingly, donning your friendship bracelets at home means seeing three songs performed that aren't in the theatrical cut. The IRL Eras Tour kicked off in March in the US, then headed to Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. Next on the list: Japan, Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Canada, a return to the US and, of course, Australia, all in 2024. Check out the trailer for Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film below: Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour is still in cinemas, and will be available to rent on digital from Thursday, December 14 in Australia and New Zealand. Read our review.
If you're the kind of Dark Mofo attendee who slips into a different mindset the very moment that you hit Tasmania each winter, the festival has plenty on its 2023 lineup to get you into that mood and groove. It announced Florentina Holzinger's dance theatre performance A Divine Comedy back in January, and then dropped its full dark, sinister, confronting and boundary-pushing lineup in March. The arts event isn't done with boosting its program yet, however — newly adding TRANCE to its bill, and openly inviting sliding into a reverie in the process. Hailing from Berlin-based Chinese artist Tianzhuo Chen, this three-day performance isn't just something that you watch. You purchase a 'trance pass' to head along, which gives you access to the whole show across its run. Then, you can wander in and out as you like, seeing each day's 12-hour ritual — which is batched up in six two-hour chapters — in what's basically a physical theatre-meets-rave show. [caption id="attachment_897773" align="alignnone" width="1920"] TRANCE by Tianzhuo Chen | Dark Mofo 2023. Photo credit: Camille Blake. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo.[/caption] Along the way, you'll notice nods to religious iconography and pop culture alike — and Butoh choreography as well — as things get psychedelic and transcendental. You'll also spot Tinazhuo's cast of characters go all-in on testing the body's corporeal limits. (For that moseying along whenever you're keen, booking Concrete Playground Trips' Dark Mofo accommodation package might come in handy.) [caption id="attachment_897771" align="alignnone" width="1920"] COMMUNITY OF GRIEVING | Dark Mofo 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo.[/caption] TRANCE isn't the only new addition to the lineup, with Community of Grieving from Zosia Hołubowska and Julia Giertz similarly freshly on the bill. The European sound artists and music activists combine music and storytelling in a piece that's a a bit of sonic meditation and an audio essay, and also features theatrical costumes. As the name makes plain, it's a mourning ritual, specifically focusing on folks lost during the pandemic and since. "The exploration of darkness is key to our identity as a festival, but at the heart of Dark Mofo is powerful ritual, collectivity and transformation," said Art Program Curator and Senior Producer Dexter Rosengrave, announcing this year's latest shows. "We're really excited by these new additions to the program because they elicit an individual response that communally exalts us all." [caption id="attachment_895366" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trentemøller | Dark Mofo 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo.[/caption] Run by Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art, and taking place in Hobart between Thursday, June 8–Thursday, June 22, Dark Mofo already named Trentemøller on its program back in March; however, that gig is one of three shows that were previously sold out but have now been moved to convert venue MAC2, upping their capacity to 2500 people. Accordingly, there's now extra tickets on sale for the electronic music composer, as well as to NYX's electronic drone choir soundscape event DO.OMYOGA: Nada Sound Ceremony (where you'll get yoga mats to sit on) and also Laterne by Berlin Atonal. As for the rest of the already-unveiled bill, it includes The Blue Rose Ball, which does indeed take its cues from the one and only David Lynch; Giant Teddy, EJ Son's towering Korean pop culture-inspired teddy bear that has lasers for eyes; Max Richter's SLEEP, which returns to Australia for an eight-and-a-half-hour overnight stint; and Soda Jerk's latest film Hello Dankness. The list goes on from there, whether you're keen on live tunes, the kind of performance shows you won't see elsewhere or nude solstice swims. [caption id="attachment_897775" align="alignnone" width="1920"] NYX | Dark Mofo 2023. Photo credit: Garry Jones Photography. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo.[/caption] Dark Mofo 2023 runs from Thursday, June 8–Thursday, June 22 in Hobart, Tasmania, with tickets on sale now. Top images: TRANCE by Tianzhuo Chen | Dark Mofo 2023. Photo credit: Camille Blake. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo. // Laterne by Berlin Atonal | Dark Mofo 2023. Pictured: Lee Gamble presents Flush Real Pharynx at Laterne by Berlin Atonal 2019. Photo Credit: Dark Mofo/Rémi Chauvin, 2019. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world — including our Dark Mofo tickets and accommodation package.
Cancel your weekend plans, marshmallows. You now have a date with everyone's favourite pint-sized private eye. While the fourth season of Veronica Mars was due to drop in Australia next week, streaming platform Stan has just announced that it'll land today, Saturday, July 20, instead — all eight new episodes, and all at 6pm. The news comes after Ms Mars herself, aka Kristen Bell, attended San Diego Comic-Con overnight Australian time, and revealed that the fresh instalments had just released on US streamer Hulu a week early. What's good for America, in this case, is also good for Aussie Veronica Mars aficionados. Basically, if you're a fan of the show, then this past year just keeps delivering. First, we found out that the beloved series was actually, genuinely coming back for a fourth season. Then, not one, not two, but three teasers and trailers showed us just what kind of sleuthing fun we were in for. Now we'll get to see the whole thing earlier than expected — which couldn't be more different to how the original first three seasons were treated by Aussie TV back in the mid 2000s. https://www.facebook.com/StanAustralia/photos/a.777065482350660/2384072258316633/?type=3&theater Story-wise, the fourth season sees Veronica (Kristen Bell) back in her hometown of Neptune, still in the P.I. game with her dad Keith (Enrico Colantoni) and still solving mysteries. This time, a series of bombings and a shady ex-con turned businessman (JK Simmons) are on her radar. As well as plenty of twists and turns to follow, expect a heap of other familiar faces in the form of Jason Dohring as Veronica's on-again, off-again love interest Logan, Percy Daggs III as her bestie Wallace and Ryan Hansen as her sleazy ex-classmate Dick. Check out the full trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUiWTxS76og&feature=youtu.be All eight episodes of Veronica Mars' fourth season will hit Stan at 6pm on Saturday, July 20.
The team behind the famed Wax Museum Records shop that once sat in Campbell Arcade below Flinders Street Station has opened a hidden live music venue right down the road from their old spot. Head beneath Selina Hotel, just one door down from Degraves Street, to find a crew of Melbourne music lovers curating a set of live gigs every night of the week. Like the old record store, Wax Music Lounge aims to champion Melbourne's diverse underground music scene — this time through hosting gigs rather than selling vinyl. Drop by on a whim and you might come across big acts, DJs or virtuosos who come from all kinds of musical backgrounds. Sometimes, the vibe will be slow and moody. Other nights, you'll be up on the dance floor till early the next morning. It's a mixed bag in all the best ways. But, as founded by Wax Museum Records' Guy Roseby and Tim Bartold, Wax Lounge Bar isn't just a live music venue. It also holds up as an excellent drinking den in its own right. Behind the bar, the team is pouring Australian lo-fi natural wines, craft beers and signature cocktails dreamt up by bartender Pita Dixon (Joe Taylor, ex-Toff in Town). It even has a small kitchen pumping out pizzas and empanadas, so you don't have to venture up to Flinders Street for eats. Either grab a seat by the stage or head to the pool table at the back of the bar to have a chill night out with great tunes simply being your background music. Every part of Wax Music Lounge is lit up with a low red glow of light, courtesy of lighting designers James Hebbs and Grace Darling, while the rest of the 175-person space falls into that industrial vintage aesthetic. The basement's concrete walls and floor remain, paired with a few old rugs, some wooden tables and long leather benches. It's not all glam and luxurious like so many other Melbourne CBD bars. It's a live gig space at its core. And it's primed to host a heap of late-night parties with underground musicians and music lovers.
When Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi invited the world to experience the vampire sharehouse mockumentary genre, one of the best comedies of the decade wasn't the only result. Every film seems to spawn sequels, remakes, spinoffs and the like these days, but no one's complaining about spending more time in the What We Do in the Shadows universe. A follow-up, We're Wolves, is in the works, focusing on the undead bloodsuckers' Rhys Darby-led lycanthrope enemies. So is six-episode television spinoff Wellington Paranormal, following the movie's cops (Mike Minogue and Karen O'Leary) as they keep investigating the supernatural, and expected to air in New Zealand mid this year. Add a US TV remake of the original flick to the pile as well, but withhold any "do we really need a remake?" judgement. First revealed by Waititi last year and now moving ahead, the pilot has been written by Clement, and is expected to shoot this year. He won't appear on camera, however; speaking to Indiewire as part of the Television Critics Association press tour for Legion, which he stars in, Clement said the series will be about a documentary crew in America. With What We Do in the Shadows actually starting its life as a short back in 2005, the concept of flatting members of the undead arguing about bloody dishes has taken quite the journey since those early beginnings. If any idea was going to come back in multiple guises, it's this one. Of course, so have Clement and Waititi. Clement also revealed that he'll be filming a Flight of the Conchords TV special for HBO later this year to coincide with their new US tour, while Waititi just directed a little superhero-filled box office blockbuster called Thor: Ragnarok. Via Indiewire. Image: Kane Skennar.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Wotif.com. At the risk of sounding like your mum, going to the Whitsundays at some point during the next few bitter, blustery months would be for your own good. After all, you need your Vitamin D. The cocktails with sunset views, impossibly white sand, high-speed catamarans, winter spa specials, underwater adventures and breaching whales are simply added bonuses. Here's five reasons to make like a migratory creature and head for the heat. SOAK UP SOME VITAMIN D As difficult as it might be to believe, one-third of we Aussies are Vitamin D deficient. What's more, to inject minimum requirements of the stuff into your diet, you need to drink at least ten tall glasses of fortified milk every day. That's a fair bit of pressure on both you and your pet cow, right? Fortunately, there's a much more palatable alternative: jump on a plane and spend some time baring all under the Whitsundays sun, where, right now, the average temperature is 22°C. In fact, 34.8 percent of holidaymakers say that hitting the beach is their hottest winter activity, 29.2 percent seek out new cultures, 24.7 percent just want to laze by the pool and 9.3 percent are after cool cocktails. Speed up your Vit D intake with a GoDo Whitehaven Beach sailing adventure, which involves some super-fast sailing on the luxury catamaran Camira. SWAP HOT CHOCOLATES FOR TROPICAL COCKTAILS Many of us try to make the frosty, shivery months more digestible by wrapping our mittens around a hot chocolate, snuggling up in a corner somewhere and telling ourselves it'll be over soon. But, thanks to the fact that the Whitsundays are just a hop, skip and a jump away (in plane terms), you could be swapping your cocoa for a cocktail, within hours from now. For poolside beverages, there's The Hamilton Island Reef View Hotel, and for a strawberry and orange Summer Love cocktail, complete with sunset views, you can head to One Tree Hill, Hamilton's stunning hilltop lookout. INDULGE AND GET PAMPERED Is winter doing for your skin what Budget 2014 is doing for the arts? Leaving it drier and more forlorn than a lone penguin in Antarctica? You could stay where you are, pinning cucumbers to your eyes and moisturising like there's no tomorrow, or you could head to Airlie Beach. Endota at Pinnacles Resort and Spa currently has a weekday spa special going on and one of the best things about it is that once you've renewed and rejuvenated, you can get dreamy on their private verandah staring out at the Coral Sea and the Whitsunday Islands for as long as you like. SEE THE UNDERWATER WORLD The teenage temperatures that Australia's southern waters reach in July and August are only fit for hardcore surfers, Bondi Icebergers and masochists. The rest of us have to give up, accept the limitations of a terrestrial existence and wait. But on the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef, the water temperature hardly ever drops below 23 degrees. Yes, 23! So you can go underwater with Nemo and his friends in comfort all year round, whether you want to snorkel or scuba dive. SPOT A WHALE Whales have been around long enough to have figured out a thing or two. That's why they don't waste time hanging around in freezing cold water getting grumpy; they head for where the central heating's on full. Between July and October every year, you'll see them breaching around the Whitsundays, making occasional visits to the Great Barrier Reef and generally having a fine old time mucking about with their babies. Book your Whitsundays getaway now with Wotif.com.
In sad news for Stateside fans of St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, this year’s Detroit event has been cancelled. Sad – but unavoidable. Unfortunately, the promoters have been unable to book the acts necessary to the Laneway vision. “We tried to get the very few acts that we felt would be appropriate for Laneway and none of them were available,” promoter Danny Rogers stated. “We had one that went all the way to the wire and then changed its mind at the very last minute – bless their beautiful heart, too; they were under so much pressure to be everywhere and anywhere and something had to give. “We decided that we needed to be honest with ourselves and sit it out this year and review it again next year.” Laneway first hit Detroit in September 2013, with a line-up that included Sigur Rós, The National, Chet Faker and Flume. Rogers said the event “delivered what I genuinely believe was the most awesome festival I have ever been part of.” Earlier in 2013, Laneway hit Auckland and Singapore before making its way to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Fremantle, with performances from Lorde, Kurt Vile, Haim, Earl Sweatshirt, Four Tet, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, The Jezabels, Vance Joy and CHVRCHES, among others. Via TheMusic.com.au.
It arrives in the dead of winter. It fills Hobart with festivalgoers in the dark of night. It gets the brave donning nothing but their birthday suits to take a dip for the winter solstice. For ten fests now, with Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art at the helm, Dark Mofo has unleashed its wildest and weirdest delights upon the Apple Isle — its most sinister, surprising, challenging and stunning as well — and tempted arts lovers Australia-wide and beyond to the nation's southernmost state. Don't just think of Dark Mofo as the twisted sibling to Tasmania's other big annual festival, summer's Mona Foma, though. Running from Thursday, June 8–Thursday, June 22 in 2023, this event adores the space where opposites clash: dark and light, birth and death, all things wholesome and hedonistic included. That's what makes it the kind of Tassie getaway where you can slumber while listening to an eight-and-a-half-hour lullaby, see garbage turned into musical instruments, then wander into a theatre-meets-rave performance and witness Dante's journey through hell, purgatory and paradise come to life. Keen on the sunnier, sweeter side of this year's lineup? Prefer letting loose and making "when at Dark Mofo" your mantra? There's an event on the 2023 program for you either way, and no matter what level of chaos you're after — and after asking the Dark Mofo team for their tips on both sides of the spectrum, we've put together this handy guide. Concrete Playground Trips' Dark Mofo accommodation package might come in helpful, too. And, while some of these events are sold out at the time of writing, keep a keen eye on the fest's resales for more tickets. WHOLESOME: [caption id="attachment_899216" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo credit: Luke Currie-Richardson. Courtesy of BARKAA and Dark Mofo, Nipaluna/Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] THE GATHERING There's no doubting that Dark Mofo knows how to throw a party. That's the entire festival from start to finish, as well as many of its events from its first moments each year to its last. But there's nothing like a massive opening-night celebration — especially when that shindig showcases and celebrates First Nations culture and talent, as The Gathering does. On 2023's bill: Palawa and mainland Indigenous artists, all taking over In The Hanging Garden from 6.30pm–12am on Thursday, June 8. When you're not listing to BARKAA's energetic tunes and Tasman Keith's synth-scored raps, you'll be enjoying dameeeela's mixes, DENNI's vocals, and MARLON X RULLA's R&B and hip hop. Kartanya + KARAI are joining forces for a performance that blends poetry and music, Rob Braslin will do a stand-up set and Lutruwita / Tasmanian Aboriginal Elder Uncle Dougie Mansell will play music inspired by the state. And, in a partnership with Melbourne's YIRRAMBOI, Kin heroes cross-cultural connections between Victoria's Koorie and Tasmania's Palawa peoples. [caption id="attachment_803281" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Max Richter — SLEEP, Kraftwerk Berlin 2016. Photo: Stefan Hoederath.[/caption] MAX RICHTER'S SLEEP For some party people at Dark Mofo — many, even — spending all night at the festival doesn't involve getting any shuteye. But hitting the hay is definitely a part of this year's fest. Actually, Dark Mofo wants you to wear your pyjamas and sleep over. The slumber party comes courtesy of Max Richter's SLEEP, which returns to Australia for an eight-and-a-half-hour overnight stint on Wednesday, June 14 (and heads to Tasmania as an Aussie exclusive). You'll close your eyes, drift off to the land of nod and Richter's compositions will play as you snooze. The forty-winks part will happen on beds provided by Dark Mofo, while the latter is based on the neuroscience of having a kip. If you've seen the documentary about it, you'll already be excited — and you'll have your PJs ready. [caption id="attachment_899213" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo, Nipaluna/Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] ZINDZI & THE ZILLIONAIRES There's a bear on Dark Mofo's 2023 program. There's also an actor and musician that usually appears on-screen to entertain the festival's youngest attendees after a song about chairs, games and stories gets a spin. That'd be Zindzi, one of Play School's beloved hosts, who joins the fest lineup with The Zillionaires, her fluffy sidekicks. This concert is firmly for kids — and the adults taking them along, with children under two admitted free. If you're making the visit to Tassie with your family, Zindzi's two daytime sets on Sunday, June 11 (at 12pm and 2.30pm) are prime all-ages fun. And yes, you'll also know Zindzi as Okenyo, and for popping up as an actor in The Code, Sisters, Wakefield and Totally Completely Fine. [caption id="attachment_899214" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo credit: Zizuke. Courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo, Nipaluna/Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] FULU MIZIKI Venturing to Dark Mofo from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fulu Miziki won't just entertain you with their Afro-futurist-punk sounds. That's a given; however, they'll also make you think twice about what you discard. As you watch them play, they'll be making music with garbage — which they've turned into musical instruments. There are two parts to Fulu Miziki's Dark Mofo stint. The experimental workshop on Sunday, June 11 will teach a few lucky folks how to follow in the collective's footsteps with their own refuse and reclaimed materials, complete with a concert afterwards. And, the day prior on Saturday, June 10, Fulu Miziki will also be taking to the Odeon Theatre stage. This isn't just a family-friendly part of Dark Mofo — it's eco-friendly as well. [caption id="attachment_899210" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo credit: Zan Wimberley. Courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo, Nipaluna/Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] WITHOUT US YOU WOULD HAVE NEVER LEARNT ABOUT LOVE When we said before that there's a bear in Dark Mofo's 2023 program, we were referring to Giant Teddy, a towering Korean pop culture-inspired teddy bear that has lasers for eyes, plus a camera that'll show its live surveillance elsewhere in Hobart. But you can also expect to see stuffed toys at Without Us You Would Have Never Learnt About Love — because it makes an operatic tragedy with repurposed playthings. Artist Jason Phu is behind this creative use of jailbroken toys, and will have them performing inside a taoist robotic shrine. If it sounds like the kind of thing that you don't see every day, it truly is. Checking it out is free, and as simple as heading to the Baha'i Centre from 4–10pm between Thursday, June 8–Monday, June 12 and Wednesday, June 14–Sunday, June 18. HEDONISTIC: [caption id="attachment_898571" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo Credit: Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Dark Mofo 2018.[/caption] WINTER FEAST Winter Feast is all about tucking into local produce by the fire while listening to tunes and just generally enjoying an evening of revelry. One of Dark Mofo's annual highlights, it returns for 2023 across eight nights — running from Thursday, June 8–Sunday, June 11, then again from Thursday, June 15–Sunday, June 18, at Salamanca Lawns and Princes Wharf Shed 1 — with 90 stallholders setting up by the feast's blazes. Headlining the 2023 event is an acclaimed culinary name: Ana Roš, who you might know from Netflix documentary Chef's Table. She's the owner of Slovenia's two Michelin-starred restaurant Hiša Franko in Kobarid, and was named the world's best female chef by The World's 50 Best Restaurants academy in 2017. The World Tourism Organisation have also given her the title Ambassador of Gastronomic Tourism. At Dark Mofo, Roš will get cooking in a newly built 50-seat structure just for cooking and dining, and she'll have company: Stephen Peak and Rodney Dunn, both from New Norfolk's The Agrarian Kitchen. Their spread is set to span four courses, taking its cues from the dishes that that Roš and Peak whip up in their own kitchens. So, expect Slovenian-inspired fare, but made with Tasmania's top seasonal produce. [caption id="attachment_897774" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Camille Blake. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo.[/caption] TRANCE Slipping into a different mindset is just part of being at Dark Mofo. At TRANCE, you're openly invited to slide into a reverie in the process. Hailing from Berlin-based Chinese artist Tianzhuo Chen, this three-day performance from Thursday, June 8–Saturday, June 10 isn't just something that you watch — it's a true festival experience. You'll need to purchase a 'trance pass' to head along, which gives you access to the whole show across its run. Then, you can wander in and out as you like, seeing each day's 12-hour ritual — which is batched up in six two-hour chapters — in what's basically a physical theatre-meets-rave show. Along the way, you'll notice nods to religious iconography and pop culture alike — and Butoh choreography as well — as things get psychedelic and transcendental. You'll also spot Tinazhuo's cast of characters go all-in on testing the body's corporeal limits. [caption id="attachment_886260" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nicole Marianna Wytyczak[/caption] A DIVINE COMEDY A wild dance theatre performance inspired by Dante's The Divine Comedy? Yes, that sounds completely in Dark Mofo's wheelhouse. That production is A Divine Comedy, hailing from Austrian choreographer and performance artist Florentina Holzinger, and hitting the festival from Friday, June 16–Sunday, June 18 as both an Australian premiere and an Aussie exclusive. Holzinger is known for making challenging and provocative theatre, and for exploring gender relations — including how women's bodies are represented in art and media. For A Divine Comedy, she's staging the whole dive into the hell, purgatory and paradise as a giant autopsy room, all to explore how humans negotiate life and death. From an all-female-identifying cast spanning all ages, as well as a variety of physical, musical and athletic disciplines, expect to see nude performers, slapstick acts, bodily substances and references to slasher movies as well — plus a jam-packed selection of nods to art and dance's respective histories. [caption id="attachment_899218" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image courtesy of DarkLab.[/caption] THE BLUE ROSE BALL Get ready for a ball both wonderful and strange: Dark Mofo's hedonistic masquerade, which this year is called The Blue Rose Ball. David Lynch fans, this sounds like absolute heaven — and it is indeed inspired by the inimitable filmmaker behind Twin Peaks. The event takes its name from a secret task force in that very show, in fact, which you'll already know if you agree that it's the best show ever made (as you should). On Wednesday, June 7, a mystery venue will play host to cocktails, wines, aperitifs and epicurean provisions. Exactly what will happen from there is set to be revealed on the night — having your expectations challenged Lynch-style is part of the fun, of course — but if your costume includes red and white zigzags, you've obviously nailed it. Fancy getting a Lynch-meets-Dark Mofo fix throughout the rest of fest? From Thursday, June 8–Monday, June 12 and Wednesday, June 14–Sunday, June 18, Dark Park will also play host to a Blue Velvet Lounge, and with live tunes and performances all on theme. [caption id="attachment_899219" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo credit: Rosie Hastie, 2022. Image courtesy of Dark Mofo 2022.[/caption] NIGHT MASS If you love wild affairs that run late into the evening, it's time to lose yourself to Night Mass. Anything and everything can and does happen at this after-dark affair, which is sprawling wider in 2023 than usual — taking over three city blocks, and naming the space District X. Within the precinct's confines, there'll be 13 stages hosting a hefty list of acts, all in an area with a capacity of 4500 — with Night Mass taking place over five nights across two weekends. Those dates: Friday, June 9–Sunday, June 11, and then Friday, June 16–Saturday, June 17. On offer: everything from music and cocktail lounges through to punk theatre and junkyard raves. Attendees can also expect art, performances, cinema cabarets, games arcades, tarot readings, plenty of places to eat and drink, and fire beacons lighting the way. And, on the bill, folks such as Desire Marea, dameeeela, Amnesia Scanner, Violent Magic Orchestra and Mahne Frame, as well as Ms Boogie, Prison Religion, Pelada, Marie Davidson and Moktar. Dark Mofo 2023 runs from Thursday, June 8–Thursday, June 22 in Hobart, Tasmania, with tickets on sale now. Top image: Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford, 2018. Image of Société Anonyme Costume Ball Hadley's Orient Hotel. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world — including our Dark Mofo tickets and accommodation package.
Since Friday, September 17, Melburnians have been able to venture ten kilometres from home under the city's current lockdown, doubling the five-kilometre rule that had been in place since the beginning of August. That change only happened just over a week ago, when 70 percent of eligible Victorians had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. But, when the state hits the 80-percent single-jabbed threshold, the travel radius is being amended again as per the new roadmap out of lockdown — so you'll soon be able to head 15 kilometres away from your house instead. Shopping for essentials? Exercising? Going outside for social interaction with your mates? From 11.59pm on Tuesday, September 28, you'll have another five kilometres to play with. That covers when you're moseying out to meet with someone you don't live with for a picnic, a walk or some other outdoor activity — including, in another just-announced change, 'contactless' pastimes such as golf and tennis. Or, if you and your friends are fully vaxxed with both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, then up to five adults from two households, plus their dependents, are allowed to gather outdoors. So, if you're currently scrambling to find quick ways to map out your 15-kilometre zone, that's completely understandable. While you're probably quite familiar with the five-kilometre and ten-kilometre patches of land surrounding your house thanks to more than a few lockdowns over the past 18 months or so, there are a few easy ways to check out your household's government-approved travel radius now that you have more room to venture. But none have proved quite as popular as KM From Home — a website that originally launched in Ireland back in March, when that country introduced its own travel restrictions — and was jumped on by Melburnians back in August 2020. The online map is free and easy to use — simply centre it to your address, select a 15-kilometre radius and you'll see a big red or blue bubble encompassing the zone you're free to travel in under the Victorian Government's new rules. You'll find other radius apps out there as well, including the likes of Map Developers and The Age's tool. Alternatively, if you've got a Garmin watch, you can download this range warning and it'll alert you when you're closing in on a certain distance from your run's starting point. Want to check a specific cafe or shopping centre to see if it falls in your 15-kilometre zone? There's a function on the Google Maps app that allows you to measure a distance as the crow flies. On desktop, simply right click on a location on the map, select 'measure distance' and then click anywhere else on the map and it'll show you exactly how far the address is from your starting point. Under the existing rules, you can head out to exercise or for outdoor social gatherings for a maximum of four hours per day. That time limit isn't changing — but, from Tuesday, September 28, it can be done within 15 kilometres of your home. You can leave your bubble for permitted work, or if you're shopping for essentials and there are no shops in your radius. Lockdown rules in metropolitan Melbourne will ease slightly from 11.59pm on Tuesday, September 28, with exercising, shopping for essentials and outdoor gatherings within 15 kilometres of your house permitted from that point. For more information about the rules, head to the Victorian Department of Health website. Images: Km From Home
Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to be sipping beers by the beach to make the most of January's hot afternoons and long balmy nights — you can enjoy it right here in the city. In bars. With friends, drinks and some better-than-average bar food. Maybe you want to perch on a roof terrace, or you desperately need some air-conditioning. Whatever you want, you've got it. These brand new bars are the best places to embrace and escape the heat this summer.
The crew who brought us some of Melbourne's most influential cafes (Higher Ground, Top Paddock and The Kettle Black) opened Token in early 2024, a 150-seat Japanese restaurant on Toorak Road in South Yarra. Token is strongly inspired by the delightfully chaotic beer-and-bar snack culture of Japanese izakayas, which is somewhat of a trend in Melbourne right now — Robata, Tokyo Motto, Yakimono and Tamura all fall into this category. This particular style of casual drinking and dining is experiencing a real surge in popularity and, as a format that involves a steady supply of snacks alongside Japanese beers, cocktails and sake, why wouldn't it? Token fits nicely into this niche but has a unique concept that focuses on "the elemental duality of the Liquid & Raw and the Charred & Flamed". Liquid and raw refers to the drink offerings — cocktails, sakes, wine and beer — and the restaurant's raw bar, where sashimi and temaki are made to order in front of diners. Charred and flamed is then represented by the myriad of dishes cooked on the Binchotan yakitori grill and in the coal-fired oven. These take centre stage in the open kitchen that guests can sit by, being entertained as the grill masters play with fire. Darling Group Directors Sam and Nicholas Seoud and Executive Chef Ashly Hicks (ex-Prince Dining Room, Garden State Hotel and Mya Tiger) have created the selection of Japanese eats with Token's Head Chef Jun Sun (ex-Nobu and Ichi Ni Nana Izakaya). There's some damn impressive experience, so the expectations are high.
Ice cream maker-turned-activist Ben & Jerry's is once again taking its frozen treats into the political realm. In the past, the much-loved ice cream (or lack thereof) was used to support marriage equality. Now, it'll become a platform for taking action on climate change with the new limited-edition flavour, Gimme S'More Renewables. The flavour's launch corresponds with the global Rise For Climate Day on Saturday, September 8, and will be available in Ben & Jerry's stores for just one day, and while supplies last. All proceeds will be donated to the company's long-term climate activism partners, 350.org Australia. On the day, fifty marches and picnics are scheduled to take place across Australia — you can find the closest event to you here. Ben & Jerry's has also sent personalised pints of Gimme S'More Renewables to federal and state politicians, acting as a direct call on Australian leaders to accelerate renewable energy and commit to a fossil-fuel-free world. In a show of good faith, the company has committed to being carbon positive and using only renewable resources by 2030. Plus, its 2020 deadline for using renewable electricity sources and eliminating coal from its energy mix is just around the corner. All Ben & Jerry's shops are currently powered by Powershop, an electricity provider that is 100 percent carbon neutral. If you need more than the drought and the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef to convince you to get involved, the Gimme S'More Renewables sounds pretty damn tasty, too — a combination of marshmallow ice cream, chocolate cookies, Graham cracker swirls and fudge flakes. Ben & Jerry's limited-edition Gimme S'More Renewables will be available at all Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops on Saturday, September 8. Find your closest one here.
With social networks now pivotal for most businesses, entrepreneurs, artists and pretty much anybody with an Internet connection, it's not surprising that new websites are popping up more often than ever. The latest website to gain some real momentum around the world is Pinterest, a 'digital scrapbooking' website that lets you present and organise all of your interests and share them with the world. Users cluster their favourite things into small boards such as 'food' and 'music', with each interest receiving a neat image and hyperlink if applicable. Building upon the aesthetic appeal of visually-based websites such as Instagram and the sharing capabilities of Facebook, Pinterest has all the correct elements to become a huge success. In late 2011, it broke into the Top 10 most popular social media websites, and its recent growth has seen it become a bigger traffic referrer for women's websites than Facebook and Twitter in the U.S. However, if the revolving door of social media has taught us anything, it's that websites can fall just as fast as they skyrocket, and that trends can be embraced fully before fading into obscurity. The biggest challenge for Pinterest will be keeping up with technology and offering users greater ways to integrate the website with their daily routines and ideas. There are 12 million American users of Pinterest, and an overwhelming 83% of those are female. Complying with traditional gender stereotypes, the most popular Pinterest profiles are largely focused on fashion, decoration and interior design. This overwhelming dominance of female users has even caught the attention of the US Army, who are looking to Pinterest as a source for more women to join the ranks. Pinterest's simplicity and organisation have made it a joy to explore when online. Many companies have already taken to 'board hacks' in order to slice their favourite images and present them in creative ways. Like all effective social media websites, this allows users to personalise their pages with great innovation. Will you jump aboard the Pinterest bandwagon? Concrete Playground has already started to fill the Pinterest boards with all the best and brightest cultural news. Follow us here and share the love.
There's a new kid on Melbourne's bubble tea block, but this one's no amateur. In fact, Milksha is one of Taiwan's leading bubble tea chains. First launched back in 2004 — and now boasting over 240 outposts across Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and Macau — the company has chosen Melbourne as the home of its first Aussie location, opening the doors to a shiny new Elizabeth Street store on Saturday, September 21. Known as Milkshop to its Taiwanese fans, Milksha was founded by a dairy farmer and sets itself apart from competitors by using fresh milk. Fifteen years on, it's finally bringing its creamy bubble teas Down Under. With hopes of winning a new legion of local bubble tea fans, Milksha Melbourne is serving up its signature yoghurt drinks, seasonal juices, specialty teas and milk blends. While the brand's loose leaf teas are sourced from Sri Lanka and Taiwan, the local store is teaming up with our own award-winning Saint David Dairy to handle the entire milk supply. [caption id="attachment_742369" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tim Harris[/caption] So, what else will you find in your Milksha drink? Well, if bubble tea's your thing, you'll want to check out the honey pearl toppings — tapioca pearls cooked in honey and flash-frozen before being shipped to Melbourne. There's also matcha from century-old Japanese brand Izumo Tousuien, fresh taro milk made with taro imported from Taiwan's famed Dajia District, Valrhona cocoa and a range of vibrant toppings such as milk pudding and herbal fairy-grass jelly Other tea flavours include brown sugar, wintermelon, earl grey and oolong, while the yoghurt drink comes in strawberry, avocado and blueberry. And, if the packaging of some other bubble tea joints makes your eyes water, you'll be happy to know Milksha's got the planet on its side. The store's using biodegradable bamboo straws, as well as paper bags and cup holders. Find Milksha at 134 Elizabeth Street, CBD — it's open from 11am till 10pm daily. Images: Tim Harris. Updated: October 1, 2019.
Adelaide has been getting a major dose of cool as of late. Though the small bar scene may be a Melbournian namesake, this SA sister city is in the midst of a rebirth and has all of the makings to become its own small bar mecca. If you're headed to Adelaide, you'll want to check out the East End, along with Peel and Leigh streets, which house many of the city's newer bars — many of which only opened in 2015. From underground speakeasies and sake bars to American style dives and even a bar fitted out to resemble a log cabin, Adelaide has it all and in partnership with the Hahn Brewers we're bringing you the best of it. MAYBE MAE The concealed entrance to this 1950s cocktail lounge is not easy to find, but Maybe Mae is well worth the extra effort. Hidden in a tunnel beneath the Bread and Bone Wood Grill, the timber wall has no signage or even a door handle — this spot is as speakeasy as it gets. The space, inspired by movie star and sex symbol Mae West, is marked by a glamorous, Hollywood interior of green leather booths and large brass mirrors. It only opened last year, but this throwback of a bar is already a favourite stop on a night out. 15 Peel Street, Adelaide. PINK MOON SALOON Pink Moon Saloon is possibly the coolest-looking bar in the city. Located in the site of a former service laneway, the space best resembles a log cabin set in between two tall city buildings. Opened in 2015, this newcomer is a perfect addition to Adelaide's blooming small bar scene. The vibe itself is worth the visit alone. The drinks menu is inventive and playful (you can still grab a beer) while the small food menu is well designed for drink-induced nibbling. 21 Leigh Street, Adelaide. BANK STREET SOCIAL For a busy local hotspot, the Bank Street Social is your go-to. Get your boogie on to DJs spinning funk and disco, or relax on one of their luxe, golden-clad booths. On the food side of things, the regional pizza bar is focused on fresh, local ingredients and keeps the post-dance hanger at bay. 48 Hindley Street, Adelaide. MR. GOODBAR The vibe at Mr. Goodbar is best understood by their shrine to Saint Amand — that is, the patron saint of bartenders. The joint is dedicated to good times and, in their own words, to "the best kinds of sin". The waistcoat-wearing staff serve up their drinks alongside a simple food menu includes a daily cheese and charcuterie selection ($16-18) and blue swimmer crab cakes ($16). Overall, the space has a emphasises the old-world chic to it and is well-deserving of its name. 12 Union Street, Adelaide. [caption id="attachment_589691" align="alignnone" width="1280"] @jenjen_fifinha via Instagram[/caption] BADDOG BAR Baddog is a grunge-lovers haven, with an interior combination of leather, concrete and steel that just works. The well-lit bar boasts an impressive selection of small batch, local and international liquor, but is a great spot to settle down with a beer. Their in-house piano is the centre for which their blues and roots live acts congregate and play most nights until late. 63 Hyde Street, Adelaide. BRKLYN Housed upstairs at 260 Rundle Street, BRKLYN pays homage to New York's most loved borough. The entrance to this hidden gem is styled to look like a NYC subway — complete with subway-style mosaic tiling — and one half of the bar has even been made to look like a Brooklyn street, with various shopfronts and even an in-house barber. To cap it all off, their menu pays homage to the Jewish-owned delis of NYC, serving up the classic Reuben pastrami on rye with house-made pickles and Old Bay popcorn. 260A Rundle Street, Adelaide. 55ML 55ml is an intimate hole-in-the-wall with a simple but top-notch booze list, board games and tacos — need we say more? It has all the makings of great night out and is an ideal location for getting stuck in. Patrons easily lose time in this dimly-lit small bar, where the relaxed vibe is matched with pickleback specials — and they're just a few reasons to check this place out. We suggest you settle in with a beer and some chorizo tacos, grab the Jenga and let the hours fly by. 55 Mill Street, Adelaide. THE QUEEN'S HEAD This gem is the oldest licensed venue in its original location in the whole of South Australia, it's been sitting pretty on the corner of Kermode Street and Abbott Lane for 175 years. Not only a sunny spot for an afternoon beer, the kitchen at Queen's Head has award-winning pizza, burgers, steaks and sides and each weeknight has its own food special. 2KW BAR When you want to go somewhere a little bigger (and a little fancier) than the above, which also has incredible views of Adelaide and is cool in summer and warm in winter, then head to 2KW Bar. Sit back in the privacy of perfectly manicured hedges and enjoy a drink and some fancy food (try the crayfish). GONDOLA GONDOLA Gondola Gondola is an Asian-inspired bar and bistro that serves up sake, Japanese whiskies and craft beer. The food menu is also varied, from Vietnamese lamb shank stew and banh xeo (savoury pancake) to some Thai-flavoured sashimi and lemongrass beef. Despite this variety, the space has an authentic vibe and is a must do on any boozy (or foodie) visit to Adelaide. 1 Peel Street, Adelaide. Sign up to Hahn Brewers and use your weekend to take a trip to Adelaide.
Unlike many other music festivals gearing up to make their first appearance since before the pandemic, much-loved camping fest Pitch Music & Arts is preparing to host its second post-COVID instalment. But if last year's well-timed (and sold-out) return was anything to go by, it's set to go off with just as big of a bang as any other comeback on your calendar. The long-running celebration is headed back to Moyston, in the foothills of Victoria's Grampians, from Friday, March 10–Tuesday, March 14 2023. Not only will its three stages play host to a sparkling lineup of local and international musical talent, but the tunes will be backed by a hefty program of interactive art and installations. Basically, you're in for a very big, very busy four days. [caption id="attachment_875292" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Duncographic[/caption] Guiding your sonic journey will be legends like Germany's Helena Hauff, UK electro act Four Tet (who's also hitting Golden Plains the same weekend), DJ and producer Nightmares on Wax, Berlin-born supergroup Moderat and a live set from UK-based duo OVERMONO. You'll also catch the likes of Leon Vynehall, Ben UFO, Fatima Yamaha and Âme flying the flag for the international dance scene, joined by a juicy lineup of homegrown heroes — Mildlife, Ayebatonye, C.Frim, Yarra, IN2STELLAR and Soju Gang, included. While the supporting program of artistic delights is yet to drop, last year's offering — including works by street artist Adnate and installation king Clayton Blake (Winner of Best Art at Burning Man 2018) — should leave you pretty excited for what's in store. [caption id="attachment_875293" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Duncographic[/caption] In between all the dance-floor sessions and arty things, festival-goers can make themselves at home in the Pitch Pavilion, unwinding with a yoga class, meditation or sound bath. There'll also be an ethical design market to shop, a range of food stalls to fuel your weekend and a Pride Patrol doing live drag performances. If that all sounds like your true calling, you'll have to enter the Pitch Music & Arts 2023 ballot where, for the first time, entrants will be required to make a 'Pitch Pledge' — a written commitment to positively contributing to the Pitch community, leaving no trace and behaving respectfully while onsite. [caption id="attachment_875295" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ash Caygill[/caption] PITCH MUSIC & ARTS 2023 LINEUP: ABSOLUTE. AK Sports Âme Anetha Ayebatonye Ben UFO Bertie BIG WETT Bradley Zero C.Frim X Mirasia Call Super Cassie Raptor Club Angel Daria Kolosova DAWS Dax J DJ EZ DJ Heartstring DJ Stingray 313 DJ Tennis Effy Ewan McVicar Fatima Yamaha (Live) FJAAK DJ Four Tet François X HALFQUEEN Héctor Oaks Helena Hauff I.JORDAN IN2STELLAR Interplanetary Criminal Jaguar Jennifer Cardini Juicy Romance Jyoty Kalyani KAS:ST Kelly Lee Owens (DJ Set) KETTAMA Ki/Ki Kim Ann Foxman Leon Vynehall (Live) LSDXOXO m8riarchy Major League Djz Mano Le Tough Marie Montexier Mildlife Miley Serious Moderat (Live) Nightmares On Wax NLV OVERMONO (Live) Parfait Paula Tape Peach Pretty Girl (Live) Roi Perez RONA Ryan Elliott Sam Alfred x STÜM Soju Gang Sophie McAlister SWIM Tama Sumo x Lakuti Tinlicker (Live) u.r.trax Yarra Yikes Young Marco Pitch Music & Arts will return to Moyston from March 10–March 14, 2023. Head to the festival's website for further details, or to enter the ballot before 3pm AEDT on Wednesday, November 2. General tickets will go on sale from 12pm on Thursday, November 10. Top Images: Alex Drewniak and William Hamilton Coates.
Fancy rolling through the festive season without a care in the world — on eight wheels? You can do just that in Carlton's Argyle Square this month thanks to the Melbourne Christmas Festival's new pop-up Christmas Roller Rink. Yep, from Friday, December 16–Saturday, December 24, the precinct is being reimagined as an openair roller-skating arena, complete with giant neon decorations, a towering Christmas tree and plenty of room to show off your wheely good moves. Open daily from 11am until 9 or 10pm, the rink is free to ride, with skate hire available for $5 and bookings made online. There'll be classic tunes to soundtrack your spin, while local DJs like OMG Becky, Sophie Joy and Pixelton are set to grace the decks across the weekend of December 16–18. Meanwhile, the adjoining Piazza Italia is a primo spot for a post-spin picnic — especially since Carlton Inc will be running giveaways and handing out free Italian eats here right throughout the festive season.
Cinephiles have many reasons to love France. After its early filmmaking pioneers played an enormous part in establishing the medium, the country's New Wave of fresh talents helped revitalise it more than half a century later — and in the decades since, the nation has continued to make a considerable impact. Among its many achievements, it's also home to the most famous film festival on the planet, as well as the highest density of cinemas per capita. In short: the world loves the combination of France and film, and the country itself does as well. For the next month around Australia, it's time to say oui s'il vous plaît to all of the above. And, with apologies to anyone who'd love to be jetting off to Paris, it's time to do so by visiting a cinema screen near you. As it has for the past 30 years, the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival is currently treating much of the country to the best, brightest, latest and greatest movies that the European nation has to offer. If there's ever been a reason to escape into a darkened room with a glass of wine and a cheese platter, this is it. Touring Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Brisbane, Hobart, Adelaide, Avoca Beach, Parramatta and Byron Bay until April 14, this year's AFFFF brings a feast of 54 films to Aussie audiences — big name stars, touching dramas, weird and wonderful delights, and veteran filmmakers trying their hand at English-language flicks all included. If you're feeling spoiled for choice, we've watched and picked the 12 titles you should seek out. Joyeaux viewing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osqw349H9zE NON-FICTION In one of her three appearances on the 2019 AFFFF lineup, Juliette Binoche explores the complexities of living a creative life in Non-Fiction. Despite its title, Olivier Assayas' latest film isn't based on fact — and while Binoche once again plays a famous actor, she's not aping her own existence or revisiting her character from the director's Clouds of Sils Maria. And yet, this witty affair still steps into the dramas of combining the actual and the imagined, as writer Léonard (Vincent Macaigne) earns acclaim and fame for infusing his personal love affairs into his latest book. He's also romantically entwined with Binoche's TV star Selena, while her husband Alain (Guillaume Canet) is Léonard's publisher, setting the scene for a smart, amusing and perceptive dissection of life and love in today's always-online, always-sharing times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtOwfo1ypOw HIGH LIFE Already one of the best films of 2019, and of any other year for that matter, High Life is as audacious and alluring as it sounds. As should be expected from inimitable writer/director Claire Denis, this sci-fi flick is as intelligent and profound as the rest of her filmography, too, and as craftily determined not to be pinned down. Worlds away from the romance of Let the Sunshine In, Denis re-teams with Juliette Binoche for an existential — and sometimes sexual — nightmare that unravels in the clinical surroundings of a prison spaceship that's hurtling towards the edges of the solar system. But, among a high-profile cast that also includes Mia Goth and Outkast's Andre Benjamin, it's Robert Pattinson who's the star of the show. Playing a man and father haunted in a plethora of ways, the continually impressive actor furthers his hot streak of exceptional, challenging roles under the direction of similarly exceptional, challenging filmmakers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2L2USPgiMI A FAITHFUL MAN As he did with 2015's Two Friends, Louis Garrel writes, directs and stars in this ruminative romantic comedy, which marks the actor-turned-filmmaker's second stint behind the camera. He plays Abel, who's quickly discarded by his pregnant girlfriend Marianne (Laetitia Casta) in favour of his best friend — and, years afterwards, becomes an object of affection for his former pal's now-grown sister Eve (Lily-Rose Depp). Told from multiple perspectives and shot with a probing eye for beautiful sights, A Faithful Man is the epitome of bittersweet, with Garrel proving a keen observer of human intricacies as both a performer and a helmer. Indeed, while this infidelity-driven affair is light from start to finish, it's also steeped in genuine feeling and drawn from a deep vein of thoughtfulness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9d310frjNk THE SISTERS BROTHERS For his debut English-language feature, Jacques Audiard pans for gold with The Sisters Brothers — and finds it. The French filmmaker's first flick since winning the 2015 Palme d'Or for Dheepan, this slice of old west life delivers a rich, rewarding, contemplative and comedic western, combining the genre's recognisable grit and verve with its own melancholic spirit. For Charlie Sisters (Joaquin Phoenix), the gun-slinging, bounty-hunting assassin trade is a dream. For the elder Eli (John C. Reilly, taking part in another great double act after Stan & Ollie), it's losing its shimmer. Then their latest job goes awry, with their advance man (Jake Gyllenhaal) teaming up with their prospector target (Riz Ahmed) in a quest for riches, sparking shoot-outs and soul-searching in equal measure against a magnificent backdrop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXSojVVG4Z8 THE WILD BOYS The Wild Boys might bake its influences into every lurid frame — think Guy Maddin, Jean Cocteau, John Carpenter, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, David Lynch and more — but this wild ride could never be described as the simple sum of its parts. Story-wise, Bertrand Mandico's feature debut follows five unruly teens who commit a crime at the turn of the 20th century and, in an act of both punishment and rehabilitation, are subsequently taken on a sea voyage to a mysterious island. Just like the libidinous quartet, audiences are gifted a sensual swirl of stimuli and subversion; however to say much more about the narrative or the cast is to spoil the movie's many surprises. Whether flitting from flickering black-and-white to bursts of luminous colour, emphasising his exaggerated sets or experimenting with framing, Mandico ensures that every second of The Wild Boys is a vibrant and textured delight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyGC0W8PfoI AMANDA Collecting awards and nominations around the globe — Cesar and Lumiere nods in France, a prize in Venice and the top spot at last year's Tokyo Film Festival — Amanda is an involving drama that never takes the obvious route. Its title refers to the seven-year-old niece (Isaure Multrier) of 24-year-old Parisian David (Vincent Lacoste), who comes into his sole care after a devastating tragedy. Subtle rather than overt, and never blatantly tugging at the heartstrings, this is a tender yet clear-eyed account of coping with life's unexpected developments. While director Mikhaël Hers (This Summertime Feeling) approaches the material with a bittersweet tone, he also displays a a delicate and even effervescent touch. His leading man helps considerably, with The French Kissers, Eden and Sorry Angel's Lacoste fast becoming on of France's most compelling young talents. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIU_IHfp3cU REVENGE A striking debut from writer/director Coralie Fargeat, Revenge stalks across the screen with all of the rape-revenge genre's violence and horror — and with visceral style and a firm feminist punch as well. During a desert getaway gone wrong, the attractive Jen (Matilda Lutz) segues from mistress to the arrogant Richard (Kevin Janssens), to victim of his brutish pals (Vincent Colombe and Vincent Colombe), to avenger of the myriad of savage wrongs committed against her. The storyline is standard; however Fargeat approaches the film's visuals, mood and energy with the same do-or-die determination as her persistent protagonist. Lutz, too, puts in an all-consuming performance, aptly conveying the feature's specific blood-soaked tale while embodying the fury of every woman who has ever had to fight back against overwhelmingly cruel and vicious forces. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfeEhb4xnps THE NIGHT EATS THE WORLD Zombie movies are as common as ravenous, human-eating crowds after a horrific on-screen outbreak; however The Night Eats the World gives a distinctive taste to the genre's familiar flesh. The first feature from writer/director Dominique Rocher, the sparse horror flick plays out like a cross between I Am Legend and 28 Days Later… with a dose of expected survivalist antics and a few borrowings from single-settling thrillers; however this atmospheric, evocative film boasts a tone that's never less than intriguing. When the world turns from normal to undead in the space of an evening, Sam (Anders Danielsen Lie) is left to fend for himself. His only company is a zombified neighbour (Denis Lavant), and his own ingenuity is all that's keeping him safe from the attacking hordes outside. There's a rich flow of existential dread coursing through this addition to the genre, not only about mortality but also isolation and loneliness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRF290gedLs SORRY ANGEL At last year's AFFFF, BPM (Beats Per Minute) broke hearts and burrowed into souls with its depiction of 1990s Paris — a time when queer men loved passionately and fought proudly for their place in the world, but always found their existence lingering under a cloud. Consider Christophe Honoré's Sorry Angel not quite its successor, but its dance partner, with the two films sashaying through similar space while unleashing their own moves. Here, writer Jacques (Pierre Deladonchamps) meets student Arthur (Vincent Lacoste) and, as a bond grows between them, the former's illness and the latter's idealism shape their relationship. Sublimely blue in its melancholy mood and its exacting colour scheme, the end result is a layered, almost novel-like, always tender and touching study of life and love. — SW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JywE77VYpWc BY THE GRACE OF GOD Exploring sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, By the Grace of God was always going to prove both topical and sorrowful, regardless of its timing. Based on a real-life French case, the film's ripped-from-the-headlines storyline has recently seen two figures portrayed within its frames take legal action, in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to block its release. In Australia, the movie arrives hot on the heels of high-profile local legal proceedings; however, the anger, dismay and empathy the Silver Bear recipient inspires is all its own. Focusing on three men (Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet and Swann Arlaud) who were inappropriately taken advantage of by the same priest (Bernard Verley) as children, this is a measured, moving, sensitive and sobering picture from filmmaker François Ozon, who ventures worlds away from previous efforts such as Swimming Pool and Young & Beautiful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZnjwuicCq0 KNIFE + HEART It's 1979. Someone is savagely murdering gay porn stars, all of whom work for successful, ruthless producer Anne (Vanessa Paradis). And, as she tries to keep making movies while her actors keep dropping like flies, she's coping with the end of her relationship with her editor. Kudos to writer/director Yann Gonzalez for Knife + Heart's exceptional premise, which also features films within films, creepy legends, spooky woods and rather inventive weapons. Still, it's his eye-popping execution that makes this a weird and wonderful delight. In his hands, nothing is too much — and we mean nothing. The end result is an assault on the senses that's as brutal as its slasher set-up and as theatrical as its campy tone. — SW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRFwJS7pu80 THE WORLD IS YOURS There are heist films, and there are heist films. The World Is Yours has earned comparisons to Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino's work; however it's no mere derivative take on a well-worn genre. Instead, it's a splashy, stylish, skilfully executed and supremely entertaining effort in its own right, and a mighty fun time at the cinema. Perhaps best known for making music videos for M.I.A., Simian Mobile Disco, Kanye West and Jay-Z, and Jamie xx, French filmmaker Romain Gavras turns this account of small-time gangsters dreaming big into a cool, comic and confidently engaging caper that drips with energy and charm from start to finish. Veterans Isabelle Adjani and Vincent Cassel take to their roles with glee, but it's A Prophet's Karim Leklou who stands out among the movie's stars — playing the son of a seasoned grifter who just wants to pull one last job so he can sell icy poles in North Africa. — SW The Alliance Française French Film Festival tours Australia from March 5, screening at Sydney's Chauvel Cinema, Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Palace Central and Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace from March 5 to April 10; Melbourne's Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Kino Cinemas and The Astor Theatre from March 6 to April 10; Perth's Palace Raine Square, Cinema Paradiso, Luna on SX, Windsor Cinema and Camelot Outdoor Cinema from March 13 to April 10; and Brisbane's Palace Barracks and Palace James Street from March 14 to April 14. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the AFFFF website.
Before the opening credits roll on the first of its eight season-one episodes, Binge's new Australian sitcom Colin From Accounts explores some of life's big questions. When two strangers cross paths and literally come to an impasse, who should proceed off into their regular lives to begin with — and who should hang back out of their way till they're gone? Also, what's the appropriate way to interact? Are smiles, nods, waves, and mouthing "you go" or "after you" acceptable? And, if you're the person who scores right of way, how do you show your gratitude as you're merrily venturing forward? These may seem like trivial matters, as everyday and relatable as they clearly are, but the right moves might just inspire a life-changing meeting. They could also have serious consequences, and bond you in a complicated situation for around 12 years with someone you wouldn't have otherwise met. Or, both could occur. That's how it pans out in Colin From Accounts, with the rom-com spying the familiarity, comedy and chaos in bumping into another person on the street. Medical student Ashley (Harriet Dyer, The Invisible Man) and microbrewery owner Gordon (Patrick Brammall, Evil) do just that one otherwise standard Sydney morning. He lets her go first, she flashes her nipple as thanks, then he's so distracted that he hits a stray dog with his car. A girl, a guy and a meet-cute over an adorable animal: that's this delightful and very funny series' straightforward underlying formula. But as the circumstances surrounding Ash and Gordon's initial run-in demonstrate, Colin From Accounts isn't afraid to get awkward, much to the benefit of audiences. There's a syrupy way to proceed from the show's debut moments, intertwining sparks flying with idyllic dates, plus zero doubts of a happy ending for humans and pooches alike. If this was a movie, that's how it'd happen. Then there's Dyer and Brammall's way, with the duo creating and writing the series as well as starring in it, and focusing as much on ordinary existential mayhem — working out who you want to be, navigating complex relationships and learning to appreciate the simple pleasure of someone else's company, for example — as pushing its leads together. Before Ashley becomes 'Flashley', she's a 29-year-old medical student reeling from an unexpected breakup with a colleague (Tai Hara, Underbelly: Vanishing Act). Before Gordon is forced to ask his ex Yvette (Annie Maynard, Playing for Keeps), a vet, to do him a favour, he's a fortysomething who has been single for a unicycle-buying amount of time. By the time the day of their first encounter is out, they'll be sharing a hefty debt and a Sydney home — the former for the dog's treatment and the latter because pets aren't allowed at Ash's sharehouse. She's in his phone as 'Ashley $12k', the amount they're on the hook for. He's in hers as 'Dog Car Guy'. They joke about being each other's weird mate, and openly wonder if two people can be friends once exposed mammary glands get involved. Just like in the Hollywood versions of this kind of tale, romance does blossom. That Dyer and Brammall are behind Colin From Accounts, their past chemistry on fellow Aussie comedy No Activity and the fact that they're married IRL means that pairing them up as more than new pals was always going to be on the show's agenda. It's how the series fleshes out each character and their baggage — including those who-am-I questions, Ash's difficult dynamic with her attention-seeking mother Lynelle (Helen Thomson, Elvis), and the responsibility that running your own business and committing to care for other people each bring — that helps give it depth. Colin From Accounts lets Ash and Gordon unfurl their woes and wishes, and also lets them grow. Sometimes, that happens by peeing and pooping in the wrong place, because that's also the type of comedy this is. Sometimes, it's because the show's central couple have taken a risk, or faced their struggles, or genuinely found solace in each other. There's more than a touch of Catastrophe to Colin From Accounts, in its thrusting of two strangers together by a twist of fate that sees them sharing caring duties — for a dog rather than children, however. In lesser hands, there'd be an initial dose of New Girl as well, but Ash is no manic pixie dream girl singing her way through Gordon's life or unleashing a big bag of quirkiness. Credited with penning four episodes apiece, Dyer and Brammall bring sharpness and authenticity to their scripts, especially when confronting the truth that neither Ash nor Gordon know what they truly want. There's a clear-eyed feel to Colin From Accounts' still-light embrace of one of life's immutable realities: that we're all just moseying forward, being spontaneous, coping with the fallout, colliding with other people — and critters — and hoping for a content-enough outcome. Watching Dyer and Brammall bounce off of each other, dog in tow, is easy. Even when things are at their most strained between Ash and Gordon, and even when Colin From Accounts is swinging for its broadest grabbag-style laughs, their rapport always feels grounded. The script layers in gags about the pair's age difference, and contrasts the distinctive brands of Millennial and Generation X chaos, but the series is never in laugh track-heavy sitcom territory. Neither actor's impressive work should come as a surprise, of course, and nor should their ability to find drama as well as comedy in the show's premise. See: their respective resumes, including Dyer's work in Killing Ground and Wakefield, and Brammall's on Offspring and Glitch. Colin From Accounts may focus on Ash and Gordon's ups and downs, and on Dyer and Brammall as its driving forces, but it also mines a wealth of other talent. Thomson is a scene-stealer, as part of a subplot that examines the lifelong hurt that can spring when no one actually says what they mean. As Gordon's brewery colleagues, Genevieve Hegney (Doctor Doctor) and Michael Logo (Why Are You Like This) each have their moments to shine, and the same applies to Emma Harvie (Frayed) as Ash's fellow med-student bestie. Behind the lens, directors Trent O'Donnell (another No Activity alum), Matt Moore (The Great) and Madeleine Dyer (Monster of Many Worlds) keep the series both breezy and weighty — and instantly bingeable. Check out the trailer for Colin From Accounts below: Colin From Accounts streams via Binge. Images: Lisa Tomasetti / Tony Mott.
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. BERGMAN ISLAND Each filmmaker sits in the shadows of all who came before them — and as cinema's history lengthens, so will those penumbras. With Bergman Island, French writer/director Mia Hansen-Løve doesn't merely ponder that idea; she makes it the foundation of her narrative, as well a launching pad for a playful and resonant look at love, work and the creative wonders our minds conjure up. Her central duo, two filmmakers who share a daughter, literally tread where the great Ingmar Bergman did. Visiting Fårö, the island off Sweden's southeastern coast that he called home and made his base, Chris (Vicky Krieps, Old) and Tony Sanders (Tim Roth, The Misfits) couldn't escape his imprint if they wanted to. They don't dream of trying, as they're each searching for as much inspiration as they can find; however, the idea of being haunted by people and their creations soon spills over to Chris' work. Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage has already been remade, albeit in a miniseries that arrived on the small screen a couple of months after Bergman Island premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival — but across one half of Hansen-Løve's feature, that title would fit here as well. Her resume has long been filled with intimate looks at complicated relationships, including in 2009's Father of My Children and 2011's Goodbye First Love, with her movies both peering deeply and cutting deep as they unfurl the thorny intricacies of romance. Accordingly, when Chris and Tony find themselves sleeping in the bedroom where Bergman shot the original Scenes From a Marriage, it's a loaded and layered moment several times over. That said, the thing about willingly walking in someone else's footsteps is that you're not bound to taking the exact same path — as Bergman Island's characters learn, and as the filmmaker that's brought them to the screen clearly already knows. Turning in finessed and thoughtful performances, Krieps and Roth bring a lived-in dynamic to the film's first key couple, with the chaos that swirls from being in the same line of work but chasing disparate aims not just flowing but bubbling in their paired scenes. He's the kind of Bergman fan that's adamant about going on the Bergman safari, a real-life thing that all visitors can do, for instance, while she prefers being shown around informally by young film student Hampus (acting debutant Hampus Nordenson). But their Fårö escapades only fill half of Bergman Island, because the movie also brings Chris' budding script to life. She tells Tony the tale, seeking his assistance in working out an ending, but he's too immersed in Bergman worship to truly pay attention. The feature itself, Hansen-Løve and the audience all savour the details, though — eagerly so. There, in this film-within-a-film, 28-year-old director Amy (Mia Wasikowska, Blackbird) visits an island, too — "a place like this," Chris advises, and one that visibly resembles Fårö. She dances to ABBA to cement the Swedish ties, and also spends her time on the locale's shores wading through matters of art and the heart. The catalyst for the latter: her ex Joseph (Anders Danielsen Lie, The Worst Person in the World). They're both attending a wedding of mutual friends, and their lengthy, passionate and volatile history quickly pushes to the fore. While they've each moved on, they're also forever connected, especially when placed in such close quarters. Accordingly, that tumultuous relationship is as bedevilled by other creative endeavours, and also by the thrall of history, as Chris' quest to put pen to paper. And, via the movie-inside-a-movie concept, there's an evocative sense of mirroring that couldn't spring any firmer from Bergman himself. Read our full review. WASH MY SOUL IN THE RIVER'S FLOW A silent hero and a rowdy troublemaker. That's what Ruby Hunter calls Archie Roach, her partner in life and sometimes music, then characterises herself. She offers those words casually, as if she's merely breathing, with an accompanying smile and a glint in her eyes as she talks. They aren't the only thoughts uttered in Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, which intersperses concert and rehearsal clips with chats with Hunter and Roach, plus snippets of biographical details from and recollections about their lives as intertitles, and then majestic footage of the winding Murray River in Ngarrindjeri Country, where Hunter was born, too. Still, even before those two-word descriptions are mentioned, the film shows how they resonate within couple's relationship. Watching their dynamic, which had ebbed and flowed over three-plus decades when the movie's footage was shot in 2004, it's plain to see how these two icons of Australian music are dissimilar in personality and yet intertwine harmoniously. Every relationship is perched upon interlocking personalities: how well they complement each other, where their differences blend seamlessly and how their opposing traits spark challenges in the best possible ways. Every song, too, is a balance of disparate but coordinated pieces. And, every ecosystem on the planet also fits the bill. With Hunter and Roach as its focus, Wash My Soul in the River's Flow contemplates all three — love, music and Country — all through 2004 concert Kura Tungar — Songs from the River. Recorded for the documentary at Melbourne's Hamer Hall, that gig series interlaced additional parts, thanks to a collaboration with Paul Grabowsky's 22-piece Australian Art Orchestra — and the movie that producer-turned-writer/director Philippa Bateman makes of it, and about two Indigenous stars, their experience as members of Australia's Stolen Generations, their ties to Country and their love, is equally, gloriously and mesmerisingly multifaceted. When is a concert film more than a concert film? When it's Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, clearly, which is named for one of Kura Tungar's tracks. Bateman could've just used her recordings of the legendary show, which won the 2005 Helpmann Award for Best Australian Contemporary Concert, and given everyone who wasn't there the chance to enjoy an historic event — and to bask in the now-late Hunter's on-stage glories more than a decade after her 2010 passing — but that was clearly just the starting point for her movie. With Roach as a producer, the documentary presents each of its songs as a combination of five key elements, all weaved together like the feather flower-dotted, brightly coloured headpiece that Hunter wears during the performance. With each tune, the film repeats the pattern but the emotion that comes with it inherently evolves, with the result akin to cycling through the earth's four seasons. First, a title appears on-screen, overlaid across breathtakingly beautiful images of the Murray and its surroundings, and instantly steeping every song in a spectacular place. From there, the Kura Tungar rendition of each tune segues into practice sessions with Grabowsky and the AAO of the same track, plus both text and on-the-couch chatter between Hunter and Roach that speaks to the context of, meaning behind and memories tied to each piece. Hunter's 'Daisy Chains, String Games and Knuckle Bones', which springs from her childhood, gets that treatment. Roach's unforgettable 'Took the Children Away' does, too. 'Down City Streets', as written by Hunter and recorded by Roach, also joins the lineup. The list goes on, and the power that each song possesses alone — which, given the talent and topics involved, is immense — only grows when packaged in such a layered manner. Read our full review. THE SOUVENIR: PART II In showbusiness, nepotism is as inescapable as movies about movies. Both are accounted for in The Souvenir: Part II. But when talents as transcendent as Honor Swinton Byrne, her mother Tilda Swinton and writer/director Joanna Hogg are involved — with the latter working with the elder Swinton since her first short, her graduation piece Caprice, back in 1986 before Honor was even born — neither family ties nor filmmaking navel-gazing feel like something routine. Why this isn't a surprise with this trio is right there in the movie's name, after the initial The Souvenir proved such a devastatingly astute gem in 2019. It was also simply devastating, following an aspiring director's romance with a charismatic older man through to its traumatic end. Both in its masterful narrative and its profound impact, Part II firmly picks up where its predecessor left off. In just her third film role — first working with her mum in 2009's I Am Love before The Souvenir and now this — Swinton Byrne again plays 80s-era filmmaking student Julie Harte. But there's now a numbness to the wannabe helmer after her boyfriend Anthony's (Tom Burke, Mank) death, plus soul-wearying shock after discovering the double life he'd been living that her comfortable and cosy worldview hadn't conditioned her to ever expect. Decamping to the Norfolk countryside, to her family home and to the warm but entirely upper-middle-class, stiff-upper-lip embrace of her well-to-do parents Rosalind (Swinton, The French Dispatch) and William (James Spencer Ashworth) is only a short-term solution, however. Julie's thesis film still needs to be made — yearns to pour onto celluloid, in fact — but that's hardly a straightforward task. As the initial movie was, The Souvenir: Part II is another semi-autobiographical affair from Hogg, with Swinton Byrne slipping back into her on-screen shoes. This time, the director doesn't just dive into her formative years four decades back, but also excavates what it means to mine your own life for cinematic inspiration — aka the very thing she's been doing with this superb duo of features. That's what Julie does as well as she works on the film's film-within-a-film, sections of which play out during The Souvenir: Part II's running time and are basically The Souvenir. Accordingly, viewers have now spent two pictures watching Hogg's protagonist lives the experiences she'll then find a way to face through her art, all while Hogg moulds her two exceptional — and exceptionally intimate and thoughtful — movies out of that exact process. Julie's graduation project is also an escape, given it's patently obvious that the kindly, well-meaning but somehow both doting and reserved Rosalind and William have been pushed out of their comfort zone by her current crisis. Helping their daughter cope with her heroin-addicted lover's passing isn't something either would've considered might occur, so they natter away about Rosalind's new penchant for crafting Etruscan-style pottery instead — using small talk to connect without addressing the obvious, as all families lean on at some point or another. They provide financing for Julie's film, too, in what proves the easiest part of her concerted efforts to hop back behind the lens and lose herself in her work. Elsewhere, an array of doubt and questions spring from her all-male film-school professors, and the assistance she receives from her classmates is quickly steeped in rivalries, envy and second-guessing. Read our full review. FACING MONSTERS "If you want the ultimate, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price." Uttered by Patrick Swayze in 90s surfing action flick Point Break, that statement isn't directly quoted in Facing Monsters. Still, when it comes to the underlying idea behind those words — that anything at its absolute pinnacle comes at a cost, especially seeking bliss hanging ten on giant swells — this new Australian documentary unquestionably rides the same wave. Directed by Bentley Dean, and marking his first movie in cinemas since 2015 Oscar-nominee Tanna, the film focuses on Kerby Brown, the Aussie slab surfer who is at his happiest atop the biggest breakers possible. He's turned hunting them into his life's mission — think Point Break's 50-year storm, also set in Australia, but every time that Kerby hops on a board — and Facing Monsters commits that pursuit to celluloid. Helming solo unlike on Tanna — which he co-directed with Martin Butler, as he did on prior documentaries Contact, First Footprints and A Sense of Self as well — Dean understands three key aspects to Kerby's story. The thrills, the spectacle and the calm: they're all accounted for here, including simply in the astonishing imagery that fills the film. There's no shortage of talk in Facing Monsters; Kerby himself, his brother and frequent partner-in-surf Cortney, his partner Nicole Jardine, and his parents Glenn and Nola all chat happily. But this movie makes much of its impact, and captures plenty that's pivotal, all via its visuals alone. Cinematographer Rick Rifici has long shot the sea as if it's an otherworldly space, including while working as a camera operator on Storm Surfers, as a water cinematographer on Breath, and as the underwater camera operator on Dirt Music, and he's as as crucial here as Kerby. The long, wide, lingering image that begins the film is one such unforgettable moment — essential and exceptional, too. Kerby floats in a sea of lush but rippling pink, face to the sky, his board strapped to his leg. It's a near-supernatural sight, and a transcendent one, but amid the unshakeably striking beauty of the shot, uncertainty also loiters. An unspoken query, too: is this a picture of bliss or bleakness? Next comes a quick cut, letting Kerby's bloody face and bandaged head fill the the screen instead, and making it instantly clear that his love of riding big waves has physical and severe consequences. The gorgeous visions return from there, and the intimacy as well — the latter largely flowing from talk from this point forward — but Facing Monsters' first frames truly do say it all. Indeed, it's noticeable that the remainder of the movie feels like it's paddling after this opening sensation and atmosphere. Facing Monsters is a documentary about chasing, of course — waves, obsessions, addictions, demons, solace and happiness alike. The dangerous nature of slab surfing plays out like a quest as much as an adventure, driving Kerby ever since he and Cortney got bored with the swells at Kalbarri in Western Australia, where they grew up, then starting seeking out bigger and bigger possibilities. That's there in the chatter as well as the imagery, in a film that aims to convey the what and why behind its subject's choices through immersion first and foremost. It's fitting, then, that watching Facing Monsters sometimes resembles riding high — when its visuals express everything they need to — and sometimes floats in shallower waters. Ensuring that audiences share the awe and wonder that Kerby experiences on his board is easy with Rifici's astounding help; diving deeper into exactly what else makes its point of focus tick, and has through swirls of drugs and booze, life-threatening incidents in the surf, and becoming a father, is a far more evasive task. BOOK OF LOVE In 2018's The Nightingale, Sam Claflin gave the performance of his career so far while playing thoroughly against type. As a British lieutenant in colonial-era Tasmania, he terrorised the film's female protagonist to a nerve-rattlingly distressing degree — and his work, just like the phenomenal feature he's in, isn't easy to watch. Book of Love, his latest movie, couldn't be more different; however, Claflin's portrayal could use even a sliver of the commitment he demonstrated four years back. The film around him could, too. Here, he plays a floundering novelist who doesn't want to do a very long list of things, so it makes sense that he takes to the part with a dissatisfied attitude that drips with not only unhappiness, but pouting petulance. He's meant to be one of this dire rom-com's romantic leads, however, and he constantly looks like he'd rather be doing anything else. Author of The Sensible Heart, Claflin's Henry Copper is instantly as dour as his book sounds. It too is a romance, but he's proud of its sexlessness — to the point of boasting about it to bored would-be readers who definitely don't make a purchase afterwards. He's also seen using his novel as a pick-up line early in the movie, and that goes just as badly. In fact, his whole career seems to be a shambles, and the prim-and-proper Brit can't understand why. But he's also surprised when he's told that his latest has become a bestseller in Mexico, and he's hardly thrilled about the whirlwind promotional tour his brassy agent (Lucy Punch, The Prince) swiftly books him on. Upon arrival, where his local translator Maria Rodríguez (My Heart Goes Boom!) doubles as his minder, he's visibly displeased about everything he's asked to do — more so when he discovers that she's taken the liberty to spice up his work. Of course, Maria's revisions — a wholesale rewrite that plunges The Sensible Heart into erotic page-turner territory — are the sole reason that Mexican women are lining up at Henry's events to throw themselves at him. And with both his British-based and Mexican agents adamant that his publicity tour must go on, he's forced to grin and bear that truth as they take a road trip across the country. Henry and Maria are a chalk-and-cheese pair in a host of other ways, naturally, but apparently sparks can't help igniting in this contrived scenario. It's telling that BuzzFeed Studios is behind the film, the site earns a mention in the movie and its plot feels like a gif-heavy listicle from the outset. Indeed, based on how slight and stereotypical every aspect of Book of Love proves, writer/director Analeine Cal y Mayor (La Voz de un Sueño) and co-writer David Quantick (Veep) don't appear to have spent much time fleshing anything out beyond that potential starting point. Tired, not wired: that's the end result, including Book of Love's place in the current literary-focused subgenre of romantic flicks that's also spawned the 50 Shades movies, the After films and fellow forgettable 2022 release The Hating Game. Claflin's patent disinterest is the least of the feature's troubles given that its storyline is nonsensical, there's no sign of chemistry between its leads, the dialogue couldn't be flatter and the travelogue setup has already been overdone. The charismatic Rodríguez certainly deserves better, even if no one else involved inspires the same description solely based on their efforts here. She's stuck playing a character that's been given as much depth and texture as a full stop — the archetype: feisty put-upon single mother with big dreams but crushing responsibilities — but she's also the only part of the movie that feels remotely real. OFF THE RAILS In need of a bland and derivative friends-on-holidays flick that's painted with the broadest of strokes? Keen to dive once more into the pool of movies about pals heading abroad to scatter ashes and simultaneously reflect upon their current lot in life? Fancy yet another supposedly feel-good film that endeavours to wring humour out of culture clashes between English-speaking protagonists and the places they visit? Yearning for more glimpses of thinly written women getting their grooves back and realising what's important on a wild Eurotrip? Call Off the Rails, not that anyone should. Coloured with every cliche that all of the above scenarios always throw up, and also covered from start to finish in schmaltz, it's a travel-themed slog that no one could want to remember. A grab bag of overdone tropes and treacly sentiment, it also doubles as an ode to the songs of Blondie, which fill its soundtrack — but even the vocal stylings of the great Debbie Harry can't breathe vibrancy into this trainwreck. Alongside its woeful been-there-done-that plot, its lack of personality, its yearning to be the next Mamma Mia! and all those Blondie tracks — the prominence of which makes zero sense given how briefly and haphazardly each song, hits and deeper cuts alike from a lengthy list, are deployed — Off the Rails does have another claim to fame to its name. The British film also marks the last on-screen appearance of Kelly Preston, who passed away in mid-2020; however, it isn't the swansong that any actor would want. Her involvement does give the movie's messages about making the most of one's time, embracing what you love and keeping in touch with the people who matter while you can a bittersweet tone, but not enough to wash away its mix of dullness and overdone mawkishness. Or, to invest depth into what's largely 94 minutes of middle-aged travellers arguing about anything and everything. Once close, Kate (Jenny Seagrove, Peripheral), Liz (Sally Phillips, Blinded by the Light) and Cassie (Preston, Gotti) now just call on big occasions — and even then, they're barely there for each other. But when fellow pal Anna dies, they reunite at her funeral, and are asked to carry out her final wish by her mother (Belfast's Judi Dench, in a thankless cameo). The task: catching a train across Europe, through Paris to Girona, Barcelona and Palma in Spain, to recreate a backpacking jaunt the four took decades earlier. Specifically, they're headed to La Seu, a cathedral with stained-glass windows that look particularly spectacular when the sun hits at the right time (the film calls it "god's disco ball"). Anna already bought their Interrail passes, and her 18-year-old daughter Maddie (Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips, Fortitude) decides she'll join the voyage, too. Amid the bickering, which fills most of debut feature director Jules Williamson's scenes and screenwriter Jordan Waller's dialogue, the usual antics all roll out. Old feuds are unearthed, transport often goes awry every which way it can and the main middle-aged trio cause middle-aged women problems (getting drunk, getting lost, causing a scene in a boutique, delivering a baby and the like). Menopause earns some discussion, romance also springs — which is where the always-welcome but underused Franco Nero, aka cinema's original Django, comes in — and life lessons are ultimately learned. If that sounds tediously stock-standard on paper, it certainly plays out that way in a sunnily shot but always plodding ostensible comedy. Few performances could improve this plight, and Off the Rails' happily one-note efforts can't either, especially when its most interesting character and corresponding portrayal — courtesy of Dormer-Phillips as Maddie — keeps being pushed aside. 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 November 4, November 11, November 18 and November 25; December 2, December 9, December 16 and December 26; January 1, January 6, January 13, January 20 and January 27; February 3, February 10, February 17 and February 24; and March 3. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Eternals, The Many Saints of Newark, Julia, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Zola, Last Night in Soho, Blue Bayou, The Rescue, Titane, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Dune, Encanto, The Card Counter, The Lost Leonardo, The French Dispatch, Don't Look Up, Dear Evan Hansen, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Lost Daughter, The Scary of Sixty-First, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza, The Matrix Resurrections, The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Worst Person in the World, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci, The King's Man, Red Rocket, Scream, The 355, Gold, King Richard, Limbo, Spencer, Nightmare Alley, Belle, Parallel Mothers, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Belfast, Here Out West, Jackass Forever, Benedetta, Drive My Car, Death on the Nile, C'mon C'mon, Flee, Uncharted, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Cyrano, Hive, Studio 666, The Batman and Blind Ambition.
Live life long enough and anything can happen. Enjoy an undead existence for hundreds of years and that feeling only multiplies, or so the wealth of movies and TV shows that've let vampires stalk through their frames frequently remind viewers. A sharehouse-set mockumentary focused on bloodsucking roommates who've seen more than a few centuries between them, What We Do in the Shadows embraces that idea like little else, though — as a Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi-starring movie, aka one of the funniest New Zealand comedies of this century, and then as a hilarious American TV spinoff. The premise has always been ridiculously straightforward, and always reliably entertaining. That dates back to Clement and Waititi's short film days, which is where this franchise began as 2005's What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires — and continues right through to the TV iteration's now-airing fourth season, which screens in Australia via Binge and in New Zealand via Neon. A camera crew captures the lives of the fanged and not-at-all furious, squabbles about chores, a rising body count and avoiding sunlight all included. Their domesticity may involve sinking their teeth into necks, blood splatters aplenty, sleeping in coffins and shapeshifting into bats, but it also covers arguing about paying bills, keeping the house clean and dealing with the neighbours. For fans of the film, the stakes were high with this leap to television. What We Do in the Shadows, the movie, had already given rise to a homegrown offshoot courtesy of Wellington Paranormal — the NZ TV show that trailed the movie's cops (Mike Minogue and Karen O'Leary) as they kept investigating the otherworldly — which first arrived in 2018. But the small-screen version of What We Do in the Shadows has a few crucial and important things going for it: another killer cast, this time inhabiting a ramshackle, gothic-style abode in Staten Island; the same glorious sense of silliness, including everything from blood sprinklers and undead labour disputes to getting a genie to magic up a giant penis in the latest season alone; an eagerness to gleefully skewer the entire vampire genre; and well and truly letting anything happen within its frames. Season four picks up after a climactic end to the show's prior batch of episodes, which only finished airing back in October 2021. Its bloodsucking roommates were all set for their own adventures, after Nandor (Kayvan Novak, Cruella) decided to explore his roots in his ancestral homeland in what's now Iran, and Nadja (Natasia Demetriou, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) took up a prestigious job in London with the Supreme Vampiric Council, who oversee the vampire world order. Her beloved Laszlo (Matt Berry, Toast of London and Toast of Tinseltown) stayed behind at the last minute to take care of the baby that burst its way out of energy vampire Colin Robinson's (Mark Proksch, The Office) body. To accompany Nadja, in his place he sent Nandor's familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillen, Werewolves Within), who has also discovered throughout the first three seasons that he's a Van Helsing — yes, a vampire hunter. What We Do in the Shadows wouldn't be What We Do in the Shadows if its central quintet were scattered around the world, rather than bantering together, so homecomings are swiftly in order. A year has passed in the show, old grounds have been stomped, new jobs trialled and that infant is now a young boy — who, eerily, still looks like Colin. Nandor returns more determined than ever to find a wife, and thinks that one of his many from the Middle Ages could be the one again; bringing back a Djinn (Anoop Desai, Russian Doll) to grant his wishes helps. Nadja has big ambitions, too, but of the professional rather than personal kind. Taking over the local Vampiric Council again, she sets her sights on turning it into a vampire nightclub. Its custodian The Guide (Kristen Schaal, The Bob's Burgers Movie) is unsurprisingly far from thrilled. If vampire nightclubs and blood sprinklers sound familiar, that's because back in 1998, Blade got there first. That's the type of winking and parodying that What We Do in the Shadows loves — and keeps finding ways to turn into comedy gold. It'll always be difficult to beat the show's exceptional first-season episode that featured Wesley Snipes as a half-vampire version of himself, alongside everyone from Tilda Swinton to Paul Reubens referencing their own past undead film roles (Only Lovers Left Alive and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, respectively), but this series never stops trying. It's just as devoted to fleshing out the demonic world that exists beyond human eyes, with a new episode set at an anything-goes night market where the supernaturally inclined trade for everything they can a particular treasure. That nodding and nudging will never grow old, thanks to the stellar writing behind it, as well as the fantastic cast bringing it to the screen. Matt Berry should star in all comedies always (see also: the aforementioned Toast franchise, Year of the Rabbit, The IT Crowd, Snuff Box, The Mighty Boosh and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace), and his pronunciation, the way that Laszlo yells "bat!" when he turns into a bat and the character's general buffoonery will always be among What We Do in the Shadows' biggest weapons. Hearing him read In Cold Blood to the young Colin, as a bedtime story, is a scene for the ages alone. He's ably matched by always riotous Demetriou and the equally amusing Novak, who lean into their vamps' eccentricity-laced personalities with as much gusto. Nadja's unapologetic passion, pursuing whatever she wants whenever she wants, always feels fleshed out, as does Nandor's awkwardness despite a past as a bloodthirsty warrior. It was always going to take something special to match the big-screen What We Do in the Shadows. That's a task that its TV spinoff has always managed, however, and as enchantingly as the immediately catchy strains of theme song 'You're Dead' by Norma Tanega — a tune the two versions share. Nothing about this delight sucks, not for a second, and season four is as ace as ever. Check out the trailer for What We Do in the Shadows season four below: What We Do in the Shadows' fourth season streams in Australia via Binge and in New Zealand via Neon. Images: Russ Martin/FX.
Capers can be one of many different things depending on when you visit. On weeknights, it's a wine bar and restaurant suitable for parents. On Friday and Saturday nights, it morphs into the place to be for Gen Zs, which makes sense when you consider that cousins and co-owners Christian Evripidou and Anastasios Konnari opened it as a youthful alternative to old-school Greek tavernas. The interiors have the cosy, lived-in feel of a house, while the sun-dappled courtyard is a dreamy in summery months. The homestyle food menu is divided into 'meze' (small plates that comprise things like marinated olives, grilled halloumi and Cypriot sausages) and 'piata' (larger plates that include the likes of spanakorizo, pastitsio and the famed dakos salad). In a nod to its inner north patrons, there's a vegan moussaka with dairy-free bechamel and mushrooms in place of mince. Wines from Greece and Cyprus occupy primacy alongside a few local varieties, while cocktails incorporate Greek liqueurs and ingredients like traditional spirit skinos mastiha, plomari ouzo and Anglias Cypriot brandy to spin magical numbers like the Greek Salad Martini, a combination you didn't know you needed but won't regret trying. There are also beers, speciality spirits and non-alcoholic options.
