Bowled Over is part bowls competition, part live music gig, and part Hottest 100 party. Now in its sixth year, their latest lineup includes Harts, Grenadiers and IV League, just to help remind you of all the excellent music this country produces. If you're not quite competitive enough to throw your hat in the ring for the barefoot bowling competition, check out the private oasis section where you can chill out in deck chairs and beanbags. Food-wise, enjoy chicken from the Leonard's House of Love pop-up, or indulge in some good old fashioned Aussie barbecue.
Once you've spent the afternoon in the sun, knocking back beers, eating way too many sausages and ranting about the taste of the people who vote in triple j polls, close out Australia Day with a movie under the stars. And not just any movie, but one of the most gloriously Aussie movies ever made. That's right: the folks at Rooftop Cinema are screening Muriel's Wedding, starring Toni Collette as daggy Muriel Heslop from Porpoise Spit, Queensland, who dreams of a fairytale wedding. Who needs the Hottest 100 when you've got a soundtrack full of ABBA songs?
On the scale of personal injustices, there are few more contemptible or infuriating misdeeds than taking credit for another person’s work. In the artistic world it’s considered a violation of such repugnance that it’s said to offend one’s very ‘moral rights’, being both ’the right of Attribution’ (the right to be recognised as the creator of an original work) and ’the right against False Attribution’ (the right to prevent someone else from saying your work is theirs). Big Eyes, the latest film by director Tim Burton, is a true story based on one of the most egregious example of that violation in living history. Beginning in the late 1950s, it chronicles the decade-long deception perpetrated by the artist Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz) and his iconic ‘big eyes’ paintings. The key word there is ‘deception’, because in reality they weren’t his paintings at all; they were painted by his wife, Margaret (Amy Adams). With millions of dollars made from sales and celebrities the world over seeking their own originals, Big Eyes is a fascinating study in sexual politics and the exponential toxicity of deceit, particularly in an age when the status of a divorced single-mother was tantamount to both social and professional exile. In the leads, Adams and Waltz are both perfectly cast. Adams brings a wonderful sensitivity to the role, capturing the irrepressible passion of an artist and the burgeoning guilt of a woman who chose financial security over artistic integrity. Opposite her, Waltz is pure charisma: a salesman with a cheshire cat grin and an undeniable talent for marketing. The man could sell sand to a desert, then convince himself he invented the sand. ‘Delusional Disorder’ is the medical term for his condition, and its destructive powers are neatly showcased here. This is by far one of Burton’s most understated films, eschewing most of his traditional quirkiness and cartoonish aesthetic in favour of a picture most reminiscent of Ed Wood. Even the score, provided almost inevitably by Danny Elfman, opts for the subtle touch with hardly a whole-tone scale to be heard. That’s not to say there isn’t fantastic design at play, with the set, costuming and even colour choices wonderfully recreating '50s and '60s kitsch. It’s all very pretty, but just like its subject matter, Big Eyes is something of a masquerade: a fetching and uncomplicated visual that belies a much darker truth.
Tucked away on Thornbury's unassuming Wales Street is Rat the Cafe, a local fave for brunch and speciality coffee in an airy, understated setting. The tidy menu is a constantly evolving one, often guided by the cafe's commitment to reducing food waste while showcasing organic produce as much as possible. If you can get your hands on one — they're pre-order only — the must-try is the breakfast sandwich, featuring swiss cheese, house-made sauerkraut, special sauce, dill pickle and a fried egg, to which you can also add Meatsmith bacon. There's also a daily pastry offering and a selection of mostly locally made provisions available to purchase. Images: Julia Sansone
Good news, North Melbourne locals, the old Courthouse Hotel is back, and it was lovingly restored in 2023 by four hospo pros who actually know what they're doing. You'd be forgiven for forgetting about The Courthouse. It was a popular pub in the early 2000s, with celebrated chefs like Zoe Birch and Stephen Burke running the restaurant pass. But popularity kind of waned over the years, and COVID put the final nail in the venue's coffin. But now, the Courthouse is officially back, having quietly reopened earlier in May. The new team are the same minds behind Parkville's Naughtons Hotel: Ryan Moses and Rusty Sturrock, along with Ryan and Laura Berry. And we have to say, these guys have really nailed the refurbishment. The Courthouse hasn't been gutted, just lovingly restored, bringing the venue up to modern gastro pub standards. Architect Alana Cooke and Blueprint Commercial handled the refurb, and they've managed to keep the old wooden panelling — stripped and sanded by hand — the floorboards, and the classic art deco features. The result is North Melbourne's hottest new pub, and it's fair to say locals are stoked. So what about the food? Well, Rusty Sturrock has designed the menu, and he cut his teeth in some of London's finest gastro pubs, so expect UK classics with a Euro-Australian twist: Lancashire hotpot with lamb shoulder and Brussels sprouts, whole-roasted leatherjacket, Coq au Vin, kangaroo carpaccio and an excellent crowd-pleasing wiener schnitzel with chips. The guys have even installed an old-school hand pump behind the bar, which will be pouring English-style ale from Two Metre Tall and Love Shack. Aussie beer fans, don't worry, they've also got Hop Nation and CBCo brews on tap. The cherry on top? The crusty old rooms upstairs have been transformed into two boutique hotel rooms, so you can now stay overnight at The Courthouse. Prices start at $325 per night.
It might seem a little on the nose, but the Pyrenees region of Victoria does indeed get its name from the Pyrenees region stretching between France and Spain. Our Pyrenees wine region dates back to the 1960s, so expect your visit to this thriving food and wine country to be overflowing with delicious flavours. More than 40 cellar doors provide ample opportunity to sample the local varieties, and Blue Pyrenees Estate is considered one of the best. Head to this sprawling vineyard on the outskirts of Avoca for tasting tours and a refined cafe that overlooks the vines.
Roslyn Oades has built her theatremaking practice on a distinctive 'headphone verbatim' technique; wearing headphones in performance, actors attempt to replicate Oades’ constructed recordings of interviews with real life figures. While her 2012 work for Belvoir, I’m Your Man stuck closely to its origins, with actors whose physicality at least partially resembled the original characters they portrayed, Hello, Goodbye & Happy Birthday Oades dislocates these voices to stunning effect. With the text built from Oades’ interviews with 18 and 80-year-olds, the excellent ensemble cast (Matthew Connell, Jim Daly, Evelyn Krape, HaiHa Le, Roger Oakley, Diana Perini) inhabit a performance space that suggests the communal room of a nursing home, or the inside of suburban high school’s demountable. Designed by Christina Hayes, it’s the perfect, amorphous setting for a vivid assembly of rehearsed moments and memories. Although all the actors play different roles throughout the work, the typical set-up is a younger performer representing an older character, or vice versa. The best parts of the show are found in this divergence, especially when an older actor like Jim Daly perfectly captures an 18-year-old girl’s slightly tipsy, improvised birthday speech. Hello, Goodbye & Happy Birthday never once succumbs to trite sentimentality or didactic exposition of the issues that permeate its text, such as the treatment of the elderly, fears and dreams of death, and the relationship between music and memory. The work is utterly heartwarming, and often hilarious, and in its depiction of a man whose wife has slid into dementia — captured with exceptional sensitivity and skill by Matthew Connell — it harbours the kind of heart-rending depth that’s hard to find on any Melbourne mainstage.
Nanananananana Batman! Just when you thought Melbourne had no room left in its market calendar, this little beauty opens up in Coburg. Consider your dilemma of where to have brunch over the weekend eliminated — Batman Market is bringing fresh produce and delicious street food to all hungry and hungover Northsiders. With over 40 food trucks and stalls doing business, Batman Market is all about offering up multicultural cuisine. Options include Chinese, South-East Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian and European, but we’re particularly keen to check out the quesadillas at the Treat Yo Self cart operating out of a 1986 Franklin Regent caravan. If you get a little overwhelmed from the choice, or you’ve already managed to get yourself stuck in a food coma, take a break and grab a cuppa at the Impala & Peacock stall. It’s not just about feeding your face here, folks. There are also plenty of arts and crafts delights to spruce up your digs. As for those who don’t live in the ‘hood don’t sweat it, this is one brunch date worth catching the tram for. Batman forever. Batman Market will be open at 14-22 Gaffnet Street, Coburg every Saturday and Sunday 9am-3pm.
Kevin Smith fans have to put up with a lot. His films in recent years have been akin to cruel and unusual punishment, especially when compared to his work in the 1990s that was comparatively affectionate and funny. His modus operandi these days appears to be to come up with ideas that are ripe for the cinematic picking — two friends making a sex tape to pay the bills in Zack and Miri Make a Porno; horny teenagers finding themselves in a fanatical religious cult after using an app to hook up with strangers in Red State — and defusing them of all their potential. In Tusk, Wallace (Justin Long) is an incredibly rich (six figures a year!!) podcaster who ventures into the unknown to experience all the weird and wacky things that America has to offer before going back to the studio to spend an hour telling his travel-phobic co-host all about it. Their show is called The Not-See Party, and as if the joke wasn't bad enough, Smith finds the time to explain it over and over again like the idiot at a party who goes around telling all the guests the exact same risque joke under the belief that he's funny. On one of his missions north of the border (cue terrible Canada jokes), Wallace is abducted by a psychotic madman named Howard Howe (Michael Parks), who wants to — and I am not making this up — turn his young guest into a walrus. Tusks and all. It is The Human Centipede Goes to the Canadian Wilderness and it is quite easily the worst film I have seen all year. It's not even because of the bad acting — Parks goes for broke, but there's little to be said of the rest (Haley Joel Osment and Genesis Rodriguez), and Johnny Depp goes so far overboard he needs a paddle — or the way the film lacks any sense or logic or scares to make it a satisfying horror entry beyond the gruesomeness of its third act. No, where Smith and his screenplay go so completely wrong is the laziness that overcomes the film. The jokes that come thick and fast can barely even be described as jokes. These are lowest-common-denominator gags that go for cheap, easy laughs over genuine smarts and wit. The horror is underutilised, the tragic nature of this character undermined by a stoner childishness that renders the material unwatchable. Even stoners deserve better than this. This is a movie that filled me with such contempt for its filmmaker that I want to swear off ever seeing another one of his films ever again. Life is too short for whatever cheap, cynical nastiness he has in store next. https://youtube.com/watch?v=trTTjvPCLJQ
The NGV's Great Hall has been home to a lot of strange and fantastic happenings over the years, but what's going down on Sunday September 28 is sure to be a first. To cap off the 2014 Liquid Architecture program, Canadian artist Christof Migone is asking 50 volunteers to lie face down on the floor and bang microphones on the ground for 1000 times each. The result? Art! This symphony of strange and menacing thuds has been on show all over Migone's native country with 15 participants taking part, but this Australian premiere will see the intensity increase more than three-fold. According to the artist Hit Parade seeks to "explore the fault lines in the communicative act" and "sound a city through its citizenry". It's a theme Migone has explored in the past too. In an earlier work, Crackers, he asked people to crack their bones in sync — a sounds that's either satisfying or incredibly irksome depending on your inclination. If you don't fancy watching a bunch of weirdos banging stuff on the ground, be part of the action instead! The NGV is calling for volunteers before the performance. Sign up here.
The Melbourne Fringe Festival is all about discovering new work, but it might not be where you expect it. This year, the festival has commissioned 10 artists to create site-specific work all across the city, Carlton and North Melbourne. Centred around places of transit or gathering you may stumble upon works outside the Swanston Street McDonald's or even at your local tram stop. If you'd prefer to seek out particular works, take a look at this map and curate your own journey. Hot tip: take a stroll to the City Baths or Pellegrini's at night. This event was chosen as one of the top ten things to see at this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival. See the full list here.
Straight back in the action after this year's Edinburgh Fringe, young comedian Steen Raskopoulos has a lot going for him. Not only did he win Best Newcomer at last year's Sydney Comedy Festival, he was nominated for the same award in Edinburgh — that's a big freakin' deal. It sold out last time he was in Melbourne, but this may be your last time to see the show that's making everyone swoon. Admittedly, this isn't a show for someone who likes their humour toned down and quietly witty. This is one for those that like their characters big, their comedy physical and their suits properly double-breasted *ba dum tss*. This event was chosen as one of the top ten things to see at this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival. See the full list here.
Making a movie, even a short one, is a difficult and time-consuming process. You've got to come up with a concept, write a screenplay, find a producer, scout locations, rent equipment and hire a cast. Then you shoot it, score it, edit it, re-edit it, tweak the sound and produce the special effects. Sounds like a lot of hassle, right? Now imagine doing it all in the span of a single weekend. The filmmaking equivalent of a 100-metre dash, the idea behind the 48 Hour Film Project is simple. On the first Friday in September, more than 50 teams from around Victoria are given a prop, a character and five words of dialogue. Two days later, they submit a finished film. This year's entrants will screen at ACMI in Federation Square, over five consecutive evenings beginning Monday, September 22 (plus the awards night on Friday, October 3). So get off the couch and celebrate local filmmaking. You'll be hard-pressed to see anything this spontaneous all year.
Detective Robbie Green (Jonathan LaPaglia) is called in to investigate the murder of his former partner, Detective Jason Pearson (Luke Hemsworth). Green and his new partner, Detective Jane Lambert (Viva Bianca), find themselves on the tail of two runaways, ultra-religious cancer-ridden Rachel (Hannah Mangan Lawrence) and her unstable boyfriend, AJ (Alex Williams), who are filming a "documentary" as they seek Biblical retribution for the drug-related death of Rachel's sister. If this sounds like the type of story (and character naming conventions) of an American film circa 1993, you wouldn't be far off. The Reckoning, despite being filmed in Perth and featuring an Australian cast, feels like as if its main concern is ensuring that every element be a facsimile of US thriller tropes. LaPaglia's Green is a short-tempered alcoholic who is trying to be a good father despite being married to the job. Priests wait in candlelit gothic churches to talk wisely to those seeking guidance. High-tech, CSI-style equipment can be used to facially identify anyone spotted on a security camera. And so on. This aping isn't inherently a bad thing. Even the best Australian films are criticised for not even trying to appeal to mass audiences, and the ones that do are so often dismissed as being populist. An industry that produces as few films as ours does cannot afford sub-genres, and so there's little patience for films that are not all things to all people. So with the wider context established, let's pull back before we fall into the trap of reviewing the industry instead of the film. As a gritty crime thriller, The Reckoning is moderately successful. It's diversionary, predictable, derivative and silly, and there's no denying that there's an audience for that. It's slick, too. The kind of slickness that will make it palatable to someone who wants to have something on in the background when it finally does the home video and TV rounds. But there's little in here that would interest a modern audience looking to plonk nearly $20 down for a night out at the cinema. It's not just the story and style that feels dated, but the idea that this possesses anything to distinguish it from a thousand other similarly themed thrillers. Everything in The Reckoning is achingly American, and this would be annoying if it wasn't so obviously deliberate. This is a film with its eye firmly on international sales and goes out of its way to filter out anything that makes it feel Australian. The religious angle, for instance, is weirdly anachronistic, with a priests talking in haughty "my child" this and "the Lord says" that dialogue. Blurry number plates are zoomed in on and enhanced into the sort of clarity that only made sense about twenty years ago when nobody knew how video worked. If all this sounds like nitpicking, well, yes, it is. But it is these details that make or break a film, and with a plot that is as by-the-numbers as this one is, we rely on details to turn it into something more interesting or unique. The Reckoning is a fascinating film for all the wrong reasons. It is out of time, decades too late to be of any interest, and so desperate to cover up its country of origin that its edges are sanded down into something that is ultimately of zero consequence. https://youtube.com/watch?v=gjJgFijldaw
It's that time of year again. Art and theatre are literally spilling out of our city's theatres and galleries into the surrounding streets, laneways and bars. This year, Melbourne Fringe is densely packed with hundreds of shows over 18 solid days of programming. From September 17 - October 5, don't expect a call back from any of your creative friends. They are deep in the land of Fringe. Though the festival really has found its way all over the city, the epicentre is once again in North Melbourne. The Fringe Hub should really be referred to as the Fringe precinct or postcode — this year the hub is consistent of 10 venues and 3 bars on Errol Street and surrounds. The Fringe Club however, is a cosy little warren to be found inside North Melbourne Town Hall. If you're a little further from the northside, there's a bunch of events to be found in the CBD and a bonus performance hub at The Substation for those a little further out west. Unlike the upcoming Melbourne Festival, Fringe isn't a place you head out for a single show and make your way home again — it's a world unto itself. Catch a few works at a time, have a drink at the Fringe Club, or just drift through the night at the various satellite hubs. Whether it's dancing to a symphony of forks, a night of yelling at Joe Hockey, or an intimate set with some local indie music gods, anything you stumble upon is sure to lead to some interesting stories to tell the next day. To make things a little easier for you, we've compiled a list of the best ten things to see. If you want the full overview, check out the program at Melbourne Fringe.
Valhalla Social Cinema really understand what you want to see at the movies. You're not interested in the latest Michael Bay blockbuster. Sometimes you can't even be bothered with the latest MIFF hit. Honestly, it would be ideal if your local cinema played nothing but old, trusty Bill Murray flicks. If that sounds about right, you're going to love this weekend's programming. On Friday, September 19 and Saturday, September 20 Valhalla are presenting the The Weekend of Wes. Screening Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums for $13 a pop, not only is this a great time to re-live Wes's pre-Budapest glory, it's the perfect opportunity to rock that crested navy blazer and don your wanky beret. No, it's not officially a costumed event, but we'll basically jump at any chance to dress up like Max Fischer or Margot Tenenbaum. Unsurprisingly tickets are selling fast. Best to secure your seat online before you head over in a full fur coat.
The Melbourne show for Kanye West’s Yeezus Tour is fast approaching, but before you go HAM at Rod Laver Arena, the good guys at Rooftop Bar are throwing an all-things-Kanye themed party. The inaugural (and free) Kanye Westival is a celebration of Yeezy being the stylish, provocative and self-proclaimed demigod that he is. DJs for the evening include Fletch, Gamegirl, FashGIF, Baby Bonus, YUNG JACU$$I and SET LIST. A montage of Kanye’s epic video clips will be screened throughout the evening, and let’s be honest, there are some great ones to choose from. There will also be Kustom Kanye Kut-out photo backdrops so you can get snapped living the good life with 'Ye. BYO croissants.
Nobody can resist a subtle jab at Tom Cruise, but Com Truise is known for more than just the pun. The New Yorker's been generating buzz ever since appearing on the electronic music scene four years ago. Now, Truise, aka Seth Haley, is touring Australia for the first time, taking him across Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney in a series of intimate sets. Like his name, Com Truise's music is fun and energetic, hailing back to an era of luscious '80s synth. Haley's most recent release, Wave 1, from the faultless Ghostly International label, is a trademark to his signature style — slick production which transforms the otherwise monochrome sounds of today's pop with an eclectic mix of sci-fi sounds, funk beats and drenching bass. It's music that makes everything feel textured, fuzzy, lo-fi and somewhat rainbow-coloured. Just go with it. Supported by Midlife.
Quiet achievers Little Dragon are a bit of an elusive bunch. Despite jamming together for nearly two decades, the Swedish quartet only gained a serious fan-base following their breakout hit 'Twice' in 2009. But these high school pals-turned-internationally touring chart-toppers are proof that sometimes the best things take time. Making their way around Australia for a string of Laneway Festival appearances, Little Dragon have squeezed in a couple of sneaky sideshows for those not festivaling. Channeling their signature blend of genre-bending beats, their latest fourth studio album Nabuma Rubberband sees a smooth set of dance tracks with strong electro-pop and R&B tendencies. Previous collaborations with the likes of the Gorillaz, SBTRKT and Big Boi have seen these guys go from virtual unknowns to a globally recognised act. With captivating vocals courtesy of Yukimi Nagano guaranteed to get audiences grooving, these performances won't disappoint. Supported by Kilter.
After the enormous success of their Friday Nights series, the NGV are taking things up a notch. In a move to finally bridge the divide between gallery and all-out art party, this Melbourne institution is setting up a weekly music festival to run on every Sunday for the remainder of summer. And here's the best bit: it's all totally free. Taking place in the garden at NGV International, Summer Sundays will operate in collaboration with Mushroom Music and, because of this, all bands involved will be much-loved Melbourne locals. Everything will be kicking off on Sunday, February 1 with bluesy singer-songwriter Lanie Lane from 1-7pm. This will then be followed up by appearances from festival favourites World's End Press, indie four-piece Husky, and the always excellent Alpine. Of course, there wouldn't be any proper festival vibes with just one act. Each band will be backed up by DJs and smaller local outfits. There will also be Mambo-themed tents to chill out in courtesy of the ongoing retrospective at the Ian Potter Centre, as well as beers from local microbreweries and feeds from Huxtaburger. Summer Sundays take place in the Grollo Equiset Garden adjacent to NGV International from 1 - 7pm.
Dig out those once-a-year novelty gumboots, Groovin the Moo is back for another year of out-of-the-city footstomping. Taking the large-scale music festival out of CBDs and into regional centres for another year, GTM will kick things off on the ANZAC Day long weekend and travel through Oakbank, Bunbury, Bendigo, Canberra, Maitland, and Townsville. This year's lineup sees syper-hyped internationals like the legendary Peaches, 'Boom Clap'-per Charli XCX, A$AP Mob's A$AP Ferg US trap king RL Grime, UK indie-gazers Peace and NZ festival favourites Broods alongside one of the most Aussie-heavy lineups GTM has seen in recent years. High-fiveworthy locals like Flight Facilities, The Preatures, Sticky Fingers, Hermitude, DMAs, Tkay Maidza, Ball Park Music, Meg Mac and more will also make their way to the Moo. So enough lowing, here's that lineup you're after. GROOVIN THE MOO 2015 LINEUP: A$AP FERG (USA) BALL PARK MUSIC BROODS (NZ) CARMADA CHARLI XCX (UK) THE DELTA RIGGS DMAs FLIGHT FACILITIES HERMITUDE HILLTOP HOODS HOT DUB TIME MACHINE MEG MAC NORTHLANE ONE DAY PEACHES (CAN) PEACE (UK) THE PREATURES RL GRIME (USA) SAN CISCO SASKWATCH STICKY FINGERS TKAY MAIDZA WOLFMOTHER YOU ME AT SIX (UK) GROOVIN THE MOO 2015 DATES & VENUES: Saturday, April 25 – Oakbank Sunday, April 26 – Bunbury Saturday, May 2 – Bendigo Sunday, May 3 – Canberra Saturday, May 9 – Maitland Sunday, May 10 – Townsville For more info, head to GTM's website. Image: Joseph Mayers, GTM.
It doesn't matter how good your cast is if you don't give them a compelling story to tell. That's the lesson of My Old Lady, the motion picture debut of playwright Israel Horovitz. An obvious stage-to-screen adaptation that shows little consideration to the differences between the two, it's a film so stuffy and slow-moving that it makes its geriatric headliner look positively spritely by comparison. The great Maggie Smith plays the old dame in the title, a 92-year-old British expatriate named Mathilde Gerard, who lives in a spacious Parisian apartment thanks to a peculiar French real-estate law called a viager. Under the arrangement, Madame Gerard receives regular cash instalments from a buyer, who will eventually gain full ownership of the property when the old lady finally dies. It's a fantastic deal for her, but a right pain in the arse for Matthias Gold (Kevin Kline), a deadbeat New Yorker who inherits the building in his estranged father's will. So Matthias skulks around Paris, trying to figure out a way to sell his newfound property while contending with his stubborn new tenant and her hostile adult daughter, Chloe (Kristen Scott Thomas). But soon the comic setup gives way to something much more serious. Information comes to light regarding the relationship between Matthias' father and Gerard, unscrewing the lid on a can of Daddy Issues in the process. It's interesting subject matter, to be sure. The problem is that Horovitz doesn't know how to translate his material to the screen. A vast majority of the truly relevant action takes place inside Gerard's apartment — and no number of aimless shots of Paris can disguise the film's origins on the stage. The dialogue itself feels better suited to the theatre as well, with a number of theatrical monologues in the movies' second half running unnecessarily long. At least it goes without saying that all three of the film's main actors are fantastic. Frankly, it's hard to think of a single bad performance across their entire combined body of work. In truth though, none of their characters are particularly easy to like, each one of them consumed by a mixture of blind entitlement and self-pity. That's the other lesson to be learned from My Old Lady. When a film's central conflict comes down to bickering over a $9 million deed, it's difficult to feel much sympathy for anyone involved.
Alaskan-bred, Portland-based indie foursome Portugal. The Man will be hitting the road for an epic string of Australian dates this November. We're talking a whopping 25 shows — and all free. Presented by Corona Extra, the tour kicks off in Western Australia on October 31 and travels through Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria before finishing up in Melbourne on November 30. With seven albums under their belt — including their most recent, Danger Mouse-produced, 2013 album Evil Friends — and playing up to 200 shows a year since they started, Portugal. The Man aren't ones to shy away from a long touring stint. They're big ol' festival favourites, making highlight lists at all the big guns from Coachella, Lollapalooza to Laneway Festival and Splendour. After their huge US tour wraps up, the foursome are going to bring their psychedelic, indie outdoorsiness to Australia's snuggly pubs and bars. Corona's last epic Australian tour saw Sydney's beloved Cloud Control hit the road for an unfathomable amount of free shows, so we'll see how the Portland locals go with such a schedule. Get along, burl out 'Got It All', 'Evil Friends' and 'So American' like you're front and centre for a P.TM festival set. It's freakin' free. Victoria Friday, 28 November — Torquay Hotel, Bell St, Torquay at 9pm. Saturday, 29 November — Westernport Hotel, 161 Marine Pde, San Remo at 9pm. Sunday, 30 November — The Deck, 2-4 Davey St, Frankston at 8.30pm. All tour dates are 18+ only and free entry. More info here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=EITwxJrZKj0
Romantic comedy cliches have earned their label for a reason; the more they're used, the more expected they become. And so it's that films like Love, Rosie emerge, wholly comprised of the seen-before and the been-there-done-that, as rendered with similarly customary sweetness. Here's the gist: girl and boy have clear feelings for each other, but are forced to stumble through a range of obstacles. Even if you've only ever seen one rom-com, you know where this is going. Rosie Dunne (Lily Collins) is an average 18-year-old girl. She's about to finish school and looking forward to a future certain to include her neighbour and lifelong best pal, Alex (Sam Claflin). There's a spark to their friendship that suggests something more, however when they take others to the prom — he escorts Bethany (Suki Waterhouse), and she goes with Greg (Christian Cooke) — it appears fate has other plans. The night has long-lasting repercussions pushing them in different directions. Alex moves to the US for medical school and after falling pregnant, single mother Rosie stays in the UK. Of course, they keep in touch. Cecelia Ahern's best-selling novel Where Rainbows End, upon which Love, Rosie is based, relates its tale through the pair's emails, letters and texts. The film uses the gimmick to a lesser extent, but their correspondence still guides a feature that charts the will-they-or-won't-they of this unconventional long distance relationship. Director Christian Ditter (best known for French for Beginners) and screenwriter Juliette Towhidi (Calendar Girls) don't stray far from the source material, nor do they need to. When it comes to cloying romantic plots, Ahern literally wrote the book. What good rom-coms do well, the most predictable included, is cultivate investment in the central couple. And even when forced into silly situations and saddled with stereotypes, Collins and Claflin are suitably charming, selling the camaraderie central to their close platonic relationship, as well as the uncertainty needed to make their 12-year flirtation endearing. They're the bright sparks in an effort otherwise happy with obviousness. You can count on picturesque imagery, heavy-handed pop cues, and tonal wobbling between contemplative drama and over-the-top comedy. Having each actor play their characters from ages 18 to 30 never quite convinces, but that's a minor issue. That's the film all over — never believable, constantly trite, but endlessly likeable. It's also the rom-com prescription in willingly evoking a necessary wish-fulfillment fantasy. Soppily telling tales of yearning loves and lives dictated by wanting what you can't have, Love, Rosie seemingly aims to be a younger-oriented successor of Bridget Jones' Diary. In its focus on its messy but spirited heroine, its lacings of cringeworthy humour and its adherence to genre formula, it doesn't miss the uninspired mark. https://youtube.com/watch?v=cweASWVpkVM
There's an unshakable sense of menace throughout the low-key mob movie The Drop that lifts it above the outward cliches of its story. Then again, that's hardly surprising, given it was written by Dennis Lehane. The American crime novelist responsible for Mystic River, Shutter Island and Gone Baby Gone — books whose subsequent film adaptations rank amongst the best big-screen potboilers of the past 20 years — Lehane's mastery of the blue-collar crime genre is second to none. And, while his screenplay for The Drop doesn't quite reach the same impressive heights, it's a thoroughly compelling drama all the same. The story takes place, as Lehane's stories tend to do, in a working class microcosm in the north-east US. In this case it's Cousin Marv's bar, a grimy Brooklyn watering hole run by a bitter old barkeep whose name sits on the sign above the door. In reality, however, the bar hasn't belonged to Marv (the late great James Gandolfini) since he was muscled out by the Chechen mafia, who now use it as one of several collection points — or "drop bars" — for all of their ill-gotten cash. When the bar is robbed by a pair of desperate stickup men, Marv and his unflappable bartender Bob (Tom Hardy) are tasked with recovering the money. At the same time, Bob find himself caught up in the life of local waitress Nadia (Noomi Rapace) after rescuing a wounded dog left abandoned in her front yard. What Bob doesn't count on is the attention of Nadia's unhinged ex-boyfriend Eric (Matthias Schoenaerts), a local crim who, if rumours can be trusted, has a habit of making people disappear. How the storylines intertwine... well, that would be telling. Belgian director Michael R. Roskam is a skilled hand behind the camera, but it's easier to identify the influence of Lehane: the decaying urban setting, the unspoken threats of violence, the characters all speaking in thick, working class drawls. So too can you locate the DNA of earlier crime pics. Bob's frequent trips to a local Catholic church call to mind Scorsese's prototypical gangster movie Mean Streets; the theft of mob money, meanwhile, was the catalyst in the recent Andrew Dominik joint Killing Them Softly. As such, The Drop can at times feel a little familiar. But the strength of Lehane's screenplay lies in the information he keeps obscured. His characters' pasts remain shrouded in mystery, leaving you constantly unsure of how far they're willing to go. The star of Roskam's previous film Bullhead, Schoenaerts radiates danger in every scene. Likewise Gandolfini, whose portrayal of a washed-up tough guy reminds us just how big a talent the actor was. It's Hardy, however, who really steals the show. At first, his character strikes us as a gentle giant; a nice guy caught up in a situation he can't control. But as the movie goes on, we're forced to look again. There's something deeply unsettling about the way Bob never seems phased, even as his situation spirals further out of control. As always, that's the appeal of Lehane's writing. Things are never quite what they appear. https://youtube.com/watch?v=9xAKTGPbhQk
The winner of this year's Cannes Film Fest Palm d'Or is an exercise in movie-going endurance. Written and directed by celebrated Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Winter Sleep clocks in at a gruelling 196 minutes long, a figure that makes the most recent Hobbit flick look positively breezy by comparison. Frankly, only the most committed of arthouse nerds should even attempt Ceylan's latest — and even they may find themselves struggling with the picture's slow-as-molasses pace. Indeed, despite his film's epic run time, Ceylan appears committed to keeping actual dramatic incident to a minimum. Concerned, at its core, with the erosion of the marriage between a conceited old hotel owner (Haluk Bilgine) and his miserable young wife (Melisa Sozen), Winter Sleep at times feels more like a stage play than a movie. Characters argue at inordinate lengths about marriage, money, philanthropy, class and the nature of good and evil. Then they argue some more. The topics that Ceylan sets out to explore are certainly intriguing. In its best moments, Winter Sleep calls to mind the likes of A Separation and Two Days, One Night — films in which the dialogue cuts not just to the hearts of the characters, but to the issues facing the society in which those characters live. At other points, however, Ceylan's writing becomes strained, laying out his themes in painfully literal language, as if we can't be trusted to understand them on our own. On a more unequivocally positive note, Gokhan Tiryaki's cinematography is genuinely stunning. Under the harsh, grey-white light of foreboding winter skies, the Anatolian landscape seems almost otherworldly. Equally beautiful are several night-time interior scenes, the flickering glow from the fireplace casting shadows across the walls. Even so, it's difficult to get past that ridiculous three-hour run time, which drags behind the film like a ball and chain. Ironically, most of the truly compelling content can be found in the movie's second half. The problem is that, by the time you get there, there's a good chance that your brain will have already checked out. https://youtube.com/watch?v=P1nQbYtTPQg
It's bands like Bloods that make you proud of the Australian music scene. Their crazy addictive fusion of pop and garage punk are just the kind of tunes for letting loose on the dance floor, with their catchy guitar riffs and gritty vocals calling back to an era of Joan Jett bad-assery. After previously supporting bands like the Dum Dum Girls and DZ Deathrays, it's great seeing Bloods embarking on a nationwide headline tour of their own to promote their debut album. While they've released a steady stream of singles and EPs since first coming onto the scene in 2011 – Golden Fang, We Are Bloods, among others — it was only this year that the trio have finally put together their first full-length, Work It Out. It has everything you'd expect from a Bloods record: hook-filled headbangers spliced with a couple of mellow slow burners (just to catch your breath a little). Bloods are one of the most loved local live acts around right now, and for good reason. Catch 'em in these cosy venues before they get snapped up by the big ones. https://youtube.com/watch?v=9QNxOsDeot8
The horrors of the Holocaust have spawned countless, often interchangeable stories on film and television. In comparison they've inspired far fewer pieces of theatre — although plays like Arthur Miller’s late work Playing For Time spring to mind. In its depiction of musicians interned in concentration camps Miller's play has a kind of resonance with The Artisan Collective's Requiem for Dalinka, which will soon have its premiere at Gasworks. Since late 2009 the indie company — helmed by Requiem director, Benjamin Pfeiffer — has won praise for its honed, stylish pieces of theatre unafraid to confront difficult material; plays like Brendan McCallum’s If It Bleeds, or Kristina Brew's adaptation of John Fowles' The Collector. Alongside this impressive reputation, co-creator of Requiem Peter Marks is both an experienced musician and the son of a Holocaust survivor, attuned to the sensitivities required when spinning art out of lived experience. This story will undoubtedly be no exception.
You may not have heard of it before, but Wednesday, December 3 marks the United Nations International Day of People with Disability. Not coincidentally, it's also the first day of The Other Film Festival, one of the largest film festivals on the face of the earth catering specifically to people with disabilities. Hosted in the Melbourne Brain Centre on Royal Parade, the films across the five-day program include shorts, documentaries and features from all around the world, complete with captioning and audio description options, wheelchair accessible seating and water bowls for seeing-eye dogs. Opening night of the festival features the standout documentary Fixed, about radical advances in medical technology meant to enhance the human body. Another sure highlight, if you can handle the grim subject matter, is Canadian documentary Out of Mind, Out of Sight, which explores what happens to people with mental illness who have committed violent crimes. Classic film buffs can also get their fix with a not-so-silent-screening of the iconic 1922 vampire movie Nosferatu, in which audience members provide live audio description for the blind. Yes please. For the full TOFF program, visit their website.
It’s exciting times in the Missy Higgins camp right now. Firstly, there’s a baby on the way, due in early January. Secondly, she has a new album, a collection of essays, and a national tour right around the corner. Though the album is titled OZ it's far from your average Great Australian Songbook – that would be too easy and, to be honest, a little unoriginal. In the end, Higgins went with songs by esteemed Australian songwriter she was convinced she could make her own. She calls the results "a real mixed bag of lollies". Sounds delicious. A few of the songs featured in OZ include Paul Kelly’s 'Before Too Long', The Drones’ 'Shark Fin Blues', and The Go Betweens’ 'Was There Anything I Could Do?' The essays Higgins has written to accompany the album are supposed to go hand in hand with the songs she has chosen, but obviously if you want to enjoy them separately, you have her permission to go for it. Fans of Higgins’ original material needn’t be disappointed; 'Scar', 'The Special Two' and 'Everyone’s Waiting' are all likely to make an appearance during her national tour. The eerie yet majestic singer/songwriter Dustin Tebbutt, as well as OZ collaborator Jherek Bischoff will join Higgins during her national tour. This might be your last chance to catch Missy Higgins live for a while, and OZ looks like a wonderful world we can’t wait to get lost in.
With a young man immersed in underworld dealings and learning life lessons along the way, there's no mistaking Son of a Gun's fondness for standard crime caper cliches. The film begins with prison hierarchies, navigates a jailbreak and daring heist, and dallies with ruthless Russian mobsters. It also traverses romance and a complicated mentor-protegee relationship, just in case its adherence to formula wasn't apparent. And yet, in wholeheartedly embracing genre basics, complete with the accompanying twists, Julius Avery's debut focuses on execution and performance over plot and story to exceed the sum of its obvious parts. That's not to say that the movie's narrative isn't engaging; however, it is in its eye for action and its finessed portrayals that Son of a Gun best impresses. Nineteen-year-old JR (Brenton Thwaites) enters his six-month stay in a maximum-security facility with a warning to keep out of trouble, though the resident bullies have other plans. Veteran inmate Brendan (Ewan McGregor) becomes his saviour, but his help has consequences: JR must return the favour upon his release. Extricating Brendan and his right-hand man (Matt Nable) from prison is the first step. Next, assisting the convicted armed robber in doing what he does best. Writer/director Avery came to fame courtesy of his 2008 short Jerrycan, a Cannes Film Festival award winner. His first feature has been eagerly awaited since, and in its bright lensing of the Western Australian landscape, moody score from Snowtown and The Babadook's Jed Kurzel, and sustaining of tension, it proves worthy of such anticipation. Avery shows a knack for set pieces and a mastery of pace and tone that keeps Son of a Gun moving, patching over its lack of surprises and extended length. From the sombre drama of its jail-set opening to the cat-and-mouse chases that follow in helicopter hijackings, car chases, boat rides and stand-offs, the filmmaker crafts a competent, compelling thriller. Otherwise, casting is the film's biggest strength, from Thwaites' second role in succession as a naive pawn awakening into a position of influence after The Giver, to A Royal Affair's Alicia Vikander as his potential love interest. Of course, it is the star power of McGregor, complementing his usual cheeky grin with a menacing glint in his eye, that rightfully commands attention. Although appearing to play against type, his charming wrongdoer isn't that far removed from his morally dubious breakout role in Trainspotting, complete with his natural accent. Indeed, McGregor's fate mirrors that of the film, never straying far from the familiar, but doing so with energy and aplomb. Son of a Gun may be another gritty Australian crime offering, but it is also an enthusiastic, expressive and engrossing example of its genre. https://youtube.com/watch?v=eTOBcelRo9M
Time to start sleuthing through all of the internet. Converse are hosting a series of amazing A-list gigs in Melbourne, Sydney and New Zealand, and they're hiding tickets where you'll least expect them. So far we know that The Vines — who are all about the freebies lately — and Bloods are playing a free show somewhere in Melbourne on Wednesday, October 22; Remi and Collarbones are hitting up Sydney the following night; and a fresh lineup is heading over to New Zealand soon after. Oh, and we have your first clue. Converse sneakily posted an ad on Seek for a casual "fist pumper". "This temporary, one night only, position is open for a front row fist pumper at a free gig," the ad read. "The successful applicant will show a willingness to party in the front row of the mosh pit ... [They also must] appreciate the epic sounds of bands, The Vines and Bloods". In case you haven't worked it out already, this is your ticket. If you're from Melbourne and maintain any of the above characteristics, we highly recommend applying for this job. They're currently taking "applications" for the position at hey@converse.com.au, but maybe trade in a full cover letter for a few photos of you in the mosh. This is possibly the only time making a resume link to your Facebook photos is a good thing. UPDATE: We can now reveal the show will be held at Ding Dong Lounge at 8pm. Check out the Converse Facebook page for more details on how to get tickets.
UK label Defected Records throw epic dance parties worldwide all year round. This time around, Melbourne is the target; with Defected In The House set for New Year's Day. International DJs Oliver Dollar, Franky Rizardo, Sonny Fodera and Crazy P are among the special guests, as well as supports from Simon Digby, Steve Bleas, APAP and more. Considering Defected In The House hosts regular nights at London's Ministry of Sound, Singapore's Zouk and Pacha in Ibiza, if house music is your thing you couldn't get 2015 off to a better start.
Stroll the catwalks of Europe's premiere fashion houses, or get up close and personal with the dying art of men's tailoring, as part of the latest documentary line-up at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. Presented as part of the cultural leg of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, ACMI's Fashion on Film program covers all things haute couture. Produced by James Franco during his tenure as the male face of Gucci (because of course that happened), The Director: An Evolution in Three Acts presents a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most influential fashion labels in the world. Première: Ellery in Paris takes viewers from Sydney to Paris with celebrated Australian designer Kym Ellery. While on a more intimate note, Men of the Cloth explores the devotion of three old-school Italian tailors to their disappearing craft.
Straight from the Design Museum in London, this new exhibition at the RMIT Design Hub is definitely one to get you thinking. Interrogating our changing relationship with manufacturing and production, The Future is Here is about to take a diverse look at the new technologies that are coming to shape us. Exploring 3D printing, nanotechnology and digitally networked marketplaces, the thinkers and makers behind the works on show make their case for an exciting future that's unfolding right in front of us. From August 28 until October 11, the RMIT Design Hub will be showcasing the works of local design research projects and work from the original exhibition in London. Alisa Andrasek's noteworthy project 'Bloom' will also be on display. Seen in London during the 2012 Olympics, this "urban toy" and "collective gardening experience" that looks like a giant pink feather boa asks audiences to mould, shape and build different formations from the separate hot pink elements of the structure. By asking people to interact with the object, 'Bloom' demonstrates a new method for production — one that is crowd-sourced and unpredictable. The exhibition will also be accompanied by a series of lectures and talks from those involved. Andrasek will be hosting a free lecture on Friday, August 29. And, if you'd like a free rundown of the show before checking it out for yourself, Design Museum curator Alex Newson will be speaking prior to the exhibition opening on Thursday, August 28 from 12-1pm.
In a brilliant display of sequins, stilettos and some sexy short shorts, we were fortunate enough to have The Rocky Horror Picture Show performed live in Melbourne earlier this year. But what if you missed out? What if you can't get enough? Or what if — worst of all — you are yet to experience The Rocky Horror Picture Show in all of its cultish glory? Fear not, your chance to jump to the left (and then step to the right) is right around the corner. Hosted by the Oz Horror Con group, Rocky the film version of TRHPS will be screened at Backlot Studios in Southbank, featuring appropriately leather seating and an impressive sound system. The interactive Rocky Horror Picture show hinges around getting the audience involved, from singing along to 'Sweet Transvestite' to dressing up as your favourite character. There will be plenty of opportunities to shout out the lines and stand up for a few rounds of the 'Time Warp', so be prepared to throw your whole self into the spectacle. We see you shiver with anticip… pation. https://youtube.com/watch?v=sg-vgGuTD8A
Keep Everything is dance theatre for people who can appreciate the absurdity of human social behaviour and love hearing a beat drop. This new offering from Chunky Move continues the company’s mission to playfully redefine the limits of contemporary dance. It's charming, entrancing and fun. It begins dramatically: human bodies barely visible through surging projections and thick smog. We are transported to a post-apocalyptic landscape — made magical by the music of Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes (of The Presets fame). Yet, just as soon as we’re accustomed to the electronic rhythms and droning atmosphere of this sci-fi wasteland, all the lights are up and the performers are over-exposed. The scene transitions through the piece are carefully thought-out and a joy to experience. Lighting, music and projection all work together to hurtle us along the evolutionary journey of humans — from morphing jellyfish-masses to haute-couture models. The choreography by Antony Hamilton never takes itself too seriously. It is clear to see that improvisation and repeated physical and verbal phrases have formed the basis of the work, which seems to respond to gibberish emitting from the mouths of the dancers and to laugh out loud at the direct audience address, “How are ya?” The trio of dancers (Benjamin Hancock, Lauren Langlois, Alisdair Macindoe) speak in grunts and abstract sounds and dance in digital code. They push the boundaries of their human spines and structures to create part-machine, part-animal bodies that offend our civility. They tell us the human body is simply a series of circles and angles then prove this point with a prolonged unison dance sequence so precise I dubbed it the ‘robot rebirthing’... only moments before it deteriorated into a night-club rave. At the heart of Keep Everything is an exploration of how humans connect and communicate, and the audience is forced to reflect and critique our own speech. Aren’t we all just speaking gibberish that we somehow collectively understand? “Ye-ah”, comes the dancers’ answer, as they learn onstage to make meaning out of random patterns. The set is a clean white floor, covered on one side with what appears to be pastel building-blocks, and on the other with industrial waste: from order and progress to pollution and disrepair. This bittersweet view of human evolution is maintained throughout, from the seamless switches of organic, fluid movements into robotic body isolations to the rogue 'lap dog' (brought brilliantly to life by Langlois), who refuses to submit to human control any longer. The work claims to keep everything, but is neither too long nor indulgent. It casts a questioning eye on our human behaviour and makes us laugh at how far we’ll go to try to connect.
The creative possibilities of what you can muster up with a 3D printer are appear endless — red carpet dresses, working computers, casual weapons — but how do they work? The highly creative and tech-savvy designers from Studio Batch are dropping into Colour Box Studio to hand over their knowledge and lead a class on the basics of 3D printing and its applications. During this highly sought-after workshop you'll get to handle a range of 3D-printed objects, from metal to plastics and ceramics. You'll then get clued in to how Studio Batch use their 3D printers to produce their digitally-crafted pieces, and understand how a blue sky concept in your head can be quickly realised using this newfangled technology. You’re welcome to bring a notebook to jot down your days of learning, and everyone goes home with their own piece of 3D-printed jewellery. Places for the Wednesday night class have sold out, so Colour Box Studios have decided to release tickets for a second workshop on the Thursday. Better get in quick sticks.
As part of this year's NEON Festival, The Myth Project: Twin by Arthur (the surrealist adventurers behind Cut Snake) is exploring the depths of the human psyche and the strength of blood ties. After the disappearance of her twin sister, Ana falls into a dark alternative reality, a world ruled by dreams and riddles. Ana is confronted with the dead, The Queen of Grief (who is practising her cabaret number. Obviously), and two tricksters leading a tribe of lost children, among others. Before she can save her twin, Ana must accept an inheritance she never thought was hers, and doing so won't be easy. Described as a mix of opera-noir, cabaret and naturalistic drama, The Myth Project: Twin is the first instalment of Arthur's multi-play episodic exploration of the Australian psyche. The production features a large ensemble from regional Australia as well as multiple writers.
A crotchety old man gets a new lease of life when he becomes the reluctant babysitter to the 12-year-old kid next door. Sounds pretty unbearable, until you factor in that the old man is played by Bill Murray. Pushing 65, the star of Ghostbusters, Stripes and Groundhog Day is looking a little on the tired side but soon proves he's lost none of his caustic charm. In St Vincent he's vinegar, adding just enough acidity to a screenplay that without him would have been sickeningly sweet. Vincent MacKenna (Murray) is a classic movie curmudgeon. He drinks like a fish, smokes like a chimney, and gambles like a man who has nothing left to lose. The closest thing he has to a friend, aside from his Persian cat Felix, is a foul-mouthed Russian prostitute (Naomi Watts), who may or may not be pregnant with his child. He's an unfeeling bastard, and the last person in the world you'd want taking care of your impressionable primary school-aged son. Unfortunately for his new next door neighbour Maggie (Melissa McCarthy), he's literally the only choice she has. St Vincent isn't what you'd call a groundbreaking holiday comedy. First-time writer-director Theodore Melfi has no shortage of funny dialogue but shows little interesting in straying away from his conventional narrative formula. Friendships are made. Lessons are learnt. Obvious set-ups lead to unsurprising payoffs, and everyone gets home in time for dinner. What sets the movie apart, primarily, is the quality of its cast. After years of retreading her Bridesmaids shtick, McCarthy finally gets the chance to play an actual human being; her turn as Maggie helps keep the film grounded, sympathetic but still genuinely funny. Chris O'Dowd, meanwhile, gets some great lines as a glib Catholic priest — and although Watts' Russian accent is pretty unconvincing, it's always fun to see her trying her hand at a comedy. Unsurprisingly, however, the highlight of the film is Murray. While this is a character the actor could comfortably play in his sleep, there's never the slightest indication that Murray is phoning it in. His dynamic with newcomer Jaeden Lieberher makes for one of the most enjoyable on-screen pairings of 2014; frankly, what kid wouldn't want Bill Murray for a babysitter? Yet despite first appearances, this is not a purely comedic performance. There's a loneliness to Vincent that Murray absolutely nails; a pair of scenes in which he visits his dementia-afflicted wife may very well bring audiences to tears. So too the ending, which although incredibly predictable, is so damn well executed that it's difficult not to forgive. And really, that's this movie in a nutshell. Like Vincent himself, you love it in spite of its obvious flaws.
His outfits have been the talk of the fashion world for decades. Now, you can get a glimpse of his work on the silver screen. Programmed as part of The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier at the National Gallery of Victoria, this free, six-hour film marathon reveals the designer at his most playful and outlandish. The day begins with a bang, with Pedro Almadovar's flamboyant, sexually explicit comedy Kika, about an aspiring actress turned beautician caught up in a sordid tabloid scandal. Next comes The City of Lost Children, a dark sci-fi fantasy from Amelie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The marathon wraps up with Luc Besson's futuristic action flick The Fifth Element, starring Bruce Willis as the best dressed cab driver in the galaxy. Get your orange wigs at the ready, this is one trip to the movies that's impossible to overdress for.
If you love locally-brewed craft beer The Alehouse Project is where you need to park yourself come midnight. This year, 13 breweries are making one-off event beers (and one cider) just for the night. Breweries on the bill include 3 Ravens, 7 cent, Bacchus, Black Dog, BrewCult, Cavalier, Holgate, Kaiju!, Make Beer, Masked, Moon Dog, St Ronan's Cider and Temple. Doors open at 5pm and DJs will play until 1am, and you won't be want for nibbles — there'll be canapes available until 10pm. A cool $99 ticket will get you access to all 13 taps, house wine and spirits — if beer isn't your jam.
After the assaultive colour and bombastic energy of DreamWorks: The Exhibition, the latest show in ACMI's main gallery is a very different animal indeed. The crown jewel of the centre's summer-long China Up Close program, Yang Fudong: Filmscapes showcases the work of the titular moving-image artist, exploring questions of modernity and alienation in contemporary Chinese society with varying degrees of success. After descending the stairs into the darkness, visitors are greeted by the largest and best of the exhibition's four installations, titled The Fifth Night. Seven large screens along the main wall depict seven young people wandering aimlessly along a Shanghai street circa the early 1930s. The gorgeous black and white cinematography calls to mind countless classic film noirs, while the varying perspectives on the same scene offers the most compelling representation of the artist's favourite motif, that of characters traversing eerie artificial landscapes. Attached to the main room is a single screen showing Yang's dialogue-free short film The Nightman Cometh (not to be confused with this). As snow falls on an empty battlefield, an ancient warrior clad in armour looks for shelter as three other figures make their way across the tundra. The most conventional piece in the exhibition in terms of form and presentation (keep in mind that 'conventional' is a pretty relative term), the 20-minute film is nonetheless beautiful to look at, although the invasion of ambient noise from The Fifth Night can be rather distracting. In the next room, Yang forgoes his typical black and white for garish hi-def colour. With various screens of different shapes and sizes positioned all around the room, The Coloured Sky: New Women II depicts a group of young, attractive Chinese women lounging around an artificial beach. The emphasis on spectatorship, as well as the obviously fake set, provides comment on the manicured nature of femininity and female sexuality. Unfortunately, the disjointed manner of presentation prevents viewers from ever becoming fully immersed in the work, despite the hypnotic quality of the images themselves. The final piece comes with the always intriguing disclaimer that some of the images within may cause viewer discomfort. East of Que Village is again shot in black and white, although it's far more raw and less vivid than the polished cinematography of Nightman or Fifth Night. Shot in a desolate village on the outskirts of Beijing, the multi-screen installation, laid out in a similar fashion to The Coloured Sky, juxtaposes images of feral dogs fighting each other with a group of humans likewise struggling to survive. By design, it's the ugliest work in the exhibition, as well as the most overtly political. Dogs eating dogs isn't exactly a subtle metaphor, after all.
ACMI is stepping into the world of haute couture, as part of this year's Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival. Get the lowdown on high fashion, take a time machine back to the nineties, or go behind the scenes of a Vogue magazine photo shoot with the inimitable Lena Dunham. With five documentaries bolstered by a number of shorts, one thing about the Fashion on Film program is certain: it's probably going to make you feel seriously underdressed. The FOF season begins on February 21 with And Then There Is Naples, Gianluca Migliarotti's journey into the history of bespoke Italian menswear. Anchoring art in life, the film is paired with a two hour walking tour past some of Melbourne's own top quality tailors. Other films in the program include The Balmain Style, about the legendary French fashion house, as well as Pop Models, about the evolution of the supermodel.
It’s 1982, Amsterdam, and tough economic times are hitting hard. So what’s a ragtag gang of close-knit friends to do to make a living — especially when they can’t get a bank loan to pursue legitimate business interests? Abducting a beer baron might not be the obvious answer, but it is the course of action Cor Van Hout (Jim Sturgess) and his brother-in-law Willem Holleeder (Sam Worthington) take. They’ll need to rob a bank to finance their ingenious get-rich-quick idea, and they’ll need the help of some pals (fellow Aussies Ryan Kwanten and Thomas Cocquerel, plus Dutch actor Mark van Eeuwen) to put their plan into action. Welcome to Kidnapping Mr Heineken, a snatch-and-grab caper that can only tell a true tale. This isn’t the first time these circumstances have earned the big screen treatment, with 2011’s De Heineken ontvoering from The Netherlands doing the same. The capture of Alfred Heineken for what was the largest ransom ever at the time made headlines in its day; however, that was three decades ago. Now, it’s a footnote in history, and even with several movies reliving the saga, that’s likely the way it will stay. Journalist Peter R. de Vries turned the entire affair into a book in 1987, his investigative attitude coming through in the film adaptation. Kidnapping Mr Heineken maps the planning and the aftermath in standard crime procedural fashion, more concerned with the perpetrators and their fraying friendship — 35 million Dutch guilders is a lot of money to share, after all — than the plight of their victim. Perhaps director Daniel Alfredson, a veteran of The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, just wanted to showcase his younger stars, all strangely keeping their native accents. Perhaps it’s just because, apart than the initial abduction and the inevitable downfall, not much happens — other than squabbling and sitting around waiting. As is often the case, what Van Hout and Holleeder thought was a sure path to easy money quickly proves otherwise. After capturing Heineken (Anthony Hopkins) and his driver (David Dencik), neither the police nor the beer company plays ball. Cue an average dramatisation of actual events, with the usual backstories and complications. Everyone has issues: Holleeder’s father previously worked for Heineken, his sister (and Van Hout’s wife) is pregnant, one of the group has a family to care for, no one really likes another of their so-called friends. Alfredson is workman-like in bringing it all together, ensuring the movie looks sleek while matching the 1980s period, and even throwing in a few great car chases. His cast does the same, each hitting their marks, though nothing bubbles under the surface of their characters — or the film. It’s a fitting approach for a feature that doesn’t try to be anything more than a faithful, sometimes emotional retelling of real-life circumstances, but it is also unfulfilling. Alas, Kidnapping Mr Heineken is content with just showing us what happened, rather than telling us anything that inspires more than a passing interest.
Russia’s nomination to the 2014 Foreign Language Oscar race is every bit as slow and imposing as its title would suggest. Ostensibly named for the enormous blue whales whose bones scatter the shoreline of the small coastal town of Pribrezhny, the name Leviathan more readily refers to the unfeeling, unyielding behemoth of the Russian bureaucracy that devours everything in its path. Acclaimed director Andrey Zvyagintsev does a masterful job capturing the misery of life under such a corrupt and broken system. Of course, whether that’s something you actually want to watch is a different question entirely. Don’t get us wrong: there’s plenty to appreciate about Zvyagintsev’s latest feature. Chief among them would be the raw, brutish performance of Aleksey Serebryakov. A mainstay of the Russian screen industry, Serebryakov plays Kolya, a quick-tempered auto mechanic who runs afoul of Pribrezhny’s mayor (played by Roman Madyanov), who wants to seize the valuable headland currently occupied by Kolya’s house. In order to fight back, Kolya calls on Dimitriy (Vladimir Vdovichenkov), a friend from his days in the army and now a high-powered lawyer in Moscow. Through Kolya’s struggle, Zvyagintsev presents viewers with a scathing critique of contemporary Russian society — a grim, vodka-soaked landscape of dodgy politicians with little concern for the citizens who put them in office. It’s compelling for a time, in a depressing sort of way, watching the poor, emasculated Kolya gain inches only to be set back miles. Those hoping that the prevalence of religious imagery might signal a David and Goliath ending are likely to leave the cinema disappointed. The hopelessness of Kolya's situation is reflected in the work of cinematographer Mikhail Krichman, who favours wide lenses, static camera work and a colour palette overpowered by greys. Unfortunately, as Leviathan plods past the two hour mark, you too may begin to feel overpowered. For all his insight, Zvyagintsev isn’t trading in a particularly nuanced brand of bleakness, his message driven home with all the dull, repetitive pounding of a sledgehammer, or waves crashing endlessly on the shore. Leviathan is arduous by design. But that’s little conciliation when you’re struggling to sit through it.
It outraged tyrants, terrified theatre chains and knocked one of Hollywood's most powerful executives
Over a hot, tumultuous summer, a group of teenagers struggle with love, sex and betrayal. Like an artsy Australian version of an episode of Skins, writer-director Rhys Graham's debut feature Galore is an earnest and technically confident piece of filmmaking but noticeably lacking in stakes. Like so many other tales about teens behaving badly, the overblown drama on which the movie hinges never really seems that important. Lush cinematography and natural performance ultimately make little difference when you just don't care about the story. The film takes place around the outskirts of Canberra, a few weeks before the devastating 2003 bushfires. Puberty Blues star Ashleigh Cummings plays 17-year-old Billie, whose voiceover bookends the film. Her best friend is Laura (Lily Sullivan), an aspiring writer and the girlfriend of skater boy Danny (Toby Wallace). She's thinking about giving Danny her virginity, and goes to her life-long BFF for advice. What Laura doesn't know is that Billie is already sleeping with him. In short, it's exactly the kind of angst-ridden rubbish that makes you glad you're no longer in high school. Petulant and manipulative, Billie treats life like a sordid little soap opera in which she's the tragic star. The reality of the situation is far less kind, not to mention a whole lot less interesting. The movie's dramatic inflation of Billie's selfish behaviour may strike a chord with teenage audiences, although they'll probably be bored by the film's deliberate pacing. Adults, on other hand, will just want to throttle her. The poor plotting is unfortunate, because in other areas the film is quite strong. Despite Cummings being saddled with a deeply unsympathetic character, both her and Sullivan give intensely authentic performances. The same is true of newcomer Aliki Matangi as Isaac, a troubled but good-natured youth who gets caught up in Billie's drama. The weak link is Wallace as the mopey, uncharismatic Danny, whose blandness makes the love triangle that much more difficult to comprehend. Graham also deserves credit for his graceful visual direction. While handheld camerawork and sun-dappled cinematography aren't exactly new tricks for an Australian made indie, there's no discounting the beauty of the film's setting, nor the elegance with which Graham, a Canberra local, brings the sleepy location to life. But the skill all comes to naught in the service of such an uninvolving narrative. Both Graham and his cast likely have bright futures ahead of them, sure to be filled with far more accomplished projects. Go and see them, but give Galore a miss. https://youtube.com/watch?v=iRWbh_TOLdw
Rap and science — what could be better? New York-based Canadian rapper Baba Brinkman and DJ Jamie Simmonds will be spinning tha beatz all night long on June 6 and 7 at the Arts Centre (and by all night long, we mean a prompt 6pm start until the album's duration has ceased). From classics such as 'Unity of Common Descent' and 'Creationist Cousins', The Rap Guide to Evolution literally covers everything. Now, we know what you're thinking... and we don't blame you, it sounds weird. We get it. It's a dude standing on stage and rapping about Darwin's theory, it kind of goes against everything we know about rap (and science for that matter). But considering the shining reviews of Brinkman's The Rap Canterbury Tales a few years ago, we can't help but think that this might just be awesome. Not only will Brinkman be delighting us with his rhymes and evolutionary takes on classic rap songs, but there promises to be "epic audio visuals" as well. Argh! Worlds are colliding and we don't know how to feel.
A charming portrait of two lonely hearts who connect across a city of more than 20 million people, Ritesh Batra's debut feature feels worlds away from a stereotypical Indian melodrama. As a matter fact, were it not for the setting, the language and the mouth-watering shots of local cuisine, you might very well mistake it for Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail. The epistolary romance is hardly a new genre; Ephron's film was itself a modernised remake of the classic Hollywood rom-com The Shop Around the Corner. But Batra infuses The Lunchbox with a distinctively Indian flavour, through his clever incorporation of Mumbai's famously efficient dabbawallas — hard-working couriers who transport freshly cooked lunches to offices all around the city. It's through a one-in-a-million mix-up that curmudgeonly accountant Saajan (Irrfan Khan) receives a meal cooked by neglected housewife Ila (Nimrat Kaur). The lunch was meant for her husband, but Saajan proves a far more grateful diner. So the next day Ila sends a note to accompany the food, thanking her mystery costumer for his appreciation. He replies, and slowly they begin a correspondence, bonding over mutual feelings of loneliness and personal regret. Documentary-style footage chronicles the daily journey of the lunchbox, from doorstep to bicycle, railway platform to high-rise. Every delivery brings the two battered souls closer together, while the food — and the cooking process — takes on a quality that's almost sensual. Batra demonstrates beautiful restraint in his slow, steady development of Saajan and Ila's relationship, an unacknowledged romance in which we soon grow heavily invested. The poignancy of the blossoming love story is balanced by other, platonic relationships. As Saajan counts down the days towards his retirement, he's forced to help train his eager young replacement (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). But what starts as a chore soon evolves into a begrudging sort of friendship. Their odd-couple bond is mirrored by the one between Ila and her neighbour, who shouts recipe and relationship advice through the window of the apartment above. Fundamentally, The Lunchbox is a film about unlikely human connections, and the unexpected happiness they can bring. Endearing characters give substance to the formulaic plot and make Batra's debut feature a satisfying cinematic meal. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Qdn6nVJHyfM
