Less than two weeks after being released from the state's current lockdown — a lockdown that has been extended in Greater Melbourne until at least 11.59pm on Thursday, September 2 — regional Victoria is going back under stay-at-home conditions. From 1pm today, Saturday, August 21, the rest of the state will join the Victorian capital in lockdown. At present, regional areas will be under stay-at-home rules until 11.59pm on Thursday, September 2 as well. Announcing the news at Victoria's daily COVID-19 press conference, Premier Daniel Andrews said that "sadly the public health team have advised that given the Shepparton outbreak and the fact that at least one person travelled to Bendigo and potentially others travelled beyond, there is a very significant risk of transmission right across regional Victoria and not just in that Goulburn Valley area." Accordingly, "from 1pm today, all of regional Victoria will move to the same lockdown conditions as exist in Melbourne right now, with one important exception — the curfew will not operate in regional Victoria." The move comes after Victoria reported 61 new locally acquired cases in the 24 hours to midnight last night, and has already identified 16 more cases that'll be included in tomorrow's numbers. To keep Victorians safe, and on the advice of the Chief Health Officer, from 1pm today Regional Victoria will enter lockdown and additional measures will come into effect in Metro Melbourne. pic.twitter.com/YY6oeOGHYA — Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) August 21, 2021 Regional Victoria has been in and out of lockdown over the past few months, including not only at the beginning of Melbourne's current lockdown in early August but also during the state's July lockdown as well. As a result, the stay-at-home rules should be familiar to folks who live in regional parts of the state, including the return of the five permitted reasons to leave your home: to shop for what you need, when you need it; for caregiving and compassionate reasons; to undertake essential work or permitted eduction that can't be done from home; for exercise; and to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Once again, regional Victorians must stay within five kilometres of their homes, too, unless you're leaving for permitted work or you're shopping for essentials if there are no shops in your radius. During the period that Melbourne remained in lockdown but regional Victoria didn't, some lockdown rules were tightened, and all of these restrictions except the overnight curfew will also apply throughout the rest of the state from 1pm today. That means that exercise must be limited to two hours a day with one other person, plus any dependents you both have, even if you live in a larger household. Also, playgrounds, basketball hoops, skate parks and outdoor exercise equipment are now required to close as well. Plus, authorised work permits will be reimplemented in regional Victoria, effective from 11.59pm on Monday, August 23. So, if you need to leave your home for authorised work, you have to get a permit to do so. Reported yesterday: 61 new local cases and 0 new cases acquired overseas. - 29,539 vaccine doses were administered - 45,670 test results were received More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData [1/3] pic.twitter.com/cF6VGG7VKR — VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 20, 2021 Masks are required everywhere outside of your house, and you now can't take them off to drink alcohol outdoors. Private gatherings remain banned, just like during regional Victoria's last lockdown, and so are public gatherings. But, while you can't have any visitors enter your home in general, there are single bubbles, and intimate partner visits are allowed. So, if you live alone, you can form a bubble with another person or see your other half. Weddings are not permitted, unless on compassionate grounds, while funerals are limited to ten. Hairdressing and beauty services, indoor physical recreation and sport venues, swimming pools, community facilities including libraries, entertainment venues and non-essential retail venues will all close again — and hospitality venues will once again revert back to takeaway-only. Supermarkets, bottle shops and pharmacies will remain open — and professional sports can proceed, but without crowds. All of the current stay-at-home rules also remain in effect in Melbourne, obviously. As always, Victorians can keep an eye on the local list of exposure sites at the Department of Health website — it will keep being updated if and when more sites are identified. For those looking to get tested, you can find a list of testing sites including regularly updated waiting times also on the Department of Health website. And, has remained the case throughout the pandemic, Victorians should be looking out for coughs, fever, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, or loss of smell or taste, symptoms-wise. Regional Victoria will go back into lockdown from 1pm on Saturday, August 21 until at least 11.59pm on Thursday, September 2. For more information about the rules that'll be in place during that time, head to the Victorian Department of Health website. Top image: Mattinbgn via Wikimedia Commons.
Cristiano, Neymar and Messi have been rendered as the futurist Incredibles in a new series of illustrations by up-and-coming artist Rafael Mayani. Bringing together twelve of the finest players in the FIFA 2014 World Cup, Mayani brought his playful style — often reserved for stunning, Disney and Nintendo characters — to slick renditions of Marco Reus, Andrea Pirlo, Didier Drogba and more WC favourites. Relatively unknown on the international circuit, Mexico City-based Mayani's talent for sketching footballers is evident in his sfumato charcoal Pele posted on his Facebook page: All twelve of the players feature on a limited edition poster available at Society 6. Devoid of sweat patches, day-old Cheezels and beer-stained couch groove, your World Cup addiction never looked so elegant. Marco Reus Didier Drogba Cristiano Ronaldo Iker Casillas Andrea Pirlo Leo Messi Via Fubiz.
While you're probably champing at the bit to head overseas, the past two years have definitely sparked a resurgence in regional travel — and there is a vast array of incredible country escapes right on our metaphorical doorstep. Enter Talbingo. Sure, you might not have ever heard of it, but there's a whole host of reasons for you to go check it out for your next vacay. This little town in NSW's Snowy Mountains region is full of great outdoor adventures and activities from fly fishing to rewarding hikes. We've teamed up with Wild Turkey to put together a list of our favourite ways to enjoy the great outdoors in Talbingo. [caption id="attachment_841377" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lumi1023 (Flickr)[/caption] GO FISHING AT TALBINGO DAM Talbingo Dam is one of the largest bodies of water that make up the Snowy Mountains Scheme, and one of the enduring drawcards of this part of the world is its popularity as a recreational fishing destination. The deep waters of the dam are home to a variety of species including rainbow trout, golden perch, redfin and more. It's also one of the few places that allows catch-and-release sportfishing for the elusive trout cod. If you're planning on dropping a line here, a small recreational fishing fee must be paid. It goes towards the ample restocking of the dams with sustainable species as well as helping to fund research and maintenance about sustainable recreational fishing. [caption id="attachment_841378" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brendan J Murphy (Flickr)[/caption] OR, HEAD TO THE DAM FOR WATER SKIING, CANOEING OR SWIMMING The sheer size of Talbingo Dam means that there's plenty of space for aquatic activities in the pristine water. There's a cordoned-off area for swimming and plenty of signage so you can't miss it. Or, if you're more of a thrillseeker, there are long stretches of deep flat water perfect for jet skiing — and the calm nature of the water makes this spot a great place to learn. If jet skis aren't your jam, then perhaps hire a canoe and set your own pace to blissfully take in the breathtaking mountain scenery that surrounds the dam. Whichever you choose, there are plenty of ways to experience this impressive body of water. [caption id="attachment_843933" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Elliot Kramer[/caption] TAKE IN THE VIEWS FROM THE OLD MOUNTAIN ROAD WALK This four-kilometre walking track follows Talbingo's first mountain road — a remnant of the Kiandra Gold Rush of the 1860s — and takes you up a short but reasonably challenging track, so be prepared to get the heart pumping. At the top, you'll find yourself at one heck of a lookout offering stunning views of the surrounding areas such as Bogong Peaks, Jounama Pondage and Blowering Reservoir (pictured above). Along the way, keep your eyes peeled for mountain wildflowers, grey kangaroos and all manner of native birdlife. [caption id="attachment_841376" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Mitterfellner (Flickr)[/caption] JUMP IN THE 4WD AND MAKE YOUR WAY TO A LOOKOUT POINT While there's plenty to explore on foot, avid gearheads will be pleased to know that Talbingo forms an excellent base from which to set out on road adventures. You could hit up the nearby Black Perry lookout or traverse slightly more perilous terrain to Landers Falls (pictured above), both of which offer extraordinary views of the surrounding bushland. If you're keen to make more of a day of it, set off early and drive to the northern end of the Kosciuszko National Park to check out the region's impressively diverse landscape. [caption id="attachment_624129" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Murray Vanderveer[/caption] EXPLORE THE DRAMATIC YARRANGOBILLY CAVES AND TAKE A DIP IN A THERMAL POOL Live your Morlock dreams or pretend you're Gandalf leading the fellowship through the mines of Moria whilst you explore the hauntingly beautiful Yarrangobilly Caves. Of the 60 or so underground caves that were formed from a massive limestone belt around 440 million years ago, six are currently open to the public for guided and self-guided tours. Check out the massive stalactites and stalagmites, rare black flowstones and spacious, majestic caves, before heading back above ground to take a dip in the thermal pool which is fed by a natural spring and stays at a perfect 27 degrees all year round. [caption id="attachment_843931" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Elliot Kramer[/caption] PITCH A TENT AT BUDDONG FALLS CAMPGROUND If you're looking for some peace and tranquility among the mountains then head straight for the idyllic Buddong Falls campground. This remote patch of land is a great base to explore the surrounding national parks and maybe catch a glimpse of some of the local wildlife that make their homes within the surrounding ribbon gums and along the nearby creek and waterfall. If you're not the most seasoned camper then fear not — picnic tables, barbecues and public toilets are all readily available to make things a little more comfortable. Find out more about Wild Turkey's Discovery Series at the website. Top image: Elliot Kramer
Carlton is known for its poky little places. There are heaps of small pizza joints with very large men spruiking them, there are great cafes down tight laneways and there are beloved basement bars with only a few seats available — but people don't talk much about its big sprawling pubs. The Great Northern is one of them. And we'd say this is made for true pub lovers — the folks who like to watch the footy and really know their beers. Boasting 22 taps with a regular rotation of craft beers including Balter, 2 Brothers, Slumdog Brewing Co and Stone & Wood, and a selection from the ever-present Brooklyn Brewery, this is definitely the place to go for a pint. But it's not only about the beers. The great Northern does some decent pub food too. Get around a chicken or eggplant parma, some deliciously greasy burgers and a few steaks and salads. Nothing on the food menu will surprise you, but it will keep you happily fuelled for a day or night out in Carlton. Appears in: The Best Pubs in Melbourne for 2023
During the summer months, there's often one thing at the top of our to-do lists: hitting up as many beaches as possible. Australia has a lot of them (11,761 of them, to be exact) and choosing which ones to go to can be difficult. Where won't be too busy? Too seaweed-y? Which one has the whitest sand? The bluest water? Is the best for beach cricket? There's a lot to consider. Thankfully, Tourism Australia's Beach Ambassador (how do we apply?) Brad Farmer AM has done the hard yards and pulled together a tidy list of the top 20 Australian beaches for 2020. Farmer chose the beaches based on water quality, cleanliness, capacity, facilities, safety and 'wow' factor, as well as a host of other factors. Topping the list for 2020 is Cabarita Beach on the Tweed Coast, tucked between Byron Bay and the Gold Coast. As well as being a great surfing spot that's reasonably quiet, Cabarita is filled with lauded dining destinations and a brand-new glamping retreat a thong's throw from the award-winning beach. Farmer calls it a "quintessential Aussie beachscape showcasing a truly diverse range of settings to swoon over". [caption id="attachment_754821" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wagga Wagga Beach by Destination NSW.[/caption] Also on the list, for the first time, is an "inland beach". Wagga Wagga Beach, coming in at number nine, is located on the banks of the Murrumbidge River a five-hour drive inland from Sydney. It's far from the coast — and the seashore — but Farmer said "it's time we extend the meaning of a beach". "There are so many aquatic environments across Australia's interior," Farmer said in a statement. "These water spaces...socially connect rural and remote communities in often dusty and dry, drought conditions." At a time when so many parts of rural Australia are suffering through a two-year drought, it seems a fitting time to recognise our inland water bodies. A second non-coastal beach made the list, too: the pristine Lake McKenzie on Queensland's Fraser Island, which came in tenth. Rounding out the top five are the Gold Coast's Currumbin Beach at number two, NSW's hidden Minnamurra Beach (aka Mystics Beach) at number three, and Maria Island in Tasmania and Queensland's Cape Tribulation at number four and five respectively. Some of Australia's busiest (and, arguably, most popular) beaches — ie Bondi and Jervis Bay— didn't make the short list, but are both on Farmer's long list of 101 top Australian beaches for 2020. As did the Whitsunday's Whitehaven Beach, Australia's top-ranking beach in FlightNetwork's global list. So pack your togs (and your beach cricket set), round up some mates and start ticking these off. We see many road trips in your future. [caption id="attachment_754820" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lake McKenzie by Ashley Dobson[/caption] THE TOP 20 BEST AUSTRALIAN BEACHES FOR 2020 1. Cabarita (NSW) 2. Currumbin (Qld) 3. Minnamurra (NSW) 4. Maria Island (Tas) 5. Cape Tribulation (Qld) 6. Brighton Beach (Vic) 7. Bettys Beach (WA) 8. South Port Beach (SA) 9. Wagga Wagga Beach (NSW) 10. Lake McKenzie (Qld) 11. The Basin, Rottnest Island (WA) 12. Fingal Bay (NSW) 13. Smiths Beach (WA) 14. Neds Beach, Lord Howe Island (NSW) 15. Quobba Station Red Bluff (WA) 16. Cossies Beach (Indian Ocean) 17. Lake Tyers Beach (Vic) 18. Diamond Head (NSW) 19. Pondalowie Bay (SA) 20. Killiecrankie Beach, Flinders Island (Tas) Top images: Cabarita Beach by Destination NSW
Filling the shoes of now-closed CBD institution Ezard, is the first Melbourne outpost of Sydney's much-loved Mediterranean restaurant Nomad. Owners Rebecca and Al Yazbek have transformed the Adelphi Hotel's lower ground floor into Nomad's new 100-seat southern iteration, replicating the ethos of the original, while championing a whole new menu filled with local produce. Celebrated executive chef Jacqui Challinor has been working closely with Nomad Melbourne's new head chef Brendan Katich (Gingerboy, Ezard) to develop the eatery's signature offering, centred around house-made cheese and charcuterie (think, duck mortadella and trout basturma), and the kitchen's prized wood-fired oven. Fans will find just a handful of menu mainstays, backed by a lineup of brand new dishes, with plenty of locally-sourced meat and veggies cooked over flames among the mix. You're in for plates like baked jersey milk ricotta with ortiz anchovies and fire-roasted peppers, barbecued spatchcock finished with harissa and toum (Lebanese garlic sauce), and the dry-aged pork cutlet teamed with a salsa of golden raisins and capers. Dessert might see you tucking into wood-roasted pineapple cake elevated with yoghurt sorbet and rose el hanout. Otherwise, the $95 feasting menu features a generous parade of nine dishes to share. A sprawling wine list focuses on homegrown drops, with Victorian wineries and smaller producers given lots of love. And an extensive all-Aussie pouring list will rotate regularly, offering the chance to sample new wines with every visit, including premium creations served via Coravin. [caption id="attachment_832917" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sharyn Cairns[/caption] Top Images: Interiors, Sharyn Cairns
The Alliance Francais French Film Festival is back for another year, ready to celebrate the best in French cinema. Returning to select Palace locations around the country, this year’s program is packed with exciting goodies, including dramas, comedies, docos, kids' films and an entire stream dedicated to movies about the First World War. With almost 50 movies on offer — most of them Australian premieres — it’s shaping up to be one of the festival’s most exciting years ever. Of all those titles, we’ve selected five that you absolutely owe it to yourself to see. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Lea Seydoux (Blue Is the Warmest Colour) and Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) star in this sumptuous adaptation of the classic French fairy tale. An enormous French-German co-production, the film’s trailer is absolutely packed with gorgeous visuals, and appears to have a darker edge than the animated Disney version we all know and love. The last couple of years have seen a bunch of big budget Hollywood “reboots” of fairy tale stories, most of them not very good. Here’s hoping the French (and the Germans) can get it right. GIRLHOOD Aged just 36, writer-director Celine Sciamma first caught our attention with Tomboy, a tender coming-of-age story about a 10-year-old girl pretending to be a boy. Her follow-up, Girlhood, belongs to a similar genre, although this time her protagonists are a little older. The film explores the dynamic between four reckless teenage girls as they struggle to pave a future for themselves in one of the poorer parts of Paris. The film has received a ton of buzz on the international festival circuit, and we can’t wait to check it out. THE NEW GIRLFRIEND When it comes to sexually provocative cinema, no one does it better than director Francois Ozon. The man behind such films as In the House and Swimming Pool, Ozon has made a career out of titillating pulp, and his latest film looks to be absolutely no exception. A story of death and deception with some cross-dressing thrown in, The New Girlfriend has been described as a mix of Hitchcockian thriller and Almodóvar-style sexual comedy. It should probably go without saying, but this one’s for adults only. SAINT LAURENT Last year saw the release of Yves Saint Laurent, the first in a pair of competing biographical dramas about the legendary French fashion designer. Unfortunately, that film was pretty bloody awful. But we’re holding out hope for this alternate version, which competed for the Palme d’Or at last year’s Festival de Cannes and got much kinder notices from critics. TOKYO FIANCEE Finishing off our list with something a little lighter, romantic comedy Tokyo Fiancee has drawn comparisons to Amelie — and presumably not just because their protagonists have the same name. The film concerns a young French woman obsessed with all things Japanese, who decides to book herself a one-way ticket to Tokyo. Once there she finds work as a French tutor, only to begin a relationship with one of her students. The film is one of the favourites of festival patrons David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz. And really, who are we to argue with them? The Alliance Francaise French Film Festival is on around Australia in March. Catch it in Sydney from March 3-22, Melbourne from March 4-22 and Brisbane from March 13 - April 1. Check the festival website for the full program.
If your 2024 resolutions involve seeing stunning art and travelling, here's one of the best ways to tick both boxes: a visit to digital-only art gallery teamLab Borderless in Tokyo. Not only is the Japanese venue finally set to reopen in a new location, but it'll welcome folks back in with a spectacular array of never-before-seen installations. If you fancy being surrounded by bubbles, jelly, flowers and oceans, you'll be especially thrilled. When it initially launched in 2018, teamLab Borderless instantly became one of the most spectacular must-sees on any Tokyo trip; however, the venue has been closed for a year and a half while shifting to its new site at Azabudai Hills. Come Friday, February 9, it'll reopen its doors with another dazzling array of artworks — pieces that epitomise terms like breathtaking, kaleidoscopic, glorious and delightful, and are worth a trip to Tokyo to see all by themselves. The new teamLab Borderless will span both evolved and brand-new artworks. So, even if you've been before at its old digs, you won't just be seeing the same things — even though they're definitely worth enjoying more than once. While the full range of works that'll feature at teamLab Borderless 2.0 still hasn't yet been revealed, the list keeps growing — and impressing. Pieces announced so far include the jaw-dropping Light Sculpture series, which cycles through an array of light formations and colours, as well as an eye-catching mirrored infinity room-style space that's tentatively been titled Microcosmoses. Among the world-premiere installations, there's also Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light, which is comprised of spheres that look like soap bubbles and jelly, and will move through various colours. With Flowers and People — Megalith Crystal Formation, you'll spy florals bud and blossom, then wither and decay, repeating that pattern endlessly. And thanks to Black Waves — Megalith Crystal Formation, the sea gets a nod. Attendees can also enjoy Giant Solidified Spark, which is a sphere made from rays of light — plus Wall Without a Wall, which you'll see as a wall even though nothing physical exists. In its original guise, teamLab Borderless was also anointed the most-visited single-artist museum in the world during its first year of operation. Expect that to happen again in central Tokyo, where it's relocating to from its past Odaiba base. That means that you'll no longer be crossing over Tokyo's gorgeous Rainbow Bridge to get there — but your eyes will have much to feast on inside. If you were lucky enough to mosey around the OG spot before the pandemic, you'll know that the Borderless experience involves vibrant, constantly moving, always-changing interactive digital art keeps that keeps glowing and rearranging before your eyes. As the name makes plain, nothing is fixed or static here. Pieces move from one space to the next, and interact with other works. Sometimes, several different projections and installations mingle together. For attendees, peering at the end results isn't merely a passive experience, with the venue encouraging patrons to "wander, explore and discover". teamLab might be best-known for its Tokyo site, but it doesn't only operate in Japan. A second teamLab Borderless has already been open in Shanghai since 2019, and others are slated for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Hamburg in Germany — the former without an exact opening date, the latter slated to launch in 2025. The organisation also operates a different museum in Macao, and has its first teamLab Phenomena on the way for the Saadiyat Cultural District in Abu Dhabi, again targeting a 2024 launch. The list goes on, with teamLab's works a drawcard wherever they pop up. teamLab Borderless Tokyo: MORI Building Digital Art Museum will reopen at its new location at Azabudai Hills, Garden Plaza B B1F, 1-2-4 Azabudai, Minato-ku, Tokyo sometime on Friday, February 9, 2024, with tickets on sale from Tuesday, January 16 — for more information, visit the museum's website. Images: teamLab, Exhibition view of teamLab Borderless: MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM, 2024, Azabudai Hills, Tokyo © teamLab, courtesy Pace Gallery.
For fans of distressed denim, the more unique the method of wearing them down the better. But these guys have taken things next level. A denim company in Japan has decided to outsource their distressing work to lions, tigers and bears for their latest collection. Before you get on a soapbox about any sort of animal exploitation, it’s only for a limited run of four pairs of jeans and it's all in the name of charity. Oh my! Zoo Jeans is an initiative by the Mineko Club of zoo volunteers who have partnered with Japan's Kamine Zoo in Hitachi City. The jeans will be auctioned off online and you'd better get in quick as the bidding started on Monday. Funds raised from the jeans will go towards the World Wildlife Fund and to the revitalisation of the Kamine Zoo. The favourite playthings of the bears, tigers and lions — rubber balls and tyres – were covered with sheets of denim and left in their enclosures for them to gnaw at, tear and generally muck around with. When the animal crew decided they’d had enough, the toys were retrieved and the denim — or what is left of it was removed. The denim was not altered further, except to be cut and sewn into jeans. At the time of writing this the current bid for the T1 Jeans (designed by tigers) stands at ¥121,000, which is roughly $AUD1,267. The two pairs of Lion Jeans, one women’s and one men’s, are currently sitting at ¥50,000. If fashion for you hinges around being the central topic of conversation, you’d be a hard one to beat in these threads. Via GQ and Zoo Jeans.
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 from January's haul of newbies. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL RIGHT NOW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UQamk0b0k8 ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI Pondering the conversations that might've occurred between four pivotal historical figures on one very real evening they spent in each other's company, One Night in Miami boasts the kind of talk-heavy concept that'd clearly work well on the stage. That's where it first began back in 2013 — but adapting theatre pieces for the cinema doesn't always end in success, especially when they primarily involve large swathes of dialogue exchanged in one setting. If Beale Street Could Talk Oscar-winner and Watchmen Emmy-winner Regina King doesn't make a single wrong move here, however. The actor's feature directorial debut proves a film not only of exceptional power and feeling, but of abundant texture and detail as well. It's a movie about people and ideas, including the role the former can play in both bolstering and counteracting the latter, and the Florida-set picture takes as much care with its quartet of protagonists as it does with the matters of race, politics and oppression they talk about. Given the folks involved, there's much to discuss. The film takes place on February 25, 1964, which has become immortalised in history as the night that Cassius Clay (Eli Goree, Riverdale) won his first title fight. Before and after the bout, the future Muhammad Ali hangs out with his equally important pals — activist Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir, High Fidelity), footballer Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge, The Invisible Man) and musician Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr, Hamilton) — with this equally meticulous and moving certain future Oscar-nominee ficitionalising their time together. One Night in Miami is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga0iTWXCGa0 LUPIN Few actors are as charming on-screen as Omar Sy. Ever since the French talent started making a big-screen splash in films such as Micmacs and The Intouchables, he has been a delight to watch. Consequently, the Mood Indigo, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Jurassic World star couldn't be better cast in Lupin — the Paris-set mystery-thriller series inspired by Maurice Leblanc's 1907–36 novels and novellas about the fictional gentleman thief of the same name. Sy plays Assane Diop, who is first introduced as a cleaner working at the Louvre. In flashbacks to recent events and to the character's childhood, viewers learn just why he's at the famous museum, and what has inspired his life of crime as well. The son of a Senegalese immigrant (Fargass Assandé, Eye of the Storm) who once worked for the wealthy Pellegrini family, Assane has a complicated history, plus a mystery to solve, Marie Antoinette's diamond necklace to steal and vengeance to exact. Each chapter of his on-screen tale is slick, engrossing and swiftly-paced, as all heist and espionage affairs should be. Based on his engaging performance, they should probably all star Sy, too. Also influential here, though, is filmmaker Louis Leterrier. His resume has more misses than hits, spanning the first two Transporter movies, The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans, Now You See Me and Grimsby, but he brings a deft touch to this series — as he did to the vastly dissimilar The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Lupin's first five episodes — which comprise the first of the series' two parts — are available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uC7_PFQgCc THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC Remaking the 1981 film of the same name, Indonesian horror movie The Queen of Black Magic takes three men back to the remote orphanage they grew up in. Naturally given the setup and the genre, more than just memories await. Friends Hanif (Ario Bayu, The Bridge), Anton (Tanta Ginting, Hit & Run) and Jefri (Miller Khan, Foxtrot Six) all return to pay their respects to the man who raised them, the ailing Mr Bani (Yayu AW Unru, Brata), and they've each brought their families and spouses along — but when they arrive at the facility, there's no mistaking the eerie feeling that permeates. Hanif, his wife Nadya (Hannah Al Rashid, The Night Comes for Us) and their three children are already a little rattled after an incident during their drive. Soon, the kids are exploring the property and unearthing secrets that have long haunted their father and his pals. Just as swiftly, filmmaker Kimo Stamboel demonstrates that he isn't going to hold back on the bumps, jumps or gore, although fans of his work as part of the Mo Brothers — including Macabre, Killers and Headshot — won't be surprised by his unflinching approach. The writer/director of Satan's Slaves and Impetigore, screenwriter Joko Anwar also helps shape a picture that leans on more than a few horror tropes, but never feels like a by-the-numbers haunted house movie. And, if you'd like to compare it to the original, that's joining this new version on Shudder as well (with the current flick available now, and the initial film arriving on the platform in February). The Queen of Black Magic is available to stream via Shudder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqT77bdfEaA HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY: THE REN & STIMPY STORY When August 2021 rolls around, it'll mark 30 years since a psychotic chihuahua and a kindly cat first brought their chaos to the small screen and changed the way people think about Nickelodeon's animated shows. At the time, there was simply nothing like The Ren & Stimpy Show — and that applies to its dark humour, willingness to shock and often grotesquely detailed visuals, as well as its characters, storylines and jokes. The 52-episode show also proved immensely influential. Without it, SpongeBob SquarePants probably wouldn't exist, in fact. But the history of Ren & Stimpy is filled with both highs and lows, as documentary Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story explores. More than just a nostalgic look back, this chronicle by first-time directors Ron Cicero and Kimo Easterwood covers the series' origins, evolution and success, as well as its behind-the-scenes struggles and eventual demise. It chats with the folks who made it happen to examine why it struck such a chord, and to also make plain the reality of making such a hit. And, it doesn't shy away from the accusations levelled at John Kricfalusi, Ren & Stimpy's creator and the voice of Ren, including not only the difficult working environment that sprang under his watch, but the allegations of sexual abuse and grooming that came to light in 2018. Indeed, the latter could fuel its documentary, but here it adds another layer to the tale of a TV show unlike anything else, and the ego that both made it happen and caused its downfall. Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story is available to stream via Docplay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XByiHpUvrj0 THE HISTORY OF SWEAR WORDS Listening to Nicolas Cage utter profanity is a beautiful thing. Witnessing him on-screen always earns that description, of course. Whether he's running maniacally through the streets because his character is convinced he's a vampire, or he's flirting with subtlety while also playing identical siblings, he's a pleasure to behold — which is why Netflix's decision to task cinema's undeniable king of the unhinged with hosting The History of Swear Words is a smart moves. He opens and closes each episode, and pops up intermittently as an array of comedians and language experts offer their thoughts. He doesn't appear as often everyone watching would like, but he's the comedy series' best feature. He screams "fuck" like no one else, makes jokes about his career, and paints in front of a picture of a peach that nods to Face/Off and one of the most outlandish scenes he's ever been in, too. Without him, The History of Swear Words would've been interesting, rather than entertaining. The fact that it sticks to a very brief exploration of its selected curse words (fuck, shit, bitch, dick, pussy and damn) would've been more obvious. But Cage makes the show as delightful as it can be in its chosen form, even as viewers are left wanting more not only from him, but from the series' examination of profane terms. Of course, deploying The Wire and Da 5 Bloods' Isiah Whitlock Jr. on one specific episode is a pitch-perfect move as well. The first season of The History of Swear Words is available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiTFFr5PTJk BUMP Thanks to The Secret Life of Us, Love My Way, Spirited, Puberty Blues and The Time of Our Lives, Australian TV hasn't lacked Claudia Karvan's presence over the past two decades. Bump joins them, with Karvan co-creating, co-producing and also co-starring as schoolteacher Angie Davis. The narrative focuses on Angie's teenage daughter Oly (Nathalie Morris, Black Christmas), though. An overachiever attacking Year 11 with gusto and dreaming of a career working for the United Nations, Oly isn't sure what's going on when she starts feeling pangs of pain one morning; however, after throwing up in the school toilets and being taken to hospital via ambulance, she's soon a mother to the baby she didn't even know she was expecting. That all happens in Bump's first episode, with the Stan series' ten-part first season then charting the aftermath — including the massive changes to Oly's life, to Angie and her estranged husband Dom's (Angus Sampson, No Activity), and to Oly's brooding classmate Santi Hernandez's (Carlos Sanson, Little Monsters) as well. Set in Sydney's inner west, filled with characters who actually act and talk like teens, and offering a refreshingly multicultural view of Australia, Bump finds time for both big and small moments. It doesn't shy away from melodramatic plot developments, but it's also filled with complex, well-written and excellently performed characters, Oly and Angie especially. And, it'll fill the Heartbreak High-sized hole in your life before the new version hits. Karvan did star in The Heartbreak Kid, the movie that series was spun off from, after all. The first season of Bump is available to stream via Stan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGdcTUMGxB0 THE RENTAL If you've ever felt a little unsettled upon checking into a holiday property, Dave Franco and Joe Swanberg understand. The Bad Neighbours, Nerve and The Disaster Artist actor turns filmmaker for the first time with The Rental, co-writing the script with Drinking Buddies, Win It All and Easy director Swanberg — and the horror-thriller that results preys upon the uneasy suspicion that we could be under surveillance when we pay to stay in someone else's house. Charlie (Dan Stevens, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga), his wife Michelle (Alison Brie, Happiest Season), his brother Josh (Jeremy Allen White, Shameless), and his business parter and Josh's girlfriend Mina (Sheila Vand, Snowpiercer) all decide to head to a picturesque seaside spot for a weekend getaway. Searching online, they find what seems like the perfect place; however, upon arrival, Mina is quickly creeped out by Taylor (Toby Huss, Halloween), the house's caretaker. The vacation goes downhill from there, not only due to Mina's lingering anxiety about their remote abode, but because the two couples' underlying struggles are thrust out into the open. Unpacking the situation, Franco doesn't always find the best balance between the narrative's horror story and its relationship dramas, but he could've focused the film on either element and it still would've proven engaging. The excellent cast help immensely, and so does the commitment all-round to ensuring this isn't just a cookie-cutter cabin-in-the-woods effort. The Rental is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBhlqe2OTt4&t=19s WANDAVISION From Iron Man to Spider-Man: Far From Home, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has notched up 23 big-screen instalments in its 13 years so far, firmly establishing a franchise template in the process. The characters in the spotlight change from film to film, but a clear formula is at work — which is why the mould-breaking goofiness of the Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy movies (Thor: Ragnarok especially) has stood out. New Disney+ series WandaVision also sits apart from the crowd. It's Marvel's biggest swing so far, in fact. It's also the company's first TV show from a hefty upcoming roster of series about characters already established in the MCU (including Loki, Falcon, the Winter Soldier and Hawkeye), and it relies upon viewers knowing Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen, Sorry for Your Loss) and Vision's (Paul Bettany, Solo: A Star Wars Story) history; however, its eagerness to do something different is worth applauding. Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, it follows its titular couple in their home life. Just how it's able to do that given details already established in the MCU is one of its mysteries. So is the reason behind its approach, with the show aping classic sitcoms such as Leave It to Beaver, Bewitched and The Brady Bunch, as well as the involvement of Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris, If Beale Street Could Talk), daughter of Captain Marvel's Air Force pilot Maria Rambeau. So far, WandaVision doesn't always hit its marks — in fact, despite Olsen, Bettany and Kathryn Hahn's (I Know This Much Is True) comic performances, it can be inescapably clunky — but it keeps its audience not only intrigued and invested, but guessing. The first four episodes of WandaVision's first season are available to stream via Disney+, with new episodes releasing each Friday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FGq5rZi1Pc SERVANT In its first season, which debuted in 2019, psychological horror series Servant introduced a distinctively disquieting scenario. Philadelphia newsreader Dorothy Turner (Lauren Ambrose, Six Feet Under) and her chef husband Sean (Toby Kebbell, Bloodshot) hire teenage nanny Leanne Grayson (Nell Tiger Free, Game of Thrones) to move in and care for their baby son Jericho — but she's really looking after a doll that Sean has been using to replace the infant, after the boy died at 13 weeks old and Dorothy couldn't cope. That's just Servant's setup, too. Initially, it gets its tension from the efforts by Sean, Leanne and Dorothy's brother Julian (Harry Potter's Rupert Grint) to maintain their ruse, and it makes ample use of the concept. Then Leanne's past comes into play, and the show shifts in different narrative directions while also maintaining its focus on grief, secrets, unhealthy family bonds and the way that darkness can fester in close quarters. M Night Shyamalan is the show's executive producer and has directed multiple episodes, but the series takes far more time to explore its creepy tale — and its sprawling claustrophobic brownstone setting — than Shyamalan's twist-heavy features. Servant's just-started second season picks up where it first left off and continues in the same engrossing fashion, all while investigating mysteries old and new. Its first two episodes also benefit from the work of Raw filmmaker Julia Ducournau behind the lens, while Ishana Night Shyamalan keeps things in the family by following her dad into the director's chair on a couple of episodes as well. The first three episodes of Servant's second season are available to stream via Apple TV+, with new episodes releasing each Friday. CULT CLASSICS TO REVISIT AND REDISCOVER https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFHjOfgMstE DINOSAURS Sometimes, sitcoms about families unfurl their tales via animation, as seen in everything from The Flintstones and The Jetsons to The Simpsons and Bob's Burgers. More frequently, they fall into the live-action category, which the likes of Family Ties, Full House, Fresh Off the Boat and Modern Family can all attest. But only one family-focused TV sitcom in the television history has focused on animatronic dinosaurs. That'd be Dinosaurs, of course. The big early-90s hit is set 60,000,003 years BCE, when earth was home to the supercontinent Pangaea, and it follows the day-to-day lives of the Sinclair family. Patriarch Earl works as a tree pusher for the Wesayso Corporation, which gives you an idea of the show's satirical leanings. His youngest son Baby spouts catchphrases like "not the mama" and "I'm the baby, gotta love me", which is indicative of the series' broad humour and easy gags. The whole concept was conceived by Jim Henson, his company also produced it, and it was as kooky when it first hit screens as it now sounds. It's also a show that everyone who was a kid in the 90s has strong memories of, and it has quite the finale. And, although your much-younger self couldn't have known all that time ago, Dinosaurs also sees Jessica Walter voice one of her many TV matriarchs — before fellow family-focused sitcom Arrested Development and spy spoof Archer, that is. All four seasons of Dinosaurs are available to stream via Disney+. Images: The History of Swear Words, Adam Rose/Netflix; Lupin, Emmanuel Guimier/Netflix.
Remember Tiger King mania? Of course you do. When Netflix's true-crime docoseries about Joe Exotic dropped in March 2020, it seemed as if everyone on the planet tuned in, dropped their jaws and couldn't stop talking about the chaotic real-life story. The fact that it released just as worldwide lockdowns hit helped boost its success, obviously. In the aftermath, other networks and platforms in the US rushed to get in on the action. That's when dramatised versions of the former Oklahoma private zookeeper's tale started being greenlit all over the place. Two big new series were swiftly slated: one starring Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters and Yesterday's Kate McKinnon as Carole Baskin — a glorious piece of casting if ever there was one — and a completely separate show with none other than Nicolas Cage playing Exotic. Neither series has surfaced yet, thanks to the pandemic. But, in sad news for Cage fans (aka everyone), the second show has just been scrapped. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter have reported that the Amazon has ditched its series — which means no blonde mullet for Cage. There's a chance the folks behind it might shop it around to other streamers and networks; although, whether anyone else picks it up, and if Cage will still remain onboard to play the tiger aficionado, one-time US presidential candidate and current incarcerated felon, is all clearly yet to be seen. This take on Exotic's tale was expected to chart his origin story, chronicling how he took on that moniker, became a larger-than-life version of himself and found himself on his present path. While Exotic has received plenty of media attention in his time, particularly recently, the Amazon series was due to take its cues from Leif Reigstad's 2019 Texas Monthly article 'Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild'. For now, anyone keen on more Tiger King mayhem will need to wait until the McKinnon-starring series comes to fruition. It's actually set to shoot in Brisbane this year. And, Cage fans will just have to console themselves by looking forward to him playing himself, and playing a truffle hunter as well. If you need a reminder as to why Joe Exotic's story keeps on keeping on, check out the Tiger King trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acTdxsoa428 The Nicolas Cage-starring Joe Exotic series has just been scrapped by Amazon. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is available to stream on Netflix, though. Via Variety / The Hollywood Reporter. Top image: Netflix.
Canned sundaes. Could be a trap. Sounds a little too dreamy. Seems the man who gave the world Cronuts has another trick up his sleeve, tailormade for the hardworking holidayers of the Hamptons. The latest experiment from award-winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel, canned sundaes are making their way to New York's Hamptons this weekend to be sold in a fancy ol' truck outside Lisa Perry's East Hampton boutique. One-off Ansel desserts, Lisa Perry boutique. HAMPTONS REPRESENT. "Dominique was a perfect match for this collaboration, as both of our brands celebrate art, pop culture and fun," said Perry. "He infuses each of his confections with creativity and imagination and the end result is always a treat in more ways than one." Somewhat fancier than Burger King's bacon sundae and channelling the same respect for showstopping dessert flavours as Messina, Ansel has created quite the gourmet canned good in this want-now dessert. Inspired by Warhol's cans, the mash-up sundaes are based on the classic root beer float (apparently Perry's favourite) — with root beer-flavoured ice cream, stracciatella ice cream (vanilla and chocolate chips) macerated cherries and mascarpone semifreddo and toasted marshmallow hanging out in the can. On top, Ansel's tiny signature 'Mini Me' meringues. You could say it's the most decadent thing someone's put in a can since the Candwich (canned sandwich, obviously). Meant for sharing, the sundaes will set Hamptonites back $15 and have enough canned goodness for two dessert fiends. Ansel will only be serving up 500 of these babies, so watch the 'grams for bragging rights. But before you get all Gossip Girl hater over this decadent dessert stunt, it's for a good cause. Ansel is giving 20 percent of sales from his fancy, fancy treat to City Harvest. Whattaguy. Via Grub Street. Image: Courtesy of Dominique Ansel Bakery
Forget grey. Come October-November, the Northern Rivers of New South Wales will be covered in 50 shades of purple when the historic town of Grafton gives off big main character energy through its annual showcase of violet-hued blooms. With roots as the oldest floral festival in the country, the Grafton Jacaranda Festival really knows what it takes to celebrate one of Australia's most-loved flowers. And, for one week between Friday, 27 October and Sunday, 5 November, visitors and locals alike will line the main street of Grafton to watch the annual float parade, settle in for a round of drag queen bingo (complete with lavender eyeshadow), enjoy a lazy long lunch underneath a floral lilac canopy or watch the beautiful trees of See Park illuminated as the sun goes down. While the fest will feature a mix of ticketed and free activities, if there's one event which we recommend committing to, it's Jacaranda Thursday. On this day Grafton's main street will close down as people meander throughout the CBD, soak up the atmosphere and simply stop and smell the jacarandas. The Grafton Jacaranda Festival will run from Friday, 27 October and Sunday, 5 November 2023. For the full event program visit their website.
Mark Ronson's newly released memoir Night People: How to Be a DJ in '90s New York City is officially being adapted into a feature film. As first reported by Variety, the Grammy- and Oscar-winning producer's story of New York nightlife will be brought to the big screen by Plan B, the production company co-founded by Brad Pitt. The studio has been behind acclaimed projects including Moonlight, F1 and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, as well as Netflix's Emmy-winning series Adolescence. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Ronson said the deal only came together a fortnight ago after Plan B co-president Jeremy Kleiner reached out. "He just loved the book," Ronson explained. "He was like, 'I think this could be a great film.' And for me, I'm kind of a modest guy. It's my life. I was just so happy to be finished with the book. But it's a brilliant era, and they make such brilliant films. I'm so excited to see what they want to do with it." The exact direction of the movie is still up in the air — whether it will follow a biopic-style arc or take looser inspiration from Ronson's stories. "I actually don't think they've even decided yet, so it could be whatever," he said. "I think whoever the director is, the visionary who comes into it, [they are] gonna definitely lead that as well." Ronson also revealed he'll likely have input on creative decisions — including casting. "I think so, yeah. Only if it's Timothée Chalamet will I agree on this picture," he joked. "[Plan B] make such great films and I'm just down for whatever they wanna do." Night People: How to Be a DJ in '90s New York City is out now, and you can find more details via Penguin Random House. Images: Getty
No trip to Japan is complete without introducing your tastebuds to the country's creative array of KitKats, which span everything from pumpkin, wasabi and sake to cough drop-flavoured versions. If you're making the visit from the end of September 2019 onwards, your chocolate-eating quest will now double as a change to enjoy a spot of origami, too — and will be much more environmentally friendly as well. Nestlé Japan has announced that it's changing the packaging on local KitKat products, swapping from plastic to paper wrappers. At first, it'll make the change with the outer packaging on share packs, with five flavours (including regular, matcha and dark matcha) affected. By September 2020, the company plans to do the same for all of its large bags, before replacing all individual wrappers in 2021. With the switch to paper, Nestlé Japan is also making the obvious connection, including origami instructions on the new packaging. Now, when you've finished with your sweet treat, you can fashion the wrapper into a crane — and again a colourful keepsake. The move comes as part of Nestlé's worldwide efforts to ensure that 100-percent of its packaging is recyclable or re-usable by 2025, a plan that it announced last year. While KitKats are sold in more than 80 countries worldwide, just when the packaging might change elsewhere — and if it'll entice chocolate fiends to turn their used wrappers into origami — is yet to be revealed. Images: Nestlé Japan.
Melbourne's Midcity Centre on Bourke Street is home to Tokyo Motto, an eatery offering an enticing experience, transitioning from a casual Japanese restaurant by day to moody izakaya bar by night. The brains behind the operation is Spring Chee, a seasoned pastry chef and restaurateur with more than two decades of experience in Melbourne's hospitality scene at venues such as Le Mille Creperie, Sugar Labo and Sweetie Moustache. With Tokyo Motto, Chee brings everyday Japanese-style dining to Melbourne, with a menu focused on championing locally sourced ingredients. During the day, patrons can expect a mix of traditional and not-so-traditional Japanese dishes. A menu highlight is the Japanese curry made with "Golden" curry sauce infused with a blend of stone fruits and fresh bee honey — a recipe discovered by Chee during her travels in Japan. Other menu highlights include the omurice, showcasing a tornado egg omelette and thick-cut katsu — a take on a recent Japanese trend using a pork loin done sous vide-style for 24 hours. For those looking to have some fun, the Ice Cream Spicy Miso Ramen offers a blend of spicy and sweet, thanks to the literal ice cream cone floating in the middle of the spicy ramen bowl. It's all about balance. As evening approaches, Tokyo Motto transforms. Starting from 9pm, the venue becomes an izakaya bar, offering a range of classic izakaya snacks, including everyone's favourite karaage, alongside a selection of Japanese cocktails, beer and sake.
The reformer pilates wave isn't slowing down in Melbourne. Ever-new spins in the flexible exercise practice are always arriving, like disco-themed sessions with eucalyptus-scented cool-down towels. Or classes at ultra-luxe wellness clubs that grant access to futuristic recovery facilities. Amidst the high-end hype, a different trend is on the come up — affordable movement. Coming to Richmond on October 5, Reformer Space is shaking up the scene with classes as low as $5. At first glance, the studio looks bright and airy like the rest, except for one key difference: crystal-clear cues and demos are delivered from a screen mounted on the studio's brick walls. The fitness industry has been moving towards tech-driven solutions for years now — with instructor-led workouts at home taking off during the pandemic era, now coalescing into a space dedicated to virtual workouts, complete with all the equipment you need (and don't want cluttering up your living room). These virtual instructions are best for seasoned pilates goers who don't need their form corrected — but don't think that it's easier than a regular class. The physical absence of the pilates instructor doesn't mean that someone isn't counting down your holds excruciatingly slowly (and far too cheerily), if Guardian writer Michael Sun's encounter with the screen-led format is anything to go by. There are over 20 classes at Reformer Space daily (including lunchtime sessions), all accessible via four membership plans. Intense hobbyists can opt for the $118 unlimited monthly plan, which works out to five bucks a pop even if you pace yourself. The priciest (and least frequent) caps off at $14 per class — still a steal from the $25–35 you'd usually pay. And plans run month-to-month, so you can take a break when life gets busy. With a focus on flexibility and affordability, Reformer Space looks like a genuine cost-of-living win. Reformer Space will open on Sunday, October 5th. For more information or to sign up for a membership, visit the website.
Bread and butter pudding has been a go-to treat for hundreds of years, with some food historians tracing this British classic back to the 11th century. Now, you're invited to experience a brand-new version that even the most imaginative Middle Ager couldn't begin to fathom. Available until Sunday, August 3, the ever-creative team at Pidapipo have teamed up with North Melbourne's Bread Club to create this sweet winter comfort. Think a classic bread and butter recipe made even better with Bread Club's cult-favourite saffron and vanilla scrolls. Featuring a gooey, melt-in-your-mouth centre and topped with crispy, golden edges, this original take on an ancient favourite is finished with a scoop of Pidapipo's silky saffron gelato, created just for the collaboration. "Our saffron and vanilla scrolls have a bit of a cult following, so reimagining them as the heart of a winter bread and butter pudding felt so right — especially with the brilliant team at Pidapipo," says Bread Club co-owner Tim Beylie. Best of all, there are two ways to enjoy this dessert. Family-sized trays, serving up to four, are bundled with a 500ml tub of saffron gelato ($39). Slide the tray into a preheated oven for 30 minutes, finish with gelato, and you're ready to feast. Single-serve portions ($15) are also available exclusively at Pidapipo's Fitzroy Laboratorio for dine-in customers. "Working with Tim and Brice from Bread Club has been a privilege as they are true artisans," says Lisa Valmorbida, Pidapipo co-owner. "Bread and butter pudding is one of my favourite desserts and just what winter needs." Pidapipo and Bread Club's bread and butter pudding is on offer until Sunday, August 3. Family take-home portions are available at all Pidapipo locations, while single-serve dine-in portions are served exclusively at Fitzroy Laboratorio. Head to the website for more information.
In an unassuming shopfront on High St in Northcote, Melbourne, sits one of Australia's most low-key Indian restaurants. Owned and run by Michael Vass, who took over the family business in 2013 after opening its doors back in 1995, Curry Cafe is the type of place to lounge back over three or four dishes with a group of mates while swilling tap beer in a vain attempt to ward off the spice. Curry Cafe is unique in that the team roasts their own spices here, rather than buying them in bulk from wholesalers. They then grind them using a grinder imported from India and add them to their curries, which is fortunate — for a place named Curry House, it's probably best your curries are world class. And they certainly are. The range of curries feature crowd-pleasers such as butter chicken, lamb rogan josh and fish masala. For the more adventurous, there's the lamb pasanda (slow-cooked lamb in a creamy sauce of cloves, cardamom, cashews and raisins) and beef rogan, cooked overnight in a creamy cardamom and fennel-infused sauce. Vegetarians need not be afraid, nor vegans, as its menu caters to all. Try dal mushroom, eggplant curry and pumpkin masala with mustard seeds, curry leaves and coconut milk. And if it doesn't have what you're looking for, ask the chef. It's likely they'll be able to make what you'd like. You won't find this in many other restaurants in Melbourne. Wash it down with the house red or white or a local pet-nat. But for those who are in for the long haul, a pint of lager or three is perfect with their mild, medium and hot concoctions.
In a dimly lit room in a grimy train station, a capuchin monkey sits at a table. In walks a detective, who then starts smoking a cigarette and interrogating the animal in front of him. They chat, bantering back and forth as the cop asks questions and the primate answers. At one point, the monkey even sings. Queries range from "do you know anything about birds?" to "you ever ride the rodeo?", all in a quest to solve a murder. A chicken also pops up, and a waitress. If the above scenario sounds more than a little surreal, that's because it is — especially given that it's part of David Lynch's new 17-minute short film. Called What Did Jack Do?, the black-and-white piece also stars the inimitable Lynch as the detective. At this stage of the acclaimed director's career, that just sounds natural, really. Intrigued? If you're a fan of the filmmaker's work — spanning everything Eraserhead and Blue Velvet to three seasons of Twin Peaks across nearly three decades — then of course you are. And thanks to Netflix, you can now spend a small chunk of your day watching the latest unique, delightful and inescapably odd work by one of the most distinctive auteurs to ever stand behind a camera. While first screened at Paris' Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain back in 2017, and then playing Lynch's own in Festival of Disruption in New York in 2018, What Did Jack Do? hadn't been widely seen until now. And although Netflix isn't known for stacking its catalogue with shorts, when it adds one, it's worth checking out — like last year's also far-from-ordinary Paul Thomas Anderson and Thom Yorke collaboration. Check out a clip of What Did Jack Do? below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Crzwq4CjhvA What Did Jack Do? is currently available to stream on Netflix.
Sporting a truly authentic cucina povera kitchen — embroidered tablecloths, mismatched chairs and lacy curtains — Bar Idda is the real deal when it comes to Italian restaurants in Melbourne. As its popularity shows no signs of abating, it's best you make a booking and be sure to grab the best seats in the house: the front room, or the window ledge overlooking Lygon Street. Even better, hit Bar Idda on a balmy night and you'll be promised a sunset and the whiff of tobacco from the regular congregation of older, Italian gents. A place where over-ordering is impossible, the casual diner-style vibe of Bar Idda is complemented by a shared menu of carefully considered classics and modern morsels. Entirely moreish and communal, order lots of little pieces and find yourself colliding knives and forks to steal the last piping-hot arancino (mixed mushroom, Sicilian oregano, fontina cheese) or delicately sweet purpetti dolce (tomato braised beef, almond, pine nut, currant, cinnamon meatballs). Simply not to be missed, the piscina spade with barqbecued swordfish, marsala carrots and gremolata proves how stunning the perfect seasoning can be. Every item on the menu at Bar Idda sits in harmony with its counterparts, making it supremely easy to order; the richer dishes sit in contrast to light salads, helping to cut through different flavours. Drinks are complementarily matched and on offer is a range of imported beers and carefully selected wines not often seen elsewhere. Wine by the carafe is endearing and the perfect addition to your spread, proving the true Mediterranean adage that alcohol is to be enjoyed with a meal. Finishing off with dessert — this is where Bar Idda storms home — try the cassata or cannolo with cinnamon shell and bitter chocolate crema to have you well and truly on your way to an Italian dream. Bar Idda is an all-Sicilian affair that will make you feel an entire world away. Its kitsch decor gives way to much more than what appearances offer, and its authenticity and sprit of generosity is clear. Here, it's hard not to turn every meal into a feast. Appears in: Where to Find the Best Pasta in Melbourne for 2023
Most travellers heading to Japan don't factor cars into their plans. Tokyo-bound visitors can explore everything by foot or subway, and those journeying elsewhere can hop on a high-speed bullet train (or, if you're flush with cash, a luxe carriage). Still, there's nothing quite like roaming around a new place from behind the wheel, going wherever the expressway takes you — and to make this easier for tourists, the country has just launched an unlimited road trip pass. With Japanese highways operating on a toll system, the Japan Express Pass will allow holders of foreign passports to venture as far and wide as they'd like, all for one set price. Well, almost; they do come with a 10,000 kilometre limit. Available in seven- and 14-day packages for between AU$228 and $400, they're designed to encourage more folks to venture beyond the Japan's cities and soak up its rural sights. If that's on your itinerary any time soon, the passes will become available from 275 car rental stores across the country from October 13. You will still need a driver's licence that's valid for use in Japan — which means an International Driver's Permit and a current Australian state driver's licence. That's what you'll need if you're keen to try your hand at Tokyo's MariCar, a real-life recreation of Mario Kart that lets you race through the streets of the city, so you probably want to make sure you have it anyway. Via The Japan Times. Image: Atif Johari.
A resurrected Tupac stunned Coachella audiences at the conclusion of the music festival's first weekend. Holographically appearing on stage alongside Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, the murdered rapper greeted fans with a "What up, Coachella?" before beginning his classic single 'Hail Mary'. Digitally generated, Tupac's holographic double is the brainchild of longtime friend Dr. Dre. Dre sought the permission of the late rapper's mother before pursuing his vision, which was brought to 'life' by San Diego-based AV Concepts and James Cameron's Oscar-winning digital production company Digital Domain. The project is estimated to have dipped deep into commissioners' pockets, and took around four months to create. The likeness was eerie, successfully replicating everything from the rapper's bared abs, to his Timberlands, to his tattoos. The hologram performed classics '2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted', 'Come With Me', and 'Gangsta Party' before slipping back into the otherworld. Audiences and fans received the performance with mixed emotions. Some were thrilled to witness Tupac 'live' after his 1996 murder, and others found the hologram morbid and exploitative. Twitter was ablaze with fans on either side of the issue, causing 'Tupac' to continue trending in Australia through this morning. Opinions aside, the digital stunt may mark the beginning of a new era for on-stage performance. AV Concepts has already dabbled in holographic concert performances; the company was behind the 2005 Grammys performance featuring Madonna and the holographic members of the Gorillaz, as well as digital apparitions used in concert by Celine Dion and the Black Eyed Peas. It was the dead that stole the show at the live music festival this weekend. No one can keep Tupac down. https://youtube.com/watch?v=pRLUAVs4sR4
Sydney-based designer Jeremy Saunders has built a career out of transforming films into evocative and arrestingly beautiful movie posters. In the last 10 years, he has produced the key artwork for such modern classics as George Clooney's Good Night and Good Luck, the Che Guevara biopic The Motorcycle Diaries, and Heath Ledger's heroin-fuelled love story Candy. Now Saunders has turned his hand to his own artwork, redesigning posters for films of his own choosing. First up is the poster series LYNCHED, based on the stylish and darkly mysterious world of director and cult legend David Lynch. By focusing on key objects in Lynch's films, such as the dismembered ear in Blue Velvet or the videotape in Lost Highway, Saunders has created a series of beautifully minimalist posters illustrating the bizarre details in Lynch's works that have made his filmography so iconic and enduring. Saunders told us that while he was inspired by the distinctive 'Lynch style', the motivation to create the posters came from a sudden artistic impulse. "Over the last few years the rise of the 'minimalist redesign' for existing movies has become more and more prevalent around the web," he says. "I'd always been a bit snooty about it, I think, because designing something that nods to a pre-existing understanding of a film is completely oppositional to the much harder task of creating a desire for something no-one's familiar with yet. "So I'd avoided doing them. Plus, you know, I was kind of busy with making movie posters as my day job. But one afternoon I was watching Lost Highway and the image came to me, and over the course of the next day I created the artworks." Have a look below to see all the posters from LYNCHED and check out Saunders website if you'd like to get your hands on your own movie poster.
The spirit of janchi — the traditional Korean feast shared during life's most meaningful milestones, from birthdays to graduations and job promotions — is alive and well at Dodam, a homely and heartfelt restaurant in East Brunswick Village. Co-founded by Jacky Kim, Jin Jung and Mars Kim, the 48-seat venue invites diners into an intimate, detail-rich space designed to evoke, per Jacky, "a small journey to Korea right here in Brunswick East". Built on the belief that a joy shared is a joy doubled, Dodam is rooted in community. Jacky and Jin — a Korean language teacher and seasoned chef, respectively — began dreaming up the concept after they moved into one of the upstairs apartments. A chance conversation with one of the building's security guards led them to pitch their idea for a modern Korean restaurant, which was quickly embraced by the property management. The husband and wife enlisted longtime friend and fellow chef Mars Kim, and together, they've created a restaurant that's both deeply personal and proudly traditional, with a menu that pays homage to home-cooked Korean meals. As such, craftsmanship and comfort are the heart of the menu. Dodam's signature Korean Meat Feast is built for sharing, a choose-your-own-adventure of grilled and braised meats like soy-marinated short ribs, spicy pork hock or grilled pork belly served with ssamjang, fresh veggies and homemade banchan. You'll also find handmade mandu (both meat and veg), a delicately wrapped bibimbap folded inside an egg crepe and soolsang, a tapas-style spread of small seasonal dishes served in custom-made plates shaped like a traditional makgeolli bottle. A fluffy mango bingsu crowned with sweet fruit and snow-like shaved ice rounds out the menu with a refreshing finish. The same level of care extends to the drinks. Dodam brews its own makgeolli in-house for up to ten days — the mix is hand-stirred every 12 hours for the first two days to foster healthy fermentation and to elevate its natural sweetness and light fizz. The interiors, designed by Remmus Architecture, blend traditional Korean motifs with personal touches. Moon jars, handcrafted plates, mother-of-pearl inlay and bojagi patchworks share space with walls hand-painted by Jin and Mars, creating a cosy and casual dining room that feels like a little pocket of Seoul in the heart of the inner north. Images: Stephanie Bailly.
Not once, not twice, but nine times now across 46 years, cinema audiences have stepped into the world of xenomorphs, facehuggers and chestbursters — and of cats onboard spaceships, androids resembling humans and screams not heard in the universe's vast expanse. When Ridley Scott (Gladiator II) directed the initial Alien film, he helped start a sci-fi phenomenon. 2025's Alien: Earth is a first, however, given that it's the franchise's debut TV series. One of the show's twists is right there in its title, with the pale blue dot that humanity calls home giving Alien: Earth its setting. As the just-dropped full trailer for the series advises, there's another fresh element to its setup: "five different life forms from the darkest corners of the universe". In the works for a few years now, executive produced by Scott and due to debut via Disney+ on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 Down Under, this is Noah Hawley's addition to the saga — and another of his projects, after Fargo, where he's expanding upon the realm of a beloved film on the small screen. Set in 2120, his Alien entry follows the fallout of deep-space research vessel USCSS Maginot crashing onto earth, then the discoveries made as a result by a crew of soldiers that includes human-robot hybrid Wendy (Sydney Chandler, Sugar). As it peers just under a century into the future, Alien: Earth sees its namesake planet under the control of five companies: Weyland-Yutani, of course, because this is the Alien franchise, plus Prodigy, Lynch, Dynamic and Threshold. It also witnesses a society where hybrids like Wendy — the first of her kind, with human consciousness inside a robot body — live side by side with humans, cyborgs and AI-driven synthetics. Hawley's cast not only includes Chandler, but also Fargo alums Timothy Olyphant (Havoc) and David Rysdahl (The Luckiest Man in America), plus Alex Lawther (Andor), Essie Davis (The Narrow Road to the Deep North), Adrian Edmondson (Kidnapped), Samuel Blenkin (Mickey 17), Babou Ceesay (Killer Heat), Lily Newmark (A Gentleman in Moscow) and more. Alien: Earth expands a saga that began with one of the best sci-fi/horror movies ever back in 1979, and has since spanned 1986's Aliens, 1992's Alien 3, 1997's Alien Resurrection, 2012's Prometheus, 2017's Alien: Covenant and 2024's Alien: Romulus — as well as the 2004 Alien vs Predator and 2007 Aliens vs Predator: Requiem crossover flicks with the Predator franchise. The Predator world is also expanding in 2025 courtesy of the animated Predator: Killer of Killers and live-action Predator: Badlands, both directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who helmed 2022's excellent Prey. Check out the full trailer for Alien: Earth below: Alien: Earth starts streaming Down Under via Disney+ from Wednesday, August 13, 2025.
Missed Coldplay's sole Down Under stop in 2023, when they played exclusively in Perth? Didn't nab tickets when the British group announced 2024 shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland? Caught the Chris Martin-fronted band's Glastonbury set via the livestream and started wishing you could catch them live next time that you had the chance? Ahead of their upcoming Australian and New Zealand visit, Coldplay have dropped more tickets for their late-October and November concerts. The limited number of additional tickets are on sale now, releasing at 8am AEST and 10am NZST on Tuesday, September 24. There's no extra shows, just extra seats for their four already-announced dates in the Victorian capital, four in the Harbour City and three in Auckland. [caption id="attachment_926978" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna Lee[/caption] It'll be all yellow at Marvel Stadium on Wednesday, October 30–Thursday, October 31 and Saturday, November 2–Sunday, November 3, then at Accor Stadium across Wednesday, November 6—Thursday, November 7 and Saturday, November 9–Sunday, November 10, before heading to Eden Park on Wednesday, November 13 and Friday, November 15–Saturday, November 16. Coldplay's current tour kicked off in March 2022, meaning that the band will have been on the road for almost three years when they make their return to Australia and Aotearoa. Packed stadiums have also been awaiting; when the Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland gigs were initially announced, every show between then and October 2024 had already sold out, with the group hitting up Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore, Bangkok, Athens, Bucharest, Budapest, Lyon, Rome, Düsseldorf, Helsinki, Munich, Vienna and Dublin before their return trip Down Under. When they take to the stage in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, the British band will play their first shows in each city since 2016. Fans can look forward to a setlist that covers Coldplay's 27-year history, including everything from 'Clocks', 'Fix You' and 'Sparks' to 'A Sky Full of Stars', 'Viva la Vida' and 'The Scientist. On all dates, Ayra Starr, Shone and Emmanuel Kelly are on supporting duties. Coldplay Music of the Spheres World Tour Australia and New Zealand Dates 2024 Wednesday, October 30–Thursday, October 31 + Saturday, November 2–Sunday, November 3— Marvel Stadium, Melbourne Wednesday, November 6—Thursday, November 7 + Saturday, November 9–Sunday, November 10 — Accor Stadium, Sydney Wednesday, November 13 + Friday, November 15–Saturday, November 16 — Eden Park, Auckland Coldplay is touring Australia and New Zealand in October and November 2024, with new tickets available online now. Head to the tour website for further details. Images: Anna Lee.
On the outskirts of Tokyo sits one of the city's most coveted spaces: the Studio Ghibli museum. It's also one of Japan's hottest tickets, with locals and tourists alike needing to book well in advance to get in. You'd expect that of a place that features a life-size catbus, a towering robot on its roof and Totoro sitting behind the counter of its box office. You'd expect it of any venue celebrating this beloved animation house, to be honest — even though it now has company three hours out of town thanks to Studio Ghibli's very own theme park. For almost four decades now, Studio Ghibli's movies have possessed their own kind of magic — the type that made viewers want to get spirited away by their gorgeously animated frames long before the company made a film of the same name. Indeed, in the 38 years since Studio Ghibli was formed by directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata with producer Toshio Suzuki, it has introduced the world to all manner of delightful and moving on-screen experiences. Cute balls of soot, determined teenage witches and pining high-schoolers sit side-by-side in the company's filmography with war-torn tales, sitcom-style family antics and more than one ecologically minded fable. And, in the process, Studio Ghibli has achieved a significant feat: it has never made a bad movie. Including TV films and co-productions, it has 25 to its name to date in total — with the latest and Miyazaki first film in a decade, The Boy and the Heron, in cinemas Down Under now. While every single Ghibli flick is worth feasting your eyes on, we've ranked them all. Now you know where to start during your next binge-viewing session. 25. TALES FROM EARTHSEA Combine Studio Ghibli with any number of dragon-filled fantasy tales, and the result might look like Tales from Earthsea. It's actually adapted from one such series of books, Ursula K Le Guin's The Earthsea Cycle. The feature directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki's son, Gorō Miyazaki, this is the most standard of the company's features — although its characters, including a troubled prince and a young girl saved from slavers, always strike a chord. Tales from Earthsea streams via Netflix. 24. EARWIG AND THE WITCH The studio's first movie made solely using computer-generated 3D animation, Earwig and the Witch immediately stands out thanks to its plastic-looking visuals. And, despite the fact that it's about a determined young girl, features a witch, and even includes a talking cat and other helpful tiny critters, it never completely feels like a classic Ghibli film either. That said, a by-the-numbers Ghibli flock is still better than many others, especially of the family-friendly variety. Earwig and the Witch streams via Netflix. Read our full review. 23. ONLY YESTERDAY Based on the 1982 manga of the same name, Only Yesterday explores the incredibly relatable inner turmoil of 27-year-old Tokyo worker Taeko when she heads out to the countryside for a working vacation. Charting her efforts to reconcile her childhood dreams with the life she's living now, it's a mature and thoughtful film from Isao Takahata — and a wistful and sensitive one, too. Only Yesterday streams via Netflix. 22. FROM UP ON POPPY HILL Gorō Miyazaki's second feature heads to Yokohama, in 1963, when high-schooler Umi Matsuzaki lives in a boarding house. Adapted from an 1980 Japanese comic, this sweet and gentle effort charts her quest to stop a beloved school building from being demolished — and benefits from a tender screenplay co-written by none other than Hayao Miyazaki. From Up on Poppy Hill streams via Netflix. 21. PORCO ROSSO Inspired by his family's business from when he was a child — aircraft parts manufacturer Miyazaki Airplane — many of Hayao Miyazaki's movies take to the skies. Porco Rosso, with its high-flying eponymous man-pig pilot, is one of them. This wartime adventure follows the First World War veteran's clash with a group of sky pirates and the American hotshot they've hired to help, as told with wry humour and, obviously, spectacular flying sequences. Porco Rosso streams via Netflix. 20. MY NEIGHBOURS THE YAMADAS The studio's most visually distinctive effort, Isao Takahata's My Neighbours the Yamadas is based on the manga series Nono-chan, and favours the look of a hand-drawn, watercolour-painted comic strip. That stylistic choice suits the content perfectly, immersing audiences into the quirky series of vignettes about the Yamada family, and offering a visible reminder that nothing is ever as simple as it appears. My Neighbours the Yamadas streams via Netflix. 19. THE CAT RETURNS The only Studio Ghibli movie to continue on from one of its earlier films, The Cat Returns is a spinoff from Whisper of the Heart. As the name makes plain, felines take centre stage. That proves entertaining and even often enjoyably silly for audiences; however, for the film's protagonist Haru Yoshioka, it forces her into a battle with the Cat Kingdom after she saves a four-legged fur ball from being hit by a car — and is told she'll have to marry him. The Cat Returns streams via Netflix. 18. ARRIETTY For a movie filled with tiny people who live in the walls of human houses, Arrietty certainly does brandish a big heart. Based on Mary Norton's 1952 novel The Borrowers, this story was always going to fall into Studio Ghibli's wheelhouse, especially given its focus on a new friendship between unlikely pals. As soulfully relayed by director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, the film charts the connection that between its diminutive titular character and a human boy. Arrietty streams via Netflix. 17. WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE When Marnie Was There champions the importance of friendship, acceptance, understanding and looking to the past to embrace the future, all recurring themes in Studio Ghibli's work. That's hardly surprising in a melancholy and contemplative movie about a lonely foster child and her new friend, of course, but they also take on a different tone here. Made in 2014, Hiromasa Yonebayashi's film adapts Joan G Robinson's novel of the same name into a bewitching gem. When Marnie Was There streams via Netflix. Read our full review. 16. OCEAN WAVES Made for TV, this 1993 Studio Ghibli movie spends the bulk of its time in the city of Kochi, where friends Taku Morisaki and Yutaka Matsuno both become smitten with new high-school classmate Rikako Muto. When the animation studio isn't marching off to magical worlds, it's pondering the emotional turmoil bubbling within everyday characters, with this quiet and moving drama falling into the latter category. Ocean Waves streams via Netflix. 15. THE WIND RISES When it first hit cinemas, The Wind Rises was presented as Hayao Miyazaki's final film — and, if that had stayed the case, it would've been a fitting farewell. Thanks to The Boy and the Heron, the acclaimed animator hasn't said goodbye to viewers yet; however, he gets especially reflective in this rich and bittersweet fictionalised biography of aircraft designer Jiro Horikoshi. Like all of Miyazaki's output, of course, there's much more to this understated gem than the obvious. The Wind Rises streams via Netflix. Read our full review. 14. PONYO As well as boasting quite the catchy theme tune, Ponyo takes inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. Here, though, the story focuses on an escaped goldfish — and explores the cute critter's new bond with a five-year-old boy. Following in the footsteps of fellow Hayao Miyazaki movie My Neighbour Totoro, the film is perfect for audiences of all ages. It's also bright, bouncy, exuberant and poetic as well. Ponyo streams via Netflix. 13. THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA In The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, the eponymous girl blossoms within a bamboo shoot. She's not the only thing that blooms in this hand-drawn beauty, which marked Isao Takahata's first film as a director in 15 years — and, sadly, his last. Spinning an elegant and entrancing story, this Ghibli wonder evolves from a seemingly standard setup into something subversive and meaningful. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya streams via Netflix. 12. KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE Feisty kids are as common in Studio Ghibli movies as jaw-dropping visuals, and 13-year-old Kiki well and truly fits the mould. In this Hayao Miyazaki-helmed coming-of-age fantasy, the fledgling witch moves away from home to prove her independence — as all teen witches must at that age. As well as relaying a smart tale about finding one's place in the world, Kiki's Delivery Service boasts another big highlight: a very amusing talking cat. Kiki's Delivery Service streams via Netflix. 11. WHISPER OF THE HEART Playful, heartfelt and sometimes melancholy, Whisper of the Heart is one of Studio Ghibli's under-appreciated gems — and not just because it features two very memorable cats. It was the company's first film to be directed by someone other than Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Miyazaki wrote the screenplay, though, with Yoshifumi Kondō helming this story about a Tokyo high-schooler obsessed with the boy who borrowed all the same library books before her. Whisper of the Heart streams via Netflix. 10. LAPUTA, CASTLE IN THE SKY Studio Ghibli's first offical feature, Laputa, Castle in the Sky heads back to the late 19th century, as a young girl, Sheeta, endeavours to fend off the cunning and determined government agents on her tail. They're chasing not only a rare magic crystal, but a fabled city floating in the clouds — and as Hayao Miyazaki depicts with steampunk flair, endearing characters and a spirited statement, it all makes for an entrancing adventure. Laputa, Castle in the Sky streams via Netflix. 9. POM POKO Mischievous racoon-like critters called tanuki sit at the heart of this Isao Takahata-directed film — creatures with a basis in folklore, boasting the ability to transform into almost anything and possessing very flexible scrotums (yes, really). Alas, their habitat outside of Tokyo is under threat from developers, with this touching delight combining magical wonder with a message. It's an impassioned, affectionate fable, matching its narrative and overtly offbeat sense of humour with memorable imagery. Pom Poko is available streams via Netflix. 8. THE RED TURTLE In its first-ever collaboration, Studio Ghibli teamed up with Dutch-British illustrator Michael Dudok de Wit — and earned a Cannes Un Certain Regard special jury prize-winning for their efforts. A film of narrative simplicity but both visual and thematic intricacy, this textured and meditative feature explores the complicated splendour that springs from humanity's relationship with the world around us after a man is washed up on a deserted island. The Red Turtle streams via Beamafilm. Read our full review. 7. HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE If ever a movie encapsulated everything that's made Studio Ghibli such a beloved filmmaking force, it's Howl's Moving Castle. Energetic, creative and sensitive, this Hayao Miyazaki-helmed fantasy not only unfurls a mesmerising story — about a young milliner who is cursed by a witch, transforms into an elderly woman and becomes a wizard's housekeeper — but does so with beautiful imagery, endearing characters, and strong anti-war and pro-feminist sentiments. Howl's Moving Castle streams via Netflix. 6. THE BOY AND THE HERON Trust Hayao Miyazaki to return from a ten-year absence, and his latest purported retirement, to deliver one of the best, most breathtaking and most gorgeous movies that he ever has. This World War II-set "semi-autobiographical fantasy" follows 11-year-old Mahito after his mother is killed in an air raid, his father moves him to the countryside and the titular bird beckons him into an otherworldly realm — and every frame feels like a culmination of Miyazaki's career. The Boy and the Heron opened in Australian and New Zealand cinemas on Thursday, December 7. Read our full review. 5. MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO It's the film that immediately found a place in viewers' hearts and never left. Thanks to its heartwarming mood and emotions, astute observations, adorable characters and eager sense of adventure, Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbour Totoro has become Studio Ghibli's best-known movie for many great reasons — all as it chronicles two sisters' exploits when they not only move into a new house, but make a new pal in the forest (and discover the catbus). My Neighbour Totoro streams via Netflix. 4. PRINCESS MONONOKE Hayao Miyazaki has never shied away from making an ecological statement; however, Princess Mononoke might just send his most forceful message about humanity's impact upon the earth. As set in Japan's Muromachi period (from the 14th–16th centuries), this involving fantasy charts the paths of a young prince with a curse and a young woman raised by wolves, as well as the conflict between a modernising town and the forest it's destroying. Princess Mononoke streams via Netflix. 3. NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind technically pre-dates Studio Ghibli, but Hayao Miyazaki's post-apocalyptic fantasy has been claimed as the company's own. Charting the battles of a young princess as she fights an invading kingdom and tries to reconcile the damage ravaged upon the planet, the 1984 film became an instant classic, with its environmentally conscious story, stunning animation and stellar score all proving beguiling. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind streams via Netflix. 2. SPIRITED AWAY In Spirited Away, ten-year-old Chihiro stumbles across a magical and mysterious world, then wants nothing more than to escape back home. Viewers of Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning masterpiece, however, are happy spending as much time as possible in the film's wondrous realm — which, as set around a luxurious and busy bathhouse that caters to spirits, constantly surprises, delights, and revels in inventive storytelling and animation. Spirited Away streams via Netflix. 1. GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES The most heartbreaking animated film ever made, Isao Takahata's touching war drama Grave of the Fireflies is the rarest of inclusions on Studio Ghibli's cinematic resume. Plunging into dark and sombre territory, it tells the tale of two siblings desperately struggling to survive in the last days of the Second World War. From its fleshed-out characters tussling with life and death to its striking visuals, the movie's handling of its moving and sorrowful story couldn't be more astonishing. Grave of the Fireflies is available on DVD. Images: Sugoi Co / Madman.
Welcome to the joys of major film festivals in spring, Sydney. Getting holed up in a cinema for a week or so is usually a winter activity in the Harbour City, because that's when Sydney Film Festival takes place; however, the first-ever SXSW Down Under is arriving in 2023 with its very own celebration of peering at screens. So, for eight October days, movie lovers can wander in and out of darkened rooms while the weather is pleasant outside, not frosty — and see everything from Saltburn, the new Jacob Elordi (Euphoria)-starring thriller from Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell, to the freshly remastered 4K version of iconic Talking Heads concert flick Stop Making Sense. After dropping a number of screening highlights over the past few months, SXSW Sydney's debut Screen Festival has unveiled the full 75-plus session bill that'll get projectors a-flickering from Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22. So, opening night's Australian thriller The Royal Hotel from Casting JonBenet and The Assistant director Kitty Green (and starring the latter's Julia Garner) now has more company than just the world premiere of documentary Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles, plus nine other titles announced back in July that span everything from features starring Indonesian rappers and docos about Tokyo Uber Eats riders. Saltburn will enjoy its Australian premiere at SXSW Sydney, while Stop Making Sense will get The ICC's Darling Harbour Theatre echoing in glorious 7.1 surround sound. The venue will be home to the fest's biggest titles, which also includes opening night and The Wiggles doco; ONEFOUR: Against All Odds about the eponymous drill rap band; and Ryuichi Sakamoto|Opus, which covers the recorded concert by the late, great The Revenant composer, who passed away in March 2023. Also on the bill: supervillain parody The People's Joker, which gives the caped-crusader realm a queer coming-of-age spin; TLC documentary TLC Forever; Sleep, a Korean horror-comedy by Bong Joon-ho's former assistant; the Hugo Weaving (Love Me)-starring The Rooster, which follows a hermit and a cop who form a bond during a crisis; and a retro session of Aussie classic Lake Mungo. Or, SXSW Sydney's film fans can see Black Barbie, a Barbie flick that isn't filled affection; the Indian Australian Sahela, which tells a queer tale set in Western Sydney; Satranic Panic, a homegrown road movie and a creature feature; Milli Vanilli, another of the event's music docos; and Uproar, as starring Hunt for the Wilderpeople's Julian Dennison, Our Flag Means Death's Rhys Darby and Starstruck's Minnie Driver. As part of the fest's First Nations program, Fancy Dance explores being pushed to the margins with star Lily Gladstone just as she'll also be in cinemas in Killers of the Flower Moon — and, from the main program strand that heroes pushing boundaries and serving up surprises, attendees can see This Is Going to Be Big, about Sunbury and Macedon Ranges Specialist School in Bullengarook staging a John Farnham-themed musical. For fans of cult fare in the making, the SXSW Sydney Midnighters lineup includes the 16mm-shot Riddle of Fire and the Steven Soderbergh (Full Circle)-produced thriller Divinity, while the music selection will also celebrate Cyndi Lauper via Let the Canary Sing. Among a feast of screen content that also encompasses 40 shorts, plus 20 music videos and 13 XR projects, TV will get some love — that's why the event is called a Screen Festival, not a film fest. Standouts span Night Bloomers, a horror anthology from both Korea and Australia; Erotic Stories, another anthology that'll deliver exactly what it sounds like; and Doona!, a Korean rom-com led by Suzy Bae. If you recall hearing about SXSW winners from its Austin fests, Sydney's version is doing the same, with ten movies competing in its feature competition, another ten vying in the shorts field and eight XR works also seeking some extra love. Alongside indoor sessions at Darling Harbour Theatre and Palace Cinemas Central, free outdoor screenings are also on the bill at the SXSW Sydney 2023 hub in Tumbalong Park. The complete lineup there is still to come, but the program will survey the OG fest's best and brightest, starting with Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement's What We Do in the Shadows — the movie, not the also-ace TV show — as well as classic anime masterpiece Ghost in the Shell and Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused. "The first ever SXSW Sydney Screen Festival aims to platform the most exciting new voices, new forms and new ways of creating on screen. We hope to inspire our audiences and industry, by unwrapping the future of Screen innovation as it emerges," said Ghita Loebenstein, the event's Head of Screen, announcing the 2023 program. "Like our Austin counterparts, our festival presents global programming from leading creators, and our unique offer is this distinctive Asia Pacific lens. We also thematically lean into our sister pillars across music, games and tech, celebrating where our forms and communities converge. Most of all, SXSW Sydney is a festival which earnestly centres vision, irreverence and fun." Can't wait to watch your way through the everything that you can? SXSW Sydney Screen Festival wristbands are on sale now and will get you into unlimited screenings. [caption id="attachment_917938" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Netflix[/caption] As well as viewing movies and TV shows aplenty, the 2023 SXSW Sydney Screen Festival also features an array of speakers. Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker is one of the headliners — not just of the screen component, but of SXSW Sydney overall. Similarly getting chatting: Indigenous filmmakers Leah Purcell (The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson), Kodie Bedford (Mystery Road: Origin) and Jub Clerc (Sweet As); Osher Günsberg recording an episode of his podcast Better Than Yesterday with a yet-to-be-announced special guest; and Gone Girl, The Nightingale, The Dry, Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers producer Bruna Papandrea and Binge's Executive Director Alison Hurbert-Burns. Queer Eye star Tan France was also slated to attend, but has had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. SXSW Sydney will run from Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22 at various Sydney venues, with the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival running from Sunday, October 15–Saturday, October 21 at The ICC's Darling Theatre and Palace Cinemas Central. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. If you're keen to make the most of Australia's first SXSW, take advantage of our special reader offer. Purchase your SXSW Sydney 2023 Official Badge via Concrete Playground Trips and you'll score a $150 credit to use on your choice of Sydney accommodation. Book now via the website.
Any chance to see Yayoi Kusama's work in Australia is huge news, and reason to make a date — including travel plans, if needed — to get immersed in the Japanese icon's infinity rooms, and also be surrounded by pumpkins and dots. So when the National Gallery of Victoria announced that its big summer 2024–25 showcase would be dedicated to the artist, that was enough to make the resulting exhibition a firm must-see. Adding Friday-night parties to the mix, which the NGV has just locked in, is the cherry on top, then. How many ways can Melbourne go dotty for Kusama? Everyone is about to find out, although that question keeps being answered in the lead up to the exhibition's opening on Sunday, December 15, 2024. Already, Kusama's five-metre-tall dot-covered Dancing Pumpkin sculpture has made NGV International's Federation Court its home. Then came the revelation that the showcase will feature a world record-breaking number of infinity rooms and other immersive installations. And, outside the gallery on St Kilda Road right now, Kusama's Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees has wrapped the trunks of more than 60 trees in pink-and-white polka-dotted material. NGV Friday Nights often forms part of the venue's high-profile exhibitions, so it should come as no surprise that the event series will be back for Yayoi Kusama. The after-hours parties will kick off on Friday, December 20, 2024 for some pre-Christmas fun, then run for 18 weeks until Friday, April 18, 2025. Come quittin' time for the week, Melburnians can add spots to their late-night shenanigans. If you're making a visit from interstate, you'll want to ensure you time it to hit one of the soirees on your trip. Seeing art is obviously on the NGV Friday Nights itinerary, but so is music and culinary experiences. The NGV's Great Hall will welcome live DJ sets, including from Dijok, Small FRY, Elle Shimada, Tanzer and more. In the NGV Garden Restaurant, acclaimed chefs Martin Benn is doing a residency for the exhibition's duration, serving up Asian-inspired dishes using Australian produce, Attendees can also look forward to other dining and drinking options, such as the Moët & Chandon champagne bar, Four Pillars gin bar, Yering Station wine bar and Häagen-Dazs ice cream cart — so there's sparkling, G&Ts, wine flights and frozen treats covered — plus a Japanese-inspired menu from the Great Hall and Gallery Kitchen. Gracing NGV International's walls until Monday, April 21, 2025, Yayoi Kusama will feature over 180 works, in what'll be the largest Kusama retrospective that Australia has ever seen — as well as one of the most-comprehensive retrospectives devoted to the artist to be staged globally, not to mention the closest that you'll get to experiencing her Tokyo museum without leaving the country. Other highlights include NGV International's glass waterwall going pink, but with black rather than white dots; Kusama's new version of Narcissus Garden, which dates back to 1966 and will feature 1400 30-centimetre-diameter silver balls this time around, sitting in front of the waterwall and in parts of Federation Court; and the yellow-and-black spheres of Dots Obsession hanging over the Great Hall. Then there's the artist's sticker-fuelled, all-ages-friendly The Obliteration Room, where audiences young and old pop coloured dots everywhere — 'obliterating', as Kusama calls it — to cover an apartment interior that's completely white otherwise. Overall, Yayoi Kusama will step through the 95-year-old artist's eight decades of making art via a thematic chronology. Some pieces hail from her childhood. Some are recent. Her output in her hometown of Matsumoto from the late 30s–50s; the results of relocating to America in 1957; archival materials covering her performances and activities in her studios, especially with a political charge, in the 60s and 70s; plenty from the past four decades: they'll all appear. [caption id="attachment_981011" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yayoi Kusama, The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe 2019 at Kusama's solo exhibition Yayoi Kusama: All About Love Speaks Forever at Fosun Foundation, Shanghai. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts © YAYOI KUSAMA.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_950473" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yayoi Kusama, The obliteration room 2002–present. Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, © YAYOI KUSAMA.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_950474" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of Yayoi Kusama's Flower Obsession 2017 on display in NGV Triennial from 15 December 2017 – 15 April 2018 at NGV International Melbourne. Image courtesy of NGV.[/caption] Yayoi Kusama displays at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne from Sunday, December 15, 2024–Monday, April 21, 2025 — and NGV Friday Nights: Yayoi Kusama runs each Friday night from 6–10pm between Friday, December 20, 2024–Friday, April 18, 2025. Head to the NGV website for more details and tickets. Top image: Installation view of Yayoi Kusama's Dots Obsession 1996/2015 at Kusama's solo exhibition YAYOI KUSAMA: IN INFINITY, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark. YAYOI KUSAMA Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts © YAYOI KUSAMA. NGV Friday Nights images: Michael Pham / Tobias Titz.
Over summer, plenty of folks spent their time getting reacquainted with their couches while watching gossip-fuelled, 19th-century-set antics. After launching on Netflix on Christmas Day, the first season of Bridgerton caught the attention of 82 million households around the globe in its first four weeks. Yes, that sounds like something Lady Whistledown would love to gossip about in her society papers. As a result — and to absolutely no one's surprise — more Bridgerton is coming. When you become Netflix's most-watched original show ever, beating out last year's favourites such as The Queen's Gambit and Tiger King and the debuts of older series like Stranger Things, that's bound to happen. But viewers can actually look forward to quite a few more episodes, with the streaming service just announcing that it has renewed the show for seasons three and four. No, the show's second season hasn't streamed as yet, and doesn't even have a release date at present. But Netflix is falling head over heels for its episodic adaptation of Julia Quinn's novels and committing to many scandal-filled instalments to come. That'll either give you even more chances to dive into Bridgerton's high-society hijinks, or give you a reason to see why everyone you know has been talking about the show this year. For the unacquainted, the first season follows the ins and outs of Daphne Bridgerton's (Phoebe Dynevor) quest to find a husband, her dalliances with the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), the controversy in the Featherington household and all the other dramas that come with Regency London's marriage market — plus whatever else inspires Lady Whistledown to put pen to paper. Check out the trailer for the show's first season below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpv7ayf_tyE The first season of Bridgerton is available to stream now via Netflix. The show's second, third and fourth seasons don't yet have release dates — we'll update you when details come to hand. Top image: Liam Daniel/Netflix.
New voices, same interdimensional chaos: that's what Rick and Morty will start beaming in October. The sci-fi animated sitcom has locked in its return date for season seven, hitting on Sunday, October 15 in America. That's Monday, October 16 Down Under, where it gets schwifty in your streaming queue via Netflix. If you're wondering what kinds of chaos are in store this time around, Adult Swim — which airs the series in the US — isn't giving much away as yet. "We ride together. We die together. We're buried in the backyard together," it teased in a first poster for the new season. And if you're also wondering how the show's titular chaotic scientist and his grandson will sound the new episodes, that hasn't yet been announced. Earlier in the year, the network dropped Justin Roiland due to domestic violence charges. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rick and Morty (@rickandmorty) Anything can happen in Rick and Morty, with a change of vocal tones for Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith one of the least out-there developments within the show's narrative. Given that the show clearly gleaned inspiration from Back to the Future, there's some obvious dream casting right there just waiting to happen — but whoever gets the gigs will be lending their tones to a genius scientist going on wild adventures with a high schooler. Viewers can still expect the show's eponymous pair to keep wreaking havoc, and the series to keep zipping between as many universes as it can. And, for Rick and Morty's hijinks to still draw in Morty's mother Beth (Sarah Chalke, Firefly Lane), father Jerry (Chris Parnell, Archer) and sister Summer (Spencer Grammer, Tell Me a Story). Spanning ten episodes, season seven will hit everywhere that it can in this dimension — in more than 134 countries, and also in 38 languages. If you're keen to rejoin the smartest Rick and Morty-est Morty in the universe, start getting excited. There's no trailer for Rick and Morty's seventh season yet — we'll update you when one arrives. Rick and Morty's seventh season will premiere globally on Monday, October 16 Down Under. It streams via Netflix in Australia and New Zealand.
Australia is home to some incredible music festivals, with Laneway, Bluesfest, Splendour, Groovin' the Moo and Dark Mofo bringing some of the world's best acts to our shores each year. But live music isn't the only excuse to head out of town. Australia is also home to heaps of out-there festivals set in rural and random locations, celebrating everything from spuds and watermelon to Mary Poppins and the Nutbush. Looking for an out-of-the-ordinary getaway? Here's our pick of the top ten weird and wonderful festivals to track down around the country.
There's no official Wes Anderson Cinematic Universe. That label isn't bandied across his trailers and posters to describe connections between his movies, storylines don't continue from one film to the next and characters from past flicks aren't popping up in the writer/director's new works. Fan theories can speculate otherwise however they like; however, rather than any overarching narrative tidbits, it's the inimitable auteur's distinctive style, recurrent themes and familiar troupe of actors that connect Anderson's movies — delightfully so 13 full-length titles into his resume (if you count 2023 shorts The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Swan, The Rat Catcher and Poison as one charming anthology). Still, being a part of one of the Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Isle of Dogs' helmer's features is akin to entering a specific realm for his cast. Starring in an Anderson picture means working with a filmmaker with a precise aesthetic and meticulous direction, the results of which then get splashed across the screen for audiences to cherish in elaborate detail. In The Phoenician Scheme, Benicio del Toro (Reptile) and Michael Cera (Sacramento) are two such players. They're each either relative or literal newcomers to Anderson's world — del Toro first collaborated with him on The French Dispatch, while Cera was slated to be in Asteroid City but the birth of his son understandably took precedence — and they're loving it. Nothing is accidental in the making of a Wes Anderson film. Nothing is anything but intricately planned and orchestrated, in fact. Accordingly, it should come as zero surprise that del Toro and Cera weren't merely cast in the 50s-set The Phoenician Scheme — they're the only actors that Anderson had in mind for the roles of European business magnate Anatole 'Zsa-zsa' Korda and Norwegian tutor/entomologist Bjorn, respectively. Chatting with Concrete Playground, they both use the same word to describe that situation. "It's a hell of a gift," del Toro advises with a smile. "It was really a treat and a gift," says Cera. Zsa-zsa is The Phoenician Scheme's protagonist. The plan that gives the flick its name — as stored in shoeboxes, and involving a range of business partners spread far and wide (as portrayed by Here's Tom Hanks, The Studio's Bryan Cranston, Relay's Riz Ahmed, A Private Life's Mathieu Almaric, The Last of Us' Jeffrey Wright and Fly Me to the Moon's Scarlett Johansson) — is all his. Brought to life by one of Oscar-winner del Toro's greatest performances, he's also wealthy, charismatic, cut-throat in his professional endeavours and, after surviving his sixth plane crash, keen to get reacquainted with Liesl (Mia Threapleton, The Buccaneers), the nun in training that's also his estranged daughter and preferred heir. As for Bjorn, he's enlisted to teach Zsa-zsa about insects, but finds himself acting more as a personal assistant while getting close to Liesl — who is expectedly wary about her father and his endeavours — as they jet around attempting to lock in The Korda Land and Sea Phoenician Infrastructure Scheme. Cera is stellar, too, as well as a seamless fit into Anderson's repertory cast; his work here ranks up there with Arrested Development's George Michael Bluth, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World's eponymous figure, Twin Peaks' Wally Brando and Barbie's Allan among his most-memorable characters. [caption id="attachment_1006881" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Giulia Parmigiani[/caption] For co-stars, del Toro, Cera, Threapleton and the fellow talents listed above also have everyone from Richard Ayoade (Dream Productions), Benedict Cumberbatch (Eric), Rupert Friend (Companion) and Hope Davis (Succession) to Willem Dafoe (Nosferatu), Stephen Park (Death of a Unicorn), Charlotte Gainsbourg (Étoile) and Bill Murray (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) for company. And for plot specifics, the ensemble has "disrupting, obstructing, impeding" bureaucrats, the price of bashable rivets, lie detectors, suspicious uncles, locomotives, basketball shots, terrorists, freighters, marriages, grand hotels and heaven to navigate. They're stepping into a redemption story, and also a complex family dynamic with deep emotional resonance. This group is in another Anderson gem, then. Ask del Toro how he approaches plying his skills for Anderson, a filmmaker who is giving him rare comic parts — so much so that the actor was astonished the very first time that the director called — and he speaks about his commitment to telling the truth no matter the role. Ask Cera about conveying complicated bonds for the helmer, and also about the path that's brought him to Bjorn after more than a quarter of a century of acting, and he's all about the people around him. For both, trust and faith in Anderson are pivotal to them giving their all, and the results are on the screen. "You trust him and you try to be as honest as you can, even when you're lying," del Toro notes. On Digging Into a Wes Anderson-Penned Redemption Story That's Characteristically Both Comic and Has Emotional Depth Benicio: "I think I do what I do in every movie — I try to tell the truth. Wes and Roman Coppola, together they wrote this incredible script. You just draw from it. You know, I'm not known to do comedy — and one thing that we tried to keep in mind was 'don't try to be funny'. If the laughs come, good. If not, it's good. Don't try to make the laugh happen. Let the laughs follow. So try to tell the truth. And for me, it's just like what I do in other movies. I mean, this time I have to do it verbally, and there's a lot of dialogue. So for that, you just have to get ready and practice that dialogue. But the bottom line for me is basically what you said — it's the depth of this arc of this character. But also those dream sequences or heaven sequences, that is his subconscious also talking. It just added for the actor to know what was the arc about. It helped. It was like having your psychiatrist explaining the character as well. It's like having the psychiatrist explaining who the character is. Those dreams fed a lot of information to me of where we were on this story — also where was his emotional arc of that particular moment in the story." Michael: "I think the material and the writing takes care of a great deal of that for you. If it's able to get you invested in the story — which, it's just such strong writing — you feel it when you read the script. You feel and you know completely — you know where the feeling is going to come from and how you know it needs to be rendered. But even so, I found the movie much more moving in the end than I even expected, even after having shot it. I find it to be very moving." On How del Toro, Cera and Mia Threapleton Worked Together to Convey Their Characters' Deepening Bond Across the Film Michael: "We did have a little bit of a rehearsal period, fortunately, with the three of us and with Wes. And we just really worked, the four of us privately, for a couple of weeks — like two weeks or so. And it's a great thing to be able to do. It makes you get ahead of things a little bit. It allows you to come up with some observations and ideas that that later can feed into the work. And it also, but most importantly I think, just creates a strong sense of a team and comfort and trust with each other. And that carries into the work, I think. But we discovered, also I think, in reading it, discovered the dynamics and the emotions that these characters feel toward each other. And what it feels like for to be betrayed, when there are betrayals that happen. It was nice to get ahead of all of that and find the specific way in, and what was specific about it — because I love the way it's played. Things are salvaged even though there's a major betrayal. And there's an emotional bond that helps them all pull through that even, which is really nice. A really nice turn, I think." On the Significance of Anderson Writing Specific Parts for Del Toro and Cera Benicio: "Well, it's a hell of a gift. I think that we never talked about anything. 'Hey, did you write this for me? Am I your second choice?'. I never really questioned that. He called me up. He sent me the first 20 pages. I have to go back and explain to you that when I got The French Dispatch and he first called me, I was super elated. It was hard to believe that Wes Anderson was calling me to be in one of his films, because most of the movies I do, even though they're fiction, they tilt towards documentaries. Wes movies, they're fiction but they tilt more to theatrics — to the theatre, let's put it that way. When he called me up the first time, I was a little bit like 'wow, is he, is he really?'. I immediately thought 'wow, he's thinking outside the box, he's going against stereotypes'. Because there's many actors that do comedy better than me, and he could have gone to those actors. But for some reason, he pulled me into that world, his world. And I was really elated by it. When I read the part of The French Dispatch, it was like it was so good, and then I realised that it came to an end and another story happened and that was it — and it was like 'wump, wump, wump'. I was little bit like 'oh, wow, I could really get into this character, the painter Moses'. And so then that happened. I did the film. I had a blast working with him. When you work with Wes, you have to let the kid in you, you've got to let them out, the imagination. You have to play. It's a lot of fun. It reminded me — I was trained in the theatre, so it was kind of like back to the future, in a way. It was like I had travelled back in time to my beginnings, studying with Stella Adler and being on the theatre. And then come to this, when he sent the first 20 pages, I was like 'oh wow, this is amazing'. But I thought that might be it. And then he sent the next 20 pages and I'm still in the movie. And then the next 20 pages — and then I'm going 'oh my god, now this is going to be hard work'. So it was kind of like one of those, and I was really excited — and it's a gift from Wes. But at the same time, you had to really put on, strap on your boots and get to work, because there was a lot of work to do." Michael: "I didn't know that really, to be honest. So I'm not sure — like I don't know exactly what his process was with that or when I came into his mind for it. But obviously just so happy to be considered and invited. Wes had offered me one role once before, in Asteroid City, and I ended up not being able to do it because of the birth of my son interfering with the dates. So I was so disappointed. I mean, obviously it was the most-important kind of life event for me. So it was all good, but it was just horrible timing. I was like 'oh no, I finally got offered by Wes to come along and be a part of his one of his productions and I can't go'. It was heartbreaking. But this more than redeemed it. So I was just happy that he was still thinking of me, and then so delighted to read it and to discover this character — and so caught, really, by surprise by how involved of a role it was too in the whole story, and in the whole play of everything. I didn't expect to be given such an opportunity by him. So it was really a treat and a gift." On Cera's Knack for Taking on Distinctive, Specific Characters That Aren't Going to Be Mistaken for Any Others, Including in Arrested Development and Twin Peaks Michael: "It's the greatest thing when you get a piece that's exciting to read and an amazing opportunity as an actor. I remember reading the script for Arrested Development when I was like 14 or 13, and really, it was very clear how special it was. I don't know — I think there are things that you just gravitate toward and you just want in. There are a lot of things that I have felt that about that I didn't have a chance to work on, too, but you're just like 'oh, I need this. I want this. I get this. I love this world. I love the people making it'. So when you are lucky enough to get onto the ones that you feel that way about, it's the greatest." [caption id="attachment_1006861" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Roger Do Minh/TPS Productions/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.[/caption] On How Working with a Filmmaker with Such a Precise Visual Style Influences the Way an Actor Approaches a Role Benicio: "Well, you know his movies are handmade. There's nothing there that is — let's say CGI, very little. You might have to use something but very little is CGI. Everything is built. Everything is put together. Everything is really — you can touch it. So my approach to it was the same way I approach any movie: is just try to tell the truth unless, and trust Wes that if I do what I do, he will take it to the finish line. He will do his thing and take it to the finish line. And, like any actor, you try to tell the truth — even when you lie. So that's what you do in a Wes Anderson movie as that's an actor. You trust him and you try to be as honest as you can, even when you're lying. That's what I did. Hey, there might be other ways, but everybody's different." Michael: "Well, you have a lot of faith in him. You have a lot of trust in Wes, because you know that he's across every inch of the movie and he's not going to let something get through that breaks the spell or destroys the nuance of what he's creating. So you just feel you're in incredibly good hands and he's going to make you shine — and make you look better than what you did, even. So working with someone on that level, it makes you feel very confident. And then you can you can try things and you can work with confidence. That feeling is not always there, and sometimes you have the opposite feeling, and it's really hard to really put yourself out there as an actor when you have that, when you have doubts." On What Cera Makes of His Journey as an Actor Over More Than a Quarter of a Century, Leading Him to The Phoenician Scheme Michael: "I feel really lucky to be doing this for a living and doing what I was attracted to from that age. When I was a kid, it wasn't like a career. It was just something I loved. And then it turned into something that was kind of a job, but I loved that, too. It's an interesting life. I've had a very positive experience of coming up as a child actor and turning into an adult person who's acting. There are obviously the famously unfortunate versions of that. But for me, I was always just around great people. [caption id="attachment_1006880" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Giulia Parmigiani[/caption] It was exciting to be nine years old and having colleagues that were grown people that you admire and that took care of me and showed me how to do it. Even first assistant directors and things, when I didn't even know what I was doing. I didn't know where I was supposed to go, what I was supposed to, what I was supposed to say — and people helped me. So I feel very lucky. I've had a very good road to be where I am now. And it's really nothing but good luck that made it that way. I just have had really good people around me." The Phoenician Scheme opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, May 29, 2025. Film stills: courtesy of Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
You've gotta love a show that tells you what to exclaim whenever you're enjoying it, just received good news about it or simply can't stop thinking about it. For the past two years, The Great has been one such series — and "huzzah!" has been the word of choice. And, thankfully, it isn't time to stop bandying the term about just yet, with this satirical take on Russian history just getting renewed for a third season. Since it first premiered back in 2020, the concept has been all killer, no filler — following the rise and reign of Catherine the Great, including her marriage to and overthrowing of Emperor Peter III, with only the slightest regard for the actual facts. And while the series has always been supremely confident in its blend of handsome period staging, the loosest of historical realities and that savage sense of humour (it does spring from Oscar-nominated The Favourite screenwriter Tony McNamara, after all), it felt even more comfortable in its skin during its second season, which arrived late in 2021. Smoother, too, yet just as biting. In fact, The Great's ability to seesaw tonally is as sharp as a shot of vodka — or several — and you'll be able to enjoy it for ten more episodes whenever that third season hits. A release date hasn't been announced as yet, but you still now have more of Elle Fanning (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) as Catherine and Nicholas Hoult (Those Who Wish Me Dead) as Peter to look forward to. Given that the show's last batch of episodes saw Catherine waging war with Peter — via soldiers on the battlefield to begin with, and then in the royal court in the aftermath of her bloody coup — and also grappling with motherhood, The Great has spun quite the story already. Expect more devastatingly witty, entertaining and addictive dramas to follow, and for the series to keep living up to its name. Fanning and Hoult will be joined by returning co-stars Phoebe Fox (The Aeronauts), Adam Godley (Lodge 49), Gwilym Lee (Top End Wedding), Charity Wakefield (Bounty Hunters), Douglas Hodge (The Undoing), Sacha Dhawan (The Prince), Bayo Gbadamosi (War of the Worlds) and Belinda Bromilow (Doctor Doctor) when its third season hits, too, because this is a show with a phenomenally great cast. In case you haven't watched it yet, check out the trailer for The Great's second season below: The Great is available to stream in Australia via Stan and in New Zealand via Neon. The show's third season doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced.
If glass slippers, pumpkin carriages and fairy godmothers were on your must-see theatre list for 2021, we have bad news: the Cinderella musical won't be bringing its magic to Australia this year. That was meant to be the case, but then lockdowns hit; however, in a supremely welcome development, the beloved Broadway show is now heading our way in 2022 instead. First premiering in New York in 2013, this version of the adored fairy tale features music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, a couple of the best-known names in musical theatre history. The pair actually wrote their songs for a 1957 television production, which starred a pre-Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music Julie Andrews. (If you've seen the 1997 TV movie with Brandy and Whitney Houston — which remade that original small-screen flick — then you've already seen a version based on Rodgers and Hammerstein's original efforts.) Now, the Broadway production is finally making the jump Down Under, debuting locally at Melbourne's Regent Theatre from May 20, and then heading to the Sydney Lyric Theatre at The Star from October 23. The tour is a collaboration between Opera Australia and Crossroads Live, after the two organisations teamed up on The King and I, another Rodgers and Hammerstein hit — but this time they're all about gleaming footwear and masked balls. Don't expect the exact same story you're used to, though — as you read as a kid, and saw in Disney's classic animated film and its live-action remake. Here, Cinderella is a contemporary figure, but living in a fairytale setting. While she's still transformed from a chambermaid into a princess, the tale has been given a firmly modern spin. Shubshri Kandiah (Aladdin, Fangirls) will play Ella, Ainsley Melham (Merrily We Roll Along, Aladdin) has been cast Prince Topher and Silvie Paladino (Mamma Mia!, Les Misérables) will sparkle as Marie, the Fairy Godmother. Also set to feature in the Australian production: Tina Bursill (Doctor Doctor, Wentworth) as Madame, Ella's stepmother, as well as Todd McKenney (The Boy From Oz, Shrek) as Sebastian, the Lord Chancellor. The cast will be working with a production penned by playwright Douglas Carter Beane (Xanadu, Sister Act) based on Hammerstein's work — which was, of course, adapted from the fairy tale about a young woman dreaming of a better life. The Broadway production was nominated for eight Tony Awards and won one, for Best Costume Design. In the US, Carly Rae Jepsen played Ella for a stint, while The Nanny's Fran Drescher also took on the role of Madame, Ella's stepmother, for a period. If you're wondering how the musical works its magic, check out a clip from the original Broadway show below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wypPkiBW1Z4 Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella will hit the stage at Melbourne's Regent Theatre from May 20, 2022, before heading to the Sydney Lyric Theatre at The Star from October 23, 2022. For further details, and for tickets — for Melbourne shows from November 29, and for Sydney's season from November 22 — head to the musical's website. Images: Carol Rosegg.
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 from March's haul of newbies. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL RIGHT NOW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBUwi9eXtXM SLAXX Ask any style guru for their opinion on denim, and they'll all likely give the same answer. Everyone needs a pair of killer jeans, after all — the type that fit perfectly, flatter every inch of your lower half, and that you just don't want to ever take off. In Slaxx, CCC is the store aiming to make all of the above happen. Already priding itself on its eco-friendly, sustainable, sweatshop-free threads, the chain is set to launch a new range of denim that moulds to the wearer's body, with the company's buzzword-spouting CEO (Stephen Bogaert, IT: Chapter Two) certain that they'll change the fashion industry. On the night before the jeans hit the shelves, employees at one store are tasked with making sure everything goes smoothly; however, as new hire Libby (Romane Denis, My Salinger Year), apathetic veteran employee Shruti (Sehar Bhojani, Sex & Ethnicity) and their over-eager boss Craig (Brett Donahue, Private Eyes) soon learn, these are killer jeans in a very literal sense. Quickly, the ravenous pants start stalking and slaying their way through the store. It's a concept that'd do Rubber's Quentin Dupieux proud and, in the hands of Canadian filmmaker Elza Kephart (Go in the Wilderness), the results are highly entertaining. Slaxx wears its equally silly and savage attitude like a second skin, smartly skewers consumerism and retail trends, and possesses stellar special effects that bring its denim to life — and, although never subtle (including in its performances), it's exactly as fun as a film about killer jeans should be. Slaxx is available to stream via Shudder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf34qI1hjKU MOXIE When Amy Poehler made her feature directorial debut with 2019's Wine Country, movie magic wasn't splashed across the small screen. But thankfully Moxie is now here to wipe that underwhelming comedy out of viewers' minds — and to demonstrate Poehler's knack at helming a high school-set tale of blossoming feminist activism. Adapted from the 2015 novel of the same name, the film follows 16-year-old Vivian (Hadley Robinson, I'm Thinking of Ending Things). Quiet, studious and happy hanging out with her similarly introverted best friend Claudia (Lauren Tsai, Legion), she has always known that her male classmates have an attitude problem, and that their teachers and the general status quo both enable it. But, until newcomer Lucy (Alycia Pascual-Pena, Saved by the Bell) arrives, she's never been willing to rock the boat and fight for change. Inspired by her mother's (Poehler) crusading teen years, she starts a zine that calls out the toxic behaviour around her. That's where the film gets its title, and her school is scandalised by the homemade publication's pages. Story-wise, Moxie isn't big on surprises, especially if you've seen more than a couple of teen flicks in your time, as everyone has. Nonetheless, it's always as impassioned about its tale and as angry about the way the world treats anyone who isn't a white male as it is engaging and hopeful. And, as it follows the quest for equality being passed from one generation to another, it boasts a stellar soundtrack — including Bikini KIll's 'Rebel Girl', of course. Moxie is available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfpzdSJlv6o CALLS Everyone has heard about the response that The War of the Worlds reportedly sparked back in 1938. That's when Orson Welles adapted HG Wells' novel into a radio play, and the result was so convincing that it reportedly incited panic among listeners. Watching Calls, it's easy to understand how. 'Watching' isn't exactly the right term for this mystery series, though. Like all those folks glued to their radios 83 years ago, Calls' audience is forced to listen intently. Indeed, in terms of visuals, the series only provides two types: words transcribing the conversations heard, and abstract visuals that move and shift with each sentence uttered and every suspenseful pause left lingering. Accordingly, focusing on the snippets of phone chats that tell the program's stories is what Calls is all about. Remaking the French show of the same name, and directed by Evil Dead and Don't Breathe's Fede Álvarez, something much more than a small-screen version of a story-fuelled podcast eventuates. A starry cast voices the chats — including everyone from Parks and Recreation duo Aubrey Plaza and Ben Schwartz to Wonder Woman 1984's Pedro Pascal and The Lodge's Riley Keough — but it's the tension and power of their words that leaves an impression. Each of the nine episodes tells a short story that eventually builds an overall picture, and getting caught up in them all is far easier than the underlying concept might initially make you think. Calls is available to stream via Apple TV+. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceXaKIhuyOA SOLAR OPPOSITES For a significant portion of the past few years, TV fans have had a Rick and Morty-shaped hole in their hearts. After the anarchic animated series' third season came to an end late in 2017, it took more than two years for its fourth season to reach screens — and that wrapped up in the first half of last year. More Rick and Morty is coming, and more schwiftiness with it. But, in the interim, Solar Opposites is here to fill the gap. It too is created by Justin Roiland, and also features his voice work. And, it's a chaotic, raucous and very funny sci-fi sitcom that unleashes all manner of strangeness upon a suburban family as well. The immediate difference: the family here are aliens. Korvo (Roiland), his partner Terry (Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley), and the younger Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone, The Goldbergs) and Jesse (stand-up comedian Mary Mack) have crash-landed on Earth and are trying to make the best of it, but they're well aware that their new home pales in comparison to their old one. From that basic setup, anything and everything can and does happen, as seasoned R&M fans will easily expect. Going in, you can be forgiven for thinking that this'll come off as a clone of a beloved show, and there's no missing their shared DNA; however, Solar Opposites flies its own immensely funny, often flat-out ridiculous and always astute path. The first season of Solar Opposites is available to stream via Disney+. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYl1DVIgbAg SHIRLEY In 2020, Elisabeth Moss had a great year. While the Mad Men and The Handmaid's Tale star has enjoyed a fantastic past decade, she turned in two of her best performances over the past 12 months. First came The Invisible Man, which twisted the classic horror tale in modern directions, including exploring gaslighting and the lack of willingness to believe women. Then, in Shirley, she stepped into the shoes of horror and mystery novelist Shirley Jackson. This is a movie by Madeline's Madeline director Josephine Decker, though, so it as never going to be a standard biopic about the The Haunting of Hill House author. Indeed, Shirley is drawn from a fictional novel by Susan Scarf Merrell, focusing on Jackson's home life with her husband Stanley Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me By Your Name) during a 1964 period when teaching aide Fred Nemser (Logan Lerman, Hunters) and his wife Rose (Australian The Daughter star Odessa Young) come to stay. An agoraphobic, Jackson's routine is unsettled by her new houseguests, although an unexpected connection springs with unlikely kindred spirit Rose. In telling this story, Decker is far more interested in capturing the essence of Jackson and her sensibilities than slavishly sticking to facts, and her film all the better for it. Indeed, this subjective and engaging character study is daring, disarming, dark and, unsurprisingly, anchored by a pitch-perfect lead performance. Shirley is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otu7hGMgmcQ VIOLATION The rape-revenge genre isn't new, but two of the most powerful films to reach Australian audiences this year step into it with unflinching confidence. They do more than that, though. They savagely dissect society's willingness to accept that sexual assault is part of our culture — and misogyny, too. They demand that their audience not only spend almost two hours thinking about a subject so many would rather avoid, but that they have a visceral reaction. The movies: Promising Young Woman and Violation. Both are the product of first-time feature directors. Both include women among their filmmakers, either solely or as half of a duo. Both are anchored by blistering lead performances as well, and neither fades quickly (or at all) from memory. They'd make a stellar double bill; however, tonally, they each march to their own beat. In Violation's case, co-writer and co-director Madeleine Sims-Fewer (Operation Avalanche) stars as Miriam. As she visits her sister Greta (Anna Maguire, The Hummingbird Project) and brother-in-law Dylan (Jesse LaVercombe, Murdoch Mysteries), it soon becomes obvious that more than just a happy reunion is on the cards. Playing a traumatised woman soon grappling the reality of vengeance in a primal and tangible way, Sims-Fewer puts in a performance that it's impossible to look away from, but that's just one of the savvy steps that the actor/filmmaker and her co-director Dusty Mancinelli take. Violation is available to stream via Shudder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFHj8e7mU_I OPERATION VARSITY BLUES: THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL 'Eat the rich' isn't a Netflix category. But with Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal joining Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened in the streamer's catalogue, perhaps it should be. The former certainly makes the case for it, covering a criminal conspiracy that smacks of the wealthy abusing their cash and status in an egregious manner. No one could've avoided the headlines and reports when news broke about affluent, influential and/or famous Americans, including actors Lori Loughlin (Full House) and Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), deciding that they needed to bribe college officials to send their already privileged children to prestigious schools. Operation Varsity Blues neither assumes any knowledge on the viewer's part nor needlessly repeats itself, but those acquainted with the details and folks with just a passing interest so far will both find themselves swept through the ups and downs. The film's dramatisations — starring Matthew Modine (Stranger Things, Wrong Turn) as Rick Singer, the scheme's central figure — can feel clunky at times, but director Chris Smith (Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond — Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton) knows how to step through this tale. It worked for him on Fyre, after all, which he also helmed, and it works again in a documentary that's as much about a broken system as it the people who cheated it. Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal is available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzqevBnUUZU THE ASSISTANT Charting an ordinary day in the life of a junior staff member at a film production office, The Assistant is as unsettling as anything else that has reached screens recently. Jane (Julia Garner, Ozark) has the titular position, working an entry-level job for a demanding head honcho who everyone in the office indulges — although viewers never get to meet him. She arrives at work before daylight, trudges through menial tasks and is treated poorly by her male colleagues. She's expect to anticipate everything that her boss could ever need or want, or face his wrath if she doesn't. And, as the day progresses, she realises just how toxic her workplace's culture is and how deep its inappropriate conduct burrows. Seeing how predatory the man she works for acts on a daily basis, and how his behaviour has a significant impact, she also learns how those who even try to speak out can still be powerless to effect change to stop it. If you've kept abreast of the #MeToo movement over the past few years, you'll know exactly what has inspired The Assistant, of course. However, Australian filmmaker Kitty Green wants her audience to experience this devastating scenario via Jane, rather than merely read about it. She doesn't just succeed; although she's working in fiction here, she directs a film as searing and perceptive as her last project, the excellent documentary Casting JonBenet. The Assistant is available to stream via Binge. NEW SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bfAVpuko5o INVINCIBLE If you've ever shopped for a specific item on Amazon and found multiple similar versions of the same thing, then you already know what it can be like to dive into Amazon Prime Video's streaming catalogue. Many of its new additions instantly bring other shows in its catalogue to mind by sharing and mimicking elements, and Invincible follows that trend. At first, it'll have you thinking about The Boys. Next, you'll start recalling Undone. Those two series mightn't seem like a natural fit, but the combination of superheroes and existential malaise works well here. Animated like the latter, but willing to get bleak and dark with caped crusaders as the former does repeatedly, Invincible focuses on Mark Grayson (voiced by newly minted Oscar nominee Steven Yeun, Minari). The 17-year-old son of the well-known Omni-Man (J Simmons, Palm Springs), he's been waiting for his own powers to kick in — and, when they do, he's forced to grapple with exactly what that means. Among the star-studded cast, Sandra Oh (Killing Eve), Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and Mahershala Ali (Green Book) all lend their vocal tones. Off-screen, The Walking Dead co-creator Robert Kirkman is responsible for not only doing the same with the Invincible comic book, but with the series. What lingers most here is the mood, though, with the show at its best when it's getting contemplative and introspective with its teen protagonist. The first three episodes of Invincible are available to stream via Amazon Prime Video, with new episodes dropping weekly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWBsDaFWyTE THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER First things first: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier isn't WandaVision. It's much more conventional, and it doesn't boast a fabulous performance by Parks and Recreation's Kathryn Hahn, either. But, it does explore the everyday existence of both Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie, Synchronic) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan, The Devil All the Time), who team up in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame — and it gives both characters space to be more than just supporting figures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As proved the case in its fellow 2021 Disney+ newcomer, that's a welcome change in a realm that usually pushes action to the fore. Seeing how these two function as people, and as folks who know they've never been the stars of the show, too, brings depth to a franchise that doesn't always have it. Wilson is recognised everywhere including when applying for a loan for his family business, for instance, but fame and getting by financially don't always go hand in hand. Barnes has his murky history to deal with, and it weighs upon him as he tries to get through every day. But, of course, pooling their talents to stop villainous forces is still the name of the game in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — as is is weaving in the returning Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl, The Alienist: Angel of Darkness) and Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp, The Resident), and introducing Captain America replacement John Walker (Wyatt Russell, The Good Lord Bird). The first two episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are available to stream via Disney+, with new episodes dropping weekly. Top images: Slaxx, Bertrand Calmeau/Shudder; The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2020.
Ichi, ni, san — SAKE BOMB! Remember how that night ended? Me neither. Or maybe you prefer some kind of lychee-infused-sake cosmo situation. But the elusive Japanese speciality of sake is more than capable of standing alone, as Black Market Sake co-owner Matt Young explains to Concrete Playground. Young and co-owner Linda Wiss started the groundwork for Black Market Sake some five years ago while they both worked at Sydney's Aria. Today they import from about 16 Japanese producers and have a standout reputation. And Australia's having a burgeoning love affair with sake; we are now the second largest sake importer, behind the United States, and can boast an impressive annual growth rate of 12 percent in the market. But let's set the figures aside and get you brushed up ahead of Melbourne's next drinking trend. What is sake? C'est simple! It is a Japanese alcohol brewed from specifically grown rice, water, yeast and koji-kin. But, in the great tradition of Peking duck and Mumbai vs. Bombay, we have a few things to clear up. Firstly, sake just means booze in Japanese, and while that was once near-exclusively what we call sake, in the modern era of Japanese whisky, beer and wine the locals call it Nippon shu, meaning Japanese drink. Our next erroneous assumption is rice wine — this Western shorthand ignores that being brewed from a grain not from fruit makes sake closer to beer than wine, and its booze content puts both to shame, with most sakes coming in just under the 20 percent mark. Wait, koji-kin? Koji-kin is the magical ingredient, which is very unique to Japan and it is what helps break the starch in the rice down into sugar — so the sugar is then fermented into alcohol. It is also used in the production of many other products, notably soy, mirin miso and so on. It is a kind of mould, but the good kind, Young is quick to explain, "like the kind you find in cheese". He even likens the glossy texture koji-kin gives the rice to Camembert cheese. Is it big in Japan? Sake consumption within Japan has steadily decreased over the last hundred years; the number of breweries has halved since the 1970s to about 1500 today, and it did the same from the 1930s to the '70s. "The consumption in Japan has been on the slide for a long time. The younger generation got into beer and whisky and gave up on sake as an old man’s drink." Does sake exist outside of Japan? Production of rice-wine started in China and — along with Korea — it is still made today. However, in both instances large quantities of additives and distilled alcohol go into the product. “So, Japan has the most refined drink — although you can trace it back to the Chinese.” What's in a name? Sake menus have an anxiety causing reputation amongst even the most seasoned diners, and a lot of that is due to their lengthy naming system, but the truth is all the information you need is right there in front of you. "The more words that are on the label the less has been done to the product — so no charcoal filteration (muroka); not-pasteurised (namazake) that sort of stuff is always on the label, but if they do it than there won't be anything on the label,” says Young. Here are a few keywords to help you unlock a sake list, first up: junmai. This is your producer telling you that they have made a pure sake, i.e. no distilled alcohol or flavour additives went into the brewing process. Some 80 percent of sake made in Japan fail this first test and are categorised as futsu-shu, which is essentially an inferior, cheaper drink. The next consideration is how much they polished the rice, in layman terms: as you remove more of the grain; the more expensive the sake becomes. “The more you polish away the more aromatic it will be, the less you polish away the more kind of palate weight (it will have) and (the more) textural it will be.” The most polished sake is called daiginjo, where at least 50% of the rice has been removed and then ginjo comes in at least 60%. (For a full list of common sake terms check out the glossary on the Black Market Sake website.) How do I spot a good sake? "Quality for me in sake is balance and complexity on the palate," says Young. "Often you'll see sake that is quite fragrant and elegant and pretty, but it doesn't have a lot of texture or weight on the palate, and coming from a wine background I prefer that more textural sake. So something that has lovely balance a little bit sweetness and something that finishes dry — evenness when you taste it.” Characteristics he finds more dependent on the skill of the toji (master-brewer) and the quality of the ingredients than whether 70% or 60% of the grain has been removed. Hiroshima, Kyoto and Chiba are all top sake-producing regions. Which cuisines match well with sake? Other than the obvious, "French techniques have a lot in common with sake," says Young. So, consommes and broths are easily matched, while more robust sakes (ask for spice and high levels of acidity) stand up to heavier dishes like braised pork. But, if you want to hear Young wax a little lyrical, mention the marriage of cheese and sake. To spite the well-worn tradition of cheese and wine, this sommelier pairs Swiss mountain cheeses, parmesan and other hard cheeses with the Japanese beverage (to apparently elating effect). Also, try a dark chocolate match, as per Young's suggestion. Hot or cold? “The Japanese believe that every sake has a sweet spot, and that could be chilled, room temperature or warmed," says Young. "And when we say warmed, we mean gently warmed, 'cause you don't want to boil it but heat it to body temperature, essentially.” That being said, there are two reasons heating sake became popular. Quick warning: it is embarrassing if you never guessed reason A. Japan is a cold country, and sake breweries are generally about 4-5°C (brewing often takes place in winter — fun fact), so sake brewers would heat up their knock-off sake to heat them up. Similarly, when sakes have had alcohol, sugars and enzymes added to them (remember that is 80% of sakes), there's nothing like a bit of gentle heat to mask the inferiority of the product. For those playing at home, that means futsuu sakes are likely best served warm, while unpasteurized sakes are almost always best chilled. When is sake traditionally drunk? The short answer is all the time, but Young notes that in Western culture it has garnered a reputation as an aperitif (that's before the meal, guys). Where to enjoy sake in Melbourne? The best thing about sake is that it's made to enjoy with good Japanese food — and we have a lot of that. Toshi Maeda has curated a stellar sake list at Smith Street's Pabu Grill & Sake, Misuzu's in Albert Park still has over 40 varieties to choose from, and old favourites Hihou and Izakaya Den have you covered too. If you're looking to buy a bottle (or two) of the stuff, Chef's Armoury Sakeshop lets you choose you kind of sake based on complexity, intensity, umami and even chuggability. You can shop online or get educated at their Richmond store. Top image, What is sake image, Koji-kin image, How do I spot good sake? image and What's in a name image courtesy of Black Market Sake.
Now is the time to start planning and booking a holiday to Outback Australia. Typically, the best time to visit places like the Red Centre, the Kimberleys and Flinders Ranges is between May and October. It's the Goldilocks period — you avoid both the summer heat and the wet season. It's not too hot or too cold. It's just right. But you can't just book a flight and figure it out once you get there. You'll usually need a guide, a 4WD and a super detailed plan. You can organise all of this yourself, but it's a lot of work. That's why we suggest booking a specially curated tour. It takes all the fuss out of your holiday, allowing you to simply enjoy the ridiculously beautiful natural wonders found throughout the Australian outback. So, read on to find a series of unforgettable trips and tours that can each be booked through Concrete Playground Trips. [caption id="attachment_896631" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brian Mcmahon (Unsplash)[/caption] LUXURY CAMPING TOUR AROUND KIMBERLEY Western Australia's Kimberley region is a proper bucket list travel destination. You get to see some of Outback Australia's finest sites — think deep gorges, vast white sand beaches and remote waterfalls that are made for swimming under. What better way to experience this iconic natural landscape than by camping around it for 12 days? This unique trip won't just guide you to the best spots, it'll take you there in total style. It includes a helicopter ride over Mitchell Falls, a Geikie Gorge boat cruise and all your camping equipment — big comfy mattress and all. If you've always wanted to explore Kimberley, this is the ultimate way to do it. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_891479" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tobias Keller (Unsplash)[/caption] SIX-DAY CORAL COASTER FROM PERTH TO EXMOUTH (VIA NINGALOO REEF) Go on a proper Western Australia adventure during this week-long trip. From unspoilt beaches to deep red deserts to explore — plus an abundance of wildlife to spot — this will be an unforgettable Australian holiday. You'll also tick a bunch of spectacular destinations off your bucket list — including the Pinnacles, Hutt Lagoon Pink Lake, Murchison Gorge, Kalbarri National Park, The Stromatolites at Shark Bay and Ningaloo Reef. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_826027" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism NT[/caption] AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK TOUR FROM DARWIN TO CAIRNS This is an 11-day adventure-filled trip through the most remote parts of Savannah Way. Get ready to explore natural landscapes unlike anything else in the world. You'll travel east through Kakadu, Mataranka, Lorella Springs and Lawn Hill before finishing up in the tropical rainforest on the outskirts of Cairns. Along the way, you'll spot native wildlife in their natural habitat, hike through gorges, discover ancient Aboriginal rock art and swim in pristine natural waterholes (free of crocs, of course). BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_883581" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Michael Skopal (Unsplash)[/caption] THREE-DAY ADVENTURE IN THE FLINDERS RANGES This small group eco-tour of the famous Flinders Ranges gives guests the opportunity to see the incredible rock formation of Wilpena Pound and the Ranges while learning about local Aboriginal culture. You'll search for the rare yellow-footed rock wallaby, spot kangaroos, emus and wedge-tailed eagles, spy ancient Aboriginal cave paintings, meet the locals and enjoy campfires and camp cooking. BOOK IT NOW. KING'S CANYON HIKING TOUR King's Canyon, famously where the queens from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert hiked in feather-clad bird outfits, is a big bucket list destination — not just for fans of the film. Located between Alice Springs and Yulara, this has to be one of the very best places to go hiking in Australia. Walk along red rock cliffs, through maze-like gorges and around beautiful bushland. The views across the surrounding desert are also just next level, and this big day trip takes you to all the best bits. BOOK IT NOW. DAY TRIP TO LITCHFIELD NATIONAL PARK WATERFALLS If you've ever seen images of people jumping into spectacular natural waterholes and pools in a tourism ad for the Northern Territory, there's a very good chance the footage was shot at Litchfield National Park. Making a visit here is an experience we should all have at some point in our lives. And booking this package will get you right there. You'll be picked up from Darwin and transported to the famous Florence Falls for a day of exploring and swimming in extraordinary (croc-free) waters. BOOK IT NOW. CHAMBER PILLAR AND RAINBOW VALLEY 4WD TRIP Go off-road during this full-day tour around the Rainbow Valley — a remote region in Australia's Red Centre. The small group 4WD experience takes you deep into the Red Centre's beautiful and remote sand hill country in comfort and style. You will discover the history of the early explorers, local First Nations culture and stories, the iconic Simpson Desert and stunning landscapes and rock formations. In between short hikes, you'll be driven around in an air-conditioned 4WD to catch your breath and cool down. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_896632" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tim Davies (Unsplash)[/caption] FOUR-DAY 4WD OUTBACK TOUR OF KAKADU NATIONAL PARK This exclusive 4WD safari adventure takes travellers off-road, discovering some of the most remote parts of Kakadu National Park. Visit spectacular waterfalls, cool off in some of the most beautiful natural plunge pools imaginable and spend each night in comfortable accommodation. Everything is organised for you throughout this Outback Australia tour, including a billabong wetlands cruise that'll take you up and close to some freshwater crocs. BOOK IT NOW. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world. Top image: Simon Maisch (Unsplash)
Chef Domenico De Marco (Tipico, L'Altro Mondo, Rockpool Sydney) combines his love of cycling with his love for the food of his home country at his new Carlton North restaurant. Giro d'Italia takes you on a tour through Italy, much like the 100-year-old Italian bicycle race the venue is named after, with each dish on its menu representing a different region. The dining room in the Edwardian terrace building on Rathdowne Street is a mashup of old and new. Dark timber panelling runs around the bottom of the room, while forest green leather covers a wall and green felt another. Framed black and white photos of De Marco's cycling heroes sit side by side two colourful photos of his own bike resting nonchalantly against a Melbourne street art-covered wall. Suspended wooden beams house solar-powered strip lighting. Old meets new in more than the decor, too. The drinks list covers the Italian classics — bottles of pinot grigio, valipolicella and sanigiovese line the walls and there's draught Birra Moretti— but you'll also find four wines on tap (two whites, two reds) and a particularly refreshing watermelon martini. After years of working at fine-dining restaurants, De Marco is taking a homely approach to his dishes, some of which reference his Nonna's cooking. Focaccia is baked twice a day, before lunch and then again before dinner, and comes out before the meal with a dollop of fresh tomato coulis for ripping and dipping. The calamari fritti ($21), uses all of the squid — the head, wings and body — is lightly fried and served with squid ink aioli, pickled zucchini and salad leaves tossed in a slightly spicy vinaigrette. It's a great plate to share as a starter, although it's also completely manageable on your own. Made-to-order tortelli ($26) are filled with pumpkin, sealed, cooked and served with a burnt butter sauce topped with crumbled amaretti biscuits, which soak up the butter and add a little almond-y sweetness. De Marco proudly claims that his Filipino sous-chef Ferdinand Malgarejo (who has worked alongside De Marco in various kitchens, progressing through the ranks from kitchen hand) makes the best Italian food in the world. He is certainly quick. Ferdinand can fill and close seven tortelli in 32 seconds. While making the tortelli to order is novel, and ensures maximum freshness, De Marco introduced it for a different reason: to reduce waste."When you make the filled pasta ahead of time and put it in the fridge, you risk wastage," explains De Marco. "And why would I do that when he [Ferdinand] is so fast? You are eating pasta that was closed a minute and a half ago." Desserts also hide much more than their fluffy, chocolate-covered exteriors first convey. The tiramisu ($14), for example, might look like any other tiramisu, but De Marco makes everything from scratch — including the savoiardi biscuits and the mascarpone. He also beats the egg whites with sugar syrup for 45 minutes for extra fluffiness. According to De Marco, "It is like eating a cloud." De Marco is happy at his new restaurant, but he'd hope to be — he lives above it, goes to bed at 2am and gets up at 5am. "I love it so much. This is me," he beams. Images: Parker Blain.
Everyone has a favourite kind of chocolate. Everyone also has a favourite kind of chocolate that doesn't actually exist. You know what we're talking about — you've fantasised about a bar of cocoa goodness that includes all your wildest, weirdest additions, and you've been cripplingly saddened every time you've looked for your crazy concoction in the supermarket. Keep dreaming deliciously big, because new Australian online retailer Chocolab is in the business of granting chocolate wishes. Whether milk, white or dark is your jam, and whether you like to find confectionery, spices, fruit, nuts, biscuits, cereal, coffee, popcorn or pretzels hidden within, your dream choccy could be an actual, eatable thing. In the company's online creation lab, you can add up to five possible bits and pieces to your 100-gram block of Belgium's finest. The lengthy list of ingredients currently includes sour gummy worms, Ovalteenies, Nerds, caramel fudge, Nutella, Fruit Tingles, sherbet, acai berries, Tiny Teddies, brownie bites, Cornflakes and more, with new options added regularly. If you don't see an add-in you like, you can even suggest your own. A block starts at $6.50, with add-ins ranging from 70c to $2. Once you've settled on your picks, your concoction is handcrafted by Chocolab's professional chocolatiers, then shipped to you as soon as possible — and yes, there's an express delivery option, because no one likes waiting for the food of the gods. Postage starts at $4 per block, so while it's not the cheapest block of chocolate in town, it's certainly the most happily indulgent. Chocolab recommends eating the finished product with a month or two, and we celebrate their optimism and judgement-free attitude. We all know your dream bar won't last that long. To find out more about Chocolab, or to design your own block of chocolate, visit their website.
Pubs, clubs, gyms, indoor sporting venues, cinemas, casinos and places of worship will be forced to close from midday today, Monday, March 23, with the Australian Government introducing a stricter crackdown on mass gatherings in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19. Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement last night, after the national cabinet meeting, saying "social distancing is our biggest weapon in fighting this virus". The Prime Minister also slammed those who disregarded social distancing practices over the weekend — including those who crowded Sydney's Bondi Beach — telling Australians to "do better". [caption id="attachment_640478" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bondi Beach is now closed. Maxim 75 via Wikimedia[/caption] The stage one closures, as the above have been called, will be reviewed after one month and will likely remain in place for six months. In Victoria, Premier Dan Andrews has announced the closures will remain in place to at least midnight on April 13. At the moment, schools are not impacted by the closures — except for in Victoria, where school holidays have been brought forward to Tuesday, March 24 — and bottle shops, attached to pubs and clubs, will be allowed to stay open. Restaurants and cafes will also be allowed to continue running as takeaway and delivery only. Even more local closures are likely to be announced this morning in NSW, Victoria and ACT, where statewide shutdowns of non-essential services are being rolled out over 48 hours. While restaurants, cafes and bottle shops are allowed to continue offering takeaway and delivery, you can continue supporting them. We've rounded up some of the spots offering at-home eats in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. 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. Top image: Julia Sansone
Baz Luhrmann, the internet's current poster boy for excess and anal-retentiveness, thinks so. It came as no surprise to the millions of die-hard Gatsby fans that the bloke who made Moulin Rouge! (and oh did that film earn it's exclamation mark) and this scene was going to make something bordering on the bombastic and the flamboyantly camp. And with the film already finding itself in the firing line for its "flimsy phantasmagoria" and resemblance to a "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as staged by Liberace", it seems fair to say that The Great Gatsbywill fit like a glove within Luhrmann's filmography. Yet for a man that seems to have spent his career baulking at the notion of "subtlety", Luhrmann is capable of some surprising poignancy. Take for instance this little gem taken straight from the horse's mouth, about his decision to employ walking billboard and hip hop demigod Jay-Z as his soundtrack producer: "In our age, the energy of jazz is caught in the energy of hip hop." In vintage Luhrmann style, Baz has taken this assumption to its most extreme realisation, with a soundtrack that includes the likes of Fergie, Andre 3000, Nero and (cue the sounds of a thousand sinking hearts) will.i.am. But is Luhrmann onto something here? Is hip-hop the 21st Century equivalent of jazz music? In a recent Flavorwire article, Tom Hawking answered this question with a resounding 'oh hell yeah'. He argued that regardless of what you may think of the quality of the film's music, the soundtrack manages to encapsulate what an extravagant Gatsby party might actually feel like if it was thrown today — completely overblown, obsessed with its own sense of retro-ness and filled with the sort of mega-sized beats that are sure to get any self-respecting 19-year-old gyrating. There are some other obvious parallels between F. Scott Fitzgerald's jazz age and Luhrmann's hip-hop generation. Most notably, both these musical styles are deeply rooted in black culture and history, originating in the clubs, ghettoes and basements of Harlem and the Bronx. Yet from these humble beginnings, both jazz and hip hop have suffered a similar process of bastardisation, transforming from black cultural icons, into packageable, mass-producible commodities that rich white folk can consume. And it is here that Luhrmann might be right on the money. Not only has Luhrmann's soundtrack got all the hallmarks of a cashed-up, Long Island party but it has all the vapidity and disposability of such a party as well. Take for instance Beyonce and Andre 3000's aping of Amy Winehouse's darkly melancholic 'Back to Black' into an overproduced mess of showy vocals and grizzly bass lines. In this song alone we have both the success and failure of the soundtrack all contained in one. While the song is initially gratifying, it is ultimately empty and insubstantial. And this is exactly what Gatsby taught us about the opulence and decadence of the jazz age. It was beautiful and incredibly intriguing but ultimately fleeting and meaningless. The perfect analogy for what Fitzgerald saw as the great American lie: the American Dream. As such, The Great Gatsby soundtrack is big, it's bold and it's infrequently magnificent (Jack White's cover of U2's 'Love Is Blindness' manages to grip at your nerve ends and give them a toe-curling squeeze) but just as often it is just plain dumb. So in answer to our original question, is hip hop the 21st-century equivalent to jazz music? Yeah, Jay-Z may be the closest thing we have to a modern-day Jay Gatsby, but in a much darker vein perhaps it is the decline of these genres from cultural icons to products of a commercialised and materialistic society that makes them so alike. How very Gatsby that is. https://youtube.com/watch?v=5snA5TEse9w
Last year the State Government announced some ambitious (and unprecedented) plans to expand Melbourne's rail network — ones that we were, admittedly, unsure whether to get too excited about. But it's happening. The long-debated $11 billion Metro Tunnel project has been funded and the Andrews Government has just revealed who will design and build the project, along with a first look at what it will all look like. Just to catch you up, the Metro Tunnel will see two new nine-kilometre twin tunnels and five underground train stations added to Melbourne's inner city. These new stations will be located in Parkville, North Melbourne, CBD North, CBD South and the Domain, and create a new path into the city that doesn't rely on (but connects to) the City Loop. The idea is that it will ease congestion in the City Loop and allow more trains to be getting in and out of the city. In a media release published yesterday, the Andrews Government announced that, after an extensive tender process, they've created the Cross Yarra Partnership to build and design the tunnel and stations. This partnership will involve a number of companies, led by Lendlease Engineering, John Holland, Bouygues Construction and Capella Capital. Along with the announcement, the first station designs have been been revealed too. They look a hell of a lot different to the inside of Melbourne Central, with first renders showing a preference for arches and what most underground stations lack: natural light. At street level, some of the new stations will also add public space. Here's a quick look at the five stations. ARDEN If you're travelling via Footscray, you'll bypass North Melbourne to get onto the Metro Tunnel, and this will be your first stop. This new station will be located in the largely industrial area of North Melbourne on Laurens Street and will service the growing residential population there. Plans for Arden show lots of natural light and bike parking at street level. PARKVILLE This station will provide an easy connection to the Royal Melbourne, Children's and Women's Hospitals, as well the University of Melbourne — at present, people looking to get here either have to get a bus from North Melbourne Station or a tram from the CBD. Parkville Station will sit on Grattan Street. CBD NORTH Located at the north-end of Latrobe Street, this new station will provide an alternative for Melbourne Central, but will still be linked via underground walkways if you do need to change lines. The new entrance at Franklin Street will also include this new green space. CBD SOUTH CBD South Station will be located just near Flinders Street Station, and you'll be able to access it from City Square, Federation Square, Swanston Street and the Degraves Street underpass. If you need to access Flinders Street Station, you'll apparently be able to do so through an underground connection. Lots of white arches planned for this one DOMAIN This station will be a gamechanger for anyone who currently has to deal with the mayhem that is changing trams at Domain Interchange. And all with a floating timber canopy on top of it. Trains from here will continue to Pakenham and Cranbourne. Construction on all this is expected to begin next year and the target completion date is 2026. We'll keep you updated on any new plans for the Metro Tunnel. Images: Metro Tunnel.
After an unseasonably warm winter, anyone who has been outside this month will have noticed the trend continuing, with Sydney's weather seeming to forget that spring comes before summer. Indeed, fresh from experiencing one of the hottest winter days on record, the city has just hit the same milestone when it comes to September evenings. Earlier this week, Weatherzone predicted that the temperature would reach sweltering heights this weekend, and they weren't wrong. Overnight, the mercury didn't dip below 26 degrees, ready for a high of 33 degrees today. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that when the temperature did make it to 25.7 minimum this morning, it still eclipsed the September record by 3.7 degrees. And, the records keep coming. The September high for the entire state was broken yesterday according to the ABC, with temperatures topping out at 40.5 degrees in Wilcannia in western New South Wales. With White Cliffs and Bourke, the town became the first in the state to venture over 40 degrees during September. Just over the border, Mildura hit the highest temperature ever recorded in Victoria during September, making it to 37.7 degrees. https://twitter.com/weatherzone/status/911539706302676993 Things are expected to cool down on Monday, for those in need of a reprieve — aka everyone. For now, total fire bans are in place across large parts of the state. And if you're feeling some anxiety about global warming, and what the rest of the year holds in store, that's completely understandable. We've said it before and we'll say it again: best grab a fan now; it's going to get quite the workout. By Sarah Ward. Via ABC / Sydney Morning Herald.
Before Damages, Bridesmaids, Bad Neighbours, Bad Neighbours 2 and Platonic, Rose Byrne made her acting debut in the 90s, with Echo Point, Wildside, the OG Heartbreak High and Two Hands among her earliest credits. Physical sends the Australian star a decade further back, and the results have kept proving an insightful and astute gem across three seasons. On paper, the concept was always ace: Byrne, the 80s, aerobics, consumerism, capitalism, body image, mental health, women striving to break through in male-dominated times, and unpacking agency and control. On-screen, Physical instantly strutted into must-watch territory, staying there in 2022's second season and, as streaming since Wednesday, August 2 via Apple TV+, now in 2023's third and final batch of episodes. Created by Annie Weisman after the writer and producer previously pondered domesticity in Desperate Housewives and Suburgatory, Physical bends and flexes with Byrne (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem) as Sheila Rubin. The series' protagonist was a stay-at-home San Diego mother when the first episode dropped in 2021. Not long afterwards, Sheila became an aerobics entrepreneur. Physical's voyage from premiere to swansong has focused on the how, why, costs and consequences of that path — with clear eyes as much as flung-around limbs. Like On Becoming a God in Central Florida and GLOW before it, it isn't an exercise in nostalgia. Although this show looks the part, and gloriously, all thanks to meticulous production design, costume design and cinematography, it also peers backwards unflinchingly. Slipping into a leotard, then getting the blood pumping, isn't merely a quest for fitness for the show's central figure. The late, great Olivia Newton-John mightn't have sung "let's work through our troubles while working up a sweat" (unsurprisingly; it isn't catchy at all), but that's always been the thrust in a series that revels in dark comedy yet shimmers with empathy. Among those tussles: Sheila's opinion of herself, including of her body; her complicated relationship with food; and the self-critical voice in her head, which Physical literalises. Her marriage to Danny (Rory Scovel, Babylon), who talks the progressive talk yet is still happy with her largely on housewife duties, has also had a significant impact on her self-esteem. That's Sheila's status quo at the outset. From there, Physical has kept striding through her ups and downs with humour as well as ambition — covering the self-loathing, the lack of fulfilment, the catharsis that aerobics brings and the professional route that it sets her on. In the show's ten-episode third and final season, its central figure is doing well but wants more, such as national exposure and fame. Sheila has also learned to be kinder to herself, at least as herself, even while juggling being newly single, Danny grappling with their split, sharing custody of their daughter Maya (Grace Kelly Quigley, Killing Time), making the leap to TV and going all-in on the burgeoning wellness industry. But when Hollywood actor Kelly Kilmartin (Zooey Deschanel, Dreamin' Wild) encroaches into her territory, the new scolding tone in Sheila's brain has her voice. Never afraid of complex moves, Physical makes a bold choice in getting Kelly talking inside Sheila's mind. Seasons one and two devoted much of their story to the show's protagonist attempting to conquer her inner reprimands — but season three isn't backpedalling. Rather, it demonstrates that battling with your sense of self is a constant and evolving mission. It shows how easy it is to fall back into old ways of thinking, too, particularly when you're making big and stressful leaps. The fact that change is hard work has long been among Physical's recurring themes, applying whether Sheila is endeavouring to accept herself or reaching towards external goals. Kelly taking up residence in her head also continues the series' exploration of perception, helping to note that how we see the world and the objective reality are rarely the same thing. Physical has always boasted a stellar cast that can flip between laughs and drama as swiftly as the show does, which is often, with Deschanel no exception as a newcomer in this last run. As Kelly, she does triple duty — there's Kelly the person that Sheila somewhat befriends, Kelly in TV personality mode, and Kelly as the manifestation of Sheila's worries and doubts — and welcomely breaks out of her usual quirky, cutesy comfort zone. Five years after New Girl ended, this is Deschanel's best role since. Of course, while Dierdre Friel (Second Act) is a scene-stealer as Sheila's friend and business partner Greta, too, Byrne is never less than a dream. Getting an excellent performance out of Physical's lead is hardly new, as her resume from the 90s onwards attests. Across its 30 episodes — including in season three — the series has earned one Byrne's best portrayals yet, showing off both her comic and dramatic chops, because it keeps stretching and testing its characters. There's nothing routine about anyone in the show's frames, or what comes their way, be it Sheila, Greta, Kelly, Danny, mall owner John Breem (Paul Sparks, The Accidental Wolf), season two's rival instructor Vinnie Green (Murray Bartlett, The Last of Us), or Bunny (Della Saba, Bosch) and Tyler (Lou Taylor Pucci, American Horror Story), aka the reasons that Sheila discovered her exercising calling to begin with. Physical might beam with 80s lighting, colours and outfits, but it refuses to patch over its on-screen figures' flaws, giving its actors — Byrne especially — both meaty and weighty arcs to work through. Embracing imperfect journeys and life's imperfections in general, Physical packs an emotional punch. Its final season faces its own struggle as well, however: the rush to wrap up its tale. That this is the show's last go-around was announced before season three started arriving. Still, the hurried storytelling pace is inescapable; several new plot strands could've filled out whole seasons alone, rather than been crammed into one. That said, like an aerobics convert filling their schedule with class after class, wanting to continue returning to Physical's world has long come easily — this streaming highlight burns with that much energy and potency. Check out the trailer for Physical season three below: Physical is available to stream via Apple TV+.
Just a few short months ago, no one could've predicted that the Queensland border would become one of 2020's most debated topics. It's a subject that has inspired plenty of comments, especially among interstate and federal politicians calling for Queensland to open back up — with the state closing its border to help stem the spread of COVID-19, then keeping it shut while other restrictions have been easing. Today, Tuesday, June 30, that chatter can finally stop — with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirming Friday, July 10 as Queensland's official date for reopening to interstate visitors from all states and territories except Victoria. That date was initially outlined in Queensland's COVID-19 roadmap, and discussed earlier in June, with a final call on opening up the border always expected at the end of this month. That's great news for folks who live in New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, of course — however, with coronavirus case numbers spiking in Victoria over the past couple of weeks, residents of that state won't be allowed into Queensland as yet. In fact, as Premier Palaszczuk announced, "Queensland has very large concerns about the state of Victoria", which means that, "due to current community transmission levels, the border with Victoria will remain closed — and will be strengthened". https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1277816426724638721 A week prior to the Queensland border opening to all other areas of the country, the state will implement a new regime for visitors from Victoria — to come into effect from noon on Friday, July 3. Anyone travelling from Victoria, including Queenslanders, will be refused entry unless they go into forced quarantine for 14 days, in a hotel, at their own expense. Folks coming to Queensland from other states from July 10 will also need to complete a border declaration form. On it, they'll need to certify that they haven't travelled to Victoria in past 14 days — and the government has advised it'll be checking these statements, and that making a false statement will be an offence. Also, while Victoria has been singled out at present due to its COVID-19 situation, Queensland will review its border position with other states should outbreaks occur elsewhere. The aim is to avoid community transmission in Queensland, with Premier Palaszczuk noting that "if the Chief Health Officer reviews any state or territory at any time, and there is community transmission like Victoria, we may have to take action". If you're a Queenslander hoping to hop over the border for a mid-year holiday — and come back home without any hassle — the confirmation of July 10 as the official border reopening date is also a welcome development. That said, Premier Palaszczuk has urged all Queenslanders not to go to Victoria. Queensland's announcement comes on the same day that South Australia revised its plans to open its borders, revealing that it won't open to Victorian residents on July 20 as initially advised — with details to come regarding NSW and ACT residents, and inhabitants of other states already allowed to enter SA. To find out more about Queensland's COVID-19 restrictions, and the status of the coronavirus in the state, visit Queensland's online COVID-19 hub. 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. Top image: Hill Inlet in the Whitsundays by Tourism and Events Queensland.
