Celebrating feminism and the mighty off and onscreen power of ladies, Girls on Film Festival have created yet another outstanding program featuring women who kick some serious butt. Inspired by Riot Grrrl culture, GOFF brings together a three-day program of zines, live gigs and of course, stellar films (with a little activism thrown in for good measure). Films in this year’s program include cult classics, underrated gems and feminist favourites. Roller derby fans will get a kick out of the Drew Barrymore-directed Whip It and documentary In The Turn, or if soccer is more your jam, hit up British favourite Bend It Like Beckham. Classics like Thelma and Louise, Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion, and Desperately Seeking Susan will be making an appearance, and if you’re after some solid activism docos, check out Black Panther Woman and She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry. There are honestly too many great films to list here, so check out their program for more info.
You'll be stocking up on soundtracks after Projections of Dance, a new late night film program at the Astor Theatre in St Kilda. Presented by alternative dance music media collective 6am at the Garage, the inaugural calendar features a trio of titles that chart the history and influence of electronic dance music. Screenings take place on select Tuesday evenings, beginning on October 20 with Berlin Calling, about a Berlin DJ, played by musician Paul Kalkbrenner, who is institutionalised for drug abuse. Next up on November 24 comes Shut Up and Play the Hits, the acclaimed documentary about the final days of LCD Soundsystem. Finally on December 15, Mia Hansen-Love's Eden chronicles the rise and fall of a pioneering DJ over a twenty year period against the backdrop of the exploding house movement in France. All three screenings will be preceded by sets from local DJs — and naturally, the Astor Bar will be open all night. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drdf8OeBUUM
Two words immediately spring to mind while taking a detour through Learning to Drive: modest pleasures. They’re what the film's characters seek, whether they're sitting behind the wheel or walking along the footpath. They’re what the amiable, affectionate and earnest movie does as well. A later-in-life attempt to hit the road gets the feature gently motoring along, with Wendy (Patricia Clarkson) the initially unlicensed party in question. The Manhattan-dwelling literary critic hadn’t previously had a reason to join the commuting masses; however, separating from her adulterous husband (Jake Weber) and seeking to visit her college-age daughter (Grace Gummer) inspires her to reassess her priorities — you're never too late to try something new, and all that. Enter the kindly Darwan (Ben Kingsley), an Indian Sikh working as both a taxi driver and a driving instructor. He has his own personal problems, including his desire for matrimonial happiness with his arranged bride (Sarita Choudhury), as well his efforts to avoid the prejudice that follows his every move. Of course, he's also the wise teacher Wendy needs, even if she doesn't yet know it. That this odd couple will cross paths isn’t a surprise in this introspective effort, nor is the friendship that reluctantly but eventually springs. Wendy and Darwan find commonality despite their differences, learn some obvious life lessons from each other and gain an appreciation of the little things that make their days worth enduring. In fact, everything about Learning to Drive screams standard — and yet it's warm, sweet but never too saccharine too. Director Isabel Coixet, who has worked with both her leads before on the 2008 film Elegy, enjoys spending time in predictable yet thoughtful territory while contemplating well-fleshed-out characters. There's a reason she has enlisted Clarkson and Kingsley again for this task, as based on an autobiographical New Yorker article by essayist Katha Pollitt. As often proves the case in most things either pops up in (witness this year's Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and Self/Less, for example), they're a pleasure to watch. The former is gifted a role with more shades of complexity than the latter, but both offer rounded portrayals that span well beyond their alternatingly tentative and playful banter. Though plenty of their dialogue serves up road references that cheesily double as nuggets of general life advice — reading the signs, taking in everything around you, and so on — their performances help brighten up a film that's largely confined within a car (and as visually constrained as that sounds). The scenery isn't the point, but the people looking at it. Yes, that's just another of Learning to Drive's modest pleasures.
In the guise of her character Jess, Drew Barrymore is crying when Miss You Already starts — and the audience likely will be when the film finishes. Tissues are necessary for what overwhelmingly and shamelessly qualifies as a weepie. Expect tears from a movie that knows how to wring them out of you. Expect to know that's exactly what it is trying to do, too. Barrymore's American in London is the more down-to-earth life-long BFF of outlandish Brit Milly (Toni Collette), their friendship as firm as it is frenetic. They've been there for each other since meeting in primary school, but when Miss You Already opens, Jess is in labour and yearning for her pal before talking viewers through their shared history. That colourful past takes a turn for the catastrophic when Milly is diagnosed with breast cancer, much to the distress of Jess; Milly's rock 'n' roll-roadie-turned-family-man husband, Kit (Dominic Cooper); and their two young children. At the same time, Jess is struggling with trying to get pregnant through fertility treatment with her partner Jago (Paddy Considine). As has constantly happened throughout their years of closeness, when it comes to life-changing drama, Milly's situation trumps her own. If the combination of gal pals, a potentially terminal condition and baby craziness hasn't already given it away — and it should've — Miss You Already is solidly aiming for sometimes gently funny, often waterworks-inducing chick flick territory. That the film stems from the real-life experiences of actress and writer Morwenna Banks (perhaps best known for TV's Saxondale and Skins) helps ensure that its sentiment and depiction of illness doesn't feel fake, even if it comes on thick and paints by the numbers. Indeed, director Catherine Hardwicke moves on from the teen-focused fare of Thirteen and the first Twilight film to offer up an account of the ups and downs of female friendship, with the latter prominent when trouble and tragedy strikes. Her approach is brightly shot to look like fondly Instagrammed memories, though it also barely lingers on anything but the obvious as it flits between Vine-like vignettes. Heartstrings are tugged across the usual moments — news both good and bad, hospital visits focused on life ending and beginning, a road trip to Yorkshire's Moors, and fights and fancy occasions among them — yet every new occurrence seems like the filmmaker is ticking off a checklist. With no hunks in sight here, what the film boasts instead is chemistry between the two leads. The plot points might be routine, but the bond the talented duo of Barrymore and Collette cultivate comes across as authentic. In fact, none of the cast puts a foot wrong, including a brief but well-played appearance by iconic actress Jacqueline Bisset as Milly's TV star mother. They're Miss You Already's most effective element, other than using all the life, death, love, loyalty and friendship pressure points to manipulate salty moisture into streaming from your eyes.
Experience the very best that the city's fine dining scene has to offer at Taste of Melbourne in partnership with Electrolux. Taking over Albert Park in mid-November, this four-day culinary cornucopia offers foodies the chance to mingle with chefs, pick up new recipes and sample dishes from some of the top restaurants in town. Bon appetit! Taste of Melbourne is split into six sessions, each one lasting roughly four hours. During their allotted time, ticketholders will be able to purchase tapas-style tasting plates prepared by the teams from Circa, Gazi, Luxembourg, Mamasita, MoVida, Pastuso, Pei Modern, Royal Mail Hotel, San Telmo, South Africa’s Five Hundred, Supernormal, Gladioli, Milk the Cow and Saké Restaurant & Bar. Once guests have eaten their fill, other attractions on the Taste of Melbourne program worth checking out include live cooking demonstrations in the Electrolux Taste Theatre, a showcase of South African wine and cuisine in the South African Garden and masterclasses on everything from creating your own gin with Bass & Flinders to going freestyle with Lurpak. You can also swing by the Artisan Producers Market and pick up a few goodies for your pantry, or kick back and relax in the Audi Brighton Platinum Lounge with live music and an open bar. Concrete Playground readers can grab discounted entry for Taste of Melbourne. To get two general entry tickets for $45 (SAVE $15*), simply enter the code PLAY at checkout. *Savings based on door price and excludes booking and transactions fees.
After a successful debut in 2014, tilde: Melbourne Trans and Gender Diverse Film Festival is back for its second year. Moving across town from Carlton's Bella Union to the Lithuanian Club in North Melbourne, the festival's sophomore program will once again showcase contemporary features, documentaries and shorts made by trans and gender diverse filmmakers, alongside films featuring trans and gender diverse content and characters. The festival, which runs from November 13-15, begins with Canadian comedy-drama Two 4 One, about a trans man named Adam whose life is thrown into turmoil with the reappearance of an ex-girlfriend. Other standouts include The New Man — a documentary co-production between Uruguay and Chile about a trans woman living in poverty in Montevideo — and Something Must Break, a Swedish coming of age film about a romance between two young people on the fringes of society. The program is bolstered by a lineup of fiction and documentary short films. For the full tilde program, visit their website.
Israel's Batsheva Dance Company returns to the Melbourne Festival with a pair of shows by acclaimed artistic director Ohad Naharin. Straight from its world premiere in Tel Aviv, Last Work is described as "an exploration of motion and emotion", complete with a dancer running on the spot for the duration of the performance. The second piece is the most recent update of Naharin's Decadance, wherein the choreographer reimagines pieces from Batsheva's back catalogue — creating what is essentially a live highlights package from the company's five plus decades on stage. This event is one of our top ten picks of the Melbourne Festival. Check out the other nine.
The Intern is one of those films that’s not easily labelled. It absolutely feels like a romcom, especially with writer/director Nancy Meyers at the helm (responsible for the likes of Father of the Bride and It's Complicated), but there’s not really any romance in it to speak of. It’s also a funny film, though you’d fall short of calling it a comedy, and it consistently packs in the feels, only there are too many lighter moments for it to be an out-and-out drama. Ultimately, whether by chance or design, The Intern's indeterminate status actually offers us a neat reflection of the story within it, for this is a story about two individuals — the ‘retiree’ and the ‘working mum’ — both grappling with the expectations and misconceptions that accompany those characterisations. De Niro, the retiree, is a 70-something widower without a purpose. Intelligent, polite and openly uncomfortable with inaction, his character Ben Whittaker applies for (and secures) a place in a senior’s intern program at fashion tech startup About the Fit. Anne Hathaway, the ‘working mum’, is the company’s 30-something founder and CEO, Jules Ostin. Passionate and driven but overworked, Jules is fending off shareholder insistence that she hire a ‘proper’ CEO while simultaneously struggling to keep her family together on account of her relentless schedule and the restless ‘stay-at-home dad’ (another unhelpful label) waiting at home. When De Niro is assigned to be Hathaway’s personal intern, their initially uncomfortable partnership soon develops into an indispensable friendship: he the calming influence on her, and she his newfound sense of purpose. The early scenes in The Intern are enough to give serious pause. De Niro’s ‘old guy in a young person’s tech world’ shtick had the potential to be incredibly hammy, and moments like not knowing how to wake up his laptop or use a USB did not augur well for avoiding the tired ‘analog meets digital’ cliche. Hathaway’s character, too, was immediately unlikeable, wearing her wireless headset and riding her fixed-gear bicycle through the office from meeting to meeting. Thankfully, though, neither concern plays out for long. De Niro’s reserve — that trademark smile and gentle nod that has traditionally masked violent intent — works perfectly as a juxtaposition to the madness of the Gen Y workplace around him. His old-school approach to both work and life endears him to all, as he offers advice from fashion and accessories through to putting down the phone and actually talking to people. Similarly, as soon as Hathaway’s pristine veneer reveals its vulnerabilities, she becomes at once an entirely sympathetic character and a surprisingly cogent representation of the unresolved workplace gender debate. In many ways, The Intern plays out like an adaption of Annabel Crabb’s The Wife Drought or Unfinished Business by Anne-Marie Slaughter, the first female director of policy planning at the US State Department and author of the controversial ‘Why Women Still Can’t Have It All’ essay in the Atlantic. Both these texts highlight the difficulties and hypocrisies surrounding successful women in the workplace, including why we never hear the label ‘working dad’, and — at its heart — this is what The Intern ultimately concerns itself with. There are plenty of laughs along the way, as well as some admittedly saccharine scenes, but mostly this is a heartwarming tale of friendship and a constructive engagement with feminism and gender inequality.
The strengths and weaknesses of Legend can be summed up via two of its key scenes. The first comes about halfway through the film, when infamous London gangster Reggie Kray (played by Tom Hardy) does a flawless impersonation of his twin brother Ron. The thing is, Ron is also played by Tom Hardy in one of those Social Network Winklevae situations. It's just that Hardy's performance is so strong and each character is so defined, you genuinely think of the Krays as two entirely distinct humans played by two very different actors. It's a powerhouse performance showcasing Hardy's imposing abilities, both physically and dramatically. The second scene comes a little earlier. The Krays are lured to a neutral pub under the auspices of negotiating a truce with their gangland rivals, only to discover themselves surrounded and grossly outnumbered. Where most would cower, the Krays respond with a mix of nonchalance and outrage: Reggie pulls himself a beer while Ron storms out, complaining of a half-arsed gunfight without any guns. Seconds later, of course, he returns unseen and together with his brother lays waste to the entire group of thugs. The problem with this second scene (and, in turn, much of the film), is that it’s terrifically entertaining. The music, dialogue, performance and direction all play it light and whimsical — even flippant — despite its confronting savagery (the Krays employ a brutal combination of hammers and brass knuckles). Under certain circumstances, the juxtaposition of violence and comedy in film is defensible, even appropriate, so long as the genre fits (think Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, or Pulp Fiction). Here, though, it’s wildly misplaced. Yes, it successfully conveys the Krays’ character and composure, but this isn’t fiction. The Krays brutalised and murdered their way to the top in real life, and the duty of a biopic is to tell a story as it was, not to glorify it as some might have wanted it to be. And that, in short, is Legend: a film defined by its spectacular performances and misfiring direction. Alongside Hardy, the supporting cast of Emily Browning, David Thewlis and Christopher Eccleston does a decent job despite the middling script, but the overall feeling is one of dullness and disappointment.
See great movies in the great outdoors at Melbourne's newest openair cinema. A free initiative of the City of Boroondara, Summertime Cinema will be popping up in parks around the eastern suburbs on Saturday evenings in the lead up to Christmas. Gather your friends, pack up a picnic basket and find yourself a spot on the grass. The season begins this Saturday, December 5 with a screening of Labyrinth at Greythorn Park in North Balwyn, closing out a year of total Bowie obsession. The following week, Riversdale Park in Camberwell will showcase the classic Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musical Shall We Dance, complete with pre-show entertainment from the Hawthorn Band. Finally, it's back to the '80s at Central Gardens in Hawthorn, where the program wraps up with Girls Just Want to Have Fun.
Dance combines with visual art in the latest work from the troupe at Chunky Move. Premiering this week, Miss Universal is the latest entry in the company's annual Next Move series, which is designed to showcase brand new works by young Australian dancemakers. In this instance, the dancemaker in question is Atlanta Eke, who has teamed up with artist Claire Lambe for a work that questions notions of universality within contemporary social structures. Running from December 3-12 at Chunky Move Studios in Southbank, Miss Universal will see Atlanta joined by a trio of dancers who will journey "through a landscape of images, sculpture and transformative material". In addition to Lambe, collaborators include composer Daniel Jenatsch, who previously worked with Eke on her earlier Chunky Move piece The Fountain.
They've hosted phony wedding receptions and wartime soirees. Now the anonymous folk behind immersive theatre outfit The Boon Companions are inviting you to participate in their most intriguing performance work yet. Bafflingly described as "the world's first allergy tested, dermatologist-driven laboratory designed specifically to help you process your particular regret and move on", The Clinic of Regrets is a walkthrough installation that might just change your entire outlook on life. Setting up shop for one night only on the upper level of Northcote Town Hall, tickets to The Clinic of Regrets cost $10 a head, and are sold in time-specific groupings. The walkthrough should take around 20 minutes to complete — although that may depend on how much baggage you bring with you. There'll also be a cash-only bar for punters in need of a drink.
Multicultural Arts Victoria presents Mapping Melbourne 2015, a bustling four-day festival of contemporary Asian art. Stretched across 13 city locations including the State Library and Federation Square, this year's festival will showcase the work of more than 100 different artists from around Australia and overseas — and in doing so, explore the considerable Asian influence on local art and culture. The festival kicks into gear on Wednesday, December 2 at the Queen Victoria Market, with a live performance by The Barberettes, a South Korean girl group who specialise in doo-wop. No, you didn't misread that. Music lovers might also want to check out the immersive cross-cultural sound of NOVALAYA, featuring the lead vocalist from Bombay Royale. Other items on the program that have piqued our interest include From Spaces Past, which explores the rocky social and political history of Cambodia, and An Act of Remembering, which looks back at four decades since the end of the Vietnam war. For the full Mapping Melbourne program, visit the festival website.
See Cate Blanchett take on 13 roles in one, in a brand new exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. Co-commissioned by ACMI in partnership with the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin and the Sprengel Museum in Hanover, Manifesto is a bold new multichannel work from celebrated German artist Julian Rosefeldt, with the Oscar-winning screen star at its centre. Housed at ACMI from December until March, Rosefeldt's installation will question the role of the artist today, drawing on the philosophies of numerous pre-eminent artists, including writer Andre Breton, sculptor Claes Oldenberg and filmmaker Jim Jarmusch. From these sources, Rosefeldt has crafted a collage of artistic manifestos, which Blanchett will then articulate through the guise of various characters, including a school teacher, a newsreader, a homeless man and a puppeteer.
This New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based artist is once again inviting us into her wonderfully warped reality with her latest exhibition, Wurm Haus. Jess Johnson's work is immediately recognisable to those who have had the pleasure of experiencing it before, with her influences ranging from science fiction, dystopian worlds, parallel universes and comic books. Geometric patterns, contorted bodies and intriguing typography also feature heavily in her work, all of which create a deeper sense of her alternate reality. The centrepiece for her latest exhibition, titled 'Ixian Gate', brings us one step further into her world, where visitors are required to wear a virtual reality headset to immerse themselves completely. Using Oculus Rift technology, visitors will experience 360 views of Johnson's unusual universe, which is as captivating as it is a little frightening.
As was the case with recent release The Walk, Lance Armstrong scandal pic The Program is a film burdened by having the documentary that preceded it set a near-impossible standard for anything better. Comprehensive, compelling and absolutely exasperating, Alex Gibney's The Armstrong Lie was an exceptional piece of honest and meticulous journalism in which Lance Armstrong’s own performance proved to be a breathtaking piece of dramatic fiction. What The Program does offer, however, is a peek inside the conversations and moments that not even Gibney could record – despite his unprecedented access. Why? Because even Armstrong knew better than to let his own videographer record all the actual doping sessions and illegal deals. How the steroids were obtained, how they were snuck into France, how the cyclists took possession, used and then disposed of them - all of this is covered in great detail in The Program, as are as the methods used to defeat the drug testing that followed. As Armstrong, Ben Foster is note perfect. Beyond his remarkable physical similarity to the disgraced cyclist, Foster absolutely nails the camera-ready smile and rehearsed laugh used by Armstrong to mask both his rage and unrestrained ego. Practising in front of a mirror, we see Foster repeating again and again that he “has never tested positive for steroids”, a technical truth amidst a monumental lie that perfectly demonstrates the semantic and psychological art behind what officially became “the most successful doping program the sport [had] ever seen”. Perhaps the only great disappointment with The Program is the lack of time given to the largely unheralded role played by David Walsh – the Sunday Times sports journalist who doggedly and almost single-handedly pursued the Armstrong deception amid unbelievable resistance from every imaginable corner. Played by Chris O’Dowd, Walsh endured manifold lawsuits, professional humiliation and even abandonment by his closest friends and colleagues for investigating a fairytale that was plainly too good to be true. But while O’Dowd receives far too little screen time, The Program still does a good job of explaining why few were eager to question Armstrong’s mythic success. Given his contribution to the global expansion of the sport and the inspiration he provided for cancer sufferers via the Live Strong foundation, it's not hard to understand why we were all so keen to believe the lie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXfp859pcM0
The I OH YOU parties are notorious for being absolutely killer – in a good way. Remember the time they hosted their Melbourne Music Week event in an old train station? For this year's festival, ARIA award-winning, indie thrash rockers DZ Deathrays are headlining the party, with performances by New War and Darts to get you going. There'll also be DJ sets by Goldfields, DJ Tranter and the I OH YOU DJs to make sure you get your groove thang well and truly on. As well as being consistently awesome, the I OH YOU parties tend to sell out pretty quickly during MMW, so it's amazing there are still some tickets left. Get onto this quick sticks.
If Malala Yousafzai's name sounds familiar, that's because she hasn't strayed far from the headlines in recent years. The Pakistani teenager turned best-selling author dared to speak out about life under Taliban rule, and to campaign for something they oppose: the education of women. In 2012, she was shot in the head aboard her school bus. However an assassination attempt didn't dampen her drive, and in 2014 she became the youngest-ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Filmed over an 18-month period and featuring interviews with Malala and her family, as well as a routine assembly of media clips, recreations and animation, He Named Me Malala tells her story. As even a brief run-through of her life and achievements indicate, hers is quite the tale. Malala hasn't just triumphed over adversity; she has refused to be terrorised into abandoning her ideals, and turned a traumatic experience into a platform for advocacy. Alas, in the hands of An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim, an extraordinary person inspires a merely average film . His feature finds its power in its subject, whose status and strong beliefs always remain evident. Yet even though the movie tries to peer behind everything that has already been reported, attempting to get to know Malala as a person rather than a symbol, the portrait it paints stays in standard biographical doc territory. Accordingly, He Named Me Malala seesaws from the somewhat illuminating to the already known and oft repeated (even within the documentary itself). Much is made of her father's influence over her determined mindset and her love of learning — but while behind this impassioned crusader stands a parent who has nurtured and encouraged her, Malala is, of course, the real point of interest. She charms as much with her confident speeches to the United Nations as she does when she's explaining why she can't just go on a date. Those charms only grow over the film's 88 minutes — again, through her presence, energy and focus, rather than through Guggenheim's filmmaking skills. He recognises the need to keep her front and centre, yet his film also plays it safe, keeping its distance and never wavering from its adoring position. And as much as the documentary might aim to show the real Malala, the most candid it ever gets is in glimpsing her looking at pictures of attractive male sportsmen. As a result, as a fleshed-out account of a remarkable young woman, He Named Me Malala feels like it barely scratches the surface. As a functional portrait of a crucial campaign and its self-appointed spokeswoman, it fares better. Either way, one thing is certain: this won't be the last time Malala's accomplishments are memorialised and celebrated on film.
White Cliffs is a rural town in New South Wales which used to be considered one of the most bountiful opal mining towns in the world. Now, opals are practically non-existent, but that doesn't stop White Cliffs inhabitants from toiling under unbearable heat in search of the colourful and elusive stone. Emerging independent documentary filmmaker and photographer Georgina Savage filmed her first feature documentary in White Cliffs, and the series Digging For Pineapples was shot during that process. Savage is drawn to small and remote communities and the stories she gathers from those that inhabit them. Digging For Pineapples examines both the harshness of Australia’s outback terrain but also the hopefulness of people who are unable to give up on the dream of finding that precious stone.
Red Stitch are bringing out the big guns with their upcoming double bill, directed by Julian Meyrick. The performances feature the world premier of Dead Centre, by Aussie playwright Tom Holloway, and the Australian premiere of Sea Wall, by Simon Stephens. Both plays are one-actor performances that explore the fragility of life and seem to promise a pretty full on night at the theatre. Dead Centre follows the story of Helen (Rosie Lockhart), who makes the spontaneous decision to move from the UK to Australia to do the whole "turning over a new leaf" thing. However, the decision only provides temporary relief before her past catches up with her and she is forced to confront what she left behind... In Sea Wall, Alex (Ben Prendergast) seemingly has it all: the wife, the daughter, and a life he speaks of fondly. But this cherished existence is not (as we all know, because, theatre) one to last. As everything falls apart, Alex is left with the difficult task of forming a new perspective on life. With theatre this devastating, who needs Netflix?
Saying that M. Night Shyamalan's latest film offers an improvement over his most recent efforts isn't really saying much. After impressing with The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, and a little less so with Signs and The Village, the likes of Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender and After Earth won the writer/director few kind words. The Visit seems to fall somewhere in the middle; however, in plodding towards his usual twist and doing so with a clumsy blend of shocks and laughs, it soon proves closer to his latter work than his former. Fifteen-year-old Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and her thirteen-year-old younger brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) take the trip of the movie's title, leaving their single mother (Kathryn Hahn) for a week with the estranged grandparents they've never before met. Upon arriving at the remote farm their Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) call home, the siblings find their elders a little odd, but are reassured that their eccentricities stem from their advanced age. When even stranger occurrences start happening at night, Becca and Tyler are convinced that something else is going on. To complicate what becomes little more than kids simply being spooked by creepy old people, pseudo fairytale-style, Shyamalan throws the current horror movie trend — found footage — into the mix. Accordingly, The Visit is presented as a documentary being shot by wannabe filmmaker Becca, with Tyler assisting with the camerawork when he's not rapping in front of the lens. Shyamalan's found footage effort is not a slapdash attempt to capitalise upon the current fondness for a certain subgenre of film — at least as far as the actual found footage conceit is concerned. The director never abandons his approach, and even weaves the consequences of a constantly rolling camera into the story. Expect bit players performing because they know they're being watched, just as Tyler does. Don't expect shots from angles that can't be justified in the narrative, just because they look cool. Alas, around the well-executed and committed stylistic gimmick sits cliche and a veering tone that colours everything that happens. Attempted frights are easily foreseen in the shadowy Hansel and Gretel-like offering, though thankfully Shyamalan's love of the supernatural never rears its head. The predictability of the script certainly inspires much of the guffawing that will echo around the cinema, though many of the feature's gags are intentional. Making a good horror-comedy is as difficult a feat as mastering found footage, but The Visit doesn't succeed in the first instance. Giggling at, not with, the film, feels like the more frequent outcome as bodily functions are mined for humour alongside the naked elderly form. And with the jump scares few and far between, comic moments aren't quite being used to diffuse tension. Australians DeJonge and Oxenbould try hard to wade through the wavering mood, turning in playful performances that brighten up the standard story, but being asked to spout dialogue about filmmaking technique doesn't do their characters any favours. Still, to say that the duo ranks alongside Shyamalan's handling of found footage as the feature's highlights is accurate — although, in the context of the complete movie, that's once again not saying much.
Sicario begins with an ordinary-looking slice of Arizona's desert-bordered suburbia, roving over rows of homes as far as the eye can see. As the kidnap extraction operation that will soon storm the doors of one particular house — and find much, much more than they bargained for — swiftly reveals, there’s little that’s normal behind the average facade. In a powerful start to his latest feature after Incendies, Prisoners and Enemy, director Denis Villeneuve ensures the chasm between perception and reality is apparent; indeed, it will echo throughout the feature. It's a fitting kernel of thought to plant in the minds of viewers who will witness 121 minutes of procedural tension seemingly concerned with the titular term — cartel slang for hitman in Mexico — in the context of the drug war, but actually delving into the haziness of trying to do the right thing by any means. It certainly bears remembering that Villeneuve doesn’t make films that could be considered easy viewing. As written by actor-turned-screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (Sons of Anarchy), Sicario jumps into the United States' furtive attempts to arrest the impact of the narcotics trade, then creeps through shades of grey, shimmers of complex uncertainty and slivers of necessary compromise. Accordingly, three figures earn the grim film's focus: FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), plus government contractors Matt (Josh Brolin) and Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro). After leading the charge in the opening events, the former is asked to volunteer to work with the latter two men to bring a drug lord to justice. Their idea of how to do so, abandoning the rules in favour of operating in the shadows, differs to the by-the-book approach Macer prefers. Comparisons to Zero Dark Thirty prove apt and earned for an effort that treats its bristling violence and brutal set pieces as routine, strands its protagonist with reaching for an end result that can't be achieved by above-board means, and navigates the moral quandaries and harsh realities that spring. The striking, sunlit visuals, lensed by 12-time Oscar nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins (Skyfall) and seething with gritty texture, add to the overwhelming feeling of inevitability and despair Macer is saddled with, with as much said by the framing — often preferring to peer on at conversations from a distance, or capture action via aerial shots — as by the dialogue. Such rich imagery is matched not only by an unrelenting, rattling, bass-heavy score, but also by a trio of performances that simmer on screen. Blunt, continuing a spate of great choices of late that has included Looper and Edge of Tomorrow, finds the right mix of resilience and vulnerability as the woman at the centre of a puzzle she's being precluded from piecing together. Del Toro wears the feature's weariness, vagueness and murkiness in his gaze, while Brolin does the same thing with his sly smile and casual attitude — and becomes the film's standout player in the process. Indeed, Brolin acts as a weathervane for Sicario's end result, offering layers of quiet power that build with every exchange and altercation into an ever-troubling picture of ambiguity and unease. You're never quite comfortable with his character, nor should you be with the feature he's in, as compelling, confronting, stunning and downright exceptional as it is.
Rapper, songwriter, and arguably one of music’s most notable controversy magnets, Azealia Banks, is on her way back to Australia for Splendour. Banks's long awaited album, Broke with Expensive Taste, was finally released last year and had many agreeing that it was worth the wait. When Banks charged into house parties worldwide with ‘212’ in 2011 it was clear that this was a force to be reckoned with — everyone loves a killer beat and the chance to yell expletives. She's continued her warpath with ‘Van Vogue’, ‘Ice Princess’ and ‘Yung Rapunxel’ Unfortunately, Banks has been known to cut her sets short (a few times now) during shows in Australia, so we have our fingers and toes crossed that history doesn’t repeat itself. We say take the plunge and grab a ticket, there’s a damn good chance she’s going to blow the roof off.
English art-rockers Everything Everything will be one of the most unpredictable Splendour sideshows you see this year, with their eclectic, off-the-wall repertoire and epic live set. The foursome has released three albums to date including Man Alive in 2010, Arc in 2013, and Get To Heaven in 2015, all of which have been met with riotous applause from critics and fans alike. Their latest single ‘Distant Past’ encapsulates everything you already know and love about the band; lead singer Jonathan Higgs’ vocals flying at breakneck speed to falsetto, paired with fast, fast percussion. Get your mates together, warm up those vocal chords and work on some tongue twisters if you plan on singing along, ‘Kemosabe’ and ‘Cough Cough’ beckon your assistance.
Melbourne's one-to-watch designers will be hawking their wares this Sunday, June 21, at the latest edition of the much-loved Melbourne Design Market. Launching into its second decade, this twice-yearly showcase of intelligent design is the perfect destination for savvy shoppers, or anyone just looking to drop some hard-earned cash. Hosted once again in the Federation Square carpark, this year’s market will welcome a wide variety of local merchants selling everything from clothing and fashions accessories to high-end stationery and furniture. We’ve got our eye on some of the winter woollens by Wendy Voon, along with maybe a new customisable Moodit watch. But with a total of 50 stallholders, it looks like we may be spoiled for choice. On the off chance that you have any money left over after your shopping spree, there’ll be fair trade coffee for sale, along with food from some of Melbourne’s favourite food trucks. For more information including updates on stallholders, head on over to Facebook. Image: Wendy Voon.
"When you've got it, flaunt it," the song goes — and when it comes to Australian movies, filmmakers have taken that advice. What they've got is a stunning outback setting, and they certainly know how to show it off. The latest example: Strangerland. A tale about missing children, arguing parents and the many factors that have caused both states of affairs, Strangerland has plenty of other things going for it. There's the high-profile cast of Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes and Hugo Weaving, for one. There's the simmering mood of melodrama, for another. There's never any doubt, however, that this is a movie defined by its location. The Parker family — pharmacist Matthew (Fiennes), his wife Catherine (Kidman), teenager daughter Lily (Maddison Brown) and younger son Tom (Nicholas Hamilton) — has moved to the country town of Nathgari, laying low and hiding from past troubles. It's the kind of place where the locals know each other by name, and where there's little to do but complain about the heat, which the newcomers do plenty. It's also the kind of place where kids wander and adults wonder, as happens when Lily and Tom disappear into the night, leaving Matthew and Catherine looking for answers. A determined cop (Weaving) investigates the case, his detective work uncovering family surprises, marital tensions and deep-seeded disharmony, while a dust storm complicates his search. A remote town turned ugly and a scenic setting brimming with complexity fuel Strangerland, recalling the likes of Wake in Fright, Picnic at Hanging Rock and Mystery Road. They're comparisons first-time feature director Kim Farrant seems happy to conjure, leaning heavily on the oppressive nature of the landscape as she does. Her film lingers, both lovingly and a little too long, on aerial shots of the rock, dirt and scrub, making the harshness of the Australian desert evident. In fact, postcard-worthy pictures of the nation's interior receive almost as much screen time as the actors. That's not to say that the cast doesn't have much to do, just that they're often dwarfed by their background — and that rings true not just visually but in the story. Kidman carries the weight of past tensions in her performance, one of her best of late, as a woman trapped on several levels. In contrast, Fiennes doesn't fare as well at expressing his character's inner turmoil, leaving his on-screen wife the star of the show. The third point in their tussle, the ever-welcome Weaving, makes the best of a stock-standard part. Indeed, stock-standard describes the majority of Strangerland as it sticks to the 'atmospheric Australian drama' playbook. What sets the movie apart from other efforts, however, is its refreshing consideration of female sexuality — a rarity in films of this and other ilk. It seems that the women at the feature's core have also heeded guidance about flaunting what they've got, their desire and desperation proving gripping viewing. Strangerland is at its most powerful when contrasting Lily's blossoming youth with Catherine's need to connect, and coping with the crises that spring from both. The space between the two is the real mystery unfolding in the outback.
If alcohol appreciation is your thing, this festival has your name written all over it. Top Shelf focuses on the best of the best when it comes to beer, wine and spirits, so whatever your tipple of choice may be, there’s something for every taste. The weekend of festivities is all about fun, learning a few tips and tricks along the way, and our favourite two works in the English language: free samples! There will be a number of guest speakers, panel discussions and demonstrations for those looking to maximise their experience. Whether you want advice on how to open a bar, tips for brewing your own beer, or are after some killer cocktail recipes for your next dinner party, there’s an event for you at Top Shelf. A few of the top guests for the weekend include New York’s PDT royalty Jeff Bell and Jim Meehan; company mixologist with William Grant & Sons, Charlotte Voisey; The Gin Queen herself Caroline Childerley; as well as local heroes Daniel Lemura from The Noble Experiment; and Bad Frankie’s Seb Costello. You'll be well covered on the dinner front as well, with food vendors such as Huxtaburger, Meatmother and Frencheese on hand to help soak up some of the alcohol. Just make sure you leave room for boozy macaroons for dessert. Tickets to Top Shelf are $25 online until 10am Friday, or $40 on the door.
Pain and grief can convince a person of almost anything — and there are few pains more agonising than that of a parent grieving for their child. So when a young man arrives at the home of Mel and Leo, they want desperately to believe him when he claims he’s their long lost son. Perhaps it’s the miracle they’ve been hoping for. Or perhaps it’s something far more sinister. Presented by 15 Minutes From Anywhere, Cuckoo may be named after a famously murderous brood parasite who lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, but you don’t need to know much about ornithology to know that something isn’t quite right. Described by director Alice Bishop as a play that resists categorisation, Jane Miller’s script sets out to explore our capacity for self-delusion, combining a deep sense of compassion with a wicked sense of humour. To find out any more, you’ll need to see it for yourself. Cuckoo will be performed at fortyfivedownstairs July 8 -26. For more information, head over here.
A third birthday party may not be your ideal Saturday night scenario, but we bet downing some bao with beer and ice cream is. If that just made you shiver a little, get your bao-loving self down to Wonderbao on Saturday. August marks three years since they started steaming buns in a city laneway, and they're holding a party to celebrate. This Saturday, instead of turning off the steamers and closing the doors at 5pm, Wonderbao will be cranking up the music and getting the party started. For one night only, the little laneway restaurant will be licensed, meaning you can enjoy your bao with some Mountain Goat beer or wine from Kooyonga Creek. The classic bao and gua bao will be available, as well as some special birthday creations. And because it's a birthday, there's cake too, in the form of bao ice cream sandwiches. Wonderbao's Cream Supreme creations — a deep fried gua bao filled with Messina ice cream — will making a special appearance, in flavours like black sesame, green tea and coconut. If you haven't managed to get your hands on one of these babies yet, now is your chance.
Last time North Carolina-raised producer Porter Robinson came for a visit he was performing a DJ set. This time around, we're getting the whole live set. Robinson was responsible for one of the biggest club anthems of last year: ‘Lionhearted’, a euphoric, all-encompassing sonic experience that will make you happily giddy. Unsurprisingly, Robinson’s 2014 debut album Worlds, runs in a similar vein, and has continued to break the internet with ‘Sad Machine’ and ‘Sea of Voices’ — both tunes that have received millions of Soundcloud plays. Robinson will be joined by local goalkickers Wave Racer and Cosmo’s Midnight. If you’re looking for a gig to dance your socks off to, you’ve found it.
Early in Phoenix, Nelly (Nina Hoss) wakes up after facial reconstruction surgery and follows another bandaged woman into an office. There, she spots a noticeboard featuring a few photos from her past — and discovers that she's not only trailing someone in a hallway, but confronting the ghost of her former self. Yes, the film tells a tale of duality and doppelgangers, but it's not quite what that description might lead you to expect. Set amidst the rubble of post-war Berlin, it is haunted by the difficulties of moving forward when the past remains ever-present. Of course, getting a makeover, righting previous wrongs, seeking revenge and starting life anew are all familiar film tropes. Luckily, there's little that's routine or commonplace about the way writer-director Christian Petzold and his frequent co-scribe Harun Farocki bring Hubert Monteilhet's 1961 detective novel The Return from the Ashes to the screen. Their effort is part atmospheric drama, part slow-burning thriller. Phoenix is composed and compelling, rather than pulpy or clichéd. In other hands, it might've been exaggerated and cheesy; here, it's understated and moving. WWII is over and cabaret singer Nelly has survived not just a German concentration camp but a bullet to the head, though her nearest and dearest — including her husband Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld), who might've sold her out to the Nazis — think otherwise. Despite her friend Lene (Nina Kunzendorf) urging her to escape her troubles and move to Palestine, Nina is determined to return home. Alas, when husband and wife cross paths at the nightclub that gives the film its name, Johnny doesn't recognise her; instead, he thinks she merely resembles Nelly, and asks for her assistance in obtaining his wife's hefty inheritance. Forget Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, and Wes Anderson and Bill Murray: Petzold and Hoss are this generation's quintessential director-star duo. Here they reteam for their sixth film together and once again make movie magic, conjuring up strong reminders of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo in the process. His choices — the smoke and shadows that linger around Nelly, the repeated sounds of the song 'Speak Low', the gradual build to a quietly powerful ending — are masterful. Her performance — conveying so much conflict with little more than a look or a gesture — is equally as commanding. Indeed, taking your eyes off of Hoss proves close to impossible, though Phoenix is a polished affair all round. Zehrfeld, who also co-starred in Petzold and Hoss' last pairing, Barbara, is equally hypnotic in a far less sympathetic but just as complicated role. Together, they help convey two sides of a nation struggling with its identity in the aftermath of a great tragedy — a recurrent topic for Petzold. That's not a cause for concern; his characters might be toying with the past, but his layered, lingering film does much, much more than just recreate his former glories.
Two friends want to open a creative space, so they go ahead and do it. Sounds easy, right? Probably not. But Laura Rose Main and Jacqueline Smith did it anyway, and are opening Enough Space in Prahran this week — and you can help them celebrate at the launch this Friday. The small Greville Street space, which has been designed by The Company You Keep, will act as a creative space and gallery, holding exhibitions, workshops, pop-up shops and installations. Plus, it just seems like it'll be an all-round sweet place to access some great local art and meet some likeminded people creating kickass stuff. The launch will also kick off their first show, a group exhibition aptly named Hi, We're New Here. It will feature a collection of varied works from Australian creatives, and will include stuff from Sarah Kelk, Cat Rabbit, Emilie Ristevski, Sarah Bahbah, The Seven Seas, and more. The exhibition will run until December 29, and there's a full roster of shows planned to the new year, so keep an ear out. Enough Space is launching on Friday, December 4. For more information, visit their website.
No longer will ravenous souls roam the mean streets of Melbourne on a wild-eyed search for their favourite food truck. Now open on High Street, Thornbury, Welcome to Thornbury is Melbourne’s first permanent food truck trailer park, featuring some of the tastiest names in mobile food vending that the city has to offer. Dreamed up by the legends at Mr Burger, Welcome to Thornbury is located at 520 High Street, just a hop, skip and a jump from Croxton Train Station and the 86 tram line. Once a used car yard, the newly-renovated, 4000-square metre venue features both indoor and outdoor seating, and will host as many as six different food vendors and 700 hungry patrons a night. The Welcome to Thornbury calendar, which you can find on their Facebook page, promises 43 trucks in August alone, including Mr Burger, Ramen on Wheels, Caliko BBQ, Gorilla Grill, Senor Churo, White Guys Cook Thai and Sliders on Tyres. They’ve also got their own in-built 200-seater bar, where you can grab cocktails, wine and beer by the bottle or on tap. Welcome to Thornbury is open between 5pm – 9pm Monday – Thursday, 12pm – 10pm Friday – Saturday, and 12pm – 9pm Sunday. For more information check them out on Facebook.
A great story doesn't always make for a great movie, even if it is true. Sometimes the real-life details just don't work on the screen. Sometimes it’s the outcome that fascinates, rather than the build up. Though Woman in Gold tells of a battle to reclaim artwork stolen by the Nazis, pitting an elderly Jewish woman and her inexperienced lawyer against the Austrian government, it's the latest example of a tale that doesn't quite engage in film form. That the feature doesn't seem to know which part of the story it wants to focus on is part of the problem. That it relies on heavily tugging at heartstrings, movie-of-the-week-style, doesn't help either. After her sister's death in 1998, and after six decades living in America following the Second World War, Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren) is motivated to reclaim her family's history. Pining for a famed portrait of her aunt that hangs in a Vienna gallery, she enlists the services of Randol Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds) to help convince her homeland to give it back. Given that the picture is considered the Mona Lisa of Austria, they're not willing to part with it easily. Those suffering from a bit of deja vu are probably thinking back to The Monuments Men, which also delved into war-time art theft, or Philomena, which also sent an older lady on a soul-searching, truth-uncovering trip with a younger male companion. Indeed, Woman in Gold might be based on reality, but it's really a compilation of every other similar effort, including underdog legal battles, melodramatic attempts to face the past, and period-set historical dramas. There's no subtlety to director Simon Curtis' approach, handsome as the feature might look and heartfelt as it might feel, or to writer Alexi Kaye Campbell's speech-heavy script. With that in mind, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the performances are just as blatant and transparent. The odd couple pairing of Mirren and Reynolds has its limits, and the dialogue they're saddled with doesn't give them much room to move. Both play their roles as stereotypes, although they do have more to do than Katie Holmes and Daniel Brühl, who pop up in thankless supporting parts. What results is a movie noble in its intentions, lush in its images and inspirational in its real-life basis, but decidedly dull in putting it all together. When the titular portrait is the most convincing part of the film, you know there are issues. Woman in Gold, the picture, might shine, but Woman in Gold, the movie, is a paint-by-numbers reproduction.
Maverick Melbourne stage company MKA: Theatre of New Writing will kick off this year’s Neon Festival of Independent Theatre with an electrifying double bill. Opening Thursday, May 14 at the Southbank Theatre, MKA's Double Feature slams together two brand new Australian plays, and looks guaranteed to give avid theatre buffs bang for their buck. The evening begins with Lucky, written and directed by MKA creative directors Tobias Manderson-Galvin and John Kachoyan, respectively. Described as a "late-night, post-punk prison fantasy", the darkly comic play follows a trio of unlikely companions — a thief, a priest and an indigenous executioner — on the edges of a remote penal colony, while tackling contemporary issues of nationalism and power. After intermission comes the second show, Lord Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise. Directed by MKA resident director Kat Henry and written by New Orleanian playwright Morgan Rose, the kitchen-sink drama is inspired by a real-life story from the wake of Hurricane Katrina, about a man who killed and ate his lover.
Surrealism careened into the art world just over 100 years ago as a response to social and political change. The now-iconic abstract art championed free thinking, with Dali at the helm and his melting clocks becoming synonymous with the movement. While the founders of the movement are long gone, the latest exhibition at Brunswick Street Gallery explores how free thinking in art manifests itself in 2015. Contemporary abstract thought collides with traditional surrealist aesthetics in New Surrealisms. The exhibition will thematically explore the subconscious, subversion of reality and visual juxtapositions in a contemporary way. Featuring artists such as Colin Palethorpe, Belinda Sinclair, Kathy Westfold, Ben Holgate, Brad Payne, Jessica Pedevski, and many others, this exhibition will get you thinking outside the box.
In October 2013, graffiti artist Banksy travelled to the United States for a month-long ‘residency’ on the streets of New York City. Every day for 31 days, the anonymous artist revealed a new work somewhere in the five boroughs, sending art lovers, journalists and local law enforcement into a frenzy. Produced for HBO, Chris Moukarbel’s documentary Banksy Does New York chronicles this city-wide scavenger hunt in a mostly engaging fashion, although it unfortunately lacks much of the sardonic energy of the artist whose work it follows. In some ways, you’ve got to feel sorry for Moukarbel and company, given that their film’s most obvious compatriot is Exit Through the Gift Shop. Directed by Banksy himself, that film has the distinction of being one of the best documentaries of the past decade — unique, funny, audacious and with a surprising amount to say about the nature of art, hype and commerce. Banksy Does New York, on the other hand, was made without the artist’s involvement, and as such plays like a much more conventional film. Not that there’s anything particularly wrong with that. Although the doco’s execution is a little by the numbers, Banksy still makes for a fascinating subject — as do the crowds of New Yorkers who flock to see his art. Pieces in his New York residency range from relatively simple stencilled graffiti to elaborate installations and performances. His most overtly political works include a fibreglass Ronald McDonald statue scowling at a real-life shoeshine boy and a truck full of wailing stuffed animals parked outside a city butcher. At times, you wish Moukarbel would engage more critically with the artwork, rather than simply documenting it for an audience. Various people interviewed in the film offer their opinions on the artistic and commercial value of Banksy’s work, from a pair of rabid fans who post their Banksy-hunting to YouTube to a writer for the New York Observer who dismisses it as “art that hits you over the head.” Yet the debate remains fairly surface level. For this reason, how much you like the movie will largely depend on how much you like the art. For the record, we like it quite a bit.
For those looking to spend some time admiring local and emerging artistic talent, head to Coalesence, Clara Bradley’s first solo exhibition. The textile practitioner mostly works with embroidery, creating detailed, delicate works that are so much more than something pretty to look at. By working with a medium traditionally synonymous with femininity, Bradley explores the struggle for autonomy within intimacy, identity and the preservation of memory. Bradley's embroidered pieces are coupled with hand-printed portraits that examine the multi-dimensions of self that surface during ‘amorous exchanges’. Bradley’s work is autobiographical, intimate and provides incredible insight into a life outside of our own. Explore her world sometime during the next two weeks at Rubicon Ari.
That's right, there's another beer festival in town. The Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular is back for another year. There is, of course, a diverse range of craft beers paired with food from local Melbourne restaurants (including Uncle, Huxtaburger, Mr Claws, Meatmother, Milk the Cow and B’Stilla), but what makes this event different is the whopping 120 brews created specifically for the event by local and international brewers. "This year we have one-off beers being made including oysters, orange peel, coriander seeds, finger limes, peaches, cherries, truffles, chocolate, biscuits, split peas, pineapple, coconut, vodka and a beer which will taste like banoffee pie," GABS co-organiser Steve Jeffares says. The standard way to get through all this bounty is with a 'tasting paddle' of five tokens for $10. This will get you five 85ml tasters and 1/60th of the way through the beer offering at this spirited festival.
If you're currently watching the seventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race and are filled with envy watching the show's fierce drag queens battle it out, never fear. Your time has come. So You Think You Can Drag? is the event for amateur drag queens and kings to strut their stuff on the runway and lip synch... for their lives. Brought to you by the good people at Highwire Events and Entertainment, get ready to start your engines. So far, the three finalists from heat one have been announced: Cleo Taurus, Lixor Brothers and D'arcy L'amour. Hosted by Dolly Diamond, the event is sure to be raucous, rambunctious, and seriously fun. There'll be a panel of all-star judges determining who will take home the title of Drag Winner, a prestigious title indeed. But it's all in good fun; the event is less about throwing shade at the other competitors and more about throwing shapes on stage. The only question remaining is, what are you serving?
Why do we search for answers to mysteries beyond our understanding? Why does everything that happens to us need a rational explanation? Why do we fear the things that we don't know how to explain? Well, leave your anxieties at the door and step into the unknown with comedian and documentary-maker Lawrence Leung. On Sunday, December 17, the man behind Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure and Unbelievable will ponder our obsession with the unknowable in the latest secular sermon at The School of Life. Over the course of his hour-long seminar — which will be preceded by a performance by musical guest Dan Kelly — Leung will take audience members on a journey through critical thinking, delving into a maze of puzzles, tricks, hoaxes and lies. With a bit of luck, you'll have a better handle on how to separate facts from fiction by the time he's finished. Or, at the very least, you'll have come to accept that there are some things you just weren't meant to know.
Ask a comedy fan what they'd do if they could make any of their dreams come true, and they might well wish for a new movie with a Monty Python pedigree. Perhaps Terry Jones, who helmed Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life could write and direct. Perhaps he could recruit the rest of the Python alum — aka Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, John Cleese and Eric Idle — to voice some aliens? Perhaps Simon Pegg could star, and the film could ponder the very topic of being able to fulfil one's desires with just the wave of a hand? Absolutely Anything delivers all that — and offers up Robin Williams' last movie role, albeit as a talking dog — yet it's hardly a feature that anyone might hope for. Alas, it's an effort that does little more than bring in some beloved talent, play with a fantastical concept and let silliness ensue. The result? Ample silence where audiences can only assume Jones intended to inspire laughter. An unhappy schoolteacher by day and aspiring writer by night, Neil Clarke (Pegg) is the recipient of the extraordinary ability that gives the movie its moniker. What he doesn't know is that he's merely part of a test, with a council of extraterrestrials using him to decide whether humanity should be saved or annihilated. Rather than carry out great acts of good or evil, he takes the largely selfish, mostly harmless approach. Helping his best pal (Sanjeev Bhaskar) with his love life, giving his pet pooch (Williams) the gift of speech, and increasing his manhood comprise his early demands. Yes, Neil messes about his new skill, the intergalactic beings observe and comment from above, and that's all there really is to Absolutely Anything. A love interest pops up in the form of his neighbour, Catherine (Kate Beckinsale), complete with an obsessed American ex (Rob Riggle) in tow, but all either do is add to the parade of over-the-top, immature antics. Neil is supposed to learn that there's more to life than wish fulfillment, but Jones clearly hasn't heeded the same lesson. Instead, he's caught up in making anything he can happen on screen, mainly through unconvincing CGI, and with little care for coherence. Jones and co-writer Gavin Scott (Small Soldiers) beef up the script with more than a few jokes that could've been ripped from the pages of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – which gives an indication of how not-so-fresh they feel. Indeed, the screenplay for Absolutely Anything has been floating around for 20 years, and Douglas Adams apparently perused it before his death in 2001. Sadly, a long-gestating project results in a final product that squanders any potential it might've once had, including its main cast, both seen and heard, and the involvement of the likes of Eddie Izzard and Joanna Lumley. In fact, a song could do better than Absolutely Anything's clumsy, contrived and hardly comic contemplation of how someone would cope if they had all the power in the world — and did, when The Flaming Lips sang about it in their 2006 single, ' The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song'.
Death and suburbia take centre stage in the final Red Stitch production of the year. The play? Will Eno's critically acclaimed Middletown, an existential tragicomedy set in the titular American town, where the citizens wax poetic on topics that most would rather not mention. Running from November 20 through to December 19, the Red Stitch production will mark the Australian premiere of Eno's play. Praised by the New York Times for its 'screwball lyricism', it's a show that gets to the heart of everyday hopes, fears and anxieties with a wry, macabre sense of humour. The cast consists of Red Stitch regulars Jordan Fraser-Trumble and Christina O’Neill alongside guest actors Evelyn Krape, Gareth Reeves, Edwina Samuels and James Wardlaw. Alice Darling will direct, having previously helmed the company's productions of Belleville and This Year's Ashes.
We're getting close to Christmas, a time for helping those in dire straits. And if you can do so while devouring copious amounts of gingerbread, then so much the better. Scheduled for this Saturday, the Gingerbread Demolition is your chance to stuff yourself full of sugar while raising money for children in need. Ticketholders will be treated to a night of food, booze, dancing and cookie decorating, plus the chance to bid on a number of custom-built gingerbread houses at auction. And then smash the crap out of them. Proceeds from the event will go to Save the Children, which helps provide aid to vulnerable kids and young people around Australia and the world. Tickets to the Gingerbread Demolition cost $45 per person, and include food, drinks on arrival and a $25 Uber trip. For more information visit gingerbreaddemolition.com
Anime lovers young and old, ride the catbus down to ACMI, for a week-long program of Japanese animation. Running from Monday, December 14 through to Sunday, December 20, Essential Anime will showcase a trio of beloved titles from the early career of Hayao Miyazaki, alongside feature-length adaptations of iconic TV shows including Naruto and Dragon Ball Z. Presented via original 35mm film print, the Miyazaki leg of the program boasts two of his most outstanding works: My Neighbour Totoro and Princess Mononoke. Joining them will be one of the director's lesser known gems, Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Meanwhile, those who grew up watching Cheez TV can find out what's been happening with Goku and friends with the newly produced feature film Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F'. Rounding out the program are Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo and Boruto: Naruto the Movie. For more information and session times, visit the ACMI website.
The latest exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria examines a turning point in the history of Australian sculpture. Laid out over two foyer levels at the Ian Potter Centre, Hard Edge: Abstract Sculpture 1960s-70s features 13 works from some of the most significant sculptors of the era – many of whom found themselves moving away from traditional forms and materials, such as stone, wood and bronze in favour of a more modern aesthetic as inspired by their contemporaries in New York City. One of the most significant pieces in the show is Ron Robertson-Swann's controversial Vault — or, as it's better known by its unofficial nickname: 'The Yellow Peril'. Other artists featured in the exhibition include Clement Meadmore, Inge King, Jock Clutterbuck, Clive Murray-White, Lenton Parr, David Wilson and C. Elwyn Dennis. Hard Edge is open daily 10am – 5pm from February until July. Entry is free.
In How To Be Single, paralegal Alice (Dakota Johnson) complains about all the things she said she'd do but hasn't. Everyone in the audience can surely relate; actually, as they're watching her dating exploits, they're witnessing that very idea in action. At the outset, the screen adaptation of Liz Tuccillo's novel declares that it won't tell the usual relationship-focused story. That statement proves more aspirational than accurate, with the author's background — co-writing self-help book He's Just Not That into You, as well as penning episodes of Sex and the City — giving you a hint of what to expect. While this Christian Ditter-directed effort might not focus on a typical boy-meets-girl narrative, that doesn't keep the feature out of predictable territory. Following in the footsteps of every other film and TV show about being uncoupled, How To Be Single delves into the moments in-between the love, lust and living happily ever after. More than one woman attempts to accept their amorous lot in life, and learns a few lessons in the process. The idea of forging an identity without a partner is championed, all while the movie's characters keep talking about the guys — or lack thereof — that they're chasing. Cue a New York tale about Alice, her doctor sister Meg (Leslie Mann) and new best friend Robin (Rebel Wilson) — as well as the marriage-obsessed Lucy (Alison Brie), who frequents the same bar. Alice is on a break from her long-term boyfriend, though the heavy-partying Robin encourages her to make the most of her unattached time, particularly when that hiatus becomes permanent. After spending years delivering other people’s babies, Meg finally realises that she wants one of her own. Lucy, meanwhile, has dedicated the last six months to devising an algorithm to help her get the most out of online dating, with little success so far. The journey each character goes on — espousing the joys of going solo while traversing casual flings and potential serious connections — is far from surprising. Nor is the long list of men — a commitment-phobic bartender (Anders Holm) and protective single dad (Damon Wayans Jr.) among them — that pop up along the way. Indeed, when it comes to chronicling the trials and tribulations of modern dating, How To Be Single thinks that saying it is different is enough. And yet while it fails to follow through on that promise, it approaches the typical clichés of its genre with the energy needed to make them entertaining. In fact, packaging up been-there, seen-that stories and passing them off as a twist on standard chick flick fare proves less trying than it sounds, largely thanks to the film's cast. As he did with the less successful Love, Rosie, director Ditter not only shows an affinity for romantic comedy conventions, but for getting the most out of his actors. If the film's biggest downfall is its false assertion that it doesn't fit the expected formula, then its biggest asset is how its talent weathers the routine material they're saddled with. Yes, you've seen all this before, and no, none of it is particularly memorable. But at least Johnson, Wilson, Mann, Brie and company use their charms to keep things lively.
Leave the gummies at home, and head to the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival's 2016 hub, the Urban Dairy. Setting up shop at Queensbridge Square once again, the festival hub will gather a feast of cheese, yoghurt and ice-cream makers from both around the corner and across the globe to produce their signature creamy delights. Home and homage to all things dairy, the likes of Big Gay Ice Cream, Gelato Messina and Gontran Cherrier will make an appearance, as well as world-leading experts who’ll be leading dairy workshops. As well as being a place to pop in for a drink throughout the ten-day festival, the hub will host a range of events. The King Island Blues Night will be a cracker as blues are played to accompany your blue cheese, while the Cheese Toastie Invitational will impress with chefs showing you just what they can do with a sandwich press.
Bowled Over is part bowls competition, part live music gig, and part Hottest 100 party. Now in its sixth year, their latest lineup includes Harts, Grenadiers and IV League, just to help remind you of all the excellent music this country produces. If you're not quite competitive enough to throw your hat in the ring for the barefoot bowling competition, check out the private oasis section where you can chill out in deck chairs and beanbags. Food-wise, enjoy chicken from the Leonard's House of Love pop-up, or indulge in some good old fashioned Aussie barbecue.
Once you've spent the afternoon in the sun, knocking back beers, eating way too many sausages and ranting about the taste of the people who vote in triple j polls, close out Australia Day with a movie under the stars. And not just any movie, but one of the most gloriously Aussie movies ever made. That's right: the folks at Rooftop Cinema are screening Muriel's Wedding, starring Toni Collette as daggy Muriel Heslop from Porpoise Spit, Queensland, who dreams of a fairytale wedding. Who needs the Hottest 100 when you've got a soundtrack full of ABBA songs?
