Norma Jeane Mortenson, better known as Marilyn Monroe, helped shape popular culture in a way that few actors ever have. Now, a brand new exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery will examine her life and legacy as one of Hollywood's biggest stars. With more than 20 original film costumes, as well as movie posters, studio portraits, costume test photographs and items from her personal wardrobe, this comprehensive exhibition is essential for classic film lovers, or anyone captivated by the concept of celebrity. The exhibition will also feature Seward Johnson's famous eight metre high sculpture of Monroe, appearing for the first time outside of the United States.
It's not like you need much of an excuse to partake in a margarita or three. But when International Margarita Day is upon us... well, it'd simply be rude not to. And if you're kicking it westside on Saturday, February 25, you're really in luck because Superchido will be shaking up a whole swag of wallet-friendly Margarita Day specials for the occasion. Swing past Seddon's colourful Mexican joint during the lunch shift (12–3.30pm) or for dinner (5–10.30pm) for your Saturday cocktail fix and you'll discover six different margs going for just $12 a pop. Among the variations getting mixed will be a hibiscus tea-infused Jamaica Margarita, a passionfruit number done with cacao bitters, and a spiced apple version with hints of lime and cinnamon. Of course, Superchido's food menu is brimming with tasty things to match — from prawn aguachile and chargrilled corn with chipotle mayo, to baja fish tacos and Jalisco-style birria done with slow-braised beef brisket.
The best of Bollywood and beyond is on its way to Melbourne, as the Indian Film Festival returns for 2017. The largest annual showcase of Indian cinema in the southern hemisphere, this year's IFFM lineup is built around the theme of diversity, with everything from blockbusters to rom-coms to indie productions to documentaries on the docket. The festival begins on August 10 with Lipstick Under My Burkha, a critically acclaimed film about the struggles of four different women from four vastly different backgrounds. Other highlights include the world premiere screening of the short documentary Tramjatra — about a Melbourne tram conductor who travels to Kolkata to try and save the city's trams — as well as Chronicles of Hari, an intimate drama that explores sexual identity through its depiction of traditional yakshagana theatre.
Melburnians, if you've been seeing this fair town of ours in a completely different light this year, that's to be expected. After spending so much time at home and indoors during the city's two periods of lockdown, even the most familiar places around the place look a little different. So, you're probably paying them more attention than usual. Fancy doing some peering around the top of Bourke Street? If so, you'll spot some great art while you're there. As supported by the City of Melbourne, and curated by Fiona Scanlan and Robert Buckingham, Uptown: An Art Exhibition for Our City is turning the roadway between Exhibition and Spring streets into an outdoor art gallery. Expect a blend of art, architecture and streetscapes, with the works of 26 contemporary artists displayed across vacant shops, restaurants, store windows, building exteriors and laneways. From Tuesday, December 15–Sunday, February 28, you'll be feasting your eyes on an array of pieces. A 17-metre billboard will feature a Bill Henson image of a woman floating above the city lights, while Peter Atkins is turning the window of Mitty's newsagent into a celebration of 80s TV personalities and magazines, and the old Job Warehouse will see art plastered across its windows. There'll also be laneway posters, drawings that use wordplay heavily scattered around the place, and also disco costumes and mirror balls, too. It's all free, obviously, and it'll be on display 24 hours a day during its two and a half-month run. And yes, it's designed to get you scoping out the CBD again — and doing more than just looking at art while you're there. Images: John Betts
As one of Melbourne's largest Chinese communities, Box Hill's Chinese New Year celebrations always go off. Over 80,000 people are expected to turn out to party into the turn of the season with a marathon 14-hour festival that stretches from 11am right through to 1am the next morning. It'll take over Box Hill Central and spill out onto Whitehorse Road. Local vendors will serve some of the city's tastiest Chinese cuisine, while traditional lion and dragon dancers entertain the masses. The highlight will be the Parade of Choi Sun, the Chinese God of Fortune, which will give you a change to get in on some of the Year of the Pig's good fortune and prosperity.
If you thought Rathdowne Records' $2 Garage Sale was a good deal, you'll love its latest gig. The Northcote record store is offering up a whole heap of vinyl for just 50 cents each. Head in any day until August 5 (during opening hours from 11am–6pm) and you can nab a wild variety of records for just a silver coin. A total of 5000 records will sold for this price, with 180 on the floor each day and stock rotating daily — meaning you could head in every single day and keep finding something new. You'll find everything from jazz and pop records to classics, movie soundtracks and folk records all on sale. This insane deal may sound too good to be true, but it is indeed a reality — so stop pinching yourself and get down there already.
On the hunt for some top-notch gifts for those cheese-loving mates of yours? Or maybe you just want to be stocked up on the good stuff for all the festive dinner parties to come. Either way, you'll find yourself in utter cheesy heaven at Cornelius Cheesemongers' Cheese Cave Pop-Up this month. Running every Saturday from December 2–23 and then daily between December 27 and 31, this temporary cheese shop is where dairy dreams come true. The online cheesemongers are opening the doors to their Brunswick cheese cool room from 10am till 2pm, offering tastings and showcasing a changing array of their favourite dairy-filled products. Those keen to take their cheese board game to the next level will find lots of limited edition, specialty goodies, like the J.J. Sandham Lancashire Bomb from Goosnargh in the UK and a Rogue River Blue Special Reserve out of Oregon. There's also a truckload of present ideas for the cheese obsessives in your life, from a personal raclette party set, to a four-piece cheese knife collection. There's even an epic goodie pack filled with cheese slates, Champagne and cheeses that's guaranteed to win you serious brownie points on December 25. Image: Kimberley Low.
Usually, Australia's various film festivals only pop up once every 12 months; however, there's little that's been usual about the past few years. So in these chaotic times, the fact that the Jewish International Film Festival is returning for a second stint in 2022 doesn't seem all that out of the ordinary. Already enjoyed the fest during its March and April run? Get ready to do so all over again. JIFF will screen 50 features and documentaries at this iteration, alongside episodes from two TV shows and three short films — covering titles from 21 countries as it tours Australia between October–December. Leading the highlights, filling JIFF's biggest-ever lineup from Monday, October 24–Sunday, November 27 at Classic Cinemas and Lido Cinemas in Melbourne: opening night's Armageddon Time, which arrives after premiering at this year's Cannes Film Festival and will have its Aussie debut at the fest. Starring Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Anne Hathaway (Locked Down) and Jeremy Strong (Succession), and written and directed by Ad Astra and The Lost City of Z's James Gray, it tells a coming-of-age story in 80s-era Queens. Also among the standouts, Charlotte Gainsbourg (Sundown)-led French drama The Accusation tackles sex and consent; Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic World Dominion) narrates Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen, about bringing Fiddler on the Roof to the big screen; and Israel's Karaoke arrives after being nominated for 13 Ophir Awards. Or, there's doco The Art of Silence about mime Marcel Marceau — plus 60s-set comedy My Neighbour Adolf, featuring Udo Kier (Swan Song) as a Holocaust survivor in Colombia who thinks the German man who just moved in next door is Hitler. The full lineup includes closing night's As They Made Us, the directorial debut of directorial The Big Bang Theory's Mayim Bialik; Reckonings, about the negotiations between Jewish and German leaders that led to the 1952 Luxembourg Agreement; and three episodes of Bloody Murray, which follows the titular film lecturer, who specialises in romantic comedies.
Life has been a cabaret for one of the world's inimitable designers since 2018, when Jean Paul Gaultier's Fashion Freak Show first premiered in Paris. Couture, colour, flair, excess, passion, a larger-than-life attitude: they're all channelled into this fashion show-meets-musical revue that steps through its namesake's career and promises a time at the theatre like nothing else. More than 200 original Gaultier pieces feature. His 50 years making threads are in the spotlight. Unsurprisingly, the whole thing also plays out like a party. So far, London, Tokyo, Munich, Porto, Lisbon, Milan, Barcelona and Osaka have also revelled in the Jean Paul Gaultier's Fashion Freak Show experience. Next, it's Brisbane's turn. The River City will welcome the Australian debut of the show — and the Aussie-exclusive season, too — during Brisbane Festival 2024. Donning attire that Gaultier would approve of isn't a prerequisite of attending the production, but you know that you want to dress the part if you're heading along. Jean Paul Gaultier's Fashion Freak Show will kick off with Brisbane Festival itself, starting on Friday, August 30. The Australian season runs until Sunday, September 15, taking over the South Bank Piazza — which forms part of the Festival Garden for the duration of Brisbane Festival. Of course Jean Paul Gaultier's Fashion Freak Show emphasises its titular figure's boundary-pushing work, his focus on individual expression, and his championing of queer aesthetics and LGBTQIA+ causes. Alongside the hefty range of outfits, it also features a suitable genre-defying soundtrack of disco, funk, pop, rock, new wave and punk tunes as actors and dancers — plus circus artists as well — take to the stage. The diverse cast of faces bringing the show to life spans even further, too, with celebrities and other special guests filming cameos that play during the production.
Sports fans of all ages and stripes will delight in a trip to this museum showcasing the proud history of the loveable AFL underdogs of Melbourne's west. After some ups and downs in recent years, the Western Bulldogs have managed a strong start to the 2021 season, so there's a chance you might even see a shiny new premiership cup on display on your next visit here. Outside of current achievements, this museum also boasts a number of displays detailing the club's rich history, dating back to the first reports of the code being played in Footscray in the mid-1870s. There are also trophies from past victories, club photos and more displayed across 12 themed cabinets on the ground floor of Whitten Oval. You'll also see a collection of art and memorabilia, as well as the Hall of Fame celebrating key club figures over its many years.
The stars are shining bright at the 2015 BBC First British Film Festival. Returning to Palace Cinemas around the country for another year, the three-week celebration features some of the most acclaimed and anticipated movies of the past 12 months, plus a look back at that most British of genres: the big screen romance. The festival opens with Paolo Sorrentino's Youth, an introspective buddy comedy about a pair of elderly artists, played by Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel, vacationing together in a luxurious Swiss resort. Other standout titles include Lance Armstrong biopic The Program starring Ben Foster and Chris O'Dowd; women's voting rights drama Suffragette starring Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep; and dark comic crime thriller Kill Your Friends starring Nicholas Hoult. Film buffs looking for a good date option can also check out the festival's retro stream, featuring ten iconic British love stories. Whether you're into lavish period dramas or just want to watch Andie MacDowell and Hugh Grant making out in the rain, we guarantee there's something on there to make you swoon.
Indian snacks, Bollywood dancing and the smell of spices are coming to Melbourne this weekend. On July 15 and 16, the Queen Vic Market will be somewhat transformed into the historic Chandni Chowk of Delhi. You'll be able to eat, shop and experience Indian culture without having to fork out money on an immediate flight to India. At the new two-day festival, you'll be able to sip on a cup of chai, learn how to blend Indian spices at a cooking demonstration and tuck into your pick of curries (dipping fresh roti into them, of course). And to work off all the food you're bound to consume? Try a free yoga class or join in on a Bollywood dance lesson. Your Henna hand art may not last very long, but you'll leave knowing a little bit more about India's rich culture.
Abacus Bar & Kitchen is hoping to take some of the sting out of Lockdown 6.0, with a tidy lineup of takeaway sambos and coffee now available from 8am–4pm each day. But when the weekend rolls around, the southside spot's lockdown pop-up promises to have you feeling extra fine, thanks to its special edit of tasty dishes and boozy treats to-go. The coffee machine will be cranking from 8am daily for all your caffeine needs, with hefty sandwiches to match. Then, from 10am daily, this Friday, August 13–Sunday, August 15, the kitchen is serving up limited-edition plates like a spanner crab macaroni with a roasted prawn sauce and parmesan crumb ($16), and a barbecue wagyu steak teamed with a three-cheese corn croquette and jalapeno ($18). To wash it all down, you'll find the bar's lemon myrtle margaritas and a winter spritz, available takeaway for $12 a pop. What's more, Abacus is sending out some extra love to the hospitality community, with free coffees and half-price margaritas for all hospo staff who pop by from August 13–15.
If you've been making plans to revamp your style, but haven't been able to rustle up the coin, here's your chance. For two weeks, Hugo Boss will be hosting a mega sale at its outlet stores. You'll be able to score a further 50 percent off a massive range of premium clothing — from comfy t-shirts and soft sweaters to suave suits and women's dresses. Whether you're after a suit for a special occasion or looking to level-up your wardrobe, Hugo Boss's end-of-year outlet sale will have you sorted for a fraction of the fashion label's usual prices. You'll have to get in quick to score though, with the sale running from Wednesday, December 16 to Friday, January 1. Hugo Boss end-of-year outlet sale will run from Wednesday, December 16 to Friday, January 1. To find your closest outlet store, visit the website.
In New York City the afterparty for the World's 50 Best Restaurants award ceremony is wrapping up. We can only imagine (and dream of) how delicious the canapés would have been, how many recipes were swapped with slurred handwriting, and how cheery (read: boozy) all those chefs are right now. But perhaps one of cheeriest is Ben Shewry — his restaurant Attica was just named a very respectable number 33 in the world. The ranking is pretty consistent with last year's results, with the Melbourne restaurant dropping only one spot from 2015. It's a very good position for an Australian restaurant to be — and perhaps why the awards yesterday announced they'll be holding the 2017 ceremony in its hometown. Brae, which is located in regional Victoria, moved up to number 65, while Sydney's Quay went from 58 to 98. Taking back the number one spot is Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana — and if you've watched Chef's Table, you'll be nothing but stoked for the guy. He's swapped places with last year's victor, Spain's El Celler de Can Roca, which has moved back into second place, while Noma has slipped from third down to number five. Probably because it's been on sabbatical in Sydney for the last few months.
We can't think of a much better cure for those wintery midweek blues, than a quick trip to Japan. And if that's not quite feasible, you'll find the next best thing awaiting you at Supernormal Canteen this August. Andrew McConnell's St Kilda eatery has kicked off a new series of weekly food and beer sessions, running every Thursday from 5–11pm until the end of the month. The Yakitori & Biiru nights offer up a taste of Japan, without the hefty price tag. The kitchen's firing up the hibachi grill and turning out a rotation of $5 yakitori skewers, featuring combinations like king prawn with lemongrass butter and kaffir lime, and corn-fed chicken thigh with green miso. To match, there's a selection of beers from Abbotsford brewery Moon Dog, going for just $10 a tinnie. You can team those skewers with drops like the zesty Thunder Lips yuzu red IPA, the Old Mate pale ale and the moody Mack Daddy dark ale. Images: Nikki To
Is it your New Year's resolution to eat healthier? In that case, you should probably stop reading this story right now. January's only just started, and already chef Pierre Roelofs has unveiled his new belt-bursting endeavour. Teaming up with Jesse Gerner of Bomba, Roelofs will be serving sweet, sweet ice cream from a pop-up soft servery at Green Park Dining. Oh Pierre, why must you tempt us so? Best known for his now-finished extravagant (and we mean extravagant) dessert evenings, Roelofs has been teasing the pop-up on social media, promising a rotating lineup of flavours "hand crafted with love". They're set to include the Milli Vanilli — soft serve topped with vanilla meringue, jellies and pound cake — and the Puffed Daddy, a soft-serve topped with dulce de leche, puffed millet, puffed golden syrup corn and date balls. Housed at Green Park on Nicholson Street in Carlton North, Pierre's will open on Saturday January 9, and will operate from noon to 6pm on weekends all summer long.
In his third motion picture as writer/director/star, comedian Chris Rock is the funniest he’s been in years. But then again, that’s not saying much. While comedy fiends will always remember Rock for his fearless, foul mouthed stand-up routines, his movie career — particularly in recent times — has smacked of safer choices. Madagascar and Grown-Ups are hardly the best outlets for one of the greatest living comedians to work his magic — which is a big part of why Top Five feels like such a pleasant surprise. A smart, self-effacing send-up of the entertainment industry, the film, like most of Rock’s best material, feels at least partly autobiographical. Rock plays Andre Allen, a comedian turned Hollywood superstar and recovering alcoholic, best known for his role in the million-dollar Hammy the Bear franchise. Unfortunately, Allen’s funny bone has been blunted since going sober, and his first attempt at a ‘serious’ film — playing Haitian slave revolutionary Dutty Boukman — is shaping up to be a box-office bomb. Even more out of control is his upcoming televised wedding, to Kardashian-esque reality star Erica Long (Gabrielle Union). Enter Chelsea Brown (Rosario Dawson), a sardonic, whip-smart writer for the New York Times, who’s been assigned to profile Allen over the course of a single day. Although initially suspicious of Brown and the Times, whose resident film critic has made a career out of tearing his movies to shreds, Allen soon finds himself opening up to the writer, as the pair begin to trade stories while walking around NYC. In a lot of ways, Top Five feels like the work of an artist finally free to speak in his own voice. From Allen laying out his theory about the racist undertones of Planet of the Apes to debating his agent (Kevin Hart) about whether a black man can get fired for using the N-word, the writing here feels like vintage Rock: free-flowing, profane and absolutely hilarious. He also manages to insert two of the most gleefully obscene on-screen sex acts this side of Nymphomaniac. Without going into details, let’s just say you’ll never be able to look at a bottle of chilli sauce the same way again. Dawson makes for a worthy comic counterpart, the playfully antagonistic chemistry between her and her director/co-star helping keep the film on track. Beyond this central pairing, Rock stacks the deck with a ton of famous faces, from Tracy Morgan to DMX. The highlight, though, is at Allen’s ribald bachelor party, where he receives marital advice from Jerry Seinfeld, Whoopi Goldberg and Adam Sandler. Frankly, the site of a balding Seinfeld making it rain is worth the price of admission alone. If we have any complaint of Top Five, it would be a lack of internal structure; in a lot of ways the film feels more like a collection of scenes than it does a cohesive whole. Still, when they’re all this damn funny, it’s sort of difficult to object. Where Rock’s career goes from here is anyone’s guess. Regardless, it’s nice to have this reminder of just how good he can be.
From Lebanese rom-coms to Iraqi road movies, you'll find a remarkable mix of Middle Eastern cinema on the program at this year's Arab Film Festival. Return for its 13th year with stops in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth, the festival will once again showcase films from across the Arab world, while shining a light on the diversity and eccentricity of its people. The festival begins with an opening night screening of Halal Love, a romantic comedy about a group of devout Lebanese Muslims who find that love and religion don't always mix. It's one of a number of Lebanese films on the program, which also includes a new film version of the classic stage comedy Bennesbeh Labokra, Chou? that incorporates footage from performances more than 35 years ago. Also in the mix is El Clásico, about a pair of brothers trekking from Iraq to Madrid to deliver a pair of shoes to soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as Roshmia, a documentary about an elderly Palestinian couple in a standoff with Israeli authorities who want to demolish their home. For the full Arab Film Festival program including session times, go here.
For locals and tourists alike, Mt Coot-tha is one of Brisbane's must-see spots, particularly if you like peering down on cities from a great height. As first approved in 2017, then confirmed in 2018, visitors will soon be able to do more than drive up to the lookout to enjoy the view, walk along its trails or picnic in its parklands — by the end of 2020, they'll also be able to glide through the treetops and soar down from the summit via a zipline. Given the official go-ahead by the Brisbane City Council this week after a public consultation period late last year, the Mt Coot-tha zipline is set to start construction later in 2019. It'll consist of three parts, each of which will open in stages. Actual ziplines comprise two of the components — and yes, there'll be more than one piece of wire for you to zoom along, with nearly three kilometres of zipline included in the entire project. Firstly, a treetop canopy tour will span 1.5 kilometres between multiple platforms, starting at the west of the summit and finishing to the west of JC Slaughter Falls. As its name suggests, it'll zip through the trees to take riders on a tour of the site's flora, fauna and indigenous cultural heritage. It'll be the first to open to the public, from sometime towards the end of 2019. In 2020, it'll be joined by a two-stage 'megazip' tour that features six parallel lines between the summit and the Mt Coot-tha botanic gardens. As well as that 1.1-kilometre stretch — all in a single span, without any platforms along the way, and with users reaching speeds of around 60 kilometres per hour — there'll also be a second 340-metre run within the gardens, taking patrons zooming over the Melaleuca Lake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjjtLfALN48 The final section of the project will involve a guided indigenous experience across a new 335-metre suspension bridge that'll be built above JC Slaughter Falls, connecting to the treetop canopy tour and the new arrival centre on Sir Samuel Griffith Drive. And, so that everyone can get between destinations other than via zipline, there'll also be a shuttle bus linking various points. Brisbane City Council will put $1 million towards the zipline, which will be built by Zipline Australia — and, once it's finished, it'll be the longest zipline in the country. Both before and during the public consultation period, the project has also attracted substantial criticism about its potential environmental and noise impacts, especially throughout Mt Coot-tha's vegetation-heavy area — which will likely require some amount of clearing. In response to concerns, Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk advised The Courier-Mail that "extensive independent expert studies have been undertaken as part of the project to ensure the Mt Coot-tha zipline design is sensitive to the environment, including the natural habitat and Botanic Gardens". Images: Brisbane City Council.
On the surface, Digital Gardens looks like the now 31-year-old Fringe trying to prove it's still got the new age tech savvy of a pimply teenager. But don't be put off by your first impressions — the program on offer doesn't just use digital media as a gimmick but actually engages with its possibilities for audience interaction and storytelling. One of the ways the project will work is by collaborating with artists who are presenting in the Hub so that audiences from those shows can recreate their live experiences of that work in a digital format. Melbourne's a city that punches above its weight in the world of independent game development, and the Fringe are inviting some of the city's talented digital designers to dream up some immersive, multiplayer experiences for visitors. Digital Gardens runs from September 19 – 21, City Square, Melbourne CBD; September 28 – 29 and October 5 – 6, Prahran Town Hall, City of Stonnington. Read the rest of our top ten picks of the Melbourne Fringe Festival here.
There’s something fundamentally kooky, even surreal, about small town tourism, especially where a Big Thing or a pageant themed after the local produce is involved. So a puppet variety show seems like an appropriately oddball way to go about the topic. Hey! Yeah! It’s Molly’s Travelling Worm Show! is a comedy about the grand and daggy dreams of regional tourism. Written and performed, with puppet assistance, by Melita Rowston, it tells the story of the Karmai worm festival, a quaint tourist initiative which is credited with saving the Gippsland town of Korumburra from financial ruin. Rowston’s brand of theatre, high on quirk and frequently venturing into dark comedy, has mostly been seen on Sydney stages. It doesn’t get much more Victorian than the celebration of a big worm though – the renowned Giant South Gippsland Earthworm no less - and this is a show sure to have a strong local resonance.
The Character is ostensibly about cinema — dissecting its construction, how we view it, and how it's absorbed and processed by an audience. The deeper you go down Candice Breitz's rabbit hole of mash-ups and remakes, however, the more depth you discover. Ultimately, Breitz is dissecting us societally, using cinema as a mirror that cuts surprisingly close to our collective core. Thankfully, though, she doesn't lose sight of cinema's first and foremost obligation: to entertain. Some of her works are conceptually identical to YouTube fan-videos, albeit executed on a phenomenal scale. Him + Her (2008 and 2009), for example, comprises two separate works that intercut over 20 different performances from the careers of Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep respectively, creating cacophonous symphonies (have you seen three Jack Nicholsons yelling at each other before? It's pretty special) of completely contextless dialogue. What do you discover about the American psyche from seeing 30 years of performances from their male and female idols? Well, Jack is a little worried about his sexual performance, and Meryl, it has to be said, is a bit quick to tears. Elsewhere, Breitz is imitating Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Lopez's performances from popular rom-coms in Becoming (2003). When we were kids, we didn't want to be actors, we wanted to be the characters from movies. Just watch King (2005), wherein 12 Michael Jackson fans imitate him in unison, each on their own screen. But something changed when we grew up. Being "in the movies" is almost more magical than being a fictional character, something explored in the epic video trilogy The Woods (2012), which features children auditioning to camera, desperate for your approval; successful child actors spouting inspirational acting quotes; and hugely popular adult actors discussing the fuzzy line between their fictional and real selves (they're very comfortable being referred to by their characters' names). The Woods is a real heavyweight piece, a recasting of the documentary form in an artistic context, an artwork without any available comparison. This is an enormously complex and accomplished exhibition, a fascinating and consuming body of work that would take days to completely consume. On one level, this is art for the YouTube generation — 20 screens to watch at once! — but it's also a sometimes disturbing meditation on the nature of screen entertainment that is hard to look away from.
After playing two balloted shows that sold out faster than you could say "Best New Music," The xx have made good on their promise that they would come back in 2013 to sate the appetites of everyone who missed out. Now that they've released their second album, Coexist, the buzz around the trio is only louder. But Jamie Smith, Romy Madley Croft, and Oliver Sim are capable of being heard above the din by turning up the volume on one of the most valuable (and most underrated) instruments of all — silence. Their strength is seen through the gaps between bone-chilling reverbs and papery vocals, and they're sexy because they don't specifically mention sex. That's not to say The xx don't get noise. They get much of their inspiration from London's dark techno dance scene, and Jamie and Romy both have thriving satellite careers as DJs. The trio's bankability is bigger than ever, so be sure your credit card is handy and your clicking finger poised when tickets go on sale at noon on January 15. https://youtube.com/watch?v=_nW5AF0m9Zw
On Wednesday November 28, Melbourne Central will be brimming with more than 150 fashion retailers offering discounts of up to 50% as part of the One Day Shopping Festival. Head to the centre from 10am to 9pm to catch the best deals, plus live music, street performers, massage stations (to relieve the stress from all that Christmas shopping, of course), speed dating, a furniture design exhibition from graduates at RMIT university – and food trucks Gumbo Kitchen, Taco Truck and Yogurddiction.
Last year saw Primal Scream performing their classic album Screamadelica in full. This was a rare treat for those who go to see it (me included), as the show was aurally and visually stunning. Primal Scream are back in Australia and will be performing at the Palace. The psychedelic influenced Brit-rockers have been at it for 30 years and show no signs of slowing down. Debbie Googe of My Bloody Valentine has joined the band on bass this time around and has reinvigorated the band for this tour. If you are looking for an otherworldly experience, check out Primal Scream. You won’t regret it.
Recent years have seen the rise of musical comedies making their way back to the big screen. Enchanted,The Muppets and even the selection of High School Musical films have led music back to being a key feature in cinema. Throw Glee into the pop culture mix, and spontaneous singing in public is once again normal. In the middle of this comes Pitch Perfect. Beca (Anna Kendrick), is a college freshman and far too cool for any college society. With a not very well-written inciting incident, Beca ends up joining the Barden Bellas a capella group and finds a collection of rag tag gals to become bosom buddies with. While the sentimental scenes are corny and the plot drivers are crazy obvious, this is still a hilariously self aware, sharp and perfectly harmonised film. Rebel Wilson hits heights not seen in previous Hollywood flicks as Fat Amy, and despite Anna Kendrick's terrible posture (for acting classes on not giving a crap, just slouch), she plays college age well. And she can sing. They all can sing. America (and Tasmania, as Fat Amy claims to originate from) must train their kids in the womb to hit the high notes. With a collection of playful winks at the audience (an Australian audience particularly will get a few kicks — stay for the credits) and some good old competition movie fun, this film was a surprisingly raucous rendition. I'm getting the soundtrack.
Queen Vic Markets is famous for its fresh produce and interesting goods. But for a few months, each Wednesday will see them extended into the Suzuki Night Markets, with over 200 stalls full of food, clothes, art and performances. The list goes on. This is the 15th year the Suzuki Night Markets have been put on, and in 2012 they are larger than ever. With an international theme, delicacies can be found from all five continents. The website suggests 'a trip around the world, one dish at a time'. It's not just food though; you can buy hand-crafted jewellery from the artisan who produced it, and clothes made by local Melbourne designers. And it gets better. Live performances from hip-hop duo Flybz, roots-reggae artist Bobby Alu, and lots of other Australian acts will be on each week for free. There's no plausible reason not to get to the Suzuki Night Markets this year. The Night Markets are on every Wednesday until February 27 from 5pm-10pm.
Was your New Year’s less than aspirational? If you spent the strike of midnight shoveling a regrettable kebab into your mouth whilst searching for your friends in a sweaty, heaving mosh rather than swilling champagne and high fiving on the rooftop of a penthouse apartment, Chinese New Year is your chance to do it right and save 2013 from failure. Fed Square will see in the Year of the Snake with free and fun things, beginning with a screening of cult comedy All's Well, End's Well on Saturday, February 9, at 7pm. The next day, traditional lion dancing by the Hong De Lion Dance Association will amaze/amuse/confuse from noon, followed by highlights from the Lumens Festival, a photography and video art exhibition curated by RMIT University, on the main screen. Chinese New Year also makes it permissible to wear red and not be mistaken for a lady of the night, demand envelopes filled with money from your parents, and purchase new clothes in the name of a fresh start. Just call me Confucius. Image via Hong De Lion Dance Association.
Zom-Rom-Coms. That's what you get when you add zombies to romantic comedies. First came Shaun of the Dead, then Zombieland and now Warm Bodies, a delightful Romeo and Juliet meets Frankenstein tale, in that two star-crossed lovers must overcome deep-seeded family prejudices and Romeo is a monstrous zombie. The undead are very much the flavour of the month right now. The Walking Dead is a consistent ratings winner on TV, Sam Raimi's Evil Dead is about to receive a huge Hollywood remake and video games like Dead Rising, Dead Island and Resident Evil continue to dominate the market. For the first time, though, Warm Bodies presents us with a story told from the perspective of the zombie. That zombie is R (Nicholas Hoult), and his Juliet is Julie (Australian actress Teresa Palmer). R is just your everyday teenage boy, grappling with your everyday teenage problems: a changing body, crippling social isolation and a tendency to grunt instead of speak. He's also a zombie, but instead of being scary that's mostly just a source of embarrassment. R's charming and self-deprecating narration throughout the film provides a constant source of laughter, particularly with self-aware lines like, "……God we walk slowly!" It's a sublime mix of dark comedy and tender romance, centred on a familiar yet infinitely more appealing relationship than Twilight's Bella and Edward. Warm Bodies also features a killer soundtrack, including classics from Guns N' Roses, Bruce Springsteen, John Waite, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan. More often than not, the tunes are set against flesh-tearingly gory scenes and the juxtaposition is terrific. The film also features a wonderful supporting cast of John Malkovich, Dave Franco and Rob Corddry, whose performance as a frustrated zombie businessman attracts most of the remaining laughs. Ultimately, Warm Bodies is a clever, unexpected and undeniably entertaining film. The simple plot satisfies on most fronts and Hoult is perfectly cast as the awkward zombie lover, managing to imbue his soulless corpse with an extraordinary amount of heart and compassion. For an adaptation that openly acknowledges its Shakespearean underpinnings, this has somehow still emerged as one of the most original stories of the year.
It's said that in Greece the appearance of a boy's first bum fluff is greeted with a festival. In Australia's metropolitan centres, we've lately been showing a similar appreciate for the art of beard. From long swamp rock ones to neat 'I have an app in development' ones, our appreciation for fuzzy facial adornment is surely reaching an apex. So it's smart that this year Off the Kerb gallery is using beardy men to raise funds for charity. It will be celebrating its sixth birthday with an exhibition of art commemorating men with beards. The event will raise money for the homeless and all funds will be donated to the Melbourne Citymission. "A man with a beard can represent wisdom, individuality, virility, masculinity and strength," write Off the Kerb on their website. "Throughout history the beard has carried much symbolism in cultures around the world." Show your support for this sentiment (or just the good cause they're supporting) on April 4-18, when you can come admire, celebrate and buy the bearded works of art on display. Opening night on April 5 will also feature live performance.
Taking its cue from period dramas Downton Abbey and Gosford Park, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding plunges us into the eccentricities and delusions of upper-class Britain between the wars. Adapted from a 1932 novella by Julia Strachey, the film is director Donald Rice's debut feature. On her wedding day, Dolly Thatcham (Felicity Jones) is preparing to walk down the aisle with the bland but reliable Owen Bigham (James Norton) when the sudden appearance of her former lover, Joseph Patten (Luke Treadaway), throws her into a fit of confusion. Holing herself up in her room, Dolly gets stuck into a bottle of rum, trying to mitigate the now torturous process of final preparation. Meanwhile, her matriarchal, widowed mother (Elizabeth McGovern) strides about the manor, patronising any relative within arm's length and sending particularly scathing barbs in the direction of the troubled and seemingly regretful Joseph. The other members of the wedding party — a parade of oddball yet likeable Brits — dart in and out of the narrative, provoking an array of subplots. Dolly's sister Kitty (Ellie Kendrick) spends her time protesting about the lack of eligible bachelors on her radar, eventually making a comical effort to pursue the chauffeur. Cynical, sharp-tongued bridesmaid, Evelyn (Zoe Tapper), becomes the inappropriate target of Uncle Bob's (Julian Wadham) affections. Mackenzie Crook and Fenella Woolgar team up as Helen and David Dakin, a distanced married couple struggling to control a naughty son with a penchant for blowing up firecrackers. Cheerful Weather for the Wedding aims to satirise the upper class's sacrifice of emotional impulses for social control and the hypocrisy of obsession with appearances. However, while these intentions are clear, the script does not explore them with much depth, being neither gut-achingly witty nor gut-wrenchingly penetrating. Sure, moments of situational and verbal humour inspire laughs, and the storyline rolls along at a jolly pace, but the overall impact is entertaining and amusing rather than overwhelming. Flashbacks employed to depict Dolly and Joseph's love affair tend to come across as a little contrived and predictable. That said, the set is lush and the costumes have everyone looking their dapper-est best. McGovern and Treadaway offer particularly strong performances — McGovern for her charismatic, commanding interpretation of the ruler of the roost, and Treadaway for his vulnerable, multi-shaded take on the uncertain ex-lover. Cheerful Weather for the Wedding might make for some gentle Sunday afternoon escapism, but the Thatcham household is a long walk from Downton Abbey.
Oblivion is like a 'Best of' album for sci-fi movies. It's got the isolation and planetary caretaking of Moon or WALL-E, the post-alien-invasion devastation of Independence Day, the memory wipes and insurgency of Total Recall, the sentient and menacingly red-eyed robots of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the 'You maniacs!...You BLEW IT UP-edness' of Planet of the Apes. In fact, with so many classic hits, it's like the I Am Sam soundtrack, but where one of the tracks is I Am Legend. So if it's not terrifically original — if what we're talking about here is essentially a 'covers' film — is it worth seeing? Well, yes, thankfully, because like any good covers album, the tributes are done lovingly, respectfully and with a just enough reinterpretation to keep you interested. Oblivion is directed by Tron: Legacy's Joseph Kosinski, whose touch is immediately obvious both cinematically and aurally (although this time the pulsing soundtrack is provided by M83 rather than Daft Punk). Set in a fantastically bleak 2077, humanity has abandoned Earth save for two individuals, Jack (Tom Cruise) and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough), whose job is to monitor and repair a small fleet of aggressive security drones that hunt down any remaining alien invaders. Like every old cop in an action movie, Jack and Victoria are just two weeks away from retirement when the unexpected crash landing of another human, Julia (Olga Kurylenko), throws a spanner into the works. Jack wants to know who she is, whilst Victoria doesn't want anything to threaten their plans to rejoin the rest of Earth's survivors on an off-planet sanctuary. Performance wise, Cruise is dependably solid, though its Riseborough who steals every one of their scenes. Her Stepford Wife-esque emotional repression more than makes up for their lacklustre sexual chemistry and becomes especially compelling once Kurylenko is introduced into the mix. Morgan Freeman also makes a cameo in a Morpheus-type role; however, his performance is both fleeting and unremarkable. The true star of Oblivion is in fact the production design, brought to life in astounding detail via Claudio Miranda's (Life of Pi) engaging cinematography. Jack and Victoria's exquisite airborne apartment sits atop Earth's expansive wastelands, and the scenes in both are equally sumptuous. Coupled with Oblivion's many sci-fi tributes, Kosinski and Miranda's vision offers an enjoyable and fast-paced film that should appeal to a broad audience.
DADo, a membership based film society that offers subscribers a carefully selected annual program of eight documentaries on architecture, design and urban life, is hosting a night of short films that examine the interplay between architecture and the Australian identity. Melbhattan, by Oslo Davis, plays with the opening of the 1979 Woody Allen film Manhattan, reflecting Melbourne in the form of animations that offer an ode to Allen’s better known romanticisations. Naomi Bishops and Richard Raber's Straight and True looks at the aesthetics of the Australian dream of home ownership, examining a group of post World War 2 architects who aimed to break the mould and create modern houses to better their suburban landscape. Hawes House, by the same directors, is a visual journey through a series of iconic houses, including the Heidi Museum of Modern Art's Heidi II building, designed in the late 1960’s by McGlashan Everist. Your House and Mine, directed by Peter McIntrye and written by Robin Boyd, looks at a range of styles of housing found throughout Melbourne. Cleverly edited content on demolition, housing needs and humorous DIY imagery act to create a progressive, innovative cinema experience. Discussion by expert guest speakers Olso Davis, Trance Films, Peter McIntyre and Dr. David Nichols will accompany the screening. Image credit Oslo Davis
The Anna Schwartz Gallery presents Lauren Brincat’s 2013 solo exhibition It’s Not the End of the World, which will run from March 21 to May 11. Lauren Brincat is a Sydney-based artist who currently works in Mexico City. Well-known throughout Australia and the rest of the world, she has had many successful solo and group exhibitions. Her work can be seen in the collections of MONA, the MCA, the Art Gallery of Western Australia, and the Chartwell Collection at the Auckland Art Gallery. Brincat specialises in performance and object art but also works through video and sculpture, often pushing her own physical and cognitive limits. Inspired by early performance art of the 1970s and an an array of media, she has previously filmed herself as she hung from a diving board, eventually unable to hold on, and recorded her journey as she traipses over 100 blocks by foot. Find out what Lauren did next at Anna Schwartz.
After recent exploits in the US and Europe, PVT are becoming old hands at the whole ‘touring’ thing. They’ve supported high profile acts such as Bloc Party, Menomena and Gotye and, over the course of their career to date, have toured Australia several times in support of their creative efforts. The latest of these efforts is Homosapien, a thrilling example of PVT’s instrumental prowess and creative capabilities. This album is their fourth, and it brings together all of the great elements of their previous releases dating back to 2005 (released under the name Pivot). They have wasted no time in inserting themselves into the Australian music consciousness. Indeed, the trio have had taken the country by storm with their brand of electro-laden music that blends ethereal elements with grounded, contemporary hooks. Homosapien sees the band place more emphasis on vocals, adding an intimate element to their experimental soundscapes. Joining PVT on their tour is the up and coming electro-RNB duo, Collarbones, who have been making waves since releasing Die Young last year. They are being hailed as a great genre-bending talent, much like their tour buddies, PVT. Get in quick and secure a ticket. Trust me, you’ll be blown away.
Stark lighting and shadow fall upon the stage, which is tilted at a crazed angle like a skate ramp or the deck of a listing ship. Four men, shirtless, leap onto it like hunting predators. They seem like werewolves or some other supernatural beast, human in form only. With this arresting image, Savages starts. Shortly after, the men will appear toting suitcases and garbed in holiday attire, exchanging merry greetings, but the image of them as monsters is stuck with you. While on the outside, this is a story about a group of 40-ish mates sharing a holiday, there is always a pulse of horror beating beneath the surface. The latest play from Patricia Cornelius (Do Not Go Gentle, 2011) is a story about a group-assisted descent into darkness. A gang of old friends go on a cruise together, a long-awaited boys' holiday, swearing to leave their troubles, responsibilities and concerns behind them. Once at sea, a tension starts to build within the group and the savagery we caught a glimpse of at the start begins to peep out through the cracks. From the beginning, there is a feeling of unreality. The dialogue frequently uses poetic devices, including frequent rhymed exchanges, and is often delivered in a declamatory style. While it feels unnatural, it is purposeful: the camaraderie among the men is depicted as a forced and not entirely convincing ritual that binds a group riven with tension, insecurity and unease. On the steeply angled stage, there is a constant sense of things askew. The men engage in a constant game of competitive hypermasculinity — sweaty chest beating fuelled by lust and anger. No other actors are ever seen, making the men seem shut off from the world, not just by the sea, but locked within their interactions with each other. The group dynamic overpowers them as individuals. Despite an overarching atmosphere of rising menace, the play employs a touch of humour and there are times when the men's antics are amusing, for instance when jostling in a boxy space that represents their cramped cabin, or struggling against their restless natures when trying to relax on deck chairs. In rare private conversations, you see hints of men on the cusp of middle age facing relatable issues — loneliness, career frustration, relationship breakdown, diminishing physical prowess. However there is always something a little bent in the way they process their problems. At first it feels troubling that you can never quite relate to the characters, but by the end you're glad of that. The play draws on real-life cases of foul behaviour on cruise ships — most notably the events surrounding the death of Dianne Brimble in 2002 — though it is not so much a dramatisation of any one set of events as it an evocation of a psychology. While highly stylised, the play's depiction of group dynamics is well observed. Savages is a darkly fascinating piece, a strong statement on the human capacity for inhumanity.
Gelato. A wonderful addition to the sweets world. What you might not know is just how serious some people are about it. Enter the Gelato World Tour. Across five continents, eight cities will become ‘capitals of gelato’ as they teach people about the real nature of gelato, its flavours and history. Melbourne is up next. For each stage, 16 gelato artisans are chosen to create flavours that will go head to head. Guy Grossi, the president of the jury for Oceania's stage of the tour will decide just who gets a chance to present their gelato. May the best gelato win. Visitors can taste each artisan's offerings, watch as it is made before them and take part in short lessons on the art of making this sweet goodness from Carpigiani Gelato University. Guests also have a chance to vote for their favourite gelato. It is time to get serious about our desserts, folks. Sign us up. This magical happening will be going down from 12.30 - 9pm from October 25 - 27. To get the full experience, 'Gelato passes' are available for $10 at the gate which will give you two full cups, and three tastes of the different gelati on offer.
Bendigo Art Gallery is once again proving that it is worth a trek out of the city to witness an outstanding exhibition. Modern Love will feature 60 fashion-focused works from the post-punk era of the 1980s to today. All pieces have been gathered from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) Museum in Los Angeles. Items in the collection will range from the haute couture of Alexander McQueen to Adidas high-tops and t-shirts. The point of displaying such a variation of designers is to encapsulate contemporary fashion and style. Bendigo Art Gallery will be the only venue in Australia to display this specific collection, and it is the first travelling exhibition of its kind from the FIDM Museum. Designers that are featured in Modern Love include Thom Browne, Chanel, Comme des Garçons, Dior, Ferragamo, Tom Ford, Jean Paul Gaultier, Carolina Herrera, Betsey Johnson, Patrick Kelly, Helmut Lang, Monique Lhuillier, Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake, Moschino, Thierry Mugler, Hiroaki Ohya, Zac Posen, Prada, Christian Francis Roth, Ralph Rucci, Valentino, Versace, Vivienne Westwood, YSL and more.
Are you about style and grace when it comes to afternoon snacks? Does cash rule everything around you? If so, then prepare to indulge your tastebuds and eardrums with this fanciful combination that frankly is such a great idea it's simply criminal that this is the first one ever to happen in Melbourne. Local DJ MzRizk — whose dulcet sounds and dope beats you might recognise from her KissFM show Urbanfervour — has put together the Hip Hop High Tea and will also be handling the decks. Her insistence on stringent tea etiquette (no milk allowed up in here) bodes well for those looking for a high-class tea drinking experience, and her solid track record on the local club scene assures good taste on the turntables as well. If that's not enough to seal the deal, then surely the puntastic names of the treats — 'KRS-Scone with C.R.E.A.M.', anyone? — should definitely get you down there.
This article is sponsored by our partners, lululemon. Not only is yoga everywhere right now, so is that most stylish of yogi clothiers, lululemon athletica. Now the group who taught us that sports gear could also be fashionable is getting us psyched for the grand opening of their new Highpoint store with a night of psychedelic yoga classes. Taking place at an old power station in Melbourne's inner-west, Yoga to the Beat trades in beachside locations and Tibetan wind chimes for an urban underground adventure. When was the last time your yoga class was accompanied by live DJ beats, drumming and UV bodypaint? This ain't the sort of yoga class to bring your nanna to. Throw in complimentary refreshments to go with your entirely complimentary evening and you've got Monday sorted. To experience yoga in its most cutting-edge form, come along on Monday, June 3, from 6.30-8.30pm. Mat places are limited, so RSVP by May 29 by emailing highpoint-store@lululemon.com.
Underground, garage-rock royalty don't come much royaler than King Tuff. With a CV that includes stints with psych-folk pioneers Feathers, Sub Pop's Happy Birthday and the melodic metal of Witch, the man born Kyle Thomas has made a career out of crafting awesomely dirty and scuzzy guitar licks. Having decided to go it alone, King Tuff's debut solo album Was Dead showcases a performer who knows a thing or two about them blues. Sitting somewhere between a lo-fi version of The Black Keys and Wolfmother on an acid trip, the album is a filthy cocktail of straight-up guitar rock, stoner vocals and shout-along choruses. Then there's the man himself. With his matt of unkept hair and that middle-finger-to-the-system attitude, King Tuff is a beguiling and charismatic stage presence, with the ability to rouse a crowd into rabble and mayhem with little more than one of his Zeppelin-esque solos.
Oh, 2003. It was the year when the American government served up 'Freedom Fries', when Apple launched a little music webstore called 'iTunes' and when a bunch of nerds spent 10 days building a website by the name of 'MySpace'. It also marked the arrival of a Sydney band now known as Dappled Cities — art rockers beloved for belting out lo-fi indie tunes with an off-pop bent. Their stage presence garnered acclaim from critics and screams from fans, quickly leading to slots at SXSW and tours across the US and UK. They continued to cultivate their live theatrics, supporting the likes of Death Cab for Cutie and blowing minds with orchestrated baroque remixes. Now, after a decade on the road, the hardworking lads are ready to celebrate their aluminium anniversary by taking their tunes back to the sweaty underground club scene where it all began this Saturday night. Fans will be able to request songs via the band's Facebook page prior to the show and rumour has it that the boys will also be testing new songs from their unnamed fifth studio album, out later this year. Hallelujah.
There aren't many protagonists in modern theatre much like Arty, the subject of the Melbourne Theatre Company's new production, Beached. Lazy and living at home, but with grandiose visions of one day becoming an explorer or even a movie star, Arty is a perfectly average hero. He's the sort of character Seth Rogen might play in a Judd Apatow film, with one one large difference — he weighs 400 kg, a fairly unsubtle metaphor for a man who is literally going nowhere. Written by Melissa Bubnic and directed here by Petra Kalive, Beached (yes, as in whale), takes the well-worn cliche of a man who has lost his way and gives it a decidedly modern twist by having him compete in a reality television competition to win life-saving surgery. Under the watchful eyes of the camera and with the help of his doting mother JoJo, Arty makes an extreme physical transformation, but at what cost? Cleverly incorporating puppetry and multimedia, Beached is a biting satire of the vacuousness and inhumanity of celebrity culture and reality TV. Much like Arty himself, this is one production that cannot be missed. Image via mtc.com.au
Greek myths are always being remade. Like biblical stories, Shakespeare and Dracula, their appeal is universal, their stories are still as tragically powerful today as they were 3000 years ago. The Odyssey is one of these classics that is always finding a new voice, whether moved to the deep south of the US or deep space. Now indy theatre extraordinaire La Mama is housing a fresh take on the story: Penelope's perspective on the whole thing. Odysseus's wife doesn't get a whole bunch of play in Homer's original version, but Man Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood filled in the gaps with her novella The Penelopiad. Now she has adapted it into a play for an all-female cast who sing, dance and chant their way through this alternate take on the classic story, and it's being staged in Melbourne by the Stork Theatre. Sexism, justice, family: all the Greeks' (and our) dirty laundry is aired here in a fashion by turns comedic and violent. Atwood is a writer of significant power, and the locals behind this production are sure to put on an intimate, engaging version of her story.
If you see an unusual number of fictional characters roaming the streets this May 4, you're not crazy, but you are missing out: it's Free Comic Book Day. Every year on the first Saturday in May (this year it coincides with Star Wars Day, so expect a lot of Jedi robes and Princess Leia buns), comic book stores around the world give away free comics to anyone who walks in. Free Comic Book Day started in America, but it's been picked up by stores in Australia as well. Aiming to "reach out to those individuals unfamiliar with the comic book specialty market", Free Comic Book Day sees many publishers ship specially printed comic books, often previews of upcoming titles, to participating stores around the world. It's not just about the free stuff, though — most stores will have special events going on like artist signings, dress-up competitions and giveaways. The website also has a handy store locator, so you can see what stores are participating near you.
You may remember Lord of the Flies from high school English as being that book about the little boys stranded on a desert island who turn feral and start killing each other and hallucinating about beasts and talking pig heads. Even if you don't, that summary is pretty much the gist of it. It's quite a gory read but raises some interesting points on political power and human nature — universal themes but explored in a very masculine way due to the lack of female characters. But the latest stage adaptation by Sydney-based company US-A-UM wants to change that. Directed by Sydney Theatre Company's Kip Williams, the adaptation of William Golding's 1954 classic features an all-female cast, because who says women can't be bloodthirsty, murderous and politically manipulative? According to US-A-UM, their adaptation is "about gender, about stripping away constructed civilisation, and about how we read who can and cannot participate in behaviours that we assert as being innate to us all." Lord of the Flies will be making its debut as part of the Malthouse Theatre's Helium season of works by independent artists and ensembles.
A fictionalised account of Grace Kelly's marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco, Olivier Dahan's glittery period drama arrives in theatres on a wave of bad publicity. Repeatedly delayed by its American distributor, publically disowned by the Monacan royal family and critically savaged after its opening night premiere at Cannes, the buzz around the film is nothing short of toxic. Yet the reality is that no amount of negative press could prepare you for how awful Grace of Monaco truly is. The film takes place in the early 1960s, five years into a marriage that has lost its fairytale feel. Stifled by the minutiae of her stately duties and neglected by the emotionally distant Rainier (Tim Roth), glamorous Grace (Nicole Kidman) yearns to return to Hollywood. Instead, she finds herself a pawn in a trade dispute with Monaco's French neighbours — one that threatens to erupt into the world's most one-sided war. Blending the tepid romanticism of a made-for-TV biopic with the most tedious political drama this side of The Phantom Menace, Arash Amel's screenplay is suffocatingly dull. The dialogue, when it's not dropping lead bricks of exposition, consists mostly of groan-inducing Hallmark quotations. There are a few unintentional comedic gems, thank God, but for the overwhelming majority it's just flat-out embarrassing. Equally weak are the attempts to connect Kelly's weepy personal crisis with the fate of Monaco at large. The entire second half of the film hinges on our heroine learning proper princess etiquette — via Miss Congeniality-style training montage — in the hopes that she can soften mean old Charles de Gaulle's heart. Of course, considering that the conflict basically boils down to whether or not Monaco gets to keep operating as a tax-free haven for wealthy Frenchmen, it's difficult to see why anyone should care. Dahan's direction is as ghastly as Amel's script, with sickly golden lighting and eye-watering soft focus making the film look like something between a daytime soap and a handbag commercial. His most baffling decision, however, is the one that led him to shoot key scenes of emotional dialogue in extreme close-up. As the frame roams aimlessly from Kidman's chin to her eyeball to her earlobe as she talks, the overwhelming impression (aside from a mild feeling of motion sickness) is that the guy operating the camera is every bit as bored as we are. It's a bit of a shame really. Kidman's performance is perfectly adequate, making it far and away the movie's greatest asset. She's certainly better than the wooden, chain-smoking Roth, who sports an unconvincing British accent as the decidedly not British Rainier. None of the film's normally respectable side players — including Frank Langella as Kelly's clerical confidant, Parker Posey as a hatchet-faced matron and Roger Ashton-Griffiths as a cuddly Alfred Hitchcock — fare much better. For a story about a woman called Grace, there are few films in recent memory as lacking in the virtue of the same name. Avoid this movie like the plague. https://youtube.com/watch?v=bFYmYWa348c
