Before the pandemic, when a new-release movie started playing in cinemas, audiences couldn't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the past few years forcing film industry to make quite a few changes — widespread movie theatre closures and plenty of people staying home in iso will do that — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you've had a close-contact run-in. Perhaps you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Given the hefty amount of films now releasing each week, maybe you simply missed something. Film distributors have been fast-tracking some of their new releases from cinemas to streaming recently — movies that might still be playing in theatres in some parts of the country, too. In preparation for your next couch session, here are 20 that you can watch right now at home. THE NORTHMAN Satanic goats don't talk in The Northman. Heartthrobs don't masturbate while fondling mermaid figurines, either. Still, within ten minutes, pre-teen Viking prince Amleth (Oscar Novak, The Batman), his glory-seeking warrior father King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke, Moon Knight) and jester-meets-shaman Heimir (Willem Dafoe, Nightmare Alley) descend into a fire-lit cave to take hallucinogens, growl, grunt, bark like wolves and fart like it's a god-given superpower. If viewers didn't know who's behind this bold, brutal, brilliant, and blood- and guts-strewn Scandinavian opus before then, there's no doubt from this trippy scene onwards: after The Witch and The Lighthouse, writer/director Robert Eggers' touch, approach and style have become that distinctive just three remarkable features into his helming career. In Eggers' new untamed and laid-bare portrait of the past, something is rotten in the state of Iceland — as it was in Denmark via William Shakespeare, and in the Pride Lands of Africa in both versions of The Lion King. "I will avenge you, father. I will save you, mother. I will kill you, Fjölnir," says Amleth as a boy on a north Atlantic island in 895, when he witnesses the latter's (Claes Bang, Locked Down) treachery. He flees after hearing his uncle bay for his head, too, and seeing him carry off Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos) as a spoil of his victory. Two decades later, Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård, Succession) is a hulking, wolfskin-clad Viking berserker, living life flinging whatever weaponry he can find while viciously pillaging through the lands of the Rus. But amid the bloodlust, gore and piling-up body count, the intense marauder is thrust back onto his vengeance-seeking path. A Slavic seeress (Björk, in her first film role since 2005) whispers stark truths about his current savagery and lapsed mission against Fjölnir, reigniting his yearning for that promised slaughter — and the single-minded behemoth learns that his uncle is now sheep-farming in Iceland, having lost the kingdom in another coup. The Northman is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE GRAY MAN It's been four years since Ryan Gosling last graced screens, rocketing to the moon in First Man. No, Barbie set photos pored over on every internet-connected device don't count. Since he played Neil Armstrong, much has happened. There's the obvious off-screen, of course — but then there's Chris Evans farewelling Captain America, and also appearing in Knives Out with the scene-stealing Ana de Armas. After co-starring in Blade Runner 2049 with Gosling back in 2017, she leapt from that Evans-featuring whodunnit to palling around with 007 in No Time to Die. Also during that time, Bridgerton pushed Regé-Jean Page to fame, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood earmarked Julia Butters as a young talent to watch. This isn't just a history lesson on The Gray Man's cast — well, some of them, given that Billy Bob Thornton (Goliath), Jessica Henwick (The Matrix Resurrections), Dhanush (Maaran), Wagner Moura (Shining Girls) and Alfre Woodard (The Lion King) also pop up, plus Australia's own Callan Mulvey (Firebite) — for the hell of it, though. Back in 2018, before all of the above played out, it's unlikely that this exact film with this exact cast would've eventuated. Making an action-thriller about attempting to snuff out hyper-competent assassins isn't new — both John Wick and Atomic Blonde have already been there and done that, and the Bourne and Bond movies — but the combination of this collection of current actors and that familiar setup isn't without its charms. Gosling plays Court Gentry, aka Sierra Six; "007 was taken," he jokes. Before he's given his codename and paid to do the CIA's dirty work, he's in prison for murder, then recruited by Donald Fitzroy (Thornton). Fast-forward 18 years and Six is a huge hit at two things: being a ghost, because he no longer officially exists; and covertly wreaking whatever havoc the government tells him to, including knocking off whichever nefarious figure they need gone. But one stint of the latter leaves him in possession of a USB drive that his arrogant new direct superior Carmichael (Page) will ruthlessly kill to destroy. Actually, to be precise, he'll pay Lloyd Hansen (Evans) of Hansen Government Services to do just that, and to do the dirty work that's too dirty for the criminals-turned-government hitmen in the Sierra program, with Six the number-one target. The Gray Man is available to stream via Netflix. Read our full review. PETITE MAMAN Forget the "find someone who looks at you like…" meme. That's great advice in general, and absolutely mandatory if you've ever seen a Céline Sciamma film. No one peers at on-screen characters with as much affection, attention, emotion and empathy as the French director. Few filmmakers even come close, and most don't ever even try. That's been bewitchingly on display in her past features Water Lillies, Tomboy, Girlhood and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, any of which another helmer would kill to have on their resume. It's just as apparent in Petite Maman, her entrancing latest release, as well. Now 15 years into her directorial career, Sciamma's talent for truly seeing into hearts and minds is unshakeable, unparalleled and such a lovely wonder to watch — especially when it shines as sublimely and touchingly as it does here. In Sciamma's new delicate and exquisite masterpiece, the filmmaker follows eight-year-old Nelly (debutant Joséphine Sanz) on a trip to her mother's (Nina Meurisse, Camille) childhood home. The girl's maternal grandmother (Margot Abascal, The Sower) has died, the house needs packing up, and the trip is loaded with feelings on all sides. Her mum wades between sorrow and attending to the task. With melancholy, she pushes back against her daughter's attempts to help, too. Nelly's laidback father (Stéphane Varupenne, Monsieur Chocolat) assists as well, but with a sense of distance; going through the lifelong belongings of someone else's mother, even your spouse's, isn't the same as sifting through your own mum's items for the last time. While her parents work, the curious Nelly roves around the surrounding woods — picture-perfect and oh-so-enticing as they are — and discovers Marion (fellow newcomer Gabrielle Sanz), a girl who could be her twin. Petite Maman is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review. THIS MUCH I KNOW TO BE TRUE How do you make a concert film when no concerts can be held to film? Australian director Andrew Dominik (Chopper, Killing Them Softly) and his now two-time subjects Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have the answer. How do you create a personal documentary that cuts to the heart of these Aussie music icons when, whether stated or implied in their vibe, both are hardly enamoured with having their lives recorded? Again, see: Dominik's new Cave and Ellis-focused This Much I Know to Be True. Performances in cavernous empty British spaces fill the movie's frames but, via stunning lighting, staging and lensing, they're as dazzling as any IRL gig. The interludes between tunes are brief, and also intimate and revealing. The result: a phenomenal doco that's a portrait of expression, a musing on an exceptional collaboration and a rumination upon existence, as well as a piece of haunting cinematic heaven whether you're an existing Cave and Ellis devotee, a newcomer or something in-between. Dominik, Cave and Ellis initially teamed up when the latter duo scored the former's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Later this year, when upcoming Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde hits screens, the same arrangement will provide its soundtrack. But in the middle sits 2016 doco One More Time with Feeling and now This Much I Know to Be True, as entrancing a pair as the music documentary genre has gifted viewers. The first factual flick found Cave and Ellis recording the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album Skeleton Tree, as Cave also grappled with the death of one of his sons. Here, its follow-up is shaped by the first performances of Cave and Ellis' latest albums — the Bad Seeds 2019 release Ghosteen, and Cave and Ellis' 2021 record Carnage — plus the pandemic and the lingering effects of grief. This Much I Know to Be True is available to stream via Mubi. Read our full review. DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS Somewhere in the multiverse, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is terrific. In a different realm, it's terrible. Here in our dimension, the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe teeters and twirls in the middle. The second movie to focus on surgeon-turned-sorcerer Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog), it's at its best when it embraces everything its director is known for. That said, it's also at its worst when it seems that harnessing Sam Raimi's trademarks — his visual style, bombast, comic tone and Evil Dead background, for instance — is merely another Marvel ploy. Multiverse of Madness is trippy, dark, sports a bleak sense of humour and is as close as the MCU has gotten to horror, all immensely appreciated traits in this sprawling, box office-courting, never-ending franchise. But it stands out for the wrong reasons, too, especially how brazenly it tries to appear as if it's twisting and fracturing the typical MCU template when it definitely isn't. Welcomely weirder than the average superhero flick (although not by too much), but also bluntly calculating: that's Multiverse of Madness, and that's a messy combination. It's apt given its eponymous caped crusader has always hailed from Marvel's looser, goofier and, yes, stranger side since his MCU debut in 2016's plainly titled Doctor Strange; however, it's hard to believe that such formulaic chaos was truly the plan for this follow-up. The last time that audiences saw Stephen Strange, he reluctantly tinkered with things he shouldn't to help Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Those actions had consequences, and recalling Raimi's time with Spidey came with the territory. Strange's reality-bending trickery has repercussions here as well, because Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen, Sorry for Your Loss) isn't thrilled about her fellow super-powered pal's exploits. Yes, Multiverse of Madness assumes viewers have not only watched all 27 past MCU movies, but also its small-screen offshoots — or WandaVision at least, where the enchantress that's also Scarlet Witch broke rules herself and wasn't still deemed a hero. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is available to stream via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. MEN Since popping up over the last decade, the term 'elevated horror' has always been unnecessary. Used to describe The Babadook, It Follows, The Witch, Get Out, Hereditary, Us, Midsommar and more, it pointlessly claims that such unsettling flicks have risen above their genre. Each of these movies is excellent. They all boast weight and depth, trade in metaphors with smarts and savvy, and have style to go with their creeps and thrills. But thinking that's new in horror — that pairing unease with topical woes or societal fears is as well — is as misguided as dubbing Michael Myers a hero. With a name that makes its #MeToo-era point plain, Men has been badged 'elevated', too, yet it also does what horror has at its best and worst cases for decades. That the world can be a nightmare for women at the hands of men isn't a fresh observation, and it's long been a scary movie go-to. Still, Men stresses that fact in an inescapably blunt but also unforgettable manner. Hailing from Ex Machina, Annihilation and Devs' Alex Garland, Men's setting is an English manor, where Harper Marlowe (Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter) hopes for a solo stint of rest, relaxation and recuperation. Processing a tragedy, shattering memories of which haunt the movie as much as its protagonist, she's seeking an escape and a way to start anew. The initial hint that she won't find bliss comes swiftly and obviously, and with a sledgehammer's subtlety. Arriving at an idyllic-looking British countryside estate, Harper is greeted by an apple tree. She plucks one from the abundant branches, then takes a bite. Soon, she's told by her host Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear, Our Flag Means Death) that it's forbidden fruit. He also says he's joking — but in this garden, a woman will again shoulder a society's blame and burdens. Men is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. NUDE TUESDAY Relationships are all about communication. So much about life is, too. And, so is storytelling. With absurdist comedy Nude Tuesday, expressing emotions, connections and narrative details all boils down to two things, though: gibberish and bodies. This extremely amusing New Zealand film from writer/director Armagan Ballantyne (The Strength of Water) and writer/star Jackie van Beek (The Breaker Upperers) does indeed strip its performers bare, as its name makes plain — but it saddles them with conveying almost everything about their characters via body language long before that. The reason: every piece of dialogue spoken in the movie is uttered in gibberish, with completely made-up and wholly improvised words that take a few cues from The Muppets' Swedish Chef in cadence. While they're subtitled in English by British comedian and writer Julia Davis (Camping), that text was penned after shooting, in one of the film's other gleefully silly twists. The result is patently ridiculous, and marvellously so — and hilariously, too. It's such a clever touch, making a movie about marital disharmony and the communication breakdown baked within that's so reliant upon reading tone and posture, as couples on the prowl for the tiniest of micro-aggressions hone in on. Van Beek and Australian The Tourist actor Damon Herriman play that pair, Laura and Bruno. Living on the fictional pacific island of Zǿbftąņ, they're as stuck in a rut as any married, middle-class duo can be, and they're gifted a getaway to ẄØnÐĘULÄ to help. But this mountainside commune, run by the charismatic and lustful sex guru Bjorg Rassmussen (Jemaine Clement, I Used to Go Here), wants them to bare all in multiple ways. The film doesn't live up to its moniker until its last third, but its perceptive and side-splittingly funny from the get-go. Nude Tuesday is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. THE DROVER'S WIFE THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON Leah Purcell's resume isn't short on highlights — think: Black Comedy, Wentworth and Redfern Now, plus Lantana, Somersault and Last Cab to Darwin (to name just a few projects) — but the Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka Murri actor, director and writer clearly has a passion project. In 2016, she adapted Henry Lawson's short story The Drover's Wife for the stage. In 2019, she moved it back to the page. Now, she brings it to the big screen via The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson. Only minutes into her searing feature filmmaking debut, why Purcell keeps needing to tell this 19th century-set tale is patently apparent. In her hands, it's a story of anger, power, prejudice and revenge, and also a portrait of a history that's treated both women and Indigenous Australians abhorrently. Aussie cinema hasn't shied away from the nation's problematic past in recent times (see also: Sweet Country, The Nightingale, The Furnace and High Ground); however, this is an unforgettably potent and piercing movie. In a fiery performance that bristles with steeliness, Purcell plays the eponymous and heavily pregnant Molly. In the process, she gives flesh, blood and a name to a character who wasn't ever afforded the latter in Lawson's version: a 19th-century Indigenous Australian woman left alone with her children on a remote property for lengthy stretches while her husband works. During his latest absence, new sergeant Nate Clintoff (Sam Reid, The Newsreader) and Aboriginal fugitive Yadaka (Rob Collins, Firebite) separately venture Molly's way. From there, this sometimes-stagey but always blistering western digs sharply into issues of race, gender and identity — and eagerly, shrewdly and ferociously draws cinematic blood. The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE BOB'S BURGERS MOVIE Across its 12-season order to-date, the best episodes of Bob's Burgers have always resembled exactly what they should: a delicious serving of the meat-and-bread combination that shares the hit sitcom's name. There's a knack to a great burg — to a tastebud-thrilling, so-appetising-I-need-more-now example of this extremely accessible culinary art — and it's all about perfecting the absolute basics. No matter what else gets slotted in (and plenty of other ingredients can), every burger's staples should be the stars of the show. Indeed, a top-notch burg needn't be flashy. It definitely mustn't be overcomplicated, either. And, crucially, it should taste as comforting as wrapping your hands around its buns feels. On the small screen since 2011, Bob's Burgers has kept its version of that very recipe close to its animated, irreverent, gleefully offbeat heart. Unsurprisingly, the show's creators whip up the same kind of dish for The Bob's Burgers Movie, too. It's a winning formula, and creator Loren Bouchard knows not to mess with it while taking his beloved characters to the big screen. As always, the action centres on the film's namesake — the diner where patriarch Bob (H Jon Benjamin, Archer) sizzles up punningly named burgs to both make a living and live out his dream. And, as the show has covered frequently, financial woes mean that Bob and his wife Linda (John Roberts, Gravity Falls) have more to worry about than cooking, serving customers, and their kids Tina (Dan Mintz, Veep), Gene (Eugene Mirman, Flight of the Conchords) and Louise (Kristen Schaal, What We Do in the Shadows). Their solution: a burger, of course. But their bank manager isn't munching when they try to use food to grease their pleas for an extension on their loan. That mortgage also involves their restaurant equipment, leaving them out of business if they can't pay up. As their seven-day time limit to stump up the cash ticks by, Bob sweats over the grill and Linda oozes her usual optimism — only for a sinkhole to form literally at their door. The Bob's Burgers Movie is available to stream via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. HATCHING With a savvily sinister-meets-satirical blend, Hatching begins by unpacking a fallacy as fractured as Humpty Dumpty after the nursery-rhyme character's fall — and that still keeps being lapped up anyway. In suburban Finland, among homes so identical that the song 'Little Boxes' instantly pops into your head, 12-year-old gymnast Tinja (debutant Siiri Solalinna), her younger brother Matias (fellow first-timer Oiva Ollila), and their mother (Sophia Heikkilä, Dual) and father Jani Volanen, Dogs Don't Wear Pants) are living their best lives. More than that, as the soft lensing and music that helps open the movie establishes, they're also beaming that picture of pink, white and pastel-hued domestic perfection to the world. Tinja's unnamed mum is a vlogger, and these scenes are being captured for her cloyingly named blog Lovely Everyday Life. Naturally, showing that this family of four's daily existence is anything but enchanting is one of Bergholm's first aims. In Finnish writer/director Hanna Bergholm's bold and memorable body-horror, twisted fairy tale and dark coming-of-age thriller, the initial crack comes from outside, crashing through the window to ruin a posed shot alight with fake smiles and, of course, being filmed with a selfie stick. Soon, broken glass, vases and lamps are strewn throughout a lounge room so immaculately arranged that it looks straight out of a supermarket-shelf home-and-garden magazine — and the crowning glory, the chandelier, has descended from a luminous pièce de résistance to a shattered mess. A garden-variety crow is the culprit, which Tinja carefully captures. She hands it to her mother, thinking that they'll then release it outside. But her mum, placid but seething that anything could disrupt her manufactured picture of bliss, ignores that idea with a cruel snap and instructions to dispose of the animal in the organic waste. When Tinja disobeys that order, taking the egg into her care, nurturing it tenderly and placing it inside a teddy bear for safe keeping, she gains her own little universe to dote over. Then the egg keeps growing, and a human-sized chick emerges. Hatching is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE INNOCENTS Thanks to his Oscar-nominated work co-penning The Worst Person in the World's screenplay, Eskil Vogt has already helped give the world one devastatingly accurate slice-of-life portrait in the past year. That applauded film is so insightful and relatable about being in your twenties, and also about weathering quarter-life malaise, uncertainty and crisis, that it feels inescapably lifted from reality — and it's sublime. The Innocents, the Norwegian filmmaker's latest movie, couldn't be more different in tone and narrative; however, it too bears the fingerprints of achingly perceptive and deep-seated truth. Perhaps that should be mindprints, though. Making his second feature as a director after 2014's exceptional Blind, Vogt hones in on childhood, and on the way that kids behave with each other when adults are absent or oblivious — and on tykes and preteens who can wreak havoc solely using their mental faculties. Another riff on Firestarter, this thankfully isn't. The Innocents hasn't simply jumped on the Stranger Things bandwagon, either. Thanks to the latter, on-screen tales about young 'uns battling with the supernatural are one of Hollywood's current favourite trends — see also: the awful Ghostbusters: Afterlife — but all that this Nordic horror movie's group of kids are tussling with is themselves. Their fight starts when nine-year-old Ida (debutant Rakel Lenora Fløttum) and her 11-year-old sister Anna (fellow first-timer Alva Brynsmo Ramstad), who is on the autism spectrum, move to an apartment block in Romsås, Oslo with their mother (Blind's Ellen Dorrit Petersen) and father (Morten Svartveit, Ninjababy). It's summer, the days are long, and the two girls are largely left to their own devices outside in the complex's communal spaces. That's where Ida befriends Aisha (Mina Yasmin Bremseth Asheim) and Ben (Sam Ashraf), albeit not together, and starts to learn about their abilities. The Innocents to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. ITHAKA To look at John Shipton is to see the obvious, even if you've never laid eyes upon him before. The family resemblance is immediately clear, and the traits that've likely been passed down from father to son — determination and persistence, blatantly — become apparent within minutes. Shipton needs to be resolute for the battle that documentary Ithaka captures. It's a fight that's been waged for a decade now, publicly, and not just in embassies and courtrooms but across news headlines worldwide. He's visibly Julian Assange's dad, and he's been helping spearhead the campaign for the WikiLeaks founder's release. Assange fell afoul of US authorities in 2010, when his non-profit whistleblower organisation published documents about the American military's war crimes leaked by army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. As Ithaka makes plain, The Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel revealed the same information at the same time; however, only Assange now sits in London's Belmarsh prison. Plenty about the past 12 years since Manning's leaks were exposed to the world is filled with numbers. Plenty about the ten years this June since Assange first took refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador in London is as well. The Australian editor and publisher spent almost seven years in that diplomatic space, seeking political asylum from sexual misconduct allegations in Sweden that he contended would be used to extradite him to America. If the US succeeds in its efforts, and in its espionage charges against him, he faces up to 175 years in incarceration. The list of figures goes on, but filmmaker Ben Lawrence (Hearts and Bones) makes two pivotal choices. Firstly, he surveys Assange's current struggle not through the Aussie himself, but through both Shipton and Stella Moris, his South African-born lawyer and now wife. Secondly, although those aforementioned numbers are inescapable, the riveting and affecting Ithaka brings humanity to this well-publicised plight. Ithaka is available to stream via ABC iview. Read our full review. ABLAZE A documentary that's deeply personal for one of its directors, intensely powerful in surveying Australia's treatment of its First Peoples and crucial in celebrating perhaps the country's first-ever Aboriginal filmmaker, Ablaze makes for astonishing viewing. But while watching, two ideas jostle for attention. Both remain unspoken, yet each is unshakeable. Firstly, if the history of Australia had been different, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta man William 'Bill' Onus would be a household name. If that was the case, not only his work behind the camera, but his activism for Indigenous Aussies at a time when voting and even being included in the census wasn't permitted — plus his devotion to ensuring that white Australians were aware of the nation's colonial violence — would be as well-known as Captain Cook. That said, if history had been better still, Bill wouldn't have needed to fight so vehemently, or at all. Alas, neither of those possibilities came to a fruition. Ablaze can't change the past, but it can and does document it with a hope to influencing how the world sees and appreciates Bill's part in it. Indeed, shining the spotlight on its subject, everything his life stood for, and all that he battled for and against is firmly and proudly the feature's aim. First-time filmmaker Tiriki Onus looks back on his own grandfather, narrating his story as well — and, as aided by co-helmer Alec Morgan (Hunt Angels, Lousy Little Sixpence), the result is a movie brimming with feeling, meaning and importance. While Aussie cinema keeps reckoning with the nation's history regarding race relations, as it should and absolutely must, Ablaze is as potent and essential as everything from Sweet Country, The Nightingale and The Australian Dream to The Furnace, High Ground and The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson. Ablaze is available to stream via ABC iview, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA The movies have come to Downton Abbey and Violet Crawley, the acid-tongued Dowager Countess of Grantham so delightfully played by Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van) since 2010, is none too fussed about it. "Hard same," all but the most devoted fans of the upstairs-downstairs TV drama may find themselves thinking as she expresses that sentiment — at least where Downton Abbey: A New Era, an exercise in extending the series/raking in more box-office cash, is concerned. Violet, as only she can, declares she'd "rather eat pebbles" than watch a film crew at work within the extravagant walls of her family's home. The rest of us mightn't be quite so venomous, but that's not the same as being entertained. The storyline involving said film crew is actually one of the most engaging parts of A New Era; however, the fact that much of it is clearly ripped off from cinematic classic Singin' in the Rain speaks volumes, and gratingly. A New Era begins with a wedding, picking up where its predecessor left off as former chauffeur Tom Branson (Allen Leech, Bohemian Rhapsody) marries Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton, Mank) with everyone expected — the well-to-do Crawleys and their relatives, plus their maids, butlers, cooks, footmen and other servants — in attendance. But the film really starts with two revelations that disrupt the Downton status quo. Firstly, Violet receives word that she's inherited a villa in the south of France from an ex-paramour, who has recently passed away. His surviving wife (Nathalie Baye, Call My Agent!) is displeased with the arrangement, threatening lawsuits, but his son (Jonathan Zaccaï, The White Crow) invites the Crawleys to visit to hash out the details. Secondly, a movie production wants to use Downton for a shoot, which the pragmatic Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery, Anatomy of a Scandal) talks the family into because — paralleling the powers-that-be behind A New Era itself — the aristocratic brood would like the money. Downton Abbey: A New Era is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. FIRESTARTER Would the latest big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter have been better or worse if it had included The Prodigy's hit of the same name, aka the most obvious needle-drop that could've been chosen? Although we'll never know, it's hard to imagine a film with less personality than this page-to-screen remake. Using the 1996 dance-floor filler would've been a choice and a vibe — and a cliched one, whether gleefully or lazily — but it might've been preferable to the dull ashes of by-the-numbers genre filmmaking from director Keith Thomas (The Vigil) that's hit screens instead. Zac Efron looking so bored that blood drips from his eyes, dressing up King's 1980 story as a superhero tale (because of course) and having its pyrokinetic protagonist say "liar liar, pants on fire" when she's torching someone aren't a recipe for igniting movie magic, or for even occasionally just lighting a spark. As the first version of Firestarter in 1984 did, and King's book as well, Firestarter follows the McGee family, whose lives would blaze brighter if they didn't have abilities most folks don't. After volunteering for a clinical trial in college, Andy (Efron, Gold) and his wife Vicky (Sydney Lemmon, Fear the Walking Dead) have telepathic and telekinetic powers; being experimented on with mind-altering chemical compounds will do that. And, from birth, their now 11-year-old daughter Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong, It: Chapter Two) has been able to start fires with her mind. Unsurprisingly, the McGees have spent years attempting to blend in, hiding their powers and fleeing the shady government department, The Shop, that's responsible for their situation — and now sports a keen interest in using Charlie as a weapon. Then she literally explodes at school, The Shop head honcho Captain Hollister (Gloria Reuben, City on a Hill) puts bounty hunter John Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes, Rutherford Falls) on their trail and the heat is on. (No, that track from Beverly Hills Cop, which reached cinemas the same year that the OG Firestarter did, doesn't feature here either.) Firestarter is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. HOW TO PLEASE A WOMAN When Magic Mike stripped its way into cinemas a decade ago, it didn't just turn Channing Tatum's IRL background into a movie and give his chiselled torso oh-so-much attention; it understood that women like sex, boast libidos and have desires, too. Its sequel, Magic Mike XXL, doubled down on that idea, and winningly so — even if the saga dances with a notion so blatant that it definitely shouldn't feel revelatory to see it thrust front and centre in a big-budget Hollywood film. There's no trace of Tatum in How to Please a Woman, and it has nothing to do with the saucy franchise that has a third flick on the way, but this Aussie comedy nonetheless follows in Magic Mike's footsteps. Here, women also like sex, boast libidos and have desires, and that's something that the stuck-in-a-rut Gina (Sally Phillips, Off the Rails) turns into a lucrative business. When first-time feature writer/director Renée Webster begins her sunnily shot, eagerly crowd-pleasing leap to the big screen — following helming gigs on TV's The Heights and Aftertaste — Gina's relationship with sex is non-existent. She has long been wed to lawyer Adrian (Cameron Daddo, Home and Away), but he still thinks that having a tumble on their last holiday years ago is enough bedroom action to keep their marriage going. Gina's resigned to that fact, too, until her ocean swimming club pals book her a stripping surprise for her birthday. Tom (Alexander England, Little Monsters) shows up at her door, starts gyrating and undressing, and says he'll do whatever she wants. Although her friends are later horrified, Gina asks him to clean her house instead — and its their eagerness to truly take Tom up on his offer that inspires a plan to turn a removalist company she thinks she can save into a male escort service, covering scrubbing and shagging alike. How to Please a Woman is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. HELMUT NEWTON: THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL One of the great treats in Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful stems from perhaps the film's simplest move: letting viewers peer at the often-provocative photographer's works in such a large format. Being able to do just that is the reason why the Exhibition On Screen series of movies exists, surveying showcases dedicated to artists such as Vincent van Gogh, David Hockney and Frida Kahlo over the years — and this documentary isn't part of that, but it understands the same idea. There's nothing like staring at an artist's work to understand what makes them tick. Writer/director Gero von Boehm (Henry Miller: Prophet of Desire) fills The Bad and the Beautiful with plenty more, from archival footage to recent interviews, but it'd all ring empty without seeing the imagery captured by Newton's lens firsthand. Every word that's said about the German photographer, or by him, is deepened by roving your eyes across the frequently contentious snaps that he sent Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Playboy and other magazines' ways. Those photos aren't run-of-the-mill fashion pics. Largely, the highly stylised images are of naked women — naked famous women, if not then then now, such as Isabella Rossellini, Charlotte Rampling, Grace Jones and Claudia Schiffer — and they're as fetishistic as the artform gets. They're the kinds of snaps that saw Susan Sontag call Newton out for being a misogynist to his face, as seen in a French TV clip featured in the film. The Bad and the Beautiful is an affectionate doco, but it also dives headfirst into the trains of thought that his work has sparked for decades. Anna Wintour explains that when someone books Newton, "you're not going to get a pretty girl on a beach". Women who posed for him, including the aforementioned stars, plus Marianne Faithfull, Arja Toyryla, Nadja Auermann and Hanna Schygulla, all talk through their differing experiences as well — and the portrait painted is varied. Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. LAST SEEN ALIVE Perhaps the most positive thing that can be said about Last Seen Alive is this: it's definitely a Gerard Butler-starring kidnapping thriller. That isn't meant as praise, though; rather, the film simply manages to be exactly what viewers would expect given its star and premise. There's clearly far less cash behind it than the also-terrible trio of Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen — or Geostorm, Den of Thieves, Hunter Killer and Greenland among the Scottish actor's career lowlights over the past decade, either. There's visibly less effort, too, and more of a phoning-it-in vibe. The second collaboration between actor-turned-filmmaker Brian Goodman (What Doesn't Kill You) and producer/writer Marc Frydman after 2017's Black Butterfly, it plays like something that a streaming platform's algorithm might spit out in an AI-driven future where new movies are swiftly spliced together from pieces of past flicks. Yes, among Butler's output and with its abduction storyline, it's that derivative. Butler plays Will Spann, a real estate developer who already isn't having a great day when the film begins — but it's about to get worse. He's driving his unhappy wife Lisa (Jaimie Alexander, Loki) to her parents' home, where she's keen to decamp to find herself and take a break from their marriage, and Will is desperate to convince her to change her plans en route. His charm offensive isn't working when they stop at a petrol station mere minutes away from their destination, and he has zero charisma for anyone when Lisa unexpectedly disappears while he's filling the tank. Fuming that local police detective Paterson (Russell Hornsby, Lost in Space) hasn't just dropped everything immediately, and that he also has questions about their relationship, Will decides to chase down any lead he can himself. Meanwhile, Lisa's unsurprisingly wary parents (Queen Bees' Cindy Hogan and Master's Bruce Altman) direct their suspicions his way. Last Seen Alive is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. INTERCEPTOR Four decades back, Interceptor would've happily sat on a crowded video-store shelf alongside a wealth of other mindless, machismo-fuelled action thrillers. It would've been the epitome of one of the genre's straight-to-VHS flicks, in fact. Don't just call it a throwback, though; instead of testosterone oozing from every actor within sight, except perhaps a token wife worrying at home, this nuclear attack movie from Australian author Matthew Reilly focuses on a woman making waves in a male-dominated world. That's firmly a 2022 move, reflecting today's gender politics. So too is the fact that said protagonist, US Army Captain JJ Collins (Elsa Pataky, Tidelands), has just been reassigned after putting in a sexual harassment complaint against one of her past superiors. Don't go thinking that Interceptor doesn't tick every other box its 80s counterparts did, however. It couldn't lean harder on all of the cliches that've ever been involved with world-in-peril, military-driven movies, and with action fare at its most inane in general. A global success for his airport novels, writer Reilly doesn't just turn screenwriter here — with assistance from Collateral, Tomorrow, When the War Began and Obi-Wan Kenobi's Stuart Beattie — but also jumps behind the lens for the first time. Alas, his directorial instincts prove as flat and by-the-numbers as Interceptor's wanly boilerplate plot, as well as its clunky-as-clunky dialogue. And, that storyline really couldn't be more formulaic. In her new post on a remote platform in the Pacific Ocean, Collins soon finds herself under attack by terrorists led by the grating Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey, Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan). Her sea-surrounded station is one of two sites, alongside Alaska's Fort Greely, that can intercept a nuclear warhead launch on the US. Naturally, Kessel and his men have already taken out the other one, and have also pilfered nukes from the Russians in their possession. Interceptor is available to stream via Netflix. Read our full review. FATHER STU The last time that Mark Wahlberg played a real-life boxer, The Fighter was the end result. The last time that Mel Gibson played the burger-chain owner's father, the world was forced to suffer through Daddy's Home 2. Combine this mismatched pair and you don't quite get Father Stu, the former Marky Mark's first step into faith-based films — but even watching the latter, the second instalment in his woeful comedy franchise with Will Ferrell, is preferable to this mawkish true tale. Drawn from the IRL Stuart Long's life, it's meant to be an inspirational affair, covering the familiar religious-favourite beats about sinners being redeemed, wayward souls seizing second chances and learning to accept physical suffering as a chance to get closer to the divine. First-time feature writer/director Rosalind Ross is earnest about those messages, and her film visibly looks more competent than most sermon-delivering recent cinema releases, but what preaching-to-the-choir sentiments they are. How ableist they are as well. When Wahlberg (Uncharted) first graces the screen as Long, he could've stepped in from plenty of his other movies. In his younger days, the titular future priest is a foul-mouthed amateur boxer from Montana, but he has big dreams — and when he hits Los Angeles with acting stars in his eyes, viewers can be forgiven for thinking of Boogie Nights. Porn isn't Long's calling, of course, although salacious propositions do come his way in the City of Angels, in one of the film's hardly subtle efforts to equate the secular and the sordid. It's actually lust that pushes the feature's protagonist on the path to the priesthood, however, after he spies volunteer Sunday school teacher Carmen (Teresa Ruiz, The Marksman) while he's working in a grocery store. To have a chance with her, he even gets baptised. Then, a drink-driving accident brings a vision of the Virgin Mary, sparking Long's determination to make Catholicism his calling. Next, a shock health diagnosis both tests and cements his faith. Father Stu is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Looking for more at-home viewing options? Take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows — and our best new TV shows, returning TV shows and straight-to-streaming movies from the first half of 2022. Or, check out the movies that were fast-tracked to digital in January, February, March, April, May and June.
You might think you know Richard Ayoade from his time as Maurice Moss in the British comedy The IT Crowd. But did you know he's also an acclaimed director of quirky indie films full of deadpan humour? After smashing it with his debut feature, Submarine, Ayoade's now back with The Double. Based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Double follows Simon James, the timid and nerdy office clerk whose life is completely unenviable. Played by Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Simon reaches breaking point when new co-worker James Simon appears on the scene. Also played by Eisenberg, James excels in all the ways that Simon cannot, being a daring extrovert with confidence and charm. Simon is both James's double, and as it turns out, his polar opposite. Also starring Aussie actor Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Stoker, The Kids are Alright) and Wallace Shawn (Clueless), The Double premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and went on to Sundance. It's been praised in early reviews, including by the Playlist, who wrote: "Totally bonkers, hilarious and wickedly clever, The Double is special and singular filmmaking at its best." The Double is in cinemas on Thursday, May 8, and thanks to Madman Films, we have 15 double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=_klCoDTHKGg ',width:'1150',height:'700'" width="1150" height="700" align="" />
At the risk of pointing out the perpetually obvious, Australians love their sport. We love our rugby, AFL, tennis, cricket... basically anything that involves sweating profusely and chasing after something. We're a sporting nayshun and it's an important part of our national identity whether we like it or not. With so many poetic, victorious moments in sporting activity, there's plenty of opportunity for artful glorification. Celebrating these fleeting snapshots is an exhibition for those craving to see Australia's sports culture celebrated in art. The biennial Basil Sellers Art Prize honours the presence of sport in contemporary Australian art and is regarded as one of Australia's most prestigious art competitions. This year, the winner will receive a whopping $100,00 prize for their work — and the shortlisted pieces are looking pretty strong. Artists up for the top prize include some of Australia's most celebrated talent: Tony Albert, Narelle Autio, Zoe Croggon, Gabrielle de Vietri, Ivan Durrant, Shaun Gladwell, Richard Lewer, William Mackinnon, Rob McHaffie, Noel McKenna, Rob McLeish, Fiona McMonagle, Raquel Ormella, Khaled Sabsabi, Jenny Watson and Gerry Wedd. There's also a People's Choice award of $5000, so you can make your visit really count by having a cheeky vote. To check out the competition before the winner is announced on July 25, head to The Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne ASAP. Otherwise the exhibition is open until October to peruse in your own bench time.
Summer may be well and truly done and dusted, but spritz season is kicking on strong at Richmond's Baby Pizza. In fact, the venue is serving up a fresh series of daily aperitivo specials to see you happily sipping through autumn. From 4–6pm each day, Baby is slinging serves of Aperol and sbagliato rosa for $9.50 a pop. Otherwise, part with $6.50 for a Peroni Rossa or $14 for a glass of Castelli Mt Barker pinot grigio instead. If you're also feeling peckish, you'll find plenty to love about the aperitivo food menu: house-made focaccia with mortadella, buffalo mozzarella and green olive; fritto di polenta (parmesan-crusted polenta with aioli); gnudi di ricotta with roasted red pepper and sage; and pizzette with anchovy, San Marzano tomato and basil. Walk-ins are welcome, though you can make a booking online if you want to be sure of nabbing a table.
We’ve got such a strong, stereotypical sense of what 'circus' is: lion-tamers, ringmasters, and glitter galore. So coming to S with no previous experience of seeing Circa’s work, I’m blown away by the company’s approach — one that puts the spotlight on the sheer, immediate physicality of acrobatics by stripping away the trappings of the big top. What’s remarkable is that it manages to do all this without losing circus’ fundamental appeal. Far from closed off, emotionally short-circuited contemporary dance, the movement on show is joyous and often playful. Loosely themed around the sinuous curves of the letter S, the work is scored by a combination of recorded music from Kimmo Pohjonen, Samuli Kosminen, and the Kronos Quartet, together with occasionally incorporating live amplification. As well as book-ending the show, the mics are used to foreground the effort and strain that the acrobatics place upon the performers’ bodies. In one sequence, Casey Douglas has microphones strapped to his chest and the inside of his mouth before being pummelled by Kimberley Rossi. Although most of S is made up of scenes in which the entire ensemble perform together, director Yaron Lifschitz breaks up the action with these more intimate moments, either complete scenes as above or having some performers (especially Brittannie Portelli) find moments within the action to inject moments of play. The brave display of acrobatics on show wows the opening night audience, made up largely of Melbourne’s close-knit circus community. Based in Brisbane, Circa were founded in 2006; since then they’ve toured in 29 countries, and at the beginning of this year they picked up the prestigious Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award. With a show like this, it's easy to see why.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to watching anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest to old favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from July's haul of newbies. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL RIGHT NOW MYSTERY ROAD: ORIGIN Origin stories: everyone's getting them. Caped crusaders like Batman and Spider-Man have several; Hercule Poirot's moustache even has its own. Originally played by Aaron Pedersen on both the big and small screens, Mystery Road's Jay Swan doesn't particularly need one, given that plenty about why he's the man and detective he is, and the balancing act he's forced to undertake as an Indigenous cop as well, has already been teased out. But Mystery Road: Origin isn't jumping on a trend, repeating itself or prolonging a long-running saga. It isn't trying to justify having someone else play Swan, either. Rather, this latest entry in Australia's best crime saga leaps backwards because this franchise has always danced with history anyway. It has to; you can't explore the reality of life in Australia today, the racial and cultural divides that've long festered across this sunburnt country, and all that Swan encounters and tussles with, otherwise. In Mystery Road: Origin, it's 1999 — and, when its six episodes begin, Swan isn't quite a detective yet. He's already a man of weighty thoughts and few words, though, and he's played by Mark Coles Smith (Occupation: Rainfall), who couldn't do a more impressive job of stepping into Pedersen's (High Ground) shoes. The series spies Swan as he's driving along sweeping salt plains. His destination: Jardine, his Western Australian home town, population 1000. Resident sergeant Peter Lovric (Steve Bisley, Doctor Doctor) welcomes Swan back eagerly, but his return isn't all cheers, especially when he stumbles across a robbery en route and gets cuffed by senior constable Max Armine (Hayley McElhinney, How to Please a Woman). Tensions also linger with Swan's estranged dad Jack (Kelton Pell, another The Circuit alum), the town's old rodeo hero, and with his hard-drinking elder brother Sputty (Clarence Ryan, Moon Rock for Monday). Indeed, that initial stickup, the crimewave waged by culprits in Ned Kelly masks that it's soon a part of, and those persistent family struggles will all define the detective's homecoming. Mystery Road: Origin streams via ABC iview. Read our full review. GREAT FREEDOM Great Freedom begins with 60s-style video footage captured in public bathrooms, showing Hans Hoffmann (Franz Rogowski, Undine) with other men, and with court proceedings that condemn him to prison purely for being gay. That was the reality in West Germany at the time due to Paragraph 175, which criminalised homosexuality — and, when he's incarcerated at the start of this equally tender and brutal Austrian film, Hans isn't surprised. He's been there before, as writer/director Sebastian Meise (Still Life) conveys almost like he's chronicling time travel. It's a canny touch, as relayed in the movie's cinematography, editing and overall mood. The minutes, days, hours, weeks and more surely move differently when you've been locked up for being who you are, and when being in jail is the better alternative to being in a concentration camp. Meise jumps between Hans' different stretches, exploring the imprint all that time behind bars leaves, the yearning for love and freedom that never dissipates, and his friendship with initially repulsed fellow inmate Viktor (Georg Friedrich, Freud). In the process, Great Freedom resounds with intimate moments and revealing performances, as anchored by another stellar turn by Rogowski. The German talent has had an outstanding few years thanks to Victoria, Happy End, Transit, In the Aisles and Undine. He's as absorbing as he's ever been here, too, in a movie that stares his way so intently — and with such a striking sense of light and shade — that it could be painting his portrait. Friedrich is just as impressive, in an outwardly thorny part. Great Freedom streams via SBS On Demand. THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH Who'd want to try to step into the one and only David Bowie's shoes? Only the brave and the bold. Two people earn that description in The Man Who Fell to Earth, the new TV sequel to the iconic 1976 movie that starred the music legend in the role he was clearly born to play: an alien who descends upon earth and ch-ch-changes history. Bill Nighy (Buckley's Chance) is charged with taking over the character of Thomas Jerome Newton and, thankfully and with style, he's up to the task. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) slides into the same kind of part that Bowie owned in the original, however, as fellow extra-terrestrial interloper Faraday. He's this follow-up's newcomer to the planet, and he's just as destined to do big things. That's not a spoiler — early in the first episode, Faraday addresses a massive crowd like he's Steve Jobs announcing Apple's latest product, and The Man Who Fell to Earth's tech success uses the occasion to spin his origin story. Who'd want to try to pick up where one of the best sci-fi films ever made left off? That'd also be the brave and the bold, aka Clarice creators Jenny Lumet and Alex Kurtzman. Drawing inspiration from silver screen gems is obviously the pair's niche of late, but it's worth remembering with this new effort — which takes its cues from Walter Tevis' 1963 novel of the same name, too — that Kurtzman was also behind exceptional 2008–13 sci-fi series Fringe. Indeed, The Man Who Fell to Earth 2.0 feels like the perfect use of his talents, with the series thinking big and brimming with urgency in its vision of a world that might only be able to be saved by a spaceboy who truly cares about stopping climate change's damage. To follow through with his mission, though, Faraday also needs the help of former MIT physics whiz Justin Falls (Naomie Harris, No Time to Die). The Man Who Fell to Earth is available to stream via Paramount+. STRANGER THINGS For the second time in about as many months, Stranger Things has dictated everyone's playlists. While Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)' is still getting a workout, so is Metallica's 'Master of Puppets' thanks to the big two-episode end to the 80s-set hit's fourth season — two bumper movie-length instalments which clocked in at 85 minutes and 150 minutes each. Yes, it likely would've worked better if those two episodes had been split up, rather than going for length. Based on episode durations from earlier seasons, the Duffer brothers could've dropped five parts instead. The psychology behind the move was effective and ingenious, though; who didn't make a date to binge their way through as soon as they hit, because diving into two huge instalments in one night felt different than committing to five shorter chapters? Everyone did, and Netflix even momentarily crashed as a result. This season across both volumes certainly had a theme: going big in as many ways as possible. Season four gave the horror/slasher vibe a massive workout, thanks to new big bad Vecna — and ramped up the confrontations, showdowns, killings, flashbacks, drama and globe-trotting in the process. Clearly, the soundtrack budget was hefty. So was the performance given by season four MVP Sadie Sink (Fear Street) as Max Mayfield bore the brunt of Vecna's murderous and mind-bending games, and the place that Joseph Quinn (Small Axe) will always have in the show's fans' hearts thanks to his turn as Eddie Munson. And, the list of questions about what comes next in Stranger Things' upcoming fifth and final season, and where Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, Godzilla vs Kong), Mike (Finn Wolfhard, Ghostbusters: Afterlife), Will (Noah Schnapp, Waiting for Anya), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo, The Angry Birds Movie 2), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin, Concrete Cowboy), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton, The Souvenir Part II), Steve (Joe Keery, Free Guy), Robin (Maya Hawke, Fear Street), Nancy (Natalia Dyer, Things Seen & Heard), Joyce (Winona Ryder, The Plot Against America) and Hopper's (David Harbour, Black Widow) stories will end, is sizeable. Stranger Things streams via Netflix. Read our full review of volume one of Stranger Things' fourth season. I LOVE THAT FOR YOU It works for television networks greenlighting new comedies, and it works for viewers picking what to watch, too: take one of Saturday Night Live's extremely amusing ladies, give them their own show, see laughs and smarts follow, profit. I Love That For You actually boasts two such talented women, although they didn't crossover during their SNL stints: Molly Shannon and Vanessa Bayer. The latter plays Joanna Gold, who has always dreamed of being on SVN — Special Value Network, that is. When she was a kid (Sophie Pollono, Small Engine Repair), she was diagnosed with childhood leukaemia, and obsessing over her idol Jackie Stilton (Shannon, The Other Two) as she sold anything and everything helped as a distraction. Now an adult, Joanna still wants to do exactly the same, and leave her job alongside her dad (Matt Malloy, The Sex Lives of College Girls) at Costco behind. But when she gets the chance, she pulls an unimpressed face during her first on-air stint that kills sales, so she says her cancer has returned to avoid getting fired. On paper, that's an extremely tricky premise. In lesser hands, it'd be downright horrible. As well as being a comic gem here, in SNL, and in everything from I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson to Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Bayer had childhood leukaemia herself — and if she didn't, and wasn't also one of I Love That For You's creators and writers, it's highly likely that this series wouldn't work. Thankfully, instead, it takes the same approach that Bayer has clearly always taken since her teenage experience, using humour in clever, sensitive, sincere, amusing, savvy and sometimes surreal ways. The show keeps demonstrating why its setup is worth tackling, too, asking questions about trying to live a normal life and work out who you are after surviving such a diagnosis; how and when sympathy is genuine, earned and milked; and guilt on several levels. It's also an entertaining workplace comedy and a takedown of consumerism, greed and the fact that anything, including sob stories, are for sale if there's something to be sold. And, of course, Bayer and Shannon are dynamite in their shared scenes. I Love That For You streams via Paramount+. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK THE RESORT If the last couple of years in pop culture are to be believed, it mightn't be a great idea to go away with a character played by Cristin Milioti. In three of the always-excellent actor's most recent high-profile roles, she has decamped to idyllic surroundings, only to find anything but bliss awaiting. Palm Springs threw a Groundhog Day-style time loop her way in its titular setting. Made for Love saw her trapped by sinister futuristic possibilities. In The Resort, which hails from Palm Springs screenwriter Andy Siara, she now has the ten-year itch — and a getaway to Mexico that's meant to soothe it slides swiftly into a wild mystery. In this instantly twisty comedy-thriller Miloti plays Emma, spouse to William Jackson Harper's (The Good Place) Noah. After a decade of marriage, they're celebrating at the Bahía del Paraíso in the Yucatán, but they're really trying to reignite their spark. At this stage in their relationship, he recoils at her bad breath, she makes fun of him falling asleep on the couch, and they're rarely in sync; even when they're floating along the resort's lazy river, cocktails in hand, they want different things. Bringing them together: a missing-persons case from 15 years ago, after Emma goes tumbling off a quad-biking trail, bumps her head and spies an old mobile phone. It belongs to Sam (Skyler Gisondo, Licorice Pizza), a guest at the nearby but now-shuttered Oceana Vista Resort, who was on holidays over Christmas 1997 with his parents (IRL couple Dylan Baker, Hunters, and Becky Ann Baker, Big Little Lies), as well as his girlfriend Hannah (Debby Ryan, Insatiable). As Emma learns via Sam's photos and text messages, all wasn't rosy in his romantic life. After running into fellow guest Violet (Nina Bloomgarden, Good Girl Jane), who was travelling with her dad Murray (Nick Offerman, Pam & Tommy), his SMS history skews in her direction. But the pair promptly disappeared, and any potential clues were lost when a hurricane struck and destroyed their getaway spot. If The White Lotus joined forces with Only Murders in the Building, it'd look a whole lot like this entertaining series, which also includes an ace performance by Luis Gerardo Méndez (Narcos: Mexico) as Baltasar, Oceana Vista Resort's head of security. The Resort is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS Live life long enough and anything can happen. Enjoy an undead existence for hundreds of years and that feeling only multiplies, or so the wealth of movies and TV shows that've let vampires stalk through their frames frequently remind viewers. A sharehouse-set mockumentary focused on bloodsucking roommates who've seen more than a few centuries between them, What We Do in the Shadows embraces that idea like little else, though — as a Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi-starring movie, aka one of the funniest New Zealand comedies of this century, and then as a hilarious American TV spinoff. The premise has always been ridiculously straightforward, and always reliably entertaining. A camera crew captures the lives of the fanged and not-at-all furious, squabbles about chores, a rising body count and avoiding sunlight all included. Their domesticity may involve sinking their teeth into necks, blood splatters aplenty, sleeping in coffins and shapeshifting into bats, but it also covers arguing about paying bills, keeping the house clean and dealing with the neighbours. The TV version's stellar fourth season picks up after a climactic end to the show's prior batch of episodes, which only finished airing back in October 2021. Its bloodsucking roommates were all set for their own adventures, but a year has passed in the show, bringing them back together. Nandor (Kayvan Novak, Cruella) returns from exploring his ancestral homeland, and he's more determined than ever to find a wife. He also thinks that one of his many from the Middle Ages could be the one again; bringing back a Djinn (Anoop Desai, Russian Doll) to grant his wishes helps. After a stint in London with the Supreme Vampiric Council, Nadja has big ambitions, too, setting her sights on opening a vampire nightclub. As for her beloved Laszlo (Matt Berry, Toast of London and Toast of Tinseltown), he's still taking care of the baby-turned-boy that burst its way out of energy vampire Colin Robinson's (Mark Proksch, The Office) body. For the fourth time around, nothing about this delight sucks, not for a second, with season four as wonderful as ever. What We Do in the Shadows streams via Binge. Read our full review. BETTER CALL SAUL When the middle of August arrives, the best show on television for the past seven years — other than the one-season return of Twin Peaks — will come to an end. That isn't new news, but it's still monumental, especially given that Better Call Saul is the spinoff to an also-phenomenal series. Unlike when Breaking Bad wrapped up, though, there's no future immediately in sight. Perhaps that's fitting. Better Call Saul is TV's great tragedy precisely because we always knew what its prequel segments, which comprise the overwhelming bulk of the show, will lead to. We know who Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk, Nobody) is when he's a shady Albuquerque criminal defence attorney aiding Walter White (Bryan Cranston, Your Honor) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul, Westworld). We know what all his choices then lead to, because we've already seen it. But every single moment that's been brought to the screen in sunny colour in Better Call Saul so far, including in the now-airing second half of the series' sixth and final season, desperately makes you wish that everything you know is destined to occur won't. That said, this latest and last batch of episodes has already overflowed with surprises as it works towards that big farewell. And, it's been delighting and astonishing as only Better Call Saul can — with meticulous precision in everything that it slips across the screen, including in its tightly plotted and never-predictable narrative, its cinematic imagery and its many, many marvellous performances. That includes continuing to unfurl Lalo Salamanca's (Tony Dalton, Hawkeye) part in this long-running crime saga, as the first half of the season did with Nacho Varga (Michael Mando, Spider-Man: Homecoming). It spans seeing where being Saul's wife, as well as his happy co-conspirator in getting revenge against their old boss Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian, Gordita Chronicles), leads Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn, Veep). TV won't be the same without Saul Goodman. It certainly won't be s'all good, man. Still, what a swan song this extraordinary show is treating viewers to — even with three episodes left to go. Better Call Saul streams via Stan. Read our review of the first half of Better Call Saul's sixth season. BLACK BIRD 2022 marks a decade since Taron Egerton's first on-screen credit as a then-23 year old. Thanks to the Kingsman movies, Eddie the Eagle, Robin Hood and Rocketman, he's rarely been out of the cinematic spotlight since — but miniseries Black Bird feels like his most mature performance yet. The latest based-on-a-true-crime tale to get the twisty TV treatment, it adapts autobiographical novel In with the Devil: a Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption. It also has Dennis Lehane, author of Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River and Shutter Island, bringing it to streaming. The focus: Jimmy Keene, a former star high-school footballer turned drug dealer, who finds his narcotics-financed life crumbling when he's arrested in a sting, offered a plea bargain with the promise of a five-year sentence (four with parole), but ends up getting ten. Seven months afterwards, he's given the chance to go free, but only if he agrees to transfer to a different prison to befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser, Cruella), and get him to reveal where he's buried his victims' bodies. Even with new shows based on various IRL crimes hitting queues every week, or thereabouts — 2022 has already seen Inventing Anna, The Dropout, The Girl From Plainville and The Staircase, to name a mere few — Black Bird boasts an immediately compelling premise. The first instalment in its six-episode run is instantly gripping, too, charting Keene's downfall, the out-of-ordinary situation posed by Agent Lauren McCauley (Sepideh Moafi, The Killing of Two Lovers), and the police investigation by Brian Miller (Greg Kinnear, Crisis) to net Hall. It keeps up the intrigue and tension from there; in fact, the wild and riveting details just keep on coming. Fantastic performances all round prove pivotal as well. Again, Egerton is excellent, while Hauser's menace-dripping efforts rank among the great on-screen serial killer portrayals. And, although bittersweet to watch after his sudden passing in May, Ray Liotta (The Many Saints of Newark) makes a firm imprint as Keene's father. Black Bird streams via Apple TV+. THE REHEARSAL Early in the first episode of The Rehearsal, Nathan Fielder meets Kor Skeete, a Jeopardy!-watching, trivia-loving New Yorker with a problem that he's seeking help with. Skeete has been lying to his bar trivia team about his educational history, claiming that he has a master's degree instead of a bachelor's degree, and he's hoping for assistance in coming clean. His biggest worry: how his pal Tricia might react, and if it'll end their friendship. First, however, in their initial meeting in Skeete's apartment, Fielder asks Skeete if he's ever seen any of Fielder's past work. Skeete says no, despite claiming a particular interest in television as his favourite trivia subject — and his response to what Fielder explains next will likely mirror anyone watching who comes to this with the same fresh eyes. Until now, Fielder was best known for Nathan for You, in which he helped companies and people by using his business school studies. Fielder played a version of himself, and the result is best described as a reality comedy. It's the kind of thing that has to be seen to be truly believed and understood, and it's both genius and absurd. In The Rehearsal, Fielder is back as himself. He also wants to use his skills to help others again. His tactic this time is right there in the name, letting his subjects rehearse their big moments — baring all to a friend in that first episode, and exploring parenthood in the second, for instance. The show's crew even build elaborate sets, recreating the spots where these pivotal incidents will take place, such as the bar where Skeete will meet Tricia. Fielder hires actors to assist, too. And, adding yet another layer, Fielder also steps through the same process himself, rehearsing his first encounter with Skeete, with thanks to an actor, before they cross paths. If you've ever thought that life was a big performance, and that every single thing about interacting with others — and even just being yourself — involves playing a role, you'll find much to think about in this fascinating, funny, often unsettling, quickly addictive series. There's reality TV and then there's the way that the deadpan Fielder plays with and probes reality, and while both can induce cringing, nothing compares to this. The Rehearsal streams via Binge. A RECENT CINEMA RELEASE TO CATCH UP WITH RIVER Some actors possess voices that could narrate almost anything, and Willem Dafoe (The Northman) is one of them. He's tasked with uttering quite the elegiac prose in River, but he gives all that musing about waterways — the planet's arteries, he calls them at one point — a particularly resonant and enthralling tone. Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom (Sherpa) knew he would, of course. She enlisted his vocal talents on her last documentary, Mountain, as well. Both films pick one of the earth's crucial natural features, capture them in all their glory at multiple spots around the globe, and wax lyrical about their importance, and both make for quite the beguiling viewing experience. Thanks to writer Robert Macfarlane, Dafoe has been given much to opine in River, covering the history of these snaking streams from the planet's creation up until today. He hones in on their importance to human civilisation — in making much in our evolution possible, in fact, and also the devastation we've wrought in response since we learned to harness all that water for our own purposes. That said, River could've simply paired its dazzling sights with its Australian Chamber Orchestra score and it still would've proven majestic and moving. The footage is that remarkable as it soars high and wide across 39 countries, and peers down with the utmost appreciation. Here, a picture truly is worth a thousand of those Dafoe-uttered words, but the combination of both — plus a score that includes everything from Bach to Radiohead — is something particularly special. River is available to stream via ABC iView. Read our full review. A STONE-COLD CLASSIC TO BINGE IN FULL THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW TV shows about TV are like movies about movies: someone somewhere is usually making one. But every television series that's told a tale about making a television show since the early 90s has owed an enormous debt to The Larry Sanders Show — and everything that's still to come always will. One of HBO's earliest examples of original programming, it parodies the late-night talk show world. (Yes, 30 Rock's satire of Saturday Night Live took more than a few cues from it.) The show within the show is also called The Larry Sanders Show, as hosted by its namesake (the late, great Garry Shandling), and its day-to-day production is always hectic. There's Larry's ego to deal with, the distinctive management style of producer Artie (the also late, great Rip Torn), the parade of staffers and assistants (including a pre-Entourage Jeremy Piven and Reality Bites-era Janeane Garofalo), and a constant array of demanding guests. And, Larry's personal life always bleeds into the chaos, including the spoils and trappings of fame, and his romantic relationships. Curb Your Enthusiasm, another series set within showbiz that's also about someone called Larry, similarly wouldn't be what it is if The Larry Sanders Show had never existed. Tonally, they share plenty — the acerbic humour, the willingness to be both blunt and brutal, and the well-known names skewering themselves, too. Thanks to its fondness for walk-and-talk scenes, The Larry Sanders Show has left its imprint as far and wide as ER and The West Wing as well. It isn't just phenomenal because it helped shape so much great television that followed, however. Perhaps the best sitcom ever made, it's as smart as it is savage, surreal and hilarious, and the combination of Sanders and Torn, both at their absolute best, is what TV dreams are made of. Making your way through the 90 episodes, which originally aired across six seasons between 1992–98, is a breeze. Wanting to binge them again immediately afterwards comes just as easily. The Larry Sanders Show streams via Binge. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May and June this year. You can also check out our running list of standout must-stream 2022 shows so far as well — and our best 15 new shows from the first half of this year, top 15 returning shows and best 15 straight-to-streaming movies.
Keen for an overseas holiday as soon as you can possibly take one? Aren't we all — and Australians can now add Singapore to their list of international destinations. A quarantine-free travel arrangement between the two countries was first floated back in March, and it'll finally kick in on Monday, November 8. At present, this'll be a one-way setup, allowing double-vaccinated Australians to enter Singapore without quarantining. Dubbed a 'vaccinated travel lane (VTL)' by Singaporean authorities, it'll commence just a week after Australia's international border restrictions ease to once again permit Aussies to leave the country for holidays. Here's how the VTL will work: if you've had two jabs, you can enter Singapore without quarantining, although you will need to undergo COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing. If you're travelling with kids aged 12 years and under who aren't vaxxed, they'll be allowed to enter Singapore, too — as long as you're double-vaccinated. Obviously, double-vaxxed Aussies will be allowed to return back to Australia after their Singapore trips; however, Australia isn't opening up to overseas holidaymakers as yet — which is why it's a one-way arrangement Singapore has already established VTLs with a range of countries, including Germany, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the US. Switzerland will also join the arrangement on November 8, with South Korea following on November 15. When it was first suggested at the beginning of 2021, the Australia–Singapore arrangement was expected to start in July, but that clearly didn't happen. Then, in June, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, with the pair releasing a joint statement affirming that they were working towards the travel arrangement. Singapore follows countries such as Fiji and Thailand in revealing when they're reopening to holidaying Australians. If you're currently thinking about booking flights, Qantas has already announced fares from Sydney from Tuesday, November 23. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
For four days now, Victoria has been in lockdown as part of the state's latest effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. The stay-at-home period was due to run for five days, starting at 11.59pm on Thursday, July 15 and ending at 11.59pm on Tuesday, July 20; however, Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that it'll be continuing past that initial end date. At the state's daily press conference today, Monday, July 19, the Premier said that "these restrictions simply cannot end at midnight tomorrow night". He continued: "we are running alongside this virus, but we are not yet out in front of it. If you think about it like a fire, we have a containment line and are making significant progress but it is not out yet. What we know with Delta is an hour is like a day and day is like a week in some ways — it is moving so fast." The plan, the Premier advised, is to be able to reopen after this lockdown and stay open — which is why the state won't be able to ease its stay-at-home conditions on Tuesday, July 20. "It would be perhaps a few days of sunshine, and then there's a very high chance we'd be back in lockdown again. That's what I'm trying to avoid," he said. At this stage, the Premier isn't able to advise how much longer the lockdown will run, or what the exact conditions will be. Andrews announced that he hopes to be able to provide that information by this time tomorrow. Victoria currently has 81 active COVID-19 cases, including 13 new locally acquired cases identified in the 24 hours to midnight last night. https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1416886071955128320 At the moment, as under past Victorian lockdowns — including the last one before this back in May and June — the state's residents can only leave home for five reasons: shopping for what you need, when you need it; caregiving and compassionate reasons; essential work or permitted eduction that can't be done from home; exercise; and getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Exercise must be limited to two hours a day with your household members, your intimate partner or one other person who is not from your household or your partner. Once again, though, Victorians must stay within five kilometres of their homes, unless you're leaving for permitted work or you're shopping for essentials if there are no shops in your radius. Masks are also mandatory everywhere outside of your home — and private gatherings are banned, as are public gatherings. But, while you can't have any visitors enter your home in general, there are single bubbles, and intimate partner visits are allowed. So, if you live alone, you can form a bubble with another person or see your other half. Weddings are not permitted, unless on compassionate grounds, while funerals are limited to ten. Hairdressing and beauty services, indoor physical recreation and sport venues, swimming pools, community facilities including libraries, entertainment venues and non-essential retail venues remain closed — and hospitality venues have reverted back to takeaway-only. Supermarkets, bottle shops and pharmacies are still open — and professional sports can proceed, but without crowds. Victoria will not leave its current lockdown after five days, on Tuesday, July 20, with further details to be announced on that date. For more information about the rules in place at the moment, head to the Victorian Department of Health website.
UPDATE: APRIL 30, 2018 — In news that is really not that surprising, Kendrick's Melbourne and Sydney shows sold out in less than an hour this morning. To meet demand, two more shows have been added — one in Melbourne on July 14 and one in Sydney on July 25. Tickets go on sale at 2pm today, and will no doubt sell out as quickly as the first batch. We had a feeling this might happen. Off the back of an appearance at an already sold-out Splendour in the Grass, Kendrick Lamar will also headline four Australian shows in support of his fourth album DAMN.. Lamar is one of the most critically acclaimed and successful hip hop artists of our generation. The Compton rapper most recently became the first ever artist to take out the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for contemporary music. He's also the beholder of 12 Grammys, has clocked up more than six million album sales worldwide, and was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME Magazine. Lamar will return to our shores for Splendour on the weekend of July 20–22 and four headline shows: one in Perth on July 10, one in Melbourne on July 13, one in Adelaide on July 15 and one in Sydney on July 24. Having recently taken the DAMN. tour across the UK and Europe, set lists included his extensive catalogue, including good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012), To Pimp A Butterfly (2015) and his most recent effort DAMN.. DAMN. AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES 2018 Tuesday, July 10 — Perth Arena, Perth Friday, July 13 and Saturday, July 14 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Sunday, July 15 — Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Tuesday, July 24 and Wednesday, July 25 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Kendrick Lamar will visit Australia in July. Tickets will go on sale at local times on Monday, April 30 here.
If you test positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms and are awaiting test results, you must isolate. It's not a new rule. But, the Victorian Government has just introduced new penalties for those who aren't following these isolation orders. If you're caught out and about, not isolating in your home, you could now be hit with a $4659 on-the-spot fine — or, if you repeatedly break the rules, sent to the Magistrates Court and fined up to $20,000. The Victorian Government announced the new penalties, which are up from the current $1652 on-the-spot fines, after discovering that about 27 percent of Melburnians have not been following the state's isolation rules. At a press conference today, Tuesday, August 4, Premier Daniel Andrews said that the Australian Defence Force conducted more than 3000 door-knocks checking on people who were meant to be in isolation and found more than 800 people were not at home and "could not be found". "That is completely unacceptable," the Premier said. Because of this, the Government is not only increasing the penalties for breaking the rules, but banning those in isolating from exercising. Until now, you could go outside for socially distant exercise if you were in isolation, but moving forward you must remain on your property. "You will need to stay in your home or on your property. Fresh air at the front door. Fresh air in your frontyard or backyard or opening a window. That's what you're going to have to do," the Premier said. "Apart from getting emergency medical care... there is literally no reason for you to leave your home." As well as for those who've tested positive or are awaiting test results, isolation may be required if you've come in close contact with a confirmed case or have been to an 'exposure site' named by the Department of Health and Human Services. Returning international travellers must also go into mandatory hotel quarantine. The DHHS has outlined all the rules of isolation and quarantine over here (but it has not yet updated the rules surrounding exercise). "We will do everything we possibly can to support people, but you have got to be isolating when you are directed to do so, for a close contact or for a positive case and, of course, we want people who have been tested and awaiting results, we want you to isolate as well," the Premier said. "If there are any insecure work issues, if there are financial issues, then there is that $300 payment." The Federal Government also yesterday announced a $1500 payment for those who do not have sick leave and must self-isolate. If you're not isolating, but are in metro Melbourne, you are still allowed to exercise once a day, for an hour, within five kilometres of your home, under the new stage four restrictions. Regional Victoria is now under stage three restrictions. For more information about the status of COVID–19 in Victoria and the rules around isolation, head to the DHHS website.
It's made from pickle relish, mustard, soybean oil, egg yolk, onion, garlic and vinegar, has been slathered on burgers for more than half a century, and boasts as passionate a following as any condiment can have. Yes, we're talking about Big Mac Special Sauce, which goes mighty well with two beef patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions and a sesame seed bun — and, for McHappy Day, it's being bottled up and sold separately. If you're keen to squeeze the famous sauce on your own homemade burgers — or whatever other everyday meals it happens to go well with — then head along to a McDonald's eatery ASAP. A 500ml bottle will set you back $12, and there'll be more than 144,000 available. That seems like plenty; however, folks tend to go a little overboard when it comes to the condiment. Case in point: back in 2015, when limited-edition bottles were put up for auction on Ebay, one sold for more than $20,000. This isn't the first time that Maccas has packaged its famous sauce and put it up for sale, with the chain doing so in 2018 to celebrate the Big Mac's 50th anniversary. Still, it's not the kind of condiment that you can buy everyday. And, while there's plenty of recipes online that explain how to whip up a version at home, your tastebuds can probably tell the difference. Profits from all sales will be donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities, which McHappy Day raises money for each year. If you're buying an actual Big Mac with your bottle of Big Mac Special Sauce, $2 from your burger will also go to the cause, with other merchandise on offer and gold coin donations also accepted. Bottles of Big Mac Special Sauce are now available to purchase in store at McDonald's stores nationwide. For more information, visit the McHappy Day website. CORRECTION: OCTOBER 28, 2019 — This article previously stated that the Big Mac Special Sauce would be available from Saturday, November, but it is actually available now (Monday, October 28) until sold out. The above article has been updated to reflect this.
Love mussels? Well, you're in luck, because March 12-13 is the Port Phillip Mussel Festival. Feast on locally-sourced seafood with friends and family at this laidback, two-day seafood street party taking over the streets of South Melbourne. Now in its third year, the free celebration of the tasty sea creatures and local culture has developed a cult-like following — and has been hailed as one of the must-do's for foodies at this year's Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Top restaurants will be flexing their muscles throughout the weekend, including Claypots, Evening Star, Köy, Paco Y Lola, Simply Spanish, Dandelion and St Ali. They'll all be dishing up crowd-pleasing tastebud sensations in the form of piping hot mussel paella, wok-cooked drunken mussels and Bia Ha Noi mussels. Dance away the summer — and your belly full of mussels — with the perfect mix of high quality, local wine, beer and cider, and a stellar line-up of Melbourne's best New Orleans and Dixeland-style bands.
One of Melbourne's venues is going green this summer, celebrating a big pop-culture phenomenon that's still getting plenty of affection two decades after it first hit. Yes, after all this time, everyone still loves animated favourite Shrek. So, Ballers Clubhouse is hosting the ultimate Shrek party for adults: Shrek Rave. Rediscover why it really isn't easy being an ogre while listening to a Shrek DJ set, and joining in on a Smash Mouth sing-along. Still remember the words to the band's version of 'I'm a Believer'? Of course you do, and you have the song stuck in your head right now. Also part of the fun: Shrek-themed drink specials including Shrek Juice, Donkey Drank and Farquaad Fizz; free green glow sticks; an all-green dress code (obviously); a free green glitter bar; and a prize for best Shrek-inspired outfit. Here, all that glitters is indeed gold — and green — with the party happening from 10.30pm on Saturday, November 19. Tickets cost $42.41 per person.
Grab a cup of coffee and your best highlighter pen because the program for Melbourne Fringe is a doozy this year. From circus and dance to mind-popping installations and everything in-between, this year's festival consists of more than 450 events, brought to life by literally thousands of passionate artists. For punters, it's both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, there's certainly no shortage of things to see. On the other, it's basically impossible to get to them all. Inspired by the theme 'step into the light', this year's program is bookended by — wait for it — lasers! And that's just the tip of a very impressive iceberg. As one of the biggest and most eclectic events on the city's cultural calendar, the Fringe lineup caters to every conceivable taste, with cabaret, comedy, design and a music lineup that covers everything from jazz to orchestral to disco. There's a lot to consider. So here's our top ten picks of the 2016 Fringe festival.
There's nothing quite like the thrum of a crowd at a live gig, but we often forget to acknowledge all the incredible work that goes into putting on a show. Australia's live music scene is growing, and we owe so much of that to not only the musicians but also their managers, agents, crew and others working tirelessly behind the scenes. Support Act props up the music industry with mental health and wellbeing initiatives, like the Wellbeing Helpline, short-term financial aid and dedicated First Nations support. On Thursday, November 30, it's asking you to help continue to raise funds for music workers by showing your support on Ausmusic T-Shirt Day. Don your favourite Ausmusic tee on Thursday, November 30 and donate to Support Act to boost Australia's music industry. If you don't have a shirt, you can buy one on the website for $50. Take your pick of designs created by local artists, featuring musos such as Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave, Paul Kelly, Gang of Youths and John Farnham – but get in quick, as stocks are limited. All proceeds go directly to Support Act. You can get additional merch from celebrated stars such as Jess Mauboy, Tame Impala, Tash Sultana, INXS, RÜFÜS DU SOL and Ocean Alley, who are donating a percentage of sale proceeds to the campaign. Find the full list of merch partners at the website. In showing your support, you'll become a part of something bigger. Upholding the cause are some notable names in Aussie music — lead ambassadors Amy Shark, Budjerah and Jimmy Barnes are joined by Alex Lahey, Baker Boy, Client Liason, Gretta Ray, Jet, Josh Pyke, MAY-A, Voyager and more. ARIA, Triple J, Heaps Normal, Gildan Brands and AAMI are also backing the cause. "November 30 is a day where we can all rally together, show our support of Aussie music and raise much-needed funds for Support Act who do amazing work for artists, crew and music workers across the industry," shares Amy Shark. Donate and get involved at the Ausmusic website.
Did you know Australia is the world's seventh-largest market for champagne? And, because we never do anything by halves, we're also the largest consumers of champagne per person outside Europe. We also seek quality over quantity, with drinkers choosing sparkling and champagne from vineyards with high quality vines. Avid champagne drinkers may have noticed an increasing number of rosé champagnes in their favourite bars and bottle shops, too. This is thanks to a rosé revolution — a surge in popularity for not only still pink wines but also for sparkling and champagne rosé — which is why we've partnered with Moët & Chandon to bring you a quick guide to the complex drink that can range from amber to hibiscus pink in colour, and from red currant to strawberry in flavour, and pair surprisingly well with sashimi and roast chicken. Read on to find out why your next glass of champagne should be pink. [caption id="attachment_760242" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pinot meunier grapes; Fred Laures[/caption] PINK CHAMPAGNE IS MORE COMPLEX THAN YOU THINK It's also drier and has layers of flavour. Winemakers use red wine grapes pinot noir and pinot meunier as the basis for rosé champagne; they take the intensity and structure of the pinot noir and combine it with the opulent flavours of meunier — think wild strawberry and cranberry characters — which creates a champagne that has freshness as well as layers of flavour. [caption id="attachment_758615" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lasseter Winery[/caption] IT'S THE ONLY TIME WINEMAKERS ARE PERMITTED TO BLEND RED AND WHITE WINES No, really. Making rosé champagne is the only time when it is permitted to blend still red wine and still white wine together to make rosé. The process is called rosé d'assemblage and winemakers combine a percentage of red wine (usually pinot noir or meunier) with the cuvée. Taking it a step further, Moët & Chandon trains its winemakers to master the specific techniques necessary to make red wines, giving them a devoted space, amenities and resources to allow them to focus on the nuances of crafting red wine. No other rosé champagne producer in the Champagne region has taken comparable steps. ROSÉ CHAMPAGNE DATES BACK TO THE 1700s The first documentation of rosé champagne was on March 14, 1764. It was discovered in entries from historic champagne house Ruinart's accounts book, which detailed a shipment of "a basket of 120 bottles", 60 bottles of which were Oeil de Perdrix ("Eye of the Partridge"), refers to "a delicate pink coppery colour." Some champagne houses like Moët & Chandon are celebrating their 43rd vintage of rosé champagne. IT PAIRS WITH MORE THAN JUST OYSTERS Rosé champagne comes alive with food. There's a common misconception that both champagne and rosé champagne should only be drunk at the beginning of a meal (with oysters or as an aperitif), but ask any sommelier or champagne lover and they will tell you that the vibrancy and delicate lines of acid are perfect for freshening the palate after foods like roasted pork, cured meats, or even after devouring a delicious burger. It makes the ideal brunch wine alongside fruit platters, which highlight the wine's natural fruit characters, and its minerality and acidity pairs well with a smoked salmon blini. Get creative and come up with a few unusual pairings at home. [caption id="attachment_762305" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna Kucera[/caption] THE POP PRESSURE IS INTENSE The pressure in a bottle of rosé champagne (or any champagne for that matter) is equivalent to three times the pressure in your average car tyre (around 96psi) — which is why you should never take your hand off the cork when opening a bottle. This pressure is created through the process of fermentation within the bottle; when the yeast eats all the natural sugar in the grapes to produce alcohol, carbon dioxide is the by-product of this process and it gets trapped within the bottles of champagne. In rosé champagne the result is delicate pink bubbles that dance on your tongue. TWENTY PERCENT OF MOËT & CHANDON CHAMPAGNES ARE PINK One in five bottles (or around 20 percent of champagne production) from Moët & Chandon House is rosé. It takes the crafting and production of the blend very seriously. Its focus on higher quality champagnes shines through in the wine, which shows various vinous characters in different vintages with each new release. The non-vintage (NV) styles are made to a 'house style' and are consistent from year to year. [caption id="attachment_760219" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Moet and Chandon Vineyards at the Loge Mont Aigu[/caption] IT'S (SURPRISINGLY) EXCEPTIONAL VALUE FOR MONEY Truly. Hear us out. Only the most outstanding pinot noir grapes, harvested from the House's own highly rated premier crus and grands crus vineyards (read: highly rated in French classification terms), are made into the red wines to be blended into Moët & Chandon's Grand Vintage Rosé Champagne. So you're always guaranteed incomparable quality every time you pop a bottle open. Moët & Chandon's Rosé Impérial is a fruity and elegant champagne with gooseberry, raspberry and wild strawberry notes. Find out more here. Top image: Boudewijn Boer.
Dig out your tassels and practise your Charleston. The Gatsby Party is about to begin — high tea-style. On a Friday evening, Mary Eats Cake will host a 1920s extravaganza, where you'll be able to dress your fanciest, dance your best and feast to your heart's content. At the heart of the event is the launch of Mary Eats Cake's new summer cocktail list. Based on the blending of spirits and tea, the menu includes several celebration-worthy creations, including Mary's Teapot (vodka, lemongrass, Earl Grey tea, gin, apple and lime) and the Mild Spiced Negroni (a smoked blend of Aperol and juniper pepper ginger tea). In between sampling these, you'll be treated to free-flowing sparkling wine and beer — complete with a suitably over the top Champagne tower — and bottomless high tea in the form of both roaming canapés and a dessert buffet. Meanwhile, live band Brooks and Bakers will provide the soundtrack and expert dancers will get the dance floor started. The Gatsby Party will take place at Mary Eats Cake Brunswick on Friday, November 30. A second party will also run at its Montrose location the following night.
Give yourself over to both the unknown and the unnerving, as Realscape Productions' DARKFIELD returns to Arts Centre Melbourne from Friday, October 24–Sunday, January 4, 2026. Featuring two multi-sensory and downright daunting works — FLIGHT and INVISIBLE — the latter is making its Melbourne debut after wowing audiences in Australia and around the globe. Designed to cause havoc with your senses, INVISIBLE sees visitors step into a blacked-out, 40-foot shipping container disguised as a theatre. Amid complete darkness, a mysterious voice moves through the space, delving into the irresistible temptations of invisibility. Yet as we learn more about this dark world, a slightly more sinister tone brings new meaning to the experience. FLIGHT is a little more upfront with its fear factor. Boarding an imagined plane, would-be passengers trip through dual worlds, causing them to wonder what it would feel like if the cabin suddenly lost pressure. Not for the aerophobic or claustrophobic, this nerve-jangling experience plays on ideas like quantum mechanics and the multiverse. "Following a record-breaking tour across the country, we're thrilled to be returning to Arts Centre Melbourne with INVISIBLE and can't wait to see how audiences respond to this latest work," says Amy Johnson, Realscape Productions. "INVISIBLE and FLIGHT are ideal for anyone who loves the thrill of multi-sensory entertainment, and immersing themselves in the unknown." [caption id="attachment_739297" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mihaela Bodlovic[/caption] Top image: Alex Purcell.
Just can't let this time of year pass without sinking a few pretzels and steins of bier? Well, neither can the folks at Melbourne's German laneway haunt Hofbrauhaus, so they've been busy plotting a special virtual edition of their annual Oktoberfest celebrations. The team is beaming all the 'Loktoberfest' fun directly to living rooms across the city, this Saturday, October 10. The Zoom festivities kick off at 5.30pm with a live-streamed keg tapping of Hofbrauhaus' own Oktoberfest bier, a first-time affair made in collaboration with the folks at Burnley Brewing. Then, it's on to a special edition of the venue's weekly live 'Bier Chat' tastings. Those keen to drink along can get a tasting pack delivered to their door, complete with a stein glass, some of the collaboration bier and a classic Bavarian Oktoberfest brew. You can further transport yourself to Munich with a feast of goodies from Hofbrauhaus' takeaway and delivery menus. Get stuck into some bretzels and tap bier, along with finish-at-home dishes like pork knuckle, schnitzel and apfelstrudel. The Loktoberfest celebrations are set to continue into the night, with games, activities and general German-inspired frivolity. You can even sign up for the Zoom stein-holding competition and show off your arm strength for the chance to win a feed for six at Hofbrauhaus post-lockdown.
Melbourne's west is fast developing a reputation for having some of the finest food venues and cultural experiences in the city. Celebrating the best of the west, Eat. Drink. Westside 2018 is a ten-day festival demonstrating the community's diverse flavours and people. Presented as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2018, the program features thirty delicious events ranging from lunches to dinners and masterclasses all hosted by some of the country's leading chefs. The events span a diverse range of cuisines from all over the world, too. There'll be an Ethiopian Banquet ($45) — a buffet of meat stews, vegetarian curries and lentil dishes at Footscray's much-loved Konjo Café — served traditionally sans cutlery. Meanwhile, at the Plough Hotel, you can enjoy pork, beer and wine at Pigs, Pints and Pinots — and there's the added bonus of all profits going to local primary schools. Copper Pot Seddon is celebrating the local community, hosting a three-course Sunday roast at its Community Farm event ($78) and the just-opened Harley and Rose will be roasting a whole pig and serving it in tacos at its What's on the Barbeque Block Party ($28). Book nerd with a penchant for cheese? The Chronicles of Cheese ($35) will pair one with the other at the Sam Merrifield Library. Eat. Drink. Westside 2018 is presented across the western suburbs from Friday, March 16, to Sunday, March 25. Head to the Melbourne Food and Wine website for all the details and to book your places.
Just because you haven't got a big Greek family of your own, that doesn't mean you have to miss out on the fun (and fine food) of a classic Greek Easter celebration. On Sunday, May 2, St Kilda's Stokehouse restaurant is marking the Orthodox Easter season with a festive dinner to remember, spiked with plenty of traditional flavours and a few modern twists. Joining Executive Chef Jason Staudt in the kitchen will be seafood king Matt Germanchis from Anglesea's Fish by Moonlite, so you can expect plenty of ocean-fresh elements starring throughout the evening's menu. It's set to be a truly share-friendly spread, with bookings available for tables of over eight people only, and cost $130 per person. Gather the family or a few mates and get your tastebuds ready for dishes like charred Murray cod with rice and avgolemono (Greek lemon soup), raw Abrolhos island scallops served with bottarga and orange, and Andean potatoes finished with an oregano brulee. There'll be lamb forequarter racks slow-cooked over embers — and, for dessert, Pastry Chef Ash Smith will unveil his own riff on the traditional Greek Easter red eggs (or kokkina avga). [caption id="attachment_807187" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chefs Jason Staudt (Stokehouse) and Matt Germanchis (Fish by Moonlite)[/caption]
There are no maybes about the Melbourne International Film Festival's major high-profile guest for 2018 — but, as fans of the Bluth and Fünke families will know, there is one Maeby. Best known for playing Arrested Development's resident teenage film industry executive, ignored daughter, slacker banana stand employee and alluring cousin, Alia Shawkat is headed to Australia as part of this year's fest, where she'll chat about her career and her life in general. Taking place on Saturday, August 18 as part of the 18-day film event, MIFF Talks: Alia Shawkat in Conversation will see the actor talk for an hour with writer and presenter Lorin Clarke — it will be her only Australian appearance. Considering she's officially attending the fest in support of her new film Blaze, a biopic about country and western songwriter Blaze Foley which Ethan Hawke directed, we're guessing there won't be any dancing like a chicken. Thanks to TV series Search Party and Transparent — plus movies such as Green Room, 20th Century Women, Nasty Baby, Night Moves and Whip It — Shawkat's resume spans much, much further than television's worst real estate family, and that's just on the screen. She's also a jazz singer, pianist, painter and illustrator, and recently starred in, co-wrote and executive produced the film Duck Butter. MIFF Talks: Alia Shawkat in Conversation joins MIFF's growing 2018 program, which also includes an all-night Nicolas Cage marathon and a screening of Drive with an all-new live score. The fest has also announced its first 32 titles for this year, including Blaze, with the full program set to be revealed on July 10.
This February, leafy Lilydale will come alive for a huge food truck festival yet, all thanks to the minds behind The Food Truck Park. Set to once again eclipse the collective's regular events in Preston and at Village Cinemas Coburg Drive-In, The Food Truck Festival will see the city's best four-wheeled food vendors descend on Melba Park across three huge days. Running from Friday, February 21 to Sunday, February 23, the culinary lineup will represent the most popular food trucks from each corner of Melbourne, with the full lineup including Chatime, Oh My Bao!, Manny's Doughnuts, Billy van Creamy, O Tuga Tastes of Portugal, Clarks Cyclone Taties and Dos Amigos Catering — and much much more There'll be plenty of craft beer, wine and cider, too, as well as entertainment in the form of live music, a pop-up outdoor cinema and family-friendly games. Entry is $5 or you can splash out on a $25 Where the Truck Passport, which gets you entry and $40 worth of food. As an added bonus, 20 percent of ticket sales will go to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal. The Food Truck Festival runs from 4–10pm Friday, 11am–10pm Saturday and 11am–9pm Sunday.
Gelatissimo brought us ice cream for dogs, a Weet-Bix flavour and a 100-percent vegan range and, now, for Easter it's getting suitably paschal. It's not only releasing a new flavour, but it's giving it away for free. The gelato chain has just launched a new Choc Cross Bun flavour, which, like its name suggests, combines traditional hot cross bun spices, chocolate gelato and chunks of actual chocolate hot cross buns. You can pick this up from one the gelato chain's 37 Aussie stores nationwide, or get it delivered to your door via UberEats, Deliveroo or DoorDash (yes, it's almost as omnipresent as God himself). It's giving away free tubs of this new flavour, too. In a new initiative called Scoop It Forward, Gelatissimo is inviting you to nominate someone who deserves some free dessert. So, if you've got a friend or family member who is working as a health professional, had to cancel their holidays or has just had a tough week, now may be the time to brighten up their month with a little bit of sweetness. You just need to head on over to the Gelatissimo website between now and midnight on Monday, April 13, add in some details about the person you think deserves free Choc Cross Bun gelato and the company will deliver as many boxes as they can to deserving folk across the country. It'll also be kicking off its Easter giving by donating some tubs to the nurses at the Prince of Wales Hospital. To nominate someone for free Choc Cross Bun gelato, head over to the Gelatissimo website before midnight on Monday, April 13. You can buy some for yourself over here.
Summer is right around the corner, and we're looking for every excuse we can find to spend our weekends outdoors. So when we heard that this Sunday was The Rose Hotel's annual street party, you can imagine we were pretty excited. Food, friends, music and beverages in the sun. What more could you possibly desire? For those not in the know, The Rose Hotel Street Party is something of a tradition. Every year, this iconic Fitzroy pub pulls out all the stops to raise money for a local community project. This time, they're hoping to help build the kids at Fitzroy Primary a new playground. So really, it's your duty to get drink. Think of the children! The fun starts at 11.30am and stretches on until dinner time. Expect live music, raffles, charity auctions and good vibes all day long.
While Melbourne's been patiently waiting for a taste of post-lockdown freedom, Joey Kellock has helped keep many of those tastebuds happy and satisfied with crowd-pleasing pasta, courtesy of his 1800 Lasagne delivery service. But what tastes even better than both of those things? Some glorious free serves of 1800 Lasagne's finest, that's what. Yep — to celebrate World Pasta Day on Monday, October 25, Kellock has teamed up with Toyota Australia to deliver free, fresh lasagne slabs to the masses. Or at least, to those located in 1800 Lasagne's usual delivery zones. Kellock will be firing up his delivery vehicle for a special Monday run, delivering the pre-ordered lasagne freebies to addresses across the city's north, south, east and west, for one day only. A generous, but limited number of serves are up for grabs — get in quick and nab yours online from 12pm Thursday, October 21.
Maybe you've got a thing for boldly coloured blooms. Or perhaps your indoor plant addiction has inspired a green thumb that just won't quit. Either way, your horticultural side is about to get a big ol' dopamine boost when the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show returns this spring. Taking over Carlton Gardens and the Royal Exhibition Building from Wednesday, March 29–Sunday, April 2, the long-running festival will once again serve up a jam-packed program of workshops, talks, product showcases, landscape installations and, of course, gardens galore. It's set to be the largest horticultural festival in the entire southern hemisphere. Browse the stunning Show Gardens to see plant-filled oases from leading international landscape designers, and hit the Boutique Gardens and Balcony Gardens to admire horticultural wonderlands created in the tiniest of spaces. There's a dedicated indoor plant zone where you can pick up plant care products, expert advice and a stack of inspiration, while The Diggers Club is running an array of workshops to level up your green thumb. Step inside the Great Hall of Flowers to lose yourself amongst countless floral displays, check out the student-led Floral Fashions showcase, and sip bubbly while you create your own flower-inspired artistic masterpiece. And on Friday, March 31, swap your usual knock-offs for a visit to Gardens by Twilight, where you can wander through the garden installations while enjoying botanically charged sips, devouring gourmet snacks and soaking up live tunes. Running until 9pm, there'll also be roving performers, a floral design workshop, a guided tour with horticulturalist Chloe Thomson, sculpture shows and exhibitions, to enjoy alongside prosecco flutes and an exclusive espresso martini concoction.
The National Gallery of Australia is no stranger to big names. Last year saw a short-term showcase of pre-Raphaelite masterpieces from London's Tate Britain and Yayoi Kusama's infinity room become a permanent fixture. Earlier this year, it played host to Monet: Impression Sunrise. Now, perhaps some of the most celebrated artists in history — Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso — are coming to the nation's capital. Kicking off on Friday, December 13 and running till Monday, April 13, 2020, Matisse & Picasso will give art fans the chance to see iconic works by two major artists in the same space. Drawing pieces from more than 40 collections around the world, the exhibition will feature more than 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, illustrated books and costumes by the 20th century artists. Plus, it'll highlight the artistic rivalry and the famously turbulent friendship between the two figures, as well as their influence on 20th century Western European art, both individually and collectively. The NGA's fondness for Picasso shouldn't come as a surprise — the gallery is already home to a rare set of 100 of the artist's works on paper, called The Vollard Suite, which has been touring the country with stops in both Brisbane and Victoria. Matisse & Picasso will be on display between December 13, 2019 and April 13, 2020. For further details and to book tickets, visit the NGA website. Images: Installation view of Matisse & Picasso, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, © Succession Picasso/Copyright Agency 2019, © Succession H. Matisse/Copyright Agency 2019.
It appeared true when The French Dispatch dropped its first trailer, and it definitely is true now that the film is out in the world: with his tenth release, Wes Anderson has made his most Wes Anderson movie ever. And yes, while editors fictional and real may disagree — The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun's Arthur Howitzer Jr (Bill Murray, On the Rocks) among them — it's incredibly easy to use Wes Anderson's name as both an adjective and a verb. In a sentence that'd never get printed in his latest feature's titular tome (and mightn't in The New Yorker, its inspiration, either), The French Dispatch is firmly the most Wes Anderson movie Wes Anderson has ever Wes Andersoned. It's also now available to stream at home, even though it's still currently screening in cinemas Down Under. The star-studded affair is the latest big-name flick to get fast-tracked from the silver screen to whatever-sized device you watch along with at home, alongside everything from Dune to The Matrix Resurrections in Australia — and has just landed on Disney+. All of the usual Anderson touches are all covered in The French Dispatch: the immaculate symmetry that makes each frame a piece of art is present, naturally, as are gloriously offbeat performances from an all-star cast that also spans Tilda Swinton (Memoria), Owen Wilson (Loki), Timothée Chalamet (Dune), Adrien Brody (Succession), Frances McDormand (Nomadland), Léa Seydoux (No Time to Die), Jeffrey Wright (also No Time to Die), Elisabeth Moss (The Invisible Man), Saoirse Ronan (Ammonite), Edward Norton (Motherless Brooklyn), Willem Dafoe (Nightmare Alley) and Jason Schwartzman (Fargo). And yes, as it spins stories set in the fictional French town of Ennui-sur-Blasé in the mid-20th century, where Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Murray) has turned a series of travelogue columns into a weekly American magazine — as a supplement to the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun, The French Dispatch, staffed by top expatriate journalists, and covering everything from life in France, world politics, high and low art, and diverse stories of human interest — the film proves equally dreamy and precise with its pastel- and jewel-hued colour palette. Also covered: the miniatures and animated interludes and split screens, the knack for physical comedy, and the mix of high artifice, heartfelt nostalgia and dripping whimsy, too. Anderson knows what he loves, and also what he loves to splash across his films — and it's all here. With The French Dispatch, he also adores stories that say as much about their authors as the world, the places that gift them to the masses, and the space needed to let creativity and insight breathe. He likes pictures that look as if someone has doted on them and fashioned them with their hands, too, and is just as infatuated with the emotional possibilities that spring from such loving and meticulous work. Indeed, each of his films expresses that pivotal personality detail so clearly that it may as well be cross-stitched into the centre of the frame using Anderson's hair, this one included. Obviously, as has been the case in every Anderson film from Bottle Rocket and Rushmore to Isle of Dogs and now this, every frame in The French Dispatch looks like it belongs on a wall — or in Anderson's own recent museum exhibition. Now, it can screen on yours, all as part of a regular Disney+ subscription. Check out the trailer for The French Dispatch below: The French Dispatch is now available to stream via Disney+. Read our full review.
As Melbourne's hospitality scene slowly shifts back towards normality, we're all enjoying a renewed appreciation for something that was all too scarce last year: the unplanned, spontaneous drinking session. And, handily enough, the northside has scored a new haunt dedicated to this very pleasure, with the launch of Poodle Upstairs in the heart of Fitzroy. The new first-floor sibling to Gertrude Street's Poodle Bar & Bistro, the intimate watering hole is open for walk-ins only, every Friday and Saturday night. As with the downstairs space, it's sporting an elegant fit-out by Wendy Bergman (Bergman & Co), filled with art deco curves, cushy banquettes and luxe gold accents. There's a private dining room with space to seat 20 and a fireplace primed for the winter months to come. For up here, Head Chef Josh Fry (Marion and Cumulus Inc) has created a separate snack menu to what's offered below, starring chic Euro-inspired bites designed to be enjoyed alongside a glass or two of vino. A strong charcuterie selection features both house-made free-range varieties and premium options sourced from across the globe, from a confit garlic and pistachio terrine, to the Juan Pedro Domecq Iberico jamon. There's also an impressive cheese list, a lineup of gourmet tinned and canned delights — plus sophisticated snacks like chicken liver parfait with mulled wine jelly and dainty house-made crumpets topped with salmon caviar and kefir cream. As for the booze offering, it's headlined by a 16-strong pick of classic and contemporary cocktails, with the venue's signature wet martini sitting alongside crafty pours like the Rosy Cheeks — a bright blend of Vida tequila, Aperol, lime and rosemary syrup. Meanwhile, a hefty wine list trips across Victoria and Europe, featuring bottles like the Patrice Colin Sec Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley, next to homegrown heroes like McLaren Vale's Ministry of Clouds Shiraz. Find Poodle Upstairs at 81-83 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy. It's open for walk-ins only, from 6pm–1am Friday and Saturday.
From moonlit rooftops to moody underground dens, Melbourne almost has it all when it comes to bars. But this hasn't stopped a horde of new and inventive ones from opening this year. A Carlton bar pairing cocktails with slices of pizza, a multi-level karaoke joint and a cafe-cum-wine bar serving up everything from 6.30m coffee to late-night pig's head sangas. This year's newbies are nothing if not diverse. At Concrete Playground we encourage exploration and showcase innovation in our city every day, so we thought it fitting to reward those most talented whippersnappers pushing Melbourne to be a better, braver city. So, these six new bars, opened in 2018, were nominated for Best New Bar in Concrete Playground's Best of 2018 Awards. You can check out all the winners here.
Melbourne is adding a new note to its musical score with the opening of High Note, the latest venue from Crown Ruler. Located within the historic confines of the Northcote Theatre, this fresh addition to the inner-north scene aims to be more than just another music bar — it's a hub for creativity and collaboration. The guys behind this space are Jamie Bennett, founder of Crown Ruler; co-founder of Hope Audio, Umut Turkeri; and James Clarke, CEO of Bolster Group. Their combined CV boasts Melb faves like Sun Cycle and Duke St Block Party, and even collabs with international platforms like the UK's NTS radio and Potato Head Bali. With High Note, they're bring their dream of a permanent venue to fruition — this is Crown Ruler's first foray into bricks and mortar. High Note's ethos is all about versatility. You can swing by for an after-work drink or immerse yourself in a deluge of music. The venue's program is as eclectic as Melbourne itself, showcasing everything from familiar tunes to uncharted sonic territories. Oh, and here's a cool little nostalgia hit: vintage Altec horns that once called the Sydney Opera House home now reside at High Note, thanks to Turkeri's touch. Bennett says that High Note's goal is to be a spot where the community can come together, and to serve as a melting pot for Melbourne's creatives. "We wanted to create a diverse community-focused venue to suit High Street's many moods," he advises. "This is a special spot for people to meet and connect, the type of which doesn't currently exist here in Melbourne." On the drinks front, expect a curated drink list that boasts Aussie beer, wine and cocktails, plus some non-alcoholic standouts including cult-fave Pocari Sweat. The opening weekend festivities from Friday, October 20 promise to kick things off with a bang, with a string of DJs spinning all weekend. On Saturday, October 28, the venue will host live performances as part of The Eighty-Six festival. When its doors officially open, High Note will add another jewel to Northcote's crown of cool, and we wouldn't have it any other way. See you on High Street. High Note opens at 220 High Street, Northcote on Friday, October 20 — operating 4pm–1am Tuesday–Friday and 1pm–1am Saturday–Sunday.
For years, the Queen Victoria Market's night series has set two very different scenes — one of spiced mulled wine and barbecue smoke for its winter season, and of balmy evening air and sangria during the summer months. But what about the in-between seasons? Are we expected to go to restaurants on a Wednesday night? It appears the answer is, no, not anymore, as the historic marketplace prepares to launch a new spring edition of its popular hump day offering. The Hawker 88 Night Market sets out to fill that Wednesday night gap, and will for six weeks this spring, from September 19 to October 24. Riffing on the bustling hawker markets of Southeast Asia, it'll serve up a riot of flavours from across the continent, as imagined by 20 of the city's most popular vendors. From rich Indian curries and Filipino barbecue to Korean-style pork belly and Japanese karaage — if it's authentic, Asian street food, it'll probably make an appearance. Different weekly themes will give you the chance to explore various cuisines of the region alongside traditional entertainment, demonstrations and cultural experiences — get set for K-pop performances, noodle making masterclasses and plenty of karaoke. The lineup includes a Filipino Festival, a Mooncake Festival, a Bollywood Festival and even a Durian Festival if you're partial to the famously stinky fruit, although the exact dates are yet to be released. And while sangria isn't likely to be on the cards, you will find a swag of sips designed to complement Asian fare, including an exclusive H88 lager from newcomers Brick Lane Brewing Co. The Hawker 88 Night Market will run from 5–10pm over six Wednesdays from September 19 until October 24. Find more info here.
The lofty space once home to Port Melbourne's courthouse has been given a healthy dose of Italian flavour — and a $1.5 million makeover — as fine diner Ciao Cielo and casual sister bar and eatery Ciao Cucina move in. The modern Italian restaurant, which used to reside down Bay Street in a smaller location, moved into the historic 1860s building in late May. Here, both the warm, contemporary design and the generous menu offer a modern spin on Italian tradition. Atelier Wagner Architects' David Wagner worked closely with Ciao Cielo owner Kate Dickins to take the historic building into its next phase of life, the soaring ceilings and heritage features now offset by New York-style booth seating, striking marble bars and cosy fireplaces. Take the fine dining route and you'll discover a menu of modern classics, like the king prawn risotto with bisque and marjoram gremolata, a Sardinian-style goat leg with polenta, and the Tuscan-inspired, 1kg grass fed 'bistecca a la Fiorentina', made for sharing. They're backed by plenty of old favourites, with the kitchen's flair for house-made pasta shining through in dishes like the squid ink linguini and a bolognese ragu with tagliatelle. Meanwhile, Ciao Cucina is dishing up a more casual affair within a 150-seat Amalfi-inspired marquee covered in fairy lights, which is next to the main dining room. It's your go-to for more handmade pasta, traditional woodfired pizzas and a lineup of signature spritzes. Ciao Cielo and Ciao Cucina are now open at 115 Bay Street, Port Melbourne.
So, you've seen Nanette, then Douglas, then Body of Work, Hannah Gadsby's three most-recent stand-up shows — all of which hit stages, then Netflix. Next on your list to catch is Woof!, and in-person for now. The just-announced performance will premiere in Australia in autumn, confirming a run of dates in both Sydney and Melbourne, including at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. If you're wondering if Woof! will also get the streaming treatment, it's too early to say, so getting giggling in the New South Wales and Victorian capitals is your best bet if you're keen to check out Gadsby's new routine ASAP. In Sydney, the show will play the Roslyn Packer Theatre from Thursday, March 7–Sunday, March 17. When it makes the move to Arts Centre Melbourne, it'll run from Thursday, March 28–Saturday, April 20. [caption id="attachment_896516" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hannah Gadsby: Something Special. Jess Gleeson/Netflix © 2023[/caption] "Everyone else, sorry," says Gadsby about Woof!'s focus on just two Aussie cities in the social-media video that accompanied the stand-up show's announcement. Fingers crossed that's just the situation for now, and that the tour will also make its way around the country at some point. The comedian has a one-night gig in May in Los Angeles on their agenda after Sydney and Melbourne, with nothing announced after that so far. Woof! comes after Nanette became an international smash, travelling not only throughout Australia but also the UK, and winning awards at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Douglas then took comedy fans on a "tour from the dog park to the renaissance and back", including in Australia, NZ and Europe. And as for Body of Work, it embarked upon an extensive stint around Australia, as well as in Europe again. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dr. Hannah Gadsby (@hannah_gadsby) Hannah Gadsby 'Woof!' Tour Dates: Thursday, March 7–Sunday, March 17 — Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay, Sydney Thursday, March 28–Saturday, April 20 — Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne [caption id="attachment_871296" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ben King[/caption] Hannah Gadsby's 'Woof!' tour will kick off in Sydney and Melbourne in autumn 2024. For further details — and to buy tickets from 10am on Monday, February 5 — head to the comedian's website.
It has been 12 years since RuPaul's Drag Race first premiered in the US, and its mission to unearth the next drag superstars shows no signs of stopping. Currently, the original series is reaching the pointy end of its thirteenth season, while international versions also exist in the UK — also hosted by RuPaul — plus Thailand, Holland, Chile and Canada. Next, it's finally making the leap to Australia and New Zealand. RuPaul's Drag Race already airs locally, but now it's being made here as well. The eight-part RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under will focus on Aussie and NZ drag queens battling for supremacy, and will air on Stan in Australia and TVNZ OnDemand in New Zealand. That was announced back in January, with the show's debut set for Saturday, May 1. If you've been wondering exactly what's in store, though, you've probably hanging out for a trailer. And, just a couple of weeks out from the show's arrival, a proper sneak peek is finally here — complete with drama and eye-catching outfits, naturally. While not all overseas iterations of Drag Race are hosted by RuPaul, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under definitely is. RuPaul is also taking on judging duties, alongside show veteran Michelle Visage and Australian comedian Rhys Nicholson. Ten contenders will strut their stuff for drag supremacy, spanning seven Australians and three New Zealanders. So, prepare to see plenty of Art Simone from Geelong, Melbourne's Karen from Finance, and Sydney's Coco Jumbo, Etecetera Etcetera and Maxi Shield. Newcastle's Jojo Zaho and Perth's Scarlet Adams round out the Aussie queens, while Auckland's Kita Mean, Anita Wigl'it and Elektra Shock comprise the NZ contingent. Fans already know the format, which features fashion challenges, workroom dramas and lip sync battles aplenty. If you're a newcomer to all things Drag Race, you'll watch these Australian and NZ competitors work through a series of contests to emerge victorious, and join the likes of US contenders Jinkx Monsoon, Sasha Velour and Sharon Needles in being crowned the series' winner. Check out the RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdcgf5I6Qb8&feature=youtu.be RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under will start streaming via Stan and TVNZ from Saturday, May 1, with new episodes airing weekly. Top image: RuPaul's Drag Race.
Melburnians, when it comes to burgers, puppies and glamping, you absolutely can't get enough. Now that spring has sprung, another opportunity to disappear into a bell tent has arisen. This time, you'll be heading to Terindah Estate, a winery on the Bellarine Peninsula, 20 minutes' drive east of Geelong and 80 minutes' southwest of Melbourne. Terindah has partnered with Twilight Glamping to bring back its Glamping Amongst The Vines, a pop of up 15 luxury bell tents, for a second year. Perched near a private beach, this temporary village overlooks Port Phillip Bay and is backdropped by the Melbourne skyline. The scene is particularly dramatic, come sunrise and sunset. In between soaking up nature, kick back on a queen-sized bed (or a twin, if you're travelling with a mate), draped in luxurious linen and plenty of cosy blankets. Every tent also comes with a jute rug, chairs, side table, mirror, towels and USB-powered lantern. Shower facilities are also located on site. [caption id="attachment_749721" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ferne Millen[/caption] There's no need to cook — nor go anywhere — if you're not in the mood. For $5o, Terindah will make up a breakfast hamper for two, packed with fresh pastries, fruit, orange juice, hot chocolate and coffee. To keep you going through the day, you can add a picnic hamper ($100 for two), crowded with smoked and cured meats, fresh sourdough bread, cornichons, fruit and either terrine or camembert. A vego option is available, too, and you can choose to devour this on the beach or eat it amongst the wines. Another culinary option is The Shed, Terindah's onsite restaurant, which is open for brekkie on weekends, dinner on Saturday nights and lunch from Thursday–Monday. If you don't have a car, you also have the option of catching a ferry to the beachside glamping site. Jump on the Port Phillip Ferry at the Docklands and you'll be picked up when it docks at Bellarine's Portarlington Glamping Amongst The Vines is located at 90 McAdams Lane, Bellarine, Victoria. The season runs from November 2019–May 2020 and tents are $220 per night. Images: Ferne Millen
After Nan Kroll spent three years living in Chile, then returned to her hometown of Melbourne with Chilean partner Julio Forteza in tow, she noticed one main thing: the city's lack of South American dining options, especially those serving the lively flavours of Chile. Kroll set out to fill the gap, opening the doors to her own Fitzroy North bar and eatery earlier this month. She's dubbed the warm, friendly Queens Parade space Citrico (the Spanish word for 'citrus'), nodding to the citrus-cured ceviche dishes that are an integral part of South America's food scene. With his menu, Peruvian-born Head Chef Daniel Salcedo (Rockpool, Rosetta) is taking diners on a journey across the continent, with a shareable lineup that's big on flavour. Ceviche takes centre stage, and is currently in iterations such as New Zealand green mussels with tomato, red onion, jalapeños and corn, or the day's catch served traditionally with lime juice, sweet potato and the ceviche liquid known as 'tiger milk'. Snacks might include the likes of orange-braised pork shoulder empanadas, chicken drumettes cooked in master stock and served with a tomatillo and jalapeño sauce, or a corn and eggplant terrine. Be sure to bring a mate so you can do justice to the selection of mains, brought to life on the custom-made asado grill. Right now, they include a 300-gram O'Connor's porterhouse sirloin, and an assembly of octopus and squid marinated in a nikkei (a Japanese-Peruvian sauce). A six-dish chef's selection clocks in at an easy $55. In true South American form, the drinks list is equally lively, headlined by a Pisco-heavy lineup of seventeen signature cocktails. The Sandicoco, with pisco mistral, charred watermelon and Coco Lopez, is geared for summer, while a jazzed-up riff on the classic espresso martini features Pedro Ximenez sherry and an infusion of dulce de leche. Meanwhile, a solid selection of Chilean and Spanish beers, and a largely Victorian wine list have plenty to accompany a springtime session in the restaurant's sunny courtyard. Find Citrico Cocina at 376 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North. Images: Kate Shanasy
Whether you go all in for Valentine's Day or not, we've found a free activity that'll have you head over heels — literally — on Tuesday, February 14. The good folk at Armadale's Willow Urban Retreat are giving the gift of wellness, running a day of free V-Day yoga classes that you can hit with your lover, your bestie or even your mum. The wellness hub and yoga studio is hosting four guided stretch sessions that'll iron out those back-to-work kinks and leave you feeling pretty darn fabulous (especially since this Valentine's Day date won't cost you a cent). Choose from a flow class at 7am or 6pm, a soft flow session at 9.30am, or yin yoga at 7.30pm. [caption id="attachment_885507" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maegan Brown Photography[/caption] Simply jump online to book one of the limited February 14 class spots for free and to register your chosen sidekick using the promo code 'LOVE'. Classes run for an hour each, led by the studio's expert yogis. And, if you're heading along during the day, why not cap off your session with a lunch date at the onsite cafe?
The 90s were great. That shouldn't be a controversial opinion. Whether you lived through them or have spent the last couple of decades wishing you did — aka binging on 90s pop culture — this late-night shindig at Brunswick's Stay Gold will indulge your retro urges. Drinks, tunes, fashion — expect all of the above at the No Scrubs: 90s and Early 00s party from 11pm on Saturday, April 17. Of course, it's up to you to make sure the clothing side of thing is covered, and to get into the spirit of the party. If you want to use Mariah Carey as a style icon, it'd be fitting. Expect to unleash your inner Spice Girl and Backstreet Boy too. TLC, Destiny's Child, Savage Garden, Usher, Blink-182, No Doubt — we'd keep listing artists, but you all know what you're getting yourselves into. Tickets are $15.15 online, with the fun running through until 3am. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WEtxJ4-sh4
To mark the coming of winter, the Middle Park Hotel — one of Melbourne's much-loved gastropubs — has welcomed new head chef Sangsub Ha and a Korean-inspired menu. Ultra-fresh seafood is king on the new menu. For a bona fide Korean experience, go for the platter loaded with slow-cooked pork shoulder, oysters, jalapeño pickle, ssamjanj (a spicy paste) and cos. From this, you can build your own ssam, which involves wrapping up the ingredients in a lettuce leaf. Also on the sharing menu are whitebait with mentaiko mayo and seaweed and Hervey Bay scallops in garlic butter with prawns and crispy leek. If you're a Middle Park steak groupie, fear not. The pub is far from abandoning its meaty side. The revamped menu features five cuts, a 1.5-kilogram dry-aged ribeye platter and a revamped burger, crowded with a house-made wagyu pattie, beetroot, egg, tomato, gruyere and caramelised onion jus. The same goes for the classics, which have been reimagined under Ha's tenure. If you're keen on bangers and mash, give the pork and fennel sausage with plum-infused semi-dried tomatoes, leek and white pepper mash and duck fat gravy a try. Experimental flavours continue in the dessert portion with berry gazpacho with goat's cheese sorbet and white sangria poached mandarin with liquorice ice cream. And the vibe at Middle Park is as laidback as ever. "Our new menu is available in the restaurant and the bar because we want to stay as a place where you can come for a casual feed with friends while you watch the footy, as well as somewhere you can celebrate a special occasion...We're still a community pub at the heart of it," says manager Ross Nash. To give the new menu a try, make a booking over the phone or via Middle Park's website.
Over the past few years, Melbourne's famed floating bar has become a summer staple — because soaking in the warm weather and partying on the Yarra clearly go hand-in-hand. That wont't change in 2019, with Arbory Afloat set to return once more. This time, it's coming back even sooner. Arbory Afloat, which made its debut in 2015, will reclaim its prime position in front of on-shore sister venue Arbory Bar & Eatery on the Yarra from mid-September. While the exact launch date hasn't yet been revealed, it will hit the water earlier than last year, which already marked a significant extension to its season. That's not the only change in store, either. As part of its annual revamp, the temporary bar and restaurant is taking inspiration from Miami — which means palm trees, pastel blue and pink hues, art-deco touches and a 70s vibe. To complete the picture, the floating bar has extended its upper deck to feature more dining and lounging space, plus private cabanas. And, if that's not enough, there'll also be an onboard swimming pool. Chef Nick Bennett has again designed the menu, which is inspired by all things Latin American, including the Caribbean, Cuba and Mexico. A woodfired pizza oven will once more take pride of place in the open kitchen, pumping out American-style pizzas.You'll also be able to tuck into grilled meats, empanadas and lots of seafood — think oysters, ceviche and anchovies. Would it be a visit to Miami without cocktails? We think not. Luckily, there'll be plenty. Patrons will also be able to sip their way through an extended rum menu, peruse a curated gin offering or opt for one of the many spritzes on offer. Find Arbory Afloat at Flinders Landing from mid-September. We'll update you with exact dates when they come to hand. Images: Simon Shiff
Next time you watch a movie under the stars in Elsternwick, you might feel a little shaken — not stirred. When the Classic Rooftop Cinema restarts its projector, it'll screen the long-delayed new Bond flick No Time to Die. And if you just can't wait to see it the very second that you can, there's a 12.07am, session on Thursday, November 11. Espionage thrills at midnight? Yes, that's pure 007. The rest of the Classic's openair lineup for 2021–22 hasn't been revealed as yet; however, you can expect plenty of new and classic films to grace its towering outdoor screen. And if you're wondering why the venue isn't launching outside sessions in October, the moment that Melbourne comes out of lockdown and outdoor cinemas are allowed to operate, that's because it's giving its rooftop picture palace setup some repairs. That said, the bar will open on Friday, October 22 — so you can still head up for drinks from 4–8pm on weekdays and 2–8pm on weekends.
Back in 2018 for its 13th instalment, Opera Australia's popular Mazda Opera in the Bowl returns to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl for a wonderful night of opera under the stars on the last night of spring — and it's absolutely free. Featuring some of Australia's top vocal talent in sopranos Stacey Alleaume and Artist Anna-Louise Cole, mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley, tenor Walter Fraccaro and baritone José Carb, Opera in the Bowl will have you whistling along to famous tunes you didn't even know you knew. Gather the crew (and your trusty picnic basket) and settle in for a night of some of opera's most famous and most beautiful moments. But don't worry if you don't actually own a picnic basket — a whole heap of the city's best food trucks will be there cooking up a storm and the garden bar will be slinging all sorts of cusp-of-summer drinks. As for the soundtrack, songs from William Tell and Carmen will entertain you, whether you're an opera aficionado or you don't know Bellini from a bellini. If nothing else, it's a perfect cheap date idea.
Forget about trekking up north — at Boho Luxe Market, Byron Bay comes to Melbourne. Well, the beachy New South Wales spot's general vibe does at least. On the market's agenda: forgoing the trappings of the city for a big fix of bohemian fashion, jewellery, homewares, art, skincare and the like. If that sounds like your kind of thing, then block out Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 20 in your diary for the market's winter appearance. The Boho Luxe Market will head to Carlton's Royal Exhibition Building for a weekend of browsing and buying, food trucks, live music and more. There'll be a stack of vegan eats, plus plenty of libations from The Prosecco Van, Cheeky Rascal Cider and Kombi Keg. You can treat yourself to a sound healing session, try a cacao ceremony, or get creative in one of the guided workshops, ranging from henna art to flower crown-making. And if you're after some inspiration for your next event or outdoor adventure, suss out the gorgeous kombi and glamping displays. Entry costs $5 per day or $10 for all three. Drop by and pretend you're somewhere blissed-out and coastal on Friday from 5pm–9pm, Saturday from 10am–5pm, and Sunday from 10am–4pm. [caption id="attachment_865701" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Samee Lapham[/caption] Top Image: Samee Lapham
Spring, plus light- to medium-bodied red wine: what a pairing. It's the duo that not only sits at the heart of Australian wine-tasting festival Pinot Palooza, but has helped the vino-swilling event become such a hit. The weather is sunny, the tipples are heady, and sipping your way through a heap of the latter is on the menu — including in 2023. Earlier in 2023, the beloved wine fest announced that it was not only returning for 2023, but also settling back into that coveted spring timeslot. Now, it has locked in venues and put tickets on sale. The Melbourne-born wine tasting festival will celebrate its 11th year by hitting up Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane again. To close out winter, it'll also make its debut in Perth. On offer at Claremont Showgrounds in Perth, Sydney's Carriageworks, Brisbane Showgrounds and The Timber Yard in Port Melbourne: more than 50 winemakers slinging their wares. Pinot Palooza will spread the party over three August days in Western Australia, as well as three October days in the Sunshine State. In New South Wales and Victoria, it'll be a two-day affair. In its decade of life until now, the fest has welcomed in thousands of vino lovers. Indeed, an estimated 65,000 tickets were sold globally before its 2022 events. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, the popular celebration was shelved for two-and-a-half years, before making a comeback last year. The response? More than 12,000 folks heading along around the nation. 2023's vino-sipping fun will cover organic, biodynamic, vegan and low-intervention wines, and more. Set to share their tipples among producers from Australia, New Zealand and further afield: New Zealand's Burn Cottage and CHARTERIS; Small Island, Ghost Rock and Meadowbank from Tasmania; M&J Becker from NSW and Moondarra from Victoria. The food lineup will feature cheese, salumi, terrines, patê, olives and other perfect vino accompaniments, with Tasmania's Grandvewe Cheese and Victoria's Mount Zero among the suppliers. And, while Pinot Palooza is a standalone fest only across the east coast dates, in Perth it's part of an already-announced collaboration with cheese festival Mould. PINOT PALOOZA 2023: Friday, August 25–Sunday, August 27: Centenary Pavilion, Claremont Showgrounds, Perth Friday, October 6–Saturday, October 7: Carriageworks, Sydney Friday, October 13–Sunday, October 15: John Reid Pavilion, Brisbane Showgrounds Friday, October 27–Saturday, October 28: The Timber Yard, Port Melbourne Pinot Palooza will get pouring around Australia from August–October 2023. For more information and tickets, head to the event's website.
Australia's craft booze scene has come a long way in a few short years. We've broken up (mostly) with mainstream lagers and imported spirits, turning our sights instead to boutique brews and locally crafted tipples. And for inner-city Melbourne, the shift has perhaps never felt so real as right now, with urban breweries and distilleries popping up in force. Local labels are making themselves at home in the big smoke, transforming warehouse spaces into brewpubs and tasting bars right here in our own backyard. For Abbotsford-born brewery Moon Dog, which is set to open the doors to its mammoth new Preston venue next month, opting for an inner-city location was a no-brainer. "Preston has become such a vibrant and exciting area, so when we found the site we couldn't say no," explains co-owner and Managing Director Josh Uljans. And while finding enough space to house an entire brewery set-up can sometimes prove tough in urban areas, it's no issue here – these guys managed to nab a site that's longer than the MCG end-to-end. Fellow northside brewery Bodriggy is also flying the flag for inner-city life, having just this month unveiled its own warehouse set-up on Johnston Street in Abbotsford. "We knew the area had potential – so we went hard for the lease," explains co-owner Pete Walsh. "This was three years ago and already a lot has changed. But Bodriggy is Abbotsford born and bred." As for the competition, you probably won't hear too many breweries complaining. "We're stoked to be joining a microbrewery community," says Walsh. "There's power in numbers and everyone offers up something unique." Uljans agrees. "Hopefully we see more and more independent breweries starting out, alongside established breweries expanding. And people will continue to enjoy delicious Australian independent beers." Keen to see what all the fuss is about? Here's a round-up of Melbourne's newest urban breweries and distilleries and a peek at what's coming next. [caption id="attachment_735956" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kate Shanasy[/caption] BODRIGGY BREWING, ABBOTSFORD Abbotsford has gained a major addition to its beer scene with the opening of Bodriggy Brewing Co. The brewpub and (eventual) bottle shop have made their home in a converted Johnston Street mechanics warehouse, with space for 400, a bar boasting dozens of taps, and a kitchen dishing up Latin American eats by an ex-Vue de Monde chef. The new venue is the work of the owners of Dr Morse (which is located just across the street), Jon Costello, Anthony Daniels and Peter Walsh, who have been brewing under the Bodriggy brand for two years now. Here, a hefty tap list pours Bodriggy hits – from the Speccy Juice session IPA, to the newly hatched New England IPA dubbed Cosmic Microwave – alongside wine and cocktails. The lofty warehouse reno features lots of organic and salvaged materials, while in the kitchen, Chef John Dominguez (Vue de Monde, Dinner by Heston) is serving plates like pulled pork tacos, whole grilled cauliflower with chimichurri and fried jalapeño tacos with smoked fish, pickled onions and cabbage. Expect plenty of tequila and mezcal to match, along with a regular program of DJs and live tunes. Bodriggy Brewing Co is now open at 245 Johnston Street, Abbotsford. FUTURE MOUNTAIN, RESERVOIR Melbourne's northern suburb of Reservoir has scored a brand new craft brewery — and it's doing things a little differently. Future Mountain Brewing and Blending is focused on creating farmhouse-style brews, inspired by the old world taprooms of Europe and a growing trend in the States. Here, you'll find wild fermentation ales and barrel-aged sours on offer in small batches. Co-owners Ian Jones and Shane Ferguson have five years' experience in the field, having met at Boatrocker Brews, with partners Elisa Jones and Kara Rasmanis (respectively) joining them in this new venture. As well as using wild yeast and bacterial strains, the crew has teamed up with local Yarra Valley fruit growers, wineries and coffee roasters to create a range of truly seasonal brews. The venue's 12 taps pour the likes of apricot, cherry and peach sours, German-style pilsners, barrel-aged stouts, saisons and farmhouse ales. To match, you'll find pides, flatbreads and pies available in house, though Uber Eats is also on offer, as well as delivery from neighbouring pizza joint Unique Gourmet Pizza Bar. Future Mountain Brewing and Blending is now open at 703–707 Plenty Road, Reservoir. MOON DOG, PRESTON With Moon Dog set to soon outgrow its current Abbotsford digs, owners Josh and Jake Uljans, and Karl van Buuren have gotten their hands on a huge new Preston site, with plans to open a new multi-faceted brewery and hospitality destination before the year's out. The bulk of Moon Dog's brewery operations will be shifted over here and expanded, upping the output from two million litres per year to over ten million. Space is no issue, with the former fabrics factory clocking in at a huge 12,000 square metres. The boys have grand plans for the sprawling front bar, too. The vision for the giant space includes sections of retractable roof above an indoor beer garden, a waterfall and ornamental lagoon, a big central bar, a stage area for regular live music sessions and a kitchen and eatery. A sunny internal laneway down one side will funnel through to a hefty rear carpark, and a cave-like room out back will likely play host to a separate Belgian-inspired brewery, with open fermentation tanks, hundreds of barrels and an intimate space for brewer events. Expect to be sipping fresh beers beside that waterfall some time this spring, with the brewery hopefully pumping out beer by the time October rolls around. Moon Dog Brewery is slated to open at 32 Chifley Drive, Preston in spring 2019. [caption id="attachment_728572" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Long Boy Media[/caption] PATIENT WOLF, SOUTHBANK Southbank is set to gain an exciting new boozy addition when Patient Wolf Distilling Co opens (what is slated to be) the state's largest independent gin distillery come September. Co-founders Matt Argus and Dave Irwin are transforming a red brick industrial warehouse into the brand's new working distillery and public bar. The gin den will offer tastings aplenty, plus distillery tours, masterclasses and bottles for takeaway — including limited-edition and distillery-only releases. Seasonal cocktails and more experimental concoctions will star at the 30-seat bar, each crafted on one of Patient Wolf's three signature gins. There's a dry gin, a thyme number with lemon zest and pine notes and the Blackthorn — a dark gin made from sloe berries handpicked in Tasmania. The production facility will feature a 220-litre copper still by Müller and, come next year, a 1000-litre still from Germany. When it arrives, Patient Wolf's new Southbank spot will become one of Australia's largest urban gin distilleries. The Patient Wolf Distillery is slated to open at 34–36 Market Street, Southbank in early September. [caption id="attachment_724946" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Guy Evans Photography[/caption] STOMPING GROUND, MOORABBIN Ever-expanding Collingwood brewery Stomping Ground has announced plans to build a second venue in Moorabbin. The owners have just signed a ten-year lease on a space within the historic Morris Moor development, which they're keen to transform into a brewery, beer hall, event space and roomy beer garden. Designed in conjunction with award-winning architects Genton and lauded architecture and interior design firm Techne, the new venue will be part of a dynamic hospitality precinct, breathing new life into Moorabbin's 60-year-old Phillip Morris manufacturing site. At this stage, details are scarce, though co-founder Steve Jeffares has confirmed there'll be a family-friendly brewpub pouring a hefty range of beers brewed onsite — thanks to a 12-hectolitre facility — and a top-notch food offering. There's also no exact date for the site's opening, but expect it to start pouring brews in early 2020. In the meantime, you'll find plenty of the label's fresh brews at its Collingwood home. Stomping Ground Morris Moor is slated to open at 1 Cochranes Road, Moorabbin in early 2020. [caption id="attachment_736960" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jetty Road Dromana[/caption] JETTY ROAD, SOUTH MELBOURNE Already a firm favourite in the Mornington Peninsula beer scene, one young brewery now has its sights set on the big smoke. Dromana's locally made and locally loved Jetty Road has revealed plans to open a giant brewery and gastropub in the heart of South Melbourne. The team has lodged an application to transform a sizeable Market Street site into a multi-storey beer oasis, boasting a fully operational microbrewery, a 250-seat modern Australian restaurant and a mezzanine dining space. The new venue is set to bring Jetty Road's trademark laid-back coastal vibes to the city, reimagined with an urban edge. More concrete plans will be revealed once the project's officially been given the green light, though word is Head Brewer Blake Bowden will be working on some new experimental beers and launch a barrel-aging program. The team is still waiting on planning approval for the new South Melbourne site — which should come through, hopefully, next month — but hopes to open the doors by late 2020. Jetty Road Brewery is slated to open at 139–145 Market Street, South Melbourne in late 2020. Top image: Bodriggy Brewery by Kate Shanasy
Nothing says summer like ice cream and ice cold ciders, and you'll find both — along with a variety of other tasty morsels — at the Point Lonsdale Surf Life Saving Club Summer Pop-Up. Open from Boxing Day to the Australia Day long weekend at the Surf Club House at 52 Ocean Road, Point Lonsdale, the month-long multi-storey pop-up restaurant and bar will feature food and beverages from local vendors perfect for munching under the sun. Savoury snacks will come courtesy of Fodda Food Truck — think summer tacos, BBQ prawn skewers and sweet potato cakes. Dessert, meanwhile, will be provided by The Scandinavian Ice Cream Company, who've created a special chocolate and honeycomb 'bumblebee' flavour just for the occasion. For their part, The Flying Brick Cider Company will keep punters thoroughly hydrated, sponsoring the pop-up's downstairs lawn bar featuring cider as well as beer and a selection of local wines.
What happens when two legendary vegan restaurants from different sides of the Pacific Ocean get together? Find out at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. South Yarra's beloved Mexican restaurant Lona Misa is joining forces with West Hollywood Latin hotspot Gracias Madre for eight excellent nights. You'll have a choice of two tantalising tasting menus; five courses at $85 or seven at $105. Either way, you'll be feasting only on non-GMO, all-organic produce. Look out for madre ceviche with lime and Aleppo pepper, crunchy coconut calamari with salsa roja and hibiscus chilli flautas topped with pumpkin-seed parmesan, and charcoal-grilled lion's mane steak with chimichurri. Either way, on arrival you'll be met with one of Gracias Madre's signature Palomas (a bold, bright concoction of Volcan De Mi Tierra Tequila Blanco, house-made grapefruit soda, butterfly pea flower, lime and salt), before taking your pick of the bespoke, largely-tequila-inspired cocktail list. Or you can opt for a pint (or two!) of the Balter Cerveza, a Mexican-style lager brewed here at home. This epic event is bound to be one of the highlights of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, which means tickets will probably sell out at lightning speed. Do rush in.
