Your dreams of ditching the slow peak-hour crawl for a quick flight through the skies could soon become a reality, as Uber reveals it's seriously considering Melbourne as a trial city for its world-first Uber aircraft. Having already flagged the USA's Dallas and Los Angeles as launch cities for its new flying service, dubbed the Elevate project, the ride share company now has Melbourne in its sights for a third location, largely thanks to its booming population. According to 7News, Uber executives have arrived Down Under to discuss opportunities with the government and to explore how a place like Melbourne could handle a flying ride share system, with passengers catching aircraft instead of cars. Uber's Head of Aviation Eric Allison told 7News that with rapidly growing populations in Sydney and Melbourne, "We see that there is a clear need for this type of service." Earlier this year, the company showed off new plans for its groundbreaking foray into air travel, at the Uber Elevate Summit. Based on these latest designs, the system would operate using electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs), with helipad-style takeoff and landing 'Skyports' located on high rooftops at key points around the city. Passengers would be able to tee up a flight using the Uber app, then be driven to a nearby launch pad. "The button press will orchestrate you a car to get to the sky port and then to take you away from the sky port to get you to your final destination," Allison explained to 7News. In an example of how fast Uber Air trips could be, Uber has said that an average 55-minute trip to Melbourne Airport could be cut down to just 5 minutes. And in excellent news for your bank account, the flights would apparently cost no more than an Uber X. Here's a look at how it will work: https://youtu.be/JuWOUEFB_IQ If Melbourne's given the green light as Uber's third test city, we could see trial flights begin as early as 2020, with regular services kicking off by 2023. While this all sounds a bit too good to be true, we do hope we'll be Jetsons-ing around the city for pittance soon. Via au.news.yahoo.com Images: Uber and Humphreys & Partners Architects, Gannett Fleming, Corgan and Pickard Chilton.
Trying not to think about Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet is about to become impossible in Australia. So will getting Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' out of your head, where it's dwelled for most people since the Oscar-winning track was released in 1997. The reason: a new Titanic exhibition is dropping anchor Down Under, making Melbourne Museum its berth for four months. From Saturday, December 16, 2023–Sunday, April 14, 2024 Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition will bring 200-plus items from the ship to the Victorian capital, in its Aussie trip after selling out its Paris season and also proving a hit in the US. The pieces on display are legitimately from the vessel's wreck site, too, after the RMS Titanic's ill-fated voyage in April 1912 — aka the events that James Cameron (Avatar: The Way of Water) turned into the DiCaprio (Killers of the Flower Moon)- and Winslet (Ammonite)-starring Titanic more than a quarter-century ago. For everyone bound to exclaim "I'm the king of the world" while walking through Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition's Australian-exclusive stop, this is the king of all Titanic exhibitions. In fact, it's the most extensive in the world. As well seeing the genuine objects from the ship, attendees will wander through full-scale recreations of the vessel's interiors, such as the veranda cafe, first-class parlour suite and grand staircase. "Tragedy, heroism, sacrifice, survival and loss — these are themes the evokes which continue to resonate today, with people of all ages across the globe," said Museums Victoria CEO & Director Lynley Crosswell, announcing the exhibition. In addition to the recovered items and recreations of the Titanic's spaces, the exhibition will tell tales about those who were onboard the ship that launched its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912, only to sink five days later on April 15 after hitting an iceberg. This exploration of a tragic chapter in history will focus on passengers and crew alike, while also stepping through the vessel's class divisions and pondering the boat's legacy. Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition will display at Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton from Saturday, December 16, 2023–Sunday, April 14, 2024 — head to the venue's website for further details and tickets. Images: EMG / Alexandre Schoelcher / Museums Victoria.
Marty. De Niro. Leo. Enough said. That's the basic maths behind Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese's first film since 2019's The Irishman. Premiering at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival before hitting cinemas Down Under in October and then Apple TV+ after that, it's also his first feature to star two of his long-serving collaborators: Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. De Niro and DiCaprio have been in so many of the legendary director's movies that it's rare for any of his titles to not include one or the other. The former's run gave viewers gangster masterpieces such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Casino; also spans the iconic Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The King of Comedy; and covers musical New York, New York and thriller remake Cape Fear, too — and, of course The Irishman. The latter began leading Scorsese's films in the early 2000s, kicking off with Gangs of New York, then starring in The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island and The Wolf of Wall Street. Yes, that's a helluva resume for both actors, and for their favourite helmer. Enter Killers of the Flower Moon — which is actually the second time that De Niro and DiCaprio have joined forces for Scorsese, but their debut together in one of his full-length features (they played themselves in the director's 2015 comedy short The Audition). The actors have a past on-screen beyond that, however, thanks to the non-Marty helmed This Boy's Life in 1993, back when DiCaprio was still a teen. That's the Scorsese–De Niro–DiCaprio history, with Killers of the Flower Moon also jumping backwards into the real-life of murders of oil-wealthy members of the Osage Nation in Osage County, Oklahoma a century back. Scorsese also co-wrote the screenplay with Eric Roth (Dune, and an Oscar-winner for Forest Gump), adapting David Gann's 2017 non-fiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. As the just-dropped first trailer for Killers of the Flower Moon shows, DiCaprio (Don't Look Up) and Certain Women standout Lily Gladstone play a couple caught up in the investigations surrounding the mounting killings. Also co-starring: not just De Niro (Amsterdam), but Jesse Plemons (Love & Death), John Lithgow (Sharper) and newly minted Best Actor Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser (The Whale). Check out the trailer for Killers of the Flower Moon below: Killers of the Flower Moon will release in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 19, then stream via Apple TV+ at a later date — we'll update you with streaming details when they're announced.
Up your midichlorian count and get your eyes all over this new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This is the second look we've had of the seventh Star Wars instalment, after the first trailer dropped in November. Don't get cocky. The film isn't out until Christmas — December 17, 2015. But never tell us the odds.
Pharrell's putting that giant-hatted brain to good use; the multi-Grammy award-winning artist has co-designed and curated the first ever denim collection made with recycled plastic yarn. Fronting the G-Star crew as creative director of Bionic Yarn, Pharrell is spearheading G-Star's eco-friendly collections for men and women, dubbed RAW for Ocean. Sounding like something Iron Man knits mittens with, Bionic Yarn is an eco-thread of fibres made from recycled plastic bottles found littering the ocean. Having already recycled a whopping ten tonnes of plastic waste from the seas, RAW for Ocean is the first ever collection to use Bionic Yarn to create a denim collection. And when three times as much rubbish is dumped into the ocean as the weight of fish caught every year, this is a sustainable initiative we can truly get behind. At the forefront of sustainable fashion, G-Star and Pharrell have teamed up with some pretty kickass initiatives to see the collection come to fruition. The Vortex Project works to retrieve and recycle the millions of kilos of plastic floating in our global oceans, hoping to reduce it and come up with smart awareness campaigns to disrupt the vicious cycle. Parley for the Oceans is another top notch platform which brings together artists, musicians, fashion designers, scientists, engineers and other environmentally-conscious legends to talk about the ocean's massive problem in high-profile events and activations. They've also got Sea Shepherd giving them the thumbs up. So what's in store for the collection? Raw for Ocean will see jeans, t-shirts, sweaters, caps and more created from Bionic Yarn — all featuring different shades of mazarine indigo blue and black. One of the cornerstone pieces for men is a modern trench cut from the Bionic Yarn raw denim, the A-Crotch Trench, while ladies can look forward to a printed denim Fallden Bomber. The RAW for Ocean collection even has a dorky little mascot, Otto the Octopus, whose presence in the collection becomes a quirky take on the classic houndstooth print. Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson said, "Creativity is the key to saving creation from our darker side and the key to a future of ecological harmony between humanity and the diversity of wondrous species we share this planet with." Big ups to G-Star and Pharrell for getting on board. The RAW for Ocean collection drops September 10 in stores and online.
"The bear, it fucking did cocaine. A bear did cocaine!" That's it, that's Cocaine Bear. This based-on-a-true-story caper's title really does say it all, and those understandably concerned words in the trailer sum it up perfectly, too. Meet one of 2023's instant must-sees, complete with a ridiculously entertaining sneak peek that utterly perfects the mood a bear doing cocaine deserves. "Apex predator. High on cocaine. Out of its mind." There's another way to sum up this 80s-set flick, which does indeed follow the chaos that ensues when an American black bear unwittingly ingests a hefty package of cocaine in a Georgia forest. Everyone's exclaiming things in response, really — adults, kids, cops and drug dealers in the trailer, and you while you're watching. "It kind of seems like a thing that stays with a man forever," the sneak peek tells us. It's not wrong. Cocaine Bear marks the third feature stint behind the lens by Call Jane actor Elizabeth Banks, after previously directing Pitch Perfect 2 and Charlie's Angels. And yes, the story behind it very much happened back in 1985, after a drug-running plane crashed. Forget Yogi Bear and his penchant for picnic baskets — this growling 500-pound critter is doing blow, then seeking blood. Among those screaming on-screen about a bear doing coke: a stacked cast featuring Keri Russell (Antlers), O'Shea Jackson Jr (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Margo Martindale (The Watcher), and also including Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project) and Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones). Cocaine Bear also marks one of the last films starring the late, great Ray Liotta (The Many Saints of Newark) — and if there's ever been a time for Isiah Whitlock Jr (Da 5 Bloods) to bust out one of his famous "sheeeeeeeit"s, this is it. Cinemagoers Down Under can see the results in February, in what looks like a jaw-on-the-floor kind of good time — from the trailer and the whole 'bear does cocaine' concept, at least. Until then, the film's sneak peak is the wildest thing you'll see all day. Watching it more than once comes with the territory. Check out the trailer for Cocaine Bear below: Cocaine Bear releases in cinemas Down Under on February 23, 2023.
UPDATE Tuesday, September 14: Indu — along with sibling venue Mejico — is currently serving a rotation of ready-to-heat meal boxes for delivery and takeaway. The packs are built around hero dishes like the potato curry and the slow-cooked lamb raan, with lots of dish and drink add-ons also available. Jump onto the website to see the menu and order. In one half of the former Collins Quarter pub, you'll now find Indu — Sam Prince Hospitality Group's sumptuous eatery dedicated to bold Sri Lankan and southern Indian flavours. Launching six years after sibling Indu Sydney, it's a moody, atmospheric haven, with a food offering inspired by co-founder Dr Sam Prince's own Sri Lankan heritage and travels through the homeland. The menu plates up an evolved take on homely village fare, fusing classic flavours with modern technique and even a few family recipes. The staple Sri Lankan dish of hoppers gets a workout, of course, starring the likes of pomegranate, eggplant pickle, goat's curd and a punchy coconut sambal ($15). You'll find a cooling dish of cured kingfish, teamed with candied beets and puffed wild rice ($22), and crispy besan flour fritters matched with a cardamom aioli ($12). Heartier options might include the signature Great Lamb Raan, featuring slow-cooked meat and a fresh mint chutney ($45), an excellent devilled pumpkin ($24), or the pork belly curry that comes topped with shards of crackling ($32). Desserts like the vegan chocolate and cardamom mousse promise a strong finish, while a considered drinks offering stands up well to all those big flavours and spicy notes. Expect a strong gin lineup, a global wine selection and crafty cocktails such as the smoked chai old fashioned. [caption id="attachment_800035" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Arianna Leggiero[/caption] Images: Arianna Leggiero
As with most DC universe superhero stories, Wonder Woman isn't aiming for lofty heights. Which is probably a good thing, because it hits right in the middle. We saw the superheroine appear briefly in Batman vs. Superman, where she was far and away the best part of the film. Now, in her origin movie, we get to see where she came from. Wonder Woman, Diana Prince, or Princess Diana of Themyscira (Gal Gadot), is raised on the secret island of Themyscira, home of the Amazons. When American soldier Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) washes up on their island, Diana defies her mother Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) by freeing him, before setting out to help humanity escape from, what she infers must be, the wicked influence of Ares the God of War (the Amazons are supposedly tasked with protecting humanity from Ares, although they seem to mostly just chill on their island). Diana and Steve sail to London in a dinghy, and travel to the front of World War I to find the wellspring of evil and end the war. Rollicking adventures soon ensue. As a narrative, Wonder Woman leaves plenty to be desired; a standard hero's quest but without elegance or depth. Words like 'love' and 'innocent lives' and 'protect humanity' are thrown around until they lose all meaning – although apparently, German soldiers do not count as humanity since the film sees them slaughtered in droves. The horrific trench warfare of WW1 is once again co-opted as gritty texture in an otherwise textureless film. Director Patty Jenkins manages to tick all the boxes of the worn out genre: fast-paced fight scenes, goodies versus baddies, a smattering of humour and a dramatic final showdown. If you're into caped crusaders, Wonder Woman is still probably worth your time. It's also good to see a superhero film with a strong female cohort – Gadot in front of camera, Jenkins behind, an island full of Amazonian warriors, and Elena Anaya playing the wicked Doctor Poison. And yet it's still basically impossible to call Wonder Woman a feminist film. For all the buzz about female empowerment, the movie falls prey to the same tired, sexist tropes that define all male-dominated movie franchises. We're talking blatant objectification, lack of agency, and outdated stereotypes. Diana is superhuman, with a whip that compels truthfulness and magic wrist guards that deflect bullets. She speaks over a hundred languages and has literally been raised from birth on an island surrounded by fierce fighting women. And yet everywhere she goes, she's greeted with comments about how smokin' hot she is. Can you imagine anyone doing that to Batman? Steve Trevor helps her off a boat and steers her through the streets of London with a possessive hand on her arm. He bosses her around. The men in her ragtag gang see her destroy a church and flip over a tank, but they don't quite believe she knows what she's talking about when it comes to strategy. They simply refuse to let her infiltrate the gala seething with German high command. At the end of the day, the woman is saddled with the same old shit – just as a protagonist and not a one-dimensional narrative device. At the end of the day, if you're just looking for another superhero flick, Wonder Woman should suit you just fine. But if you were hoping to see something revolutionary in terms of the representation of women, prepare to be bitterly disappointed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q8fG0TtVAY
If the individual movies a director makes can be seen as chapters from an ongoing book, then consider Noah Baumbach the author of a sharp, sweeping coming-of-age chronicle. Whether dissecting mature malaise in Greenberg, the attempts of a twenty-something to find her place in life in Frances Ha or the clash of the two in While We're Young, he remains fascinated with the process of growing up at any stage. In Mistress America, Baumbach offers another instalment on his beloved topic, all while re-teaming with Greta Gerwig. Almost by design, their previous collaboration — both co-writing, him directing and her starring in Frances Ha, as remains the case here — looms large over their latest effort. Consider Frances Ha the fate that could've befallen Mistress America's teenager Tracy (Lola Kirke) after college if she hadn't crossed paths with her stepsister-to-be Brooke (Gerwig), or the past that might've delivered 30-year-old Brooke to her current predicament. The two are brought together by their parents' impending marriage, with Tracy seeing Brooke as the big sis — and guide to life, both in New York and in general — she's never had. They're opposites: Tracy is quiet, lonely and wants to be a writer; Brooke is confident, constantly talks about herself and has an endless array of future plans. As they spend more time together, the seeming differences between the two become less pronounced. That fact isn't lost on Tracy, who starts to imagine Brooke as 'Meadow', the deeply flawed character in her new short story. While finding commonality in Baumbach's films has become unavoidable, that doesn't make his work any less enjoyable or astute. There's a level of comfort to Mistress America's return to the filmmaker's well-traversed terrain, as well as his trademark intelligence and energy. Here, as in the rest of his efforts, he's fleshing out recognisable ideas and anxieties, but done so with slightly different parts. And while the overall message is starting to sound a little repetitive even as it remains accurate, the individual elements still have plenty of charms. The feature is at its best in its wonderful midsection, where it plunges into a superbly executed farce. When a series of circumstances sends the not-quite-siblings plus some of Tracy's friends (Matthew Shear and Jasmine Cephas Jones) on a road trip to Connecticut to visit Brooke's former boyfriend (Heather Lind) and BFF (Michael Chernus), Baumbach takes his favourite themes into shrewd, smart and incisively funny screwball territory. In some of the best sequences the director has committed to the screen, infectious laughter ensues, as does insight and urgency that the rest of the film can't quite match. Of course, that plays into Baumbach's usual oeuvre: what is a coming-of-age story, and his entire output, if not an examination of how to keep going after pivotal moments and turning points?
Melbourne, the biggest day on the footy calendar is here. On Saturday, September 27, the AFL Grand Final takes over the MCG. Whether you've scored yourself a seat at the game or you're just soaking up the city's incredible atmosphere, there's one stop to make before the bounce: a free facial hair trim inspired by some of Australia's best sports stars. To celebrate the day, Philips is setting up in Fed Square with a pop-up facial grooming experience. From 10.30am–6.30pm, the OneBlade Barbershop will be open for walk-ins, with two barbers on hand to give your beard or moustache a trim, edge or close shave using the Philips OneBlade. You'll get to choose from a board of iconic styles worn by AFL, Rugby, NRL, UFC and Cricket stars to inspire your cut, from Honeybadger and Nick Kyrgios, to Bailey Smith and Volk. There's no need to book ahead, just drop by and scan the QR code to secure your spot on the day. While you're there, you can also spin the prize wheel for instant giveaways. And if you share an Instagram story of yourself at the activation using the hashtag #OneBladeAU, you'll also go in the running to win the grand prize: a $2,000 summer holiday package for two, including flights, accommodation and experiences. The winner will be announced live at Fed Square just before the game kicks off. Whether you want to head to the game looking sharp, score a big win, or just want to try the OneBlade for yourself, this is your chance. Catch the OneBlade Barbershop pop-up in Fed Square on Saturday, September 27 from 10.30am–6.30pm. For more info, head to the website.
Art/Work is a new Concrete Playground series where we take some time to chat with our local creatives in an attempt to unravel the daily grind behind being an artist. This week we speak with Kate Mitchell, a Sydney-based endurance artist represented by Chalk Horse. She is also one half of the paper cut crazy duo, Greedy Hen. Beware, jealousy pangs coming up, no more day job for this lovely lady! Most days you'll find me having some good times working at the Greedy Hen studio in Surry Hills. Greedy Hen is essentially a multi-disciplinary studio functioning partly as an art collective and partly as a design studio, housing the collaborative works of Katherine Brickman and myself. We make artwork, mostly collage/illustration heavy and it ends up in a whole variety of industries. We share our studio with some top notch people like Elke Kramer, Mikie Inglis and Benja Harney. It's non stop action in there! When I am not there I am having good times working/making from my studio at home. Otherwise I'm at the beach or on a bike. For the most part I spend my week bouncing ideas around with Katherine Brickman in Greedy Hen HQ, nutting out plans of attack and then getting them done the best way we can. We never know what will be in our inbox each morning, but usually there is some job waiting patiently for us! From time to time I work from my studio at home, it's quite a good balance. At the moment I am working on a solo Greedy Hen show which opens on May 5th at Lamington Drive in Melbourne. And currently I have some video works in a splendid group show called Social Sculpture on at Anna Schwartz Gallery at Carriage Works. It's on until May 14th. If money wasn't an issue I'd sail around the world, live on an island, climb some mountains, raft some rapids, make travel documentaries, meet some serious locals, learn to tie knots properly, never live through another winter and just wholesomely get out there and get involved. And realise all art dreams! Being an artist in Sydney is delightful and relentless in equal measure. My neighbourhood is Bronte. There's the beach and the RSL, what could possibly go wrong? I'm quite a fan of sneaking in a good body surf at Bronte beach in the mornings, and then I can't resist a dance off at Good God Small Club. It never fails to deliver.
Sweltering through increasingly toasty temperatures, the Earth keeps breaking and matching records — ones the planet doesn't want to continue. After notching up its hottest year in recorded history back in 2016, this spinning rock we call home equalled it in 2020. The past six years are now the hottest six on record, too, while the past decade is also the warmest ever recorded. The news comes via the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), which tracks data about the climate now and the past to contemplate the future — not just for Europe, but also for the rest of the world. Compared to the period between 1981–2010, which is commonly used as a reference, 2020 was warmer by 0.6 degrees Celsius. In comparison to pre-industrial times, from 1850–1900 specifically, it was hotter by 1.25 degrees Celsius as well. That mightn't sound like a huge amount, but it made a big difference in some parts of the globe. Europe experienced its hottest year ever recorded, even beating 2016 by 0.4 degrees Celsius. And in the Arctic and Siberia, temps reached more than six degrees higher than average. That meant that Arctic sea ice was significantly lower than average in the second half of the year — the lowest sea ice extent on record in July and October, in fact. Announcing the data for the past year, C3S Director Carlo Buontempo said that "2020 stands out for its exceptional warmth in the Arctic and a record number of tropical storms in the north Atlantic. It is no surprise that the last decade was the warmest on record, and is yet another reminder of the urgency of ambitious emissions reductions to prevent adverse climate impacts in the future." https://twitter.com/CopernicusECMWF/status/1347438880551800832 The unwanted milestone also came about as the northern hemisphere mostly experienced higher than average temperatures for the year, while parts of the southern hemisphere had below average temperatures due to cooler La Niña conditions. C3S also advised that 2020 matches the 2016 record despite the cooling effect of La Niña, while 2016 started with a warming El Niño event. With climate change continuing to show its effects, the news shouldn't come as a surprise. It's still a stark reminder of the current state of the planet, however. Locally, the Bureau of Meteorology has already advised that Australia sweltered through its fourth warmest year on record in 2020, and ended its hottest decade ever as well. For more information about the 2020 data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), head to the C3S website.
Calendars out, Marvel fans: if you've been looking forward to adding more superheroes to your small-screen viewing in 2023, Disney+ has just the solution. First, Secret Invasion is on its way this winter, focusing on Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury. Then, come spring, both the second season of Loki and the debut of newcomer Echo will follow. 2023 marks two years since the Marvel Cinematic Universe's God of Mischief first hit streaming queues, doing so with a final promise: "Loki will return in season two". When it premiered, it was just the third MCU series to hit Disney+ after WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and it's been followed by Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. But a couple of years has felt like a hefty wait for more of Tom Hiddleston (The Essex Serpent) getting his superpowered trickster on. The date to lock into your diary now: Friday, October 6, with the new batch of episodes set to pick up where season one left off. So, expect more chaos from the MCU favourite, more of Owen Wilson (Marry Me) as Mobius M Mobius, more banter (naturally) and more clone trickery. "Loki is back at the TVA, he's had a very difficult confrontation with Sylvie, and Mobius and Hunter B-15 don't know who he is," Hiddleston advised back in 2022, before season two also scored a brief sneak peek as part of Disney+'s streaming highlights trailer for 2023. [caption id="attachment_862338" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.[/caption] As for Hawkeye spinoff Echo, it's locked in for Wednesday, November 29 — and it'll enjoy a first for the MCU on streaming. Disney+ usually drops a few episodes at once for each show, then unfurls the rest weekly afterwards. But this one will arrive all at once on the same day. Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) is the Echo's focus — and, as first seen in Hawkeye, she's the gang leader who is deaf that had Clint Barton in her sights for a stint of revenge. In a series also starring Chaske Spencer (The English), Tantoo Cardinal (Three Pines), Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs), Cody Lightning (Run Woman Run), Graham Greene (The Last of Us) and Zahn McClarnon (Dark Winds), the character now gets an origin story. There's no trailer yet for either Loki season two or Echo, but you can check out Disney+'s 2023 trailer below: Loki season two will premiere on Disney+ on Friday, October 6, while Echo will arrive on Wednesday, November 29. Top image: ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Watching I Hate Suzie Too isn't easy. Watching I Hate Suzie, the show's first season, wasn't either back in 2020. A warts-and-all dance through the chaotic life, emotions and mind of a celebrity, both instalments of this compelling British series have spun as far away from the glitz and glamour of being famous as possible. Capturing carefully constructed social-media content to sell the fiction of stardom's perfection is part of the story, as it has to be three decades into the 21st century; however, consider this Stan- and Neon-streaming show from Succession writer Lucy Prebble and actor/singer/co-creator Billie Piper, and its blood pressure-raising tension and stress, the anti-Instagram. I Hate Suzie's unfiltered focus: teen pop sensation-turned-actor Suzie Pickles, as played with a canny sense of knowing by Piper given that the 'Honey to the Bee' and Penny Dreadful talent has charted the same course. That said, the show's IRL star hasn't been the subject of a traumatic phone hack that exposed sensitive photos from an extramarital affair to the public, turning her existence and career upside down, as Suzie was in season one. In episodes named after emotions — shock, denial, fear, shame, bargaining, guilt, anger and acceptance — the eight-part initial go-around stepped through the fallout, as unsurprisingly frenzied as it was. Suzie's professor husband Cob (Daniel Ings, Sex Education) reacted with fury and selfishness; their young son Frank (debutant Matthew Jordan-Caws), who is deaf, got swept up in the tumult; and manager and lifelong friend Naomi (Leila Farzad, Avenue 5) endeavoured to save Suzie's career. As I Hate Suzie's name makes plain, sentiment didn't often flow Suzie's way — from Cob, the media, everyone pulling the strings behind her professional opportunities, and also the world at large. In I Hate Suzie Too, she has a new manager Sian (Anastasia Hille, A Spy Among Friends) and a new chance to win back fans, returning to reality TV after it helped thrust her into the spotlight as a child star to begin with. Dance Crazee Xmas is exactly what it sounds like, and sees Suzie compete against soccer heroes, musicians and more. But when I Hate Suzie Too kicks off with a ferocious, clearly cathartic solo dance in sad-clown getup, the viewers aren't charmed. In fact, instantly damaging her already fragile self-esteem, Suzie is the first celebrity voted off. Although arriving a couple of years later, season two takes place six months after the first, which ended with Suzie all over the papers — again — and facing another life-changing development. Spanning three episodes, I Hate Suzie Too is a chronicle of a comeback that isn't quite allowed to be, because that's the relentlessness of being in the public eye when you're a woman who's deemed to have erred. Suzie herself simply wants to work to be able to share custody of Frank, the fight over which is cruel and demanding at the hands of the still-vicious Cob. She wants to dance, too, because that was always her first love. What she gets is the unceasing pressure to be flawless, as dictated by everyone else around her, but with zero interest in what'd truly make her content, safe, secure and fulfilled. Fearless, audacious, honest, dripping with anxiety, staggering in its intensity, absolutely heart-wrenching, always unflinching: with Prebble and Piper reteaming not just after season one, but also 2007–11 series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, all of these terms fit. This is a head-in-your-hands dark dramedy, a reaction incited by everything that comes Suzie's way as well as the choices she makes in response. The demands and decisions don't stop. Everyone always needs something, and needs Suzie to make a call. In this season, that still includes her mother (Lorraine Ashbourne, Bridgerton), father (Phil Daniels, House of the Dragon) and younger sister (Elle Piper), who are now joined by Suzie's first ex-husband Bailey Quinn (Douglas Hodge, The Great), plus former footballer-turned-streamer Danny Carno (Blake Harrison, The Inbetweeners) — both fellow Dance Crazee Xmas contestants, and reasons that the press' attention hones in again and again. With its claustrophobic cinematography constantly staring Piper's way — and, more than that, usually getting closer than anyone would feel comfortable with — I Hate Suzie Too apes what Suzie's fans and detractors are always doing: surveilling intently. No one performs well under such meticulous examination, with the series pondering the exacting standards placed upon well-known figures and the hypocritical reactions when they don't handle the scrutiny faultlessly. Steely eyed but empathetic, it's an exploration of mental health as well, and the fraying space that takes over when the world's wants take precedence over your own. "The team are choosing between you looking needy and you looking miserable,' Suzie is told about Dance Crazee Xmas' behind-the-scenes footage, to which she replies "well, those are my two states". I Hate Suzie Too shows how untrue that comment is, and how deeply it has been internalised. When she starred in a 2016 UK stage production of Yerma, Piper won six Best Actress awards for her performance — all six that she could — but, on-screen, she's never been better than she is in I Hate Suzie's two seasons. All that up-close peering at Suzie's face is revelatory, conveying every twitch of thought and emotion as she navigates the persistent onslaught of everything everywhere all at once, and attempts to package and repackage herself to be all things to all people. The focus and adaptability required on Piper's part is stunning, especially given I Hate Suzie Too's fondness for long, unbroken shots onstage and careening through backstage corridors. She's equally phenomenal whenever Suzie does snatch a quiet moment to herself, usually brimming with uncertainty, and she's heartbreaking when she's just trying to be a mum to her son. Like Suzie, Piper benefits from her own popstar background in I Hate Suzie Too, with Dance Crazee Xmas' dance numbers — for an audience and in rehearsals alike — proving the powerhouse centre of the series' latest run. Spectacularly choreographed and performed, and incisively paired to Suzie's inner state like a musical, they almost tell this season's tale without anything else needed around them. And, they help emphasise that this story isn't Suzie's alone. Too many women in the spotlight, and in general, have been held to unrealistic ideals, then pilloried for not meeting them. Much lingers when I Hate Suzie Too comes to an end in a whirlwind of distress, that fact included. Check out the trailer for I Hate Suzie Too below: I Hate Suzie Too streams via Stan in Australia and Neon in New Zealand.
Whether you're suffering from full-blown insomnia or just have trouble winding down after a big day, everyone knows the feeling of lying in bed, praying for sleep but failing to drop off. If counting sheep isn't working — or any number of other snooze-inducing tips, because there are plenty — then perhaps you need to listen to a list of Swedish furniture names. While a hefty walk around any IKEA store usually helps make anyone sleepy (and the crowds, decisions and meatballs too), the huge retailer thinks that the sounds of its product titles will really do the trick. Enter the IKEA Sleep Podcast. It simply features two company employees rattling off words such as sommaraster (a quilt cover), leirvik (a bed frame) and hidrasund (a spring mattress), plus everything else in the Australian catalogue's current bedroom and storage range. Two versions are available, so you can choose between hearing Sara Eriksson utter product monikers — and their English descriptions — or opt for her husband Kent Eriksson. Each under 30-minute podcast also offers a brief introductory explanation about the philosophy behind IKEA's furniture names, should you be wondering why a fyresdal (day bed) or pax (wardrobe) have the titles they have. The podcast's release is timed to coincide with the end of daylight savings in many Australian states, as well as across New Zealand — aka a time when our usual rest patterns are disrupted. Whether you'll dream about letting loose in an IKEA store, walking around a huge warehouse or kitting out your bedroom with new sheets and curtains — and whether you'll wake up with a burning desire to buy new furniture — well, that's something you'll only discover by listening. To listen to the IKEA Sleep Podcast, visit the IKEA website.
When Roxane Gay released Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business in 2023, the American author and academic gave readers a tome that stepped through ten years of her non-fiction efforts. With that milestone in mind, it feels apt that Gay's 2024 trip to Australia will also mark a decade since 2014's Bad Feminist first had everyone reading the commentator's books. Expect both texts to earn more than a small mention in Sydney and Melbourne come August. Gay will make just two stops Down Under this winter, both at festivals: at Sydney's Festival of Dangerous Ideas and Melbourne's Now or Never. The Harbour City will welcome Gay first — she's the first speaker announced for FODI 2024, in fact, ahead of the event's full program being released on Tuesday, June 25 — before the Victorian capital beckons. "Roxane Gay is one of the world's most-brilliant social commentators. Ten years on since her book Bad Feminist caught the world's attention, she is still unafraid to call out privilege, hypocrisy, and entrenched social injustice. But today, speaking up can come at a huge cost. I can't think of anyone else more credentialed than Roxane to talk to FODI audiences about the importance of rocking the boat and facing criticism head on," said FODI Director Danielle Harvey, announcing the news. Gay will appear as a keynote speaker, discussing the topic of being a dissenter in the age of tribal warfare, at the 12th Festival of Dangerous Ideas. The event was established in 2009 to discuss difficult issues, push boundaries and inspire debate, putting both its initial guest and her topic right in its usual remit. 2024's FODI runs from Saturday, August 24–Sunday, August 25 at Carriageworks, focusing on the theme 'sanctuary'. As well as getting Gay chatting about her work live and in person, the fest will enlist the New York Times-bestselling author on panels, too. In Melbourne, the writer that's also behind Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body and Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture — and also Ayiti, An Untamed State, Difficult Women and The Banks in fiction — will get talking about having complicated views in complicated times with Jan Fran at Melbourne Town Hall on Tuesday, August 27, in a session also presented by The Wheeler Centre. "The Wheeler Centre is thrilled to present Roxane Gay in Melbourne and celebrate this incredible compilation of her work. Roxane communicates complex ideas with honesty and power, and this is a rare opportunity to hear her in conversation," said The Wheeler Centre CEO Erin Vincent. Roxane Gay will appear at Carriageworks in Sydney as part of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas from Saturday, August 24–Sunday, August 25 — and at Melbourne Town Hall on Tuesday, August 27 presented by The Wheeler Centre and Now or Never. Presale tickets for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas go on sale on Tuesday, June 25, with general sales from Wednesday, June 26. Tickets for The Wheeler Centre are on sale now. Top image: Reginald Cunningham.
Most of Australia might've spent the bulk of 2020 at home, but that doesn't mean that we didn't notice the temperature. And if you were feeling rather toasty across the 12 months, there's a reason for that — with the Bureau of Meteorology revealing in its just-released Annual Climate Statement 2020 that we just lived through one of country's warmest years since records started being kept. Only three years on record were hotter than 2020, with the past 12 months ranking fourth. Australia's warmest year on record came the year prior, in 2019, while 2013 ranks second. If you're wondering what that means for temperatures in 2020, the overall averaged mean temperature for the entire country across the year sat 1.15 degree above average. In all states in 2020, as well as the Northern Territory, both the mean maximum and minimum temperatures were also higher than average. BOM reports that days were especially warm in Sydney, Hobart and Darwin, and nights were toasty in the same three cities, plus Canberra and Brisbane. Yes, we know that Australia is a sunny place, and has sweltering summers. But that warmth was also spread across the year, with January, February, April, June, August, September and November sitting in the ten warmest on record when it comes to a variety of markers — such as the mean, maximum and minimum temperatures for those months. November 2020 was also the warmest November on record, before summer even hit, while the entirety of spring earned that status as well. If you noticed that the three of the top four warmest years listed above all fell in the last decade, there's a reason for that as well. "The mean temperature for the ten years from 2011 to 2020 was the highest on record, at 0.94 degrees above average and 0.33 degrees warmer than the previous ten years," said Senior Climatologist Dr Lynette Bettio. Dr Bettio also notes that increasing temperatures is a worldwide trend. "Globally, every year from 2013 onwards has been among the ten warmest on record, with 2016 and 2019 being the hottest," she says. "2020 was among the top three" on a global scale, she advises, which happened "despite the onset of La Niña, which has a suppressing effect on global temperatures". In Australia, La Niña usually means more rainfall, cooler daytime temperatures south of the tropics and warmer overnight temperatures in the north. In terms of rain, 2020 was actually close to average, BOM says; however, the western parts of Western Australia, southeastern Queensland and western Tasmania all received below average rainfall. For more information about the Bureau of Meteorology's Annual Climate Statement 2020, head to BOM's website.
UPDATE, January 7, 2021: Pieces of a Woman screens in Melbourne cinemas from Wednesday, December 30, and will be available to stream via Netflix from Thursday, January 7. Everyone has heard the claim that women forget the pain of childbirth, with hormones and maternal stirrings washing away the agony of labour once a mother meets their bundle of joy. How true that proves is the subject of debate, but if you've only seen life brought into the world via on-screen depictions, you can be forgiven for subscribing to such a school of thought. Childbirth, like sex, is usually sanitised for cinema. Courtesy of thrusts, groans, screams and part-exhilarated, part-exhausted smiles, films typically convey the gist, rather than the nitty gritty. The visceral reality rarely exists in a fictionalised world of convenient meet-cutes, perfect make-up adorned faces and zero signs of sweat; however, thanks to a tense and harrowing 23-minute delivery scene that plays out in one continuous take, Pieces of a Woman doesn't shy away from the mess and chaos. It doesn't evade the devastation when a planned home birth not only experiences hiccups, but leaves Boston-based expectant mother Martha (Vanessa Kirby, Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw) struggling to cope, either. Martha won't forget what occurred when her water broke, her husband Sean (Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy) remained by her side and midwife Eva (Molly Parker, Words on Bathroom Walls), a fill-in rather than the couple's first choice, delivered her baby. Neither will viewers of this daringly intimate drama from White God and Jupiter's Moon director-writer duo Kornél Mundruczó and Kata Wéber. The unbroken birthing scene isn't the movie's first, but it does precede its title card — with the filmmakers making it plain that, after getting a front-row seat to Martha's trauma, the audience will now witness her attempts to stitch herself back together. That's Pieces of a Woman's storyline. Shattered instead of feeling ecstatic and complete, as she had anticipated, the feature's protagonist tries to work out how to go on. But her marriage has lost its lustre, her overbearing mother Elizabeth (Ellen Burstyn, House of Cards) won't stop giving her two cents — and trying to throw around piles of money to help a problem that can't be fixed by cash — and, at Sean and Elizabeth's urging, there's also a court case to deal with. Pieces of a Woman doesn't lack narrative developments, involving both Martha and those in her bereaved orbit. Ex-alcoholic Sean also endeavours to process the situation, including falling back on old habits. His relationship with Elizabeth flips from bickering to conspiratorial, too; he's a construction worker, and his mother-in-law has always disapproved of his and Martha's class differences, but now they agree on what's best moving forward. Also having an impact: the involvement of Martha's lawyer cousin Suzanne (Sarah Snook, Succession), and the attention that comes from pursuing legal proceedings. Martha can't escape any of the above, but they're the film's scaffolding, rather than the main attraction. These external ups and downs will all pass, while Martha's maelstrom of despair and anger will remain. Accordingly, after stepping through her life-changing moment in realistic detail, the movie makes the bold choice to explore its protagonist's emotional and mental state. The Crown brought Kirby to broader fame and acclaim, earning her awards for her on-screen work after years of receiving them for her stage career — but, as stellar as she is in the regal drama, Pieces of a Woman is a career-best performance. She's tasked with weathering an ordeal rarely laid bare with such candour, and doing so via a dynamic and lived-in portrayal. She's asked to convey the torrential torment that Martha endures in every second after pushing through the contractions in Sean's embrace, holding their child in hers, and then suffering the worst type of absence. In the birth scene, she's primal and unfiltered in a way that's never seen on film. Afterwards, Kirby is glassy with and distant from those around Martha in a manner that rarely resonates as authentically as it does here. Pieces of a Woman is well-cast, and its star is ably matched — by Burstyn especially, particularly in one big monologue that rides a remarkable rollercoaster — but the intensity in Kirby as Martha crumples, yet remains resolute about her right to fracture and fray however she needs to, is near-overwhelming. Mundruczó and Wéber tackle an array of weighty notions through Martha, and through Kirby's performance, the ravenous monster that is grief being one. Pieces of a Woman is heartbreakingly unrestrained in showing how it feels to navigate loss, specifically the kind that isn't often addressed in society let alone in cinema. It does so with disarming potency, as if everything within its frames has been ripped from truth by the filmmakers. Just as effectively, the movie also unpacks how women are constantly expected to stick to set roles, even when tackling what might be the most distressing thing that'll ever happen to a mother. That's where all the struggles with Sean, Elizabeth and the court case really strike a chord — because, no matter what's going on, Martha is always supposed to fit a type dictated by long-held ideas about being a woman, and her husband, mum and anyone else with an opinion can't quite accept her refusal to adhere to convention. If Pieces of a Woman wasn't so deeply moving, some of its overt symbolism might've fallen flat, including repeated shots of a bridge being built by Sean, plus Martha's obsession with apples. And yet honesty reverberates from both, reflecting how easy it is to cling to anything and everything when life isn't progressing as planned. This excellent movie does spend its 126 minutes as intended, of course. From its attention-grabbing early sequence and intricate emotional landscape to its astonishing lead performance and its masterful direction — and its fittingly solemn score by Howard Shore (a two-time Oscar-winner for The Lord of the Rings) and roaming yet lingering visuals lensed by Benjamin Loeb (Mandy), too — it plunges viewers headfirst into Martha's experience. Nothing has been sanitised for anyone's comfort or protection here, either by the filmmakers or by their unforgettably real and raw central character. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zLKbMAZNGI Top image: Benjamin Loeb / Netflix.
Melbourne's restaurant scene is vast and varied. But what do the Meatball and Wine Bar, Circa The Prince, Little Hunter, The Estelle, Izakaya Den and Jacques Reymond have in common? Their plates, that's what. Behind this homewares evolution is Glenn Tebble Homewares, from Unique Pottery, who create tableware and tailor-made designs for restaurants and chefs. Made from stoneware, each piece is designed and created right here in Melbourne and embraces the unique, ever-changing nature of the food scene. Through his time working with chefs and restaurateurs, Glenn Tebble, the man behind Glenn Tebble Homewares, came to find that people were looking for items that just didn't exist yet. And so, their bespoke range was born. Together with chefs, Glenn designs and creates products on a need-by-need basis. Collaborating with some of Melbourne's best restaurants, Glenn tells us how some of these ideas came to fruition. Scott Picket and Ryan Flaherty – The Estelle "Long-time customers and all-round good blokes from The Estelle Scott Pickett and Ryan Flaherty have always been a good source of inspiration. With their history in Michelin star restaurants overseas, the boys were often coming to us with ideas, and not just from the design side of things. The boys suggested what we now call the splatter range. "We developed a new colour option by using two kinds of glazes, whether it was a two toned colour or an abstract kind of finish. It opened a gateway for a whole new line of products — some of the glazes also present a textured look and feel." Meatball and Wine Bar "The team at Meatball And Wine Bar were on the hunt for a specific bowl for their balls. As I had worked with their management team previously, they approached me. We designed what is currently our most popular bowl. It was made it to the specifications, and managed to streamline it with our existing larger bowl, creating a new range. As you can see, the gents at Meatballs are very happy with the result." Simon Denton – Izakaya Den "Some time back now, I approached Simon Denton, from Izakaya Den. Simon loved our range and went on to purchase a large quantity for his underground gem. Simon also liked our large sushi plate, but he also wanted one a little smaller. Again, I got the design team onto it and it was in his restaurant within six weeks. We must have made an impression, as when Denton launched his revamp of the old Verge site, now Numa Numa, he came to us for his bespoke noodle bowls." Paul Wilson – Melbourne Pub Group "Paul Wilson came to me with a plastic shaped taco holder that they had been using — just as the taco scene went crazy in Melbourne. He wanted something similar but a lot sexier! We made two versions, one that could hold two tacos and another that could hold four. The end result surpassed his expectations. We have since seen more chefs use their creative flair — with Guy Grossi using it as a panini holder and, thinking outside the square, other ideas have been for mini hotdogs, souvlakis and as a vessel for a cheese display." Tony Twitchett – Taxi Dining Room "Tony Twitchett from Taxi Dining Room in Melbourne loved our range, but at the time we had nothing that suited his needs. He required a large rippled square platter for his signature duck dish and their amazing sashimi. So, we put a conservative spin on his idea and we came up with one of the very few square plates that we have in our range.”
If you're a fan of Australian music festivals, a feeling of déjà vu might be sinking in right now. In 2024, both Groovin the Moo and Splendour in the Grass announced dates and big lineups, then scrapped their festivals mere weeks afterwards. In 2025, one week after another, both fests have now cancelled their 2025 plans as well. After Splendour confirmed that it wouldn't be back this year, Groovin the Moo has done the same. The latter hasn't advised that it will definitely will return in 2026, either — but the team behind it are asking for lineup suggestions for future fests. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Groovin the Moo (@groovinthemoo) "Groovin the Moo won't be happening in 2025, while we work on finding the most-sustainable model for Australia's most-loved regional touring festival," the event's organisers said via social media. "We will really miss seeing the smiling faces of all our beloved Moo crew — and that means you! In the meantime, which artist would you most like to see on a GTM lineup?" In 2024, the long-running regional music event was due to play six stops: Adelaide, Canberra, Bendigo, the Sunshine Coast, Bunbury and Newcastle, with the latter marking its debut in the New South Wales city. Wu-Tang Clan's GZA, Spice Girl Melanie C doing a DJ set, The Kooks, The Beaches and Alison Wonderland were among the talents on the bill, alongside Stephen Sanchez, Armani White, Kenya Grace, King Stingray, DMA's, Jet, The Jungle Giants, Mallrat and San Cisco, plus Hot Dub Time Machine, Mura Masa, Claire Rosinkranz, Jessie Reyez, Meduza and The Rions — and others. When Groovin the Moo pulled the plug last year, it named poor ticket sales as the reason. "We are extremely disappointed to announce that the Groovin the Moo 2024 tour has been forced to cancel," advised the statement at the time. "Ticket sales have not been sufficient to deliver a regional festival of this kind." "We hope to be able to bring Groovin the Moo back to regional communities in the future." Groovin the Moo won't be taking place in 2025. For more information, head to the festival's Instagram. Images: Jordan Munns.
Last summer might only just be behind us, but it's never too early to start making plans for the next one — and for the festival fun that comes with it. Indeed, when the toasty weather returns at the end of 2022, it'll also herald another comeback, with music, art and food festival Spilt Milk locking in three events for this year. Originally only held in Canberra, then expanding to Ballarat, and now heading to Queensland as well — to the Gold Coast to be specific — the beloved event will return in November and December. First stop: its ACT home, of course, on Saturday, November 26 at Exhibition Park. It'll hit up regional Victoria next, on Saturday, December 3 at Victoria Park, before wrapping things up on Sunday, December 4 at Doug Jennings Park in the Sunshine State. The multi-city one-dayer has cemented its spot as a must-attend event for a heap of reasons — and tickets have sold out in under 30 minutes every year, including in a record nine minutes one year, to prove it. So, expect this to be one of the most anticipated returns of 2022, whoever is on the lineup. That bill won't be announced until Thursday, April 28; however, in the past, Spilt Milk has played host to Khalid, CHVRCHES, Juice Wrld, Channel Tres, BENEE, Lorde, Gang of Youth, Dom Dolla, Tones & I and more. This year, it's promising "a mega line-up with some of the most in-demand names on the scene". Start your guesses now, folks. Whoever tops the lineup — and whoever else helps fill the fest's stages — that musical roster will have impressive company, because the rest of the program always spans visual art, tasty eats and pop-up bars. Again, the details haven't yet been revealed, but it's worth blocking out your calendar now. SPILT MILK 2022 DATES: Saturday, November 26 — Exhibition Park, Canberra Saturday, December 3 — Victoria Park, Ballarat Sunday, December 4 — Doug Jennings Park, Gold Coast Spilt Milk will hit Canberra, Ballarat and the Gold Coast in November and December 2022. The full lineup will be announced on Thursday, April 28 — head back here then for further details — with pre-sale tickets go on sale from Tuesday, May 3 and general sales from Thursday, May 5. Head to the festival website for more info and to register for pre-sales. Images: Jordan Munns and Billy Zammit.
It's been 17 years since Hae Min Lee was tragically killed. And 16 since Adnan Syed went to jail for her murder. But now, almost two decades later, a Baltimore judge has granted Syed a re-trial. His lawyer, Justin Brown, tweeted the news earlier this morning, which was around 4.30pm on Thursday, June 30, Baltimore time. WE WON A NEW TRIAL FOR ADNAN SYED!!! #FreeAdnan — Justin Brown (@CJBrownLaw) June 30, 2016 Syed was, of course, the subject of Sarah Koenig's true crime podcast Serial, which had every man and his dog weighing in on complex legal evidence when it aired back in late 2014. Since the podcast's circulation, Syed — who has always maintained his innocence — has been able to push his case for post-conviction relief. In February he was granted a post-conviction hearing, in which it was argued that his original defence lawyer, Cristina Gutierrez, was negligent in the way she conducted the case. And on Thursday, Judge Martin Welch granted Syed a new trial on his defence counsel's failure to cross-examine a cell tower expert about the reliability of the data that placed him near the burial site. Anyone who's listened to the podcast knows that the cell tower data was one of the most complicated (and bloody confusing) pieces of evidence in the trial. This is Judge Welch's order, as posted by Serial about an hour ago: So what does this mean? Well, it means Syed's defence counsel have a lot of evidence to gather before an undoubtedly lengthy trial, which hasn't been given a date yet. And, surely, it means another season of Serial? Via The New York Times.
Chronicling encroaching maturity: it's the ambit of so many coming-of-age features that the idea has become its own cliche. With Boyhood, writer/director Richard Linklater takes the concept a step further — and though his method isn't unique, even to his own work courtesy of his Before trilogy, the film that results is. His portrait of growing up charts twelve years, shooting over the same period. Mason (Ellar Coltrane) is introduced staring at the sky, a six-year-old bundle of daydream-fuelled introversion and mischievous curiosity. He spars with his older sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), traverses the life dictated by the choices of his mother (Patricia Arquette) and wishes for more time with his father (Ethan Hawke). The years pass, and over the movie's 165 minutes, Mason evolves from a child into a man. Most movies mark the process of becoming an adult through major milestones, but Boyhood reflects upon quieter moments. Linklater doesn't follow an overarching narrative, apart from Mason's ageing and his mother's romantic and career changes. The big developments are largely inconsequential, excised in favour of everyday ephemera. It is in the spaces between — as Mason tests boundaries and forms his own identity, whether playing in the park, camping with his dad, passing notes with a pretty girl, having his first drink or finding an affinity for photography — that the film lingers. That's the key to Boyhood — the minutiae of getting older, by virtue of avoiding the usual contrivances of impending adulthood, always feels authentic and relatable. Mason's tale isn't just his own but belongs to everyone who was once a child navigating difficulties mundane in their ordinariness but influential in their individual impact, whether recently or remembered in a wave of nostalgia. In keeping with his layered storytelling, Linklater's filmmaking is unobtrusive, stitching together the familiar with finesse — pop culture references and all. His camera is enamoured with Mason, and though divorcing the time-conscious technique from the story is impossible, every image does more than capture a character ambling towards the age of 18. The intimate and unembellished slices of a young life each visual offers appear aesthetically and narratively drawn from reality, even as the constructed nature of the film remains apparent. Coltrane, of course, is the centerpiece of Boyhood, the figure upon which everything hangs. Calling his performance naturalistic states the obvious, but his ability to convey Mason's blossoming into a smart, sensitive young adult cements the film as truly special. Linklater took a risk on an ambitious way to relate an oft-told tale, and in his newcomer lead and career-best turns from Arquette and Hawke, he succeeds. And then there's another feat that can't be overlooked — starting a film with Coldplay's 'Yellow' and still making a masterpiece. https://youtube.com/watch?v=b70esOwsOf4
What happens when a bunch of affable booze reps turn their hands to opening a bar? You get Mr West — a bottleshop and bar in Footscray that offers punters flagons of rosé and more beers than your Pa could squirrel away for winter. The downstairs bottleshop is open every day. And you can sit in amongst the dark woody hues and enjoy a brew with your new favourite keeps. There are shelves of beers — sours, stouts, IPAs, you name it — with regular staff reccos and guest brews always hitting the right spot. The Mr West bar is the kind of place you head to for an after-work drink, take your dog to on weekends (to the upstairs pup-friendly area) or rock up to solo and sit amongst the locals. Time your visit right, and you'll be met with the soft scent of sugar syrup floating down the stairs. The lads intermingle their prep necessities with experimental excites. We've landed right on the money with our visit and are privy to a measure of their rye bourbon, barrelled-aged Long Island Iced Tea. It distinctly resembles 90s cola-bottle candy, with its hazy white and burgundy-coloured layering. Snacks are somewhat limited at Mr West — think charcuterie boards, cheese plates and hot chips with hummus (an outstanding and underrated combo) — but it's the 24 taps of beer that have been drawing the crowds. Admittedly, the beers are impressive and change on the regs. For us, however, it's the mezcals that really sing. Hand-selected from locals in Mexico and gifts from friends who sacrifice their duty-free limits, the offerings are rare and unique. Unlike tequila, which must be made from blue agave, the agave in mezcal has the leisure of being grown anywhere across nine regions, with 48 varietals available. This means there's a broadness in taste to the smoky delights. Check out Mr West's Friday tastings to best explore these fine tequila-adjacent tipples. Appears in: The Best Bars in Melbourne for 2023
Australia's hospitality industry scene has done it tough over the past year — again — but it still boasts some of the best bars on the planet. Don't just take our word for it; according to this year's just-revealed World's 50 Best Bars list, we're home to four of the top 50 watering holes worldwide. Our highest-ranking spot to get sipping in 2021: Sydney's Maybe Sammy. It's the third year in a row that the innovative bar in The Rocks has made the list, taking 22nd place. That's a drop from 2020, when it came in at number 11, but higher than in 2019, when it sat at 43rd. Coming hot on its heels is another World's 50 Best Bars list veteran, Cantina OK!, which moved up from number 28 last year to number 23 in 2021. Next, Melbourne's Above Board earned a spot at number 44, while Sydney newcomer Re jumps in at number 46. So, whether you're a Sydneysider, Melburnian or a future visitor to either city, you now have an excuse to hit up a globally acclaimed venue. [caption id="attachment_714475" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cantina OK!, Kimberley Lo[/caption] For those yet to be acquainted with Maybe Sammy, its luxurious styling nods to old-school Vegas glamour, all blush pink velvet banquettes and lush indoor greenery, while the list of theatrical signature drinks pays homage to the classics. At Cantina OK!, you'll find a pint-sized mezcal bar in an old garage down a service laneway — complete with bright pink and purple walls, Mexican vibes and laneway seating. Collingwood's minimalist Above Board skews super-intimate, boasting only 16 seats and with no standing permitted — while Re, which is located in Sydney's ever-growing South Eveleigh precinct, hails from hospitality stars Matt Whiley (Scout) and Maurice Terzini (Icebergs Dining Room & Bar, Ciccia Bella). The latter also has a zero-waste focus, and nabbed The World's Best 50 Bars 2021's Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award as well. [caption id="attachment_836460" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Above Board[/caption] While Sydney was better represented in the top 50 than Melbourne, the Victorian capital was the only Australian city to feature in the 51–100 list, which was announced late last week. Cocktail haven Byrdi scored a place on the extended rundown for the second year in a row. The annual World's 50 Best Bars awards are voted on by bar industry experts from around the world, including bartenders, consultants, drinks writers and cocktail specialists. And if you're wondering what topped the list worldwide, that'd be London's Connaught Bar, which emerged victorious for the second year in a row — so there's somewhere to add to any future UK itineraries. For the full World's 50 Best Bars 2021 rundown, head to the list's website — and you can check out the 51–100 list online as well. Top image: Maybe Sammy.
Sibling and next-door neighbour to northside cafe Mixed Business, Clifton Hill's Fowlers Flowers is a little haven of a shopfront, filled with colourful blooms and certain inspiration for that special arrangement. A neighbourhood favourite for over ten years, its expert florists are just as skilled at creating hand-tied, custom bouquets, as they are decking out events with a litany of vibrant blooms that are guaranteed to impress. Here, seasonality is always celebrated and there's a strong commitment to sustainable practices. And if you're after a gift that's a little more lasting, there's the long-life dried posies, available in a range of colour palettes, depending on what flowers are in stock.
Dispelling the old thought that art and science cannot mix, The Creators Project showcases the talent of those who have simultaneously mastered both fields. The Creators Project is a product of a partnership between Intel and Vice, and has been held in various locations throughout the United States, as well as in the UK, France, China, South Korea, and Brazil. Held in San Francisco, California last weekend, the event featured both established and new artists who use technology to create their art. “The countries we travel to in our global event series are all comprised of innovative communities at the forefront of the marriage of art and technology," said David Haroldsen, Intel's Creative Director for the project. “Many of our creators are based out of these countries which has in turn helped us further expand, enabling us to form relationships with more and more forthcoming artists in the art and tech communities.” According to Haroldsen, the goal of the The Creators Project is to find the world's most innovative tech artists and provide them with the resources necessary to give their work exposure. Hosi Simon, GM of Vice, said: "We discuss the artists’ dreams and ambitions in great detail, and find ways of how The Creators Project can help them reach their goals. We want to create long-term partnerships and collaborations." The event featured an incredible range of unique pieces. One installation piece titled 'Six Forty by Four Eighty', by Zigelbaum + Coelho2, allowed event goers to interact with giant pixels. The pixels could be controlled via remote, or cloned by holding a hand over a particular pixel and then tapping another. 'The Treachery of Sanctuary' by Chris Milk similarly allowed for interaction by using Kinect sensors to transform participating people into birds on the projection screen. Other works included a giant, LED-lit cube which featured a light show, a giant wall of Instagram photos shared by attendees, and more. [via Mashable]
Shock horror — a piece of street art has been defaced with graffiti. In what is the second incident this year for the iconic work, Keith Haring's Johnston Street mural has suffered a large black scrawl over the figures in its lower left quadrant. As the work is currently listed on the Victoria Heritage Register, those wishing to restore the piece will first have to acquire a permit before any amendments can take place. But, as always, the question remains — should they? This much-loved local work was painted by the iconic New York street artist on his only trip to Australia in 1984. After its inevitable deterioration, and much debate from art lovers and historians alike, its restoration took place nearly 30 years later in 2013. Clear and crisp, Haring's figures have enjoyed a resurgence for the better part of the past year — it may just be the whitest and brightest wall left in Collingwood. "Passers-by can now see the work as Keith Haring intended," said State Arts Minister Heidi Victoria at the time of restoration. Though such logic understandably leaves itself open to criticism. For instance, if Haring wanted his works pristine and untouched, why not place them in a gallery? Doing chalk drawings on the NYC subway are not the work of a man easily phased by the ephemeral. With such a rich and iconic history of street art, Melbourne has had many such controversies over the years. In fact, Banksy's Little Diver on the Nicholas Building faced a similar fate in 2008. Five years after the stencil was created, Melbourne City Council covered the work with a perspex screen to protect the piece. Shortly after, vandals poured grey paint behind the covering and cheekily scrawled 'Banksy woz ere' atop the then defaced work. In 2010, the piece then resurfaced in the form of a paste-up — such works are in constant evolution with their environment. Of course, not all people feel this way and many were saddened by the loss of their small aquatic friend. The boundaries between 'street art' and 'graffiti' are gloriously intertwined and many outwardly fight on the side of preservation. Just this week, Brisbane City Council faced outrage after painting over a work by Anthony Lister. In response to the erasure of his piece, the artist deemed the council "culture-killing neanderthals". Similar public disdain was expressed in 2012 when construction workers destroyed Banksy's Parachuting Rat in Prahran. Haring's much-loved mural will almost certainly get retouched once the permits get processed. The scribble is relatively small and innocuous, but what it stands for is much larger. Should we protect the former glory of these artworks, or let them evolve and decay like the faded chalk lines on the NYC subway? Via The Age. Bottom photo credit superk8nyc via photopin cc.
Obelix & Co is where all your cheese, meats and condiment dreams can come true — in Fitzroy North, at least. Uniting French classics with Australian produce, chefs Lachie McCallum and Kirsty Laird have created a space for all those who know they're a cut above a Bunnings snag on a Sunday; the pair impressively makes is own range of charcuterie, sausages terrines and pâtés. The shop is a larder, too, and sells crispy baguettes, cheeses and some lush tangy relish to top them off with. Perfect for when you need snacks to tide your guests over while you cook up an ambitiously fancy meal for them.
From towering mountains and serene fiords shrouded in mist, to black sand beaches and forests housing some of the world's oldest trees, Aotearoa New Zealand's natural landscapes truly are something else. No matter when you visit, you'll feel the wairua (spirit) of New Zealand's landscapes drawing you in as you're immersed in them and they envelop you. This is scenery you'll feel, rather than merely 'view'. Winter transforms vistas as the skies darken, mountains rising from the horizon are dusted in snow and the seasonal passing by of wildlife occurs. During autumn and spring, you'll be bathed in warmer temperatures and lingering sunlight that casts a different light over the landscapes. We teamed up with 100% Pure New Zealand to unveil some of the most awe-inspiring scenery New Zealand has to offer each season, so you can plan a trip that's made all the more memorable by these breathtaking encounters. Flick the switch for our top picks of experiences to have in autumn, winter and spring and see how New Zealand changes with the seasons. Jump to switcher
The Daughter might be the latest local film to reach cinema screens, but it's no typical Aussie movie. Writer/director Simon Stone and the bulk of the film's cast — including Geoffrey Rush, Ewen Leslie, Anna Torv, Miranda Otto and Odessa Young — ensure that the feature's Aussie credentials remain intact, as does its New South Wales shoot. However the drama of family secrets and lies actually finds its basis in Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck. Accordingly, Stone transports a 19th century Norwegian classic to modern Australia, and not for the first time. As theatre fans will no doubt know, the stage wunderkind turned filmmaker earned rave reviews for his stripped-back take on the tale, which played in Sydney, Oslo, Vienna and London. Now, he endeavours to do so again with his film version. In fact, it seems like his involvement in The Daughter was meant to be, though the same could be said for rising talent Young as well. In the titular role of Hedvig, the Looking for Grace star plays her second complex, compelling teen character in as many movies, and holds her own against an accomplished cast. So what drew Stone and Young to the story, how did they approach its characters, and how did Stone craft more than just the usual Aussie movie? With The Daughter now screening in Australian cinemas, we spoke to the duo about the film. ON THE APPEAL OF HENRIK IBSEN'S THE WILD DUCK Simon: "I guess the beautiful thing about the story is that it's a whole heap of people who have made various mistakes in their life, and it is [about] the vulnerability and the attempt to do the right thing. I'm very attracted to stories where you can't find the villain. So I love constellations of characters with a tragedy that kind of evolves out of the mistakes that the people are making — it doesn't evolve out of being able to blame anyone, it is just people falling into the traps that fate has set them, kind of. And it's the random confluences, confluences of various different people's motivations that are in conflict with each other. That creates the tragedy. You know, if you can blame anything, you can just blame bad luck." Odessa: "I was really attracted to the story by the integrity with which Simon wrote the character, and the insight that he seemed to have on her teenage personality and emotions, and just the complexity with which he wrote the teenage character. Because, I mean, I've read a lot of teenage characters — as you can imagine being a teenager auditioning for roles — and it's so rare that you actually come across a character that isn't just used as a buffer for the adult characters to take anger out on. Or they're quite often used as scapegoats. It is a really interesting kind of thing when you read something that isn't like that — when it is actually creating some autonomy for the character. That's really what gripped me about the role in the first place." ON ADAPTING THE STORY FOR A SECOND TIME Simon: "I had a series of instincts about the way I thought that it should look, but those instincts changed as I changed, in my mind, what kind of genre of movie it should maybe be in order to be most successful. I mean, if it had been just an incredibly realistic portrait of these events happening to this family like it was in my stage play, in a kind of inner-city environment like it was set in in my version of the play, then I think it would've been inconceivable at certain points. People would've gone, 'Actually, if you're pretending that all of these coincidences just take place in Surry Hills in a casual week in the casual lives of these people, then I'm not going to buy that.' "So I started looking for a genre for the movie that was going to be take advantage of the kind of mythological nature of the story in Ibsen's original play. It was just about finding the right genre, the right kind of references for myself, because I'm in love with every single genre of cinema. I love everything, so it kind of could've been anything." ON THE COMPLEX CHARACTERS AT THE HEART OF THE FILM Simon: "I don't believe in that moral absoluteness. I don't actually think it exists in the real world. I think it is a storytelling motif that people invented to express the fighting within someone's own soul. I think the classic villains and the classic gods versus devils stories that have existed in all the mythology since the beginning of religions, and in spiritual storytelling since humans painted stories on caves with pictures, the source of that was actually an expression of human instinct. The instincts within a human person, and the personification of those people was the kind of way of literalising and turning that battle into a figurative battle of two sides of the human personality. And I think people have kind of forgotten that." Odessa: "Even after I got the role, it was really heavy for me. I didn't know whether I could do it. I didn't know if I had the skills and the knowledge to play a character like this — that was so far opposite to what I am. So much of my character development was Simon's direction. We created a very important, easy shorthand quite early on in the process where it was all about paring back my own experiences as a teenager, not letting them filter through into the character, and creating a new set of experiences that would influence Hedvig's decisions and decision-making and her actions." ON MAKING A MOVIE THAT'S MORE THAN JUST THE SUM OF ITS AUSTRALIAN PARTS Simon: "I wanted the film to reflect all of the Australian stories that are not the clichéd Australian stories. Australia seems to have this real love of the idea of white working class stories or Asian stories or indigenous stories. But [I like] the idea of melding of all of the influences, the idea of actually taking a Scandinavian story, making it a little bit Australian, keeping it a little bit Scandinavian, and letting it be universal. Getting rid of the notion of what is the Australian-ness of this project, other than that it is being made by a whole heap of Australians. "And so the source material is part of the canon that Australia is kind of stealing from everywhere in the world, always. Because other than the indigenous stories and the dreaming, there is no Australian canon. It is just a series of other people's work, other culture's work, that kind of magpie culture where we are of just pilfering and making a beautiful and mangled mess. That's the kind of aim of the movie. And its a celebration to a certain extent that maybe we can eventually stop needing to ask questions about Australian-ness at some point." The Daughter is currently screening in Australian cinemas. Read our full review.
The third season of The Bear is a season haunted. Creator and writer Christopher Storer (Dickinson, Ramy) — often the culinary dramedy's director as well — wouldn't have it any other way. Every show that proves as swift a success as this, after serving up as exceptional a first and second season as any series could wish for, has the tang of its prior glory left on its lips, so this one tackles the idea head on. How can anyone shake the past at all, good or bad, it ruminates on as Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White, The Iron Claw) faces a dream that's come true but hasn't and can't eradicate the lifetime of internalised uncertainty that arises from having an erratic mother, absent father, elder brother he idolised but had his own demons, and a career spent striving to be the best and put his talents to the test in an industry that's so merciless and unforgiving even before you factor in cruel mentors. Haunting is talked about often in this ten-episode third The Bear dish, but not actually in the sense flavouring every bite that the show's return plates up. In the season's heartiest reminder that it's comic as well as tense and dramatic — its nine Emmy wins for season one, plus four Golden Globes across season one and two, are all in comedy categories — the Faks get to Fak aplenty. While charming Neil (IRL chef Matty Matheson) is loving his role as a besuited server beneath Richie aka Cousin (Ebon Moss-Bachrach, No Hard Feelings), onboard with the latter's commitment to upholding a Michelin star-chasing fine-diner's front-of-house standards and as devoted to being Carmy's best friend as ever, he's also always palling around with his handyman brother Theodore (Ricky Staffieri, Read the Room). They're not the season's only Faks, and so emerges a family game. When one Fak wrongs another, they get haunted, which is largely being taunted and unsettled by someone from basically The Bear equivalent of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Boyles. For it to stop, you need to agree to give in. In Storer's hands, in a series this expertly layered, this isn't just an amusing character-building aside. Joining the Disney+ menu Down Under on Thursday, June 27, 2024, season three opens with an episode called 'Tomorrow', setting the action on the titular day following the soft relaunch of Carmy's pride and joy. Season one followed his immersion in The Original Beef of Chicagoland, which his elder sibling Mikey (Jon Bernthal, Origin) ran before his death, and the call to turn it into the restaurant that Carmy has always wanted. Season two charted the hard yards traversed to make the plan happen and bring The Bear to fruition, culminating in an unveiling to family and friends that had them raving about the food while The Bear's staff were in bedlam. With Carmy, who was stuck locked in the fridge for most of the big hurrah, then ended it with his girlfriend Claire (Molly Gordon, Theater Camp) out of his life and his relationship with Richie at a new low, the third go-around asks how you whisk that difficult kickoff — and all previous difficulties — out of your brain and somehow move forward. The Bear has been posing a version of this question from the outset, because it's one of existence's defining queries: how does anyone go on when our heads are swirling with the pinnacles and plunges, achievements and traumas, and riches and missteps gone by? This is a show that sees baggage and, Station Eleven-style, remembers damage. So, how could Carmy, Richie, Carmy and Mikey's sister Natalie (Abby Elliott, Cheaper by the Dozen), their pseudo-uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt, Chicago Med), and The Beef's loyal staff Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas, IF), Marcus (Lionel Boyce, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty) carve a path — any path — after losing Mikey? With newcomer chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri, Inside Out 2), after they ensured it was still a place that he'd approve of, how could they pivot to The Bear? And with Jimmy's money backing them and the culinary world watching, how can they now guarantee that their new restaurant not just simmers but boils? 'Tomorrow' is a tone-poem first instalment to The Bear's third course, flitting through Carmy's history — the other kitchens that he's been employed in feature heavily — to establish how being haunted will season everything that follows. It's a mindset episode, and a smart and absorbing one, as his time working for the unpleasant David Fields (Joel McHale, Animal Control), the kindly Andrea Terry (Olivia Colman, Wicked Little Letters) and the IRL René Redzepi at Noma all flash up. Its mood then turns haunting itself, persisting atmospherically as Carmy makes some blunt decisions solo about what the restaurant will be and do, then Syd, Richie and the crew are confronted with his choices. The Bear will now operate under a list of non-negotiables. It will change its menu entirely daily. It'll actively seek Michelin's covered five-pointed endorsement. It isn't overtly stated, but it will also exist in a state of fear over what a review by the Chicago Tribune might deem it, be it innovative, excellent, delicious, confusing, overdone or inconsistent. The aftertaste of what's come before, and how impossible it is to cleanse it from your palate, lingers in every moment of kitchen and dining-room chaos — of which there's a buffet — alongside every plot strand. Syd struggles with the realisation that she's still the entree to Carmy's main, clicking the button on the partnership agreement that will formalise her stake in The Bear and whether to leave what she's toiled so hard for to take a new opportunity. Richie has the reality of his ex-wife (Gillian Jacobs, Invincible) moving on to deal with. The pregnant Nat's due date speeds closer. Marcus endeavours to cope with his grief by focusing on the job. Tina's route to The Beef gets its own episode. And The Computer (Brian Koppelman, the creator of fellow TV series Billions), Jimmy's no-nonsense numbers guy, has thoughts as The Bear keeps booking out and generating buzz but battling financially. Season three's performances in roles not only lead and supporting but also among the guest stars — well-known names pop up again, some returning, some new — remain delectable. Leading the show, no one better provides the faces of those tormented by their choices, hopes, yearnings, chances, mistakes and regrets, sometimes as motivation and sometimes as an anchor for Carmy, Syd and Richie, like the one-two-three punch of White, Edebiri and Moss-Bachrach. No one on- or off-screen across the whole series shows any sign of being plagued by living up to the one of the best new shows of 2022 and best returning shows of 2023, or knowing what to do, either. Although the second and third seasons of The Bear have had the program's own past to match, doing so hasn't been a problem to-date, including when Storer can so effortlessly segue between experimental and classic, and wide-spanning to ultra-focused as well. One of the reasons that the exploits of Carmy and company satisfied audiences from the show's initial arrival is its authenticity, understanding the pressures and anxieties, plus the hustle and bustle, of the hospo grind at the sandwich-diner level and the cream-of-the-crop tier alike. The Bear is equally as emotionally astute and frenetic beyond the kitchen, as every spoonful of its third season reminds viewers. The reality of trying to make it as a chef, cook, restaurateur and server collides with the reality of simply trying and being; it's a perfect recipe. In the show, the feeling of sitting down to your dream meal but proving incapable of dislodging your inner mayhem is inescapable. For those watching, The Bear is the streaming equivalent of the ultimate dish — and, because we all have our own internal turmoil, also the cure for being haunted across its superb 14 hours now over three seasons. Check out the full trailer for The Bear season three below: The Bear streams via Disney+ in Australia and New Zealand, with season three dropping on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Read our review of season one and review of season two. Images: FX.
The pointy end of this year's awards season is here. Every 12 months, and for months and months, the film industry celebrates the best and brightest movies that've graced cinemas — and now streaming as well — across a spate of accolades culminating in the Academy Awards. Exactly which movies the Oscars will shower love on is about to be revealed, with the gongs' 95th ceremony taking place on Monday, March 13, Australian and New Zealand time. Of course, sometimes the finest flicks, performances, directors and other talents truly do nab these coveted prizes, as seen with Parasite and Nomadland in recent years. Sometimes, movies initially considered surprises gather momentum, such as 2022's Best Picture win for CODA. And sometimes, the very best movie of the past year doesn't even get a look in — yes, Decision to Leave was criminally ignored among 2023's nominees, and no we'll never get over it. Whatever films you adored in 2022, some might end up with Hollywood's ultimate accolade — and plenty of deserving winners will be anointed. Will this be the year that Cate Blanchett earns a third Oscar? That the Academy shows how much it loves actors playing real-life people — again? That a Marvel movie wins an acting Oscar? That movies about donkeys steal the show? Could two categories, at least, make history? We've done some assessing and prognosticating; here are our predictions: BEST MOTION PICTURE The nominees: All Quiet on the Western Front Avatar: The Way of Water The Banshees of Inisherin Elvis Everything Everywhere All At Once The Fabelmans Tár Top Gun: Maverick Triangle of Sadness Women Talking Should win: Everything Everywhere All At Once Could win: Top Gun: Maverick Will win: Everything Everywhere All At Once Every year delivers a heap of phenomenal movies — if you think otherwise, you're just not watching enough — and 2022 was no different. And, some of those films are competing in this very category, including the sublime and lingering The Banshees of Inisherin. Still, nothing else among the ten contenders boasts the energy that Everything Everywhere All At Once sports. Everyone remembers when they first saw Everything Everywhere All At Once. Not every film earns that feat, but this Michelle Yeoh-starring date with the multiverse is simply unforgettable. It should win. It will win. But, the Oscars do have a history of loving blockbusters such as Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King — and Top Gun: Maverick might ride its need for speed to the top spot. BEST DIRECTOR The nominees: Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All At Once Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans Todd Field, Tár Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness Should win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All At Once Could win: Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans Will win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All At Once After awarding its Best Director prize to Chloé Zhao and Jane Campion over the past two years, tripling the number of women who've earned the award — from a paltry one to a just-as-dismal three — in 94 years, the Academy once again went back to deciding that ladies weren't among the past year's top helmers. To say that's disappointing is an understatement: Sarah Polley's Women Talking and Charlotte Wells' Aftersun both earned nominations elsewhere, but apparently directed themselves. The Daniels, aka Kwan and Scheinert, made a stunner with Everything Everywhere All At Once, and should be rewarded as a result. Don't discount Steven Spielberg for his supremely personal The Fabelmans, though — which, yes, we also said last year when he was competing for West Side Story. This'd be his first in almost a quarter-century (since Saving Private Ryan), and the Oscars do love sharing the love with this gong, awarding something that doesn't win Best Picture or get much else. PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE The nominees: Cate Blanchett, Tár Ana de Armas, Blonde Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once Should win: Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once Could win: Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once Will win: Cate Blanchett, Tár Of course Cate Blanchett should 100-percent receive her third Oscar for Tár. Yes, she already has two, for The Aviator and Blue Jasmine. This isn't her last shot at adding another to her mantle, and she'll win more from here. But she genuinely is better than she's ever been playing this conductor drama's definitely not-real namesake. And, she likely will win. She deserves to. But in what'd be her first Academy Award — she's as the first nominee in the category who identifies as Asian, too — Michelle Yeoh also deserves the trophy for Everything Everywhere All At Once. It's a movie that knows how much of a star she is to the point that it even baked it into its concept, and a film that definitely wouldn't be what it is without her. Also, forget the controversy surrounding Andrea Riseborough's To Leslie nomination; she won't win, but she's earned her spot. PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE The nominees: Austin Butler, Elvis Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin Brendan Fraser, The Whale Paul Mescal, Aftersun Bill Nighy, Living Should win: Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin Could win: Brendan Fraser, The Whale Will win: Austin Butler, Elvis Play a real person, go home clutching a statuette after Hollywood's night at nights: that's how things have turned out for Colin Firth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Matthew McConaughey, Eddie Redmayne, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gary Oldman, Rami Malek and Will Smith since 2010. And Austin Butler is that electrifying in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis as, of course, Elvis Presley. His onstage efforts in the concert scenes alone are goosebump-giving levels of spectacular. Colin Farrell's work in The Banshees of Inisherin is far less flashier, of course, but no less exceptional. In a movie filled with exquisite portrayals — three of his costars are nominated, too — he's never less than magnetic, especially at conveying pain and confusion. The Brenaissance may nab Brendan Fraser the accolade for The Whale, though, because Hollywood loves a comeback — even if Fraser hasn't ever been far from screens. PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE The nominees: Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Hong Chau, The Whale Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All At Once Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All At Once Should win: Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin Could win: Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Will win: Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All At Once Give the cast of The Banshees of Inisherin all the awards. Better Call Saul star Kerry Condon is heartbreaking in the Irish dramedy — playing the kind but frustrated sister who can see both sides to its central feud, and whose own wants and needs are always ignored by the either chatting or fighting men around her. And, she might capitalise upon Everything Everywhere All At Once's Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu competing against each other. That said, give the cast of Everything Everywhere All At Once all the awards as well. Curtis has momentum fresh off a Screen Actors Guild win, in what's somehow the acting veteran's first-ever Oscar nomination, but Hsu would be just as worthy a winner. Golden Globe-recipient Angela Bassett may just make history for winning as the first-ever Marvel performance, however — she is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's powerhouse. PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE The nominees: Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once Should win: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once Could win: NA — because Ke Huy Quan will win. Will win: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once Last year, the Best Supporting Actress category was a lock for months. Ariana DeBose was always going to win for West Side Story, and she did. This year's equivalent is the Best Supporting Actor race, with Ke Huy Quan set to shine for one helluva return. As he's spoken about in plenty of speeches as he keeps collecting well-deserved trophies, the Everything Everywhere All At Once star went from childhood fame in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies to virtually nothing before The Daniels came along. Quan helps give Everything Everywhere All At Once its heart and soul, and he'll give the speech of the Oscars: mark our words now. If there is an upset, Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan from The Banshees of Inisherin loom as the biggest threats, albeit vying against each other, and Brian Tyree Henry's nomination for Causeway should be the first of many. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY The nominees: The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh Everything Everywhere All At Once, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner Tár, Todd Field Triangle of Sadness, Ruben Östlund Should win: Tár, Todd Field Could win: Everything Everywhere All At Once, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert Will win: The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh Every year has them: the films that could earn a swag of Oscars, and would against different company, but only end up with a gong or two. In 2023, it looks as if Tár and The Banshees of Inisherin are those two movies. The latter should be rewarded for Martin McDonagh's layered original screenplay, and the former also deserves to be — Todd Field's Tár script is a masterclass in complexity. McDonagh has two screenwriting nominations before, for In Bruges and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Field has the same for In the Bedroom and Little Children. The Daniels might just pip them both for Everything Everywhere All At Once — or, if Spielberg doesn't win Best Director, maybe this is where The Fabelmans gets the icon some love. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY The nominees: All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Rian Johnson Living, Kazuo Ishiguro Top Gun: Maverick, screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks Women Talking, Sarah Polley Should win: Women Talking, Sarah Polley Could win: All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell Will win: Women Talking, Sarah Polley Women Talking might've directed itself to a Best Picture nomination in the Academy's eyes, but it didn't write itself. Adapting Miriam Toews' 2018 novel of the same name, which draws on events in a Bolivian Mennonite colony from 2005–9, actor-turned-filmmaker Sarah Polley should earn her first win from two screenwriting nominations — the first was for 2008's Away From Her — for her powerful efforts, which do indeed make women talking the most important thing imaginable. Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell's work scripting All Quiet on the Western Front — adapting it again from the 1929 anti-war novel — should put up a fight, though. And who doesn't want to live in a world where Rian Johnson picks up a gong for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery? It won't happen, as it didn't with his Knives Out nomination either, but a win here would be glorious. BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM The nominees: All Quiet on the Western Front Argentina, 1985 Close EO The Quiet Girl Should win: Close Could win: Argentina, 1985 Will win: All Quiet on the Western Front Sometimes, the Academy recognises that movies in languages other than English are regular movies, too, nominating them for Best Picture as well as the field currently called Best International Feature Film. Obviously, that should just be standard, but this is one such year. In fact, All Quiet on the Western Front has scored recognition all over the place, notching up nods in nine categories. It'd be an immense surprise if the German-language flick doesn't garner the international prize. Still, courtroom drama Argentina, 1985 picked up the Golden Globe, and could repeat the feat at the Oscars. From the five nominees, sensitive, tender and stunning Belgian effort — and Cannes award-winner — Close is hauntingly exquisite from start to finish, and a standout among impressive titles. Again, as already mentioned, Decision to Leave should be here (and everywhere). BEST ANIMATED FEATURE The nominees: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Marcel the Shell With Shoes On Puss in Boots: The Last Wish The Sea Beast Turning Red Should win: Marcel the Shell With Shoes On Could win: Turning Red Will win: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio There's never a lack of Pinocchio films on our screens, and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio was just one in 2022. What a version it is; a feat of gorgeous stop-motion, and a movie that inescapably belongs to its Nightmare Alley and The Shape of Water director. It's also a spin on Frankenstein in its own way, marvellously so. And, it's a wonder that'll make an ace Best Animated Film winner — but so would the sweet, adorable, thoughtful, intelligent and meta Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, which is even better as a feature film than as a viral smash. Pixar is a heavy-hitter in this category, of course, so Turning Red is definitely in with a shot. BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE The nominees: All That Breathes All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Fire of Love A House Made of Splinters Navalny Should win: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Could win: Fire of Love Will win: Navalny What a year it is for documentary filmmaking when All That Breathes and A House Made of Splinters look unlikely to nab the Best Documentary Feature Oscar — and when Moonage Daydream wasn't even nominated. This field comes down to Navalny, Fire of Love and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, each of which are astonishing in their own ways. The scope of All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, and the empathy within it, means that this Venice Golden Lion-winner about photographer Nan Goldin really should emerge victorious. But, telling French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft's tale using wonderful archival footage, Fire of Love was one of 2022's best films. Expect Navalny to win, with this portrait of Vladimir Putin opponent Alexei Navalny also a gripping thriller. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE The nominees: All Quiet on the Western Front, Volker Bertelmann Babylon, Justin Hurwitz The Banshees of Inisherin, Carter Burwell Everything Everywhere All At Once, Son Lux The Fabelmans, John Williams Should win: Babylon, Justin Hurwitz Could win: The Fabelmans, John Williams Will win: Babylon, Justin Hurwitz More often than you might expect, a year rolls around where neither John Williams or Hans Zimmer get Oscar nominations. One of the Newmans — cousins Thomas or Randy — tend to fill the gap, or Alexandre Desplat. This year is Williams' turn as a contender again, earning his whopping 53rd nod. He's won five times so far from that, and The Fabelmans might be his sixth. This is a jam-packed field with no weak links, but Justin Hurwitz should add to his two La La Land wins. His score for Babylon is propulsive, vibrant, energetic and largely responsible for the film's mood. Yes, it's jazzy, naturally — his latest collaboration with jazz-loving director Damien Chazelle is set in Jazz Age Hollywood, after all. BEST ORIGINAL SONG The nominees: 'Applause', Tell It Like a Woman (Diane Warren) 'Hold My Hand', Top Gun: Maverick (Lady Gaga and BloodPop) 'Lift Me Up', Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; lyrics by Tems and Ryan Coogler) 'Naatu Naatu', RRR (music by MM Keeravaani, lyrics by Chandrabose) 'This Is a Life', Everything Everywhere All At Once (music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski, lyrics by Ryan Lott and David Byrne) Should win: 'Naatu Naatu', RRR (music by MM Keeravaani, lyrics by Chandrabose) Could win: 'Lift Me Up', Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; lyrics by Tems and Ryan Coogler) Will win: 'Naatu Naatu', RRR (music by MM Keeravaani, lyrics by Chandrabose) Maybe you're the kind of Oscars watcher that uses the song performances to grab a bite. Forget your usual routine — don't miss this year's rendition of 'Naatu Naatu'. The infectious and joyous track from RRR will win, and should, for a movie that should've had a better showing in the nominations. Despite Bollywood's stature, an Indian film has never been nominated outside of Best International Feature Film before, so this'll be a history-making victory. Still, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's 'Lift Me Up' could sweep in; Rihanna's slot at the Super Bowl didn't hurt its fortunes. And Lady Gaga's 'Hold My Hand' from Top Gun: Maverick is also in with a good chance. BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY The nominees: All Quiet on the Western Front, James Friend Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, Darius Khondji Elvis, Mandy Walker Empire of Light, Roger Deakins Tár, Florian Hoffmeister Should win: Empire of Light, Roger Deakins Could win: Empire of Light, Roger Deakins Will win: Elvis, Mandy Walker Another field where every entry is excellent, the Best Cinematography category could also make history. Horrifically, it wasn't until the 2018 ceremony that a female cinematographer — Mudbound's Rachel Morrison — was even nominated. Australia's own Ari Wegner received the award's second-ever nomination to go to a woman in 2022 for The Power of the Dog, but didn't win either. Fellow Aussie Mandy Walker should go one better for Elvis; however, she has stiff competition. Cinematography great Roger Deakins does stellar work with Empire of Light; a movie about the power of cinema set in a cinema, it has to look perfect, and it does. And James Friend could sneak in for All Quiet on the Western Front, especially if it doesn't capitalise upon all of its nominations in other fields. BEST FILM EDITING The nominees: The Banshees of Inisherin, Mikkel EG Nielsen Elvis, Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond Everything Everywhere All At Once, Paul Rogers Tár, Monika Willi Top Gun: Maverick, Eddie Hamilton Should win: Tár, Monika Willi Could win: Top Gun: Maverick, Eddie Hamilton Will win: Everything Everywhere All At Once, Paul Rogers Thanks to editing wins at the BAFTAs, Critics Choice, Film Independent Spirit and American Cinema Editors Awards, Best Film Editing is Everything Everywhere All At Once's category to lose — but there's one caveat around Paul Rogers' likely win. Also at the ACE Awards, Top Gun: Maverick 's Eddie Hamilton won, because that ceremony gives out gongs for dramas and comedies separately. So, if Top Gun: Maverick takes the Academy's breath away, don't be surprised. Elvis, The Banshees of Inisherin and Tár also benefit from exacting splicing — indeed, everything in this field except The Banshees of Inisherin delivers a masterclass in overt editing with style and purpose. Wondering where to watch this year's Oscar contenders? We've put together a rundown for both Australia and New Zealand.
There were short-lived rumours that Melbourne's art and hospitality scene had reached peak saturation, but the city quickly put those to bed when its cultural ecosystem grew and flourished once again. It was a year of innovative new restaurants and bars — bigger and taller than ever before — forward-thinking events and bold spaces, pubs and cafes. And they're not all from the big players — independent ventures are flourishing. Venues have spent more time on their appearances, collaborating with local designers, architects and street artists to create stunning spaces. This prompted the creation of our new category, Best New Space. We've searched far and wide to find our favourite, visually stunning, innovative and sustainable spaces that are accessible to you — including shops, hotels, co-working hubs and public spaces. 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 Sydney to be a better, braver city. And so, these six new spaces, opened in 2017, have been nominated for Best New Spaces in Concrete Playground's Best of 2017 Awards. Vote for your favourite.
When the first motion pictures flickered across the big screen 120-plus years ago, audiences were reportedly scared. The line between truth, embellishment and fiction has become muddled over time, but the idea viewers were astonished and startled when they watched the Lumière brothers' famous The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station makes one hell of an urban legend. That was back in 1896. As we know all these years later, cinema hasn't stopped causing bumps and jumps since. The world's first horror film is thought to have released the same year — Georges Méliès' three-minute short called The House of the Devil — and plenty of folks have taken his lead afterwards. Today, that means horror's on-screen cup truly runneth over. Thanks to streaming, a wealth of unnerving flicks linger at everyone's fingertips. If you prefer celebrating Halloween by dimming the lights, popping some corn and getting cosy on the couch for a marathon of unsettling movies, we've put together ten classic recommendations — from creepy vampire films that are almost a century old to more modern must-sees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hQ40cI5C0E NEAR DARK Before she took Keanu Reeves surfing in Point Break, tasked Jeremy Renner with defusing bombs in The Hurt Locker and dramatised the international manhunt for Osama bin Laden in Zero Dark Thirty — and before she became the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar, too — Kathryn Bigelow sunk her teeth into the vampire genre. Near Dark, her 1987 sophomore film, takes elements of the western genre, throws in a clan of roving bloodsuckers and lets atmospheric horror thrills ensue. Bigelow's work has always been lean but weighty, and her dance with the fanged undead is no different. In fact, it's a flat-out vamp classic. Near Dark is available to stream on SBS On Demand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX5SG_2n4sM TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME As 2017's Twin Peaks revival proved, no one conjures up unsettling imagery quite like David Lynch. He's been thrusting eerie visuals out into the world since 1977's Eraserhead — but if you like your Lynchian unease with some damn fine coffee and a slice of cherry pie, there's nothing better than 1992's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Set in the lead-up to Laura Palmer's (Sheryl Lee) death, the prequel flick burrows deep into the sinister forces at play. It's a movie of sheer dread, even though viewers know what's going to happen. As only he can, Lynch steeps every frame in the pain, terror and suffering of his doomed protagonist, all while baking in his usual surrealist touches. No wonder it lingers long after watching, like the two seasons of Twin Peaks before it and the belated third season that followed 25 years later. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is available to stream on Stan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyW5YXDcIGs THE EXORCIST Back in 1973, the horror genre was possessed — and it has never truly recovered. That's not a criticism; The Exorcist is a landmark piece of spine-tingling cinema, with William Friedkin's film leaving a heavy imprint on everything that's followed. It even became the first horror flick to score an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, a feat that's still much more rare than it should be. When a movie spends the bulk of its time with a 12-year-old girl (Linda Blair) whose body has been overtaken by a demon, as well as with the two priests (Max von Sydow and Jason Miller) trying to cast the devil out and save her soul, it's going to make an impact. The fact that the film was based on a William Peter Blatty novel inspired by real-life exorcisms also helped, as did Friedkin's handling of Blatty's script, which gives the supernatural details a raw, visceral feel. The Exorcist is available to stream on Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-daIHTY4NQ BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER How funky is your chicken? How loose is your goose? And, to keep the questions going, how well do you remember the original Buffy? Before Sarah Michelle Gellar stepped into her shoes in the cult TV show, everyone's favourite vampire slayer shouted the above cheers, took guidance from Donald Sutherland, battled Rutger Hauer and romanced Luke Perry in the 1992 big-screen comedy. The Joss Whedon-scripted flick still takes its premise seriously, but there's a looser vibe to the movie than the television series. And a thoroughly early 90s vibe, as well. While you're enjoying the undead-killing antics, keep an eye out for everyone from Hilary Swank to Thomas Jane and Ben Affleck among the cast, too. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is available to stream on Foxtel Now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmvQ_ii42mc HALLOWEEN This time last year, the latest Halloween film hit cinemas. In 2020 and 2021, sequels Halloween Kills and then Halloween Ends will reach the big-screen in late October. But, when it comes to the absolutely best franchise for this time of year, 2019 is unfortunately an anomaly. While Michael Myers isn't terrorising a theatre near you at this very moment, John Carpenter's original 1979 flick is always worth revisiting — in the slasher-thriller realm, it's an utter masterclass. From Jamie Lee Curtis' pitch-perfect performance as formidable babysitter Laurie Strode, to the pervasive air of unease looming over suburbia and Carpenter's own exceptionally unnerving score, the original Halloween is both supremely scary and sublime. Halloween is available to stream from the Apple Store. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJew_11l6n8 HOUSEBOUND Scaring cinemagoers while simultaneously making them laugh isn't as easy as it might sound. Plenty of films call themselves horror-comedies, but they're usually just comedies with horror theming — and they're about as sinister as clown without makeup. While 2014 New Zealand picture Housebound falls into the tried-and-tested sub-genre that is haunted house flicks, writer/director Gerard Johnstone finds the ideal balance between spooks and giggles, all by following a small-time criminal placed on house arrest. Kylie (Morgana O'Reilly) would rather be anywhere but stuck at home for eight months with her mother (Rima Te Wiata); however she soon discovers that they have company in a movie that serves up jumps and chuckles in tandem. Housebound is available to stream on SBS On Demand and Tubi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NOipA99GxY NOSFERATU It's the best Dracula film that doesn't actually mention the word "Dracula". In fact, when FW Murnau adapted Bram Stoker's gothic classic in 1922 without getting permission to do so, a court ordered that the movie be destroyed. Thankfully, a few prints survived, which is how we can still soak in the wonders of Nosferatu. Even with a few changes (the famed bloodsucker is now called Count Orlock, for example) the story lures viewers in, but it's not just the plot that's captivating. As proves the case with all German Expressionist cinema from the 1920s, it's how the tale is told in a visual sense that makes an enormous impact. Also significant today, almost a century later, is how free Nosferatu is from everything that's since become a vampire cliche — with the film cutting to the heart of Stoker's disquieting narrative instead. Nosferatu is available to stream on Tubi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyWuHv2-Abk TRAIN TO BUSAN Forget Snakes on a Plane — if you want to see what happens when something scary is let loose in a confined space, but you don't want to cringe the whole time, opt for zombies on a train instead. Yeon Sang-ho's instant classic doesn't use the obvious moniker; however this frenetic thrill ride definitely fits the description. It's far, far better than that simplistic outline might seem to suggest, though. As well as forcing a father (Gong Yoo) and daughter (Kim Su-an) to fend off the shuffling hordes while they're in mid-transit, and fleshing its protagonists out more than most zombie flicks manage, Train to Busan also paints a probing picture of modern-day South Korean society. It's part of a franchise, too, with animated prequel Seoul Station exploring another aspect of the outbreak, and a sequel is also in the works. Train to Busan is available to stream on Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWin2LZkvrA THE CRAFT Is a horror classic really a horror classic if it hasn't spawned a remake? In The Craft's case, no one will need to ponder this question for much longer. A new version is currently in the works, but that doesn't mean that the 90s original is going anywhere — and if you like your retro horror fun packaged with teen goth witches, then you'll always want to go back to where it all began. Starring Neve Campbell, Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk and Rachel True, the 1996 hit charts the fallout when a group of high-schoolers start messing around with the occult and using it to rule the school. It owes a significant debt to Heathers, just with added witches, but The Craft still casts its own enjoyable spell. The Craft is available to stream on on Google Play. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7hLdktC_jY THE STUFF If you ever come across a gooey substance on the ground, don't eat it. Things don't turn out well when this exact scenario happens in 1985 satirical horror/sci-fi The Stuff — especially after the titular substance is sold in supermarkets, marketed as being calorie-free and starts a huge food craze. Where it goes from there is best discovered by watching, but don't expect anything in the way of subtlety or realism. Larry Cohen sits in the director's chair, and this is the kind of playful horror fun that the prolific B-movie filmmaker was known for. Everyone needs their spooks with a dose of silliness now and then, after all. The Stuff is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
A thriving garden of fruits and vegetables in the middle of a city isn't something you come across very often. Thornton Budgens supermarket in North London argues that this shouldn't be so, and is taking steps towards a more sustainable future with produce. Thornton Budgens along with project leader Azul-Valerie Thome has created Food From The Sky, a rooftop permaculture garden of organic fruits, vegetables and herbs. The ultimate goal of the project is to prove that produce can be grown in cities and sold locally in a manner that is efficient and not wasteful. The grocery store began the project in May 2010 with only 10 tons of compost and 300 recycling boxes, but with care from employees and over 20 volunteers the garden now yields enough produce to sell every Friday. Any fruits or vegetables that are not sold, instead of simply being thrown away at the end of the day, become compost that will enhance the soil for the next batch of produce. What makes a rooftop garden a great idea? The warmth from the store's heating and lighting systems heat the floor of the roof, preventing the plant seeds from freezing during the colder months, and is free of the slugs and snails that cause pigeons to dig up the soil during vital growth periods. Why didn't we think of this before? In addition, the grocery store is offering courses about this alternative approach to food production in order to instill the power in others to sustain produce gardens in the city while being conscious of the planet. The Food From The Sky project aims to extend its influence to other supermarkets and be a template for other rooftop permaculture gardens in cities. "One day, I want to see supermarket roof-gardens all over the country," said Thome.
As music, spandex and glitter fans everywhere already know, the Eurovision Song Contest didn't go ahead this year. It's one of the many events worldwide that have been affected by COVID-19, alongside SXSW, Glastonbury, Coachella and Splendour in the Grass — but it's the only one to leave a huge Europop-shaped hole, of course. In Australia, broadcaster SBS attempted to make up for Eurovision's absence by spending a week celebrating the annual contest. And, globally, Netflix is also doing its bit. The latter is helping out in a much less serious fashion, however, all thanks to its new Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams-starring comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Due to hit the streaming platform at the end of June — and just dropping its first trailer this week, too — the film follows two small-town Icelandic singers who've always wanted to represent their country at the famed sing-off. Lars Erickssong (Ferrell) and Sigrit Ericksdottir (McAdams) aren't particularly well-liked in their homeland, or considered popular. But when they're named as the next Eurovision contestants, they're determined not only to win but to show that chasing their lifelong dream was worth it. Directed by Wedding Crashers, The Change-Up and The Judge filmmaker David Dobkin, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga looks set to feature plenty of Ferrell's over-the-top comedy — as the initial sneak peek makes plain. It also boasts icy backdrops, a song called 'Volcano Man', a fierce rivalry between Fire Saga and fellow competitor Alexander Lemtov (Legion's Dan Evans), and a cast that also spans Pierce Brosnan and Demi Lovato. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q6Co-nd0lM Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga hits Netflix on Friday, June 26. Images: John Wilson and Elizabeth Viggiano, via Netflix.
Jewellery can be hard to get right for someone else — looking at you, weaved plastic rope bracelets we all made for mum when we were younger — but there are some places which make it a little easier for you. Blackfinch is one of them: the handcrafted jewellery store was established by Raymond de Zwart and Davina Adamson in 2007. The pair produce beautiful, collaborative pieces that tell a story, to suit whoever you're gifting — this is where you can get your significant other a ring that says "thanks for not getting angry at me leaving the towels on the floor all the time" etc. Blackfinch specialises in ethically sourced Australian stones, so you'll leave its Northcote studio space with something both precious and enduring (hopefully like your relationship).
First, the bad news: if you've been hanging out to see The Kid LAROI take to the stage on his first-ever Down Under stadium tour, you'll now be waiting longer. Now, the better news: part of the delay is due to trying to lock in a "really big surprise and special guest", the Australian singer-songwriter advised on Instagram, who couldn't be finalised before the planned February dates. "We've had to push back the Australian leg of the tour to October," Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard noted. "The tour will now end off in Australia." The Kid LAROI also named "a bunch of other logistical stuff" as a reason for the delay, while saying that he wants to give audiences the best show he can — and "make everyone back home proud". The tour is in support of The Kid LAROI's debut studio album The First Time, and was originally set for a five-city Australian run. New dates haven't been announced as yet, but the star was due to play Melbourne's AAMI Park, Perth's HBF Park, Adelaide's Coopers Stadium, Sydney's Commbank Stadium and CBUS Super Stadium on the Gold Coast. The First Time might be a new 2023 arrival, but The Kid LAROI has been releasing music since 2018 — solo, and also teaming up with everyone from Juice WRLD and ONEFOUR to Justin Bieber. Accordingly, fans can look forward to hearing 'Stay', 'Without You', 'Thousand Miles', 'Love Again' and more next spring. The stadium tour follows The Kid LAROI's first headline Australian tour back in 2022, which sold out arenas across the country, sparking the addition of more dates. On his postponed 2024 dates, the artist has confirmed that ONEFOUR will still be on the bill. As for who else will join them, "we're working on the details including some new additions to the lineup and will let you know ASAP," the singer said. THE KID LAROI THE FIRST TIME TOUR 2024: October 2024 date TBC — AAMI Park, Melbourne October 2024 date TBC — HBF Park, Perth October 2024 date TBC — Coopers Stadium, Adelaide October 2024 date TBC — Commbank Stadium, Sydney October 2024 date TBC — CBUS Super Stadium, Gold Coast The Kid LAROI is touring Australia in October 2024, postponed from February 2024 — head to the Australian ticketing site for more information. Top image: Adam Kargenian.
First, the obvious fact: everyone watched plenty of films over the past year. We all ploughed through our streaming queues, checking out everything and anything that each and every platform served up — and we did it for the bulk of 2020. What we didn't do, however, is spend as much time watching big-screen blockbusters. Cinema closures and postponed release dates will do that. Accordingly, unless Tenet whips up a huge box office windfall across the rest of December or Wonder Woman 1984 does hefty business when it releases at the end of the month, 2020's top movie moneymakers worldwide will end up being Chinese action epic The Eight Hundred and, from way back in January, the abysmal Bad Boys for Life. In one rare pleasant side effect of 2020, the lack of supersized Hollywood flicks has meant that a plethora of smaller movies have reached audiences since cinemas reopened Down Under. Some of them might've hit the silver screen anyway, but some wouldn't have — and there are gems in both categories. Alas, even with more on-screen real estate available for these type of films, they didn't all draw crowds. There are many reasons for that, because this hasn't been an ordinary year. But if you're wondering which absolute must-sees you didn't catch in 2020 but should've — including titles released both before and after the pandemic changed this year forever — we've run through the ten best flicks that didn't set the box office alight, but you should add to your catch-up viewing list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRMPdhQBlWs QUEEN & SLIM No one knows how a Tinder meetup will eventuate, but the events that unfurl in Queen & Slim don't fit into anyone's idea of a dream date. One of the points of this crime drama — which also doubles as a romance and a road movie — is that, for Black Americans, being hassled by the police for no reason isn't an unlikely outcome of a simple night out. After an unnamed criminal defence attorney (Jodie Turner-Smith, Jett) and a Costco employee (Daniel Kaluuya, Widows) chart the above path, they're forced to go on the run across the US, with law enforcement on their trails. The debut feature from music video director Melina Matsoukas (a Grammy-winner for her work on Rihanna's 'We Found Love' and Beyonce's 'Formation'), Queen & Slim knows that it's leads will always evoke comparisons to Bonnie and Clyde. In fact, the script by Master of None star Lena Waithe namechecks the figures in its dialogue. But as its titular characters' lives change drastically, this potent film combines a powerful message, dynamic performances and intoxicating imagery into one supremely stylish, textured and outrage-filled package. It'd be nice to say that Queen and Slim's world changes, too; however, they've always been forced to inhabit a space where their very existence was precarious due to racism, prejudice and police brutality, as every second of this haunting movie stresses. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qn70iqo-4Q MONOS Set in a camp of teen guerrillas, Alejandro Landes' Sundance's Special Jury Award-winning third film Monos follows gun-toting rebels that have barely said goodbye to childhood, but are still tasked by their unseen leaders with holding an American woman (The Outsider's Julianne Nicholson) hostage. Unsurprisingly, even with nothing around but fields, jungle, a cow to milk and occasional enemy fire, little goes according to plan. The relentlessness of modern life, the ongoing unrest in Colombia, and the ceaseless trials and tribulations that plague all teens facing adulthood — they all sit at the centre of this stunning South America-set thriller. Echoes of William Golding's Lord of the Flies are evident (and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the book that inspired Apocalypse Now, too), but Monos firmly tells its own story. Engagingly lingering between a dark fairytale and a psychological treatise on war, combat and humanity's dog-eat-dog nature, the result is one of the definite standouts of recent years (of 2019, when it premiered overseas and did the rounds of the local festival circuit, and of 2020, when it finally released in Aussie cinemas). That status is assured thanks to everything from the eye-popping landscape cinematography to the needling tension of Mica Levi's (Under the Skin) score and the commanding performances from the young cast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biHUTtV4K40 IN FABRIC Anyone can make a movie about a haunted house, as many a filmmaker has shown. Peter Strickland could, too — but a feature about an eerie piece of clothing is far more intriguing, fascinating and entertaining. Viewers should expect nothing less from one of cinema's inimitable auteurs, of course, with the lauded British writer/director not only conjuring up narratives that no other helmer ever would or could, but also consistently bringing them to the screen with a distinctive sense of style and mood. It was true of his last two festival circuit hits, Berberian Sound Studio and The Duke of Burgundy. That observation remains just as accurate with In Fabric, aka his haunted dress flick. In London clothing store Dentley & Sopers, bank teller Sheila (Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Fatman) finds the perfect red dress for her first blind date. It both fits and looks a dream; however, despite her initial delight, she discovers that the fabulous frock has quite the dark side. Fashion items can live many lives, so that's just the start of In Fabric's story — and, also starring Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie, I, Daniel Blake's Hayley Squires and The Mighty Boosh's Julian Barratt, this sartorial-focused horror-comedy is a lurid, imaginative and mesmerising gem. It's also the kind of movie you haven't seen before, and won't again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atKsEdLKPLo&feature=emb_logo THE WOMAN WHO RAN Combine alcohol, conversation and a scene-stealing cat in one equally melancholy and charming movie, and not only is South Korean great Hong Sang-soo firmly in his element, but he delivers exactly the type of film that has won him a legion of fans. Given how prolific the director is, it'd be easy to assume that he'll soon run out of ways to combine his usual trademarks. Or, to expect that he'll eventually exhaust all of his ideas. But Hong's features never stop finding new ways to twist his favourite touches, themes and inclusions together (see also: Hill of Freedom, Right Now, Wrong Then and Yourself and Yours). In The Woman Who Ran, booze flows freely. Drinking plenty of it is Gamhee, as played by Hong regular Kim Min-hee (On the Beach at Night Alone). She's enjoying her first time away from her husband in five years, visiting friends around Seoul while he's off on a business trip. In Hong's typical fashion, much of The Woman Who Ran unfurls as the characters simply chat — about their lives, hopes, dreams, problems and, with a pesky neighbour in the movie's funniest moment, about feeding stray felines. His penchant for long takes, playful repetition and expertly timed crash-zooms are all used to winning effect, in a movie that slots perfectly into his busy oeuvre and yet always feels uniquely insightful. Also, and it cannot be stressed enough, look out for one helluva kitty. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srPas4PqCkw BEATS Beats knows how to start with a bang, letting the sounds of Ultra-Sonic's 'Annihilating Rhythm Part 1' echo from the screen in its opening moments. It's a savvy move — if viewers are going to understand just what electronic music means to the film's protagonists, early 90s-era Scottish teenagers Johnno (Cristian Ortega, One of Us) and Spanner (Lorn Macdonald, Shetland), then they need to not only see and hear it, but feel it deep in their souls. The delight on the duo's faces as they listen to the song down the phone to each other says more than swathes of dialogue ever could. Whether you're a fan of the same kind of tunes or not, you'll instantly be brought into the moment and the elation with them. And, from there, you'll ride every up and down this black-and-white film delivers, as the stage-to-screen adaptation from filmmaker Brian Welsh (The Rat Pack) peers into the broader scene just as the UK government was passing legislation to effectively ban raves. Johnno and Spanner are desperate to attend the very events the powers-that-be are trying to stamp out and, when they get their chance to head to what might be their first and last dance music festival, they go for it. Featuring a thumping soundtrack of old-school tracks, Beats serves up an insightful exuberant coming-of-age film from there, as well as a as a thoughtful and reflective social-realist drama. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYl1DVIgbAg SHIRLEY Elisabeth Moss has had a great year. While the Mad Men and The Handmaid's Tale star has enjoyed a fantastic past decade, she turned in two of her best performances yet in 2020. First came The Invisible Man, which twisted the classic horror tale in modern directions, including exploring gaslighting and the lack of willingness to believe women. Then, in Shirley, she stepped into the shoes of horror and mystery novelist Shirley Jackson. This is a movie by Madeline's Madeline director Josephine Decker, though, so it as never going to be a standard biopic about the The Haunting of Hill House author. Indeed, Shirley is drawn from a fictional novel by Susan Scarf Merrell, focusing on Jackson's home life with her husband Stanley Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me By Your Name) during a 1964 period when teaching aide Fred Nemser (Logan Lerman, Hunters) and his wife Rose (Australian The Daughter star Odessa Young) come to stay. An agoraphobic, Jackson's routine is unsettled by her new houseguests, although an unexpected connection springs with unlikely kindred spirit Rose. In telling this story, Decker is far more interested in capturing the essence of Jackson and her sensibilities than slavishly sticking to facts, and her film all the better for it. Indeed, this subjective and engaging character study is daring, disarming, dark and, unsurprisingly, anchored by a pitch-perfect lead performance. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMB7SpEvxOI RIDE YOUR WAVE When 19-year-old surfer Hinako (voiced by former Japanese pop idol Rina Kawaei) frolics around a seaside spot with her boyfriend Minato (fellow local pop star Ryota Katayose), it's a scene that's familiar from many a film. In the picturesque Japanese city of Chiba, the pair chat, laugh, stroll and see the sights, as plenty of couples have in similar situations. Actually, this duo does so twice. The first time plays out exactly as expected but, occurring well into Ride Your Wave, the lovestruck duo's repeat romantic rendezvous has a twist. In the kind of image that can only really be brought to the screen via animation, Hinako isn't spending time with Minato in the flesh the second time around — instead, she's dragging around an inflatable porpoise filled with water that, when she hums the pair's favourite song, manifests her boyfriend's spirit from beyond the grave. While Ride Your Wave hails from a different filmmaker to big Japanese hits Your Name and Weathering with You, this Masaaki Yuasa-directed film falls in the same heartfelt, gorgeously animated, emotionally sweeping realm. It clearly also has an element of the supernatural to it, focuses on a star-cross'd romance, and delves into love and loss as well. Sweet, charming, sensitive and a joy to look at, it's especially thoughtful when it ruminates on the latter, tackling tough emotional terrain with unflinching, heart-swelling honesty Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hroo3-sKc0w HONEY BOY Following a child star's journey both as a 12-year-old actor (The Undoing's Noah Jupe) in a hit TV show and as a young man (Waves' Lucas Hedges) grappling with his time the industry, Honey Boy boils down easily to a one-sentence description — but this isn't an easy or straightforward film. Just what its protagonist Otis experiences at both ages, and how his youthful time with his ex-rodeo clown and Vietnam veteran dad James Lort (Shia LaBeouf, The Peanut Butter Falcon) leaves an imprint, proves complex, messy and resonant in this intimate feature. It feels personal, too, because it should. LaBeouf isn't just playing any father figure. He's stepping into the shoes of a version of his own dad. And, he's starring a movie that he wrote, that's based on his own journey from Even Stevens to Transformers and beyond. Brought to the screen by first-time feature director Alma Har'el, Honey Boy is raw, reflective and expressive as it wanders through LeBeouf's heart and soul, and it's an intense but rewarding work from everyone involved. This isn't an idealised, nostalgic look backwards, or a work of unfettered anger. Honey Boy, like LaBeouf himself, pinballs between multiple extremes. It should come as no surprise that this frank and sincere movie was penned while LaBeouf was in rehab himself — where Otis heads as well — and that it always feels like he's confronting issues he knows will never completely be resolved. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZvrlkF4TjM&feature=emb_logo LUCKY GRANDMA Lucky Grandma might be the second American-produced film about a Chinese grandmother in as many years, but no one should mistake Sasie Sealy's feature debut for The Farewell. Both offer up something special, and their similarities are truly only superficial. Here, the titular elderly woman (Tsai Chin, Now You See Me 2) is first seen chain-smoking and glaring her way through a fortune teller's appointment. When Grandma Wong is told that luck is coming her way on a specific day, she's quickly on the bus to Atlantic City. And when she spies a hefty stash of cash in the bag belonging to the gentleman sitting next to her on the return ride home, she barely hesitates. This string of events comes with consequences, however, with local Red Dragon gangsters soon following her every move. To cope, the feisty senior enlists the help of their rivals, and pays the towering Big Pong (Hsiao-Yuan Ha) to stick by her side as her bodyguard. Chin, who has featured in everything from You Only Live Twice to The Joy Luck Club, is such a gruff, no-nonsense treasure to watch in Lucky Grandma — and Sealy smartly lets audiences peer her way closely and regularly. Sometimes, Lucky Grandma is a drama about a widowed woman trying to make the most of what's left of her life. Sometimes, it's a crime caper that's hopping around Chinatown with glee. In Sealy's hands, that combination always works. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLmvs9Wrem0 COLOR OUT OF SPACE If you're going to task anyone on this earth with finding a blazing rock that has plummeted from the heavens and crashed down at a remote New England property — and in a big-screen adaptation of a short story by horror and sci-fi writer HP Lovecraft at that — you may as well give the job to Nicolas Cage. If you're going to ask any actor to run an alpaca farm and profess their love for the animals, too, you also know that he's just perfect. Thanks to its story about the fallout from said meteor, which turns the sky an otherworldly shade, unleashes both radiation and shape-shifting aliens, and sparks quite the wave of strange events, a film version of Color Out of Space would always garner interest. Cage has made some out-there and seemingly intentionally terrible movies in his career, especially over the past two decades, but this weird and wonderful effort doesn't fall into that category. It's bettered by his presence, because no one does unhinged and manic quite like the Vampire's Kiss, Face/Off and Mandy actor; however, filmmaker Richard Stanley (The Island of Doctor Moreau) turns this wild tale into an off-kilter, hallucinatory, kaleidoscopic, vibrantly pink and purple-hued spectacle. It occasionally lets it get a little too lost in its own delirium and can threaten to become a bit weighed down, but letting Color Out of Space's gleefully bonkers sights, sounds and story developments wash over you is all part of the experience. Read our full review.
Fancy an art experience that extends beyond looking at works on a wall? Then prepare to be impressed by Melbourne's new 3000-square-metre, 11-metre-high immersive digital art gallery. THE LUME Melbourne has opened the doors to its new permanent home at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), where some of the world's most celebrated artworks will be projected in large-scale format. Until October 9, THE LUME Melbourne's inaugural experience will be celebrating the work and life of Vincent van Gogh, allowing you to literally walk through his renowned masterpieces. The swirling hues of The Starry Night will be illuminated around you, and a mirrored infinity room filled with bold yellow blooms will have you immersed in Sunflowers. You can expect a reimagined Café Terrace at Night and a life-size recreation of Van Gogh's The Bedroom, too. A carefully curated fusion of colour, sound, taste and aroma will see you experience the works of the famed Dutch artist like never before. The exhibition is closing soon, so nab your tickets, stat! Van Gogh at THE LUME Melbourne is on until Sunday, October 9. Head to the website to secure your tickets.
Did you wake up this morning with a pounding headache, a few Instagram selfies of you and a beardy blur that looks like Zach Galifianakis, and a strange number in your phone? Good news! Your horrible life decisions are actually not your fault at all — it's science! Or at least that's what we'll tactfully choose to deduct from the latest research out of Spain. Researchers at the University of Granada have recently published a study that scientifically proves the existence of beer goggles. Proving that the eye actually suffers a significant deterioration in optical quality after alcohol consumption, these boozing brainiacs figured out that ethanol from the alcohol you consume makes its way into your tear ducts and clouds the outermost layer of your tear film. This affects the quality of the image you see and, when drinking at night, it increases the perception of luminous circles — halos — around the objects you view. Giving an entirely new meaning to a certain Beyonce song, this new phenomenon manifests itself best at night and ends up looking a little something like this: Pouring various quantities of prize-winning Spanish wine into their 67 subjects — who knew science was so glamourous? — the researchers deducted that these halos were most prevalent in the volunteers whose breath alcohol limit exceeded the legal driving range of 0.25mg/litre. As if we needed more evidence that you shouldn't drive under the influence, this gives some physical proof to why drunk drivers are dangerous behind the wheel. But it also has important implications for your romantic life. Picture this: you're in a dim-lit underground bar with romantic candles perched around some snug booths and a dance floor. You've partaken in a certain 2-for-1 cocktail special and followed it up with a selection of shots named after 1950s movie stars (because, what can you say, you're classy like that). A man approaches, all bearded and stylish with an effortless Joaquin Phoenix-style strut. The music's too loud and you can't really hear what he says, but you feel somewhat compelled to mush your lips on his face, slip him your number, or some smooth combination of the two. With scientific fact in hand, maybe now you can think twice before trusting your Grey Goose-laden eyes. Via Science Daily. Photo credits: katie coleslaw via photopin cc and Juan Castro/University of Granada.
If you've ever had a sneaky little go with some small person's Lego blocks once they're all tucked up in bed, Legoland sees you, tips you their hat… and raises you an adults-only night at its Melbourne Discovery Centre. And, because it's the time of year for it, the venue is throwing in some Halloween shenanigans as well. With no children to get in the way (or outdo your creations), you'll be able to have free rein of Legoland to check out the 4D cinema and rides, then build to your heart's content in the brick pits. Challenge yourself by taking on the master builder or a speed build, and vie for the prizes up for grabs — there'll even be a scavenger hunt so you can go full inner-child mode. This adults-only evening will be getting spooky, too, given the occasion. Fancy going monster hunting through Lego? This is your chance for that as well. Wearing a frightful costume is encouraged, too — so, having the full kidulting experience. It all takes place from 6–9pm on Friday, October 27 — and BYO shameless excitement, taste for glory and love of Halloween.
Electro highflier Gold Panda (aka Derwin Powers) first popped onto the radar in 2009, and has constantly thrown EPs and 7"s at us since. He's dropped two critically praised albums, 2010's Lucky Shiner and 2013's Half of Where You Live. This latest album holds truth in its name. Half of Where You Live is an electronic echo of the producer’s experiences: having lived in Japan and travelled extensively, he's now based in Berlin. With tracks such as 'An English House', 'Enoshima' and 'My Father in Hong Kong 1961', our ears get an ambiguous, aural journey through Powers' experiences and geography.
Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005 novel, the film version of Never Let Me Go is equal parts science fiction and love triangle, with one pretty girl wistfully gazing after the attractive boy who falls for another and remains impervious to her waif-like charms. Starring Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley, who both scored Academy Award nominations for their performances, the film has earned itself critical acclaim and a reputation for possibly making you cry. Beginning as a British boarding school jaunt with a period feel, you quickly learn that this is no ordinary school. Instead, it unravels that theirs is a boarding school for clones designed to become organ donors in a dystopian alternate reality where humans create people with the express purpose of killing them. We follow the three main characters through school and into adulthood, as they have to begin to come to terms with the tumultuous feelings they have for each other, while they face the haunting future that awaits them all. We have 30 double passes on offer to the film, which opens on March 31. To enter, make sure you're a subscriber to the Concrete Playground newsletter, and then shoot us an email at hello@concreteplayground.com.au for your chance to win. https://youtube.com/watch?v=EUPsKjdtQSM
Sydneysiders have always liked writing obscurely profound things on the walls of the city. Sydney's the kind of city that breeds people like Arthur Stace, a reformed illiterate alcoholic who spent thirty-five years writing the word 'Eternity' in chalk all over the streets of Sydney in copperplate script, which can still be seen inside the bell of the GPO clock tower. And you still see street writing everywhere, from the scrawled messages on bus stops and railway underpasses, to the 'I have a dream' mural on King Street and heartfelt declarations like 'hands held violently onto words that meant nothing' on the back of St Stephen's Church in Camperdown Memorial Park. Now we can add to this list the moss poetry which has recently popped up in Sydney's own version of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Paddington Reservoir Gardens. The walls of the reservoir are currently covered in growing poetry, as part of a typographic installation entitled ''Modern Day Mossages. Created from locally sourced mud and moss, the words and phrases have been contributed by emerging Sydney poets paying tribute to John Thompson, founder of the resident action group The Paddington Society, after whom one of the Reservoir's gardens is named after. The moss poem is the product of a collaboration by members of Popperbox, a collective of Sydney-based artists, designers, illustrators and software engineers, who have been making experimental and accessible pieces since their formation in 2007. The installation aims to make you think about growth, nourishment, rejuvenation and the future, and was attached to the sandstone walls of the historic reservoir using a pungent mixture of heavy clay soil, beer and yoghurt. The artists are monitoring the growth of the moss daily in the hopes that it will continue to grow, although that shouldn't be a problem given the deluge which appears to be sticking around for the rest of the month. Modern Day Mossages is a short-term installation, one of three projects commissioned by the City of Sydney for the Paddington Reservoir Gardens in 2012. [Via D*Hub]
On most days of the year, a film festival is in full swing somewhere in Australia. In plenty of places at plenty of times, more than one is competing for cinephiles' eyeballs and spoiling movie buffs for choice. But there's nothing quite like the Melbourne International Film Festival. In terms of duration, it's the country's longest, treating film fans to 18 cinema-filled days of big-screen gems. Naturally, it boasts the biggest program as a result — a lineup that, in 2019, spanned everything from powerful documentaries about racism in Australia, to Oscar-winners fighting zombies, to huge Sundance hits. It's the kind of festival that couldn't be more immersive — whether you're camping out in one theatre, enjoying the comfortable chairs and giant screen, for as long as you can; or rushing around the inner-city between multiple venues day-in, day-out. And, it's the type of fest that's full of surprises too, with many of its highlights lurking beyond its best-known names. As always, we went, we watched and we survived. Now, we're here to report back. After many, many hours spent feasting on films, here are our picks of the bunch. If they weren't on your viewing list before MIFF, add 'em to your pile to chase down whenever and wherever they next pop up. BEST https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td0oBCWO_I4 THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE The streets aren't safe for accountant Casey Evans (Jesse Eisenberg) and, in Riley Stearns' caustically funny satire The Art of Self-Defence, toxic masculinity isn't safe either. Leaning into machismo in order to tear it apart in a devastatingly dark, effective and hilarious fashion, this offbeat gem charts the aftermath of an eventful stroll to the corner store, with its mild-mannered protagonist — who already feels out of place amongst his constantly posturing male colleagues — brutally attacked while walking home one night. So, he does what plenty of folks might, enrolling in a karate class overseen by a charismatic sensei (Alessandro Nivola) and formidable second-in-charge (Imogen Poots). Taking to his subject with zero mercy, Stearns' blows prove as sharp as they are savage, with a knowing Eisenberg oh-so-instrumental in making it all work. And, work it does. LES MISERABLES Lady Ly's crime-thriller takes its name from a very obvious source, and its Montfermeil setting and exploration of class clashes as well. In the process, it openly invites comparisons to Victor Hugo's famous, much-adapted work, all while twisting its various components into its own compelling and confronting piece of cinema. Taking to the banlieues of Paris, Les Misérables spends its time flitting between cops, kids and gangs, as tensions between all three reach boiling point — over the usual prejudices, long-held beefs, stolen lions, a wrongful shooting and some highly sought-after drone footage. Unrelentingly terse, deftly choreographed and unafraid to filter real-world unrest through every frame, it's not always subtle; however, given the complicated terrain that it traverses, Ly's film needn't be. What it occasionally lacks in nuance, it feverishly makes up for both emotional and visceral power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoncL357qsA LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT One of cinema's most polarising inventions, 3D movies have always proven a mixed bag. When they work, they're astonishing. When they don't, they can instantly turn you off the entire gimmick. When Chinese director Bi Gan deploys the technique in Long Day's Journey Into Night, however, it's a sight not only to behold, but to luxuriate in. The poet-turned-filmmaker ends his contemplative drama with a 3D scene that's also a 55-minute single take, and it couldn't be more glorious. The rest of the movie, which traces a man's return to China's Guizhou province to search for the woman he loves, is just as entrancing in its patient narrative and striking images. Both otherworldly and dreamlike, it demonstrates that Gan's debut Kaili Blues was hardly a one-off — but watching the feature's protagonist roam around his hometown, and following the camera along with him, is truly a 3D cinema experience that isn't easily forgotten. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO5Q6MiUdPI A BROTHER'S LOVE Amusing, delightful, awkward and relatable all at once, A Brother's Love doesn't just understand the state of existential turmoil that bears down on most of us — it happily, savvily dwells in it. Sophia (Anne-Élisabeth Bossé) has hit her mid-30s, has just received a PhD that won't get her a job, and has no choice but to move in with her older brother Karim (Patrick Hivon), whose life is as orderly as hers is chaotic. When he starts dating her gynaecologist, Sophia goes into freefall. Well, she plummets further. The pair have always been close, but this new development completely unsettles her sense of self. Writing as well as directing, French-Canadian actor-turned-filmmaker Monia Chokri clearly learned a thing or two from featuring in Xavier Dolan's breakout hit Heartbeats. In her first stint behind the lens, she blends spot-on insights with an energetic style (not to mention an outstanding performance by Bossé), resulting in a film that always feels both unique and universal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hz_I_Y1Hus BEANPOLE Picking up two prizes in the Un Certain Regard section at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Beanpole delves into the minds and lives of two women trying to find their place in post-World War II Russia. Nothing is easy in Leningrad in 1945, but for nurse Iya (Viktoria Miroshnichenko) and returning soldier Masha (Vasilisa Perelygina), everything is fraught with danger and complexity. That proves true whether the noticeably tall Iya is trying to cope with the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder, or endeavouring to raise an orphaned baby — and when they're both attempting to negotiate a city and a society that's been blown apart as well. Possessing talent, wisdom and a meticulous approach to the art of filmmaking that ranges beyond his age, 28-year-old Russian director Kantemir Balagov crafts a drama that's equally heart-wrenching and exquisite, descriptions that also apply to the movie's exacting visuals and stunning performances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXl1vjK4040 THEM THAT FOLLOW Matters of faith sit at the heart of Them That Follow, a superbly acted exploration of expectations and opportunities in a mountainside religious community. Overseeing his Appalachian flock, pastor Lemuel Childs (Walton Goggins) devoutly adheres to his Pentecostal beliefs, which focus on worshipping and handling snakes. But, caught between the man she loves (Thomas Mann) and the one she's supposed to marry (Lewis Pullman), preacher's daughter Mara (Alice Englert) begins to question their way of life and its strict requirements, especially when it comes to her own agency, as well as matters of living and dying. In their feature debut, writer/directors Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage balance slow-burning thrills with an exceptional handling of mood and an intimate devotion to their characters — with assistance not only from the stellar Goggins and Englert, but from Oscar-winner Olivia Colman and Booksmart star Kaitlyn Dever, too. WEIRDEST https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9KCx60RMB8 VIOLENCE VOYAGER The result of one Japanese filmmaker's determined and distinctive vision, Violence Voyager is a movie like few others. Writer/director/cinematographer/editor Ujicha spins a story about two school kids who wander into a seemingly abandoned theme park, only to discover human-like robots wandering around doing nefarious deeds, as well an evil scientist plotting, scheming and experimenting behind the scenes. That might sound fairly familiar; however this mixture of sci-fi and body horror comes to life via seemingly innocent, innocuous-looking paper puppetry — aka intricate 2D animation — with more than a few spurts of real liquids and fumes added for good measure. It's inventive, entertaining and best watched late, in a darkened room, with an audience in the exact right mood for its weird and wonderful delights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FsaTqbGR7A VIVARIUM Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots join forces again. In fact, they get stuck together. Playing a young couple trying to navigate the housing market and buy their first home, the pair are strong-armed into checking out a new suburban development by an immensely odd salesman (Jonathan Aris). Once they tour the place — and rightfully find its template-like design creepy, as well as its exact resemblance to every other house in the estate — they then realise that they can't leave. Where writer/director Lorcan Finnegan takes his characters from there is best discovered by watching, but it's an imaginative, madcap ride that has plenty to say about the kinds of supposedly perfect lives society pushes us towards. If you think settling down in a bland street, devoting your life to the next generation and getting caught in a repetitive routine is the stuff of nightmares, Vivarium knows the feeling. Never overplaying its hand, this impressive, economical genre piece also benefits from excellent performances from its two stars. MOST SURPRISING THE GRAND BIZARRE A vibrant collage of stop-motion imagery that's wholly focused on textiles, The Grand Bizarre trades in immersion. Each of its 16mm frames bursts with colour and texture, as first-time feature director Jodie Mack follows swathes of fabric around the world — and, while time is spent in factories where said materials are fashioned by machines but designed to look handmade, this isn't a standard documentary. Rather, the film twists its visuals into a sensory piece of art, and does the same with its assemblage of beat-fuelled tracks and everyday sounds as well. This is cinema at its most experimental and hypnotising, while also asking viewers to confront the ins and outs of the global fabric trade, and reassess and recontextualise items so instrumental in our lives but often given so little thought or attention. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSALRP1mZNQ THE BEACH BUM Matthew McConaughey plays a perennially stoned poet. Harmony Korine makes his first film since Spring Breakers. Yes, it's quite the match. Charting the Florida-set misadventures of bedraggled slacker Moondog, The Beach Bum works to the strengths of both its star and its director, following its roguish protagonist as he tries to get by — and rendering his rebellious, anarchic exploits in the vivid hues and expressive visuals that Korine used so well in his last movie. The filmmaker gets ample help from his returning director of photography, Benoît Debie, with the pair at their most indulgent here. So is McConaughey, in a role that he was clearly born to inhabit. And yet, even as The Beach Bum ebbs and flows, weaving through a narrative that's purposefully unfocused, it remains perceptive and effective in probing and satirising the hedonism and materialism it gleefully steeps itself in. If your favourite film isn't on our list, that could be because we've raved about it before. Before the fest, we saw and loved Monos, Memory — The Origins of Alien, I Was At Home, But, Extra Ordinary and Los Reyes — and Share made our streaming recommendations for last month as well. From our rundown of Australian titles to check out this year, The Nightingale and Emu Runner both screened at MIFF. And, from our Berlinale highlights, so did The Souvenir, Amazing Grace, Ghost Town Anthology, Skin and Buoyancy as well. Back at the Sydney Film Festival, we couldn't recommend In My Blood It Runs, In Fabric, Scheme Birds and Happy New Year, Colin Burstead highly enough. Once that fest was over, we also added Pain and Glory, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Judy and Punch, Ray & Liz, Bacurau, Come to Daddy, Dirty God and The Dead Don't Die to our picks.
Anyone can pour orange juice and vodka into a glass and call it a screwdriver. But if you're after a cocktail more sophisticated and complicated than that, that's where top-notch bartenders come in. They're the folks who mix up drinks that you definitely don't feel like you can make at home — or know you have (again, see that OJ and vodka combo) — and they're as crucial a part of hitting a bar as the menu, vibe and company. Australia isn't short on fine folks whipping up brilliant beverages; however, if you're after the best of the best, there's now a rundown naming the country's top 100 bartenders. Consider it your next excuse to work through a boozy list, if you already started 2022 sipping the 100 best brews. Created by global bartending competition Diageo World Class, the Top 100 Australian Bartenders for 2022 list spans every state and territory — with New South Wales particularly well-represented, and Victoria and Queensland as well. Here's another way to think of it: you now have a list of bartenders to seek out on your next few holidays. [caption id="attachment_714471" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cantina OK![/caption] Standouts include folks from Sydney favourites such as Maybe Sammy and Cantina OK!, Melbourne's Nick and Nora's and Black Pearl, and Brisbane's The Gresham and Agnes. This is just part one of the contest, though. From here, these 100 bartenders will compete by mixing up impressive, boundary-pushing tipples at their venues, which'll be available for patrons to sip from Monday, May 30–Monday, June 13. Then, a top five will be announced — also on Monday, June 13 — before finals in July. The winner will be deemed the Diageo World Class Australian Bartender of the Year for 2022, and fly the flag for Aussies at the comp's global final, which is happening here for the first time, in Sydney, between Monday, September 12–Friday, September 16. [caption id="attachment_795641" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Gresham, Millie Tang[/caption] Whoever emerges victorious will take over the title from Evan Stroeve from Sydney's no-waste bar Re, 2021's winner. Here's 2022's full top 100 rundown: DIEGO WORLD CLASS TOP 100 AUSTRALIAN BARTENDERS FOR 2022: NEW SOUTH WALES: Alex Gondzioulis, The Rover Behzad Vaziri, The Star Elisa Rodgrigues, Paloma Wine Bar Hunter Gregory, Maybe Sammy Matthew Dale, Re Ryan Bickley, Cantina OK Siôn Roberts, Re Storm Evans, Cantina OK Sanghyun Park, Will's Wen Wang, Maybe Sammy Albert Rust, Eileen's Bar - Four Pillars Andrew McCorquodale, Charlie Parker's Beaux Donelan, Charlie Parker's Ashley Miller, Blue Kahunas Ben Hardy, Bar Planet Brianna Aboud, Ramblin' Rascal Tavern Chloe Natterer, The Lobo Claudio Bedini, Sammy Junior Daniel Hilton, The Lobo Eduardo Conde, NO 92 GPR Dominic Causley-Todd, Dead Ringer Emma Bernardi, Bar Planet Eoin Kenny, Long Chim Hamish Mitchell, Charlie Parker's Harrison Kenney, Bar Planet Helen Yu, The Lobo James Russell, Apollonia Jenna Hemsworth, The Gidley Koby Harris, Dean and Nancy on 22 Krisztian Csigo, Dean and Nancy on 22 Sara Rinaldo, Dean and Nancy on 22 Sarah Proietti, Maybe Sammy Judith Zhu, KittyHawk Kalisha Glover, Apollonia Kat Scibiorski, Long Chim Kate Gale-Re, The Gidley Michal Wowak, The Gidley Kiaran Bryant, Earl's Juke Joint Liam Gavin, Door Knock Marco Rosati, Grain Bar Samuel McWilliams, The Lobo Thomas Opie, Births and Deaths VICTORIA: Aiden Rodriquez, EDV Melbourne Alejandro Archibald, NOMAD Melbourne Kane Smith, Nick and Nora's Melbourne Darren Leaney, Aru Cameron Parish, Gimlet Elisabetta Luppi, LUI Bar Francesca Camilli, Beneath Driver's Lane James Armstrong, The Cloakroom Bar Josephe Kourmouzis, Above Board Julien Wurtlin, LUI Bar Kayla Saito, Black Pearl Nicola Dean, Black Pearl Max Allison, Good Measure Miriam Wahlhütter, LOVER Nick Tesar, Bar Liberty Olivia Devlin, Capitano Tioni Naslund, LUI Bar Taylor Matthews, Frederic Tom McHugh, Hazel Restaurant QUEENSLAND: Dino Francia, Rosella's Bar Jack Connor, Rosella's Bar Aidan Perkins, Agnes Restaurant Daniella Darakis, The Gresham Edward Quartermass, Maker Ellery Low, Maker Jamie Fleming, Alba Bar & Deli Jenny Wang, Sono Japanese Restaurant Joe Steadman, Alba Bar & Deli Kate Bartlett, Cobbler Bar Liam Murphy, Frogs Hollow Saloon Liam Shepherd, Bar Brutus Martin McConnell, Frogs Hollow Saloon Peter Hollands, Frogs Hollow Saloon WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Dyllan Balm, Foxtrot Unicorn Max Guidice, Republic of Fremantle Nicola Herbert, Foxtrot Unicorn Shirley Yeung, Foxtrot Unicorn Samuel Cocks, Bar Rogue SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Al Simmons, Maybe Mae Alfonso Lizana, Maybe Mae Anabel Rowe, Long Story Short Georgia Edmonds, Maybe Mae Grace Rawlins, Memphis Slim's House of Blues Jack Somers, Memphis Slim's House of Blues Talis Heggart, Memphis Slim's House of Blues Michael Keogh, Memphis Slim's House of Blues Lachlan Gunner, Long Story Short Oscar Butler, Maybe Mae TASMANIA: Rachel Mynczywor, Rude Boy Rohan Massie, Rude Boy Hobart Jack Turner, Void Bar at Mona Mateo Ortiz, The Den Salamanca NORTHERN TERRITORY: Anneliese Grazioli, Hanky Panky Lounge Katerina Kosta, Hanky Panky Lounge Matt Zarimis, Smoke and Oak Darwin ACT: Cameron Abercrombie, Zaab Street Food Jack Sandeman, Zaab Street Food Liv Kelly, Bar Rochford For more information about Diego World Class, head to the competition's website. Top image: Maybe Sammy, Paolo Maffietti.
Career-wise, the past decade has been kind to Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton. It all started back in 2009, when he won the Cannes Film Festival's Camera d'Or — the award for best first feature — for the fantastic Samson and Delilah. Since then, he has explored ghost stories in The Dark Side, and opened the Sydney Film Festival with We Don't Need a Map, a documentary exploring the prominence of the Southern Cross in Australian culture. In 2017, he also directed one of the best, most blistering Australian westerns ever made, Sweet Country. And, more recently, he co-helmed the second six-part season of TV series Mystery Road — which premiered at this year's Berlin Film Festival before hitting screens Down Under. All that hustle and bustle has had an impact, however, as his next project explores. In The Beach, Thornton documents his own quest to step back from his busy life by living alone on an isolated stretch of sand by the shoreline — at Jilirr, on the Dampier Peninsula on the northwest coast of Western Australia. Thornton directs the exquisite-looking documentary, with his son — Robbie Hood and Finke: There and Back filmmaker Dylan River — shooting the entire series. As well as helming, Thornton obviously stars in the six-part series, too. And it's understandably a highly personal affair; "The Beach is one of the most important projects of my life. It's about my life. It is my life," the acclaimed director explains. Accordingly, when the documentary hits NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand on Friday, May 29 — airing on NITV and SBS simultaneously in one big block, and dropping on the broadcaster's streaming platform at the same time — it'll chronicle Thornton's efforts as he lives alone, endeavouring to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors, the Kaytetye people. Solely relying upon the land, he spends his days in scenic surroundings while hunting and gathering for food, with the docuseries observing unobtrusively as he attempts to transform his existence, connect to Country, and nourish both his body and spirit. As the just-released trailer shows, it makes for quite the striking viewing. And, given the current state of the world, immensely timely viewing too. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaMIcuVH83M All six episodes of The Beach will air on NITV and SBS on Friday, May 29, with the docuseries available to stream via SBS On Demand from the same time.
Ballarat has long been touted as one of the most significant boomtowns of the gold rush era; history oozes from the cracks of the stately heritage buildings, telling stories of yesteryear. Yep, if you're after a glimpse of Australia's past, you'll find it among the tree-lined streets of Ballarat. But if you dig a little deeper, you'll uncover the city's true treasures — not glistening gold, but brilliant food, drink and culture. Given Ballarat is just over an hour out of the buzzing Melbourne metropolis, the picturesque regional city is perfect for a spontaneous day trip or rejuvenating long weekend. And, to make sure you strike lucky, we've partnered with Visit Ballarat to bring you some top-notch things to eat, see and do on a weekend in Ballarat. So, grab your prospector's cap and get ready to see the best of Ballarat. [caption id="attachment_704070" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hop Temple.[/caption] RAISE A GLASS TO THE INDEPENDENT BREWING GODS Ballarat has become somewhat of a craft beer mecca with a host of new bars and breweries exploding onto the scene. To sip at one of the best, make tracks to Hop Temple, a craft beer and food hall tucked away at the back of Hop Lane. Hop Temple boasts one of the largest ranges of craft beer in Victoria, with 19 taps and 220-plus bottles on offer, so get ready to sample but a few. Keen to try some other local brews? Head to The Mallow to sip from Ballarat's largest range of independent beers on tap, Red Duck Brewery to enjoy its all-natural brews paired with local cheese platters or Cubby Haus Brewing to sample its small-batch beers including stouts, saisons, pilsners and pale, brown and steam ales. [caption id="attachment_704073" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Lost Ones Gallery.[/caption] GET YOUR ART FIX AT THE LOST ONES GALLERY AND BAR If you're like us and love it when art and booze combine, The Lost Ones Gallery is a must-see while in town. Housed in a Masonic hall that was built in the 1870s, the gallery has the work of contemporary artists upstairs and a fine spirits collection downstairs. Spend a couple of hours perusing the exhibitions and getting familiar with the emerging and established local artists, then head to the Basement Bar, sink into a plush couch, order a cocktail — a french 75 or pisco sour, perhaps — and play some Cards Against Humanity. The Lost Ones Basement Bar also runs a range of events, from gin blending workshops to nude drawing, check out the full list here. [caption id="attachment_704074" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yellow Espresso.[/caption] ENJOY A MORNING BREW AND A VINTAGE SHOP Kick off your morning with a nice cup of joe from the bright and bustling Yellow Espresso. Located a the lower end of Stuart Street, this uber-stylish cafe features white and yellow furnishings, hanging plants, rustic timber bench tops and, of course, some of the finest coffee in town. Once you've got your caffeine fix, take a short seven-minute stroll to That Vintage Shop. Here, you'll find all kinds of vintage designer treasures like fur coats, Glomesh bags, 1920s-style hats, pearl necklaces and high-waisted skirts to boot. If that's not enough, hit up The Salvos in Bridge Mall to continue your spree. [caption id="attachment_703945" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Forge Pizzeria.[/caption] GRAB A SLICE THEN DANCE ALL NIGHT If you're a Ballarat local or have been to the city before, there's a good chance you've enjoyed a slice (or several) at The Forge Pizzeria. This carb-filled stalwart is a firm favourite and with good reason: it produces incredible pizza. With a warm and inviting atmosphere, the restaurant is all about sharing good regional fare with your nearest and dearest. We suggest treating yourself to the $45 Feed Me menu to sample the pick of the woodfired fare. After you're suitably stuffed, waddle to one of Ballarat's leading live music venues to dance off those slices. Karova Lounge hosts incredible local and international musical acts, as well as DJs on the weekends, and is the perfect place to rock out post-pizza. [caption id="attachment_704071" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mitchell Harris Wines.[/caption] SAVOUR A GLASS, OR TWO, OF LOCAL VINO It'd be remiss to visit Ballarat and not sample the excellent cool-climate wine from the neighbouring Pyrenees region. There's an array of local wineries about an hour from the city where you can indulge at the cellar door — Summerfield Wines, Warrenmang Vineyard, Grape Farm Winery and Taltarni, to name but a few — but we suggest starting at Blue Pyrenees. Established in 1962, this winery was one of the first in Australia to experiment with cool-climate varietals and has a pretty excellent shiraz to show for it. Alternatively, if you're keen to stay in town, head to Mitchell Harris Wines where you can order off the award-winning wine list. Sip one of the house's own drops or another vino from Victoria and beyond. [caption id="attachment_704187" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mr Jones.[/caption] TREAT YOURSELF TO A HYPER LOCAL FEED When you're ready to take things up a notch and enjoy a sumptuous spread, head to new rustic diner Mr Jones for a fresh feed of local, seasonal fare. This restaurant from partners and chefs Damien and Danielle Jones is run with plenty of Michelin and hatted experience — Damien formerly worked at London's Michelin-starred Bidenbum and the couple's previous restaurant in the same space was a hatted affair. With European influences and seasonal inspiration, the restaurant uses the very best local produce. As the share-plate menu is ever-changing, you won't know what you're going to get, but rest assured, you'll eat very well. Past dishes have featured gougere with creme fraiche, salmon roe and smoked jelly; goat's cheese dumplings with pine nuts, currants and sage; and smoked duck breast with beetroot and blood orange. The menu has also previously listed house-made chorizo served with quince aioli, apple and cider — here's hoping that one makes regular appearances. WATCH A ROYAL JOUST AT KRYAL CASTLE Desperate to live out your Game of Thrones fantasy and see a royal joust in real life? Head to Kryal Castle, a medieval theme park in Leigh Creek, to watch two knights fight tooth and nail for victory. If fighting is not your thing, there are comedic sketches by royal jesters, an expansive concrete maze, archery contests, wizard workshops, potion making schools and even a torture museum where you can learn about the gruesome historic punishments. There's also an Ale House should you need a beverage between battles. Tickets start at $35 and if you're feeling particularly flush, you can even stay the night in a Queen Suite (from $180) and sleep like a Khaleesi. GIVE A DINGO A BELLY RUB AT THE BALLARAT WILDLIFE PARK If you're an animal lover — let's face it, who isn't? — Ballarat Wildlife Park is the place for you. The expansive wildlife park covers more than 16 acres and houses a heap of super-cute native animals, like koalas, snakes, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils and echidnas, as well as some foreign beauties, including six sweet new meercats. It also gives you the chance to get up close and personal with some very good dingoes. The family of five — mum Luna, dad Esky and their three pups — all enjoy belly scratches, pats and are as adorable as they sound. Admission to the park costs $35 for adults and tours run daily. Ready to go? Pack your bags and make a full weekend out of your trip to this historic gold rush town. Top image: Yellow Espresso.
