Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest through to old and recent favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from March's haul. Brand-New Stuff You Can Watch From Start to Finish Now Girls5eva One of the funniest TV comedies of the 2020s is back with its third season, and as hilarious as ever. So what are you waiting five? If that question doesn't make any sense, then you clearly haven't yet experienced the wonder that is Girls5eva. It starts with a numerical pun-heavy earworm of a theme tune that no one should ever skip, then bounces along just as catchily and sidesplittingly in every second afterwards. A move to Netflix for season three — after streaming its first and second seasons via Peacock in the US and Stan in Australia — might just see the Tina Fey-executive produced music-industry sitcom switch from being one of the best shows that not enough people are watching to everyone's latest can't-stop-rewatching comedy obsession. In other words, this a series about a comeback and, thanks to its swap to the biggest player in the streaming game, now it's making a comeback itself. If it becomes a Netflix smash, here's hoping that it'll be famous at least one more time. Two years have passed for longterm fans since Girls5eva last checked in with Dawn Solano (Sara Bareilles, Broadway's Waitress), Wickie Roy (Renée Elise Goldsberry, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and also a Hamilton Tony-winner), Summer Dutkowsky (Busy Philipps, Mean Girls) and Gloria McManus (Paula Pell, Big Mouth), but the gap and the change of platforms haven't changed this gem. Consider the switch of streamer in the same way that Dawn and the gang are approaching their leap back into their girl group after two decades: as an all-in, go-hard-or-go-home, whatever-it-takes relaunch. Now firmly reunited, the surviving members of Girls5eva have taken to the road. So far, however, their big Returnity tour has been happy in Fort Worth. In the Texan city, their track 'Tap Into Your Fort Worth' keeps drawing in crowds, even if that's all that concertgoers want to hear. Also, the Marriott Suitelettes for Divorced Dads has become their home away from home, but resident diva Wickie isn't content just playing one place. Always dreaming huge, massive and stratospheric, she sets the band's sights on Radio City Music Hall, booking them in for a gig at a fee of $500,000. Cue a six-month timeline to sell it out — a feat made trickier by the fact that the show is on Thanksgiving — or risk ruin. Girls5eva streams via Netflix. Read our full review. 20 Days in Mariupol Incompatible with life. No one should ever want to hear those three devastating words. No one who is told one of the most distressing phrases there is ever has them uttered their way in positive circumstances, either. Accordingly, when they're spoken by a doctor in 2024 Oscar-winner 20 Days in Mariupol, they're deeply shattering. So is everything in this on-the-ground portrait of the first 20 days in the Ukrainian port city as Russia began its invasion, with the bleak reality of living in a war zone documented in harrowing detail. Located less than 60 kilometres from the border, Mariupol quickly segues from ordinary life to an apocalyptic scene — and this film refuses to look away. Much of its time is spent in and around hospitals, which see an influx of patients injured and killed by the combat, and also become targets as well. Many of in 20 Days in Mariupol's faces are the afflicted, the medics tending to them in horrendous circumstances, and the loves ones that are understandably inconsolable. Too many of the carnage's victims are children and babies, with their parents crushed and heartbroken in the aftermath; sometimes, they're pregnant women. Directed by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mstyslav Chernov, and narrated by him with the grimness and soberness that can be this movie's only tone, 20 Days in Mariupol even existing is an achievement. What it depicts — what it immerses viewers in with urgency, from shelled hospitals, basements-turned-bomb shelters and more of the city destroyed day after day to families torn apart, looting, struggling to find food and bodies of the dead taken to mass graves — needs to be viewed as widely as possible, and constantly. His footage has also featured in news reports, but it can and must never be forgotten. Doctors mid-surgery demand that Chernov's camera is pointed their way, and that he shows the world the travesties taking place. The Ukrainian reporter, who has also covered Donbas, flight MH17, Syria and the Battle of Mosul for the Associated Press, does exactly that. He's doing more than ensuring that everyone bears witness, though; he makes certain that there's no way to watch 20 Days in Mariupol, which shows the vast civilian impact and casualties, and see anything but ordinary people suffering, or to feel anything other than shock, anger and horror. 20 Days in Mariupol streams via DocPlay. STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces To do justice to Steve Martin's life, career and impact requires more than just one movie. So, the engagingly and entertainingly in-depth, intimate, affectionate and informative STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces explores the comedian and actor's existence in a pair of parts. The first is subtitled 'Then', honing in on his childhood and early stand-up days. The second, aka 'Now', jumps in when he made the leap to movies in the late 70s, which is where The Jerk, Pennies From Heaven, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Parenthood and LA Story comes in — and, of course, includes his tours with his ¡Three Amigos! co-star Martin Short, as well as their murder-mystery-comedy TV hit Only Murders in the Building. The initial half gets Martin narrating, sharing reflections personal and professional as accompanied by archival footage aplenty (and ample tapes of his stints in front of audience). The latter section treats him as an interviewee, with his wife Anne Stringfield, Short, Jerry Seinfeld (who has had Martin as a guest on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee) and Tina Fey (who also co-starred with Martin in Baby Mama) among the talking heads. Behind it all is documentarian Morgan Neville, an Oscar-winner for 20 Feet From Stardom, as well as a filmmaker who is clearly taking his stylistic cues from his subject. That's noticeable in STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces' moniker, for starters — it throws caution to the winds of grammar and title formats just as Martin has to comedy rules, as the two-part film makes plain again and again. No matter how well-acquainted you are with Martin, insights flow freely in this fascinating way to spend three hours surveying the ways that he's made people laugh over decades upon decades, beginning with doing magic tricks and working at Disneyland on his school holidays in the 50s. Revelations bound through about Martin as a person, too; more than once, he notes that his life has felt as if it has played out backwards, and not just because he only first became a father in his 60s. Clips of his stand-up act, and the response to it in the 60s and 70s, are gold. Hanging out with the man who originally was only going to create Only Murders in the Building, not star in it, when he's bantering with Short are as well. STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces streams via Apple TV+. Spaceman Should astronaut become a dictionary-certified synonym for melancholy? Cinema believes so. Its latest case in point comes via Spaceman, where life temporarily lived above and beyond the earth replaces gravity with loneliness and disconnection for Jakub Prochazka (Adam Sandler, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah). He's six months into a solo trip past Jupiter to investigate an eerie phenomenon in the heavens when this adaptation of Jaroslav Kalfař's 2017 sci-fi novel Spaceman of Bohemia kicks off. His quest is both time-sensitive and celebrated. South Korea is in close pursuit, he's frequently being told by Peter (Kunal Nayyar, Night Court), his contact at ground control — and Commissioner Tuma (Isabella Rossellini, Cat Person) happily keeps dialling him in for PR opportunities. As he soars through a strangely purple sky, however, endeavouring to fulfil his mission while pleading for maintenance approval on his crumbling ship, all that's really on his mind is his wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan, Maestro). Pregnant and left at home alone, she's no longer taking his fast-as-light-speed phone calls. Then Hanus (Paul Dano, Mr & Mrs Smith) scurries in beside Jakub, demanding attention — as a giant spider in space is always going to. For the best part of a decade now, seeing a live-action movie starring Sandler has meant heading to Netflix. In Australia, even Uncut Gems, his greatest-ever performance, arrived via the streaming platform. Alongside The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) and Hustle, add Spaceman to the list of such features that give their star worthy parts and would've made welcome cinema releases. It isn't new news that Sandler is an excellent actor in dramatic and/or weightier roles, or that his career is more than the Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore-style comedies that he first became known for. Spaceman director Johan Renck (Chernobyl) has cast him expertly, in fact, in this tale of isolation, arrested development, otherworldly arachnids and amorous entanglements. Sending Sandler on an Ad Astra-, First Man- and Solaris-esque trip proves contemplative and empathetic — and, amid spider's-eye flashbacks to his complicated childhood in the Czech Republic, time spent with Lenka on the ground and floating around the film's claustrophobic main setting, also brimming with raw and resonant emotion. Spaceman streams via Netflix. The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin Who needs facts when you can have a ball with irreverently riffing on history? It worked for Blackadder, then with The Great and Our Flag Means Death, and now does the same for The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin. It was evident from the concept when it was announced, and the trailer afterwards as well: this series is firmly in the same mode as the pirate comedy that gave streaming two wonderfully funny and heartfelt seasons, then was cancelled. The similarities don't stop being apparent now that Noel Fielding's latest stint of silliness is here with its six-instalment first season. Accordingly, viewers looking for something to help with their Our Flag Means Death heartbreak have somewhere to turn. Everyone who loves The Mighty Boosh's Fielding when he's getting surreal — something that his The Great British Bake Off hosting gig can't quite offer, even with his outfits — is also catered for. Awaiting in The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is an entertaining jaunt that's exactly what anyone should expect given its premise, star, his fondness for whimsy and flamboyant outfits, plus Britain's love of parodying its own past. Fielding co-writes and executive produces, alongside leading — and his brother Michael is among the fellow The Mighty Boosh alum on-screen. Dick jokes abound, because who could pass up the opportunity given its protagonist? A who's who of English comedy also features. The year is 1735. The place is the UK, obviously. The subject is a real-life highwayman. If Dick Turpin isn't familiar, he's the son of a butcher, he was his father's apprentice, but then took on a different career as part of the Essex gang. In reality, he was executed by hanging at the age of 33. In The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, standing on the gallows provides the opening. From there, the series steps through his time as a thief after being a vegan pacifist didn't gel with the family business. The key things that Dick takes with him when he leaves home, when his father John (Mark Heap, Significant Other) quickly replaces him with his cousin Benny (Michael Fielding, Merry Little Batman): eye-catching purple boots and a sewing machine. Soon enough, he has a crew by his side — and an instantly amusing revisionist history about Britain's equivalent of Ned Kelly is the result. The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. 3 Body Problem How do you follow up Game of Thrones? So asks one of the biggest questions in pop culture over the past decade. HBO's hit adaptation of George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series ended five years ago, but the network behind it, the TV industry in general, and everyone involved in it on- and off-screen has been grappling with that query since the series became a worldwide smash. For the cable station that made it, more Game of Thrones shows is the answer, aka House of the Dragon, the upcoming A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight and other floated spinoffs. For Hollywood, leaning in on fantasy franchises has been a solution. And for David Benioff and DB Weiss, the showrunners on the Westeros-set phenomenon, bringing another complex book saga to the small screen is the chosen path. Those novels: Liu Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, which arrives as 3 Body Problem, with 2008 book The Three-Body Problem as the basis for its eight-episode first season. Invasions, feuds, jumping timelines, a hefty cast of characters: they're all still in place. So are John Bradley (Marry Me), Liam Cunningham (Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter) and Jonathan Pryce (Slow Horses) among the cast, answering the "what comes next?" question for three Game of Thrones actors. Also, that composer Ramin Djawadi (Jack Ryan) is on music duties again isn't difficult to notice. With 3 Body Problem, which sees Benioff and Weiss team up with True Blood and The Terror's Alexander Woo to bring Cixin's text to the screen, sprawling high fantasy gives away to time- and space-hopping hard sci-fi, however. The danger to global stability still springs from a battle for supremacy, but one where countdowns start dancing in front of some people's eyes, particle accelerators stop functioning properly, other folks can't be seen in security footage, scientists seem to be killing themselves and aliens linger. The series begins with a physics professor being beaten to death in front of a crowd containing his daughter during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Then, it flits to London today to watch the entire sky wink, gleaming helmets spirit whoever dons them into a complicated and intricate virtual-reality game, and what lurks beyond the earth — and who — play a significant part. 3 Body Problem streams via Netflix. Read our full review. Road House It's a brave actor who tries to follow in Patrick Swayze's footsteps. The late, great star was one of a kind, other than the fact that the 80s and 90s screamed out for him to team up with Kurt Russell on-screen. But folks persist in attempting to take his lead, including Diego Luna (Andor) in the also Swayze-starring Dirty Dancing prequel Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Édgar Ramírez (Dr Death) in the terrible 2015 Point Break remake and now Jake Gyllenhaal (Guy Ritchie's The Covenant) in Road House, another do-over of a Swayze hit. Gyllenhaal fares best in a film that isn't its predecessor in a swathe of ways — there's less sleaze to the titular establishment, and in general; less heat to its central romance; less zen about its protagonist; and no throats being ripped out — but is aided immensely by its key casting. No one needed a Road House remake, let alone one where its cooler is a former UFC fighter who has fallen on troubled times in and out of the octagon. Surely no one wanted to witness a strutting Conor McGregor make his acting debut, and so gratingly, as one of the new Road House's villains. But Gyllenhaal leaning into eccentricity as Dalton works a charm. The plot remains largely the same, albeit shifted to Florida, which sees director Doug Liman (Chaos Walking) also take a few stylistic cues from Miami Vice. In the eponymous venue, Dalton — Elwood, not James — is recruited to take over security by Frankie (Jessica Williams, Shrinking), with her bar suffering from a violence problem. Thugs keep smashing up the place, and patrons. Also, bouncers are constantly leaving the job. There's a cool, calm and collected air to Dalton's quest to clean up the joint, which contrasts with his inner turmoil. Soon, though, he's being threatened in an attempt to run him out of town. Daniela Melchior (Fast X) co-stars as the doctor that becomes his love interest, Billy Magnussen (Lift) as the drug-peddling nepo-baby baddie with designs on The Road House's land, Arturo Castro (The Vince Staples Show) as a motorcycle-gang henchman who genuinely appreciates Dalton's approach and Hannah Love Lanier (Special Ops: Lioness) as a bookshop-running teenager, but Road House circa 2024 is Gyllenhaal's show. This isn't the first attempt to capitalise upon the original Road House's success — even if it was nominated for five Razzies — thanks to 2006's Road House 2. Being better than that is a low bar, but this Road House clears it. Road House streams via Prime Video. Apples Never Fall On the page and on the screen, audiences know what's in store when Sydney-born and -based author Liane Moriarty's name is attached to a book or TV series. Domestic disharmony within comfortable communities fuels her tales, as do twisty mystery storylines. When they hit streaming, the shows adapted from her novels add in starry casts as well. Indeed, after Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers, it might come as a shock that Nicole Kidman (Expats) is nowhere to be found in the seven-episode Apples Never Fall. The Australian actor will be back in another version of Moriarty's tomes, also with a three-word title, with The Last Anniversary currently in the works. Fresh from an Oscar nomination for Nyad, Annette Bening is no mere stand-in right now. Also, where Kidman has co-starred with Reese Witherspoon (The Morning Show), Laura Dern (The Son) and Alexander Skarsgård (Mr & Mrs Smith), and also Melissa McCarthy (The Little Mermaid), Michael Shannon (The Flash) and Luke Evans (Good Grief), Bening is joined by Sam Neill (The Twelve), Alison Brie (Somebody I Used to Know) and Jake Lacy (A Friend of the Family). If Lacy's involvement brings The White Lotus to mind, he's again at home playing affluent and arrogant — but no one is on holiday in Apples Never Fall. Rather, in West Palm Beach, the tennis-obsessed Delaney family finds their well-off existence shattered when matriarch Joy (Bening) goes missing, leaving just a banged-up and blood-splattered bicycle, a strewn-about basket of apples and her mobile phone behind. Her adult children (Lacy, Brie, Thai Cave Rescue's Conor Merrigan Turner and The Speedway Murders' Essie Randles) are worried, while husband Stan (Neill) first advises that his spouse is merely ill, a choice that does nothing to stop suspicion rocketing his way. In addition to charting the search for Joy, the Queensland-shot Apples Never Fall bounces through ample backstory. After its introductory instalment, each episode focuses on one of the family; across them all, the timeline is split into "then" and "now". It soon becomes apparent that the doting Joy and determined Stan were talented players, then established the Delaney Tennis Academy when his aspirations were cruelled by injury, and she sidelined hers to support him and have their kids. Another person looms large over the narrative, too: Savannah (Georgia Flood, Blacklight), who graces the Delaneys' doorstep in its flashbacks, fleeing from domestic abuse — or so she claims. Apples Never Fall streams via Binge. Read our full review. Breeders Sitcoms about raising a family are almost as common as sitcoms in general, with the antics of being married with children up there with workplace shenanigans as one of the genre's go-to setups. Thanks to the OG UK version of The Office, Martin Freeman knows more than a little about employment-focused TV comedies. Courtesy of The Thick of It and Veep, actor-turned-director Chris Addison and writer Simon Blackwell also fall into that category. But Breeders, which the trio created and thrusts them into the world of mining parenting for laughs, isn't your standard take on its concept. As became immediately evident when the British series began in 2020, and remains the case now that it's wrapping up with its current fourth season — which aired overseas in 2023 but is only hitting Down Under in 2024 — this show does't subscribe to the rosy notion that being a mother or a father (or a son or daughter, or grandmother or grandfather) equals loveable chaos. There's love, of course. There's even more chaos. But there's also clear eyes, plus bleakness; again, this is largely helmed and scripted by alumni of two of the best, sharpest and most-candid political satires of the 21st century, and always feels as such. Season four begins with a time jump, with Breeders' overall path tracking Paul Worsley (Freeman, Secret Invasion) and Ally Grant's (Daisy Haggard, Boat Story) journey from when their two kids were very young — including babies, via flashbacks — to their teenage and young-adult years now. Consequently, five years on in the narrative from season three, another set of actors play Luke (Oscar Kennedy, Wreck) and Ava (debutant Zoë Athena) in this farewell run as the first is moving in with his girlfriend and the second explores her own love life, as well as grappling with the inescapable reality that her elder brother's ups and downs have always monopolised her family's attention. Paul and Ally also have the ailing health of Paul's parents Jim (Alun Armstrong, Tom Jones) and Jackie (Joanna Bacon, Benediction) to manage, in addition to the ebbs and flows of their own often-fraught relationship, plus just dealing with getting through the days, weeks, months and years in general (Ally turning 50 is one of this season's plot points). That this all sounds like standard life is part of the point; watching Breeders is like looking in a mirror, especially in its unvarnished and relatable all-you-can-do-is-laugh perspective. Freeman's knack for swearing will be especially missed. Breeders streams via Disney+. New and Returning Shows to Check Out Week by Week Palm Royale More things in life should remind the world about Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, 2021's wonderfully goofy (and just wonderful) Florida-set comedy starring Kristen Wiig (MacGruber) and Annie Mumolo (Barbie), plus Jamie Dornan (The Tourist) singing to seagulls. The also Wiig-led Palm Royale is one such prompt. Thankfully, watching the page-to-screen dramedy doesn't cause audiences to wish that they were just viewing Barb and Star, though. The two share the same US state as a locale, too, alongside bright colour schemes, a bouncy pace and a willingness to get silly, especially with sea life, but Palm Royale engages all on its own. Adapting Juliet McDaniel's Mr & Mrs American Pie for the small screen, this 60s-set effort also knows how to make gleaming use of its best asset: Saturday Night Live, Bridesmaids and Ghostbusters alum Wiig. In its ten-episode first season, the show's storyline centres on Maxine Simmons. A former beauty-pageant queen out of Chattanooga, Tennessee, she thinks nothing of scaling the wall to the titular country club, then breezing about like she's meant to be there — sipping grasshoppers and endeavouring to eavesdrop her way into a social-climbing friendship with Palm Beach's high-society set — and Wiig sells every second of the character's twist-filled journey. Even better: she heartily and entertainingly conveys the everywoman aspects of someone who has yearning for a better life as her main motivation, and isn't willing to settle for anything less than she thinks that she deserves, even in hardly relatable circumstances. There's no doubting that Maxine is both an underdog and an outsider in the milieu that she so frenziedly covets. When she's not swanning around poolside, idolising self-appointed bigwig Evelyn Rollins (Allison Janney, The Creator) and ambassador's wife Dinah Donahue (Leslie Bibb, About My Father) among the regulars — their clique spans widow Mary Jones Davidsoul (Julia Duffy, Christmas with the Campbells) and mobster spouse Raquel Kimberly-Maco (Claudia Ferri, Arlette) — and ordering her cocktail of choice from bartender Robert (Ricky Martin, American Crime Story), she's staying in a far-from-glamorous motel. Funding for her quest to fit in with the rich and gossip-column famous comes via pawning jewellery owned by her pilot husband Douglas'(Josh Lucas, Yellowstone) comatose aunt Norma Dellacorte (Carol Burnett, Better Call Saul), the plastics and mouthwash heiress who ruled the scene until suffering an embolism. Palm Royale streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. High Country The role of Andie Whitford, the lead part in High Country, was written for Leah Purcell. It's easy to understand why. There's a quiet resolve to the character — a been-there-seen-that air to weathering tumult, too — that's long been a part of the Indigenous Australian star's acting toolkit across a three-decade career that started in 90s TV shows such as GP, Police Rescue and Water Rats, and has recently added The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and Shayda to her resume (plus much in-between). Andie is a seasoned police detective who takes a job back in uniform overseeing the town of Broken Ridge, which is located in the mountainous Victorian region that gives the mystery series its name. A big reason for the move: stability and work-life balance, aka relocating for the sake of her personal life with spouse Helen (Sara Wiseman, Under the Vines) and daughter Kirra (Pez Warner, making her TV debut). An existence-resetting tree change is meant to be on the cards, then. But her arrival, especially being installed as the new police chief, doesn't earn the sunniest of welcomes. Then there's the missing-person cases that swiftly start piling up, some old, some new, some previously explained by pointing fingers in specific directions. High Country's framework, down to its character types, is easily recognisable. Creators Marcia Gardner and John Ridley, who worked with Purcell on Wentworth, know what everyone does: that a great story can make any whodunnit-driven procedural feel different. So, also part of the series are Andie's retiring predecessor (Ian McElhinney, The Boys in the Boat), who is fixated on a past disappearance; the former teacher (Henry Nixon, The PM's Daughter) he's certain is responsible, who has become the town outcast; a local ranger (Aaron Pedersen, Jack Irish), one of the few other Indigenous faces in town; the financially challenged proprietor (Linda Cropper, How to Stay Married) of a haven for artists; cop colleagues of varying help and loyalty (Romance at the Vineyard's Matt Domingo and Wyrmwood: Apocalypse's Luke McKenzie); and rabble-rousing siblings (Boy Swallows Universe's Nathaniel Dean and The Clearing's Jamie Timony). Crucially, where the show takes them always feels like its own journey. This might also be the second Aussie effort in two months to use this part of the country as a backdrop, following Force of Nature: The Dry 2, but High Country is similarly no mere rehash there. High Country streams via Binge. The Regime After past wins for Mildred Pierce and Mare of Easttown, Kate Winslet might just add another Emmy to her mantle for The Regime. When the British actor turns her attention to TV for HBO, she unveils spectacular performances — something that she does everywhere anyway (see also: the 30-year-old Heavenly Creatures, 20-year-old Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and more-recent Ammonite, for instance), but this working relationship has been going particularly well for her. Winslet's latest small-screen stint for the US network takes her into the realm of satire, and to a Central European country under authoritarian rule. Nothing for the nation's current leadership is quite going to plan, though. This is a place where Chancellor Elena Vernham singing 'If You Leave Me Now' to open an official dinner, keeping her deceased father in a glass coffin, and overhauling the palace that she calls home due to fears of moisture and black mould are all everyday occurrences. Each of the above happens in The Regime's first episode, as does hiring a soldier linked to a scandal involving the deaths of protestors at a cobalt mine — with his new gig initially requiring him to monitor the air quality in every room that the Chancellor enters. Winslet (Avatar: The Way of Water) is mesmerising as Vernham, who takes her cues from a range of IRL world leaders — it's easy to glean which — in a show that's as captivating as its lead performance. She has excellent company, too, spanning the always-ace Matthias Schoenaerts (Amsterdam) as said military man-turned-Vernham's new advisor, Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie) as her regular offsider, plus everyone from Hugh Grant (Wonka) to Martha Plimpton (A Town Called Malice) popping up and making the most of their supporting parts. The Regime's creator Will Tracy wrote The Menu and also episodes of Succession, so he has experience being scathing; his time on the staff of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver also shows its influence. If he'd been watching Armando Iannucci's The Death of Stalin while dreaming up this (including nabbing Riseborough from the cast), that wouldn't come as a surprise, either. With Stephen Frears (The Lost King) and Jessica Hobbs (The Crown) behind the camera, The Regime is a probingly directed effort as well as it works through its six chapters. The Regime streams via Binge. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January and February this year, and also from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December 2023. You can also check out our running list of standout must-stream shows from last year as well — and our best 15 new shows of 2023, 15 newcomers you might've missed, top 15 returning shows of the year, 15 best films, 15 top movies you likely didn't see, 15 best straight-to-streaming flicks and 30 movies worth catching up on over the summer.
Two decades ago, Bill Nighy won two BAFTAs in the same year for vastly dissimilar roles: for playing a rock 'n' roll singer belting out a cheesy Christmas tune in Love Actually, and also for his turn as a journalist investigating a political scandal in gripping miniseries State of Play. The beloved British actor has achieved plenty more across his career, including collecting an eclectic resume that spans an uncredited turn in Black Books, a pivotal part in Shaun of the Dead, and everything from Underworld and Pride to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (plus stepping into David Bowie's shoes in the TV version of The Man Who Fell to Earth). Somehow, though, Nighy made it all the way into his 70s before receiving a single Oscar nomination. He didn't emerge victorious at 2023's ceremony for Living, but his recognition for this textured drama isn't just a case of the Academy rewarding a stellar career — it's thoroughly earned by one of the veteran talent's best performances yet. Nighy comes to this sensitive portrayal of a dutiful company man facing life-changing news with history; so too does the feature itself. Set in London in 1953, it's an adaptation several times over — of iconic Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's 1952 film Ikiru, and of Leo Tolstoy's 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich, which the former also takes inspiration from. That's quite the lineage for Living to live up to, but Nighy and director Oliver Hermanus (Moffie) are up to the task. The movie's second Oscar-nominee, Nobel Prize-winning screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro, unsurprisingly is as well. Also the author of The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, he's at home penning layered stories with a deep focus on complicated characters not being completely true to themselves. When those two novels were turned into impressive pictures, Ishiguro didn't script their screenplays, but he writes his way through Living's literary and cinematic pedigree like he was born to. A man of no more words than he has to utter — of no more of anything, including life's pleasures, frivolities, distractions and detours, in fact — Williams (Nighy, Emma.) is a born bureaucrat. Or, that's how he has always appeared to his staff in the Public Works Department in London County Hall, where he's been doing the same job day, week, month and year in and out. He's quiet and stoic as he pushes paper daily, overseeing a department that's newly welcoming in Peter Wakeling (Alex Sharp, The Trial of the Chicago 7). It's through this fresh face's eyes that Living's audience first spies its central figure, adopting his and the wider team's perspective of Williams as a compliant and wooden functionary: a view that the film and its sudden diagnosis then challenges, as Williams does of himself. As Ikiru was as well, and as The Death of Ivan Ilyich's name made so apparent, this is a tale of a man dying — and, while confronting that fact, finally living. In Hermanus and Ishiguro's hands, sticking close to Kurosawa and his collaborators before them, this story gets part of its spark from a simple request by local parents for a playground. Before learning that he has terminal cancer, Williams behaves as he always has, with the women making their plea sent from department to department while he does only as much as he must. Afterwards, grappling with how to capitalise upon the time he has left, he wonders how to leave even the smallest mark on the world. Living isn't about a big, impulsive response to one of the worst developments that anyone can ever be saddled with during their time on this mortal coil, except that it is in Williams' own way; when your reaction to hearing that you have mere months left to live is "quite", any break from routine is radical. This isn't a cancer weepie, not for a second. It also isn't an illness-focused film where someone's health struggles come second to the feelings and changes experienced by those around them. Williams' colleagues notice his absence when he stops showing up to the office, of course. One, the young Margaret Harris (Aimee Lou Wood, Sex Education), accompanies him on unexpected away-from-work outings and advises that she'd nicknamed him 'Mr Zombie'. Living is about those instances — the fancy lunches that Williams treats himself to, the nights out drinking with new pals (Tom Burke, The Wonder) he never would've contemplated before, the flouting of his lifelong monotonous routine, and the efforts to go above and beyond that he's now willing to take — rather than about an ailing man's family and acquaintances facing loss. Indeed, given that Williams doesn't want to interrupt his son (Barney Fishwick, Call the Midwife) and daughter-in-law (Patsy Ferran, Mothering Sunday) with his condition, Living is firmly invested in someone navigating their swansong on their own terms. At the heart of this ruminative film, and Williams' post-diagnosis behaviour, sits one of the most fundamental existential questions there is. Knowing that death is looming so soon and so swiftly, what can possibly provide comfort? That's a query we all face daily, most of us just on a longer timeline — context that makes Williams' way of coping both resonant and highly relatable. Life is filling each moment with anything but reminders that our here and now is fleeting, albeit not in such a conscious and concerted manner. Living's boxed-in imagery, constrained within Academy-ratio frames and gifted a handsome, period-appropriate but almost-wistful sheen by Hermanus' Moffie and Beauty cinematographer Jamie Ramsay (also the director of photography on See How They Run), helps visually express a crucial feeling: of being anchored within a set amount of space and discovering how to make the most of it. When Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo and Ran great Kurosawa stepped through this terrain, he did so with one of his frequent players: Takashi Shimura. There's a particular sense of potency in telling this tale with a familiar figure, as Nighy also is, hammering home how truly universal this plight is no matter the specifics. Nighy's performance toys with what viewers have come to know and expect from him, however. He's in reserved rather than twinkling and instantly charming mode — still, muted and melancholy, too — a facade for his character that says oh-so-much about the dedicated life that Williams has weathered, the solace he's found in it, his handling of his current situation and also the film's post-World War II setting. Conveying the difference between being and relishing so effortlessly and also so heartbreakingly, Nighy is a marvel, and one that the movie around him lives for.
"If I told you I was going to make a film about a poor black boy raised by a single mother struggling with addiction who has questions about his sexuality, you assume certain things about that film," says Barry Jenkins about Moonlight. He's right. But his second feature isn't the movie you might expect from that description. Watching his applauded and lauded effort — the winner of this year's Golden Globe for best drama, and an eight-time Oscar nominee — proves an experience in witnessing all of those assumptions melt away. Indeed, based on a dramatic work by Tarell Alvin McCraney, and set and shot in the same Florida area where both Jenkins and McCraney grew up, Moonlight is anything but your average coming-of-age movie about dire circumstances. Jumping between three chapters of a young black man's life, it charts the progression of a teased and taunted Miami boy nicknamed Little (Alex Hibbert) into the awkward, still-bullied teen Chiron (Ashton Sanders), and finally into hardened Atlanta drug dealer Black (Trevante Rhodes). As relayed with a commitment to reflecting reality and capturing a rare perspective — and an ability to render its central journey and the accompanying emotions like cinematic poetry — specific moments and interactions shape his growth, worldview and identity. With Moonlight now showing in cinemas, we chatted with Academy Award-nominated writer/director Jenkins about reactions to the film, the importance of representation, making immersive cinema, and more. ON THE REACTION TO THE FILM "The only way I can really sort of reason or rationalise it [the acclaim for the film] is that I remember first falling in love with cinema as a film student. And it wasn't like the big Hollywood cinema. It was mostly foreign cinema. And I remember watching films by Wong Kar-wai or Claire Denis or Jean-Luc Godard, and I remember thinking "wow, this is a world that I'm never going to visit. I'm never going to go to France. I'm never going to go to Hong Kong, and I certainly don't speak these languages." And yet, I could relate to the characters that made the worlds feel extremely small to me. I mean that in the best way — that I wasn't so far removed from these people, these characters. And so it just gives me just such an amazing feeling that now my film is doing the same thing for audiences, because the world this movie takes place in is very small, you know, and these characters are very specific to the time and place Tarell and I grew up in. And yet it's travelling far, far away from Miami and people are seeing themselves in the film, and it is lovely to give back to cinema what cinema, I believe, gave to me." ON THE RESPONSIBILITY OF REPRESENTING CHARACTERS THAT AREN'T OFTEN SEEN ON SCREEN "Here's the thing: there are just certain characters that aren't represented as often as others are in cinema. Or in arts and letters in general, I'll say. And even when those characters are present, they aren't centred. They aren't the focus of the narrative. I think because of that, when you have this kind of lack, when the character is present in the film, is centred, it inherently takes on added importance. Because people, I believe, are very hungry to see themselves represented. And so there was this feeling in the back of my head — I try to keep it in the back of my head — not that what we were doing was important, but that we had to get it right. Because it would do more harm, because of the lack of these centred characters, it would do more harm to finally present the character and get it wrong. You know, I didn't want to do an injustice to people whose stories align with Chiron's." ON CONVEYING CHIRON'S CONSCIOUSNESS — AND BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS — RATHER THAN JUST TELLING HIS TALE "We approached the film as a piece of immersive cinema. And part of that has to do with the structure of the film — because we're not telling a traditional narrative in a traditional format. We felt like it allowed us the space to do certain things that maybe wouldn't fit into a more traditional narrative framework. For us, it was really important to have the audience take the journey with Chiron, and we wanted the visuals to arise from the consciousness of the main character. If I told you I was going to make a film about a poor black boy raised by a single mother struggling with addiction who has questions about his sexuality, you assume certain things abut that film. If I'm working from the idea that I want to make a film that is rooted in the consciousness of the main character — you know, consciousness is a very beautiful, beautiful thing. And this is something I haven't talked about much, but I think the idea of black consciousness or the way black minds work is often not presented. Or not framed in the way that it actually exists. By which I mean, black people dream. We have dreams and we have daydreams and we have dreams when we sleep. And yet, I very rarely see the personification or the presentation of a black person dreaming in a piece of cinema, you know? And that's because we always tie cinema to the conventions of the story form, and not to the consciousness of these characters. But in Moonlight, the visuals, the aesthetic, the craft, arises from the consciousness of the character. So when Chiron is feeling disoriented, you will look directly into his mother's eyes, and her lips are moving but sometimes you can't hear her voice, and then her voice catches up — because the character is being disoriented. You know, we tried to take our cues from moments like that. And it was great, because as a filmmaker, you know that sound and image is the tool that carries both my voice and the character's voices. And that tool should not be beholden to an A, B, C, D, E progression of plot." ON INTERROGATING MASCULINITY AND VULNERABILITY "It was about, you know, reflecting those things in the story of Chiron — and I say reflecting because Tarell and I saw those things living our lives growing up in this place. And this aspect of vulnerability over time is denied to young men, is denied to young boys — and not only boys like Chiron, boys everywhere. What's that saying? 'Boys don't cry.' It was very important to us that this is the currency of this film — it's not a plot-heavy film. I think the story of this film traverses, or travels in, these gestures, quite a bit of these gestures between and amongst men. I've never seen a black man cradle a black boy in a film before. I just haven't. I haven't seen a black man cook for another black man in a film before. I've never seen a black man, I think, cook for anyone in a film before. And these are very simple gestures that, one, are very nurturing, but also, two, are implicitly vulnerable on the part of the person extending the nurturing. They were very important because again, they keyed into this depiction of the full humanity of these characters." ON FINDING THE RIGHT ACTORS TO PLAY CHIRON AT DIFFERENT STAGES "It wasn't this idea of a physical similarity. It was the idea of this sort of spiritual essence that could be viewed in the eyes of the characters. Which is really hitting on this idea of this feeling in their eyes, because of this book by [three-time Oscar-winning editor] Walter Murch that I've always loved called 'In the Blink in an Eye.' And so we just tried to find these guys that had the same feeling. Because, when you look at Trevante Rhodes as Black in the third chapter, it was of the utmost importance to me that you could see that little boy who played him in the first story. You could still see Alex Hibbert. I think we see people that we pass all the time on the subway or the bus or the sidewalk, who look like Trevante Rhodes as Black in the third chapter of this film, and we would never believe that this person would dance in a mirror in his elementary school when he was ten years old. But they're the same person, you know? And when we were casting, it was very important to us that we could see that continuum between the characters." Moonlight is now showing in cinemas. Read our review here.
Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs come from the smallest inventions. A little over two weeks ago three Sydney-based butter enthusiasts launched a Kickstarter campaign for a butter knife with one slight design modification. Since then, they've raised over $220,000 in funding, attracted a steady flow of global media attention, and made hundreds of thousands of readers drool and slap their keyboards in excitable butter-loving anticipation. So, what's the deal? Humble though it may seem, this little piece of cutlery claims to solves one of humanity's age-old problems — how to evenly spread cold butter onto bread. "Say goodbye to hard clumps of butter ripping apart your morning toast," reads the product's Kickstarter page. The Stupendous Splendiferous ButterUp — yep, that's it's real name — "turns cold, hard butter into sumptuous easy to spread ribbons of dairy goodness." With a grater function incorporated into the knife's blade, the ButterUp slices up your unholy fridge butter and weirdly makes you feel like you're decorating your toast with cheese stringers. In case you can't fathom the enormity of this genius, here's a handy gif: Of course, this is a nice little invention. Anything that aids the consumption of butter generally gets a big fat thumbs up from us. But the response to the product has been truly staggering. Articles about the invention have been published by The Daily Mail, Wired, LostatEMinor, CBS, and Mashable. The project has ten days to go, and they've already surpassed their funding goal by over $180,000. "I have seldom previously had such a visceral reaction to something so simple," reads a comment on their Kickstarter page. "Too-hard butter has been a lifelong irritation and source of idle family chat as long as I can remember," said another supporter of the project. In fact, most responses from their nearly 9,000 backers have sounded a little like the actors from infomercials that seem to struggle with every daily tasks. Nevertheless, if you'd like to be part of the impending butter revolution, you can pledge money to ButterUp's Kickstarter campaign up until Wednesday, September 3. You can snag one for yourself for as little as $12 (or $15 if you want it delivered by Christmas). Either that or you can make like all of Europe and just leave your butter on the kitchen counter. For more information head to ButterUp's Kickstarter page.
When TERROR NULLIUS roared across screens in 2018, it remixed, repurposed and recontextualised Australian cinema and television's familiar sights and sounds with the nation's political reality, all to create a pointed portrait of the country today. The ochre-hued terrain, the famous faces, BMX Bandits-era Nicole Kidman, the Mad Max franchise's road warriors, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, Olivia Newton-John in her Grease leathers and the Rage intro — that and more was spliced into "a political revenge fable that takes the form of an eco-horror," as artist duo Soda Jerk describes it. Also featured: footage from 1988's bicentennial celebrations, snippets of Tony Abbott's speeches and examples of Mel Gibson at his abhorrent off-screen worst, to name a mere few of the film's melange of clips and sources. The result was not only a stunning piece of political art, but one of Australia's best movies of the past decade. It's also exactly what Soda Jerk do — and spectacularly — in their sample-based brand of filmmaking. Where TERROR NULLIUS traversed home soil, the pair's five-years-later next effort Hello Dankness turns its attention stateside. Co-commissioned by the Adelaide Film Festival and Samstag Museum of Art, it too is an experience that makes its audience see a wealth of recognisable imagery with fresh eyes, surveying glimpses of American suburbia to carve into the carnival that is America's political landscape-slash-hellscape between 2016–21. Ambition clearly isn't a problem for TERROR NULLIUS or Hello Dankness. Using hundreds of sources, with Hello Dankness featuring more than 300 film and TV clips, plus around 250 audio grabs, having an impact isn't a struggle, either. The former was called "unAustralian" by one of its funding bodies, ridiculously so. The latter enjoyed its international premiere at the 2023 Berlinale and just won the Best Narrative Feature Award at this year's Atlanta Film Festival. It "feels like some kind of stoned fever dream," Soda Jerk note of the movie's success so far. Next, Hello Dankness has stops at Dark Mofo and the Sydney Film Festival in June. This time, Soda Jerk have made what they dub "a suburban stoner musical rendered in the form of a cybernetic Greek tragedy". Here, everything from The Burbs and Wayne's World to Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar and The Social Network dance together — plus American Beauty, Friday, Napoleon Dynamite, This Is the End, Euphoria and PEN15 as well — alongside reminders of America's fake news-, conspiracy-, meme-, pandemic and culture war-ravaged society. That's where Donald Trump's Access Hollywood tape and Kendall Jenner's Pepsi ad come in, too. The soundtrack: songs from Cats, Les Misérables, Annie and The Phantom of the Opera, as everyone's favourite movies get the second life that no one other than Soda Jerk could've ever dreamed of to unpack a deeply polarised country and period. "There is no right way to inhabit the film," explains Soda Jerk, chatting with Concrete Playground about the movie's inspirations, ideas and process ahead of Hello Dankness' upcoming Aussie screenings. "There are many lulz to be had, but it's also an unsettling and weirdo ride. We've been genuinely floored by the kind of psyched enthusiasms it has received so far. Some of the screenings have been wild, almost grindhouse vibes," the pair continue. "But we're equally fond of one online hater who wrote that there are some things you should never have to see in your lifetime: one is how chicken nuggets are made and the other is Hello Dankness." ON DECIDING TO MAKE HELLO DANKNESS AFTER TERROR NULLIUS "Hello Dankness emerged in 2016 from a feeling of disbelief at the surrealness of US politics that was palpable at that time. There were Democrats eating babies, pedophiles communicating in pizza code and presidential pee-pee tapes. Conspiracies like these have always existed in the skanky corners of the derp web, but now they were circulating on boomer media sites like Facebook, Fox News and CNN. It was as though all the soberness had been sucked from reality and we had emerged into a stoned new world. So Hello Dankness really evolved as an attempt to document this sense of unreality, the raw feeling of it, and also what it might obscure or reveal about the shifting power contours of this moment. So we began Hello Dankness in 2016 and continued to research it concurrently throughout the two years we were making TERROR NULLIUS. When we wrapped TERROR NULLIUS in early 2018, we shifted to developing Hello Dankness as our sole focus. We spent four years working with ridiculous intensity on Hello Dankness from 2018 to late 2022. The adjacency of the two projects no doubt played a role in shaping their confluences and differences. While each is distinct in tone and genre, they're both national fables that offer a rogue account of political history." ON USING SUBURBIA TO PROBE AND SATIRISE AMERICA'S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE "Initially, we didn't know what form Hello Dankness would take — at one time, it was a cypherpunk political thriller based around Total Recall and 90s anime; at another time, it played out in the dystopian parallel universe of Back to the Future. But these kinds of sci-fi frameworks seemed to betray the sense of perverse ordinariness that also characterised the experience of the period 2016–21. For while so much of the pandemic was deeply upending and unprecedented, it's also true that we mostly experienced it from the numbingly familiar vista of our homes. So, accounting for this domesticity felt important, and this is what initially drew us away from sci-fi world-building and towards the imaginary of American suburbia. But we were also interested in placing the trad mythos of the suburbs under pressure, of thinking about the ways that this collective space has been reconfigured by the internet into increasingly privatised worlds and niche belief systems." ON THE PROCESS BEHIND HELLO DANKNESS — AND FINDING ALL THOSE SAMPLES "We don't work in a linear way; throughout our process we're constantly shifting between scripting, editing and sampling, depending on what's needed at any particular moment. It's a difficult process to untangle, and plays out differently for each project. With Hello Dankness, we had the added challenge that we were attempting to capture the contemporary moment as the ground kept shifting beneath us. From the outset, we knew we wanted to cover the period of the Trump presidency — but as history got sucked into a pandemic sinkhole in 2020 we had to scramble to fold in new events as they unfurled around us. We've been torrent freaks since Pirate Bay was a baby, so we've amassed a formidable archive over the past 20 years of our practice. This personal stash is usually the starting point for our research, and then we begin to target specific trajectories that we want to pursue in more depth. We're high-key obsessive about it, so if we're doing a deep dive into netsploitation flicks, we'll attempt to track down absolutely every source that's available. But sometimes the best samples emerge from happy accidents, so we try to leave room for looseness, too. There is definitely something contingent and compulsive about sampling, like there is with gambling. So much wasted time among sudden staggering windfalls. We're always out there in the trenches, digging for infinitively obscure and unlikely things we might not have seen before. Somehow though, the core samples that end up making their way into the project are usually ones we have a history with. We're like some kind of homing pigeon in that sense, always finding our way back to what we're already intimate with. We just can't seem to fight it." ON MAKING A STONER MUSICAL — AND ALSO A GREEK TRAGEDY "Stoner films and musicals made sense because they are genres that traffic in strange contortions of the everyday. Early iterations of the project also leaned heavily into the janky aesthetics of online culture and led us down many k-holes into YouTube Poop, shitcore music and advanced meme magic. Some of that still remains, but as we progressed the post-internet affectations became less literal and more encrypted. We also had an ongoing fixation with Greek tragedy that ended up shaping our conception of the characters as myths and masks." ON THE ESSENTIAL CLIPS THAT HAD TO BE IN HELLO DANKNESS "Often, the things we fall hardest for are the documentary artefacts. They're really at the centre of the way we work, and what we're trying to do, which is a kind of a contorted historiography in a sense. So with Hello Dankness, these artefacts included things like Alex Jones' InfoWars rants, Trump's Access Hollywood tape and Mark Zuckerberg's Harvard commencement speech. The Pepsi commercial was also very pivotal for us as a kind of muse for the whole project. Then there are the sources that are released while we're working on the film, that can be pretty special too. This was the case with Euphoria and PEN15 — they knocked us over in a good way." ON UNPACKING POLITICS THROUGH POP-CULTURE SAMPLES "What interests us is the idea of politics as a form of memetics, the way political messaging has begun to operate through a logic of virality and contagion. As a reality TV star, Trump's intuition for transforming reality into a compelling spectacle is undeniable. But there is also a quality to Trump that exceeds the image logic of TV. Obama's cool demeanour and deft oration connect him to the era of television, whereas Trump's scattershot presence is more suited to the virology of the internet. Trump is both shitposter and shitpost personified. We think of him as the first meme to hold office in the White House." ON TERROR NULIUS BEING CALLED "UNAUSTRALIAN" — AND THE NEED FOR FILMS LIKE IT AND HELLO DANKNESS "We've been thinking a lot about the kind of cultural shifts that have occurred since all that happened with TERROR NULLIUS. It seems pretty clear that both artists and institutions have become even more risk-averse than they were back in 2018. The spectre of social media retribution hangs like a fearsome cloud over cultural production and we feel that this has had a narrowing effect on the kind of work that's being made. It's also been gutting to witness the hideous creep of political art into content production and corporate brand collaboration. More than ever, we feel that artists need to remain committed to making difficult work, work that is pro-complexity. If political art doesn't make people uncomfortable then it's not a protest, it's a parade." Soda Jerk's Hello Dankness screens at Dark Mofo and Sydney Film Festival in June 2023 — we'll update you with future screenings around Australia and New Zealand when they're announced.
Before Game of Thrones ended its eighth-season run, HBO spent years telling the world that the end of the hit show wouldn't actually be the end. Firstly, the American cable network announced that it was considering five different prequel ideas. It then green-lit one to pilot stage, scrapped it and later picked a contender to run with: the upcoming House of the Dragon. It also opted to give novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg the TV treatment, too, and to work on an animated GoT show. And, it's been reported that another three prequels are also under consideration. Throughout all of this, GoT fans have been told one thing over and over, even without it being explicitly said. Our days of watching fiery fights between famous Westerosi names — and games over who gets tot sit on the Iron Throne — are far from over, clearly, and won't be for quite some time. And, now that House of the Dragon is getting nearer, dropping teasers and setting release dates (releasing in winter Down Under, when else?), that's glaringly apparent. HBO has just unveiled a new sneak peek at its first GoT spinoff and, yes, all of the basics are covered, including men being unhappy about the idea of a woman on the throne. Focused on House Targaryen — and including flame-breathing scaly creatures, naturally — House of the Dragon promises to dive into the chaotic family's past. That's intertwined with the entire history of the Seven Kingdoms, though. And, as the new footage makes plain, the prequel knows that everyone watching are all well aware of how things turned out when Daenerys Targaryen claimed power (even if this series — which is based on a George RR Martin book, Fire & Blood, of course — is set a couple of hundred years earlier). Cast- and character-wise, House of the Dragon stars Emma D'Arcy (Misbehaviour) as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the first-born child of King Viserys; Matt Smith (His House) as Prince Daemon Targaryen, the King's brother; Rhys Ifans (The King's Man) as Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King; Olivia Cooke (Slow Horses) as Alicent Hightower, Otto's daughter; and Steve Toussaint (It's a Sin) as Lord Corlys Velaryon, aka 'The Sea Snake', a nautical adventurer from a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen. These Westerosi folk all grace a tale that harks back to Aegon I Targaryen's conquest of the Seven Kingdoms — which is what started the hefty 738-page first volume in Fire & Blood's planned two-book series — and then works through the family's backstory from there. Aegon I created the Iron Throne, hence the returning favourite's prominence. Also, you don't have to be the Three-Eyed Raven to know that fighting, battles for supremacy and bloodshed are always a part of every GoT narrative. Popping up on camera as well: Paddy Considine (The Third Day) as King Viserys, Eve Best (Nurse Jackie) as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon and Sonoya Mizuno (Devs) as Mysaria, Prince Daemon's paramour. Behind the scenes, Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal are acting as the series' showrunners. Sapochnik has a hefty GoT history, winning an Emmy and a Directors Guild Award for directing 'Battle of The Bastards', helming season eight's 'The Long Night', and doing the same on four other episodes. As for Condal, he co-created and oversaw recent sci-fi series Colony, and co-wrote the screenplay for the 2018 film Rampage. The latest trailer follows an initial sneak peek back in October last year. Given there's still a few months until House of the Dragon's ten-episode first season starts airing, expect more to follow. That dance with dragons will arrive on Monday, August 22 Down Under, if you don't already have it in your calendar. Foxtel and Binge in Australia and SoHo, Sky Go and Neon in New Zealand will be doing the honours, if you're wondering where to direct your eyeballs. Check out the latest teaser trailer for House of the Dragon below: House of the Dragon will start airing on Monday, August 22 Down Under via Foxtel and Binge, in Australia and SoHo, Sky Go and Neon in New Zealand. Images: Ollie Upton/HBO.
Think of Thailand and you probably think of idyllic beaches, excellent food and lovely, welcoming people. But there's one more thing you can add to that list: trash. Specifically, agricultural and industrial waste. In the country's creative and industrial hubs, a group of environmentally conscious Thai brands are creating practical objects out of discarded materials and embodying the ethos of DEWA and DEWI, or Design from Waste of Agriculture and Industry — a method that uses design and creativity to both repurpose waste and minimise pollution. As the old saying goes: one man's trash is another man's treasure. And in this case, the proverbial trash has been repurposed to create treasure in the form of tableware, carry bags and eco-friendly upholstery. Pineapple by-products, unused medical gloves, car parts and even food scraps are all being transformed into products that are useful, eco-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. And as the other old saying goes: waste not, want not. We've teamed up with Thailand's Department of International Trade Promotion to showcase six brands that are solving environmental problems and hitting consumer demand all in one go by turning garbage into gold. THAI NUM CHOKE Thailand has a huge pineapple industry and that mammoth crop leads to a whole lot of pineapple leaves ending up as waste each year. The unwanted leaves are usually discarded via burning, causing an extra kick of waste, too. But it turns out this fibrous material doesn't need to go up in flames. At Thai Num Choke, pineapple leaves are transformed into fibres, yarns and even vegan leather before being reborn as bags, clothing and award-winning fabrics. Blended with industrial materials and hemp barks (another agricultural waste problem), the fabrics make for durable upholstery and beautiful, environmentally responsible leather. Thai Num Choke also uses natural dye sources and is looking at reclaiming other waste products to expand its innovative textile making. LAMUNLAMAI It's no secret that food waste is a big environmental issue. But what if that waste could end up back on the table — think, an egg cup made of eggshells, coffee accoutrements made of coffee grounds and a vase made of carrot pulp. At Lamunlamai, that's exactly what you'll find. Taking waste from individuals, restaurants and industry, Lamunlamai creates artisanal ceramic tablewares, the shapes and subdued natural hues of which are made to echo their source material. Utterly unique and with exquisite attention to detail, each piece is a beautiful work of art for the table which harks back to the company's origins in creating custom pieces and art installations. MUNIE The Delight Collection by Munie has very humble beginnings: weeds and waste. In Thailand, water hyacinths infest city drains and need to be regularly cleared. As it turns out, those tough but elegant masses of weeds can be turned into natural fibres that are light, quick-drying and absorbent. When woven into yarn with cotton scraps, this waste matter becomes a useful and beautiful fabric that can be used to make pillows, slippers, cushions, table-runners, hats and baskets. Munie supports a strong rural economy by investing in local workers, making its fabrics sustainable and socially conscious all the way along the production line. RUBBER IDEA Rubber Idea is a clever concept. In a post-plastic bag era, the 5 billion unused medical gloves that go to waste each year seemed like a golden opportunity to create recycled and reusable carry bags. After all, rubber is waterproof, easy to clean and the latex can be reconstituted and coloured in vibrant hues, giving you a functional and environmentally responsible bag that also provides a solution to a huge waste problem. It's not just bags that Rubber Idea has mastered. It also has a line of pet products including accessories, temperature-adjustable bedding and chewable and snack-dispensing toys. Because why shouldn't your beloved pet live the same environmentally conscious lifestyle as you? CHYWA You probably think about petrol pollution and the fossil fuels that are used to power your car regularly, but what about the environmental impact from the actual car itself? Airbags alone result in tonnes of waste each year across Asia, Europe and the US. But they're a durable material: tough, wrinkle-resistant and made to withstand stress and hard knocks. In other words, ideal for the outdoors. Chywa receives airbags and seatbelts from Thai garages and up-cycles them into outdoor lifestyle products. The range features stylish and functional camping gear including backpacks, folding chairs, shoulder bags and wide-brimmed hats. With tourism being an integral part of Thailand's economy, integrating sustainable practices to improve the ecological footprint of this industry makes complete sense. RENIM PROJECT Producing just one brand-new pair of jeans uses on average 7,600 litres of water and can create up to 60 kilograms of CO2 emissions. And when you think about how many new pairs of jeans are made each year, that's a lot unnecessary usage. With fast fashion being such a big polluter, consumers are wising up and looking for alternatives. The solution? Recycle, reduce and redesign denim via The Renim Project. This Bangkok-based label raises awareness around denim waste through Thai craftsmanship. Using all scrap parts — including zippers, buttons and leather labels — the project reforms waste into stylish new fashion items, such as eye-catching patchwork clothing, bags, accessories and even placemats and table runners. The Renim Project also collaborates on limited-run items that have made their way into LA Fashion Week. Keen to explore more waste-embracing Thai brands? For more information, visit the DITP website, or explore more of Thailand's booming creative scene here.
No one likes it when their phone rings from an unknown number, whether "no caller ID" or digits that you don't recognise flash up on your mobile's screen. Telemarketers isn't going to change that response. It won't dampen the collective ire that the world holds towards the pushy people on the other end of the line, either. HBO's thrilling three-part docuseries doesn't just reinforce what viewers already feel about the nuisance industry that thinks it can interrupt your day and life with a spiel that no one wants, and impact your bank balance in the process. In addition, it spins a true tale that demonstrates why a deep-seated dislike of telemarketing is so well-founded, and also why cold-calling operations can be so insidious. This true-crime story about the New Jersey-based Civic Development Group surpasses even the most call centre-despising audience member's low expectations of the field — and it's gripping, can't-look-away, has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed stuff. "Every other telemarketer who drives you crazy in the whole world is because of CDG," advises one of the series' interviewees. That might seem like a big claim, but co-directors Sam Lipman-Stern (Live From the Streets) and Adam Bhala Lough (The New Radical) step through its truth. The former knows the outfit's approach from experience, working there for seven years from the age of 14 after dropping out of high school, while the latter is the filmmaker cousin he wasn't aware of. Lipman-Stern is Telemarketers' on-screen guiding hand, too, but his ex-colleague Patrick J Pespas is its heart and soul. As seen early — with the show streaming its trio of chapters weekly via Binge since Monday, August 14 — Pespas is called a "telemarketing legend". Although he's happy snorting heroin on-camera in 2000s-era footage, he's switched on to CDG's shonkiness; more than that, he's determined to expose it even if it takes two decades. When Lipman-Stern began earning $10 an hour convincing ordinary Americans to donate to charities represented by CDG, he found himself at a place where anyone could get hired with few questions asked. The only requirement: bringing in funds while hitting the phone. As long as the company's employees kept making money, anything went. Those workers are a motley crew of vulnerable misfits in Lipman-Stern's low-res fly-on-the-wall footage, spanning not just dropouts and addicts but also ex-cons recruited directly from halfway houses and folks who didn't fit the usual nine-to-five grind. And their work environment? It "was like you was just going to a big-ass cookout every fucking day," one past staff member notes. Drinking, drugs, sex, nodding off on the phone, getting tattoos in the office, baby turtles crawling over keyboards, general seediness and raucousness that even telemarketing sitcom Workaholics didn't dream up: that was all a part of cashing a CDG cheque, as Lipman-Stern captured at the time, then uploaded to YouTube. Telemarketers' main pair and their boiler-room colleagues were paid to ring their way through the organisation's sales lists, rustling up financial support for police officers, their widows, veterans, firemen, dying children and cancer survivors. When it's the cops they're touting — typically under the Fraternal Order of Police, which is akin to a law-enforcement union — they also send out stickers emblazoned with the particularl lodge's logo. It usually goes unspoken, but those decals come with shifty promise: if you display them on your car, house or shop because you've slung some funds towards the police, you might get favourable treatment if an officer ever has cause to cross your path. Yes, that's dodgy. If only it was the most dubious aspect of CDG's gambit. Everywhere that Lipman-Stern and Pespas look, this tale gets worse. It's no wonder that Uncut Gems and Good Time filmmakers Benny and Josh Safdie are among Telemarketers' executive producers, plus Eastbound & Down's Danny McBride, Jody Hill and David Gordon Green. Barely giving any of the money raised to any of the charities represented? Tick. Using underhanded and forceful tactics, flat-out lying and adopting voices resembling a "cartoon caricature of police officer", all to con people into donating? Check there, too. Unsurprisingly attracting legal attention across several states, and multiple levels of government, yet managing to keep operating? Tick again. Slippery founders — two sets of brothers, one of which includes the member of a Christian rock band — who aren't fussed about CDG's ongoing legal troubles? Check once more. Turning nonprofit fundraising into a complete sham? Keep on ticking. Constantly devolving, whether by letting fear-inducing convicted murderers loose on the phones, using artificial intelligence to keep calls going without needing staff or capitalising upon America's increasingly polarised political landscape? That's all part of this story as well. Making for jaw-on-the-floor viewing, Telemarketers is a wild portrait of greed, exploitation and corruption — and while screens aren't short of those of late, this isn't a Succession or Squid Game-style eat-the-rich effort. There's nothing luxurious or stylish here. All that's on display is pure predatory behaviour from CDG's owners and their cronies towards everyone below them, employees and folks picking up the phone alike alike. Lipman-Stern and Pespas are as much scam victims as the people they called. But, when a disguised player in the industry notes that "it's not the telemarketers you should be worried about", Telemarketers gets even more sinister. When the strikes end, expect Hollywood to pounce on a dramatised remake. The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach could easily slip into Lipman-Stern's shoes, and Saturday Night Live and Mr Mayor's Bobby Moynihan into Pespas'. Fantasy casting aside, any future retelling of CDG's exploits needs Lipman-Stern and Pespas at its centre — because Telemarketers wouldn't be what it is without them, or even exist. As much as HBO's series is a takedown of a horrific swindle, it's also an ode to guerrilla journalism by a couple of average guys fighting back, and a character study of the pair as well. As the show jumps across 20 years, it surveys who Lipman-Stern and Pespas are, what changes in their lives, their evolving friendship, their commitment to exposing their old workplace and why they took up this battle. It also doesn't shy away from the fact that they're plucky amateurs doing what they feel compelled to. The Safdies were approached to direct Telemarketers, only to glean what audiences can now see: that authenticity couldn't be more crucial. When 2022 became a banner year for true-crime deceptions on-screen, unravelling real-life stories through Inventing Anna, The Dropout and more, polish reigned supreme. Getting an inside view from everyday sleuths taking on the crooks who gave them a gig, as chronicled through rough-around-the-edges footage and scrappy chats — that's a raw, like-you're-there experience, and it's both powerful and electrifying. So too is Lipman-Stern and Pespas' transformation as they get immersed in their investigation over the years. Initially, Lipman-Stern just wants to film office pranks, while the ever-earnest Pespas has his own personal tussles. Before our eyes, they become the tenacious duo revealing a billion-dollar fraud and bringing this stunning whistleblower documentary to the world. Check out the trailer for Telemarketers below: Telemarketers streams via Binge from Monday, August 14.
So far, 2022 has been the year of Wordle — of waking up, busting out your best five-letter guesses over your morning coffee, bragging about your prowess online, getting annoyed about American spelling and grumbling about changes since The New York Times took over the popular game, too. But come March, it'll also be the year of Celebrity Letters and Numbers for the second year running, because SBS is bringing back the star-studded version of its initial 2010–12 hit that first debuted last year. Whether you watched along back when famous folks weren't doing the puzzling, you've been hooked to repeats of old episodes over the past ten years or you jumped onboard when Celebrity Letters and Numbers premiered in 2021, there's no denying the joys of this simple but delightful game show. It celebrates clever contestants doing word and number brain-teasers, each episode has an engagingly low-key vibe — all while still remaining tense as competitors try to work out the right answers, of course — and it's very easy and immensely enjoyable to play along with from home. Accordingly, it's no wonder that SBS has made a second season of its new starry format, which'll start airing on SBS and via SBS On Demand from Saturday, March 5. Comedian Michael Hing is still on hosting duties, after taking over from the OG version's Richard Morecroft. Lily Serna is also returning to flip numbers and show off her maths skills, while David Astle will again tell contestants whether they've found real words or just made them up, all with his trusty dictionary in hand — as they've both done since before Letters and Numbers had an extra word at the beginning of its moniker. As happened during season one of Celebrity Letters and Numbers, they'll be joined by three different well-known faces and a special guest each week, some vying for glory and others sitting with Astle in dictionary corner — with season two set to feature Merrick Watts, Ben Law, Tanya Hennessy, Akmal Saleh, Susie Youssef and Aaron Chen, among others. And, this new run of episodes will again span an hour each, and feature 12 instalments. Making words out of nine randomly selected letters, using six also randomly chosen numbers in equations to reach a set figure, and rearranging a jumble of nine more letters into one lengthy word in the final round — that's still all on the bill, naturally, because it wouldn't be any version of Letters and Numbers otherwise. And yes, to answer the obvious question: this is basically SBS's Aussie version of the great 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (which SBS also airs, so it clearly knows that it's ace). Letters and Numbers, both with and without celebs, owes a big debt to a few European shows, in fact. When it first aired sans comedians more than a decade ago, the original Letters and Numbers took its cues from both French TV's Des chiffres et des lettres, which dates back to 1965 — and also from Britain's Countdown, which has been on the air since 1982, and then inspired 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. Check out the trailer for season two of Celebrity Letters and Numbers below: The second season of Celebrity Letters and Numbers will start airing on SBS and via SBS On Demand from Saturday, March 5, with new episodes dropping weekly.
Festivals have evolved. Nowadays, they're almost unrecognisable from the pits of despair we experienced in our teens — and there's a festival to suit almost everyone. If your bag is being terrified until you poop your pants, Horror Movie Campout is the festival for you. Last year they debuted in Sydney and Melbourne, and this year it's not only coming back, but spreading further. Brisbanites had their chance back in September, and Adelaide residents can embrace all things scary in late October. Basically, it's the Meredith of monstrosity, the Splendour of spookiness…kind of exactly like Stereosonic ain its current zombied state. So what goes on at a horror festival? Well, it's full of horrifying spectres and hair-raising scenes of horror (aka, your blood will literally curdle). We've had some clues from last year: yep, survivors camped out overnight in the woods (first mistake right there, seriously). They reported roaming zombies, all the classic pop-culture murderers you can shake your pathetic choice of weapon at and of course, menacing clowns. Not only do the organisers hire actors to scare the bejesus out of you, but everyone comes to event dressed in costume. So get down to your local stuff shop before they sell out of 1920s nightgowns, fake blood and Kabuki masks. You can expect a horrifying 'death chamber' maze, as well as a main stage with live music (will it be horrifying? They haven't specified, but probably). Then, the main event is a series of curated horror shorts followed by two headliners, decided by you, the victims. The Melbourne campout is happening on December 3 and 4 (giving you just enough time to recover from Halloween) at the very remote and haunted Point Cook Homestead. Hint: old Point Cook has seen its fair share of murders.
This summer has been all about rooftop bars. Bomba this, Loop Roof that — it's as though no one's noticed the apocalyptic heat and general exhaustion of the entire city. On the fifth day of a 40 degree heatwave, a roof is the last place you want to be. Perched at the top of a concrete jungle with some saccharine monstrosity melting in a martini glass? I'll be at my local, under the trees, with a cold pint pressed to my forehead, thanks. So, to save you the trouble, here's our round-up of the best beer gardens — the quiet achievers of a summer wisely spent in the suburbs. The Brunswick Green This large and welcoming watering hole is a mainstay of Sydney Road's already impressive pub circuit. Inside, the place is decked out in a loving and knick-knacky fashion that will make you feel snug and homely during winter, and outside, the expansive paved beergarden provides a relaxed oasis during summer's hotter days. Drop in for a cheeky pint during the day, or catch up with a group of friends under the coloured fairy lights at night. Note: bring your pocket money, it's unfortunately a cash only bar. 313 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, (03) 9381 2413 The Boatbuilders Yard We're not 100 percent sure if this is considered a beergarden, but it sure is pretty. Located right on the harbour at South Wharf, this relatively new bar is the place to go if you like your drinks served with a view. Designed by Six Degrees architects — the same people behind Auction Rooms and De Clieu — the venue operates with a functional simplicity that's refreshing to stumble upon on a summer's day. And, owned by the same people behind Riverland, the venue has some decent bar know-how. Aside from the extensive wine list, punters can look forward to pitchers of summer cocktails including a Spiced Rum Cooler, Aperol Spritz and the classic Pimms No. 1. 23 South Wharf Promenade, South Wharf, (03) 9686 5088, theboatbuildersyard.com The Standard Even Fitzroy locals would be forgiven for not knowing this place exists. Strategically tucked away on a one-way road off Brunswick Street, The Standard seems to punch well above its weight. Outside, an outdated Carlton Draught sign hangs from the awnings coated in flecking old paint, but inside lies a labyrinthine and tree-shrouded beergarden that's up there with the best of 'em. Similar to The Brunswick Green, the bar offers a comforting retro vibe with accumulated clutter covering the walls and faithful old bar staff that seem equal parts dependable and scary. But outside is where you'll be spending most of your time — a breezy little oasis that's well worth the search. (NB: If this were an article about parmas I would rave a little about their offering, but for now just trust me — it's good.) 293 Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy, (03) 9419 4793, thestandardhotel.com.au Village Melbourne Located on the former grounds of the much-loved Belgian Beer Cafe, Village Melbourne is a platinum player in the local beergarden circuit that has already made a huge name for itself anew. Located just off St Kilda Road, this sprawling and versatile venue was the home of last year's extremely popular Trailer Park, and will operate this summer as a stand-alone bar and brasserie with a largely American-inspired menu. Hello chilli dogs! 557 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, (03) 9529 2899, villagemelbourne.com.au The Great Northern Carlton is known for its poky little places. There are hundreds of small pizza joints with very large men spruiking them, there are great cafes down tight laneways — but people don't talk much about its big sprawling pubs. The Great Northern is a pub for pub-lovers — the ones who like to watch the footy and really know their beers. Boasting 22 taps with a regular rotation of craft beers including Mountain Goat, 2 Brothers, Stone & Wood, and a selection from the ever-present Brooklyn Brewery, this is definitely the place to go for a pint. 644 Rathdowne Street, Carlton North, (03) 9380 9569, gnh.net.au College Lawn Hotel Nestled in the terrace-lined backstreets of Prahran, this southside pub and bistro is a dependable local that no doubt gives its neighbours some grief over the weekend. In addition to a main bar, dining area, public bar, and bottle shop, the large astroturf-lined beergarden can house hundreds on hot summer days, and conveniently has an outside bar to cater for it. While it can be hard to get a table during their infamous Sunday Sessions, during the week this place is a relaxed little hideaway from the hustle and bustle of Chapel Street and offers great specials on pub grub including a $12 locals' night on Mondays. 36 Greville Street, Prahran, (03) 9810 0074, collegelawnhotel.com.au Northcote Social Club As you know, this place is an institution of the Melbourne music scene. But what you may not remember from those groggy head-banging nights, is that it also has a pretty decent beergarden out back. With big timber tables and some of the strangest assortments of people you'll ever see, NSC is not only a great venue to catch a cheap gig (seriously, most things still sit at around the $15 mark), but also the perfect meet-up for parmas and pints. It may not have a degustation menu or a long list of craft beers, but hey, maybe you can sneak into a show for free. 301 High Street, Northcote, (03) 9489 3917, northcotesocialclub.com Windsor Castle The brightest offering of the bunch, Windsor Castle, comes from the same school of thought as the Carlton Club — everything looks better with taxidermy. Sporting a kooky exterior coat of pink and lime-green paint, and a kookier interior of antlers, tusks and peacocks, this southern gem is really trying to make you take notice. That's not a bad thing though — you should. Come summertime, you'll want nothing more than to abscond to its suburban wilderness and bask in the light of its neon pink elephants. 89 Albert Street, Prahran, (03) 9525 0239, windsorcastle.com.au The Retreat This aptly-named Brunswick local is a step back in time — a time where pubs had character, live music was free, and every chair was vinyl. Still standing after 150 years, The Retreat is the first point of call for the Brunswick faithful, and a worthwhile trip for outsiders. The menu is a strange (but totally great) mixture of regular pub grub and mexican food, the drinks flow freely till 1am, and the beergarden, with its beautiful overhanging tree and constant buzz of laughter and conversation, might just be the best in Melbourne. 280 Sydney Road, Brunswick, (03) 9380 4090, retreathotelbrunswick.com.au Disclaimer: the author of this piece is currently employed pulling pints at the College Lawn Hotel. She was not influenced to include the venue by her managers, but rather by how nice it is to spend her breaks in its big beergarden over summer.
It was once a thriving hospitality empire with giant doughnuts on seemingly every corner, pink-hued ice cream parlours slinging hip hop-themed desserts, over-the-top cakes tempting tastebuds, and everything from luxe hotels to cruisy bars lining the streets (and sometimes the same block) of Brisbane. And, as far as those round, doughy iced sweet treats were concerned, Damian Griffiths' footprints spread right throughout Sydney and Melbourne too. Now, however, the mogul's string of businesses have faltered. Given how prominent Doughnut Time's heaving presence proved across the east coast — rapidly expanding to 30 locations in the three years between 2015 and 2017, plus its own food truck at one point — the brand's demise has been impossible to miss. After a tumultuous few months, where its pastel green-coloured hole-in-the-wall outlets once littered Brissie, Sydney and Melbourne's streets, empty stores painted stark white now sit. But Doughnut Time is just the tip of the iceberg — Griffiths has been caught up in bankruptcy proceedings, liquidation, attempted sales and more since late 2017. Hundreds have lost their jobs (some reportedly without payment) and there's been a huge cloud of uncertainty around what this means for the slew of venues that operate under Griffiths' name, particularly in Brisbane. If you're wondering what the situation means for some of your former favourites, here's a rundown. DOUGHNUT TIME The doughnut chain has been splashed across the headlines in recent weeks, and for good reason. Reports include failing to pay staff, breaching rental contracts and racking up huge debts, which ultimately led to a potential sale to former Doughnut Time CEO Dan Strachotta. When that fell through, the company went into liquidation and promptly closed all of its stores. There's now no salvaging the business — as reported by the ABC, liquidator Michael Caspaney has noted that "there is no money anywhere". Staff owed backpay and superannuation can seek compensation through the Australian Government's Fair Entitlements Guarantee, but only if they're an Australian citizen or permanent resident. MISTER FITZ While Doughnut Time has monopolised attention of late, Mister Fitz's apparent demise has flown under the radar — but visit one of its three former Brisbane sites and you'll find empty stores. Indeed, East Brisbane has been closed for at least a month, pre-dating the shuttering of Doughnut Time next door. Over at South Bank, where it also shared space with Doughnut Time, a sign advises "our lease has ended and we are planning bigger and better things." And, at the original Mister Fitz site in the Valley, a sign states "we are taking a little holiday while we undergo renovations" — with the confusing addition of "but don't worry, you can still find us at South Bank". LES BUBBLES Opening in 2015, Les Bubbles courted controversy from the outset. When you launch a bar and steakhouse in a site that was once Bubbles Bathhouse, a seedy underground casino and 'massage parlour' back in the late 80s, then you're clearly asking for attention. The Wickham Street joint got it — not just via its neon sign announcing "we regret to inform you we are no longer a brothel", but courtesy of a wind-up application from the ATO in November 2017, then administration this year. At present, it's still trading, after being sold to a business owned by Strachotta last year. CHESTER STREET BAKERY Les Bubbles wasn't the only Griffiths business in trouble in 2017. Around the same time that the ATO was pursuing the Valley joint, Chester Street Bakery was collapsing. The Griffiths-owned KTG Bakeries went under in November, with CSB's once-bustling Newstead store now sitting empty — with not a towering, rainbow-coloured piece of cake in sight. THE LIMES The original jewel in Griffith's hospitality crown, The Limes is up for sale, under the instruction of the receivers charged with managing the business at present. Expressions of interest close in April, but this isn't the first time it's been in this position, with an attempted sell-off in 2015 failing to come to fruition. The Limes is currently still taking bookings. ALFRED & CONSTANCE Alfred & Constance is also up for sale — separately from The Limes, but under the same instructions — with expressions of interest also closing in April. The Valley hangout has also garnered news headlines in the past few months after unexpectedly shutting up shop over the Christmas period, and failing to open for a planned New Year's Eve party, despite selling tickets (and not even bothering to notify patrons). Amidst questions about the venue's future given Griffiths' situation, it reopened in February and continues to trade. On-site restaurants Kwan Bros and Alf's Place remain closed, however. A&C and Kwan Bros have also been put up for sale previously, back in 2016.
Milky Lane might be best-known for its burgers named after Kevin Bacon, Drake and Post Malone, but that isn't the only reason that Australians hit up the chain's eateries. The sides menu is just as indulgent, including mac 'n' cheese croquettes and hot skillets of liquid cheese. So is the dessert range, complete with deep-fried Golden Gaytimes, plus Biscoff and Nutella pancakes. And the drinks? If you like creaming soda spiders but boozy, you'll find them here. Keen to sip Milky Lane's cocktails at home, too? Enter the brand's new range of tinnies. Three varieties are on offer — and yes, the creaming soda spider, a canned take on the cocktail that's made with vodka, watermelon, creaming soda and an ice cream mix in-store, is one of them. You can also get cans of lychee and passionfruit mojito, as well as the Bondi sour. In-stores, the first is a blend of white rum, sauvignon blanc, passionfruit soft drink, lemon, lychee and mint in-store — and the second is made with vodka, Aperol, passionfruit, pineapple, vanilla and egg whites. So, that's the mix of flavours you'll be tasting, but in versions made for tinnies. Your summer picnics, barbecues and beach trips can all now include Milky Lane's sips, with Milky Lane founder Christian Avant advising that the canned range was born of the growing demand "for high-quality, convenient cocktails at home". Available in packs of 16, or as a bundle that includes a pack each of all three varieties, these are limited-edition drinks with just 8000 cases available. There's no word on whether any other Milky Lane boozy concoctions will get the same treatment, but fans of its grape Hubba Bubba spiders, bubblegum sours, pine lime Splice sips, Nerd cocktails and shared sour apple Warhead beverages can cross their fingers. Milky Lane's RTD cocktails are available online via the chain's website.
A tasty new go-to for the hungry and time poor has arrived on Elizabeth Street. Chunky Town is a hole-in-the-wall serving up a cheesy Korean street food favourite inspired by carnivals and childhood memories. The 'Chunky' (as it's called) is a little like the Australian dagwood dog, but cheesier. It's made using a crisp batter and hunks of gooey cheese — and comes in seven different flavours. In Korea, it's served at one of the 200 Chung Chun stores around the country (the chain opened its OG store in Seoul's Gangnam district). In Australia, you'll find it at Chunky Town in Melbourne's CBD. How it works is simple: you pick your Chunky and your cheese filling, sprinkle it with sugar and load it with sauce at the counter. The bestsellers are the original Sausage Chunky with cheddar ($5.50) and the upgraded OG with stretchy mozzarella ($6.50). Other flavours include the Potato Chunky, the Noodle Chunky (which is dipped in crushed noodles), the black Squid Ink Chunky (all $7.50) and a vegetarian version with no sausage and lots of cheese. We suggest adding a side of crunchy waffle fries to your order for a salty hit, too. To drink, pick up one of the Korean bubble teas. The Thai-style milk tea and mango green tea are our top picks, but there are 21 different flavours to choose from. In the future, it's rumoured that Korean doughnuts (called Chunky Balls) will be added to the menu, too. The doughnuts are drizzled with maple syrup, condensed milk and seeds. It was Adam Ong, one of the four owners — alongside Adam Wang, Charles Park and Derek Lo — who wanted to bring the Korean treat to the Australian market. And, according to the group, there are big plans to expand across the city and country. So, keep an eye on this space for future openings. Images: Julia Sansone.
Richmond's newest venue has flipped the script on that classic ditty about turning paradise into a parking lot. Gracing a Swan Street space once home to a hire vehicle company's car park, you'll now find Pink Lemonade — a vibrant openair oasis decked out with eye-catching murals, Astroturf and fairy-lit palms. Bringing an injection of colour into this once concrete-heavy pocket beside Richmond Station, the al fresco watering hole underwent its striking transformation over the course of a couple of lockdowns. Owners Darren Legg and Brad Hicks pulled inspiration from their own favourite outdoor spaces and pastimes, commissioning local street artist and illustrator Juzpop, aka Justine Millsom, to beautify the site with a swath of art in vivid pinks, purples and aquas. [caption id="attachment_841704" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Art by Juzpop[/caption] Launched late December last year, Pink Lemonade now boasts an assortment of outdoor tables, shipping containers fitted out with timber booths and dry bars crafted from barrels, where punters can kick back sipping, sunning and socialising. More converted shipping containers house the Pink Lemonade bar — slinging spritzes, tap brews, boozy slushies and Grey Goose cocktails aplenty — and resident kitchen, Hells Bellz BBQ Smokehouse. It's dishing up US-style barbecue fare, available by the serve or loaded onto a meaty combination platter. Think, pork ribs, smoked chicken wings, kransky snags and house-made slaw, alongside plant-based options like grilled portobello mushrooms and mac 'n' cheese. More food trucks will be joining the rotation soon. [caption id="attachment_841703" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hells Bellz[/caption] As with all good outdoor drinking spots, this one will have a stack of things to fill your calendar with, too. Resident DJs are already spinning tunes every weekend, themed cinema nights are in the works, and there'll be plenty of dance parties and other music events to look forward to. Plus, kicking off this month is a series of weekly bottomless brunch sessions, set to run every Saturday. Meanwhile, onsite cafe Black Drum is slinging coffee, smoothies and toasties by day, conveniently located just a few steps from the station. Find Pink Lemonade at 23 Swan Street, Richmond. It's open from 12–9pm Friday to Sunday. Black Drum Cafe is at the same site, open 6am–3pm Monday to Friday, and 7am–3pm on weekends.
The Good Place wrapped up its existential laughs in 2020. The Office and Parks and Recreation have both been off screen for a few years now, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine will soon be coming to an end, too. So, you might be wondering where you're going to get your 20-minute servings of warmhearted comedy from in the future (other than from rewatching all of the above shows again and again, of course). Enter: Rutherford Falls. Each of these sitcoms, including the newcomer that you've never heard of until now, have one thing in common: they involve writer and producer Michael Schur. He held both roles on The Office, co-created Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and created The Good Place. Yes, he has a distinctive brand of humour — and it's a delight. With Rutherford Falls, the man behind a hefty amount of the past two decades' best comedies is reteaming with one of his past stars — and co-stars. Schur also actually appeared in The Office, playing Mose Schrute, cousin to Dwight. Here, he's working with Ed Helms again, who leads the new series as a descendant of the man his town was named after. Helms' Nathan Rutherford runs tours informing the public of his family's history, and his ancestor's founding of Rutherford Falls 400 years ago. He's also proud of the statue, nicknamed 'Big Larry', that sits in a prominent place. But when it is suggested that the sculpture should be moved, he isn't happy — all in a town that borders a Native American reservation and has hardly been respectful of that aspect of its heritage. As well as Helms, in his first ongoing TV part since The Office, the new comedy stars Jana Schmieding (Blast), Michael Greyeyes (I Know This Much Is True), Jesse Leigh (Heathers) and Dustin Milligan (Schitt's Creek). And, you'll be able to see if it lives up to its Schur-penned predecessors when it hits Stan on Friday, April 23, with its entire first season available to binge that day. Check out the trailer for Rutherford Falls below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmSK3XliTk4 Rutherford Falls will be available to watch via Stan from Friday, April 23.
Is there any activity that KFC doesn't think could be improved by fried chicken? Given that the fast-food chain has put on weddings, opened a pop-up nightclub, held a music festival and hosted an 11-course degustation, there clearly isn't. The next to join the list is holidays. Even better, the chook-slinging brand is serving up free holidays. Always wanted to know what KFC dishes up in other countries? Now you can head there to find out on the brand's dime. KFC is calling its giveaway Kentucky Fly Chicken, naturally. Is Kentucky on the destination list? That hasn't been revealed, because exactly where you could be spending time is being kept a surprise. The promotion starts on Tuesday, February 20, runs through to Monday, March 18, and includes giving away trips over four weeks. Each week's winner scores a jaunt to somewhere around the world were fried chicken is definitely on the menu, of course. To enter, you do indeed need to buy some KFC first. Wannabe travellers can hit up the KFC app, then look for the international products among the usual range. They'll stand out in terms of what they're dishing up, but they're hidden. Locate them, spend at least $1 on an order, then cross your chicken-loving fingers that you emerge victorious in the winners' draw. Whatever the special meal is that you're looking for on the app, the nation that it's from is where you'll be flying to if your name is picked. And while there's only four trips on offer now, the campaign unofficially started with a fifth getaway which has already been won. It was to Tokyo, and involved spotting the wafu cutlet burger on the Aussie app, then jetting to Japan to try it in-person. The four folks who receive the rest of the prize getaways will get business-class flights, four-star accommodation, plus $6000 in total in cultural experiences and spending money while you're there. KFC is calling the promotion a travel service, because arranging your itinerary is covered. Depending on the destination, this might be an excuse to break out your KFC sweater — or your bucket hat from the chain's 2023 couture line. To enter the Kentucky Fly Chicken promotion, head to the KFC app between Tuesday, February 20–Monday, March 18, look for the international products among the menu and spend at least $1 on an order. Visit the KFC website for more details.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Wotif.com. Writer Benjamin Law recently performed a glorious piece of erotic fan fiction about his two culinary idols, Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer. We'll spare you the gory details, but the story involves a fair bit of verjuice and self-saucing pudding. The two food goddesses both call South Australia home, because, basically, that's where the good food and wine is. Restaurateurs in Adelaide respect the exceptional produce and wine at their doorstep. Here are ten who are doing it very nicely indeed. BISTRO DOM South African born chef Duncan Welgemoed brings the best of his training under Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal to Bistro Dom on Waymouth Street in the CBD, where he’s serving up French-inspired cuisine such as steak tartare ($19.90) and duck with boudin noir, apple and cinnamon ($39.90). While Welgemoed has a keen interest in the science of cooking, you’ll see no clouds or foams here; his focus is on showing off the produce, unadorned and simple. Bistro Dom boasts a truly varied wine list of French, German and boutique local wines. Make sure you have a crack at the Alpha Box and Dice ‘Tarot’ from McLaren Vale — an elegant blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Tempranillo. 24 Waymouth Street, Adelaide Street ADL and Orana A two-part venture from chef Jock Zonfrillo, together Street ADL and Orana span two levels, offering two unique dining experiences within the one venue. Downstairs is Street ADL; it's informal, casual and accessible, offering up ‘Australian street food’ such as pulled kangaroo sangas, cheeseburgers, Goolwa pipis and lamingtons. Venture upstairs, however, and it's a whole different story. Orana is delicate, intimate (it only seats 25 guests) and very much a fine dining experience. The food continues to tread the line of Australiana, with Zonfrillo paying homage to rich flavours of the land. 285 Rundle Street, Adelaide RUBY RED FLAMINGO Ruby Red Flamingo has an ever changing menu of Italian share plates and a blackboard wine list with Italian wines including Nero D’Avola. Snuggle down in front of their open fireplace with a comforting favourite like macaroni with eggplant and smoked mozzarella or osso bucco risotto. 142 Tynte Street, North Adelaide Peel Street Tucked away on Peel Street (go figure) this restaurant may not look like it's got a lot going on, but once you step in, see the food slapped on the concrete bench, let the smell of freshly baked goods hit your nostrils and take a seat, there'll be no desire to ever leave. Open from 7.30am on weekdays and serving up dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, Peel Street has quickly become a favourite amongst city dwellers — particularly those who frequent the small bar scene in the adjoining streets. If you like what you see on the counter, order 'from the concrete', or otherwise order something bigger 'from the blackboard'. Whatever you go for, you won't be disappointed. And you will be taking a muffin, pie or cupcake on your way out. 9 Peel Street, Adelaide Gin Long Canteen Gin Long has been open for little over six months, but already it's a favourite. You might be hard off getting a seat on a Friday or Saturday night; don't let that deter you because this is possibly the closest Adelaide comes to modern Asian. As well as rice paper rolls and betel leaf cigars, expect to chow down on gin long wings, nom nom barramundi, spicy caramel chicken and sticky braised pork belly. The cocktail list makes it extra fun, and the whole space is spot on — worth the wait, if you ask us. 42 O'Connell Street, North Adelaide MAGILL ESTATE RESTAURANT Magill Estate is the showcase restaurant for Penfolds wines just out of the city in the Adelaide foothills. Head chefs Scott Huggins and Emma McCaskill deliver an ever changing degustation menu designed to show off the Penfolds range (and not just the '51 Grange) starting off with calamari, chlorophyll and preserved lemon and finishing with South Australian Mayura wagyu with radishes and mustard. 78 Penfolds Road, Magill PRESS FOOD AND WINE Press Food and Wine is a new addition to the Adelaide dining scene, and a very welcome one. The two-level restaurant on Waymouth Street is at once homely and elegant. Head chef Andrew Davies prides himself on in-house pickling and curing and their custom-made chargrill. A la carte and degustation menus are on offer, with sophisticated starters such as king fish and pickled radish ($21) and heartier mains such as house-made pappardelle with blue swimmer crab ($29). 40 Waymouth Street, Adelaide EROS OUZERI Eros Ouzeri is a bit of an Adelaide institution. The grand daddy of Rundle Street, its cafe is home to the best damn kataiffi in town and the restaurant proper will sort you out with classic Greek mezze fare such as grilled haloumi, octopus and gyros as well as heartier mains such as lamb shoulder ($29.90) or a charred Angus fillet with mustard skordalia ($35). All this deliciousness is accompanied, of course, by a robust, SA-faithful wine list. Head in for a lunch banquet ($45) and let the famously hospitable Eros staff welcome you to the fold. 277 Rundle Street, Adelaide The Grace Establishment Located on The Parade — which is generally busy with shoppers and alfresco diners, but don't let that put you off — The Grace Establishment is a nice option for a sit-down lunch without breaking the bank. Relatively new and still very shiny, it's part bar, restaurant and beer garden, meaning you can sit indoors or out for a charcuterie board, plate of Kinkawoona mussels or a hearty SA sirloin. 127 The Parade, Norwood GOLDEN BOY RESTAURANT Golden Boy Restaurant popped up last year to feed the hungry punters at the Botanic Bar at the East End of the city and it has quickly become a destination in its own right, serving honest, home-style Thai food in a relaxed setting. Open till midnight, Golden Boy offers the perfect late-night fix of spicy chicken wings and pork belly — you can lick your fingers in style. 309 North Terrace, Adelaide Words by Lauren Vadnjal and Jessica Keath. Peel Street image courtesy of Kristina Dryža via Facebook.
Sitting on the toilet can be a time of contemplation for a lot of us. If your mind ever wanders to the sustainability and style of your toilet paper, Wipe That has you covered. This new sustainable startup has launched a quirky new Christmas collection of bamboo toilet paper that will ease any stress about the environmental impact of your toilet breaks, and make a great gift for friends and family as the holiday season approaches. The star of the Christmas collection is a stylish little character named Poocci. Brought to life by graphic designer Bernardo Henning, Poocci plays off a certain luxury fashion house, rocking a chain and sunnies in order to brighten up your toilet paper. What was once Australia's most in-demand grocery store item is now a cutting-edge fashion statement (of sorts). Non-recycled toilet paper is a major cause of deforestation worldwide, so if you haven't made the switch, now's the perfect time to embrace the wonders of bamboo. The planet and your tush will thank you. All of Wipe That's three-ply toilet paper is environmentally friendly, vegan, plastic-free, and scent-free. It has also partnered with Australian revegetation project Carbon Neutral to ensure a tree is planted for every sale it makes. This new collection means that toilet paper is no longer a dud present come Christmas time. Your eco-conscious relatives will love it, or you can grab a pack for yourself to impress those who might be visiting your place for holiday celebrations. Stock is limited for the Christmas collection, so jump on the pre-sale if you'd like to get your paws on this loo roll. Each 36-roll box is available for $58, contains a personalised Christmas card and is available to be delivered Australia-wide between December 1–14. Outside of the collection, Wipe That offers sustainable toilet paper on a one-off or subscription basis, as well as eco-friendly laundry detergent sheets. You can shop Wipe That's entire range at the website. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Boasting zombies, cats, ramen, crime and a Palme d'Or-winning filmmaker, the annual Japanese Film Festival is back — and it's making its way around the country with a hefty lineup. Touring Sydney until November 25 and Melbourne from November 22 until December 1, JFF's 2018 iteration delves into the breadth of Japanese cinema. Indeed, ranging beyond the usual suspects is where this festival excels. Everyone loves Studio Ghibli and Godzilla, two of the Asian nation's biggest cinema icons; however there's more to Japan's film industry than gorgeous animation and giant beasts. Much, much more, in fact. JFF features 31 movies that prove that's the case, including our six must-see picks. Because this festival really is all about variety, one of them even stars Josh Hartnett. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du2XfUDfjN0 ONE CUT OF THE DEAD A box office extravaganza in Japan that has made its super low budget back several hundred times over (yes, several hundred), One Cut of the Dead starts out like many a zombie flick. Combine a group of people, a creepy setting and a sudden attack of the undead, and you know what you're in for — even if the victims are a team of filmmakers making a zombie movie, and even if it's all initially captured in one unending take. With Shinichiro Ueda's movie, however, you really don't know what you're in for, even when you're certain that you do Saying more is saying too much, but this is a smart, energetic and highly enjoyable take on a busy genre that has a heap of tricks and twists up its sleeves. Book here. https://vimeo.com/252904630 OH LUCY! Resembling a reversal of Lost in Translation, Oh Lucy! follows a Japanese woman seeking more in her life — and finding it in an American in Tokyo. That said, this engaging drama is never quite that straightforward. When the single and unhappy Setsuko (Shinobu Terajima) falls for her English teacher John (Josh Hartnett), she's also trying to hold onto the blonde wig-wearing alter-ego, Lucy, that he's asked her to adopt as part of their lessons. Terajima is fantastic as a lonely soul seeking a different future that she didn't know she wanted, while Japanese-American director Atsuko Hirayanagi combines a somewhat whimsical scenario with deep character insights as she adapts her short film of the same name. Book here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f0nXOk8kJk THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES The cutest film on this or any film festival lineup this year, The Travelling Cat Chronicles isn't afraid to dial up the emotion. Splashing such strong feelings about works a treat for this book-to-screen adaptation, with themes of loyalty, positivity and kindness shining through. The four-legged Nana is an ex-stray cat who is taken in by the kindly Satoru (Sota Fukushi), but her human companion eventually has to find the feisty feline a new home. As they hit the road to visit Satoru's friends, this heartfelt film steps through his backstory and his time with his adorable moggie, all with Nana offering her thoughts. As an ode to the joys of having a pet through life's ups and downs, this moving movie is a sweet delight. Book here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plr3V4TYBQE THE THIRD MURDER Before Hirokazu Kore-eda made one of 2018's great movies in the form of Palme d'Or-winning family drama Shoplifters, the prolific Japanese director stepped into the world of crime. The Third Murder might seem like a departure for a filmmaker known for exploring the bonds of blood, but this quiet yet poignant effort hews closer to his preferred territory than it initially appears. After Misumi (Koji Yakusho) is arrested for murder and robbery, lawyer Shigemori (Masaharu Fukuyama) is tasked with finding the truth, although that proves far from a simple task. A big winner at this year's Japanese Academy Awards, the end result takes Kore-eda's trademarks into darker yet no less open-hearted and empathetic terrain — complete with his usual winning way with actors. Book here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slop_4sK5PE THE BLOOD OF WOLVES Crime is a gritty, bloody, pulpy business in The Blood of Wolves — and a violent one, too. That's typically the case in yakuza dramas, which filmmaker Kazuya Shiraishi has clearly seen plenty of; however he has still crafted an involving addition to the fold that nods to the past while standing on its own merits. Detective Ogami (Koji Yakusho) and his newly graduated partner Hioka (Tori Matsuzaka) drive the action as they attempt to find a missing person, only to be drawn into the all-out gang turf war that's taking over the city. Set in Hiroshima in 1988, this Japanese underworld flick doesn't hold back, including when it comes to gruesome interrogations — and to ramping up the brutal thrills. Book here. WILDERNESS A word of warning: Wilderness isn't a quick endeavour, with this marathon two-part film clocking in at more than five hours. JFF will screen it with an intermission; however this epic cinema experience is worth getting cosy for. Based on a 1961 novel, Yoshiyuki Kishi's feature might take place just three years in the future now, in 2021, but it has much to say about Japanese society and its expectations, as well as about male friendships. Ultimately a boxing-focused drama set in in a Tokyo that's crumbling rather than bustling, and exploring the stories of quick-tempered Shinji (Masaki Suda) and shy Kenji (Yang Ik-June), this lengthy effort packs a considerable punch. Book here. The Japanese Film Festival screens at Sydney's Event Cinemas George Street from Thursday, November 15 to Sunday, November 25, and at Melbourne's Australian Centre for the Moving Image from Thursday, November 22 to Sunday, December 2. For more information, visit the festival website.
Within the walls of the heritage-listed Bank of Australia building on the corner of Collins and Queen streets lies comforting, modern pub with just enough sophistication and elegance that will knock your standard mid-week lunch out of the park. Bringing affordable luxury to the precinct, the polished new eatery is the latest venture from hospitality group Retail Savvy, who also operate Asian Beer Cafe, Father's Office and the Shaw Davey Slum. Best start queuing now. The restaurant and bar is split across the ground and mezzanine levels, ensuring the building's grand atmosphere has been retained. Amenities include a 17-metre-long bronze bar, 18 copper beer taps, three gold wine taps, a private cocktail area and a private dining room that caters to 20–24 people. On weekdays, the venue offers a $25 express lunch option complete with a schooner or glass of wine — a pretty excellent option for CBD office workers. Later on, happy hour runs from 5–7pm with $5 glasses of house wine, $6 schooners, $7 spirits and $12 cocktails.
Fancy spending your next coastal getaway in Queensland's far north, splashing in the tree-lined waters of Palm Cove? If so, you'll be swimming in the best beach in the world. That's the verdict of Condé Nast Traveller, which has picked the Sunshine State locale near Cairns as the top patch of sand globally. While plenty of folks Down Under happily trade our own beaches for Hawaii's when it comes to enjoying a tropical holiday, Palm Cove pipped Honopu Beach in Kauai, which came in second. In fact, half of the top ten on the list of 34 beaches hails from Australia and New Zealand. Wategos Beach in Byron Bay took out fourth, Mona Vale Beach in Sydney sits at sixth, Noosa Beach in Queensland ranked eighth and Awaroa in Abel Tasman National Park in Aotearoa came in at ninth. Elsewhere in the top ten, Brekon in Shetland, Scotland placed third; Ora Beach, Maluku, Indonesia sits in fifth spot; Dune du Pilat, France ranked seventh; and Die Plaat, Walker Bay Nature Reserve, South Africa notched up tenth. [caption id="attachment_944619" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Palm Cove[/caption] Palm Cove was chosen for being a quieter spot that's "usually free of crowds", although that might change after topping this ranking. "The combination of leaning palm trees on powdery sand makes Palm Cove Beach the epitome of a tropical paradise," said Condé Nast Traveller, also pointing out its proximity to the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, as well as being able to see dolphins and whales from the Palm Cove jetty. Queensland's tourism bodies are already hoping for an influx of visitors thanks to the attention. "The Condé Nast Traveller selection of Palm Cove as the first in this curated list will bring international travellers to its coconut palm-fringed shore to dine in beachfront restaurants and cafes and relax at stunning resorts," said Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen. [caption id="attachment_944618" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Palm Cove[/caption] In total, seven Down Under beaches made the cut, with Western Australian beaches getting some love, too. Turquoise Bay in Exmouth placed 22nd and Gantheaume Point in Broome came in at 25. All Australian and NZ destinations included on the list were in the top 25. Palm Cove being named the world's best beach comes shortly after Sydney's Manly Beach was picked as the seventh best beach in the world for 2024 by Tripadvisor, and Victoria's Squeaky Beach was chosen as Australia's best beach for this year by beach expert Brad Farmer AM. Queensland keeps scoring attention as well, with Brisbane named one of the best places to go in 2024 by The New York Times, travel guide Frommer's also selecting the city as one of 2024's best spots to visit, TIME putting it on its world's greatest places list for 2023 and the World's Best 50 Hotels picking The Calile as its only Australian and Oceanic entry in its inaugural countdown in 2023. [caption id="attachment_944621" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Palm Cove, Emma Shaw[/caption] Condé Nast Traveller's Top 34 Beaches: Palm Cove, Queensland, Australia Honopu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii Brekon, Shetland, Scotland Wategos Beach, New South Wales, Australia Ora Beach, Maluku, Indonesia Mona Vale Beach, New South Wales, Australia Dune du Pilat, France Noosa Beach, Queensland, Australia Awaroa, Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand Die Plaat, Walker Bay Nature Reserve, South Africa Grand Anse, Grenada Keem Bay, Achill Island, Ireland Fakarava, French Polynesia Marathonisi, Zakynthos, Greece Praia do Sancho, Brazil Chesterman Beach, Vancouver Island, Canada Anse Source d'Argent, Seychelles Seagrass Bay, Laucala Island, Fiji Hidden Beach, Palawan, Philippines Ile aux Cerfs, Mauritius Tortuga Bay, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos Turquoise Bay, Western Australia, Australia Pink Sand Beach, Barbuda Playa Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica Gantheaume Point, Western Australia, Australia Dolfynstrand, Namibia Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach, North Carolina Rauðasandur Beach, Iceland Jibei Island beach, Taiwan Uig Sands, Isle of Lewis, Scotland Benguerra Island, Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique Al Mughsail, Salalah, Oman Playa Paraiso, Cayo Largo del Sur, Cuba Luskentyre, Outer Hebrides [caption id="attachment_651421" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mona Vale Beach[/caption] [caption id="attachment_944620" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Palm Cove[/caption] [caption id="attachment_835908" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Noosa[/caption] [caption id="attachment_791437" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Awaroa, Kiwi Canary[/caption] [caption id="attachment_844181" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Turquoise Bay, Tourism Western Australia[/caption] [caption id="attachment_897204" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gantheaume Point, Tourism Western Australia[/caption] For more information about Condé Nast Traveller's best beaches, head to the publication's website.
The team behind one of Melbourne's most acclaimed Japanese restaurants, Ishizuka, has opened their second venue, Oden, on Bourke Street in Melbourne's CBD. The new restaurant offers Melburnians a refined interpretation of the traditional and treasured Japanese dish oden, a hot pot dish of various ingredients such as vegetables and fish cakes simmered gently in a light broth. Executive Chef Katsuji Yoshino explains, "Oden is deeply rooted in Japanese history and offers unparalleled comfort, especially suited to Melbourne's cool winters." Yoshino will follow the lead of traditional oden establishments in Japan and take inspiration from locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. Yoshino's menu includes individual oden pots, appetisers, and grilled skewers. The incredible list of ingredients available to add to the oden pots includes prawn balls, octopus cakes, avocado, abalone, sausage, fish cake, fried tofu patties and enoki mushrooms. There are also luxe signature add-ins on offer, such as a half-boiled egg with truffle, a caviar tomato and an eel omelette. The restaurant's elegant and refined concept is reflected in its design. The sleek fit-out is the work of award-winning architecture group Russell & George, which has taken inspiration from traditional oden cooking pots to bring the hammered copper aesthetic to life. Owner Melanie Zhang is no stranger to refined Japanese cuisine. Her fine-dining establishment, Ishizuka, showcases the Japanese craft of kaiseki, a decadent yet delicate degustation-style meal. "Oden has long been one of my favourite dishes, and being able to bring this iconic culinary tradition to Australia in such a sophisticated way is truly a proud moment", says Zhang. "We are creating a space that honours both the traditional roots of Oden while elevating it to a new level, offering our guests a luxurious yet comforting dining experience." Images: Jana Langhorst
Next year, Melbourne is set to score an injection of green space in an unlikely location — namely, the top of a multi-storey carpark in the Seafarer's precinct, overlooking the Yarra. Part of the 2000-square-metre rooftop site is being transformed to create a new urban farm and sustainable oasis known as Melbourne Skyfarm. Two years after plans for the project were first revealed, City of Melbourne this week outlined the latest designs and confirmed its launch is scheduled for some time in late 2022. Once complete, Skyfarm will encompass a working urban farm, along with a cafe, event spaces and an environmental education centre, all championing sustainability and showcasing the best in eco-friendly urban practices. Work on the site has already kicked off and will continue over the next 12 months, with the farm, orchard and plant nursery to launch first. It's a game-changing agricultural set-up, too, built on Biofilta's advanced self-watering wicking bed farming system Foodcube. [caption id="attachment_719606" align="alignnone" width="1920"] An early render of Melbourne Skyfarm[/caption] Thanks to this high-tech piece of innovation, Skyfarm will have the capacity to grow over five tonnes of fresh produce each year, most of which will be donated to food charity OzHarvest. The rest will be used by the onsite kitchens to create seasonal, hyper-local menus for the 90-seat Skyfarm cafe. People will be able to wander through the farm and see its various programs at work, before hitting the eatery for a feed built around ingredients grown onsite and those sourced from other sustainable Victorian producers. All the site's hospitality elements will be centred on a low-waste approach, too. Meanwhile, a pioneering workshop and classroom facility will be dedicated to educating students and others about a wide range of sustainability practices, from urban biodiversity and zero-waste living, to renewable energy. Skyfarm is also set to play host to three dedicated event spaces, should you want an eco-conscious setting for your next shindig. Melbourne Skyfarm is being brought to life by a collection of locally-based sustainability companies, including urban farming experts Biofilta, The Sustainable Landscape Company and nature protection group Odonata. Further funding has come courtesy of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) and the City of Melbourne Urban Forest Fund. Melbourne Skyfarm will be built in stages over the next 12 months, due for completion in late 2022. For more details about what's in store, see the website.
Melbourne's northern suburb of Reservoir is now home to a brand new craft brewery — and it's doing things a little differently. Future Mountain Brewing and Blending is focused on creating farmhouse-style brews, inspired by the old world taprooms of Europe and a growing trend in the States. Expect wild fermentation ales and barrel-aged sours on offer in small batches here. Co-owners Ian Jones and Shane Ferguson have five years' experience in the field, having met at Boatrocker Brews — which is also known for its wild and sour ales. Their partners Elisa Jones and Kara Rasmanis (respectively) have joined them in this new venture, too. Apart from using wild yeast and bacterial strains, the team has also partnered with local Yarra Valley fruit growers, wineries and coffee roasters to create truly seasonal brews. At the moment, the venue's 12 taps are pouring apricot, cherry and peach sour beers, along with a white ale, a golden sour blend, two German-style pilsners and two farmhouse ales. Upcoming beers include a hoppy saison, raspberry barrel-aged sour and a bourbon barrel-aged oatmeal stout for the winter months. The taproom is set amid stainless steal tanks and oak barrels. For food, there are pides, flatbreads and pies available in house, along with delivery from neighbouring pizza joint Unique Gourmet Pizza Bar and all the Uber Eats you fancy. Wild ales and European-style farmhouse brews are becoming increasingly popular in Australia, with Sydney also home to Wildflower Brewing and Blending and plenty of breweries starting up barrel-aged programs around the country. Future Mountain Brewing and Blending is now open at 703–707 Plenty Road, Reservoir. Opening hours are Friday 4–11pm, Saturday noon–11pm and Sunday noon–8pm.
There's no such thing as an ordinary dish to chef Nelly Robinson, namesake of and driving force behind Sydney restaurant NEL, as his degustation menus keep demonstrating. KFC? Lamingtons? French onion soup? Pots of honey? They can all be given a fine-dining twist, and have. Paddington Bear's marmalade sandwiches? They're next. For the Harbour City restaurant's latest 11-course feast, it's going all in on dishes inspired by England. The theme: great British memories. So, of course everyone's favourite talking bear and his sandos get a nod. So do beef wellingtons, scampi and beer, Sunday roasts and chocolate orange. This limited-time special hits NEL from Wednesday, August 16–Saturday, September 30 — and, like all of the eatery's degustations, is a bucket list-worthy meal for Sydneysiders and visitors alike. That nod to Paddington Bear? It's made with Davidson plum marmalade, and dished up in a suitcase. And those NEL-style beef wellingtons? They're whipped up from slow-cooked stout beef cheeks, which come wrapped in cime di rapa, then topped with carrot puree and English peppercorn sauce. The pub grub-esque scampi and beer is a prawn-filled tart mayonnaise seasoned with and tajin, also featuring avruga caviar, and paired with a sarsaparilla-flavoured drink. As well as the chocolate orange — which doesn't resemble the Terry's supermarket-sold version — and the riff on a roast, spins on gammon and eggs, cheese and onion, fish and chips, korma scallops, and rhubarb and custard feature. Robinson is drawing upon his own formative years. "The team knew exactly where I was coming from when crafting of this menu began. It was really special to create a whole new menu honouring my childhood and roots," the chef advises. "As always, we have paired it with some sensational wines, too." Patrons can tuck in for $185 per person, with matched beverages starting at $85 each on top. NEL's great British memories degustation is on offer on from Wednesday, August 16–Saturday, September 30 at 75 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney. For more information or to book, head to the NEL website.
Fans of caffeinated cocktails, your time to shine has arrived. The Ascot Lot is bringing back one of its most popular drinks fiestas, dedicated to the humble espresso martini. Running from Saturday, June 11–Sunday, June 12, the Espresso Yourself festival is set to dish up a caffeine-charged celebration showcasing no less than five signature espresso martini varieties. The team's been hard at work creating coffee cocktails for all tastes; from the orange-infused Jaffa Smasher, to the blend of coconut, chocolate and espresso they call the Bounty Hunter. Swing by the food truck park from noon to sample all five varieties, including an expertly crafted traditional version, of course. The cocktails will be going extra cheap at just $12 a pop all weekend, or you can grab a $49 Espresso Yourself Pass to sample the whole lot in one sitting. As always, there'll be plenty of food trucks on hand and stacks of dogs to pat, plus DJ's dishing up tunes right through the day. Espresso Yourself will run till 10pm on Saturday and 9pm on Sunday.
The year is 2028, and Detroit crime is out of control. At least, that's what we're told. The city, frankly, has never looked better. But trust us: lots of crime. Omnipresent corporation OmniCorp is trying to get its new robot cops approved for use in the US, but Washington won't allow machines to have control over life and death. Enter noted human Alex Murphy, An Honest Detroit Cop who, thanks to a pesky explosion, is now in desperate need of a robotic suit that will keep him alive and also help fight crime. The two were meant to be together! If you haven't seen the original 1987 RoboCop, then fix that right now. It combines the two best things about 1980s cinema: a dystopian science fiction setting and a cop taking out drug dealers and other corrupt cops. But it's remembered as a classic, however, because of how sharply it satirises American culture. It may look like a dumb action film, but it's clever as hell. This 2014 remake is, at least, clever enough to aim for the same target. It opens with a right-wing talk show pundit and a futuristic — but all too familiar — Middle East war on terror. Rather than simply imitating classic scenes from the original, this new film sets out to do its own thing, to update the references, and that attempt is admirable. The problem is that this satire — which we'll come back to — is hung upon a fairly piecemeal story. There's little that propels it forward, and we're never left wondering how things could possibly turn out for our heroes. The mysteries are barely concealed; the nefarious plots, basic; the villains, flagged in the opening scenes. Minutes after the film is over, you'll be left with a few key images, but no idea what actually happened. Joel Kinnaman plays Murphy/RoboCop, and does a decent job with it. Murphy's hardly the most compelling character, but the struggle to maintain his humanity is handled with more care than most films of this ilk would bother with. The rest of the cast is more recognisable, filling out supporting roles with the likes of Samuel L Jackson, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K Williams, Jennifer Ehle and Jay Baruchel. The satire, though welcome, ultimately fails. Samuel L Jackson's talk show host gives the feeling that they reverse-engineered a conservative pundit based on Stephen Colbert's famous parody, and his appearances consistently bring the film to a screeching halt. Not only could these scenes be lifted out without any noticeable change to the story, but the film would actually flow better without this particular social commentary. And maybe that's the most trenchant point of all. https://youtube.com/watch?v=xPLSpmAtc1Q
Margaret River's Colonial Brewing Co. is coming for the east coast. And while Sydneysiders have been treated to a mini tap takeover at the Newtown Hotel, Melburnians have been lucky enough to score an entire brewery. The WA brewers have opened their second outpost in Port Melbourne — complete with a new, state-of-the-art canning machine that spits out 100 tinnies a minute. This tinnie-only brewery's motto, "brewed small, lived big", may be on the sentimental side, but it is a good way to describe Colonial's ethos. The Margaret River brewery is situated on a farm and the brand encapsulates Aussie country living. Colonial doesn't make beer for craft snobs alone — instead, they're dedicated to creating sessionable brews, geared toward the everyday drinker and craft converts, and their core range includes pale, IPA and Kölsch classics. The beer to keep an eye out for is their Small Ale. A mid-strength beer in name only, the flavour profile and hop aroma successfully (and surprisingly) mimic a big West Coast IPA. For the cider heads out there, the newly released Bertie is refreshingly dry, though, we have to say, no match for the brews. This 'average Aussie'-meets-craft beer drinker mentality is reinforced by their 360 tinnie lids — the lids peel off completely, allowing for great aroma and airation, while still allowing consumers to enjoy the satisfaction of a good ol' beer in a can. As beer nerds ourselves, we wouldn't say it's a true replacement for pouring into a glass, but you have to appreciate the thought. If you're lucky, they may even give you a tinnie straight off the line during a brewery tour — truly fresh as. While the brewery is now officially launching its small town WA vibe into the east coast market, it isn't doing it without some self-awareness. When it comes to the Port Melbourne brewery, the fit-out is, well, much more Melbourne than its Margaret River counterpart. Think a lush indoor beer garden fitted out with hanging greenery, a graffiti wall and space for Food Truck Fridays, along with ping pong and beer pong tables (which utilises their 360 cans as cups, of course). On Thursday nights they're also doing a very reasonably priced pizza and pot deal for $10. The eight-tap wooden bar also has a makeshift feel, and it's all tucked inside of a small entryway that you'd never expect to expand into this massive warehouse. You certainly couldn't mistake Colonial's brews for anything but Aussie beers, and we bet, as they expand, this WA brewery will go far in converting mainstream beer drinkers to craft — even those who swear they'll never go off VB.
Uber apparently just wants Australians to be effortlessly happy and righteously lazy, and nothing says bliss like enjoying a few cheeky brews in your underwear. If last year's introduction of UberEATS hasn't already made us lazy enough, the company has just announced that, as of today, March 23, they'll be delivering booze too, starting with Melbourne. As part of the launch, UberEATS has partnered with Carlton Draught to release their alcohol delivery service just in time for the start of AFL season tomorrow. On Friday, March 24 from 12pm, the general alcohol service kicks off, and from 5pm, Melbournian's can choose one of the nineteen $30 plus meal deals on their app and receive a free four pack of the specially brewed Carltons to enjoy with (or without) the game. After supplies run out, normal hours of alcohol service are midday to 9pm. Thirty liquor license holding restaurants across Melbourne's city and inner city suburbs are participating so far, and we're pretty confident the service will quickly spread to the rest of metropolitan Australia as well. There are a few things to note before rushing to your app — alcohol will only be delivered with a food order and only a bottle of wine or six pack of beer is permitted per order. The drivers won't deliver to intoxicated folk either, so if you answer the door looking like a hot mess you'll be denied your booze. Under 18s shouldn't be cheering either — you'll need proof of ID to accept the delivery. Obviously the service isn't meant to completely replace bottle shop runs, but is more about bringing a 'complete restaurant experience' into your home — something existing booze delivery services will need to consider. It comes well timed with the turn of the season as well, as the Melbourne winter sure doesn't promote outdoor activity. So go ahead and order from your favourite dumpling joint, pop open that delivered brew, turn on Netflix and let the pants-off binge-watching commence.
Ophelia, the charming all-day Westgarth diner from the Yolk Group (whose stable also includes Tinker, Terror Twilight and Convoy), is officially turning nocturnal. From Tuesday, June 17, the High Street corner spot will dim the lights and welcome guests for dinner and drinks on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It's the first time the Yolk crew has taken one of its venues into after-dark territory, but the move has been on the cards from the start. "We've always loved the idea of a place that evolves throughout the day and shifts gears as night rolls in," says co-owner Kieran Spiteri. "Ophelia's got a laidback moodiness about her that's made for an evening operation, and is something locals have been asking us for." Much like the venue's daytime offer, Ophelia by night lets you choose your own adventure, whether you're popping in for a light snack-and-sip session or settling in for a relaxed dinner. Whatever you decide, you'll be in good hands — nights at Ophelia will be led by Yolk's newly appointed Executive Chef Mitchell Velo (ex-Cumulus Inc. and Marion) (pictured below) and new Venue Manager Heidi Modra (formerly of Pinotta). The approachable, European-leaning menu doesn't veer too far from the tried-and-true wine bar formula — the result is a smartly pared-back yet creative list that spotlights seasonal produce, including fresh fruit and veg from Collingwood supplier Natoora. On the list, you'll find the likes of dates stuffed with nduja, pancetta and olive, pickled mussel toast with aioli and Aleppo pepper and hot-smoked trout rillette served with crisps and caperberries. You can pair your plates with a selection from the chalkboard wine list, featuring Australian and European labels, or one of the evening-exclusive cocktails. Swing by on a Tuesday night when, from 6pm, you can take your pick from a tight weekly rotation of house-made pasta dishes for $20 a plate. Spiteri is hopeful it'll be the start of a new local tradition: "Westgarth Theatre slings its own Tuesday special just across the road, so we're hoping a budget-friendly flick and feed will become a midweek ritual for locals and beyond," he says. Fridays and Saturdays will see Ophelia invite local vinyl selectors to soundtrack Pour and Play sessions, where snacky small plates will do the rounds. And while dinner service doesn't start until 6pm, you can pop in for aperitivo from 4pm to enjoy roaming snacks and cocktail specials. Plus, with wine dinners, guest chef collabs and private events also in the works, Ophelia's night-time chapter is only just beginning. Ophelia will be open on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 4pm for aperitivo and from 6pm for dinner, from Tuesday, June 17. Find it at 85 High Street, Northcote. For more information, head to the venue's website.
With 1654 stores to its name worldwide, Five Guys' burger joints have become a common sight across America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia — and soon, they'll also be opening in Australia and New Zealand. That news was announced in 2020, but 2021 brings further details, including the fact that it'll be launching its first eatery Down Under this year. Once the middle of 2021 rolls around, Five Guys will be serving up burgers, fries and shakes in Penrith — making Sydney the first Aussie city to taste the chain's wares. Originally, the debut store Down Under was slated for Sydney's CBD, but those plans changed due to COVID-19. An exact mid-year opening date hasn't been revealed; however, Sydneysiders will find restaurant next to Krispy Kreme and the Panthers League Club on Mulgoa Road in the western Sydney suburb when it launches. Construction on the store is due to start in the coming weeks. The cult-favourite chain is making the leap to Australia and New Zealand as part of a master franchise agreement with Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group, aka the folks behind The Meat & Wine Co, Hunter & Barrel, 6 Head, Ribs & Burgers, Italian Street Kitchen and Butcher and the Farmer. Around 20 stores are due to launch in Australia alone, plus more in NZ — although exactly where else and when Five Guys will be popping up is yet to be revealed. In Sydney, additional sites are currently under consideration, including in the CBD around Circular Quay, Darling Harbour and Broadway. Overseas, Five Guys has amassed quite the reputation — and, even given the number of big-name US burger chains with hefty followings, such as Shake Shack and In-N-Out, it stands out. Its made-to-order burgers skew in the classic rather than oversized, jam-packed direction. They come with two hand-formed patties on toasted buns with your choice of toppings (including pickles, grilled mushrooms and jalapeños), plus bacon cheeseburgers that add two strips of bacon and two slices of Kraft American cheese as well. Five Guys also serves up hotdogs, sandwiches, hand-cut fries (with or without Cajun spices) and vanilla milkshakes. Don't go thinking the latter are boring, though — you can add bacon, bananas, peanut butter, salted caramel and even Oreo pieces to your design-your-own beverage. The chain started back in 1986 in the Washington, DC area and, as anyone with allergies should note, only cooks its fries in peanut oil. Five Guys will launch its first Australian store on Mulgoa Road in Penrith sometime in the middle of 2021, with stores in other Australian states — and in New Zealand — to follow. No exact opening dates have been revealed as yet — we'll update you when more information comes to hand.
If you're flying into or out of Sydney Airport this holiday season, that transit is set to be a whole lot more bearable than usual, thanks to a brand new addition from Archie Rose. The Rosebery distillery has just gifted the Airport's T1 International terminal with a 16-seat pop-up cocktail bar, primed for those pre-flight libations. Aiming to celebrate top Aussie booze, the Archie Rose Cocktail Bar started pouring drinks on Thursday, November 28 — and it's sticking around until February 2020. The custom-designed watering hole serves up a lineup of martinis, manhattans and other signature bottled cocktail creations, crafted on Archie Rose's acclaimed range of gin, whisky and vodka varieties (all of which are made just a stone's throw away, at its Rosebery headquarters). Passengers can also get their hands on the just-dropped Archie Rose x Sydney Opera House Outside and Inside Gins – a twin release celebrating Sydney Harbour's famed architectural icon. As for the space itself, the bar is open yet cosy, with a swag of native plants offering that last little taste of home before you jump on your long-haul flight. Archie Rose is known for its growing range of craft spirits, including the famed Signature Dry Gin, which continues to scoop a stack of international awards. The label is also behind the experimental 'buttered toast spirit', ArchieMite, which Aussies went nuts for when it launched earlier this year. Find the Archie Rose Cocktail Bar at B1045, T1 International Sydney Airport. Images: Kai Leishman
Jason M Jones of Caboodle & Co and Entrecôte (one of the best French restaurants in Melbourne) has teamed up with designer Brahman Perera to launch a bright new Sri Lankan restaurant in Prahran called Hopper Joint. Located just a few doors down from Entrecôte, the new venture will champion the humble hopper when it opens on Friday, March 22. The light and crispy bowl-shaped pancakes are a staple of Sri Lankan cuisine and at Hopper Joint will be made to order in the 80-seat restaurant's open kitchen, giving diners a chance to see the dedication and skill that goes into constructing these delicate shells. That art will be left to Head Chef Ronith Victor Arlikatti (ex-Sunda and Marion), who'll be leaning on the experience of Perera, Jones and Executive Chef of Caboodle & Co Jason Rodwell to create a carefully considered food offering. They'll be adapting family recipes handed down through generations, deciding when to stay traditional and when to add more contemporary flourishes. Apart from hoppers, there'll also be a tight selection of curries, sambols, street food snacks and desserts. The team is also working hard to infuse the dining experience with Sri Lankan culture beyond what's on the plate. Punters will be encouraged to eat with their hands, as the team will direct them to the communal washbasin and a commissioned artwork by expat and friend Edwina Thomson illustrating the 'how-to' of eating hoppers. Each table will also get an antique brass bell, a nod to Sri Lankan customs, that, if misused, incurs a 'fine'. Ring the bell when it's inappropriate (to be honest, we aren't entirely sure what constitutes an appropriate time for ringing it), and you'll be asked to donate some cash to a charity of Hopper Joint's choosing. The space has also been designed by Perera himself, made to feel like you're stepping into a traditional colonial bungalow found high up in the Tea Country of southern Sri Lanka, filled with rattan seating and fans, amber glassware and chandeliers, timber shutters and blood-red cork floors. Jones and Perera have been working on Hopper Joint for over eight years now, spending this time collecting decor as well as fine-tuning the menu and atmosphere they've been wanting to get just right. And come Friday, March 22, they'll be sharing it with Melbourne. Hopper Joint will be found at 157 Greville Street, Prahran, from Friday, March 22. It will be open Monday–Thursday from 5pm till late and Friday–Sunday from 12pm till late. For more information on the new restaurant opening, head to the venue's website. Images: Annika Kafcaloudi
Just when you thought it was safe to watch another film set by the sea, The Shallows takes cinema audiences back into shark-infested waters. More than four decades after Jaws scared viewers away from the shoreline, this Gold Coast-shot American thriller endeavours to do the same. But whereas Steven Spielberg really fleshed out the idea of a menacing creature stalking a small beach town, this new effort, from Non-Stop, Unknown and Run All Night director Jaume Collet-Serra, keeps things much more simple. Blake Lively's holidaying Nancy is first left to fend for herself after a friend opts to skip their planned trip to a secluded spot on the Mexican coast. Giving the jaunt a miss isn't an option for Nancy — not just because the Texan medical student is a keen surfer intent on catching some waves, but because the specific locale has links to her recently deceased mother. When she arrives, two unnamed guys are happily hanging ten. Alas, when they leave, she's joined by a more fearsome, blood-thirsty form of company. If it all sounds like a rather flimsy excuse for another lone survivor film in the same vein as All is Lost and Life of Pi, that's because it is. Collet-Serra simply takes what's fast becoming a familiar genre and adds a shark — and some GoPro-shot footage — to the mix. In a move inspired by Cast Away, Nancy is at one point gifted a seagull named Steven to talk to. But for the bulk of the movie she's just trembling on a rock, narrating events to herself and yelling at the lurking great white beast. Of course, as something as silly as the Sharknado series continues to prove, there are always thrills to be found in the notion of humanity versus nature — and ample cheesiness, too. The Shallows succeeds in ramping up the tension surrounding every urgently paced, frenetically edited attack, particularly given how sparse the storyline is. It doesn't fare as well in other departments though — from the obvious dialogue and thin existential musings cooked up by screenwriter Anthony Jaswinski, to the tendency of the camera to linger leeringly over Lively's bikini-clad body. Thankfully, Lively still ranks among the film's best elements in what is basically a one-woman effort. Whether she's screaming for her life or performing gruesome surgery on herself, there's a primal element to her performance that invests her protagonist with the right balance of vulnerability and determination. Indeed, while Collet-Serra has become best known for showcasing Liam Neeson being Liam Neeson, he also knows how to turn Lively into a formidable but relatable force. If you've seen any of his previous films, you should know what to expect here: a taut, trashy action flick that doesn't stray far from its concept. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgdxIlSuB70
Near the end of the degustation at Momofuku Seiobo, you receive a dish of steamed grouper endives, celeriac puree and bonito dust — and a glass of onion juice. It’s part of the restaurant’s juice pairing, an alternative to matching wines where you get a different juice with each course. Momofuku Seiobo was the first restaurant in Australia to offer anything like it. “We had plenty of customers who are coming and they don't drink alcohol, and it's sort of ripping their experience a bit,” says assistant sommelier Ambrose Chiang. “So we worked out with the chefs what's in season and what's available.” That’s how it started, simply juice. It has since evolved to be a much more creative and nuanced way to pair food and drink. “People think it's just apple, orange and pineapple ... Things you could usually get out of a bottle. Sometimes it blows their mind a little bit.” Ambrose says. “It's the same way we approach the wine pairing. Certain flavour profiles, how we serve it, serving temperatures. Whether we strain the juice or not to give it more texture.” HOW MOMOFUKU DISCOVERED THAT ONIONS HAVE LAYERS Ambrose’s ‘onion water’ is the best example. As Momofuku’s menu is based around light and savoury flavours, Ambrose wanted to experiment with creating a savoury juice. “One problem with doing savoury juice — I don't want it to be a broth, I don't want it to be a sauce,” he says. Having something too heavy would offend the dish and that’s the last thing any sommelier wants to do. So he came up with an idea for, not onion juice or onion sauce, but onion water. Brown onions, spring onions and eschallots are cooked in a steaming hot pan until burnt and caramelised. Smoky and slightly sweet in flavour, they’re placed in bags of water and steamed overnight at 65 degrees. In the morning, Ambrose strains the onion and freezes the flavoured liquid. Still oily from the infusion, the ice block is left to drip through a fine muslin bag for two days. It looks like black tea and tastes, at first, like a nothing but a hint of savoury. Then, before it sinks down your throat, you get a burst of charred onion flavour. Ambrose describes the accompanying steamed fish course as “very savoury, slightly smoky but light”. To match it he needed something that was equally light but “with a slight sweetness, smokiness and savouriness” — exactly what you get from his onion water. EMBRACING MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY IN LIQUID FORM With the help of similar pioneering restaurants overseas, Momofuku’s innovation has helped the idea of non-alcoholic pairings to be taken more seriously in Australia. Sydney's Bentley and newcomer nel. are the most recent of a small but growing number of restaurants to test the idea of juice pairings. “My reaction was probably similar to others — sceptical to say the least,” says Bentley sommelier Nick Hildebrandt. “But with our new bar manager and drinks guru Phil Gandevia we actually started to put some thought and effort into it and came up with something that I believe is unique and very good.” Bentley’s first dessert — coconut sorbet, desert lime and honeyed melon — is now available with a pineapple, aloe vera and basil juice. “The idea was not only to match the dessert but to in a way add to it by having another component in liquid form sitting to the side.” Melbourne’s Attica runs a juice pairing based on the produce from their 1200 square metre garden. Banjo Harris Plane, the head sommelier, says one of his favourites is a cold smoked Granny Smith apple juice that’s paired with a King George whiting that’s been torched in a paperbark wrapping. “The harmony between the aroma of the dish and the juice is incredible.” Even with the success they’ve achieved at Attica, Banjo says they’re still scratching the surface of what could be done. “Next for Attica is to experiment with non-alcoholic fermentations, carbonation and thickening. We have also been looking at a scientific device called a homogeniser that incorporates liquids into each other, resulting in better consistency.” TAMING THE SWEET AND THE ACIDIC Joshua Picken, sommelier at Orana in Adelaide, told us they’re working on something similar for their juice pairing using native ingredients. “I have been playing with structural elements like tannin and tartaric acid. We explore non-alcoholic fermentations as I don't want every juice matching to taste sweet.” It’s a sentiment shared by many top sommeliers. “When you think about the juices that are available to us, they're quite sweet," says Ambrose. "If you're just offering juice by the glass, it's fine, but if it’s a pairing, it has to be working with the menu.” He says some other pairings he’s had served great juices, but they’ve been too sweet or overpowering to match the food. After being surprised by a customer request for a non-alcoholic pairing, Quay’s head sommelier, Amanda Yallop, was inspired to create a matching of mocktails and tea. “I am not a fan of only juice being presented. I’m a very big fan of acid in my wines, but to chase an entire meal with only juice is simply too much acidity.” Similarly, Vue de Monde and Brae in Victoria offer entire tea matchings from specialised tea sommeliers. THE NON- (OR LESS-) ALCOHOLIC FUTURE “I think that an evolution is on its way," says Amanda. "Chefs, bar staff and sommeliers are playing and testing with these pairings on a pretty serious level. There is enormous potential as to how far and how extreme it can become.” Despite that, she thinks non-alcoholic matches will never be treated with the same level of passion as wine. Considering both the range of flavours available to juice and the fact that high quantities of alcohol dampen your ability to taste, it could be argued that a non-alcoholic pairing is ultimately more appropriate for degustation-style eating. For one of the best sommeliers in the country, that doesn't quite fly. “I’d argue that there’s still more variety in wine than there is in juice, but I don’t really see it as either or,” says Banjo. “Different occasions for different things.” So perhaps a drink pairing is the best solution? Instead of juice or wine pairings, you’d simply get a different drink matched to each course; some will be wine, some will be juices and some will be something new. “What a fun idea," says Amanda. "I’m not sure how it would go down with guests expectations ... I might try it at Quay’s next food and wine training with our floor team and gauge the reception.” Images: Bodhi Liggett.
Winter is upon us, the gloves and beanies are out of storage, and it's time to start loading up on sweets and carbs. That's how every June starts — and, this year, Krispy Kreme wants to help with the latter. How? By giving away an extremely excessive number of doughnuts. You're probably now wondering what constitutes an excessive amount of doughnuts. No, polishing off a packet by yourself doesn't count, at least in this instance. Krispy Kreme's giveaway is going big, with the chain slinging 10,000 original glazed doughnuts on Friday, June 7 in conjunction with National Doughnut Day. Whether or not you're a big fan of food 'days', we're guessing you are quite fond of free doughnuts. To snag yourself a signature glazed freebie, head to your closest Krispy Kreme store, with Melburnians able to hit up nine locations from the airport to the city. The National Doughnut Day deal isn't available anywhere other than Krispy Kreme stores, or via online orders or third-party deliveries. There's also a limit of one freebie per person, and the giveaway only applies to the original glazed variety. The 100,000 doughnuts will be spread across the participating stores around the country, so you'll want to get in relatively early if you want to kick off your Friday with a free sweet and doughy treat. Obviously, whether you nab one or not is subject to availability.
Beloved cocktail and whisky bar Eau de Vie is jumping into 2018 in their usual style, with the return of their midweek favourite. On Tuesdays nights, you'll set out on a flight of fancy over a selection of cheeses matched with drams pulled from the bar's hundreds of whiskies. The evenings kick off from 5pm. For $40, you'll get tot sample five whiskies during the evening, chosen to match closely with the week's selection of cheeses. The staff of whisky experts will be on hand to talk whisky fans through the pairings and you'll want to book in advance to ensure you nab a seat.
A staple of Melbourne's cultural calendar for more than half a century, the Sidney Myer Free Concerts are back for another year. Held at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, the latest shows in this long-standing favourite series span two performances from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Whether you're a classical music buff or just want to stretch out with a picnic on the grass, there's a reason that these concerts have become a beloved summertime tradition. The 2025 series kicks off on Saturday, February 15 with tunes by Dvořák, Gershwin and Ravel — and with the MSO Chief Conductor Jaime Martín leading the show. Expect Dvořák's Third Symphony to start, then Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue performed by pianist Andrea Lam, then Ravel's Boléro. On Saturday, February 22, it's time to showcase Australia's up-and-coming talents when the Melbourne Youth Orchestra gets things started. After that, the MSO led by Benjamin Northey will pair two 20th-century orchestral masterpieces with two world-premiere works — so Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto and Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, before Klearhos Murphy and James Henry unveil their latest compositions. Both performances begin at 7.30pm; however, gates open at 4.30pm. With no tickets required, this is a first-in kind of affair, so arriving early to nab your best spot is highly recommended. Can't make it in person? The MSO will also livestream the two gigs on each evening. Images: Mark Gambino / Laura Manariti.
Fresh air. Food trucks waiting to fill your hungry stomach. Live music. Outdoor cinema. Sounds like summer in Australia, doesn't? Add in aerial circus, medieval performance fighting and Mexican wrestling, too, and it also sounds like Melbourne's new four-day arts and food truck festival. Taking over Coburg's Velodrome from January 26 to 29, 2017, the rather descriptively named Velodrome Food Truck Festival promises all of the above and more. And the best part? Not only can you bring your pet pooch, but the whole event is free. While the specifics in terms of performers and purveyors of meals-and-wheels won't be announced until January, eager attendees can expect an eclectic lineup on both fronts, including a sideshow circus, roaming talent, workshops, visual art installations, a market stall village, eating competitions and more than 30 food trucks. Also slated: several bars selling beers and craft cocktails, as well as a month-long open air cinema series screening new and old favourites. "We're dubbing it 'the Glastonbury' of food truck festivals. It's a mixed bag of performance and entertainment," said Velodrome events director, Chris Mitchell. He's one of guiding hands behind the drive to turn the site into a cultural event precinct — and given that, with his partner Gareth Holt, he also helped turn Chapel Street venue Red Bennies into an internationally renowned arts intuition, he certainly knows what he's doing. Velodrome Food Truck Festival takes place from January 26 to 29, 2017, at Coburg Velodrome, 30 Charles Street, Coburg North. For more information, or to register for a free ticket, visit the festival website.
In A Complete Unknown, Timothée Chalamet stepped into Bob Dylan's shoes in the 60s and charted his rise to fame. A trip to the past and aspiring to greatness is also on the actor's agenda in his next film. Instead of folk music, Marty Supreme's eponymous figure is passionate about ping-pong — and he's certain that it's going to be the next big thing. "I know it's hard to believe, but I'm telling you: this game, it fills stadiums overseas. And it's only a matter of time before I'm staring at you from the cover of a Wheaties box," Marty advises in the A24 movie's just-dropped teaser trailer. Welcome to your first sneak peek at the second of two features that are filling a very specific niche: 2025 releases (in the US, at least) directed by a Safdie brother solo and focusing on sports. Josh Safdie helms Marty Supreme. His Daddy Longlegs, Lenny Cooke, Heaven Knows What, Good Time and Uncut Gems co-directing sibling Bennie has The Smashing Machine on the way, starring Dwayne Johnson's (Red One) as IRL MMA fighter Mark Kerr. Could 2025 nominee Chalamet and Johnson find themselves going head to head come awards season for different Safdie films? That's firmly a possibility. As Marty Supreme's Marty Mauser, Chalamet's task (or obligation, as his character puts it) is chasing the dream that is ping-pong success — for himself and for the game his loves, which no one else seems convinced of in the 50s-set flick's first sneak peek. Gwyneth Paltrow (The Politician) pops up in the Marty Supreme trailer as a famous movie star, while the eclectic cast also includes fellow actors Fran Drescher (A Tooth Fairy Tale) and Odessa A'zion (Until Dawn), rap star Tyler, The Creator, filmmaker Abel Ferrara (Turn in the Wound) and magician Penn Jillette. In America, Chalamet's latest film is a Christmas treat, releasing on Thursday, December 25. That's two years in a row that the merriest day of the year and Chalamet have gone hand in hand in the US, as A Complete Unknown also dropped on the same date. When Marty Supreme will hit cinemas Down Under hasn't yet been revealed. Josh Safdie co-wrote the movie with Heaven Knows What, Good Time and Uncut Gems co-screenwriter Ronald Bronstein, and helms a feature on his lonesome for the first time since 2008's The Pleasure of Being Robbed. Check out the first teaser trailer for Marty Supreme below: Marty Supreme releases in US cinemas on Thursday, December 25, 2025 — we'll update you on Down Under release details when they're announced.
With the Prahran outpost of Blackhearts & Sparrows being the venture's ninth store, it's safe to say that the shop has already made its mark with Melbourne's wine lovers. The brother and sister team of Paul and Jessica Ghaie initially set out to create a space where you could hunt down those lesser-known estates producing delicious vino. Now, almost 15 years later, Blackhearts & Sparrows still embodies this ethos, but has expanded its offering to include an awesome range of local and international craft beer. It's a very solid choice if you're looking for boutique wines and beers. Better yet, this one is located inside Prahran Market, so you can pick up some booze while you do your weekly shop. Image: supplied.
This ambitious venture by chef Alejandro Saravia follows the success of his 80 Collins Street restaurant Farmer's Daughters, which has cemented itself as a three-level celebration of the Gippsland region and its offerings. Here in Fed Square, Saravia and the team are extending the love further afield, heroing the whole of Victoria and its diverse regions. Set overlooking the Yarra, the 250-seater is a tasty, multi-faceted homage to the produce, people and places that make up this state we call home. The space itself celebrates our regional landscapes with its earthy colour palette, and a curation of homewares and art chosen to reflect a strong sense of place. A hand-carved, interactive 'Ingredients Table' displays some of the current menu's highlight produce, while the dedicated wine library features both a 20-seat space for masterclasses and tastings, and a collection of over 3000 bottles of Victorian wine. More local drinks love comes via an all-Victorian lineup of beer, wine and spirits. Head Chef David Boyle's ever-evolving food offering hops right across the state, offering plenty of theatrical flair as ingredients are cooked over wood and charcoal. You'll find plates like the That's Amore burrata with wood-roasted pumpkin and golden raisin agrodolce, a memorable potato rösti teamed with avocado and cured Bass Strait scallop, and a free-range pork belly elevated with French lentils and beetroot. A 600-gram dry-aged O'Connor ribeye is paired with a salsa verde and mountain pepper mustard, and smoked duck is taken to new heights with the addition of bone marrow and duck fat gravy. Along with that fiercely seasonal a la carte menu, a second provenance menu rotates through a different 'region in residence' at any one time, specifically celebrating its produce, winemakers and chefs. Images: Arianna Leggiero Updated August, 2023. Appears in: The Best Restaurants in Melbourne for 2023
For the next three months, the Sydney Opera House will not be home to any operas, Vivid Live performances, thought-provoking talks or podcast recordings, with all public performances suspended until at least June 17. But you will be able to relive many of the highlights from its 47-year history when the Sydney icon launches its digital program tomorrow, Wednesday, April 1. The latest cultural institution — around Australia and the world — to launch an online platform, the Opera House has today unveiled 'From our House to yours', which will see full-length performances, talks, long-form articles, podcasts and behind-the-scenes content brought to your screens. As well as a heap of footage that's never been seen by the public before. Kicking things off is award-winning Aussie musician Missy Higgins with a recording from her 2019 forecourt concert at 6pm (AEDT) on Wednesday, April 1. You'll also catch a conversation from this year's All About Women with writer Chanel Miller about her new memoir Know My Name on Thursday, April 2 at 6pm (AEDT); footage of last year's Dance Rites — Australia's annual First Nations dance competition — on Friday, April 3 at 6pm (AEDT); Sydney Symphony Orchestra performing Beethoven's sublime Symphony No. 9 on Saturday, April 4 at 6pm (AEDT); and a recording of The Writers Room with Celia Pacqoula (Rosehaven), Josh Thomas (Please Like Me), Luke McGregor (Rosehaven) and Dan Harmon (Rick and Morty, Community) at 6pm (AEST) on Sunday, April 5, where the writers discuss characters, plots and dealing with deadlines. [caption id="attachment_752071" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dance Rites by Anna Kucera[/caption] You'll also be able to access a bunch of free content on demand, plus new videos, recordings and articles will be released daily every Wednesday through Sunday, with each week's schedule announced on the Tuesday. The launch comes after the Opera House's exclusive broadcast event for Piano Day 2020 last Saturday, which featured performances by Andrea Lam, Margaret Leng Tan and Simon Tedeschi; unreleased recordings of Jon Hopkins and Joep Beving; and an interview with composer Nils Frahm. If you want a sneak peek into what you can expect from the new digital initiative, check out the broadcast here. From our House to yours launches at 6pm on Wednesday, April 1 on the Sydney Opera House website and will run until at least mid-June. Each week's schedule will be announced on Tuesday.
As one of Melbourne's most lauded fine diners, Attica has become quite the shapeshifter of late. Earlier this year, Ben Shewry's Ripponlea restaurant executed a classic COVID-19 pivot, launching a pop-up bakeshop in the space next door and diversifying with its first-ever take-home food offering. Last week, it was announced its post-lockdown comeback would take the form of a month-long venue pop-up called Attica In Between, hosting intimate ten-person dining experiences with a brand-new menu. Now, the team's revealed plans for the biggest shake-ups yet: a whole new Attica restaurant. Embracing fresh air and open skies, Attica Summer Camp is set to descend on the Yarra Valley from this December. At this stage, the finer details are still being plotted, though we're told to expect a casual, all-day affair, popping up for a five-month stint at dedicated site in Seville. Labelled "a significant departure from Attica", the new venture will feature a playful, informal vibe, as well as a sprawling countryside setting that nods to the rural backdrop and camping adventures of Shewry's own childhood. "It's going to be a super fun, high-energy, casual place that's been inspired by this time we've all been through," Shewry told Concrete Playground. "And wanting to just break free from that feeling, and look towards something that's more optimistic and positive." Yes, it's worlds apart from the globally renowned fine-diner concept, and the chef admits, "I never would have done this before". But with hospitality restrictions and capacity limits posing a challenge to the OG Attica, he's accepted that rolling with the punches will call for some big moves. "It's another step in saving Attica, our restaurant and our staff's livelihoods," he says. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ben Shewry (@benshewry) Above all, Shewry wants Attica Summer Camp to be somewhere "playful and fun" — an out-of-town destination where people can bask in some goodness after a less than idyllic year. There'll be a feel-good lineup of simple food and drinks, with a menu full of local produce enjoyed across the site's various indoor and outdoor spaces. The wine offering looks set to feature some collaborative efforts from long-time Attica friend and renowned winemaker Mac Forbes, who Shewry says has been an integral part of the whole project. Huge covered outdoor dining pavilions are ready for whatever Melbourne's sketchy weather decides to throw down, and a vine-covered pergola sounds primed for private picnic lunches. An on-site retail store will even be slinging goodies like Attica merch, house-made produce and take-home picnic hampers, so you won't be leaving empty-handed. Rounding out the offering is what the team's calling "the best and most uplifting soundtrack that a restaurant has ever heard". After the year Melbourne's had, that all sounds like exactly what the doctor ordered. Find Attica Summer Camp at 45 Davross Court, Seville from this December. We'll share more details as they drop and you can register your interest over at the website.
IMAX devotees aren't just big-screen obsessives. Rather, they're massive-screen obsessives. When a film is available in the largest possible format, only that will do. Everyone has a movie-loving friend that wouldn't see Oppenheimer anywhere else, or David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream, Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick before that. IMAX Melbourne's brand-new film festival is obviously for them — and everyone else as well. Meet the Biggest Best IMAX Film Festival, an event dedicated to the biggest and best titles that the venue can possibly play on its 32-metre-wide by 23-metre-tall screen. It's the world's largest 1.43:1 cinema screen, and it's getting flickering with those aforementioned pictures and a heap more from Friday, January 12 until mid-February. Iconic Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense is the first movie on the lineup, but the official opening night on Saturday, January 13 is going with one helluva huge double feature: Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049. Still on pairings, Tom Cruise's (Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One) latest need for speed is showing with the OG Top Gun. And Christopher Nolan's full Dark Knight trilogy in IMAX 1570 (the highest resolution available, going up to 16K, with Melbourne the only place in the country that can show it) is for those serious about seeing the three Batman flicks in the greatest way there is. Oppenheimer is screening in IMAX 1570 as well, making an explosive picture even more dazzling. The Golden Globe-winner and certain Oscar contender sold out 171 sessions at the venue, notching up 66,000-plus tickets, and is the site's highest-grossing movie ever. From there, regular IMAX options include the Lord of the Rings trilogy and TRON: Legacy. Of course 2001: A Space Odyssey is on the list; it has to be. More films are set to be added as well, as chosen by both IMAX Melbourne's staff and via people's choice picks. "BBIFF is bringing back classic movies that need to be witnessed on the biggest screen in the southern hemisphere. We've put together an impressive line-up of the best and biggest trilogies, double headers and special one-off screenings," said IMAX Melbourne General Manager Jeremy Fee. The Biggest Best IMAX Film Festival takes place at IMAX Melbourne, Melbourne Museum Precinct, Rathdowne Street, Carlton Gardens, Carlton South from Friday, January 12 until mid-February — head to the venue's website for tickets and more information. TRON: Legacy image: ©Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
It's a scientific fact that the only way to survive summer is to get down to a luxurious beach resort and lie still in the shade like a lizard, rising only for an occasional dip in the pool. Bannisters Pavilion also know this, and have built one such luxury resort on NSW's pretty, pretty South Coast. And it looks so good that, honestly, we can't wait for the brutal heat of summer to hit so we can head out to Mollymook Beach and get our lizard on. The Bannisters chain are all set to open their newest boutique hotel in the picturesque beachside town next week, and it's only 100m from the beachfront. The place has been cleverly designed to let you move seamlessly between the best parts of a holiday — between the private lounge, bar and grill and suspended pool, that is. The rooftop is the hub of aforementioned activities and also features a full menu inspired by Mediterranean, Southern Californian and Mexican cuisines (i.e. the most summery places in the world), as well as booze for days. Bannisters Pavilion was crafted by a crack team of designers and blends accents of the Aussie landscape (eucalypt and sea) with a nuance of Scandinavian design. The best part, though, is the size — the whole resort consists of only 33 guest rooms and two penthouse suits, which means you won't be fighting anyone for a recliner or have to navigate through hordes of screaming kiddies in the pool. Thanks team, you know us well. Oh, and did we mention there's a day spa? Yep, summer is coming — and it's gonna be fancy. Bannisters Pavilion will open on Tuesday, December 1 at 191 Mitchell Parade, Mollymook Beach. For more information, visit their website.
Punt Road Wines has established a new outpost in the Yarra Valley, opening a cellar door adjacent to the region's popular Meletos restaurant. The purpose-built venue, set between the vines and orchards, boasts sweeping views of the surrounds and gives day-trippers another reason to head to the Yarra Valley. The new cellar door, centred around a winery barrel hall, will showcase the quality of the vineyards through different immersive experiences. There will be behind-the-scenes winery visits, curated wine flights, and intimate tastings of limited-release and museum wines. The new cellar door will cement the estate, which includes the Meletos restaurant, The Farmhouse accommodation and the Il Massaggio Day Spa, as a must-visit destination in the Yarra Valley, as visitors can experience many of the region's highlights in one convenient location. And with Meletos about to welcome a new head chef, Maxwell Parlas (who knows a thing or two about the area, having spent time in the hatted Tarrawarra Estate kitchen nearby), guests will be welcomed with a fresh approach to dining. This venture honours the legacy of the site, which was once home to pioneering Yarra Valley vineyard, St Hubert's Winery, in its original iteration in the late 1800s. It now returns to its roots, as the Punt Road Wine owners, the Napoleone family, have been growing fruit in the area since 1948. Images: Supplied.
Though the sun is still (mostly) shining high, we're sorry to say that cooler nights are just around the corner. But now is not the time to wallow. Instead, you've got to give these last licks of summer all you've got. This is especially true on the date front. We've put together a list of outdoor adventures for you and your date to enjoy before the hot days and balmy nights disappear. Go for a picnic by the water, a sunset cliff walk or a film under the stars. These aren't your usual go-to date destinations, and each and every single one is primed for BYO. Just don't wait on it — the autumn chill will be here before you know it.
