UPDATE, Friday, October 27, 2023: Pain Hustlers screens in select cinemas from Thursday, October 19, and streams via Netflix from Friday, October 27. There's never been any need to be subtle about Emily Blunt's talents as an actor. A resume filled with My Summer of Love, The Devil Wears Prada, Sunshine Cleaning, Looper, Edge of Tomorrow, Sicario, Mary Poppins Returns, A Quiet Place and its sequel, plus The English on the small screen, keeps proving a helluva showcase. With those versatile roles and others — Oppenheimer and Jungle Cruise are her most-recent big screen credits — Blunt gives audiences a very particular and highly welcome present. Every part for every actor sees them play characters that are constantly adjusting to their situation, given that's just what life is all about, but watching Blunt convey that experience is quite the gift. As her filmography repeatedly demonstrates, she knows better than most how to weaponise a stare and a pause, convey uncertainty with a shift and a gesture, and use both tone and pace to dig in — and, in a long line of excellent Blunt performances, that knack is on full display in Pain Hustlers. This pharma drama's best star — Chris Evans (Ghosted), Catherine O'Hara (Elemental), Andy Garcia (Expend4bles), Brian d'Arcy James (Love & Death) and Chloe Coleman (Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves) all leave an imprint as well, but Blunt is the movie's knockout — steps into the shoes of Liza Drake. Relentlessly adapting is the Floridian's normality; she's a single mother to teenager Phoebe (Coleman), who has epilepsy that requires surgical treatment that Liza can't afford, and also lives in her sister's garage while stringing together cash from whichever jobs she can find. It's at one such gig as an exotic dancer, where her talent for sizing up a scenario and making the most of it is rather handy, that Pete Brenner (Evans) crosses her path. He wants more than her barside banter, proposing that she comes to work for him. If he didn't want her to genuinely take it up, he shouldn't have made the offer. Also apparent in Pain Hustlers: the latest on-screen takedown of the pharmaceutical industry and corresponding interrogation of the opioid crisis, aka one of pop culture's current topics du jour. Indeed, in only his second non-Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film since 2007 (the other: The Legend of Tarzan), director David Yates happily relies upon the fact that this realm is common ire-inducing knowledge no matter whether you've read journalist Evan Hughes' coverage of Insys Therapeutics — including 'The Pain Hustlers', a New York Times Magazine article, then The Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup, the non-fiction book that followed. First-time screenwriter Wells Tower draws upon both, but similarly knows that his fictionalisation rattles around a heavily populated domain. Stunning documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed earned an Oscar nomination, miniseries Dopesick picked up an Emmy, and both Painkiller and The Fall of the House of Usher have hit Netflix in 2023 — as will Pain Hustlers — while diving into the same subject. In reality, Insys marketed a fentanyl spray called subsys for pain management, then came under legal scrutiny for adopting a whatever-it-takes approach to encourage doctors to champion the fast-acting, strong and addictive opioid. That's the Pain Hustlers story as well, as intercut early with faux documentary-style chats with the film's characters to make it plain from the outset that there's comeuppance in store for their unscrupulous and infuriating actions. Pete is a hotshot at Zanna, a pharmaceutical startup under the guidance of widower doctor Jack Neel (Garcia) that's spruiking its own mist. In his strip-club employment pitch, Pete doesn't tell Liza that the company's days are numbered if medical professionals keep steering clear of their drug lonafen. During that chat, he also doesn't glean how determined that the ever-enterprising Liza is when she sets her mind on something. From a starting point of zero, Liza boosts lonafen's market penetration to 86 percent quickly in the rise portion of Pain Hustlers' tale. Again, viewers are well-primed that the fall will come, but this is a hustling-fuelled, capitalism-indicting, "what would you do?" type of telling. An amalgamation of a few IRL folks, Liza is the only person who finds an angle into medicine cabinets, getting lonely pain-clinic doc Lydell (James) over the line in no small part thanks to paying him attention. She's also the only character with questions about the corporate-sanctioned move into bribes, false claims, and flouting regulations in the pursuit of more and more success ("grow or die," implores Neel). Hollywood neatness lingers in her arc, as someone with an urgent need for money to help her family and sincerity in her belief that she's slinging a worthy product, while also enamoured with the upgrade from motel living to a palatial apartment, even hiring her mother (O'Hara), and proving exceptional and influential at her task. That's where Blunt, who is also one of Pain Hustlers' producers, couldn't be more crucial — selling every slippery, driven, desperate, calculating, American dream-chasing and well-meaning choice alike. In a version of this film that didn't feature Blunt, everything would suffer, including her co-stars. From Evans in Knives Out- and The Gray Man-esque skeezy terrain (so, worlds away from Captain America) to Garcia getting hopped up on greed, everyone in Pain Hustlers is at their best when they're reacting to her — and, of course, she's equally formidable whether she's in the centre of the glossily shot frame alone or flanked. Making workmanlike contributions, Yates and Tower prescribe only the expected otherwise. Apart from stressing that their movie isn't advocating pushing pills (well, sprays in this instance), their doco-leaning segments are gimmicky, even when they survey patients with horror stories. Pain Hustlers is still engaging enough, though, but it's the picture's terrifically cast lead that's compulsive to watch. When Liza, Pete and company — Jay Duplass (Industry) and Amit Shah (Happy Valley) are among Zanna's other employees — are making bank, the lonafen playbook isn't far removed from their competitors. In a film that recalls The Big Short and Martin Scorsese's work, there's a raging case of like plot, like movie as blatant as a bright-orange pill cylinder. Pain Hustlers doesn't just tread in Dopesick et al's footsteps, but in Goodfellas and The Wolf of Wall Street's as well. Liza could be a sibling to Erin Brockovich's namesake, too, with the performance to match. And, as it trades in horrific details yet never goes full horror like The Fall of the House of Usher, Succession also lingers. In one of Evans' great scenes, in fact, he takes to the stage in costume and raps the drug's praises. He's decked out like a lonafen spray, but he's firmly and gleefully in Kendall Roy territory. It's an entertaining moment, but also underscores the difference between watchable and spectacular.
In the breakout movie of 2022, Michelle Yeoh was everything and everywhere. Multiverses are like that. Now, the Oscar-winner voices a space-robot peregrine falcon in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and viewers should wish that this only existed in Everything Everywhere All At Once's kaleidoscope of realities. Alas, in this very realm, the newest Transformers film is indeed flickering through projectors. The toy-to-screen series it belongs to is now seven live-action entries in and — apart from 2018 spinoff-slash-prequel Bumblebee — largely still as dull as a smashed headlight. Set in 1994, the current instalment is a sequel to the last 1987-anchored franchise flick, which focused on the yellow-hued mechanised alien that can morph into a car, and also a prequel to 2007's saga-spawning Transformers. It draws upon the Transformers: Beast Wars animation, comics and video games, too, and feels in every frame like a picture that purely exists to service intellectual property that does big box-office business (2011's Transformers: Dark of the Moon and 2014's Transformers: Age of Extinction each made over a billion dollars). Michael Bay, Hollywood's go-to director for maximalist action carnage, might've been enthusiastic about Transformers when he started the silver-screen series nearly two decades back — the Ambulance filmmaker was definitely devoted to crashing together pixels replicating chrome in all five titles he helmed, including 2017's Transformers: The Last Knight — but these movies can't be anyone's passion projects. They show zero feeling, and seem to keep rolling out because the saga assembly line has already been established. New faces and a new guiding force behind the lens can't dislodge that sensation with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The five-person team responsible for the script give no signal that they even wanted to. The feature's latest two leads do resemble people better than most flesh-and-blood characters in the Transformers world, welcomely, although one gets a sick-kid backstory and another a bad boss. Were the Transformers themselves asked to write the most cliched screenplay they could? Anthony Ramos (In the Heights) and Dominique Fishback (Swarm) are Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' prime living-and-breathing figures, running, chasing and palling around with Autobots as Shia LaBeouf (Pieces of a Woman), Megan Fox (Good Mourning), Mark Wahlberg (Uncharted) and Hailee Steinfeld (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) all have before them. Ramos plays former solider Noah Diaz, who has that ailing younger brother (Dean Scott Vazquez, also an In the Heights alum) and massive medical bills to prove it. Fishback is archaeology intern Elena Wallace, whose vapid boss (Sarah Stiles, Billions) constantly cribs from. Both of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' on-screen stars are excellent actors — Ramos was in Hamilton's debut Broadway cast, while Fishback has a BAFTA nomination for Judas and the Black Messiah — and the film benefits from their presence. Still, even the best thespians can only do so much when they're primarily tasked with rushing around and peering upwards at CGI chunks of walking, talking metal. That dashing and staring, and befriending extra-terrestrial machines in general, is the result of doing things that neither Noah nor Elena are meant to. They're strangers with Brooklyn in common, and soon trying to save existence as well. He gets light-fingered for a payday, attempting to steal a Porsche that's actually the Autobot Mirage (voiced by Pete Davidson, Bupkis). After hours, she's examining an unusual artefact with intriguing markings, which happens to be a key that lets the Transformers warp between different worlds, including back to their own. That discovery sets off a beacon in the sky, earning the attention of Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen, whose time in the role hails back to the OG 80s animated TV series) just as Noah and Mirage are getting acquainted. Also paying notice: Scourge (Peter Dinklage, Cyrano) from the nefarious Terrorcons, who wants to use the pivotal device to bring the planet-devouring (and -sized) Unicron (Colman Domingo, Fear the Walking Dead) to earth. The mission: fend off those evil shapeshifting droids, protect the gadget at all costs and, gratingly, talk about it while mentioning Autobots, Terrorcons and the transwarp key as much as possible. Director Steven Caple Jr (Creed II) endeavours to give Ramos and Fishback more character-building moments than their franchise predecessors, but they're always saddled with spouting rote, jargon-laced dialogue that somehow needed The Flash's Joby Harold, BMF's Darnell Metayer and Josh Peters, and The Meg's Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber to write. Given the hefty cast list, there's a wealth of talent reciting bland lines, including Ted Lasso's Cristo Fernández, Loot's Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and Poker Face's Ron Perlman among the Transformers. The latter voices Optimus Primal, the gorilla-esque leader of the Maximals, aka the animal robots that the movie's title references — and just one of the moves that the film makes to create a Hasbro Cinematic Universe. As plenty of franchises are woefully guilty of recently — see: the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania for one of the worst examples — Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has its focus on the future over polishing up its current instalment. Indeed, too much that's meant to give this robo-battle personality is lazily sprinkled in, such as the hip hop needle drops because it's the 90s (cue: A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, the Notorious BIG and LL Cool J) and pop-culture references (such as Super Mario Bros on Game Boy). A self-aware mention of Marky Mark leaving the Funky Bunch for acting falls flat, as does calling out Indiana Jones while aping that franchise's cave-searching adventure plots in Peru. In fact, namechecking Mario when it's been given the big-screen treatment again in 2023, plus Indy when that series' latest picture hits cinemas the same month as this, just reminds viewers that they might want to be watching other films. Much of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts incites that reaction anyway, especially its visually uninspired special effects and action sequences that look about as appealing as throwing household electronics in a bin. When they're undisguised junk for the eyes, every aspiring and actual blockbuster that follows Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse this year will spark one question: why is this live action? When animation can look as astonishing as all things Spider-Verse do, and when CGI can be as dreary as it is here, surely these space robots should go back to their cartoon roots. Thankfully, with 2024's Transformers One, they are. Unlike The Transformers: The Movie managed to score, no future animated flicks will ever boast Orson Welles among its voice cast, though — he loaned his tones to Unicron in that 1986 effort — but they also can't be as tedious as Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Has Jennifer Lawrence entered her Jennifer Coolidge era? With the spirit of American Pie lingering over No Hard Feelings like unpaid property taxes — a pivotal part of the movie's plot — the Silver Linings Playbook Oscar-winner and Winter's Bone, Hunger Games, X-Men and mother! star is flirting with that direction and loving it. No one sticks their genitalia in a warm home-baked dessert or talks about band camp in Lawrence's latest film, but it is a sex comedy about an inexperienced teenager that includes parents giving clumsy advice. It also involves getting lucky with an older woman; while Lawrence is only 32 and plays it here, an age gap — as well as the chasms between millennials and zoomers, and with the generations prior — is essential to the narrative. The spirit of Coolidge, a game Lawrence, gags about Hall & Oates' 1982 earworm 'Maneater' — a storyline that somewhat riffs on its lyrics, in fact — and battles over class, generational differences and gentrification: that's No Hard Feelings. Based on a real-life Craigslist ad, it's also the next movie from filmmaker Gene Stupnitsky, who penned Bad Teacher and made his feature directorial debut with Good Boys. Where the latter took a Superbad-esque setup but swapped 17-year-olds out for sixth graders, his second flick as a helmer tells a coming-of-age tale on two levels. Percy Becker (Andrew Barth Feldman, White Noise) is the introverted brainiac whose helicopter parents (Daybreak's Matthew Broderick and Life & Beth's Laura Benanti) want to live a little before he hits Princeton University, while Maddie Barker (Lawrence, Causeway) is the bartender and Uber driver who's been in a state of arrested development ever since giving up her plans to surf California's beaches when her mother got sick. Those taxes? Maddie owes them on her Montauk house, which she inherited from and remains in while the New York hamlet she grew up in is inundated by wealthy holidaymakers. And those tourists? Sweeping in for only part of the year, splashing around cash and causing property values to skyrocket while pushing locals out, they're the reason that Maddie's debt is so hefty. They're also why Percy and his family are in town for the summer. And, in general, those rich interlopers are a prime target for Maddie's anger, unsurprisingly. Still, usually the well-to-do influx helps boost her finances — driving folks around in a vacation town while the weather's right can be lucrative — but her car has just been repossessed, hence an advertisement offering a Buick Regal for dating and sleeping with Percy earning her attention. "These people use us, so why don't we use them?" is Maddie's pregnant pal Sara's (Natalie Morales, Dead to Me) take on the situation. Sporting that exact mindset, Maddie commits. The Beckers want her to bring their shy, reclusive and neurotic son out of his bedroom by taking him to bed — patriarch Laird fondly recalls his own first youthful fling, with Stupnitsky adding an extra layer by having Ferris Bueller's Day Off great Broderick in the role — and Percy has no idea about the deal. Whether Maddie is asking to touch his wiener at his animal-shelter volunteer job, inadvertently getting him suspecting that he's being kidnapped by offering him a lift in Sara's spouse Jim's (Scott MacArthur, Killing It) van filled with machetes and harpoons, teaching him how to drink Long Island iced teas, or taking him skinny dipping by moonlight and fighting the pranksters who try to steal their clothes in the nude, seducing the college-bound young man is far from an easy gig. Co-scripting with John Phillips (Dirty Grandpa), Stupnitsky also has both Percy and Maddie clutch onto the bonnet of speeding cars, and throws in hectic faux prom nights and eventful pre-uni parties; however, the raunchiest thing about No Hard Feelings is largely its premise. Bawdy humour still echoes, especially when Maddie is playing the libidinous part she's being paid to — but, as she genuinely starts to connect with Percy as a friend, so does earnestness. She's initially willing to slip between the sheets to get her life back on track, and pretends to be the stereotypical teen-boy fantasy to do so. He wants to talk, get to know her and build something physical out of a true emotional bond. Of course the film that results seesaws between the ribald and sweet, and of course it's never completely one or the other. That isn't a failure of nerve, but reflects the chaos that is growing up even when you're already supposed to be grown up. No Hard Feelings is rarely as consistently funny as it wants to be, but it'd be far more awkward than it's meant to be if Maddie and Percy weren't so well cast. The luminous Lawrence is a comic dream, no matter if Maddie is cringing at her own behaviour, bluntly decrying teens today and the ultra-rich always, attempting to climb stairs in rollerblades or turning on the sultriness. She serves up a physical comedy masterclass, and long may amusing movies that call upon her laugh-inducing skills keep joining her resume (well, other than the smug Don't Look Up). She's such a natural here that wanting No Hard Feelings to constantly ramp up the OTT antics stems wholly from her performance. (Also, as Coolidge keeps popping to mind, who wouldn't want to see Lawrence in The White Lotus in the future, whether in Thailand or wherever future seasons of the hit HBO series end up.) Feldman, who took time out from high school IRL to play the titular part in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway for a spell and then from uni for this, brings nuance to what could've been a stock-standard nerdy character in other hands. The key to his performance, and to Lawrence's: amid the overtly comic moments, they each know that they're stepping into the shoes of people who are stuck and struggling in their own ways, and they're sincere about having Maddie and Percy work through that together. So, crucially, is the sunnily shot picture itself. Although it's better when Stupnitsky and Phillips put their faith the movie's central portrayals rather than getting thematically heavy-handed, and it's also gleefully formulaic, No Hard Feelings has film-stealing stark-naked brawls, Lawrence in go-for-broke comedic mode, and insight and heart.
Since April, Melbourne's Australian Centre for the Moving Image has been celebrating femininity across screen history at world-premiere showcase Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion. On offer: an exhibition focusing on ladies in cinema and television, including examining how women are represented, championing standout talents, exploring how depictions and expectations have changed, and unpacking what female talents have symbolised — and been forced to deal with — about and from the society around them. Head by any time until Sunday, October 1 and that's what awaits. It's both a massive and a landmark exhibition. More than 150 original costumes, objects, artworks, props and sketches are gracing the Federation Square venue's walls and halls, all heroing oh-so-many women and their impact. Make a date between Friday, August 4–Sunday, August 13, however, and you'll get discounted entry. Across the ten days, ACMI is slinging tickets for just $10 — and cheap bookings are available online We're the country that gave the world Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie, to name just a few renowned Australian actresses owning the silver screen in recent years, so of course we're the country that's spearheading this exhibition. Among a lineup that spans threads that've never been displayed before, various cinematic trinkets, large-scale projections and other interactive experiences, attendees can check out odes to Marlene Dietrich in 1930's Morocco, Pam Grier's spectacular Blaxploitation career, Tilda Swinton in 1992's Orlando and the aforementioned Robbie via 2020's Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Plus, there's Mae West's sky-high heels from 1934's Belle of the Nineties, as well as Michelle Yeoh's fight-ready silks from 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The list goes on, clearly, covering Anna May Wong, Marilyn Monroe, Laverne Cox and Zendaya as well. And, everything from Glenn Close's Cruella de Vil in 102 Dalmatians to the Carey Mulligan-starring Promising Young Woman also gets time to shine. Images: Eugene Hyland Photography.
Talented pooches have been barking their way to big-screen stardom since the birth of the medium, and Cannes Film Festival even gives out awards for ace pupper performances. In Australia for a few years now, we also celebrate the intersection of canines and cinema — via our very own dog-themed movie showcase. At the Top Dog Film Festival, doggos and puppers cement their status as humanity's favourite film stars in a touring program of pooch-centric shorts. For a couple of hours, dogs will leap across screens in a curated selection of heartwarming flicks about humanity's best friend. Over the last few years, the lineup has included films about dog-powered sports, dogs in space, dogs hiking through the desert, senior dogs and more — with this year's bill highlighting dolphin-spotting dogs, animal actors and mountain pups. The festival hits Melbourne's Astor Theatre on Tuesday, August 29 as part of its 2023 run, and rushing after tickets the way your best four-legged friend rushes after a frisbee is recommended. Given how much we all love watching dog videos online, not to mention attending pupper-centric shindigs in general, this event is certain to be popular. You'd be barking mad to miss it, obviously.
Old hat, new whip. No, that isn't Dr Henry Walton 'Indiana' Jones' shopping list, but a description of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. While the fifth film about the eponymous archaeologist is as familiar as Indy films come, it's kept somewhat snapping by the returning Harrison Ford's on-screen partnership with Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge. When this 15-years-later sequel to 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull begins — swinging into cinemas after 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, too — Indy's trademark fedora and strip of leather have already enjoyed ample action. So has the George Lucas-created franchise's basic storyline. If you've seen one Indy outing in the past 42 years, you've seen the underlying mechanics of every other Indy outing. And yet, watching Ford flashing his crooked smile again, plus his bantering with Waller-Bridge, is almost enough to keep this new instalment whirring. Across the quintet of Indy flicks — a number contractually locked in at the outset, even if it took almost half a century to notch them all up — a trinket always needs recovering. Whether it's a relic, stone, cup, carving or, as here, a device by Ancient Greek mathematician, philosopher and inventor Archimedes that might facilitate time travel, nefarious forces (typically Nazis) always want said item as well. Also, only antics that've influenced the likes of Tomb Raider, National Treasure and Jungle Cruise can ensure that whatever whatsit is at the heart of whichever picture stays out of the wrong hands. The object in question falls into those mitts at some point, of course. Indy goes globetrotting and cave diving to save it, and skeletons and creepy-crawlies tend to get in his way. Reliably, he has female company. Frequently, there's a young offsider tagging along. A constant: the whole escapade bounding to the tune of John Williams' rousing theme, which is now acoustically synonymous with adventure. Lucas didn't come up with the story for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, though, in a first for the saga that he conjured up as a new version of 30s and 40s movie serials. Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans) similarly steps away from directing, which is also uncharted Indy territory. But Logan and Ford v Ferrari filmmaker James Mangold knows the drill, as do his co-screenwriters Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth (both alumni of the helmer's latter title), plus David Koepp (Kimi). To be fair, everyone knows the drill: see above. It isn't hard, then, for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny to surpass the woeful Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which it does. Still, it isn't easy for it avoid playing like a copy of Lucas and Spielberg at their much-earlier Indy best, something that it can't manage. Mangold and company's initial step is to start by pretending that they're making an Indy flick decades back with a younger Ford. Hollywood's digital de-aging technology gets its latest workout in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny's opening sequence — and a more-than-passable one — where it's 1944 and Nazis lurk. World War II is waning. Hitler is in his bunker. His underlings are scrounging up all the antiquities they can. Enter Indy spying with his British friend Basil Shaw (Toby Jones, Tetris); physicist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore) being certain that he's found part of the Archimedes Dial, aka the Antikythera; and showdowns on a loot-filled train to get the titular object away from the Third Reich. From there, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny's bulk takes place in 1969. The film reteams with Indy as a moon-landing party wakes up the about-to-retire professor from a whisky-ushered, underwear-clad slumber in his armchair — and he isn't happy. Ford in cranky and cantankerous mode, but with tenderness inside, remains a gem to watch. It worked in TV series Shrinking earlier in 2023 (one of his two recent TV roles, alongside Yellowstone prequel 1923), and it would've been the heftiest surprise that the Indy movies have delivered if it didn't also shine in his current big-screen franchise revival of late (after Blade Runner and Star Wars, obviously). Ford bickering gruffly is equally gleaming, which is where Waller-Bridge fits in as Helena Shaw, Basil's daughter and Indy's goddaughter, who wisecracks back, can hold her own in a fray and car, and says she wants help locating the entire Antikythera. If everyone could be taken at their word, this wouldn't be an Indy entry, just like if the MacGuffin was simple to source and protect, travelling by map didn't feature and, since Raiders of the Lost Ark, well-loved faces stopped resurfacing. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ticks all those boxes and always feels as if it's making a show of ticking them — regularly, gleefully, less gracefully and convincingly digging into the franchise's past Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens nod-and-reuse style. There's the old hat again, no matter what's atop Ford's head. Lacking Spielberg's knack for memorable action, many of the chases and puzzles have an urgent, immediate yet been-there-done-that air (and the setpieces keep coming, involving horse-and-motorcycle pursuits, subway tunnels, tuk tuks, underwater jaunts, eels, tombs and more). Mangold tries to patch over the boilerplate plot, but those efforts are as flimsy as anything that's ever threatened Indy's world-saving goals. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny didn't need to stretch out this latest go-around to the series' longest running time yet — 154 minutes — but with Ford and Waller-Bridge at the movie's core, understanding that choice isn't difficult. Although they're better than the material again and again, as is Short Round replacement Teddy (Ethann Isidore, Mortel), it's entertaining to bask in the pair's back-and-forth as Indy and Helena zip through the franchise-standard challenges. There's the new whip, because Ford and Waller-Bridge are that crucial to giving Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny any spark and charge. While the five-film promise is now fulfilled and this has been dubbed the saga's star's last ride, a tighter and bolder follow-up with them at the centre wouldn't be unwelcome if there have to be more Indy movies, which money dictates there'll have to be. And if not, passing the satchel and leather jacket to Everything Everywhere All At Once Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan, marking his return after making his acting debut in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, would be one of the Indy franchise's most cracking moves.
Calling all vegans and vegan-curious folk. The annual Vegan Market is back in Williamstown on Sunday, August 6. If you haven't checked this one out before, expect wall-to-wall vegan food, locally-designed items and live music. You'll find 100 local plant-based businesses selling everything from bliss balls and cupcakes to cannabis oil and ethical clothing. Vegan cacao, vegan ice-cream, vegan DJs – they're all here. The Vegan Market actually runs events in Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane too. Melbourne's market is taking place at Seaworks in Williamstown, right next to the waterfront. It's a great excuse to cross the West Gate and entry is 100% free. Pro tip: save some room for some chips from Off The Pier, then eat them on the grass by the rotunda. Perfect Sunday afternoon right there. Small flag: dogs aren't allowed inside the market (for obvious cupcake-stealing reasons), but assistance animals are more than welcome. You can find more info on the website. Images: supplied.
In the spirit of NAIDOC Week, which this year runs from Sunday, July 2–Sunday, July 9, Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT) in Fed Square are celebrating with a jam-packed program of special events paying homage to First Nations culture and the important role Elders have played as knowledge holders and community leaders. This year's NAIDOC Week theme is 'For Our Elders'. The program kicks off on 1 July with a Feather Flower Workshop with Waddi Waddi, Ngarrindjeri and Yorta Yorta Elder, Aunty Glenda Nicholls. This is a kid-friendly class where you can learn about the cultural significance of flowers in Koorie communities. There's also Create Your Own Murnong Daisy Necklace with Wadawurrung woman Dr Deanne Gilson, basket weaving with Yorta Yorta woman Donna Blackall, and a free KHT x NGV community tour, which includes the current KHT exhibition, Second Skin: Essence of Country. You can browse the full KHT NAIDOC Week program over here. Most events only run for one day only, and everything wraps up on Sunday, July 9. Prices vary and there are several free school holiday events, so it's a great one for families. If you haven't explored Koorie Heritage Trust before, now's the perfect time. You'll find it tucked away in the Yarra Building at Fed Square. Images: Supplied
Show a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T and head to the one-day-only Aretha — A Love Letter to the Queen of Soul at Hamer Hall this July. On Sunday, July 2, there'll be two exclusive shows, chock-full of the extraordinary star's powerful hits. This special event will showcase Aretha Franklin's wide ranging vocal talents and her timeless anthems. A diverse multigenerational cast will perform 32 of the Queen's hits, guaranteed to have you dancing in your seat and singing along to iconic tunes like 'Respect' and 'You Make Me Feel Like (A Natural Woman)'. The stellar cast includes Montaigne, the ARIA-nominated Emma Donovan, Thndo, Thandi Phoenix and Ursula Yovich — with music direction by Joe Accaria and support from a nine-piece band. The show is both narrated and directed by Jada Alberts, who weaves in the stories of the artist's public success and personal struggles — which ultimately paved the way for other female and soul artists to make their own mark on the world. This event is a spectacular opportunity to hear of the beginning of Franklin's life. It'll take you from her gospel roots and rising fame, all the way to her reaching worldwide recognition. Her talents earned her many accolades, including 18 Grammy Awards and the title of Rolling Stone's 'Greatest Singer of All Time'. She's also sold over 75 million records. Head to Hamer Hall next month to celebrate the life of a woman who broke down barriers and made a lasting impact on the world of music. 'Aretha' is taking over Hamer Hall on Sunday, July 2 for two shows only. For more information and to secure your tickets, head to the website. Images: Cybele Malinowski.
The young-gun chef behind globe-trotting restaurant concept Atlas Dining is teaming up with one of the OGs of Melbourne's Italian food scene, for a one-off feast fuelled by fire. On Tuesday, October 4, you can catch Charlie Carrington as he ventures north of the river and joins Joe Vargetto at his Kew mainstay Mister Bianco. Guests are in for a smoky, seasonal four-course spread, guided both by Carrington's affinity for cooking over flames and Vargetto's signature Sicilian flavours. The collaborative menu might feature hits like smoked goats cheese and pine nut tortellini in a smoky parmesan and pumpkin broth, duck matched with eggplant caponata and smoked capsicum sauce, and a semifreddo of smoked milk finished with grilled berries and rich chocolate ganache. Included in your $135 ticket is a series of matched sips, with Scorpo wines and cocktails crafted on Brogan's Way gin among the night's drinks curation. Top Image: Mister Bianco
If we didn't watch horror movies in cavernous darkened rooms, projected large on shimmering screens and with every noise echoing throughout the theatre, would they be as unsettling? If you've ever jumped out of your chair while staring at your TV at home, you'll already know the answer to that question: yes, yes they would. Still, there's nowhere better to see a scary flick, new or old, than at the cinema — where hopefully loud popcorn-munching is the only distraction. This Halloween, the Lido is taking that idea to heart with a Halloween Horror program. Four days, one big screen, four supremely spooky horror-movie classics: that's the bill from Friday, October 28–Monday, October 31. These aren't just any old eerie flicks. They're must-sees that've influenced almost every horror film ever made over the past five decades. In other words, if you're a movie buff, it's the perfect Halloween experience. Thanks to The Shining, you can see what happens when all work and no play help Jack Nicholson get creeped out in the Overlook Hotel — and learn why hedge mazes will always be chilling. Next, it's time for a date with a demon via The Exorcist. A word of advice: don't eat anything green beforehand. Maybe don't wear a red-and-green striped jumper, either, given that the original A Nightmare on Elm Street is also on the lineup in all of its supremely 80s glory. And, while it has spawned a heap of sequels — like almost everything in this program — nothing will ever live up to the OG The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. If you're easily frightened (and that isn't part of the fun for you), this film lineup isn't for you, clearly.
When it's claimed that Decision to Leave's Detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il, Heaven: To the Land of Happiness) needs "murder and violence in order to be happy", it's easy to wonder if that statement similarly applies to Park Chan-wook, this stunning South Korean thriller's filmmaker. The director of Oldboy, Thirst, Stoker and The Handmaiden doesn't, surely. Still, his exceptional body of on-screen work glows when either fills its frames — which, in a career that also spans Joint Security Area, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Lady Vengeance and English-language TV miniseries The Little Drummer Girl, among other titles, is often. To be more accurate, perhaps Park needs to survey the grey areas that loiter around death and brutality, and surround love, lust, loss, and all matters of the brain, body and heart that bind humans together, to find cinematic fulfilment. Certainly, audiences should be glad if/that he does. In Decision to Leave, exploring such obsessions, and the entire notions of longing and obsession, brings a staggering, sinuously layered and seductively gorgeous movie to fruition — a film to obsess over if ever there was one. In this year's deserved Cannes Film Festival Best Director-winner, reserved insomniac Hae-joon is fixated from the outset, too: with his police job in Busan, where he works Monday–Friday before returning to Ipo on weekends to his wife (Lee Jung-hyun, Peninsula). That all-consuming focus sees his weekday walls plastered with grim photos from cases, and haunts the time he's meant to be spending — and having sex — with said spouse. Nonetheless, the latest dead body thrust his way isn't supposed to amplify his obsession. A businessman and experienced climber is found at the base of a mountain, and to most other cops the answer would be simple. It is to his offsider Soo-wan (Go Kyung-Pyo, Private Lives), but Hae-joon's interest is piqued when the deceased's enigmatic Chinese widow, the cool, calm but also bruised and scratched Seo-rae (Tang Wei, The Whistleblower), is brought in for questioning amid apologising for her imperfect Korean-language skills. In the precinct interrogation room, the detective and his potential suspect share a sushi dinner — and, in the lingering looks gazed each other's way even at this early stage, this may as well be a twisted first date. Hae-joon then surveils Seo-rae, including at her work caring for the elderly, which also provides her alibi. He keeps watching her at home, where her evenings involve television and ice cream. In stirring scenes of bravura and beauty, he envisages himself with her in the process, longing for the illusion he's building in his sleep-deprived mind. As for Seo-rae, she keeps stoking their chemistry, especially when she's somehow being both direct and evasive with her responses to his queries. She knows how small gestures leave an imprint, and she also knows when she and Hae-joon are both desperately hooked on each other. Every intelligently written (by Park and frequent co-scribe Chung Seo-kyung), evocatively shot (by cinematographer Kim Ji-Yong, Ashfall) moment in Decision to Leave is crucial; the film is made so meticulously, with a precision its protagonist would instantly admire, that cutting out even a second is unthinkable. Equally, every scene speaks volumes about this spellbinding movie — but here's three that help convey its simmering potency. In one, Hae-joon ascends up the victim's last cliff by rope, tied to Soo-wan, Busan looming in the background. In another, detailed blue-green wallpaper filled with mountains surrounds Seo-rae. And in yet another, she reaches into Hae-joon's pocket to grab his lip balm, then applies it to his mouth. Perspective is everything in this feature, Park stresses. Minutiae is everything, too. Intimacy is more than everything, actually, in a picture that's also grippingly, electrifying sensual. A police detective drawn to a possible murderer, a woman unable to let the married subject of her own infatuation go: if Decision to Leave was made in English in the 80s, it'd star Michael Douglas. With its tumbling fall, rock faces, thin line between observation and desire, midway twists, and mix of romance and noir, if it had been crafted even earlier back, it'd be an Alfred Hitchcock film. Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction or Vertigo but South Korean, Park's pining, aching new jewel isn't, though. Exquisitely intricate aesthetically, emotionally, psychologically and thematically, it's one of the director's absolute best. He's never needed a hammer or live octopus to make a splash, either, even if it worked so strikingly with Oldboy nearly two decades ago; here, for example, a literal fish-eye lens is astounding. With every breathtaking visual composition and choice, including against cliffs and seas aplenty, Park keeps besting and challenging himself, and also utterly wowing his viewers. Already picked as South Korea's entry for the Best International Feature Film award at 2023's Oscars — a gong the country last won in 2020 with Parasite — Decision to Leave is as spectacular as it is sophisticated. It's an ambitious sight to behold, no matter which stylistic tricks it's pulling and deep-seated secrets it's spilling in tandem — and also as tender as it is melancholy, a swirling, yearning mood that the use of Jung Hoon Hee's 'Mist' on the soundtrack only cements. The film's core duo is deployed just as devastatingly well, so much so that it's impossible to imagine any other actors inhabiting the parts. Both Park Hae-il and Tang Wei have dazzled elsewhere, him in Bong Joon Ho's Memories of Murder and The Host, her in Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, but they're as sublime as actors can be as wearied, troubled souls bouncing towards and repelling away from each other like revolving magnets. Formidable, revelatory and bold, too, are Decision to Leave's versions of two noir staples: complicated cops and femme fatales. That duo is virtually synonymous with the genre, so much so that Park wants viewers to believe that they already know all they need about Hae-joon and Seo-rae going in — only to keep unpacking them, their motivations and their feelings, as the pair unpack each other. How exhilarating, intoxicating and all-consuming that experience is, for the movie's characters and for its audience. How powerfully it ripples and resonates. How phenomenal an addition to South Korea's national filmography, and to Park's, Decision to Leave proves. Deciding that you never want it to leave your memory is a given.
UPDATE, November 11, 2022: Fire of Love is available to stream via Disney+. Spewing fire is so hot right now, and literally always — and dragons aren't the only ones doing it. House of the Dragon and Blaze can have their flame-breathing creatures, and Fire of Love can have something that also seems fantastical but is one of the earth's raging wonders. The mix of awe, astonishment, adoration, fear, fascination and unflinching existential terror that volcanoes inspire is this documentary's playground. It was Katia and Maurice Krafft's daily mood, including before they met, became red beanie-wearing volcanologists, built a life chasing eruptions — The Life Volcanic, you could dub it — and devoted themselves to studying lava-spurting ruptures in the planet's crust. Any great doco on a topic such as this, and with subjects like these, should make viewers experience the same thrills, spills, joys and worries, and that's a radiant feat this Sundance award-winner easily achieves. What a delight it would be to trawl through the Kraffts' archives, sift through every video featuring the French duo and their work, and witness them doing their highly risky jobs against spectacular surroundings for hours, days and more. That's the task filmmaker Sara Dosa (The Seer and the Unseen) took up to make this superb film. This isn't the only such doco — legendary German director Werner Herzog has made his own, called The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft, after featuring the couple in 2016's Into the Inferno — but Fire of Love is a glorious, sensitive, entrancing and affecting ode to two remarkable people and their love, passion and impact. While history already dictates how the pair's tale ends, together and exactly as it seemed fated to, retracing their steps and celebrating their importance will never stop sparking new pleasures. For newcomers to the Kraffts, their lives comprised quite the adventure — one with two volcano-obsessed souls who instantly felt like they were destined to meet, bonded over a mutual love of Mount Etna, then dedicated their days afterwards to understanding the natural geological formations that filled their dreams. Early in their time together, the couple gravitated to what they called 'red volcanoes', with their enticing scarlet-hued lava flows. What a phenomenon to explore when romance beats in the air, and when geochemist Katia and geologist Maurice are beginning their life together. From there, however, they moved to analysing what they named 'grey volcanoes'. Those don't visually encapsulate the pair's relationship; they're the craggy peaks that produce masses of ash when they erupt — Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull, for instance — and often a body count. As narrated by actor and Kajillionaire filmmaker Miranda July, Fire of Love starts with blazing infatuation and devotion — between the Kraffts for each other, and for their field of interest — then establishes their legacy. Both aspects could fuel their own movies, and both linger and haunt in their own ways. And, as magnificent as this incredibly thoughtful, informative and stirring documentary is, it makes you wonder what a sci-fi flick made from the same footage would look like. The 16-millimetre imagery captured during the Kraffts' research trips around the globe, whittled down here from 200 hours to fill just 98 minutes, puts even the most state-of-the-art special effects in a different realm. Pixels can be used to paint gorgeous sights, and cinema has no shortage of movies that shimmer with that exact truth, but there really is no substitute for reality. During Fire of Love's first half, those easy visions of science fiction just keep flickering; if someone else had Dosa's access, and had July employ her dreamy voice to spin an otherworldly narrative, movie magic would likely explode. There's a particular sequence that cements that idea, set to the also-ethereal sounds of Air — layering French icons upon French icons — and featuring the Kraffts walking around against red lava in their futuristic-looking protective silver suits. They wander, they risk their lives, and pure actuality beams back. It's nothing short of extraordinary, as well as enchanting. Fittingly, the film's entire score springs from Air's Nicolas Godin, and it couldn't better set the mood; that said, these visuals and this story would prove enrapturing if nary a sound was heard, let alone a note or a word. Other segments ripple with sheer incredulity — not the several riffs on Katia and Maurice's meet-cute, though, or how he worked the publicity angles to fund their work while she pumped out their books. (In a doco stitched together from archival materials rather than contemporary talking-head interviews, those past TV chats come in handy, too). When Maurice and one of the duo's offsiders decide chalk up the first-ever sailing trip across a lake of sulphuric acid in just a rubber dinghy, floating around the crater of Java's Ijen, jaws can only drop. The footage is breathtaking, and more petrifying than any horror flick. That Katia refused to hop onto the raft also helps spell out the pair's differences. No chemist would trust their life to a bath of acid, yet the geologists are willing to take the chance. Fire of Love falls head over heels for the Kraffts' similarities and mutual fixations, but Dosa, her co-writers/editors Erin Casper (The Vow) and Jocelyne Chaput (Fractured Land), plus producer/fellow co-scribe Shane Boris (Stray), also see where they went their own ways. When Fire of Love focuses on the Kraffts' groundbreaking observations, it's even more astounding. The film covers the crucial life-or-death impact of their work on grey volcanoes, after attempting to educate towns and cities in the vicinity of such masses — so they could react appropriately and in a timely manner to avoid casualties — became a key part of their mission. Spying the fallout when the couple's warnings about potential fatalities went unheeded, including their cautions about deadly mudslides, is simply heartbreaking. Witnessing how one pyroclastic flow from Japan's Mount Unzen in 1991 forever ended the Kraffts' own narratives, albeit not for the same reason, is just as moving. What an existence Katia and Maurice shared — and what a stunningly compiled and edited tribute this is to them, the rock they called home as we all do, the land features they adored, the ash and fire those volcanoes expel into the sky, and the fragility of life, love and, well, everything.
Remember the name Rasmus King. Based on 2022's slate of Australian films and television shows, that shouldn't be hard. The Byron Bay-born newcomer hadn't graced a screen, large or small, before this year — and now he has no fewer than four projects pushing him into the spotlight before 2023 arrives. Most, including surfing TV drama Barons, capitalise upon the fact that he's a pro on the waves IRL. Two, 6 Festivals and the upcoming sci-fi featurette What If The Future Never Happened?, get his long blonde locks whipping through the Australian music scene. The latter is based on Daniel Johns' teenage years, actually, and has King playing that pivotal part. If he's half as impressive in the role as he is in father-son drama Bosch & Rockit, Silverchair fans will have plenty to look to forward to. When writer/director Tyler Atkins opens his debut feature, it's in the late 90s, along Australia's east coast, and with King as eager surfer Rockit — son to weed farmer Bosch (Luke Hemsworth, Westworld). Sometimes, the titular pair hit the surf together, which sees Rockit's eyes light up; however, Bosch is usually happy tending to his illicit business, making questionable decisions, and coping with splitting from his son's mother Elizabeth (Leeanna Walsman, Eden) with the help of other women. Then a couple of unfortunate twists of fate upend Rockit's existence, all stemming from his father. Begrudgingly, Bosch is pushed into stepping outside his drug-growing comfort zone by an old friend-turned-cop (Michael Sheasby, The Nightingale) and his corrupt partner (Martin Sacks, Buckley's Chance). When a bushfire sweeps through the region shortly afterwards, he's forced to go on the run to stay alive. Bosch & Rockit approaches Bosch's absconding from Rockit's perspective, adopting the line that the former gives his boy: that they're going to Byron for an extended holiday. Atkins doesn't feed the same idea to its audience, but ensures that viewers understand why a bright-eyed teenager would take his dad at his word — not just because he doesn't know what Bosch does for a living, which he doesn't; or he's naïve, which he is; but also because he's eager to hang onto his biggest dream. There's sorrow in King's spirited performance, with Rockit more affected by his parents' split, bullying at school and the isolation that comes with finding solace in the sea, usually alone, than Bosch has the shrewdness to spot. There's earnestness as well, because what struggling kid who's desperate for the kind of love that genuine attention signifies, as Rockit visibly is, won't blindly believe whatever fantasy their dad or mum sells them for as long as possible? King does a magnetic job of conveying Rockit's inner turmoil, and expressing his uncertainty, too. There's an effortlessness to his portrayal, whether Rockit is lapping up Bosch's presence like a plant swaying towards the sunlight, listlessly left to his own devices when his dad decides he'd rather chase Byron local Deb (Isabel Lucas, That's Not Me), or finding a kindred spirit in Ash (Savannah La Rain, Surviving Summer), another restless and yearning teen vacationing under less-than-ideal circumstances and feeling like she's alone in the world. Avoiding formulaic plotting isn't Bosch & Rockit's strong suit, however, as the film makes plain at every turn. That's evident in both of its namesakes' trajectories, for starters — with Bosch a small-time crim falling afoul of the wrong people, with help from bad luck, then trying to start anew; and Rockit an innocent kid stuck with subpar parents, forced to grow up faster than he should, but hanging onto whatever he can. When a wave tumbles over a surfer's head, crashing towards the shore, it's both a new revelation and a routine occurrence every single time — and, as well as showing that sight whenever Rockit takes to the ocean, aka frequently, that's also how Bosch & Rockit feels. The depths in its two central performances, Hemsworth's included, can't completely sweep aside the film's well-worn storyline, but the feature's sincerity goes a long way. A movie can be sentimental and still ring true, too, which this repeatedly does. Knowing that you're having your heartstrings pulled isn't just blatant, but almost instantaneous, and yet this tender tale is still easy to drift along with. While King proves Bosch & Rockit's biggest asset, Hemsworth's impact can't be underestimated — and shows why he has never just been "the other Hemsworth". Like his brothers, his early career weaved through local soaps (Neighbours in his case, which Chris and Liam also popped up on), plus other Aussie TV series (including Blue Heelers, All Saints and Tangle). As his siblings are, he's now best-known for his overseas success, with Westworld forever altering his resume as the Thor franchise has for Chris and The Hunger Games did for Liam. Here, there's a weight and texture to Luke's empathetic work as the well-meaning, perennially hapless Bosch that ranks it among his best, and is crucial to the film. Atkins also ensures that his audience understands why Rockit wants to be with his charismatic yet careening dad, even when he does know better. Indeed, scenes where Hemsworth and King banter, whether slinging the most Aussie curse-filled exchanges each other's way or bickering in public, are among Bosch & Rockit's standouts. It's lucky that its key duo bring so much to their portrayals; elsewhere, Bosch & Rockit is undeniably scenic, but never surprising. Often, Ben Nott's (How to Please a Woman) cinematography looks like a postcard — especially when the picture lingers on the obvious shots, such as the famous Cape Byron Lighthouse, or loiters on dolphins and whales while its characters frolic along the coast. Of course, those pieces of card sent from holiday spots usually come bearing heartfelt statements behind the eye-catching gloss, a trait that Bosch & Rockit also shares. Little about growing up is simple, nothing about parenting is, and love and hope can't help anyone escape either reality — all notions that resonate from this straightforward, always-familiar but also evocative film.
Back at work and feeling the post-festival season blues? We've got the cure with the return of By The Meadow to regional Victoria for its sixth edition of wild music. The three-day music festival returns to the hills of Bambra, 90 minutes southwest of Melbourne, from March 29 to 31. Hit the dance floor to a lineup of soul, funk and disco, with headliners including blues and garage band The Murlocs, American indie rock artist Lucy Dacus — in her Aussie debut — indie pop trio The Goon Sax and Melbourne funk DJ Harvey Sutherland. As the festival goes for just over 24 hours, you'll be able to settle in and enjoy the tunes then spend the night camping (or glamping) under the stars. Much needed festival fodder will be available in the form of food stalls from local restaurateurs, with plenty of vegan and vegetarian options, too. To drink, there'll be craft beers from Salt Brewing and wines from across the vineyards of the Otway Hinterlands. Or, you can BYO — just make sure you adhere to the festival's booze limits (around 18 cans of beer, or 12 RTDs). So pack your camping gear and get ready for a weekend of music in the wilderness.
Windsor's Singapore-inspired Hawker Hall is celebrating Chinese New Year with the return of its weekend yum cha sessions. Every Saturday and Sunday in February, diners can feast on a whole six courses of dim sum for just $38 per person. As yum cha is traditionally a breakfast or early lunch meal, the deal is available from 11am–4pm each day. You can choose six dishes from the many bamboo steamer baskets on offer — think the requisite barbecue pork buns, spring rolls and fried rice, plus five-spiced chicken ribs, shiitake mushroom mapo tofu, fried squid and seafood-stuffed Chinese doughnuts with plenty of chilli oil. Apart from the eats, the venue is slinging four cocktails ($12 each) that have been designed to drink aside dim sum. There's the Enter The Dragon — a tropical concoction of tequila, pineapple, lime, guava and mint — as well as The Green Lantern, with jasmine-infused vodka mixed with peach, lemon and cucumber. Since it's yum cha, the courses will, of course, be on the smaller side, but the price is hard to beat regardless. Hawker Hall's yum cha runs from 11am–4pm. You can book your spot via the website.
Four years ago, legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Fleetwood Mac toured Australia with Christine McVie, who'd just rejoined the band after a 16-year absence. This year, when the British-American group tours the country, the lineup will look a little different. Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, John McVie and Christine McVie will be joined on stage in August by Crowded House frontman Neil Finn and Mike Campbell, from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, with Lindsey Buckingham controversially axed from the band early last year. Despite the switch-up — it's not the band's first personnel change, and probably won't be its last — the band will be performing all its biggest hits, from 'Dreams' to 'The Chain' and 'Go Your Own Way'. The six will visit both the west and east coast, with four shows over two weeks at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on September 2, 4, 7 and 9. Fleetwood Mac is one of the world's best-selling bands, selling in excess of 100 million albums worldwide, with the album Rumours one of the best-selling of all time. The band's Aussie tour follows its 50-show tour of the US.
Making a powerhouse acting debut, Zain Al Rafeea carries the entire weight of Capharnaüm on his slender shoulders. Playing a young Lebanese boy also named Zain, the untrained talent puts in a raw, soulful performance that nearly bursts off of the screen, all while capturing a truth that is rarely uttered. With a weary expression where an impish smile should be, he conveys the toll of simply existing, a burden that nobody initially asks for. Indeed, when Zain is introduced in court, suing his parents for bringing him into a life of relentless hardship, Al Rafeea's exasperated face alone sells the character's existential angst. While Zain's unconventional lawsuit provides Capharnaüm's entry point, writer-director Nadine Labaki (Where Do We Go Now?) is quick to explore the basis for the 12-year-old's legal challenge. In his dismal Beirut home environment, his parents (Kawthar Al Haddad and Fadi Kamel Youssef) make him work to support the family, his baby sibling is kept in chains, and he witnesses his beloved younger sister (Cedra Izam) sold into marriage for a few chickens. More than that, his birth was never registered, so he can't get the necessary identifying paperwork to attend school or to even prove that he exists. Running away, he's soon caught in another difficult domestic situation — taken in by kindly Ethiopian immigrant Rahil (Yordanos Shiferaw), he cares for her infant son (Boluwatife Treasure Bankole) while she works, but is left stranded when she suddenly doesn't return. Scripting the film with four co-writers, Labaki puts the despairing yet resourceful Zain through even further misery — the type that'd be badged 'poverty porn' if it wasn't drawn from reality and told with such empathy. Those traits prove Capharnaüm's main strengths, aside from the highly sensitive work by the movie's non-professional actors. Much of the cast, including the mesmerising Al Rafeea and captivating toddler Bankole, have lived lives that hew much too close to the events seen on screen, while Labaki's commitment to bringing their plights to light shines through in her narrative. Ranging beyond the feel-good charm of Slumdog Millionaire and the tender reunion of Lion, Capharnaüm actively wants viewers not just to engage with its bleak story, but with the truth behind it. From crumbling shanties to overcrowded juvenile jails, this is a fictional tale wrought from the toughest type of real-life pain, and it's designed to feel that way from start to finish. The key word there is feel. Labaki wants audiences to be moved by her gritty, warts-and-all portrait — and given everything that Zain experiences, that's exactly what happens. Alas, although the actor-turned-filmmaker clearly recognises the potency of her material, she doesn't seem to trust it to get the job done alone. Every stylistic decision, from the lingering camerawork to the button-pushing score (by her husband and producer Khaled Mouzanar) to the lurching narrative structure, is calculated to poke and prod viewers. Every choice cajoles those watching not just to react with sympathy, but to respond harder and deeper, eventually to the point of overkill. There's a difference between stressing the point in an earnest and affecting way, wallowing gracefully to truly communicate the enormity of a character's struggle, and hitting people over the head. Bluntly bludgeon someone for long enough, and they might just stop feeling anything. As a result, even with a Cannes jury prize and an Academy Award nomination to its name, Carpharnaüm can't overcome its obvious contradictions. It knows that it's spinning a worthy tale, but isn't confident that anyone will care about the gruelling minutiae without applying force. It possesses two of the most authentic, endearing child performances committed to celluloid in recent times — on par with its thematic sibling, The Florida Project — and yet packages their naturalistic work with overtly manipulative storytelling. It argues that unthinkingly birthing kids into a downtrodden life is a heinous crime, while also championing a boy whose engaging persona and enduring resilience was forged through weathering immense difficulties. Although it's impossible to ignore these clashes, when Al Rafeea lights up the screen, he'll make you wish otherwise. Stirring but never self-assured enough to be subtle, Capharnaüm is a heartbreaking movie that stops well short of being a heartbreaking masterpiece. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBecbs52Fpo
Every year, runners from all over Victoria limber up for the Bendigo Bank Fun Run, a fundraiser for Bendigo Hospital. The event is split into a five-kilometre walk or run, or a ten-kilometre, 15-kilometre or half-marathon run. So, whether you're a pro who barely breaks a sweat or you can't stand running and would prefer to stroll at a leisurely pace, there's an event for you. There will also be dedicated colour stations positioned along the track to add a little more excitement to the festivities. All you have to do is register online — as either an individual or team — and then start training. All entrants who make it across the finish line will score a medallion and a free brekkie loaded with healthy goodness courtesy of The Spotless.
If you've been struggling to defeat the winter blues, here's a little helping hand. And it won't cost you a cent. From October until the mid-November, Serotonin Eatery — an eatery and exercise centre in Burnley — is offering free exercise classes twice a week, every week. Head along to Serotonin Eatery at 7am on a Wednesday or Thursday (or both) and get ready to move your body. The 60-minute workout involved stretching, cardio and strength work and is suitable for all levels of fitness. All you need are runners and a water bottle. While you're at it, you can score a complimentary session with Serotonin's nutritionist, who'll discuss how your eating patterns could be affecting your mood. If you've time to spare afterwards, hang around for a healthy brekkie. There'll be 20 free classes all in all. Should you make it to every single one, you could save yourself $2400 in fees you'd otherwise be paying. Online registration, which you can do over here, is essential. Serotonin's free exercise classes kick off on Wednesday, October, 10 and wrap-up on Thursday, December 13.
Melbourne is known for its fine food experiences. Usually that just means eating a lot of things you would never be able to make yourself. But, on the rare occasion, we get to peek behind the culinary curtain and learn some tricks of the trade. Joining these ranks is Moro. The olive oil purveyor is launching a series of masterclasses to elevate your appreciation of the humble pantry staple. It's partnering with three top eateries — Trattoria Emilia, Epocha and Simply Spanish — to highlight the versatility of olive oil in multiple cuisines. Each class will kick off with an industry expert taking you through how to identify the characteristics of olive oil and how to prep dishes in the right way to enhance the flavour. Next, the restaurant chefs will hold a live Q&A session as they cook up authentic meals — think pasta made from scratch at Trattoria Emilia and tapas and paella at Simply Spanish. And then the fun part: you get to enjoy those dishes with matching wine. The Moro Masterclass series will run across three separate sessions. Trattoria Emilia is up first on Saturday, October 20 followed by Epocha on Thursday, October 25 and Simply Spanish on Saturday, November 3. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit the website. Image: Brook James.
February 29 only rolls around once every four years. And while the earth spins around the sun playing catch up, we want to make the most of our last day of summer. To help you do so, Melbourne's luxe boutique hotel, QT Melbourne, is offering 29 percent off all food and drinks at a number of its in-house restaurants and bars for a whole 24 hours. And you don't even have to be a hotel guest to get in on this deal. Soak up the sunshine and sweeping city views on The Rooftop at QT as you snack on tacos, pork rolls and choc tops, all for a fraction of the cost. Or, if you want to spend the end of summer sipping a cocktail, head to QT's lush The Secret Garden Bar, which uses ingredients from its own garden. The Wild Strawberries, described as 'a negroni for those with less beards and tattoos', is a concoction of gin, rosé, freshly picked strawberries and coriander. If you want something more traditional, there's the Rivermint Martini — a twist on the classic— or the sangria-style Garden Punch. [caption id="attachment_763014" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kate Shanasy[/caption] In the evening, French-inspired bistro Pascale Bar and Grill is also offering 29 percent off everything — from champagne and red wine to oysters, tartare, cacio e pepe and wagyu steaks. Then hit up the cake shop for treats decadent enough for Marie Antoinette herself. You could also use it as an excuse to book in for a last-minute staycation and go to town on the room service. You'll be saving 29 percent on all your wining and dining, after all.
If there's one thing that cinephiles have learned after almost a quarter-century of Wes Anderson films, it's that the director's features look like nothing else on-screen. His love of symmetry is well-known. In fact, you can't miss it. But meticulous detail shines in every element of his movies — especially in the production and costume design. It's evident in the trailer for his latest movie, The French Dispatch. It made a whole heap of fans buy Team Zissou sneakers after The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. And, it's on display in The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel, too — the two films in the spotlight at The Sartorial Splendour of Wes Anderson. For two nights, the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival and Cinema Nova are teaming up to fill the latter's big screen with eccentric siblings and eager lobby boys — and the eye-catching outfits they all wear, of course. Catch The Grand Budapest Hotel at 6.30pm on Tuesday, March 10 and The Royal Tenenbaums at the same time on Wednesday, March 11. Each screening will be followed by a panel discussion on their costuming choices as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caMgokYWboU
If you've ever had the urge to rummage through someone else's suitcase, here's your chance. Suitcase Rummage is coming back to Melbourne, and luckily for you it'll be less old socks and more vintage treasures. Next happening between 10am–3pm on Saturday, February 15 at the South Melbourne Town Hall — and then again on March 14 — the mini-scale market will bring together numerous trunks that aren't just filled with clothing. The suitcases will contain everything from art to records, shoes and jewellery — so, come and bargain, buy or swap to score that old Joni Mitchell vinyl you've been wanting. [caption id="attachment_760661" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Suitcase Rummage[/caption] Those who wanting to sell their wares must register — and it'll cost $25 for a 'stall'. You can bring up to three suitcases, so you can lug in all those shoes you've been promising to wear but certainly will not. Top image: Yan Chen via Suitcase Rummage.
It has only been three short years since Call Me By Your Name first hit cinemas; however the yearning romance instantly cemented itself as an all-time great. Adapting André Aciman's novel of the same name, every element of the film hit exactly the right note — including the tender love story, charting a summer dalliance between Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer), as well as director Luca Guadagnino's gorgeous use of the story's Italian Riveria setting. Hammer's awkward dance moves, Michael Stuhlbarg playing the dad everyone wishes they had, the use of peaches — you can remember this heartwrenching movie for any or all of the above. Actually, because there's never a bad time to revisit Call Me By Your Name, you can also re-experience it all again on the big screen on Valentine's Day. The Astor Theatre is doing the honours, kicking off at 7.30pm on Friday, February 14 — and tickets cost $18.50. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9AYPxH5NTM
In response to COVID-19, film festivals around the world have been making the shift to online programs for 2020 — and Australia's fests are no different. Sydney Film Festival is doing just that, as is the Melbourne International Film Festival. Also going virtual: the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival. HRAFF's addition to the digital fold is called Humankind, and it runs between Monday, May 18–Sunday, May 24. Each day, it'll screen a different film online. And yes, while that means that the fest's lineup is quite small, it's also mostly free. Although registering for tickets is still required, six of the seven movies on the program will be made available to viewers without paying a cent. You can opt to donate, though, if you can spare $2, $10 or $50. On the bill: poignant New Zealand drama Whale Rider; documentary No Time for Quiet, about the Girls Rock! camp in Melbourne; and fellow music-focused doco Her Sound, Her Story, which explores the experiences of women in the industry. Or, you can check out environmental documentary Tomorrow, which is co-directed by Inglourious Basterds star Melanie Laurent; Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, about the African American poet and activist; and Backtrack Boys, which dives into a jackaroo-led youth program. Humankind is also screening excellent Aussie doco In My Blood It Runs, which tells the tale of 10-year-old Northern Territory resident Dujuan — and tickets to watch it online cost $15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmahNqD3Dvw&feature=youtu.be
The offering at Balaclava's newest wellness studio Upstate is a supercharged one, with a schedule that runs from reformer pilates to meditation, all the way through to Bikram And you can get a taste of it all for free, when the venue welcomes the public for a jam-packed open house weekend on April 27 and 28. Punters keen to kick-start their post-Easter fitness regime will be able to experience a swag of those classes first-hand, with 22 free sessions happening across the weekend. Start your Saturday with a hot yoga or reformer class, or work up a sweat at a pilates HIIT class. Finish off the weekend with a yin yoga class and sound bath meditation on Sunday night. You'll just need to book in via the website. As well as joining a class or two, you'll get the chance to meet the founders — Lululemon Ambassador Gail Asbell and sister Charelle Cuolahan — and find out more about becoming a member. This is their third studio — the two also run studios in Geelong and Torquay, which will also being doing free classes over the weekend. The studio will also provide post-workout treats and kombucha, and there'll be chances to win activewear and three-month memberships. Images: Ed Sloane Photography.
What starts with a widespread look at how we could radically address climate change using existing technologies, ends with a moving coming-of-age story, and features everything from Aussie rom-coms to documentaries about the country's refugee policies in-between? Thanks to films 2040, Giant Little Ones, Top End Wedding and Stop the Boats, that'd be Melbourne's showcase of human rights-focused movies, art and performances. Yes, the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival returns for another year, running from Thursday, May 9 to Thursday, May 23. Also on the 15-day festival lineup: a showcase of Indigenous short films, a deep dive into child labour and its use in everyday products, the story of a young woman who escaped ISIS and the life of an octogenarian trans woman. Plus, if you'd like to take a look at the biggest global corruption scandal in history, aka the Panama Papers, you can — and the doco is directed by Alex Winter, who is perhaps better known as the William 'Bill' S. Preston, Esq to Keanu Reeves' Theodore 'Ted' Logan in the Bill and Ted movies. As well as screening at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Cinema Nova and Lido Cinemas, HRAFF includes an exhibition component at a number of galleries around town. Whether you like your creativity on a canvas or on the big screen, this fest has the answer — and the topical content.
Last time that Kenneth Branagh took on a cultural icon, he stepped into Hercule Poirot's shoes, starring in and directing a new adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. He'll return to the character in next year's Death on the Nile, continuing a filmmaking career with a noticeable theme: bringing famous figures and stories to the screen. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, Marvel's initial Thor flick and fairy tale Cinderella all appear on his resume, however one particular chap has always retained pride of place. Thirty years ago, Branagh jumped behind the camera for the first time for a cinematic version of William Shakespeare's Henry V. In the decades since, he's directed and acted in Much Ado About Nothing, Love's Labour's Lost and As You Like It, too. So it was only a matter of time until he did the obvious, turning his attention to a Shakespeare biopic. Shakespeare in Love, this isn't. Shakespeare in Retirement would've worked as a title, though. With Branagh both starring and helming as he usually does, All Is True's take on the Bard sees him back in Stratford-upon-Avon, where his family has always lived while he's been triumphing in London. It took a fire to bring him home, with his beloved Globe Theatre burning down in 1613 during a performance of Henry VIII. Devastated, old Will has pledged never to work again, vowing to spend time with his wife Anne Hathaway (Judi Dench) and adult daughters Susanna (Lydia Wilson) and Judith (Kathryn Wilder) instead. Alas, absence hasn't exactly made the heart grow fonder. As Shakespeare switches from penning flowery prose to trying to make a garden blossom, drama still keeps finding him. Grief rears its head, over the son he lost years ago, while Anne's stoic sadness at being left to take care of the household also bubbles to the fore. So does Judith's simmering anger at being constantly overlooked due to her gender, as well as Susanna's gossiped-about troubles with her fiercely Puritan husband (Hadley Fraser). If being a genius isn't easy, living in the shadow of one is a much tougher feat. Still, in a reflective screenplay written by Ben Elton, it's Shakespeare's struggle to not only adjust to an ordinary life, but to weigh up his flaws and failings over the course of his life, that drives the film. In a movie filled with allusions to its subject's work, All Is True takes its name from the alternative moniker for Henry VIII, which would prove Shakespeare's last play. Elton's script is definitely fictionalised — although perhaps less than his recent British sitcom, Upstart Crow — and yet the eponymous phrase remains apt. At the heart of the handsomely shot feature sits an important notion that applies not only to the Bard, but to art in general: whatever unfurls on the page or stage speaks to something within its creator. Just as Shakespeare clearly resonates with both Branagh and Elton, the great playwright's acclaimed words were borne of his own emotions. Sure, All Is True includes one of those typically grating moments where a character utters its title in dialogue (no prizes for guessing who does the honours), however in painting a portrait of the Bard as a conflicted, haunted man, it conveys both the inner source and hefty toll of his output. In the acting stakes, Branagh makes for a melancholic later-in-life Shakespeare, repeatedly digging his hands into the earth as he grapples with being brought back to normality. Leading quietly, sensitively but commandingly even under a pronounced prosthetic nose, he's matched by the steely Wilder, a great stint of comic sneering by Alex Macqueen as one of the Bard's naysayers, and a witty appearance by Ian McKellen as the writer's long-term patron, the Earl of Southampton. And yet, while buoyed by strong performances and making good on its premise, the film always plays like a minor ode rather than a major work. Walking in the footsteps of greatness is a difficult task, as the movie makes plain, although Branagh has been trying for decades. With All Is True, he shows why — and demonstrates that passion, intelligence and enthusiasm can go a considerable way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I5cKmiONDI
The crew behind Collingwood's rooftop burger joint Easey's has scored a second sky-high home, taking over the kitchen at South Yarra hot-spot The Emerson. And, to celebrate, the venue's launched a brand new weekend brunch series, featuring bottomless cocktails and unlimited bites up on the Astroturfed terrace. Running 12–3pm every Saturday and Sunday, these are the kind of long, lazy feasting sessions worth getting out of bed for — even in the middle of winter. Easey's will be knocking up a special offering of brunch canapés each week, with bites like fried calamari, lettuce cup 'tacos', creamy seafood rolls, and oozy mac and cheese croquettes. Read: the perfect fare for quaffing while you kick back on one of those rooftop lounges. Especially when the bar's bringing some party vibes of its own, whipping up mimosas, spritzes and bloody marys — which will be free-flowing for the entire three-hour period. All up, it'll cost you $59 per person. Needless to say, bookings are essential if you want to nab a spot. Images: The Edible Image.
The Grosvenor Hotel in St Kilda is commemorating ANZAC Day with free beer, but it has a catch — the beachside pub is only giving out free pots from the first siren until the first team scores in the ANZAC Day clash. The iconic AFL event is the second biggest game of the season — after the grand final, of course — and will see Essendon and Collingwood go head-to-head for the 24th year running. If there's one situation where you don't want you team to score, it's this. Not many (if any?) quarters finish scoreless, so luckily there's more to the deal. The pub is serving up $15 woodfired pizzas all day — there are a whopping 17 to choose from — and is holding an 11am Publican's Toast, which will pay respect to the diggers. The clash kicks off at 3.20pm. We suggest you get there early to snag a seat. Images: Giulia Morlando.
An Italian slang word for 'stuffed' (among other things), Fatto might just be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Perhaps even more so soon next week, when the riverside Italian eatery is offering $10 gnocchi con abbacchio alla Romana for one lunchtime only. The deal is quite the steal, with the dish usually setting you back $29. But if you rock up for lunch on Thursday, May 2, you'll be able to get it for just a cheeky tenner. And what is it exactly? It's homemade, pillowy gnocchi with Roman-style braised lamb topped with mammoth green olives and green peas, a citrus, parsley and garlic gremolata and, of course, plenty of parmesan. Yep, we could eat that for a chilly autumn lunch. Plus, Fatto Bar & Cantina is superbly placed on the upper terrace at Hamer Hall, overlooking the river and Flinders Street station on the other side so you can soak in some top-notch views while you dine. If you're feeling like a big spender, you can also grab a glass of prosecco, a Fernet Branca (served with freshly pressed orange or grapefruit juice), a negroni or Aperol spritz to accompany your gnocchi. The dish will be available from noon until sold out. We suggest you book a table or get in quick. The $10 gnocchi will be available from 12pm until sold out.
The opening of a new cinema is always excellent news, but Hoyts' new site at Docklands knows how to ramp up the excitement by quite a few levels. To celebrate the launch of the eight-screen picture palace, the chain is offering moviegoers a free day at the flicks on Saturday, April 13. You choose the film, Hoyts will give you a free ticket — and one for up to three of your mates, too. It's really as simple as that. All you need to do is book online in advance, and get in quickly. A giveaway like this isn't going to last long. Movie-wise, there are plenty of flicks to choose from, whether you're keen on superheroes in Captain Marvel and Shazam!, something scary with Pet Sematary or Us, or all-ages entertainment thanks to Dumbo or The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. Or, maybe you could get in onr some in-ring action courtesy of wrestling comedy Fighting with My Family. The free tickets are only available on this one date, must be locked in online and can't be transferred. And you will still need to take your wallet if you're keen on some in-movie snacks. There will be food specials on offer on the day, too, plus live music in the cinema foyer.
Serving up fine cuts of beef for many years now, Footscray's Station Hotel continues to uphold its reputation as one of the finest steak venues anywhere in the city. Helmed by chef Fraser Stark, The Station Hotel is putting these expert skills to good use in the form of a weekly special. Head into the heritage pub on Tuesday nights to get the Station Burger with a glass of wine or beer for $20. With the expectations of the venue's name to uphold, the Station Burger delivers with a wagyu beef patty, bacon, caramelised onions and truffle mayonnaise, alongside a hefty serving of crispy fries. Had a burger for lunch and don't feel like a second (not that we'd judge)? Station Hotel's menu also features nine different steak options, all served with chips and salad. For something a little different to your normal pub fare, opt for the green onion risotto with taleggio, spiced spatchcock with colcannon mash or confit pork belly with eggplant puree. Whatever you've decided, you've almost made it halfway through the week — we say you deserve it. To make a booking, visit Station Hotel's website.
During those long, lazy days where Christmas melts slowly into the new year, eating tends to become a number one pastime. Slaving away in some kitchen and actually making the food...not so much. Thankfully, Bluebonnet Barbecue is here to save your sanity and fill your belly, offering a series of daily bottomless barbecue sessions, from December 27 to January 10. From its new home in Brunswick East, Chris Terlikar's signature low'n slow US-style barbecue fare will set the tone for some very festive post-Christmas feasting. For $65 (excluding drinks), diners can sit down to two hours of free-flowing barbecue goodness — think, tender ribs, slow-cooked brisket, house-made snags and classic sides, all delivered right there to the table. The feasts are available at both lunch and dinner, and if you time it right, you can match yours with some pretty cracking drink deals. Bluebonnet's dishing up two daily happy hours (3–6pm and 10pm until late), as well as an all-day version each Monday. And with ten craft beer taps, a fridge chock full of tinnies and a slew of interesting cocktails, the bar here makes for one very enticing summer hang-out. Bluebonnet's two hours of bottomless barbecue is available between 12–3pm and 5–9pm daily. It'll be closed January 1. Images: Kate Shanasy.
When is a brewery more than just a brewery? When it's a regular roller skating disco as well. Throughout 2018, Moon Dog Craft Brewery has transformed its Abbotsford ballroom into a skate arena on the first Sunday of every month, and this week it's hosting its last roller disco of the year. And it's set to be a blowout. Held in conjunction with Malt Shop Rollers, the Sunday Funday Roller Disco boasts everything you'd expect from a end-of-weekend session of rolling around a brewery. Expect beers, piña coladas, mirror balls brightening up the place, and DJs playing all afternoon. Unsurprisingly, costumes aren't only encouraged but required, whether you've got some lycra burning a hole in your wardrobe or you're getting on theme. BYO skates or hire some on the day. Kids are welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult. This is the last time the roller disco will be held at Moon Dog, so be prepared to send it off with a bang.
What starts with Dragged Across Concrete, a Vince Vaughn and Mel Gibson-starring gritty crime flick from the director of Bone Tomahawk? And then ends with Lords of Chaos, a blood-splattered comedy-horror effort set in the Norwegian death metal scene? That'd be Monster Fest, Melbourne's annual genre film festival. It's bringing plenty of dark delights to Cinema Nova once again, this time across Thursday, November 22 to Sunday, November 25. While Monster Fest boasts a solid lineup of new movies, a few blasts from the past rank among the event's highlights — including glorious 4K restorations of John Carpenter's Escape from New York and The Fog. On the events front, if you love the Halloween filmmaker so much that you're definitely going to revisit his two iconic films, then you can also play a round of John Carpen-trivia. Elsewhere, you can step into Australian cinema history with Bad Boy Bubby, worship at the altar of Bruce Campbell with Evil Dead 2 or get nostalgic with The Monster Squad. If you're a fan of the latter, then documentary Wolfman's Got Nards will take you through the film's cult appeal. Lars von Trier's highly controversial The House That Jack Built will also hit Monster Fest's big screen, and so will a webcam-focused horror flick appropriately called Cam. And, in a brief stint over at the Lido, you can stay up all night for an unnerving movie marathon. That's what genre film fests are all about, right?
With the weather heating up and the days getting longer, there's no time like the present to relish that silly season fever and head outdoors to lap up the sunshine. Try as we may to plan regular beach excursions, sometimes leaving the city is tricky. But don't put your beach towel and sun hat away just yet — the Wharf Hotel has brought the sand to the city with its Yarra Beach Bar. The bar has taken over the lower wharf area of its prime riverside real estate, transforming it into a quintessential Victorian beach, complete with beach huts, sand, deck chairs and an ice cream cart. The three 'beach boxes' are available for bookings of between six and 36 people ($59 per person), making it the perfect spot for your next group hang, whether it be for a Christmas party and family gathering. Your Beach Box package comes with a choice of a seafood platter, which includes oysters, mini prawn cocktails and crab and lobster rolls, or the Wharf platter, with sliders, pulled pork tacos and loaded wedges. You'll also get a beer jug, Canadian Club cocktail jug or carafe of house wine to share between you and a mate, plus an ice cream from the cart. The Beach Bar will also play host to a top-notch New Year's Eve party, featuring DJs, summery sangria and four hours of drinks and food for $130 per person. The Yarra Beach Bar will be bringing the summertime vibes until Tuesday, January 29. To make a booking, visit The Wharf Hotel's website.
If the countless parties and festivities of Melbourne Music Week are staring to take their toll, this talk presented by Real Life could be the perfect cure. It's a free panel discussion about how sound and music can be used to improve wellbeing. The key speaker is music therapy expert Dr Emma O'Brien, who was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2017 for her work in the field. The panel concludes as you can imagine with some music healing — in the form of a 'sound bath' from gong practitioner Mona Ruijs. Even if a sound bath doesn't strike you as your sort of thing, it'll no doubt be a mindful way to end your week. Image: John Gollings/MPavilion.
Ladies to the front. These women are without doubt three of the most talked about independent artists right now — and you can see them all performing their new releases at this exclusive Melbourne Music Week gig for just $43. Even if you're not fans of these three artists (yet), if you're into boss singer-songwriters, acoustic guitar and lyrical storytelling, this is the gig to see this festival — these ladies will be selling out big rooms in no time. Plus, MMW is donating 5 percent of proceeds to charity in loving memory of Scott Hutchison (Frightened Rabbit).
According to this year's star-studded chick flicks, real women want easy-to-use beauty products. They also want films where women state this obvious fact, apparently. First I Feel Pretty made that claim, and now Second Act does the same, because these things typically come in pairs. The similarities don't end there, with both movies championing the idea that it's what's inside that counts. Sadly, neither picture knows how to properly live up to that notion — and while Second Act has more heart than its near-insufferable predecessor, it also sports a vast gap between its good intentions and its muddled reality. Jennifer Lopez plays everywoman Maya, a Queens native with 15 years experience at a Costco-like discount department store, but lacking in professional confidence. She lacks a college degree as well, which precludes her from the big promotion she's been working towards. Maya's support network helps commiserate — and celebrate her birthday — but it's the teenage son (Dalton Harrod) of her best friend and co-worker Joan (Leah Remini) that makes a difference. Thanks to his computer wizardry, Maya suddenly has a fake online life complete with the credentials, backstory and social media profile to get a high-flying Manhattan job. And when she's swiftly headhunted by a prestigious cosmetics company, she goes along with it. Armed with street smarts and real-world experience, this fish-out-of-water is soon tasked with making an organic skincare line for her new employer — while pitted against cut-throat colleague Zoe (Vanessa Hudgens), who also happens to be the boss' (Treat Williams) daughter. Cue a quest to prove that Maya has what it takes, although she only has the chance to do so because she lied to conform. No amount of comic competition, well-meaning sentiment or lightly insightful commentary about class can lessen that divide, as the movie tells viewers to be themselves, but only after they've pretended to be someone else to get their foot in the door. Given that the organic skincare subplot involves calling out substandard products that falsely claim to fit the label, surely director Peter Segal (Grudge Match) and writers Justin Zackham (One Chance) and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas (also one of Second Act's producers) should've noticed that their film suffers from the very same flaw. Perhaps the filmmakers were just distracted by (or trying to distract viewers with) Second Act's various moving parts. Splitting its time between Maya's professional and personal struggles, the movie explores why she gets frosty whenever her boyfriend (Milo Ventimiglia) mentions having children — and while to say more is to spoil Second Act's, well, second act, motherhood remains a prominent theme, as does Maya's attempts to balance her new and old lives. Set at the end of the year for no apparent reason, this is also a Christmas film. Thanks to the hijinks of Maya's devoted employees (Charlyne Yi and Alan Aisenberg), it's a broad workplace comedy as well. But, more than anything else, it's a case of throwing together every formulaic element possible and simply hoping that the combination works. What does work is Lopez, firmly in Maid in Manhattan mode and showing why she's often a warm presence even in lukewarm (at best) films. Most of Second Act feels contrived, misguided, forced and superficial, but that doesn't apply to the movie's star, or to Hudgens when she's given a bit more to do. Still, neither actor can completely overcome the material. Second Act's jumbled core never fades, which only reinforces its central message in an unintended fashion. What's inside this flick is bland, routine, and happy offering up feel-good statements in a slight and easy way. And as the movie keeps telling viewers, it's what's inside that truly matters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJKoJXIcdv0
American singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne, who put pensive folk back on the charts in a big way in 2004 when his single 'Trouble' hit number four on the US charts, is returning to Australia — after ten years of absence. His Just Passing Through tour will take him to Bluesfest in Byron Bay, then down the highway for gigs in Sydney and Melbourne. All shows are in acoustic format, with Ray performing in duo mode, alongside Wilco's legendary bassist John Stirratt. Expect new tunes and a selection of hits. Even though we haven't seen Mr LaMontagne for so long, he's been busy. His seventh album Part of the Light came out in May this year, and, back in 2010, God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise picked up a Grammy for Best Folk Album Of The Year. As you might've guessed, mad, long-tortured fans have already nabbed most tickets. But, thankfully, a second run of shows has been announced. If you've been cursing your luck, jump in quick. LaMontagne will play the Palais Theatre in Melbourne, on April 27 and 28. You can pick up tickets over here.
Every Wednesday between January 9 and February 13, the Astor will become the dreamiest place in Melbourne. Across a six-week period, the historic cinema is paying tribute to the entire filmography of Sofia Coppola — melancholic sisters, cake-eating monarchs and Los Angeles teens breaking into celebrity houses all included. It all kicks off exactly where the second-generation filmmaker's feature directorial career began, aka with The Virgin Suicides and its ethereal score by Air. From there, viewers will play tourist in Tokyo with the Oscar-winning Lost in Translation, head to 18th century France with Marie Antoinette, and laze around an LA hotel with Venice Golden Lion recipient Somewhere. The real-life tale of The Bling Ring and the civil war drama of The Beguiled also get a run, of course. Showcasing Coppola's films also means showcasing a fantastic array of performances — including Kirsten Dunst in three of Coppola's flicks, Bill Murray singing karaoke and befriending Scarlett Johansson, and everyone from Nicole Kidman to Colin Farrell proving a treat in the director's latest effort. Screenings kick off at 7.30pm each week, and tickets cost $14.
It's been nearly four years since Mumford & Sons topped the ARIA charts with its third album, Wilder Mind — and last visited the Antipodes. But, angst-ridden fans, you can now breathe a sigh of relief. The British quartet will release its fourth offering, Delta, on Friday, November 16 and, soon afterwards, will embark on a 60-date worldwide tour. It includes six stops right here in Australia, presented by Secret Sounds. To catch the boys in Melbourne, make sure you're around in January. They'll play the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Tuesday, January 22 with the support of English soul singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka, whose sophomore album Love & Hate, produced by Danger Mouse, topped the UK charts in 2016. According to Mumford & Sons' lead singer Marcus Mumford, Delta represents a place where "order meets chaos and shelter meets wilderness". Described as the band at its "impassioned and muscular best", the album was two years in the making and recorded at Church Studios in North London with Paul Epworth, whose production credits include Adele, U2 and London Grammar. To get a taste of what to expect, check out the lead single, 'Guiding Light', over here. The Secret Sounds presale, for email subscribers only, will begin at 2pm on Wednesday, October 10 and finish up at 8am on Friday, October 12. General sales are slated to drop an hour later, at 9am on Friday, October 12. For further event details, visit the Secret Sounds website.
Among the charming heritage buildings, vineyards and stately gardens of the Yarra Valley, opera is being taken to new dramatic heights, thanks to Melbourne-based company Gertrude Opera. That's right, it's moved beyond that slightly scary, seemingly inaccessible, highbrow art form and into the modern cultural lexicon. It helps that the inaugural Yarra Valley Opera Festival, will feature an opera based on acclaimed TV series The Handmaid's Tale. Apparently, well before Hulu turned the 1985 novel into a hit TV series, it was made into an opera — pretty cool. The Yarra Valley Opera Festival will take place over ten days at a handful of Yarra Valley spots and it's all about demonstrating opera as we've never seen it. Kick back with a cocktail and some nibbles, before taking a seat in the intimate theatre marquee to enjoy a night of world-class entertainment. The festival boasts an incredible line-up, with internationally acclaimed singers whose voices are sure to blow your socks off. In addition to The Handmaid's Tale, the lively and full-blooded Italian opera, The Elixir of Love, will be performed in English and also heralds a brilliant young cast. Other highlights include, a Gala Opening Concert, Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte sung in English and an evening combining opera trivia and dinner. The Yarra Valley Opera Festival will run from October 12–21. For more spring places, spaces and events to discover in regional Victoria visit Your Happy Space.
If you haven't yet had a chance to check out Gelato Messina's Creative Department and its gelato-led degustations, then this November is the perfect time to do so. At its Windsor store in Melbourne, the gelato fiends are adding caviar to all their dishes for a series of special, seasonal dinners. Under the guidance of head chef Remi Talbot, Messina's Creative Department is crafting a special eight-course gelato-meets-salt-cured degustation running for just three days between Friday, November 9 and Sunday, November 11. So what kind of caviar-gelato goodness have the masterminds come up with this time around? Expect Thai basil and lime granita with lime caviar, picked strawberry and red shiso sorbet with strawberry gum cream and caviar, and roasted almond gelato with potato and brown butter foam. Scampi tarts, lemon myrtle sherbet, soy-cured egg yolk and white garlic gelato are among the other ingredients. Tickets are $150 per person and, based off how quick these things sell out around the country, you'll want to grab your tickets ASAP.
The Pleasure Garden returns on December 8, painting St Kilda's Catani Gardens with colour, art installations, roving performers and, of course, some huge beats. A heady mix of Rainbow Serpent, Glastonbury and every other time you've had an impromptu sweaty day dance party with your mates (costumes mandatory), the festival, though only in its third year, knows exactly what it's doing. The small festival packs a lot of punch, with five different stages and zones to flit between across the day. Get into recognisable tracks on the Conservatory Stage, where The Temper Trap and Xavier Rudd will play throughout the day. Then you can get into some deep house at the Beach Club, into some reggae at Bass Station and, later, dance it up at the House Party area. And once you've flailed around to Confidence Man and itched in your costume for a while, there'll be plenty to revive your sweaty self with some of the city's best food trucks joining the lineup. There'll also be roving performers, art installations, market stalls and chill out spots for a break for when you wan a break from the bass. Best part? Tickets are under 100 bucks. Images: Duncographic and Rhys Newling.
If the words "stair climbing challenge" fill you with excitement instead of dread, read on. The MCG will again play host to Stadium Stomp, a fun-filled romp for your calves which involves climbing up and down the thousands of stairs (there are 100,024 seats, so there are also a lot of stairs.) As part of the challenge, you can climb up and down the stairs in the full course (7600 stairs), or the short course (a mere 2200). There's also a Stomp Unlimited option, which is stairs until the end of time or you collapse — although that has sold out There will be rest stops and drink stations to help ease the pain, and music playing to distract from the burn. Also, the rules are no skipping stairs, so no doing three at a time and calling it a day. The first wave kicks off at 7.45am, with waves following every 15 minutes after. Tickets are selling fast, so get in quick.
It has been a couple of years since The Jungle Collective first started taking over Australian warehouses and slinging plenty of plants, all thanks to its huge sales in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. These leafy excuses to fill your home with greenery always have a bit of a celebratory vibe, and its next Melbourne outing is all about plants that thrive in low light. These gorgeous green babies will be the main attraction — and there will be more than 150 varieties of them, too. It's happening twice, across the two days of Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9. The focus for this sale is on low light-friendly plants. Going by previous sales, you'll be able to pick up everything from fiddle leafs and monsteras to giant birds of paradise and rubber trees, as well as many ferns and hanging plants. You'll also be able to shop for designer pots, get expert advice from the horticulturalists onsite, listen to jungle tunes and even nab a $5 discount if you dress up in cat ears or pop on some dog-like whiskers. It's all happening at 19 Studley Street, Abbotsford, with two-hour sessions held at 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm and 2pm on Saturday, plus 10am and 12pm on Sunday. While entry is free, you'll need to secure a ticket to head along.
Escape the hustle and bustle of the city and discover the hidden wonders of the Macedon Ranges as it plays host to the Macedon Ranges Wine and Food Budburst Festival on November 9 and 10. Over the weekend, the 30 of the region's best wineries will fling open their cellar doors and put more than 100 different wine styles up for the tasting. Most of them are small and family owned, and you'll have the the chance to chat to the winemakers as you taste their drops. A festival pass will give you access to all of the wineries across the two days — and it's $23 (or $25 on the day). Most of the venues will have live music and some kind of food offering — Cleveland Winery in Lancefield will be slinging its woodfired pizzas, and Shadowfax will be serving up cheese platters at its Trentham winery. Situated between 350–700 metres above sea level, the Macedon Ranges is Australia's coolest mainland wine region. The area is known for the Macedon Sparkling, which is made using only locally grown pinot noir and chardonnay grapes. But, with more than 40 vineyards located in the region, there is lots of room for variation and plenty of diverse drops for you to try. If no one wants to be the designated driver, the festival has hop-on, hop-off buses buses departing from Woodend Station on the Saturday.
