It's the longest-running American musical in Broadway and West End history. It's the longest-running production now currently playing Broadway, too. It's been seen by over 34-million people worldwide in 38 countries, and played more than 33,500 performances in 525-plus cities. And, it's won six Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and a Grammy. The show: Chicago. It has also locked in a return date with Australia, including splashing a healthy dose of 1920s razzle dazzle in Melbourne from Saturday, March 23, 2024 in the musical's big Aussie comeback. Come on babes, why don't we paint the town? With all that jazz, the the record-breaking smash will shimmy back onto Her Majesty's Theatre stage to put on one helluva show. Get ready to see Zoë Ventoura (Home and Away) as Velma Kelly and Lucy Maunder (Mary Poppins) as Roxie Hart, plus Aussie theatre star Anthony Warlow (The Phantom of the Opera, The Wizard of Oz, Annie, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) as Billy Flynn. [caption id="attachment_714916" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jeremy Daniel[/caption] Also featuring: Peter Rowsthorn (Kath & Kim) as Roxie's husband Amos, Asabi Goodman (Hairspray) as prison warden Mama Morton and S. Valeri as crime reporter Mary Sunshine. Inspiring 2002's Renée Zellweger (Judy)- and Catherine Zeta Jones (Wednesday)-starring Academy Award-winning film of the same name, Chicago tells the tale of housewife and nightclub dancer Roxie Hart. In the decadent 1920s, she twirls through a whirlwind of murdered lovers, jail time, fierce rivalries and tabloid sensationalism — all set to a toe-tapping soundtrack. Based on a 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, the production showcases music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and choreography by Tony Award-winner Ann Reinking. [caption id="attachment_714915" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul Kolnik[/caption] Top image: Jeff Busby.
UPDATE, July 26, 2020: Charlie's Angels is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube and iTunes. The first line of Charlie's Angels circa 2019, uttered by a glammed-up Kristen Stewart, makes a statement. "I think women can do anything," Stewart's Sabina Wilson tells Australian Jonny (Chris Pang), responding to his smug assertions otherwise. Naturally, Sabina is swiftly forced to prove her point. The film she's in conveys this notion across its duration, too, although not always in the way that it intends. Written and directed by Elizabeth Banks (as well as co-starring the actor-turned-filmmaker), the third iteration of Charlie's Angels embraces the idea that women can do whatever they please — and, more importantly, that women needn't fit any mould. And yet, by emphasising these messages in a movie that's largely generic, there's an emptiness behind the film's empowering words. Sabina's altercation with Jonny is just the action-packed picture's opening punch. A year later, when computer programmer Elena Houghlin (Naomi Scott) seeks the Angels' help, the movie kicks its main narrative into gear. Meeting with Bosley (Djimon Hounsou), Elena explains that she's been working on a revolutionary clean-energy project, but it can be weaponised — and, just as it's about to hit the shelves, her boss (Nat Faxon) is hiding that fact from his boss (Sam Claflin). When, mid-conversation, a tattooed henchman (Jonathan Tucker) starts shooting Elena and Bosley's way, the main Angels swoop in. Soon, Sabina and no-nonsense ex-MI6 agent Jane Kano (Ella Balinska) are protecting Elena, trying to save the world and showing their new friend the wig-wearing, outfit-changing, globe-trotting, go-get-'em-girl spy ropes. Four decades since the initial Charlie's Angels hit the small screen, and nearly 20 years after the first two films brought the concept to cinemas, this feisty espionage franchise sports a few superficial changes. Like Men In Black (albeit far more convincingly), the Angels have gone international in this reboot-slash-revival (it introduces a new team, but exists in the same world as its predecessors). Plus, Bosley is now a rank rather than a specific person. So, Patrick Stewart also plays a Bosley. He's the retiring senior figure, as well as the man who spread the organisation's wings. Banks is a Bosley too, with her character overseeing Sabina, Jane and Elena's mission, singing day drinking's praises and stressing that there's nothing wrong with needing a hug in a time of crisis. That sentiment from Banks also makes a statement — one that's as crucial as KStew's opening words. Charlie's Angels is guilty of including a few easy female stereotypes (a love of cheese and a fondness for big wardrobes, for example); however it also highlights that being formidable and being vulnerable aren't polar opposites. From Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson to Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz, viewers have already seen previous Angels demonstrate different strengths and play dress-up as different kinds of women. Here, they let their multi-faceted personalities shine. Each of the new Angels does this in their own way, and it's a meaningful touch. It's also something that isn't always part of the 'strong female lead' package, with Hollywood frequently struggling to realise that proficient and powerful women aren't one-dimensional. With that in mind, Stewart, Balinska and Scott make a lively crew. While Stewart provides the off-screen star power, the three actors share the on-screen spotlight. Indeed, although Stewart is set up to steal scenes as the goofiest member of the group — playing against her usual type of late (see: Clouds of Sils Maria, Certain Women and Personal Shopper) — her co-stars make as much of a splash. Balinska cracks Jane's stern exterior, but never lets either her tough or open sides seem like a flaw. Scott, already a standout in this year's live-action Aladdin remake, plays the awkward but capable newcomer with charm. Banks often saddles the three leads with stating the obvious and relaying exposition, but they're a trio that audiences won't mind spending time with. And, in resurrecting a decades-old property, that's really the movie's main point. It's an incredibly timely moment to be back in the Charlie's Angels game, as Banks clearly recognises, but her task isn't simple. Sitting in the director's chair for the second time (after Pitch Perfect 2), she's charged with updating the series in-line with today's #MeToo mindset, and also reviving a potential cash cow. Filmmaking is a business, so the second part of the equation was always going to weigh heavier than the first for Sony. Cue action scenes that, though energetic and well-executed, rarely leave an imprint — especially given that nicely choreographed espionage antics are oh-so-common cinema fodder these days. Cue an overall mood that's perky, dips into thoughtful territory, yet still has a noticeable cookie-cutter vibe. And, of course, cue an engaging-enough but inescapably standard movie that's primarily here to whet appetites for more sassy girl-power antics to come. Yep, amidst the many things that women can do, they can star in passable franchise scene-setters as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKeRgPPQcoc
Nineties kids, Disney fans and everyone who's ever cried over a lion cub that just couldn't wait to be king, it's time to climb onto a rock and yell your lungs out. The circle of life has struck again, and The Lion King is back. It's in live-action form this time around, and another new teaser for the movie has just dropped. While it's not the first teaser or trailer to drop — we've been blessed with not one, not two, but three already — this time we finally get to hear Nala voiced by Queen Bey herself. Yep, if you didn't already know, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter will be voicing Nala, while Donald Glover is Simba and James Earl Jones is his dad. Other big names attached include Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, John Oliver as Zazu, and Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa. Elton John is back working on the soundtrack with Tim Rice, as they both did on the first film. They'll reportedly have some help from Beyoncé, naturally, while The Jungle Book's Jon Favreau is in the director's chair for the entire production. If you're anxious about how it might turn out, it's worth taking Timon and Pumbaa's advice at this early stage — although this initial look should help get rid of your worries for the rest of your days. Here's the new teaser with Beyoncé as Nala: https://youtu.be/CQCUnDjYn50 The Lion King hits Australian cinemas on July 17, 2019.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, New South Wales did not close its borders to domestic travellers — until last week. On July 1, NSW banned Melburnians from one of the 36 (now 40) "hot zone" suburbs from travelling into the northern state. From 11.59pm on Tuesday, July 7, NSW is closing its border to all Victorians. It's the first time in 100 years the border between the two states has closed — the last time was in 1919 during the Spanish Flu. The move comes as Victoria's coronavirus cases continue to spike, with 127 new cases recorded in the past 24. This is the highest daily total for the state since the pandemic began (previously it was 111 on Saturday, March 28). Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says that a permit system will be in place for those who have essential travel to NSW, including for those who live in border communities and need to cross the border for work or essential health services. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is expected to announce more details about the permit later today, Monday, July 6. Premier Andrews says the decision to close the border was made after a phone call earlier today with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Premier Berejiklian. "All of us agreed that the best thing to do was to close the border," Premier Andrews said. "That closure will be enforced on the NSW side, so as not to be a drain on resources that are very much focused on fighting the virus right now across our state". Victorians in the aforementioned 40 hotspots suburbs are now under strict stay-at-home orders until at least Wednesday, July 29, and the residents of nine public housing towers are in "hard lockdown" for five days from July 4. At the moment, Victorians from hotspots are required to quarantine for 14 days if they enter NSW — just like returned international travellers — and if they don't, could be slapped with an $11,000 fine and spend up to six months in jail. The same rules apply for NSW residents who visit Victorian hotspots, too — when you head back over the border, you'll need to quarantine and, if you don't, you'll risk the same fines or jail sentence. Whether or not these same rules, and punishments, will apply to all Victorians — and NSW residents who visit anywhere in Victoria — are expected to be announced later today by the NSW Government. You can find out more about the status of COVID-19 at the NSW Health and Victorian Department of Health and Human Services websites.
The term food precinct tends to make me think of overcrowded food courts, filled with overstuffed baguettes and suspiciously cheap sushi. But the Abbotsford Convent has one, and it's about as far away as you can get from bain-maries and plastic cutlery. Call it the Quadfecta, if you please. The Convent Bakery, Kappaya Soul Food Cafe and Lentil As Anything are all snuggled into the serene Kitchen Annexe space, with The Farm Cafe at the Collingwood Children's Farm just around the corner. Back in 1902, the Annexe was constructed as a key aspect of the Convent building, and the Sisters used to feed up to 1,000 people a day from its many kitchens. Convent Bakery You can still find the two magnificent masonry woodfired ovens used by the Sisters inside the Convent Bakery, where, on a daily basis, its artisan bakers now produce old-fashioned wood-fired bread — free from religious reference and baked straight on the oven brick floor. There is a beetroot sourdough that's the colour of red velvet, and they also make the best escargots in Melbourne (except for perhaps the flaky scrolls swirled with sultanas at Filou's). The glass display cabinet is packed with pre-made sandwiches, pastries, quiches, pies, croissants, tarts and cookies, and stands right beside the counter. It's nearly impossible to pay for an order without impulsively buying a treat or at least admiring the fluffiness of the strawberry cookies sittin’ pretty in the wheat-free section. The Bakery offers a full breakfast and lunch menu as well as the ready-to-go stuff, and the coffee is certified Fair Trade and organic. It's roasted in-house and available for purchase, and the Convent Bakery house blend means that local farmers get a fair price for their coffee harvest. Adjacent to the Bakery there’s a little hole in the wall known as the Boiler Room, where the nuns used to keep warm during the winter months. It now sells wine, spirits, liquors and cold, refreshing beer from midday. Like the rest of the Quadfecta, the Convent Bakery can get pretty crowded, especially during summer, so just close your eyes and think pious thoughts if people start to jostle and hustle around you. The goods coming to you are definitely worth the wait. Kappaya To the left of the Convent Bakery, underneath a spreading peppercorn tree, sits Kappaya Soul Food Cafe. It’s a quaint Japanese restaurant about the size of a Bento Box which offers simple, artful food at reasonable prices. The brown rice onigiri balls come with your choice of different fillings — think flaky salmon, pickled daikon, tempura prawn and walnut — and the green tea mousse is lightly drizzled with matcha syrup. Other highlights on the menu include the Breakfast Bento (order a creamy latte alongside it if early morning miso freaks you out; $9) and the mushi dori (steamed chicken and mushroom over broth; $7). Desserts at Kappaya are highly recommended, and the space is fully licenced with a melange of Japanese beers behind the bar. There is a staggering selection of green teas sourced outside Kyoto and served in gorgeous ceramic teapots. A particularly delicious fizzy pink moscato provides the perfect prelude to a list of organic local wines. Lentil As Anything To the right of Kappaya there is a small corridor leading down to Lentil As Anything, generally known as 'that hippy joint where you pay what you feel like'. The philosophy of philanthropy over profit has served Lentil As Anything well for over ten years — it's astoundingly popular and thriving in several inner-city suburbs. However, the Abbotsford outpost is the only one where you'll regularly find live music as well as local art. So to the food: Lentil As Anything is vegetarian, in case the name didn't give it away. Expect plenty of tofu, curries, dahl, stir-fried vegies, and pasta mixed with baby spinach. There's usually a green salad or two to go on the side and rounds of fresh white bread to mop up the sauce. The vegetarian tag means the spread is super-friendly to vegan and gluten-free eaters, but there is usually at least one dish at the buffet with feta lurking behind a stalk of broccoli. While the hippy ethos is in full effect, Lentils' management doesn't shove the meat-is-murder message down your throat. It's a peaceful place, though busy, and nobody stands over you when you pay — you simply slip whatever you feel the meal is worth into a large box with a slot in the lid. Nobody watches and the customers at Lentils are a friendly crowd; some are regulars who clearly just want a good feed, while others just find the experience priceless. The Farm Cafe The heritage and formal gardens at the Convent are beautiful at any time of the year and it's an easy wander past the main entrance to the Collingwood Children's Farm. Open 365 days a year, rain, hail or shine, the inner city haven is a much-loved Melbourne locus. In late 2005, two young volunteers had the genius idea of turning their pancake and coffee stall at the monthly Slow Food Farmers' Market into a cosy cafe with a paddock-to-plate ethos. The Farm Cafe is gorgeous, surrounded by veggie plots and 7 hectares of farmland. It's the kind of place where toddlers get up close and personal with roaming ducks while you sip a latte. Meals are made from scratch in the tiny kitchen and the food is sourced from just outside the kitchen door. The menu has a Kids and Adults section, and if you're one of those who prefers breakfast without baby-toting brunchers, you're in the wrong place. Live out your farmyard fairytale with the Ploughman's Lunch (ham off the bone, pickles, cheddar, apple, pork scratchings, bread and butter; $17.50) or try an organic beef sausage roll (served with herbed slaw and house relish; $12.50). Vegetarian food is far from an afterthought here, and the Green Eggs (caramelised fennel, silverbeet, quinoa, herbs, poached eggs and garlic aioli; $15.50) are a standout, second only to the Autumn Pear (poached William pear with nut granola, vanilla yoghurt mousse and sticky pear butterscotch; $10.50) The best thing about The Farm Cafe and the Abbotsford Quadfecta in general is the relaxed atmosphere and idyllic setting in genuine, earnest, down-to-earth nature. It just feels good to be there, and the therapeutic benefits of a visit last long after you've left the Convent grounds. Images thanks to eythian, Convent Bakery, Kappaya, s13n1 and Farm Cafe.
Music lovers and festival fans, get excited: Spilt Milk is back for 2023, hitting up Ballarat's Victoria Park on Saturday, December 2. Post Malone leads the lineup, with Dom Dolla and Latto also topping the bill. So, expect to hear everything from 'Sunflower' and 'I Like You' to 'Rhyme Dust' and 'Big Energy'. Tkay Maidza and Aitch also rank among Spilt Milk's impressive 2023 names, with Chris Lake, Dermot Kennedy, Budjerah, Cub Sport, Lastlings, Partiboi69, Ocean Alley, Peach PRC, Royel Otis similarly set to hit the stage. Also, because this fest is also about food, there'll be bites to eat from Chebbo's Burgers, 400 Gradi, Chicken Treat, and the BBQ and Beer Roadshow. Originally only held in Canberra, then expanding to Ballarat, then the Gold Coast and now also Perth in 2023, the multi-city one-dayer has cemented its spot as a must-attend event for a heap of reasons — with this year's lineup clearly one of them. While Ballarat's general-release tickets have sold out, pre-loved and VIP tickets are available. [caption id="attachment_851187" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jordan Munns[/caption] SPILT MILK 2023 LINEUP: Post Malone Dom Dolla Aitch Budjerah Chris Lake Cub Sport Dermot Kennedy Djanaba Grentperez Jessie Murph Lastlings Latto Lime Cordiale May-A Mincy Ocean Alley Pacific Avenue Partiboi69 Peach PRC Poolclvb Redhook Royel Otis The Buoys The Dreggs Tia Gostelow Tkay Maidza Ango Ben Gerrans Blue Vedder Reefrats Sami Srirachi Yorke Top image: Billy Zammit.
While Australians are practising social distancing in a bid to contain COVID-19, Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan wants people to "binge on study" rather than "bingeing on Netflix". And the government is helping you do just that by slashing the prices of some online short-course degrees and diplomas. Hosted by "world-class universities and private providers", the reduced-price courses will start in early May and run for six months. They'll allow unemployed Aussies to retrain in "national priority areas", such as nursing, teaching, health, IT and science — areas in which the country is going to to need trained workers "as we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic", Tehan said in a statement. The price of the courses will be cut significantly, too, with Tehan telling SBS that "the cost of these courses has been reduced by over 50 percent, and in some instances up to 74 percent." In an interview with ABC Radio on Monday, April 13, Tehan revealed that six-month courses in nursing, teaching, counselling, English, maths, foreign languages and agriculture will be $1250, while allied health, other health, IT, architecture and building, science engineering, medical science and environmental studies will set you back $2500. Similarly to other university courses, you'll be able to get a HELP loan, which you'll then repay when you start earning above a certain threshold. There'll be two types of short-courses available, according to Tehan: graduate certificates with some prerequisites and diploma certificates that require no prior learning. "You could either use them to reskill, or you can use them to change careers, or just to start learning," Tehan said in the interview. To enrol in one of these six-month courses, you'll need to apply directly to a university — but you may need to wait a couple of weeks. As Tehan told ABC Radio, "courses [are] being developed as we speak, which will be ready to go in the early weeks of May". Swinburne University, which already has a range of online teaching courses, says in a statement on its website that it's "working with the Federal government and developing short courses in the priority areas of teacher education, health, mental health and counselling, aged care and information technology" and more information will be available in coming weeks. The cheap courses are part of the Federal Government's higher-education relief package, which also includes $18 billion in domestic student payments (regardless of enrolments) and $100 million in regulatory fee relief and six-month exemptions of loan fees associated with Fee-Help and VET Student Loans for students. In NSW, TAFE has already begun offering 21 fee-free short courses to help people diversify their skills during COVID-19. Six-month online courses in 'national priority' areas are to be offered at public and private universities across the country from early May. To enrol, you'll need to apply directly to a university.
Wesley Enoch directs Black Diggers, a new play written by Tom Wright that uncovers the contribution of Aboriginal Diggers to Australia’s First World War effort. Featuring an all-male, all-Indigenous cast, the play draws upon extensive consultation and recent research to bring to light some truly exceptional stories of heroism forged out on the battlefields of Gallipoli, Palestine and Flanders. Marking the eve of the centenary of WWI, the piece aims to share an overlooked moment in Australian history. Following its acclaimed world premiere at the Sydney Festival and a highly successful run at Brisbane Festival, Black Diggers is presented here by Arts Centre Melbourne and the Queensland Theatre Company, of which Enoch is the artistic director. It's a powerful piece of theatre that was nominated in the recent Helpmann Awards for Best New Australian Work.
UPDATE, MARCH 13: Due to concerns around the coronavirus, Disney has announced that The New Mutants will no longer release on its initially scheduled date of Thursday, April 9, 2020. At present, a new release date has not been announced — we'll update you when one has been revealed. When it comes to superhero cinema, quantity doesn't equal variety. A new caped crusader flick hits screens every month, or so it seems, but many of them follow the same formula. You know the drill, because you've seen it in everything from Captain America to Wonder Woman and several different iterations of Spider-Man: someone with special abilities grapples with their powers, learns how to put them to best use, then faces off against an evil nemesis — saving the world from destruction and devastation in the process. Accordingly, when something dares to break the mould in even the slightest way, it stands out. That's one of the reasons that Marvel's The New Mutants has gathered quite a bit of attention in recent years. Set within the X-Men universe and based on the comics of the same name, it follows a group of young mutants being held against their will in a secret psychiatric hospital, basically plonking them in horror movie territory. There's still plenty that's familiar about the premise, with the titular super-enhanced folks all learning to use their powers while trying to escape captivity — but the tone and approach of the film is definitely a welcome change. The darker, scarier mood is on full display in the just-dropped latest trailer, which also confirms an important piece of information: five years after it was first announced, four years since it was cast and three years after it was shot, The New Mutants finally looks set to hit cinema screens. That hasn't always been a given, with the long-delayed film originally due to release in April 2018, only to be pushed back to February 2019, then August 2019, and now April 2020. Along the way, it has been through cast member changes, script rewrites, reshoots and the Disney acquisition of Fox — aka the company behind the MCU flicks snapping up the company behind the X-Men movies — so if you were skeptical about it actually seeing the light of day, let this new sneak peek allay your fears. As well as its ominous tone and plenty of horror imagery, The New Mutants boasts an impressive cast — including Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams, Stranger Things' Charlie Heaton, and Glass and The Witch's Anya Taylor-Joy. Obviously, given how long ago the film was first shot, they all look quite a bit younger than their most recent screen appearances. And, behind the camera sits director/co-writer Josh Boone, who last helmed teen weepie The Fault in Our Stars. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otomJ2gKHfQ The New Mutants was due to open in Australian cinemas on April 9, 2020; however it'll now release on a yet-to-be-revealed date — we'll update you when one is announced.
"Accio April 2022" isn't something any character has uttered in either the Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts films, but it's what you might be chanting to yourself right now if you're a fan of both. Four years after the last big-screen entry in the Wizarding World — the franchise that's sprung up around The Boy Who Lived — Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has just dropped its first trailer. When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 reached cinemas a decade back, it was never going to be the end of the on-screen story. Cue the Fantastic Beasts series, which took an illustrated guide book about magical creatures, spun a story about its magizoologist author Newt Scamander, and started a Harry Potter prequel saga. Conjuring up more enchantment hasn't been quite so straightforward this time around, however — and how you feel about 2016's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and 2018's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald might just depend on how spellbound you are with everything HP. But this franchise-within-a-franchise was always going to go on, and The Secrets of Dumbledore is the third entry in the planned five-film series. When it hits the silver screen next year, The Secrets of Dumbledore will once again give Jude Law another 'young' role; he played The Young Pope, so seeing him step into young Albus Dumbledore's shoes in The Crimes of Grindelwald felt like the most natural thing in the world. And, just like in that last Fantastic Beasts flick, Law's version of the future Hogwarts headmaster is pivotal to Scamander (Eddie Redmayne, The Trial of the Chicago 7) and his pals' efforts to face off against the evil Gellert Grindelwald. That said, Grindelwald, the dark wizard who just keeps trying to control all things magical — and wreak havoc on everything in general — isn't quite the same this time around. Both Colin Farrell (Voyagers) and Johnny Depp (Minamata) have previously played the role, but Mads Mikkelsen (Riders of Justice) has now replaced the latter. As the trailer for The Secrets of Dumbledore shows, Grindelwald is still solemnly up to no good — and his devoted following is only growing — so it's up to Scamander, Dumbledore, Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston, The Third Day), Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol, Between Us) and Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler, The Walking Dead) to try to save the day. That requires a dangerous mission led by Scamander, who obviously crosses paths with plenty of beasts (it's right there in the franchise's title). Ezra Miller (Zack Snyder's Justice League) also returns as Credence/Aurelius Dumbledore, while Jessica Williams (Love Life) follows up her brief appearance in The Crimes of Grindelwald by return as Ilvermorny professor Eulalie 'Lally' Hicks. And making the magic happen behind the lens is David Yates, who has directed every Wizarding World film — Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts alike since 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Break out the butterbeer and check out the trailer below: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore opens in cinemas Down Under on April 7, 2022.
Drum roll please: Groovin the Moo is here, and 2014 looks like a real crowd-pleaser. The big guns on the lineup this year include a few topnotch international acts, like electronica king Robert Delong (USA) and Dizzee Rascal (UK), as well as some of our well beloved locals like Karnivool, Illy and Architecture in Helsinki. The Naked and Famous (who we'll probably end up claiming as Australian soon) are making their way across the ditch, too. A fair slab of the artists announced have really proved their worth lately, taking out a number of spots in triple j's Hottest 100 of last year, including the winner of the coveted number one spot, Vance Joy. Rounding out the first announcement are Action Bronson, Andy Bull, Cults, Disclosure, Holy Fuck, The Jezabels, The Jungle Giants, Kingswood, The Kite String Tangle, Loon Lake, Parkway Drive, Peking Duck, The Presets, Thundamentals, Violent Soho, Wave Racer and What So Not. Groovin the Moo will hit Bendigo's Prince of Wales Showground on Saturday May 3. Over the last couple of years we've seen huge changes on the Australian music festival scene, losing some stalwarts and seeing some youngsters really come to fruition. Since its inception, Groovin the Moo has been one of those festivals that really looks like sticking around, bringing the best in Australian and international talent to the country, to the people who can't get to shows in the big smoke. Tickets are now sold out for Bendigo and there's more information available at the Groovin the Moo website. https://youtube.com/watch?v=uJ_1HMAGb4k
Every year the Fringe Festival gives Melbourne the chance to show itself off with exhibitions, performances and live art filling up the city’s humming laneways, theatres, and unconventional spaces. The upside of an uncurated festival is access to the unlimited scope, diversity, and imagination of the independent scene, but the sheer number of artworks on offer can make it tricky to navigate. To give you a taste, we’ve rounded up ten events taking place during the Fringe, which runs from September 18 to October 6. Now that it’s become a Melbourne institution, it would be easy for the festival to rest on its laurels, but the artists from these pieces stand out for their sense of risk. Shows like Kids Killing Kids and Viet Kieu are testament to the increasing value Melbourne audiences are finding in cross-cultural performance, while Digital Outlawed, Momentum: Live and the Fringe’s own Digital Gardens show us a tantalising glimpse of the possibilities on the next frontier for contemporary art. Kids Killing Kids In late 2011, four young Australian writers travelled to Manila to collaborate with local artists from the Sipat Lawin Ensemble on an adaptation of the famous novel Battle Royale. When audiences began to grow night after night, baying for blood, the production attracted massive international media coverage, and forced the playwrights to ask themselves questions about the nature of collaboration across cultures, onstage violence, and contemporary Filipino culture. One of three offerings in the Festival from Melbourne theatre company MKA, Kids Killing Kids is equal parts narrative and documentary reflecting on these events. September 20 – 29, October 1 – 3; Fringe Hub - The Warehouse, 521 Queensberry St, North Melbourne Digital Outlawed Digital Outlawed is a new media exhibition presenting an imagined future of a world without computers. By removing digital media from the work itself the exhibition forces the visitor to face an uncomfortable question: is using this kind of media a necessary part of contemporary art? In a piece curated and produced by Arie Rain Glorie, the artists set out to prove that new art doesn’t have to be made in new ways. September 19 – 30; Raglan Street Gallery, 14 Raglan St, North Melbourne Yarn Devised in residence at The Australian Tapestry Workshop, Yarn is an evocative, site-specific piece of theatre that combines physical performance with poetic language. The work was created by Lily Fish (Inside A Mime's Compact, Alone, Isobel and Installation A), a member of the award-winning Fringe favourites The Dig Collective, who tease apart the mythology of the past to ground old stories in the here and now. September 25 – 28, October 2 – 5; Australian Tapestry Workshop, 262/266 Park St, South Melbourne Digital Gardens On the surface, Digital Gardens looks like the now 31-year-old Fringe trying to prove it’s still got the new age tech savvy of a pimply teenager. But don’t be put off by your first impressions — the program on offer doesn’t just use digital media as a gimmick but actually engages with its possibilities for audience interaction and storytelling. One of the ways the project will work is by collaborating with artists who are presenting in the Hub so that audiences from those shows can recreate their live experiences of that work in a digital format. Melbourne’s a city that punches above its weight in the world of independent game development, and the Fringe are inviting some of the city’s talented digital designers to dream up some immersive, multiplayer experiences for visitors. September 19 – 21, City Square, Melbourne CBD; September 28 – 29 and October 5 – 6, Prahran Town Hall, City of Stonnington Live Acts On Stage When acclaimed Australian playwright Michael Gow was approached by Four Letter Word Theatre about the rights to his already-debauched Live Acts on Stage, he insisted on rewriting the script; dialing up the filth to the level demanded by the company’s established fondness for provocation. The play’s a roller-coaster ride through Greek mythology, with the actors from a company on the rise juggling 45 characters in Gow’s savagely funny text. September 26 – 29, October 1- 5; fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane Simon Taylor Young Melbourne funnyman Simon Taylor was whisked away from the city’s comedy circuit after a chance run in with Jay Leno led to a regular gig writing for The Tonight Show. When he’s not coming up with gags for Jay he keeps busy with his original webseries Make It Gourmet — somehow he’s found time for a set of homecoming shows that stretches out over the course of the whole festival. September 18 – October 6; The Imperial Hotel, Cnr Bourke and Spring St, Melbourne CBD Mandek Penha “Mandek Penha is my father / Mandek Penha is my mother...” After ensnaring audiences across Melbourne over the past few years with his not-sure-if-serious cult of live music, comedy and multimedia, the Current Earthly Embodiment of Mandek Penha will be taking over upstairs at The Toff in Town in September. In the past he’s promoted his shows by hitting the streets of Melbourne, where reviews ranged from “I didn’t just get out of jail for this” to outright bafflement. Watching a packed-out audience of drunken punters be completely hypnotised by his live show’s suspiciously high production values is an experience in itself. September 23, 30; The Toff in Town, Level 2, Curtin House, 252 Swanston St, Melbourne Viet Kieu Viet Kieu is a spicy cabaret, provoking questions of Asian-Australian identity as it seduces with its dark comedy. While there’s a massive audience for multilingual performance in Melbourne, Diana Nguyen’s piece is one of only a few shows within the festival that not only try and fill that gap, but also show that this kind of diverse work deserves pride of place in the independent scene. It’s also a chance to catch the work of the director, emerging dynamo Felix Ching Ho, before she explodes next year. September 18 – 29, October 2 – 6; The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Pl., Melbourne Momentum: Live Coming straight from the Sydney Frigne, Nat Grant is bringing her durational online composition project, Momentum: Live, to Melbourne. By integrating electronic processing and sampling with acoustic sound recordings, Nat creates cumulative sound worlds that link human, digital and natural environments. With consecutive showings in Melbourne and Sydney, Nat will be taking sounds from Newtown to Fitzroy and sculpting them into eight unique live performances across both festivals. September 19 – 22; Conduit Arts, 83 Brunswick St, Fitzroy Bushpig Reviewers called the breakout premiere of Bushpig “the most intriguing show at this year’s Adelaide Fringe” — after taking the City of Churches by storm, Bagabus Inc. are touring their first show to Melbourne and Sydney. With an array of elements across live music, illusion, and insanity, it seems like the show could easily burst at the seams — but if word of mouth’s anything to go by, the creators Hannah Malarski and Jack Richardson have crafted a piece that sears through confusion. September 19 – 28; The Owl and the Pussycat, 34 Swan St, Richmond
Drop into almost any fitness class you feel like, without worrying about gym contracts? That's the idea behind Esquared, a new app that lets you find and book your chosen workout session regardless of where it's held (and, crucially, regardless of whether you're a member at the venue in question). Aiming to add some extra flexibility to your fitness routine, Esquared is all about hooking you up with the right class in the right place, giving you control of when and where you work out. Need to go for a spin on one side of the city one day, and hit the barre on the other side over the weekend? Not sure where your schedule will take you, but still keen to fit in a training session when and where you can? Esquared has you covered. Drawing upon a range of participating gyms, the app allows you to pick the session, timeslot and venue that suits you, pay in advance and then walk right in. And, with data displayed in real time, you can select classes on the same day, the next day or any time in the next 30 days. Founded in the UK by former accountant turned pro-athlete Eleni Plakitsi, Esquared will jump from London to Sydney on Monday, September 3, with more than 50 partner gyms already onboard — spanning everywhere from CBD and Surry Hills spots, to the likes of Bondi, Manly, Double Bay, Newtown and North Sydney as well. It's offering a $40 credit to everyone that signs up in advance and, once it's up and running in Australia, will give users access to classes and gym floors across its participating venues. The no-strings-attached, on-demand approach to heading to the gym is also slated to roll out in Melbourne and Brisbane later in the year, with dates yet to be announced. For more information, keep an eye on www.esq2.com.au.
For four decades, The Shining has been responsible for many a nightmare — not only due to Stephen King's 1977 bestseller, which helped cement him as a horror maestro, but courtesy of Stanley Kubrick's unnerving and acclaimed 1980 film. If you've ever been spooked by twins, garish hexagonal hotel carpet designs, sprawling hedge mazes, elevators filled with blood, someone shouting "here's Johnny!" or just Jack Nicholson in general, you have this macabre masterpiece to thank. From parodies to homages to overt recreations, The Shining is also the unsettling gift that keeps giving. Everything from The Simpsons to Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Ready Player One has nodded the movie's way — as has documentary Room 237, which attempted to delve into its many secrets, meanings, theories and interpretations, too. But they've got nothing on the actual sequel to the eerie story. It picks up decades later, following the now-adult Danny Torrance as he tries to cope with the fallout from his supernatural gift. (Oh, and the memory of being terrorised by his axe-wielding dad as well.) In the first trailer for Doctor Sleep — which is based on Stephen King's 2013 novel of the same name — all work and no play made Danny (Ewan McGregor) something something. Perturbed, mainly, as he grappled with the trauma he experienced in The Shining. Then he met a mysterious teenager (Kyliegh Curran) who also has the gift, and things got creepier than a ghastly woman peering out of a bath or the word 'redrum' written on a mirror. The teaser was filled with references to the film's predecessor, naturally; however the just-dropped new sneak peak ramps up the nods even further. This time, Danny heads back to the Overlook Hotel to confront his past, and things get even more ominous. Rebecca Ferguson, Bruce Greenwood and Room's Jacob Tremblay also star, with The Haunting of Hill House's Mike Flanagan in the director's chair. While King was famously unhappy with Kubrick's take on The Shining — even writing the script for a three-part TV mini-series version in the 90s — here's hoping that he approves of Flanagan's vision. This is actually the filmmaker's second King adaptation, after Netflix flick Gerald's Game. Check out the latest Doctor Sleep trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oCTK2U5lpc Doctor Sleep releases in Australian cinemas on November 7, 2019.
Closure is a beautiful thing. It's also not something that a 24-film-and-growing franchise tends to serve up all that often. Since 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has operated with the exact opposite aim, in fact — extending and expanding the series at every turn, delivering episodic cinema instalments that keep viewers hanging for the next flick, and endeavouring to ensure that the superhero saga blasts onwards forever. But it's hard to tick those boxes when you're making a movie about a character whose fate is already known. Audiences have seen where Natasha Romanoff's (Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story) story finishes thanks to Avengers: Endgame, so Black Widow doesn't need to lay the groundwork for more films to follow. It's inexcusable that it has taken so long for the assassin-turned-Avenger to get her own solo outing. It's indefensible that this is just the second Marvel feature to solely focus on a female figure, too. But, unlike the missed opportunity that was Captain Marvel, Black Widow gives its namesake a thrilling big-screen outing — in no small part because it needn't waste time setting up an obvious Black Widow sequel. Instead, the pandemic-delayed movie gets to spend its 143 minutes doing what more MCU flicks should: building character, focusing on relationships, fleshing out its chosen world and making every inch of its narrative feel lived-in. The end result feels like a self-contained film, rather than just one chapter in a never-ending tale — which gives it the space to confidently blend family dramas with espionage antics, and to do justice to both parts of that equation. Indeed, like Black Panther, Black Widow is one of the few Marvel movies that could dispense with its ties to the saga and still not only work, but still engage and entertain with precision. And, free of the dutiful task of linking into ten, 20 or 50 future features, it sincerely leaves viewers wanting more — more jumps into the past like this with Romanoff; more of its no-nonsense, high-octane spy action; and more of Florence Pugh (Little Women), David Harbour (Stranger Things) and Rachel Weisz (The Favourite), Johansson's supremely well-cast co-stars. Harbour and Weisz play Alexei and Melina, happy Ohio residents, parents to young Natasha (Ever Anderson, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter) and Yelena (Violet McGraw, Doctor Sleep), and the portrait of all-American domesticity — or that's the ruse in 1995, at least. But Black Widow doesn't give them long to revel in small-town life, neighbourhood playtimes, 'American Pie' sing-alongs and an existence that could've been ripped from The Americans, with the quartet soon en route back to Russia via Cuba at shady puppetmaster Dreykov's (Ray Winstone, Cats) beckoning. When the film then jumps forward to 2016, and to the aftermath of that year's Captain America: Civil War, Natasha hasn't seen her faux family for decades. On the run from the authorities, she isn't palling around with the Avengers, either, with the superheroes all going their separate ways. Then the adult Yelena (Pugh) reaches out, because she too has fled her own powers-that-be: Dreykov, the fellow all-female hit squad she's been part of for the last 21 years, and the mind-control techniques that've kept her compliant, and killing, since she was a child. Vials of a brain-liberating serum are of vital importance here, and so is getting revenge on Dreykov — although they're really just the gadgets and goals that help reunite not just Natasha and Yelena, but also their ex-foster parents. Alexei, Russia's first super soldier, has slid from prominence, while Melina has fared better; however, they're all soon trying to break into Dreykov's Red Room training camp. There's an unmistakable air of Bourne and Bond to Eric Pearson's (Godzilla vs Kong) script, and to the story by Jac Schaeffer (WandaVision) and Ned Benson (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) he's working with. Moonraker especially comes to mind in Black Widow's visuals and action setpieces, too. But this deftly satisfying flick doesn't trade the MCU's blueprints for other franchises' templates, thankfully. With Cate Shortland in the director's chair, it spins a thoughtfully weighty story about women trapped at the mercy of others and fighting to regain their agency. If that sounds familiar, that's because the Australian filmmaker has a history with these types of notions thanks to Somersault, Lore and Berlin Syndrome. The first solo female director in the MCU, Shortland proves a savvy pick to guide Black Widow, and not only because she's in her thematic wheelhouse — or because her past films have all been about young women and their connections, as this Marvel instalment is as well. When it comes to action, she directs intense and suspenseful yet always fluid scenes. When the movie gets interpersonal, including during a memorable dinner table exchange where Natasha and Yelena demand answers from the closest thing they've ever had to a mum and dad, Shortland finds the ideal balance between raw emotion and rich character interplay. The film finds humour also, and repeatedly. Yelena's jokes at her sister's expense are a light but disarmingly realistic touch, and they always play that way. Their banter persistently reads that way, in fact. As Alexei, Harbour is given room to get goofy as well, and it never feels out of place — even in a feature with a deep vein of poignancy pumping through its frames, particularly when it comes to the childhoods that Natasha and Yelena didn't get to have. Using a breathy female cover of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', frenetic fight-scene editing that's occasionally too quick for its own good, and Winstone's unconvincing Russian accent: these are among Black Widow's rare missteps. Thoroughly deserving her time in the MCU spotlight after 11 years and eight prior big-screen appearances, a flame-haired Johansson relishes the long-awaited chance to give Natasha more depth than she's ever been afforded — and, in a generous performance, she also sparks with and bounces off of the always-impressive Pugh, who just keeps going from strength to strength (see also: Lady Macbeth, The Little Drummer Girl, Fighting with My Family and Midsommar). It doesn't need to, and it didn't spend an entire feature threatening to, but if Marvel somehow found a way to pair these two together again, it'd be more than welcome. If it keeps genuinely trying to push aside its usual formula and do more than extend its brand, that'd be welcome as well. Luckily for audiences, it's definitely handing the reins to another female filmmaker again, and soon — and now Chloe Zhao's Eternals can't come quickly enough. Black Widow is now screening in Australian cinemas, and will be available via Disney+'s Premium Access from Friday, July 9. Top image: Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
The 1989 film The 'Burbs (starring Tom Hanks) is an underrated comedy about a suburban vigilante squad protecting their leafy suburb from creepy neighbours. Attack the Block (2011) is an overrated sci-fi flick about a bunch of London thugs protecting their housing estate from super-creepy aliens. Put them together and you get The Watch: a 'rated' comedy about a suburban vigilante squad protecting their leafy suburb from super-creepy aliens. It’s not quite as funny as the former, or as creative as the latter, but still has enough tricks up its sleeve to avert the instant fail. Directed by SNL's Akiva Schaffer and co-written by Seth Rogen and Adam Goldberg, The Watch boasts an enviable team of comedy heavyweights on both sides of the camera, with Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, and Vince Vaughn in the lead roles. Of those, Hill is the standout as the mentally unstable, police academy dropout Franklin, while the others rarely push beyond the tried and tested: Stiller is amiable and uptight, Ayoade is polite and awkward, and Vaughn is the chirpy man's man. The plot is similarly familiar, borrowing more than it invents, but at least it does so in a way that keeps the pace steady and the laughs frequent. For a cast of this calibre, the jokes do linger too long in the gutter, but The Watch never takes itself too seriously and as a result, earns itself enough leeway as a silly yet entertaining diversion.
The story goes that, in 1971, National Geographic's Loren McIntyre found the source of the great Amazon River. Last year, author Petru Popescu published his version of the story, called Amazon Beaming, in which Popescu details how McIntyre found a tribal chief with whom he was able to communicate — telepathically. That is, with their brains. Yep. This instance of multimedia theatre, showing at the Malthouse from February 3–10, really challenges the audience to approach the production holistically, in terms of their senses. Taking the idea of telepathic communication, legendary director Simon McBurney and theatre stalwart Richard Katz project all the sound through a 360-degree microphone straight into the ears of their audience via headphones. McBurney pushes the audience's imagination to immerse themselves into the humid and mysterious environment of the Amazon through Katz's impressive performance in what is essentially a two-hour monologue.
It has been nearly two years since streaming platform Shudder — and AMC Networks, the American company behind it — told scary movie fans in Australian and New Zealand exactly what they wanted to hear. Back in October 2018, it was announced that the dedicated horror service would make its way Down Under; however, as anyone who likes unsettling flicks and spine-tingling TV shows will have noticed, that hasn't actually occurred — until now. In a case of better late than never, Shudder has finally launched to Aussie and New Zealand viewers — joining an ever-growing streaming landscape, but also providing a very specific lineup. Forget anything that doesn't cause goosebumps, chills, thrills or a generally unnerving, suspenseful feeling, as it doesn't belong here. Instead, you can watch your way through new and classic horror movies, as well as horror-focused television programs. Yes, Shudder takes its chosen genre very seriously. Film-wise, that includes retro favourites such as Hellraiser, several Halloween movies and Maniac Cop; newer releases like It Follows, New Zealand horror-comedy Housebound and creative Japanese zombie film One Cut of the Dead; and fresh platform exclusives such as The Beach House and Host. On the TV front, expect to binge your way through the TV adaptation of The Dead Lands, a new anthology series based on 1982 film Creepshow and a self-explanatory five-part documentary series called Cursed Films. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4LZBEVlSXA If you already have a Netflix, Disney+ and/or Apple TV+ subscription and you're wondering whether you really need to add another, rest assured that Shudder's selection continues — so whether you want to revisit Swedish great Let the Right One In, check out Aussie slasher The Furies, or hear from George Lucas, Christopher Nolan and Ridley Scott in James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction, you'll be covered. Shudder's curated collections also handily compile films on certain topics or themes, should you really love monster movies, tales of possession or haunted house flicks, or want to watch more horror features by female filmmakers. In terms of price, Shudder is offering a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. After that, you'll pay either $6.99 if you opt for a month-by-month account or $69.99 if you sign up for a year. For more information about Shudder — and to sign up — visit the streaming platform's website.
Last night, the best chefs in the world descended on the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore for the annual World's 50 Best celebrations. And while there were plenty of Australians present at the awards — including the event's host, Australian journalist and TV personality Annabel Crabb — no local restaurants made the top 50. Australia's highest ranking restaurant was Attica in Melbourne, which came in at number 84 in the long list announced last week. Fellow Victorian Brae also came in at 101. This year, the list expanded to 120 for the first (and only) time, as a one-off nod to San Pellegrino's (the award's primary sponsor) 120th anniversary. The top five restaurants for 2019 were dramatically different from previous years as former World's 50 Best winners — including Eleven Madison Park and Osteria Francescana — were barred from the list, and instead added to a 'Best of the Best' lineup. The top gong, for the first time in the event's 17-year history, went to a French restaurant: Mirazur. Run by Argentinian-born chef Mauro Colagreco, whose cooking is also inspired by his Italian grandparents, Mirazur is located in an old 1930s villa in the French Riviera, near the Italian border. And, we're guessing it's going to be pretty hard to get a booking there for the next little while — so, we suggest planning a French vacay for 2020 (or beyond). Rounding out the top five were Copenhagen's Noma at number two, which reopened in a new space with a new seasonal menu last year; Spain's Asador Etxebarri at number three; the soon-to-close Gaggan in Bangkok at number four; and fellow Danish restaurant Geranium at five. Other new and notable additions to this year's list include a first-time inclusion for Dominique Crenn's famed San Francisco spot Atelier Crenn and NY's Cosme, by the 2019 Best Female Chef Daniela Soto-Innes, which was the highest ranked US restaurant. https://www.instagram.com/p/BzI0i_OlDGg/ The winning restaurants were chosen by a 1000-strong global voting panel which, for the first time, had an equal gender balance. Five restaurants led by females made the top 50, the same number as last year. You can check out the full list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants here and read more about the long list here. First image: Mirazur by Nicolas Lobbestael.
The theme of this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival is 'Eat Your Art Out', which sees most of the 470-plus events explore the relationship between food and art. You'll be invited to join interactive dinners, cook at pop-up barbecues and drop by the weekly Fringe Flavours Night Market. Every Wednesday evening from September 18–October 16, Queen Vic Market will play host to food stalls, bars, local artisan shops and heaps of Fringe performances. You can tuck into Polich dumplings from Pierogi, Pierogi, handmade pasta from La Trafila, a huge selection of tacos from the Le Mano, Korean corn rice from Oksusu and fluffy souffles from the Tokyoki Souffle team. There'll also be three separate bars running each night. One will serve up a selection of berry-infused cocktails, another will shake up nothing but margaritas, and the third will be run by the Fringe Night Market itself — serving beer, wine, spiced rum and gin and tonics. When it comes to entertainment, you're absolutely spoilt for choice. Tash York will perform their wine-filled cabaret show, Throw Catch Collective will run a food-themed juggling act, Bettie Bombshell and Ruby Sklippers will perform family-friendly versions of their burlesque shows, and Boyd Kelly will be DJing most nights — bringing soul and funk beats to the Fringe Flavours Night Market. You can, of course, look up who is performing in advance and go along for their free show at the market, but we love to be surprised by Melbourne Fringe Festival events — simply rocking up and hoping for the best. That's kind of the of the point of the Fringe. Discover a new artist at the spring night market series, and if you really love them, pay for tickets to their main Fringe show. The Fringe Flavours Night Market is running every Wednesday from 5-10pm from September 18–October 16. For more details, head to the venue's website.
Whether you're searching for budget skincare solutions, are stuck in a makeup rut or have never quite figured out how to apply eyeliner properly, YouTube has long been a beauty vlogging haven. But what if you're trying to stay glam after nuclear winter decimates the earth, wipes out life as we know it and forces the mutated remnants of humanity deep underground? Only Sarah's Channel can show you how to dazzle in that literally nightmarish situation — and how to make homemade lipstick out of saliva, clay, blood and what seem to be glow-in-the-dark mushrooms. It's set two centuries after a world-ending disaster and, after initially dying along with the vast majority of the population, Sarah (Claudia O'Doherty) has been reanimated. She's supposed to help the planet's waning survivors grow crops, overcome illnesses, restart civilisation and avoid being eaten by a giant monster called Quahmork — just everyday things, really — but the beauty vlogger, influencer, brand ambassador and author would rather keep doing what she knows. In her original life, Sarah had more than 3.5 million subscribers across her various social media platforms, and she's not going to let them down. They're all dead, but what's the point of saving the few not-quite-people left if no one looks their best? That's the idea behind the ABC's hilarious new satirical series, with Sarah's Channel taking amusing and astute aim at influencer culture and manufactured authenticity — all while its eponymous host dispenses beauty advice in a bleak, post-apocalyptic future, of course. Now available on both ABC iview and YouTube, the first season's six five-minute episodes cover everything you need to know if you're having #dystopianworldproblems, including Sarah's favourite products, her daily routine living in a fortified bunker and how to give a makeover to a slimy subterranean creature who has evolved from humanity. If you loved Australian actor and comedian O'Doherty in Netflix's Love — if you thought she was the best thing about the romantic dramedy, in fact — then you'll feel the same about her turn as the relatable yet oblivious Sarah. She stars alongside Sarah's Channel writer/director Nick Coyle (stage production Feather in the Web), who plays terrified mole person Justin. Sarah's Channel is the smart end-of-the-world parody and scathing takedown of online behaviour that you didn't know you needed. Watch the first episode below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deLiDLkQzio The entire six-episode first season of Sarah's Channel is now available to watch on ABC iview and YouTube.
Netflix viewers, toss a coin to your new favourite watering hole — the only spot in Melbourne (and Australia) that'll bring The Witcher, Stranger Things, Squid Game and more to life while you're sinking a brew. For five days only, the Who's Watch Inn will pop up in Carlton, offering fans of the streaming platform's hit shows a unique pub experience. Always wanted to throw down a beverage or several while sitting under a mounted demogorgon head? Yes, that's on the menu. Also on offer: coveting the piggy bank jackpot, reclining on Emily in Paris' Parisian garden bench and just generally feeling like you've stepped inside (and you're drinking inside) your Netflix faves. That covers the food and drinks menu, too, which'll showcase pub grub favourites and themed tipples — including the 'Emily in Parma' (taking on the old pub classic, obviously) and a Squid Ink Dark Ale. Even better: everyone who drops by the Who's Watch Inn will get a free drink on arrival (although there is just one per person). That's probably all the excuse you need to head to the Clyde Hotel across the Netflix takeover's five streaming-worshipping days, running from Wednesday, September 28–Sunday, October 2 (open from 7–11pm on Wednesday, 12–11pm on Thursday, 11am–1am on Friday, 12pm–1am on Saturday and 12–11pm on Sunday). The Who's Watch Inn will also host a Netflix pub trivia night on Thursday, September 29, plus a comedy evening on Friday, September 30 featuring Urzila Carlson, Nazeem Hussain and Melanie Bracewell live — and all events are free. Bookings are recommended, and if you're wondering why the themed watering hole is happening at all, that's because it's been a big couple of days for Netflix — all thanks to a celebration that the streaming platform calls Tudum: A Netflix Global Fan Event, where the company drops details about and trailers from its upcoming slate. That's why you might've seen a sneak peek at The Crown season five, a trailer for Dead to Me's third and final season, and a clip from Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story over the past few days, for instance.
Never forget that the first American version of Godzilla thwarted the titular behemoth by using "an internet". That's the ridiculously awful 1998 film's legacy (well, that and fruitlessly trying to follow in Jurassic Park's footsteps more than its own Japanese predecessors). Deploying the same logic, Reddit should probably be the saviour in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. It isn't, but that might've proven more interesting. Continuing the new US-made series that began with 2014's Godzilla and will link up with Kong: Skull Island once next year's Godzilla vs Kong comes around, this 'MonsterVerse' sequel actually does take a few cues from its late-90s American counterpart — more than any movie should, and not to its benefit. Some come through in the story, including a routine finale in a sporting arena. Others are evident at the human level, corralling yet another array of dull, feuding characters scrambling all over the place. But the main similarity is something that all US Godzilla reboots have struggled with: not knowing what to do with its hulking star. It's unsurprisingly strange to watch people quaking in the famous kaiju's shadow, whether in awe, fear or both, while the film they're in focuses on their reactions instead of the towering figure. King of the Monsters ups the creature factor considerably, giving Godzilla friends (Mothra), frenemies (Rodan) and foes (King Ghidorah) amongst a 17-strong cohort of havoc-wreaking 'titans'. At a narrative level, it doesn't just lean into the idea that more of these giant, city-levelling critters exist — it makes that very notion its premise. Alas, the film prefers to explain that supersized lizards, insects, pterodactyls, mammoths and three-headed dragons are frightening via clunky dialogue and pained faces, rather than offer much monster-on-monster action. Taking over from Godzilla's Gareth Edwards, writer-director Michael Dougherty has a background in horror thanks to Trick 'r' Treat and Krampus, but misappropriates one of that genre's key elements. Watching scared folks react to mysterious bumps and jumps in the night works a treat, all thanks to the powers of suggestion and imagination, however the same isn't true when your whole movie screams "Aaaaaaah! Fucking huge monsters! And so many of them!" Five years after Godzilla emerged from the earth's depths to battle a massive unidentified terrestrial organism, humans are basically yelling the aforementioned line. The government wants to know how many titans exist so that it can exterminate them. Shadowy outfit Monarch, led by scientists Ishirō Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), plead that people and Godzilla can live together, and that maybe good ol' Zilly could even save us all. Also working for Monarch in a Chinese facility, paleobiologist Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) appears to feel the same way, creating a bioacoustics system that can communicate with the creatures. When she's kidnapped, along with her technological breakthrough and her teenage daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown), another group enters the fray. Overseen by British soldier turned eco-terrorist Alan Jonah (Charles Dance, because every movie has to feature someone from Game of Thrones), their aim is to let all of the titans loose, watch as they do their worst and hope that the ravaged planet is reborn in the aftermath. Thanos would be proud. Also popping up is Emma's kaiju-hating ex-husband Mark (Kyle Chandler), who once worked at Monarch, has a bone to pick with Godzilla and loves yelling about it while trying to rescue his daughter. And so everyone fights over what to do, with the shouting getting louder as Jonah keeps awakening more and more titans. Human noise isn't what anyone wants from King of the Monsters, though. And if someone does want to watch people squabble in the face of literally existence-shattering critters, the last live-action Japanese Godzilla, 2016's Shin Godzilla, delivered just that in a smart, thoughtful and engaging way. Here, the paper-thin, consistently cliched story doesn't justify so much chatter. Indeed, it feels as if it's been written to slot in beside the big beasty battles, then hurriedly padded out and over-extended when those massive monster melees didn't turn out as planned. Godzilla and Ghidorah do go head-to-head, more than once. Mothra and Rodan get to flap their wings, and brief clips of other creatures are glimpsed as well. King of the Monsters doesn't completely shy away from its prehistoric giants, but they're never the main attraction — or even much of an attraction at all. There's welcome reverence and respect directed Godzilla's way, however the movie barely acknowledges the character's metaphorical significance, preferring to show its love via a few impressive wide shots instead. And while simply pairing it with its fellow iconic figures in the same picture is inherently exciting, King of the Monsters essentially rests there. When it comes to the film's frays, they arrive packaged in dim, dark, Game of Thrones-esque lighting, blighted by ugly special effects and hardly serving up a spectacle. In fact, the battles feel rushed, busy, and never as fun and lively as you'd expect given the whole titan-versus-titan situation. Hollywood is never going to admit that it just doesn't quite get Godzilla, but perhaps it should. Or, maybe it should stop trying to style American Godzilla flicks after whatever else happens to be popular recently — Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a clear influence on King of the Monsters, as is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it isn't a coincidence that the film taps Stranger Things' Brown for her big-screen debut. 65 years after the enormous lizard-style gargantuan made its initial appearance in the first Japanese Godzilla, it deserves better than by-the-numbers franchise-extending entries. The kaiju genre deserves better too, but at least it has Guillermo del Toro's great Pacific Rim. The fact that King of the Monsters delivers its most thrilling aspect in its credits — the sounds of the original, exceptional, still rousing Godzilla theme, not the obligatory post-reel stinger — screams louder than the movie's humans, and than Godzilla's own roars as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW3xYYJ6NoE
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.
Remember the name Deniz Gamze Ergüven. The Turkish-French filmmaker may have only directed one feature to date, but it's a movie audiences won't forget in a hurry. In focusing on the troubled plight of five sisters confined to their home, Mustang might bring The Virgin Suicides to mind. Yet there's much more to the film than the comparison might indicate. Setting her film in a conservative seaside village in northern Turkey, Ergüven probes the complicated reality that siblings Lale (Günes Sensoy), Nur (Doga Zeynep Doguslu), Ece (Elit Iscan), Selma (Tugba Sunguroglu) and Sonay (Ilayda Akdogan) face on a daily basis. Stuck in a patriarchal society — and in a house overseen by a strict uncle (Ayberk Pekcan) and dutiful grandmother (Nihal G. Koldas) — their teenage lives are not their own. They're not allowed to just be girls who want to have fun; they're future wives, mothers and caregivers, destined to be defined by their husbands rather than themselves. Indeed, when Lale characterises their existence as "a wife factory", her choice of words couldn't be more fitting. As the youngest child as well as the film's narrator, it's through her eyes that viewers experience both the harsh limitations that dictate the sisters' days, and the need they feel to break free. It all starts when school winds up for the summer, with the quintet heading to the beach to splash around with a group of boys. By the time they get home, news of their apparently inappropriate behaviour has already reached their relatives' ears, inspiring a regime of virginity tests, locked doors, barred windows, cooking lessons and desperate attempts to marry them off. Being trapped in such a restrictive situation is as devastating as it sounds. And yet, thanks to the sisters' different personalities and Lale's undying defiant streak, the narrative is also laced with amusing moments and ample tenderness, as well as the spirit of female empowerment and camaraderie. As co-written by Ergüven with Augustine filmmaker Alice Winocour, the Academy Award-nominated effort proves as much a celebration of young women refusing to simply do what they're told as it is an indictment of the male-controlled status quo. It's also a film that's immersed in blossoming femininity from start to finish. While Sensoy steals every scene she's in with her naturalistic charm, her four main co-stars are no less effective. Cinematographers David Chizallet and Ersin Gok shoot the movie to stress intimacy even amidst rampant oppression, while the score by Warren Ellis evokes both tension and yearning. Accordingly, though Mustang is undoubtedly concerned with domination and escape, it's not a tale of victims, but rather a testament to resilience.
One of the Mornington Peninsula's most celebrated wineries is making its much-anticipated comeback, just in time for summer. After a venue fire in May forced Pt Leo Estate to close its two main eateries, Laura and Pt Leo Restaurant, the pair are finally gearing up to welcome customers once again. And they'll even be dishing up some brand-new menus, under the helm of Culinary Director Josep Espuga. Relaunching Wednesday, December 7, contemporary bistro Pt Leo Restaurant will continue to champion local suppliers via a modern menu built around the kitchen's wood-fired oven and grill. And as before, the panoramas over the property's 130-hectare sculpture park and beyond to Westernport Bay promise a blissful backdrop for your feed. [caption id="attachment_881120" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pt Leo Restaurant[/caption] Also taking advantage of those enviable views is fine diner Laura, which is gearing up to reopen on Friday, December 16. Guests can look forward to a new seasonal degustation offering, heroing top-notch dairy, seafood and other local produce, alongside fine ingredients from further afield. Plus, an award-winning wine lineup by Head Sommelier Amy Oliver, delivering a generous mix of classic pours and left-field or new-wave varieties. Walk-in-friendly casual sibling The Wine Terrace will also be reopening this month, taking the reins from the winery's temporary dining pop-up Pt. Leo Pavilion. And the famed four-star cellar door continues to operate for wine tastings; weekend 'snackettes'; and Saturday evenings dedicated to champagne, caviar and cocktails. [caption id="attachment_881112" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Laura[/caption] [caption id="attachment_881118" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pt Leo Restaurant[/caption] Find Pt Leo Restaurant (from December 7) and Laura (from December 17) at Pt Leo Estate, 3649 Frankston-Flinders Road, Merricks. Images: Chris McConville
New year, new vaccination campaign, new chance to see life return to pre-pandemic normality: when 2020 ticked over to 2021, that's what was on the horizon. But the year hasn't turned out as planned so far thanks to ongoing lockdowns and restrictions — and the slow pace of Australian's vax rollout. For many Aussies under 40, it's been quite a wait to get the jab. Across most of this year, getting vaccinated if you're aged 39 and under — and getting the Pfizer vax, which is the preferred jab for that age group — has only been possible if you've fallen into a specific high-risk category. But, thankfully, that's no longer the case. So, it's time to roll up your sleeves, get your two jabs and protect yourself against COVID-19. In the process, you'll also help the country increase its vaccination rate, with more restrictions likely to ease for fully vaxxed Aussies once the nation hits both the 70-percent and 80-percent vaccination thresholds. That said, when it comes to the process of actually booking in for your vaccination, you might have a few questions. It isn't always as straightforward as it perhaps should be, in fact. So, we've run through the basics — and the queries you might have bubbling away in your head at the moment. Obviously, if you have any questions or concerns about the COVID-19 jab, you should seek advice from your GP or a healthcare professional. How do I find out if I'm eligible to get vaccinated? Melburnians, your first point of call is the Victorian Department of Health website, which runs through exactly who is eligible for both the Pfizer and the AstraZeneca jabs. All Aussie adults have been able to actively opt to get the AZ vax since late June, including under 40s. But, due to rare side effects with the AZ jab, Pfizer is the recommended COVID-19 vaccination for under 60s — and it's now available to any person aged 16–59 years in Victoria. That's been the case since Wednesday, August 25 (ahead of the nationwide vaccination rollout, in fact, which only opened up the Pfizer vaccine to under 40s on Monday, August 30). To get the Pfizer jab if you're aged 39 and under, you do need to book into a state-run vaccination hub, though — more on that below. Where can I get vaccinated? The Victorian Government has set up state-run vaccination centres across the state, including at places such as the Royal Exhibition Building and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Some even do drive-thru jabs. Whether you're driving or walking to your appointment, if you're under the age of 40 and you're getting the Pfizer vax, that's where you'll need to head. That means that you can't currently get the Pfizer jab from your GP or from a pharmacy. The Victorian Department of Health website has its own vaccination location map, which outlines all of the relevant sites. Or, in a nifty spin on another handy online map that's gotten quite a workout during the pandemic, COVID-19 Near Me now has a vaccination function — so you can use it to find your nearest location as well. How do I book in my vaccination appointments? There are two pathways for people under 40 to book in their Pfizer jabs: via the Australian Government COVID-19 vaccination eligibility checker, and via the Victorian Department of Health. The first path will actually lead you to the second, though. So, you can either hit up the Vic DoH website straight away, create an account, enter your relevant details, then follow the necessary instructions to book. Or, if you want to triple check that you're eligible first, you can head to the eligibility checker, then follow the prompts through to the Vic DoH site afterwards. If you need assistance from there, Vic DoH has put together a how-to guide, too. Once you've had your first jab, you'll follow the same steps to book in your second dose. I've had my jabs. How do I find proof? Allowing people who've been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 more leeway — to go to venues and to travel, for instance — is part of Australia's National COVID Response that was announced in July. So, once you've had both of your jabs, you'll likely be looking for the documentation to prove it. The easiest way at the time of writing: via Medicare, either through the Australian Government's My Gov website and app, or the Express Plus Medicare mobile app. The Services Australia website will step you through accessing your digital certificate using both methods. For further information about Australia's COVID-19 vaccine rollout, head to the Australian Government Department of Health website.
Who can get everyone in a crowd to take one piece of their clothing off and 'smash it in the air'? Hilltop Hoods can. It's a measure of the respect and adoration they've come to command in the local hip-hop scene (and, let's face it, the Australian music industry more generally). It's not for nothing — they have a persistent, infectious, unbridled energy that comes across in their epic live shows, and they're constantly giving to their fans. Nothing shows that more than the massive 21-date national tour they're setting off on right now. The Cosby Sweater Australian Tour comes off the back of their seventh studio album Walking Under Stars, the second instalment of an ambitious three-piece project that started with previous album Drinking from the Sun and will culminate next year with something big and as yet top secret. Will the reign of these undisputed kings of homegrown hip-hop never end? Expect heaps of new tracks alongside those old crowd favourites. Advice is, wear multiple pieces of clothing. https://youtube.com/watch?v=X6G2fzPTwOA
Maybe you first heard of Peloton when US President Joe Biden assumed office, with his use of the company's technology-enabled equipment giving rise to questions about its potential White House security risks. Perhaps you've seen the mocking ad created by Ryan Reynolds' Aviation American Gin, or the recent Saturday Night Live spoof. Or, you could just really like expensive additions to your home gym setup, or getting guided through your workout routine by an instructor without having to leave the house. Whichever fits, Australians will soon be able to get their hands on the brand's indoor bikes and take part in its streamed classes, with the company announcing plans to launch Down Under. An exact date hasn't yet been announced, but Peloton will be rolling out its equipment and at-home workouts in Australia some time in the second half of 2021. Presumably, it won't be doing so by using its controversial 2019 TV commercial, which received considerable backlash and gave rise to the aforementioned parodies. Australians will be able to choose from two Peloton bikes first up, and neither comes cheap. The Peloton Bike will cost $2895, while the Bike+ will set you back $3695. If you're wondering what the difference is, the latter comes with a bigger screen that can rotate 360 degrees, and with a better sound system — because connecting to the Peloton app and streaming its workouts while you're hitting the pedals is all part of the process. You will need to pay extra to access the company's content, which'll cost $59 per month. On offer: instructor-led classes, motivational tracks and curated playlists, with the latter featuring the likes of Beyoncé and The Beatles. The sessions cover cycling, obviously, as well as running, strength training, high-intensity interval training, yoga, barre, pilates, dance cardio, bootcamp and meditation. Time-wise, they span from five to 60 minutes in length and, in terms of skill, range from beginner to advanced. The Peloton app does also include material that doesn't require the brand's equipment, if you're eager to give it a try without breaking your budget. Peloton is also setting up physical showrooms in Sydney and Melbourne, should you want to give its bikes a test run in person. The brand also makes treadmills, although when they'll be available in Australia hasn't yet been announced. When Peloton heads Down Under, it'll set up shop in its fifth country worldwide, after the US, the UK, Canada and Germany. Peloton will launch in Australia sometime in 2021, and set up showrooms in Sydney and Melbourne. For further details, keep an eye on the company's website.
For one week each September, Brisbane becomes Australia's live music capital — even if a Melbourne survey generally claims otherwise. When BIGSOUND hits the city, it seems like every venue in Fortitude Valley is packed to the rafters with bands, industry folks and music-loving punters, all enjoying the latest and greatest the country's music scene has to offer. And given this year's complete lineup, expect that to be the case once again. After unveiling its first 76 acts for 2019 last month, BIGSOUND has revealed who else it'll play host to between September 3–6. As always, it's a hefty bunch. Mojo Juju, These New South Whales, Adrian Eagle, imbi the girl and Cry Club join a bill that already includes the likes of Bad//Dreems, Electric Fields, SCABZ, Outright, Milan Ring, LOSER, Tones & I and Tasman Keith, plus yergurl, EGOISM, Stevan, Laura Imbruglia and Concrete Surfers. Yes, the list goes on, with 147 artists gracing the event's stages in total. BIGSOUND has also announced its full range of venues, reaching 18 all up, all across Fortitude Valley. Attendees can expect to get cosy in smaller spaces including Black Bear Lodge and Heya Bar, tap their toes at big stages like The Zoo, The Brightside, and Crowbar, and enjoy the night air at outdoor spots such as The Valley Drive In, The Elephant Hotel and Ric's Big Backyard. As previously revealed, this year's talking heads will include keynote speaker Terry McBride, CEO and co-founder of Nettwerk Music Group, which includes Canada's largest independent record label, artist management and music publishing company; and British TV and radio presenter Abbie McCarthy, from BBC Music Introducing, Radio 1 & 4 Music, and Good Karma Club. This is a conference as well as a festival, after all — although, you can choose to hear wise words of wisdom, dance all night, or both. [caption id="attachment_636255" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bec Taylor[/caption] Past BIGSOUNDs have showcased everyone from Gang of Youths, Flume, Tash Sultana and Courtney Barnett to San Cisco, Violent Soho, Methyl Ethel and The Jungle Giants, so its program is usually a very reliable bellwether of current and up-and-coming talent. Even better — the festival's four-night $85 (plus booking fee) Rainbow Pass nabs you access to 270 music showcases at the 18 venues. To view the full BIGSOUND 2019 lineup, visit the event's website. BIGSOUND 2019 runs from September 3–6 at various venues around Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. For further details or to buy tickets from 9am on Monday, June 27, visit bigsound.org.au. To discover what to do, see, eat and drink while visiting Brissie for the annual event, check out our weekender's guide to Brisbane during BIGSOUND. Top image: Kult Kyss at BigSound 2018.
Nazi. Zombies. Those two words alone were probably enough to secure the support of executive producer J.J. Abrams and have him green-light Overlord, the new horror/war flick by Australian director Julius Avery (Son of a Gun). Set on the eve of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the film sees a small troupe of American soldiers parachute into France tasked with destroying a Nazi radar station, only for them to discover a series of sinister, zombie-crafting experiments taking place deep beneath the facility's walls. In terms of the premise, gamers will immediately recognise similarities to both the Wolfenstein and Call of Duty franchises (the latter literally had a title called WWII Nazi Zombies – The Darkest Shore). At times the film tracks so closely to these games both in style and story that you expect the Xbox logo to appear on screen instead of the Paramount one. To the film's credit, though, for every example of borrowed content or tired cliche, Overlord surprises you with nifty subversions of horror-genre tropes and delights in its consistent, sumptuous cinematography. Much of the film's success actually lies in its pacing, and it's a testament to screenwriters Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith that they're willing to be so patient with their eventual zombie reveal. Indeed, it's so long before the first encounter with the undead that the film's trailer borders on misleading and deceptive marketing. Just like the shark in Jaws, we see the monsters in Overlord only after we've seen clues to their existence and their horrific, destructive power. And when at last they do arrive, the wait is (mostly) justified. Immensely strong and grotesquely twisted with sharpened bones protruding through burnt or shredded flesh, the fiends look and feel appropriately terrifying. If there's a complaint to be made, it's that – once revealed – they're deployed far too sparingly. Intentional or not, it's the mortal Nazis and not their flesh-eating compatriots who feel the most sinister in Overlord, and since the peril in the zombie genre traditionally comes from their unstoppable swarm dimension, removing that dynamic feels like a significant misstep. Overlord's characters aren't much for groundbreaking, coming straight from the stock WWII movie playbook. On the Allied side there's wise-cracking Italian-American Tibbet (John Magaro), timid war photographer Chase (Iain De Caestecker), grizzled loner Ford (Wyatt Russell) and pure-of-heart rookie Boyce (Jovan Adepo). On the Axis side, we're given an unapologetically evil commander named Wafner (Pilou Asbaek) who, to his credit, goes all-out in the performance. Also in the mix is French actress Mathilde Ollivier as Chloe, a civilian from the nearby town who helps hide the Americans from the Nazis and whose work is probably the film's standout. Given the film spends so much time in the company of these characters, it's disappointing that it rarely evolves their personalities or digs into their back stories. Still, the performances are above average for a B-movie, and while the film sometimes feels as though it's being pulled between two very different genres, it still has enough going for it to be worth your time and your money. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USPd0vX2sdc
On Sunday, October 29, Prahran Market will host the Say Cheese Festival. For uninitiated (or those who haven't attended before), it's essentially an entire day of eating cheese (and buying even more to eat later), featuring free cheese tastings, cheesy dish demonstrations and stalls from cheese providores. Throughout the day, chefs will take over the kitchen to demonstrate cooking techniques using cheese, including cheese and beverage pairing, knafeh from Atlas Dining and mozzarella stretching. If you're not too full from all of that, the traders are also offering food to take home or eat there. Some of the highlights include Noisette's croque monsieur, mixed-cheese ravioli, and an ice cream 'cheese board' from Glacé's Christy Tania. There will also be many, many cheese plates.
Everyone has a favourite kind of chocolate. Everyone also has a favourite kind of chocolate that doesn't actually exist. You know what we're talking about — you've fantasised about a bar of cocoa goodness that includes all your wildest, weirdest additions, and you've been cripplingly saddened every time you've looked for your crazy concoction in the supermarket. Keep dreaming deliciously big, because new Australian online retailer Chocolab is in the business of granting chocolate wishes. Whether milk, white or dark is your jam, and whether you like to find confectionery, spices, fruit, nuts, biscuits, cereal, coffee, popcorn or pretzels hidden within, your dream choccy could be an actual, eatable thing. In the company's online creation lab, you can add up to five possible bits and pieces to your 100-gram block of Belgium's finest. The lengthy list of ingredients currently includes sour gummy worms, Ovalteenies, Nerds, caramel fudge, Nutella, Fruit Tingles, sherbet, acai berries, Tiny Teddies, brownie bites, Cornflakes and more, with new options added regularly. If you don't see an add-in you like, you can even suggest your own. A block starts at $6.50, with add-ins ranging from 70c to $2. Once you've settled on your picks, your concoction is handcrafted by Chocolab's professional chocolatiers, then shipped to you as soon as possible — and yes, there's an express delivery option, because no one likes waiting for the food of the gods. Postage starts at $4 per block, so while it's not the cheapest block of chocolate in town, it's certainly the most happily indulgent. Chocolab recommends eating the finished product with a month or two, and we celebrate their optimism and judgement-free attitude. We all know your dream bar won't last that long. To find out more about Chocolab, or to design your own block of chocolate, visit their website.
A lot of doco makers rely on the adage that 'truth is stranger than fiction'. A few supremely lucky ones find a story that is so mind-bogglingly strange that they could sit back and let the film make itself. The Imposter is just such a story, at every stage revealing another layer of the bizarreness of which human beings are capable. British director Bart Layton is no slouch, either; the film is slickly made, metring out its tantalising information and almost single-handedly reviving the use of re-creation as a respected documentary tool. The subject is an incident in 1997 in which a 17-year-old Texan boy, Nicholas Barclay, was returned to his family after having been missing for three years. Except he turned up in Spain, had no physical resemblance to the missing blue-eyed boy, was noticeably older, and spoke with a French accent. He was accepted back into the family regardless. His sister thought she could recognise that smile anywhere. From the relatives to the authorities, everyone around him seemed ready to excuse the differences, taking the 'he's not the little boy you knew' trope to extreme and literal levels. In reality, the boy was French con man Frederic Bourdin, a 23-year-old obsessively seeking the comfort of childhood. At first, it seems the documentary reveals his identity prematurely, almost right from the beginning — but that's just because you don't know, at that point, of all the twists that remain for the story to take. The supremely tense Imposter features sensitive, in-depth interviews with almost all of the major characters in the incident, including Bourdin, the FBI agent who handled his repatriation, the PI whose suspicions uncovered the truth and Nicholas's mother and sister. Without them, no number of re-creations could have carried the story so far or got you close to understanding any of these people's motivations. And as for the re-creations, they're filmed with a keen cinematographer's eye and a sense of enigma, putting them at a long distance from those we're used to on made-for-TV specials. https://youtube.com/watch?v=mENui3UdMOY
Spending more time at home is much easier to stomach with a hefty rage of desserts on hand, or at least that seems to be Gelato Messina's pandemic motto. Over the past few months, the gelato fiends have served up plenty of tasty specials, including cookie pies in choc chip, red velvet, choc-hazelnut, and peanut butter and jelly varieties, as well as 40 of its best gelato flavours. Up next: a gelato version of everyone's favourite Italian chocolate, in tub form. If your ultimate chocolate is round, covered in gold wrapping and has a crunchy hazelnut centre — yes, we're talking about Ferrero Rocher — you best get ready to order this Messina special, dubbed the Tartufo Rocks Hot Tub. Inspired by the famed Italian chocolate, the tubs feature layers of gianduja (chocolate-hazelnut) gelato, whipped cream, chocolate-coated puffed rice, hazelnut mousse and gianduja fudge and are topped with hazelnut rocher glaze. And, yes, the end result looks like the chocolates you know and love — but in a scoopable form. Available as part of Messina's 'Hot Tub' series, the Tartufo gelato can only be ordered online on Monday, October 26, with a one-litre tub setting you back $30. You can then go into your chosen Messina store to pick up your tub between Friday, October 30 and Sunday, November 1. While Rocher's tagline is indeed 'share something special', we think there's nothing wrong with keeping this all to yourself. Gelato Messina's Tartufo Rocks Hot Tubs will be available to order on Monday, October 26, for pick up between Friday, October 30–Sunday, November 1 — keep an eye on the Messina website for further details.
Calling all Scandi cinema diehards, Nordic noir buffs, fans of the region's oft-icy climes, and lovers of mythology and folklore: the 2023 Scandinavian Film Festival has something on its lineup for you. When it gets frosty in Australia each year, this big-screen showcase celebrates titles primarily hailing from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden — and its latest lineup is full of must-see highlights. Touring the nation between Thursday, July 13–Wednesday, August 9, with stops in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Byron Bay, the fest's latest program will kick off with the Australian premiere of Let the River Flow, which won the Audience Award at this year's Göteborg Film Festival. Based on a true tale, it tells of a young woman who unintentionally becomes involved in a protest against a dam, with the new structure set to possibly flood Indigenous Sámi land. The standouts keep coming, such as Godland from Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason (A White, White Day), which gets the festival's centrepiece slot — and Fallen Leaves, the latest from Finnish great Aki Kaurismäki's (The Other Side of Hope). Both hit the Scandi Film Festival after bowing locally at other events around the country. Also boasting a high-profile name is Burn All My Letters, which follows the consequences of a love affair, and stars Barbarian and John Wick: Chapter 4's Bill Skarsgård. Or, there's Swedish thriller Shadow Island, Darkland sequel Darkland: The Return and psychological drama Copenhagen Does Not Exist for devotees of Nordic cinema's dark side. If that's your favourite way to get a Scandi film fix, you'll also be in your element with Scandi Screams, the fest's six-movie retrospective. That's where that focus on myths and eerie tales comes in, and of course Let the Right One In is on the lineup. So is Ari Aster's Midsommar, the Oscar-nominated Border, Mads Mikkelsen in Valhalla Rising, twisted Christmas flick Rare Exports and the fantasy-heavy Troll Hunter. Back to the event's slate of recent releases, comedy lovers can get excited about Iceland's dinner party-set Wild Game, Denmark's Fathers & Mothers and The Land of Short Sentences, the new film in The Grump franchise, and absurdist-leaning period piece Empire. Also on the lineup: Unruly, another 2023 Göteborg Film Festival award-winner, this time for Best Nordic Film; documentary The King, about Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf; Munch, a dramatisation of the Norwegian artist's life; coming-of-age drama Norwegian Dream; One Day All This Will Be Yours, about a Swedish cartoonist and her siblings dividing up the family farmland; and polyamory love story Four Little Adults. One note: cinemagoers in Perth won't get to see Fallen Laves, while Adelaide movie buffs don't have Four Little Adults on their lineup. SCANDINAVIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2023 DATES: Thursday, July 13–Wednesday, August 2 — Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema and The Astor Theatre, Melbourne Tuesday, July 18–Wednesday, August 9 — Palace Norton, Palace Central and Chauvel Cinema, Sydney Wednesday, July 19–Wednesday, August 9 — Palace Electric, Canberra Wednesday, July 19–Wednesday, August 9 — Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Adelaide Wednesday, July 19–Wednesday, August 9 — Palace James St, Palace Barracks, Brisbane Thursday, July 20–Wednesday, August 9 — Luna Leederville, Luna on SX & Palace Raine Square, Perth Thursday, July 20–Wednesday, August 9 — Palace Byron Bay The Scandinavian Film Festival tours Australia from in July and August 2023. For more information or to buy tickets, visit the festival's website.
Julie Delpy has a particular writing style. You might call it The Hangover for the high brow. It's full of cursing and smoking weed and laughing at words that sound like 'cunnilingus', and getting caught in webs of awkwardness after you tell your uptight neighbour to stop riding you because you're dying of cancer when you're not. And yet her audience is more Dendy than Hoyts. Teen boys don't aspire to live out Delpy scenes at schoolies. 2 Days in New York finds her character, Marion, broken up with her 2 Days in Paris boyfriend, Jack, not long after the birth of their son. Because that's the kind of thing that happens under Delpy's watch: not all relationships are forever. And figuring out this commitment thing is part of the story here. Her relationship with her new de facto, Mingus (Chris Rock), is about to be tested as Marion's family comes for a visit from Paris. The couple, who met while working at the Village Voice, have their typically NY neuroses stretched beyond cute. Marion's rotund father, Jeannot (Albert Delpy, Julie Delpy's real life dad), has tried to smuggle in several sausages upon his person; her sister, Rose (Alexia Landeau), has no affinity with American puritanism; and her sister's boyfriend, Manu (Alexandre Nahon), thinks Mingus will be cool with him doing a drug deal in the flat because he's black. Delpy's mother, Marie Pillet, who was a delight as Marion's mother Anna in 2 Days in Paris, has since died, and in 2 days in New York, as in life, her daughter is still trying to accept her death. Some people find the Delpy aesthetic grating and as thin as the gross-out comedies alluded to earlier. And while it may be true that this film is 'about nothing' and sometimes blithely scrappy, it's also blinkered to think that Delpy's quirks don't matter. Quirks isn't even the right word, attached as it currently is to a whimsy and cutesiness that bear no relation to the 2 Days In universe. She somehow gets to make un-Hollywood films that reach a large-ish audience, and that's an incredibly refreshing thing to see. Because apart from bawdy and untraditional, funny and generous, the other thing Two Days in Paris is, is internationalist. In Delpy's world, main characters don't all come from the same country, speak the same language, or share the same culture. Their differences may be the engine of humour, but everyone is shown respect and understanding that goes beyond stereotype. The set-up is a reality many people live but somehow rarely see on screen. There's one very telling early scene: Mingus takes Marion's father, who speaks no English unless it's to say something inappropriate, to his regular Thai massage centre to help him loosen up after the trans-Atlantic flight. We all sink down in our seats, but the worst does not happen. Far from it. Mingus emerges after his massage to see Jeannot sharing a cup of tea with the owners, with whom he has been conversing in scraps of Vietnamese. It turns out the owners are actually from Saigon, a city in which Jeannot also spent his childhood. The man might not understand Americans, but his experience has given him a worldliness that is beautifully acknowledged. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Q1HDAOlPDzA
For years, its beery creations have appeared at leading bottle shops, graced the Good Beer Week lineup and sat among the winners of the GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers list. But when Glen Iris' Deeds Brewing opened a taproom and tasting bar for dine-in customers in late June this year, it had to close its doors shortly after due to COVID restrictions. The brewery-restaurant hybrid has now tabled its sophisticated dine-in offering and pivoted to a very special lockdown treat — Deeds at Home, featuring juicy pieces of southern fried chicken. Inspired by head chef Paul Kasten's travels through Kentucky, the team are doing some very good deeds for Melbournians with fried chicken available in two, five or ten-piece portions. If you're after a bit of a kick, there are two different spicy additions to add on — Sichuan hot or Nashville hot. There's also a Nashville hot chicken sandwich, which comes complete with slaw, mayo and pickles on a soft milk bun. You can pair your chicken dinner with a four-pack of Deeds' award-winning beer and some classic southern sides, including mash with spring onion and gravy, baked aged cheddar mac 'n' cheese, buttermilk biscuits, or an iceberg wedge with herbs and vinaigrette if you're after something fresh to cleanse the palate. Pick-up Deeds Brewing's takeaway goods if you're within five kilometres, or you can order delivery if you're within 10 kilometres here.
Forget the "find someone who looks at you like…" meme. That's great advice in general, and absolutely mandatory if you've ever seen a Céline Sciamma film. No one peers at on-screen characters with as much affection, attention, emotion and empathy as the French director. Few filmmakers even come close, and most don't ever even try. That's been bewitchingly on display in her past features Water Lillies, Tomboy, Girlhood and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, any of which another helmer would kill to have on their resume. It's just as apparent in Petite Maman, her entrancing latest release, as well. Now 15 years into her directorial career, Sciamma's talent for truly seeing into hearts and minds is unshakeable, unparalleled and such a lovely wonder to watch — especially when it shines as sublimely and touchingly as it does here. In Sciamma's new delicate and exquisite masterpiece, the filmmaker follows eight-year-old Nelly (debutant Joséphine Sanz) on a trip to her mother's (Nina Meurisse, Camille) childhood home. The girl's maternal grandmother (Margot Abascal, The Sower) has died, the house needs packing up, and the trip is loaded with feelings on all sides. Her mum wades between sorrow and attending to the task. With melancholy, she pushes back against her daughter's attempts to help, too. Nelly's laidback father (Stéphane Varupenne, Monsieur Chocolat) assists as well, but with a sense of distance; going through the lifelong belongings of someone else's mother, even your spouse's, isn't the same as sifting through your own mum's items for the last time. While her parents work, the curious Nelly roves around the surrounding woods — picture-perfect and oh-so-enticing as they are — and discovers Marion (fellow newcomer Gabrielle Sanz), a girl who could be her twin. The Sanz sisters are identical twins IRL, and why they've been cast is right there in Petite Maman's name. Spelling out anything further would be saying more than is needed going in; flitting through the story's intricacies alongside Nelly is one of its many marvels. Like all kids, she's naturally inquisitive about her parents' upbringings. "You never tell me about when you were children," she complains to her dad, who counters that, actually, he and her mother do. Like all kids, she's also keenly aware of the special alchemy that comes with following in your mother and father's youthful footsteps, all just by being in the house and roaming around the woods where her mum grew up. There's nothing as immersive in helping to understand why one of the people that brought you into the world became who they are. Indeed, it's no surprise that Sciamma and her cinematographer Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Spencer) shoot the film in golden and glowing autumnal hues. Nelly has questions for Marion, too, and vice versa; however, spending time in each other's company, watching the connection that springs and embracing every emotion it evokes is Sciamma's plan for the quickly thick-as-thieves pair. Explanations about what's happening are unnecessary; only the experience itself, the mood and the resonance it all holds are what matters. So, the girls do what kids do, whether amid all that ethereal greenery or inside Marion's home, decked out in vintage decor as it is, where Nelly meets her new pal's mother. The two girls play, including in a teepee-like hut made out of branches. They write and perform their own play, costumes and all. They share secrets, talk about their dreams for the future, make pancakes, bust out boardgames, and also float through their new friendship as if they're the only people who matter — in that intimate, serious and earnest way that children do with their friends. Sciamma is exceptionally skilled at many things, creating richly detailed and textured cinematic worlds high among them. She doesn't build franchises or big fantasy realms, but surveys faces, spaces, thoughts and feelings — exploring them like the entire universes they are. The Sanz duo's pint-sized features whisper and bellow about the world whenever Mathon's lens looks in their direction, as Sciamma is well-aware. The young actors welcome Petite Maman's audience into their own insular zone, in fact, and it's a revealing place to inhabit. The landscape that surrounds them is just as laden with meaning and mood, brimming with possibilities as it is to Nelly and Marion. It's a playground, as all forests are to young hearts, minds and limbs. It's also the place that brings them together. That it never appears anything short of magical is hardly astonishing, even for a filmmaker as acutely attuned to her characters' relationship with their scenery as Sciamma has always been. That love for observing, soaking in the minutiae and letting what's seen speak louder than what's said — and doing all of the above with sensitivity and matter-of-fact naturalism — pulsates through every frame of Petite Maman like a heartbeat. The film resembles a gentle but soul-replenishing breeze in its rustic look and serene pacing, but it thrums with feeling and insight about forging one's sense of self and navigating generational angst at every moment. It's a modern-day fairy tale, too, complete with its glorious twist, musing deeply on mothers, daughters and the ties that bind in the process. It predates them on the festival circuit, but it'd make a heartfelt triple bill with Turning Red and Everything Everywhere All At Once. With Sciamma returning to the adventures and emotions of childhood again after dancing with adult longing in her breathtaking last movie, Petite Maman is as radiant, affecting, smart and perceptive a reminder there is that the links between parents and kids are their own unique realms. With French cinema's abundant array of coming-of-age tales — from François Truffaut's French New Wave masterpiece The 400 Blows through to Sciamma's pre-Portrait of a Lady on Fire films — Petite Maman springs from a rich history. It's a movie about history, in its own manner, but it also never treads in anything else's footsteps. That's one of its filmmakers many gifts, because no story she's brought to the screen yet has ever felt like it's been told this way before (and if Petite Maman had to be compared to another director's work, it'd by the enchanting and spellbinding visions of youth that Hayao Miyazaki has committed to animation). Here, Sciamma is clearly working in miniature. Her protagonists are petite, as the title makes plain. Her choice of locations is condensed, and her style and storytelling is modest. The movie itself only runs for a concise 72 minutes, not that it ever feels rushed. There's nothing tiny about a film that's as potent and wondrous as this, though, or as deeply moving.
Deadly Ponies is a permanent fixture in the fashion landscape, and it's clear to see why — boundary-pushing designs, carbon-zero certification from Toitū Environcare and a commitment to both creativity and transparency. With over 15 years in the market, the Aotearoan leather accessories label — fronted by designer Liam Bowden — has seen success the world over, regularly held in the crook of a celebrity or fashion-stalwart's arm, including their homegrown talent Lorde. A classic crossbody in a fashion-forward colourway (like 'coconut ice')? Maybe an impossibly soft yet chic shearling tote? If you're looking for luxe mixed with an unwillingness to compromise on sustainability, Deadly Ponies delivers in troves. Now, dear Melburnians, it's time to peruse in person, with the addition of a bricks and mortar standalone on Armadale's High Street, as well as a dedicated Deadly Ponies Concept Space on Little Bourke Street in the CBD. Both stores were conceptualised by long-time collaborator and celebrated interior designer Katie Lockhart. The delivered spaces are natural extensions of the creatives behind the brand, with pared-back tones and textures, and carefully scattered trinkets and treasures. It's a clever pairing of new and vintage, reminiscent of homely, lived-in comfort — though not lacking a lick in design-centric styling, with the flagship's staggering window display and soft metallic accents catching eyes, and the concept space (which is within Myer) delivering yellow and blue hues via a rug hailing from 1940s France. Taking the stance of innovation when faced with the social and environmental cost of its wares is just one of the core practices that makes Deadly Ponies — and its coveted bags — so worthy of the attention and accolades it's afforded. With the annual Recycle collection, crafted completely from offcuts, and an in-store amnesty program for returning your Deadly Ponies once they're all loved out, circularity is never an afterthought. Consciously created high fashion accessories — what's not to love? Head in-store to discover the Deadly Ponies experience for yourself.
The Royal Exhibition Building is set to be overrun with pooches of every shape and size. Returning for its seventh year, the Melbourne Dog Lovers Show will welcome more than 200 exhibitors and upwards of 30,000 visitors. Whether you're in the market for a new family pet or are just looking for a bit of a cuddle, you won't find a more adorable event in Melbourne. Obviously, cat people need not apply. Taking place between Friday, May 3 and Sunday, May 5, this year's show includes a number of special events for guests on two legs and four. There'll also be a doggy pool show and a speed-dating session for dog lovers, while celebrity vets such as Dr. Katrina Warren will run seminars on canine health. Several of Victoria's dog shelters will also be there, with no shortage of rescued animals looking for permanent homes. Oh, and in case that doesn't make your heart melt, they've also got a dedicated puppy patting zone.
FOMO — Australia's clash-free, one-day summer festival — is back for a fourth year. This year, it's making its return to Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, and bringing the full festival to Melbourne for the first time ever. Leading the program is famed American-Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, who released her high-energy, highly acclaimed fourth album Queen just last month — which features everyone from The Weeknd to Ariana Grande, Eminem and Lil Wayne. Hot on her heels is Mississippi's Rae Sremmurd, the hip-hop trio best-known for its chart-topping hit 'Black Beatles' made in collaboration with Gucci Mane. Meanwhile, Florida's Lil Pump is heading Down Under for the first time, bringing hits 'Gucci Gang', 'Esskeetit' and songs from his yet-to-be released album Harvard Dropout, and electro music producer Mura Masa will break up the hip hop and rap with his disco tunes. Also on the schedule is Kali Uchis, making her Australian debut and performing hits off her widely acclaimed album Isolation, along with the mononymous avant-garde Sophie, Australia's own Anna Lunoe, and Dutch experimental artist San Holo, among others. FOMO will take over Flemington Racecourse on Sunday, January 13. $1 from every sale is going to refugee charity Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and, if you can't afford your ticket in one fell swoop, you can opt for a payment plan, which lets you pay it off via monthly instalments. FOMO 2019 LINEUP Nicki Minaj Rae Sremmurd Lil Pump Mura Masa Kali Uchis San Holo Anna Lunoe Sophie Cosha Carmouflage Rose Just A Gent MIMI triple j Unearthed winners Image: Mitch Lowe
If Falls seems a little too large for your liking, but you're still looking for a sweet escape from the city, then NYE on the Hill might be just what you need. Brought to you by the legends behind the equally awesome The Hills Are Alive festival, this boutique NYE experience is small on scale but big on good vibes. And it's returning to The Farm in South Gippsland, for its sixth year, with a lineup of top Aussie artists. Forty-eight hours of freedom never looked so blissful, with the likes of The Smith Street Band, Sampa the Great, The Kite String Tangle and many more dropping in to help you welcome 2019. A word of warning: the festival is limited to 2700 people and tickets sell out — fast. So we suggest heading online when general sale tickets go on sale at 9am, Thursday, August 9. NYE ON THE HILL 2018 LINEUP The Smith Street Band The Kite String Tangle Sampa the Great Last Dinosaurs Slowly Slowly Psychedelic Porn Crumpets Hollow Coves Kaiit Mildlife Jess Locke Tyne-James Organ Adrian Eagle Eliott Jordan Dennis Approachable Members of Your Local Community Clews Crocodylus Diet Adult.Films Tones and I Maddy May Images: Lauren Murphy and Catherine Forge
On most weekends, somewhere in Melbourne is hosting a beer festival. They might not happen every single weekend, but they definitely pop up with frequency. Only one is called the Great Australasian Beer Spectapular, however, and dedicates itself to weird, wild, wonderful and inventive varieties that are made exclusively for the booze-fuelled party. And that very fest has locked in its dates for 2023. If you're a newcomer to GABS, as the festival is known, it started off as a Melbourne-only celebration of ales, lagers, ciders and more. Then, it started spreading along Australia's east coast capitals, as well as to New Zealand. Now, its 2023 plans will see it return for its homegrown event from Friday, May 19–Sunday, May 21 at the Royal Exhibition Building. While only dates and venues have been confirmed so far, and not brewers heading along or the beers they'll be whipping up, attendees can look forward to an event that's considered to be one of the best craft beer and cider festivals in the Asia Pacific region. And, you can grab tickets from the GABS website from 3pm on Friday, March 3. One big reason: it'll pour at least 1200 kegs — which in past years have been inspired by breakfast foods, savoury snacks, desserts, cocktails and more — from 240 taps. In 2022, peanut butter, coffee, earl grey tea, chicken salt, pizza, fairy floss, bubblegum and sour gummy bears all got a whirl. The event surveys both Australian and New Zealand breweries, plus folks from the US and UK, with more than 120 set to be pouring their wares this year. Also on the bill: other types of tipples, including non-alcoholic beers, seltzers, whiskey, gin, cocktails and wines. In fact, Archie Rose, Monkey Shoulder Whisky and Yellow Tail Wines will all be making their GABS debuts. GABS is known for dishing up a hefty lineup of activities to accompanying all that sipping, too, which'll span a silent disco, roaming bands, circus and sideshow performers, games and panels with industry leaders in 2023, as well as local food trucks and vendors to line your stomach. Yes, that includes the Mountain Goat air guitar championship, the Balter tins of glory, the Atomic wheel of pourtune and the Black Flag skate ramp. Updated March 3.
Summer is here, and so are your cravings for frosty sweet treats and refreshing cold tipples. Stocking up on ice cream and mixing up your chosen cocktail in bulk are what the warmer weather is all about, of course — and so is combining the two. Adding to the growing list of booze-inspired icy desserts, Zero Gradi has released a new flavour for summer: Aperol spritz gelato. It's exactly what it sounds like, and it's only on offer from the gelateria's Brunswick East store from now until the end of February. Called Aperol Zero and made in conjunction with Aperol, this Italian flavour mashup blends Zero Gradi's hand-churned gelato with the sweet orange and subtle bitterness that you're oh-so-used to sipping when the temperature heats up. The combo is more about the taste than the booze, however, with each scoop containing less than 0.2 percent alcohol per serve. Still, if you're keen to eat your favourite beverage rather than merely drink it, then we've found your new go-to summer dessert. And, if you can't decide between Aperol gelato or frosé sorbet, then you can always add a new kind of crawl to your summer itinerary: a boozy ice cream crawl. Find Aperol Zero at Zero Gradi, 93-97 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, until February 28.
While Melbourne's outdoor cinemas have started reopening under the city's latest stage of eased COVID-19 restrictions, seeing a movie indoors isn't permitted just yet. But if you'd still like to head to a particular Carlton picture palace, sit down in its onsite eatery, tuck into dinner and sip drinks — and grab some popcorn and a choc top, too — Cinema Nova has thrown open the doors to its Bar & Kitchen, and its candy bar as well. Now open every evening for dinner from 5pm, the Lygon Street venue is offering up a menu that includes cauliflower arancini, spiced calamari, slow-cooked braised beef, and both chicken parmigiana and eggplant parmigiana bites. You can opt for a cheeseboard, too, and wash it all down with wine, beer and cocktails. And, for dessert, there's choc tops — of course. If you're just hankering for a cinema-style snack rather than yearning to spend time at the cinema, you can stop by the candy bar during the same window each night — and grab not only those chocolate-covered ice cream cones, but also popcorn and drinks. [caption id="attachment_788042" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Google Maps[/caption] Those choosing to dine are advised to book, with reservations available until 9pm each night. In line with the current restrictions on indoor hospitality, Nova's Bar & Kitchen can cater to 20 patrons. Seating is socially distanced, contact tracing is in place, payments are cashless and hand sanitiser is available for patrons as well. And if you're wondering when the projectors will start whirring again, the Victorian Government hasn't yet announced when indoor cinemas will be allowed to operate. They're not currently able to open, and they haven't been listed so far in the next phase, due to come into effect on November 8, either. Find Cinema Nova at 380 Lygon Street, Carlton — open daily for dinner from 5pm, with bookings recommended.
Craig Robinson slays snakes. If Killing It was initially pitched with those four words and those four words alone, it still would've been easy to greenlight. When the latest comedy from Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-creator Dan Goor and executive producer Luke Del Tredici first arrived in 2022, it leaned in, too, with terminating serpents the whole point of the contest at the centre of the comedy's debut season. The place: Florida, home to the python-teeming Everglades. The year: 2016, in the lead up to the US election. The reason for vanquishing vipers: a $20,000 payday, which Craig — also the name of Robinson's character — needed to enact his vision of becoming a saw palmetto farmer. Killing It served up far more than just Robinson, a B99 guest and The Office star, polishing off reptiles — and not simply because Claudia O'Doherty (Our Flag Means Death) joined in as the hammer-swinging Jillian. As a satire of the type of society that has people resorting to seeking a better future by offing animals competitively, this series has always sunk its fangs in. Craig wanted to swap being a Miami bank security guard for capitalising upon a smart idea (the berries he's keen on are coveted in the health market for prostate medicines) to provide for his ex-wife Camille (Stephanie Nogueras, The Good Fight) and daughter Vanessa (Jet Miller, Young Dylan). Aussie expat and Uber driver Jillian wanted a life beyond the gig economy and sleeping in her car. But even in a nation that celebrates the American dream as the pinnacle of existence, a goal that all can chase with hard work and perseverance, and a key factor in US exceptionalism, neither had any other option but to hunt snakes for a big payday. Getting Killing It's characters bludgeoning wildlife was a savvy signifier of a horribly broken system. In season two, which streams in Australia via Stan from Friday, August 18, slaughtering serpents is old news; however, venomous foes definitely aren't. They're the uncaring bureaucracy, the shameless corporations, the shaking-down gangs, the car thieves, the cruel insurance bodies, the nation's entire health scheme, the manipulative bosses, the rude customers and the cash-splashing rich. They're absolutely everyone with a solely in-it-for-themselves perspective, which is almost everyone. They're also unscrupulous entrepreneur Rodney Lamonca (Tim Heidecker, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson) and his mini-mogul 12-year-old daughter Prada (Anna Mae Quinn, A Carolina Christmas), who aren't done with Craig and Jillian from season one. When Killing It's latest eight-episode go-around begins, its central pair have followed through on the saw palmetto plan — albeit at a cost, with Craig's low-level criminal brother Isaiah (Rell Battle, Superior Donuts) now on the run and posing as a doctor in Phoenix. Their farm is up and running, and perennial-optimist Jillian isn't is the only one who's hopeful. The two business partners even have a buyer for their berries — and, while their margins are thin, they're getting by. Alas, whether they're dealing with a possible giant snail problem, being blackmailed into taking on new colleagues or becoming the subject of a hostile takeover, Craig and Jillian swiftly realise that snakes still lurk everywhere. Taking a cue from slithering critters, in fact, season two of Killing It poses a question: how low can modern-day America go? It's apt that this brutal contemplation of savage inequality and constant grifting returns in the same week that also gives streaming stunning docuseries Telemarketers, which similarly ponders people exploiting anyone that they think is lower than them in the food chain. Killing It is still firmly a comedy, though, and a hilarious one. Indeed, it's the best comedy that too many viewers aren't watching when everyone should be. The show is also so cutting and canny about capitalism's predators, and the prey that the globe's dominant economic setup turns most folks into, that it nearly draws blood as well as inspires laughs. There's another query at Killing It's core, of course: how low will Craig and Jillian sink, too? Season one introduced them as strangers that were each struggling but striving, then hacked into the little they each had, observing how they were forced to cope (including by coming together). Season two finds them seemingly more comfortable and secure, then unpacks what they're willing to do to retain their new status quo. It sees the selfish moves they make, or don't; the loved ones they protect, or can't; the others they sell out, or won't; the morals they compromise, or refuse to; and the dirt they embrace, or wash away. Craig and Jillian have always been an odd-couple pair, with Killing It's new run also exploring how their differences shape their responses to every choice and decision that slides their way. Problems won't stop multiplying for their on-screen alter egos, but Robinson and O'Doherty's casting gleams. He's all charismatic determination, she's perkily indefatigable, and both play keepin' on keepin' on to perfection. Together, they provide two portraits of trying to hurtle forwards however one can — and as the entire state of Florida, country of America and planet that is earth keep pushing their characters down. That said, Killing It's leads aren't the only ones shining. Fleshing out season two's storylines with an array of eclectic folks, Battle, Heidecker, Quinn and the also-returning Scott MacArthur (No Hard Feelings) all steal scenes. So do Dot-Marie Jones (Bros) as a crime-family matriarch with a laundering proposal, Beck Bennett (Nimona) as an overstressed government flunkey, Jackie Earle Haley (Hypnotic) as an insidious debt collector, Kyle Mooney (Saturday Night Live) getting shady and Timothy Simons (Joy Ride) as an FBI agent. Sharks in swimming pools, shonky surrogate arrangements, multiple Pitbull impersonators, the ridiculousness of the influencer industry, loving your first-ever major purchase, those aforementioned oversized snails: Goor, Del Tredici and their writing team also work them in. Even more than in season one, Killing It's new run of episodes delights with its eagerness to get absurd, filling every instalment with surprises. There's another way of looking at that throw-anything-in randomness: this series is hustling, just like Craig, Jillian and company. Again and again, this satire gets sharper. It also gets deeper and funnier. Yes, that name is accurate: this show is killing it as well. Check out the trailer for Killing It season two below: Killing It season two streams via Stan from Friday, August 18.
For brunch or an afternoon date, artisan chocolate and coffee at Xocolatl is bound to make your day special. With stores in Kew East, Toorak and Canterbury, the latter's location on Maling Road goes perfectly alongside the elegantly presented food and drinks available. Unsurprisingly, chocolate is the headline product at Xocolatl, with the family-run business celebrated for its delicious assortment of decadent creations that'll undoubtedly impress even the most discerning of sweet-tooths. Grab yourself a piece of cake and one of the cafe's prized hot chocolates, you won't regret it. Images: Tracey Ahkee.
If you're familiar with Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall), then you know how badass she is. Her singer-songwriter meets rock star persona sets her apart as one of the more unique musicians out there. Those who saw her at Golden Plains Music Festival this past March know what we're talking about. Don't fret if you missed her then, because you'll soon have another chance. Cat Power is crossing the pond again for an Australian tour this summer. Cat Power's ten-show tour will kick off this January at the Sydney Festival. It was just announced that she would be a guest performer at the festival's Big Star tribute show alongside Jody Stephens, Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Ken Stringfellow (The Posies), Chris Stamey (The dB's), Mitch Easter (Let's Active), Edwyn Collins and Kurt Vile. Power's Sydney shows will continue the day after at the Circus Ronaldo Tent with a matinee and midnight show. After, she'll continue down the coast, performing in Milton, Canberra, Melbourne, Menniyan and concluding in Perth. So if you haven't heard Cat Power in a while, it'll be worth your hitting up one of her shows. Her newish album, Sun, is freshly awesome and and her blonde coif is shocking, but that's why we love Cat. She always keeps you coming back for more. Cat Power's 2014 Australian Tour Dates Thursday, January 23 – Big Star Tribute at Enmore Theatre, Sydney Friday, January 24 – Circus Ronaldo Tent, Sydney 5:30pm Friday, January 24 – Circus Ronaldo Tent, Sydney 11:59pm Saturday, January 25 – Milton Theatre, Milton Sunday. January 26 – Milton Theatre, Milton Thursday, January – Street Theatre, Canberra Friday, January 31 – Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne Saturday, February 1 – Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne Sunday, February 2 – Meeniyan Town Hall, Meeniyan Tuesday, February 4 – Fly By Night, Perth Tickets for all shows on-sale Friday, November 29. https://youtube.com/watch?v=PDbPrOuXq2s
