Top Titles is an independent bookstore stocking a comprehensive selection of books across a range of genres. Whether you're looking for a particular title or simply enjoy a bookstore browse (don't we all?), the team at Top Titles is passionate about helping customers find the right book. Owners Nicole and Jean-Eric Menard love books. Their passion for reading, talking about books and helping others find the perfect read led to the creation of their humble premises. The store is truly part of the local community with many customers having been regulars since their school days. With an ever-fresh stock of new, old and just plain quirky titles, you're bound to find a book you can't put down.
To really get a feel for a country, you have to experience its cuisine. And that doesn't just mean eating in nice restaurants—it means learning about the history, stories, sources, recipes and love that goes into creating dishes that have endured for centuries. If you're seeking inspiration for experiences like that, we've teamed up with Intrepid Travel and picked out eight of the best culinary holidays Asia has to offer. You get the best of both worlds: sightsee like a tourist but live and eat like a local. South Korea When thinking of South Korea, do you think of fried chicken, bibimbap, Korean barbecue and, of course, kimchi? You can get the chance to explore all these tasty treats on an eight-day loop of the country. Start in Seoul with a trip to Gwangjang Market (as seen on Netflix's Street Food) before attending a kimchi-making session in Jeonju. Other highlights include a dive into the burgeoning microbrewery scene, a home-cooked meal in Busan and a celebratory barbecue experience back in Seoul. South Korea's rich and diverse food scene offers much to explore, and this tour is an ideal taster of what the country has to offer. Sri Lanka The beautiful island nation of Sri Lanka is known for both its culture and its food, and you can experience the best of both on this twelve-day tour. Be part of the action at the famous Negombo fish market, tuck into traditional curries and dosas cooked by Tamil families and enjoy a local snack of buffalo curd and treacle. While the food isn't to be missed, there's much to do besides. Lion Rock is a picturesque climb with ancient frescoes, and the journey from Kandy to Bandarawela is a breathtaking scenic train ride. For the grand finish, you'll hit Colombo, the country's capital, where you can take in the city buzz and enjoy a meal celebrating the area's Dutch heritage. Thailand You probably enjoy a pad Thai now and again, and there's a decent chance you can whip up a fairly decent Thai curry (if armed with a jar of paste and a tin of coconut milk), but have you ever experienced a khan tok dinner? A Northern Thailand speciality, this eleven-dish meal has long been a traditional welcome, and the opportunity to prepare, cook and eat this customary feast is arguably the highlight of Intrepid's eight-day excursion to Thailand. Elsewhere, there are trips to Chiang Mai temples, an overnight train ride across the country, and a visit to Tha Kha Floating Market. You'll be blown away by the vibrancy and beauty at every turn. India Far too often, we make the mistake of thinking of Indian food as one single cuisine while, in reality, it's one of the most rich and varied food cultures on the planet. That's why you need half a month for a trip stretching all the way from Delhi to Goa. The itinerary reads like a spice lover's dream. You'll hit the 'Lane of Parathas' in Delhi, a chaat crawl in Agra, Rajasthani desserts in Jaipur, thali in Udaipur, a street crawl in Mumbai, and a cooking class in Goa. That's without even mentioning the Taj Mahal, Sikh temples and the Bollywood movie experience that will punctuate your time away from everyday life. [caption id="attachment_970029" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Yana Tatevosian via iStock[/caption] Georgia Located on the edge of Asia on the banks of the Black Sea is the gateway to Europe: Georgia. Australia may be pretty good for overseas cuisine these days, but you'd struggle on these shores to find dishes like nigvziani badrijani (eggplant and walnuts), zhizhig galnash (noodles and lamb) or khinkali (traditional Georgian dumplings). All these dishes and more are available on this circuit of the country, starting in the capital, Tbilisi, and also taking in Telavi, the Pankisi Valley and Gudauri. And it's not just food. There's also the opportunity to hike up to Gergeti Trinity Church and catch a glimpse of Mt Kazbegi, a glacier that stands over 5,000m tall. Vietnam Banh mi, pho and bao are high-street staples here in Australia, but there's nothing like the real thing. You'll get to sample the genuine article on this tour of Vietnam, which also includes a cooking class in Hoi An that's preceded by a trip to the local market to find ingredients. There's also plenty of travelling and a bunch to see as part of this itinerary. There are two overnight train journeys, boat cruises, picturesque drives and even a sightseeing trip aboard a motorbike. This holiday comes to an end in Ho Chi Minh City, where you can soak up the atmosphere of the busy markets and marvel at the incredible produce on offer. Japan The Land of the Rising Sun has something for everyone, from skiing and sightseeing to cherry blossoms and huge city metropolises. But what we're talking about here is food and, more accurately, damn good food. Sushi is obviously a must, and in this Tokyo tour you'll be schooled in the art of sushi — which includes its history, how to choose the best cuts and, of course, how to prepare it. Additionally, there's a home cooking class in Kanazawa on the north coast, a visit to a green tea farm in Uji, a sake tasting in Kyoto, and more besides. Cambodia This diverse southeast Asian country has a rich heritage and vibrant food culture. This organised trip will show you the best this gem of a country has to offer. You'll see where reportedly the world's finest pepper is grown and taste pepper ice cream. You'll get to experience a traditional Khmer cookery class in Phnom Penh. You'll even get the chance to make cocktails in Siem Reap using local fruits and herbs. There's also plenty of opportunity for sightseeing, and you'll come away from your trip feeling like you've got to know Cambodia and perhaps even planning your next trip back. Get out, explore, dive into adventure and find your WOW with Intrepid Travel. Find out more on the website.
If you haven't attended SXSW Sydney yet, then you've missed on not one but two Down Under iterations of the annual massive music, technology, screen and gaming festival, which made the leap to the Harbour City in 2023, then returned in 2024. For the event's third year, organisers have announced a number changes, all designed to give more folks more reasons to head along. One: additional free programming. Another: more flexibility with ticketing. It was in late 2024 that SXSW Sydney confirmed that it'll be back in 2025, continuing to prove a highlight of not just the Harbour City's cultural calendar, but also Australia's. The dates for its third iteration: Monday, October 13–Sunday, October 19, 2025. There's still no lineup details as yet, but being able to attend more of the fest without paying a cent — and, for ticketed parts of the program, being able to buy single-day conference passes and single-session movie tickets — is great news. Free sessions have always been a component of SXSW Sydney, but adding more is always going to be a welcome move. Again, the specifics lineup-wise haven't been unveiled; however, the event has promised a significant expansion of its free programming, including in its brand and partner experiences, and its music showcases. On the fest's Sunday date this year, Darling Harbour will become a hub of family-friendly entertainment, in one new move. Fancy hitting up the Innovation Expo without bothering your wallet? That'll now be on offer on the Saturday. As for ticketing, the single-day conference pass will set you back $295 and get you access to more than 75 sessions. The full-week pass to the conference and festival starts at $495. Movie lovers, if you just want to see one flick, you can do so for $25. SXSW Sydney's festival wristbands will be back, though, giving access to either the screen, music or games showcases — and the early-bird price this year is $100. 2024's SXSW Sydney, the second-ever Down Under, featured 1400 conference sessions, 95 screenings, 315 performances and 150 games. It also hosted more than 92,000 unique visitors, with folks attending from 56 countries. In terms of total visits, the seven-day festival notched up 300,000 — including 190,000-plus people heading along to the 163 events as part of the free programming in Tumbalong Park. Whatever graces the bill in 2025, it'll follow on from Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker, Chance The Rapper, Future Today Institute founder and CEO Amy Webb and Nicole Kidman in 2023, plus The Kid LAROI, human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, author Johann Hari, The New Boy filmmaker Warwick Thornton, The Babadook composer Jed Kurzel, Grace Tame and Tim Minchin in 2024 — and heaps more. SXSW Sydney 2025 will run from Monday, October 13–Sunday, October 19 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Images: Paul McMillan, Jess Gleeson, Jordan Kirk, Jaimi Joy, Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW and Nina Franova/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney.
If there's one thing that puts Australia head and shoulders above the rest of the world when it comes to tourism, it's that you can enjoy every type of climate in one place. Enjoy shredding it on the ski slopes? You're sorted. Love sojourning balmy beaches in your speedos? No worries. Over 18-percent of the country is made up of desert, which also makes Australia one of the best places for the ultimate desert experience. From red sand dunes and dramatic sheer cliffs to wallabies around watering holes and ancient rock formations, the desert could not look any better than in Central Australia. So, we've teamed up with Tourism Central Australia to give you the ultimate desert itinerary in the Red Centre. Want to plan your very own adventure to the Red Centre? Take a look at our handy trip builder to start building your custom itinerary now.
Whether you thrift for a good bargain, or to find hidden fashion treasure, are eco-conscious and want to combat fast fashion, or just enjoy some retail therapy as a hobby, you won't want to miss this news. This month, Savers Australia is working with The Social Studio, offering free alterations at its Brunswick store to help thrifters restyle, refresh and rethink their best Savers' pieces. Every Tuesday (from 10am to 2pm) and Thursday (from 5 to 8.45pm) in September, head to the Savers store on Sydney Road in Brunswick to meet with the skilled team from The Social Studio to upcycle your thrifted Savers finds. You only need your Savers' Brunswick receipt, your tag still intact, and a creative vision of how you want to elevate your pre-loved pieces. Whether it's hem shortening, sleeve or strap shortening or button replacements, the service will help breathe new life into your secondhand finds. And let us just reiterate that this service is free. The Social Studio is a not-for-profit organisation accredited by Ethical Clothing Australia that fosters employment opportunities and education for people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Over the last 15 years, The Social Studio has helped more than 820 people through training, pathways to employment and paid work. Dewi Cooke, CEO of The Social Studio, says, "For us, fashion has always been a tool for change. Partnering with Savers lets us showcase our makers' skills and inspire more people to see the value in reimagining and reusing what they already have. Together, we're proving sustainable fashion can be creative, inclusive and accessible to everyone." The collaboration with The Social Studio is part of Savers' Thrift Proud movement, which celebrates community, creativity and the joy of thrifting. Michael Fisher, Managing Director at Savers Australia, says, "By giving shoppers the chance to tailor their thrifted finds, we're helping people love their clothes for longer, celebrate creativity, and support an incredible community-driven organisation." Images: Supplied. The free alterations pop-up will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout September (except for September 30) at 330 Sydney Road, Brunswick. There is a limit of two garments per person, and complex alterations are excluded.
The name might not ring a bell, but his creations would certainly be familiar. Yoram Gross is the man behind classic cartoons such as Blinky Bill and Dot and the Kangaroo. Now, rather than telling the tale of a mischievous koala, he is publishing his own memoirs. As is often the case, fact can be more interesting than fiction. As a Jewish boy in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II, Gross was forced to move between over 70 hideouts, even passing himself off as a séance host. After the war he settled in Israel, where he became an award-winning film maker, and in 1968 he was on the move again, this time heading to Australia with his family where he would eventually create some of the country’s most iconic cartoon characters. Looking back on the films — if you need a recap Blinky Bill has his peaceful bush home destroyed by invading humans and must rescue his mother from captivity, Dot is lost in the bush and must rely on her new animal friends to find her way home — it is enlightening to see the stories with adult eyes, recognising that the light-hearted adventures that entertained us as children have much more serious layers with their roots in Gross’ own experiences. As his life, and his films show, you can always make the best of a bad situation. And you should enjoy the kangaroo rides while you can! My Animated Life is published by Brandl & Schlesinger.
If you've looked at a television lately or headed in search of the golden arches to get a feed, then you've probably already realised that 2021 marks 50 years since McDonald's first started serving burgs in Australia. To celebrate, the fast food chain has been splashing advertisements all around the place, and whipping up specials — including 50-cent cheeseburgers and new McFlurrys so far. Up next: Macca's PJs. Obviously, you'll be lovin' them. Teaming up with Peter Alexander, McDonald's has launched a collection of sleepwear that features burgers, fries, golden arches, the chain's red and yellow colour scheme, and its famous figures such as Ronald, Grimace, Birdie and the Hamburglar. Do people wearing burger-covered pyjamas dream of Big Macs? That's the question you can now put to the test. You can clearly expect a big dose of nostalgia as well and, thanks to Ronald and company's presence, to have a fierce hankering for happy meals. Given that McDonald's opened here in the 70s, there's a huge retro feel to the entire range. If, while wearing them, you wake up and start watching cartoons, that's understandable. Ten different items are available now at Peter Alexander stores and via the sleepwear brand's website until stocks last — including PJ pants and sweaters for men and women, and four different matching sets for the latter. Prices start at $69.95 for kids, and span up to $129.95 for long-sleeved women's flannelette pyjamas covered in Macca's well-known characters. The McDonald's x Peter Alexander sleepwear collection is on sale now via Peter Alexander stores and the sleepwear brand's website.
Social media can get you anywhere, or so the story behind Marvel's latest movie and the actor playing its eponymous character demonstrates. Back in 2014, Simu Liu tweeted at the comic book company-turned-filmmaking powerhouse, asking "how about an Asian American hero?". In 2018, after Black Panther's success, he tweeted again — querying "are we gonna talk or what?" with the #ShangChi hashtag. Now, the Kim's Convenience star leads the Marvel Cinematic Universe's 25th feature, and the first to focus on a hero of Asian descent in its 13-year run to-date. He's the face of the franchise's latest step forward, both in terms of inclusion and representation, and in keeping the MCU's ongoing narrative forever hurtling onwards. Liu anchors a film about history and destiny, too — one that's about breaking free from the past and committing to the future — and he heartily embraces the occasion. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings itself flits between offering up a lively picture that strives to carve out its own space in the series, and simply serving up more of the usual Marvel template but in enticing packaging, however. Liu first graces the screen as Shaun, a San Francisco valet who's happy parking cars with his best pal Katy (Awkwafina, Breaking News in Yuba County), even though they both know they could follow other paths. While the film shows Katy's family decrying her lack of ambition, Shaun has a keener awareness of what he isn't doing — because he's really Shang-Chi, the son of centuries-old warlord Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung, The Grandmaster), who leads the shadowy Ten Rings criminal organisation and wears the mystical bracelets it's named after. Shang-Chi also has the otherworldly Jiang Li (Fala Chen, The Undoing), the former guardian of an enchanted village filled with dutiful warriors and mythical creatures, for a mother. But when she died when he was a child, his life changed. After the grief-stricken Wenwu obsessively trained him to become an assassin and see vengeance, Shang-Chi fled for the US, where he's lived since. Then, initially via a postcard from his Macau-based, underground fight club-running sister Xu Xialing (debutant Meng'er Zhang), and then thanks a violent visit from his dad's henchmen, he's forced into a family reunion that puts the fate of the universe at stake. It's telling that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actually begins by honing in on Wenwu, laying out his backstory and pushing glorious Hong Kong cinema legend Leung — a star with seven Wong Kar-wai films, such as In the Mood for Love and 2046, to his name — firmly to the fore. Marvel has loved daddy issues since Iron Man launched the MCU in 2008. It also adores complicated histories, and stressing the idea that heroes are forged from such complexity. And, it likes anchoring its sprawling on-screen world in as much lore and as many links to the past as it can. That's all accounted for in Shang-Chi's opening move, but so is pure movie-star physics. Leung is never less than magnetic in every feature he's in, including here. He's an actor with breathtaking presence, which has seen him prove one of cinema's most commanding figures for four-plus decades. The power and texture he brings to conflicted characters improves any film and, even with Liu handling his leading role with all the charisma and energy demanded, Leung is always the biggest highlight of every scene he's in. In other words, writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy, Short Term 12) has cast two essential roles devastatingly well — and maybe better than he intended in one case. Liu remains the star of the show, and the movie sets him up for more MCU appearances, of course. He crosses paths with other faces from the franchise, there's zero doubt that he'll be a key part of the saga moving forward and, based on this likeable-enough debut outing, audiences will want to spend more time in his company. But watching Leung constantly leads to yearning for more of Leung. The same applies when the great Michelle Yeoh (Gunpowder Milkshake) also pops up after Shang-Chi openly nods towards Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Marvel's decision to add a martial arts movie to its roster, and to populate it with Asian cinema superstars, can just remind viewers of all the exceptional works that the genre and those talents already made long before Hollywood blockbusters paid them notice, in fact. Shang-Chi brings other films to mind repeatedly, including via valet hijinks that ride in Ferris Bueller's Day Off's tyre treads, and a phenomenal bus scene — the movie's standout, and the beneficiary of dazzling fight choreography — that's more than a little like Speed-meets-Nobody. When a franchise spans 25 instalments and shows no signs of stopping, seeing echoes of past flicks comes with the territory as well, with Shang-Chi boasting the focus on character that makes the better MCU entries stand out, but also remaining happy to descend into the overblown CGI that's always been one of the series' worst impulses. It doesn't quite possess Black Panther's world-building flair, but it wants to. It can't exactly make its genre fit as well as Black Widow did with the spy realm, either. And, sometimes it feels like it's doing the bare minimum that Marvel thinks is necessary with this titular figure, and with committing to an Asian hero, as Captain Marvel illustrated before it with the saga's first solo female lead. When Shang-Chi soars — when Liu and especially Leung shine, the wuxia-inspired action choreography does the same and building engaging characters is the film's main motivation — it makes for vivid viewing. When it finds genuine emotion in Shang-Chi and Wenwu's thorny relationship, and celebrates the MCU's latest otherwise-overlooked sister (with Xialing joining Black Panther's Shuri and Black Widow's Yelena), it beats with heart, too. When it breaks out a sense of humour, which happens often in Cretton, Dave Callaham (Mortal Kombat) and Andrew Lanham's (Just Mercy) screenplay, it mostly mines an entertainingly goofy vibe (although it does lean a little too heavily on Awkwafina doing her Crazy Rich Asians sidekick schtick). That's the film's first two-thirds. When Shang-Chi regurgitates the standard formula, complete with a special-effects onslaught of a finale that favours pixels more than the fantasy flicks it's trying to ape, it surrenders a better movie to an average one. Here's hoping that Liu's tweets ultimately give rise to something more as the MCU keeps on keeping on.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest through to old and recent favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue in December. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery opens with a puzzle box inside a puzzle box. The former is a wooden cube delivered out of the blue, the latter the followup to 2019 murder-mystery hit Knives Out, and both are as tightly, meticulously, cleverly and cannily orchestrated as each other. The physical version has siblings, all sent to summon a motley crew of characters to the same place, as these types of flicks need to boast. The film clearly has its own brethren, and slots in beside its predecessor as one of the genre's gleaming standouts. More Knives Out movies will follow as well, which the two so far deserve to keep spawning as long as writer/director Rian Johnson (Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi) and Benoit Blanc-playing star Daniel Craig (No Time to Die) will make them. Long may they keep the franchise's key detective and audience alike sleuthing. Long may they have everyone revelling in every twist, trick and revelation, as the breezy blast that is Glass Onion itself starts with. What do Connecticut Governor and US Senate candidate Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision), model-slash-designer-slash-entrepreneur Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon), scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr, The Many Saints of Newark) and gun-toting, YouTube-posting men's rights activist Duke Cody (Dave Bautista, Thor: Love and Thunder) all have in common when this smart and savvy sequel kicks off? They each receive those literal puzzle boxes, of course, and they visibly enjoy their time working out what they're about. The cartons are the key to their getaway to Greece — their invites from tech mogul Miles Bron (Edward Norton, The French Dispatch), in fact — and also perfectly emblematic of this entire feature. It's noteworthy that this quartet carefully but playfully piece together clues to unveil the contents inside, aka Glass Onion's exact modus operandi. That said, it's also significant that a fifth recipient of these elaborate squares, Andi Brand (Janelle Monáe, Antebellum), simply decides to smash their way inside with a hammer. As Brick and Looper also showed, Johnson knows when to attentively dole out exactly what he needs to, including when the body count starts. He also knows when to let everything spill out, and when to put the cravat-wearing Blanc on the case. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery streams via Netflix. Read our full review. KEVIN CAN F**K HIMSELF Not once, not even jokingly, does Annie Murphy utter the words "ew, David" in Kevin Can F**k Himself. She's never ever just a little bit Alexis, either. Murphy is just as exceptional and awards-worthy here, however, in a superb show that's a clever and cutting dark comedy — and, perhaps more accurately, offers a clear-eyed unpacking of what sitcoms usually mean (Schitt's Creek excluded, obviously) for women. In its first season in 2021, Kevin Can F**k Himself cast its star as Allison Devine-McRoberts, wife to the manchild of a titular figure (Eric Petersen, Sydney to the Max), and clearly in the kind of TV show about obnoxious husbands and their put-upon spouses that've been a small-screen mainstay for far too long. In those segments of the series, the lights glow, the McRoberts home looks like every other abode in every other program of its ilk, multiple cameras observe the action and viewers can be forgiven for expecting Kevin James to show up. Also, canned laughter chuckles — always unearned. Consider the above setup Kevin Can F**k Himself's starting point, though, because the show itself does. From there, creator Valerie Armstrong (Lodge 49) exposes what life is truly like for Allison — who is considered Kevin's wife first and foremost by almost everyone around her — including by switching looks, hues and camera arrangements whenever its namesake isn't around. The visible change is smart and effective, with this two-season show keeping digging into Allison's bleak situation from there. In the spirit of the series' title, she's trying to rid herself of her horrible marriage, including with help from neighbour Patty (Mary Hollis Inboden, The Righteous Gemstones). Alas, as this second and sadly last batch of episodes shows — as its first did as well — nothing is ever that easy. In a better world, Kevin Can F**k Himself would've had more time to unfurl and interrogate its story, but in this world it doesn't put a foot wrong with the time it's been given. Murphy and Inboden make one of TV's best duos, too; fingers crossed that someone reteams them again sometime soon. Kevin can F**k Himself streams via AMC+. Read our full review of 2021's season one. LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER Neither Emma Corrin's nor Jack O'Connell's resumes lack past highlights — The Crown for the former, and Skins, Starred Up, '71 and The North Water among the latter's — but the two actors scorch up the screen in Lady Chatterley's Lover. There'd be a problem if they didn't, given that the film adapts DH Lawrence's famously steamy and even banned 1928 novel. (In Australia, even a book about the British obscenity trial that the tome inspired was censored.) To tell this tale about an upper-class wife, her unfulfilling marriage to a Baronet injured in World War I, and the sexual and emotional yearning she quenches with the family property's gamekeeper, chemistry has to drip from the images, sparks need to fly so furiously that the movie's frames almost ignite, and a feverish and all-encompassing mood is a must. Along with actor-turned-director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (The Mustang), Corrin and O'Connell bring all of the above to the latest take on Lady Chatterley's Lover, and help the sumptuous erotic period drama itself not just bubble but boil. As lensed with a sensual eye by cinematographer Benoît Delhomme (At Eternity's Gate), this achingly romantic film sees its titular Lady Connie (Corrin, My Policeman) meet her also-eponymous paramour Oliver Mellors (O'Connell, Seberg) following the war, after Clifford Chatterley (Matthew Duckett, A Confession) has returned paralysed and moved his bride into his stately estate. Talk of an heir remains — pre-injury, it was the first thing mentioned in their wedding toast — but Clifford's condition, as well as his focus on writing a novel and then modernising the local mine, prove obstacles. Connie could have a discreet affair for the sole purpose of getting pregnant, however, as Clifford suggests. But it isn't just a head-over-heels clandestine love that springs with Mellors, who's also a veteran. Connie and Oliver are bowled over by the kind of adoration, affection and lust that inspires frolics in the fields and stripping down in the rain, all while their romance also helps interrogate class clashes. As well as woozily heady, vibrantly performed and handsomely shot, Lady Chatterley's Lover also enjoys eating the rich; yes, that's sexy, too. Lady Chatterley's Lover streams via Netflix. NANNY In Nanny, Aisha (Anna Diop, Us) is haunted, both when she's asleep and awake. Her slumbers are disturbed by nightmares, but seeing rising waters and unwelcome spiders isn't just relegated to when the Senegalese woman in New York closes her eyes. A gut-wrenching sense of unease also lingers while she works, after securing a childminding job for rich Upper East Side residents Amy (Michelle Monaghan, Echoes) and Adam (Morgan Spector, The Gilded Age). Their five-year-old daughter Rose (Rose Decker, Mare of Easttown) adores Aisha — more than her parents, it often seems. And, the nannying gig helps Aisha distract herself from missing her own son, who she's desperately trying to bring over to the US. She's haunted by his absence, too, and by the stolen snippets of conversation she gets with him on the phone, constantly juggling the time difference. The supernatural disturbances plaguing Aisha and her feelings about leaving her child in Senegal to chase a better future for them both are clearly linked, although Nanny is atmospheric and insightful rather than blunt and overt. The first horror film to win Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize, this evocative effort hails from writer/director Nikyatu Jusu, who makes her feature-length debut with quite the calling card. 2022 isn't short on affectingly moody and evocative female-focused thrillers with a maternal bent — see: Resurrection, which also debuted at Sundance — but Nanny's addition to the fold is deeply steeped in Aisha's immigrant experience. Thanks to all that otherworldly water, it feels like it's always steeping, in fact, soaking in the troubles and struggles of trying to snatch even a piece of the American dream when you're not wealthy, white and originally from the so-called land of the free. Also prominent: the dispiriting minutiae of Aisha's day, aka exactly what she has to endure to even have a chance of gaining what comes easily and obliviously to her employers. Like its central figure, Nanny is haunted several times over, too. Nanny streams via Prime Video. COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS A girl, a guy and a meet-cute over an adorable animal: that's the delightful and very funny Colin From Accounts' underlying formula. When medical student Ashley (Harriet Dyer, The Invisible Man) and microbrewery owner Gordon (Patrick Brammall, Evil) cross paths in the street one otherwise standard Sydney morning, they literally come to an impasse. He lets her go first, she flashes her nipple as thanks, then he's so distracted that he hits a stray dog with his car. As these circumstances demonstrate, Colin From Accounts isn't afraid to get awkward, much to the benefit of audiences. There's a syrupy way to proceed from the show's debut moments, intertwining sparks flying with idyllic dates, plus zero doubts of a happy ending for humans and pooches alike. If this was a movie, that's how it'd happen. Then there's Dyer and Brammall's way, with the duo creating and writing the series as well as starring in it, and focusing as much on ordinary existential mayhem — working out who you want to be, navigating complex relationships and learning to appreciate the simple pleasure of someone else's company, for example — as pushing its leads together. Just like in the Hollywood versions of this kind of tale, romance does blossom. That Dyer and Brammall are behind Colin From Accounts, their past chemistry on fellow Aussie comedy No Activity and the fact that they're married IRL means that pairing them up as more than new pals was always going to be on the show's agenda. It's how the series fleshes out each character and their baggage — including those who-am-I questions, Ash's difficult dynamic with her attention-seeking mother Lynelle (Helen Thomson, Elvis), and the responsibility that running your own business and committing to care for other people each bring — that helps give it depth. Colin From Accounts lets Ash and Gordon unfurl their woes and wishes, and also lets them grow. Sometimes, that happens by peeing and pooping in the wrong place, because that's also the type of comedy this is. Sometimes, it's because the show's central couple have taken a risk, or faced their struggles, or genuinely found solace in each other. Always, this new Aussie gem is breezy and weighty — and instantly bingeable. Colin From Accounts streams via Binge. Read our full review. DREAMING WALLS: INSIDE THE CHELSEA HOTEL Part of Manhattan since the 1880s, the Chelsea Hotel is as much a New York City icon as the Statute of Liberty or the Empire State Building, and as influential over the cultural landscape as well. It's where 2001: A Space Odyssey was written by Arthur C Clarke and Stanley Kubrick, where Janis Joplin and Allen Ginsburg have resided — Patti Smith, Madonna, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Leonard Cohen as well — and a key factor in the Andy Warhol co-directed 1966 film Chelsea Girls. It's the last place that poet Dylan Thomas stayed, and where Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of the Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious, was found dead. All of these details could fuel a documentary, or several, but that's not the approach that the Martin Scorsese-produced Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel takes. As the building undergoes extensive renovations that've been happening for years, upending long-term inhabitants and transforming historic apartments, filmmakers Amélie van Elmbt (The Elephant and the Butterfly) and Maya Duverdier spend time with the people determined not to leave. Everyone who still calls the Chelsea home knows the ins and outs of its past; "the ghosts who haunt it," as one puts it. But Dreaming Walls considers those everyday dwellers — most linked to creative fields in one way or another, of course — the life and soul of the current joint. That might be easy when so much of the place, and its gorgeous gothic architecture, is a construction site in the documentary's frames. The contrast between stripped-bare walls and jam-packed apartments that've been occupied by the same people for decades is haunting as well. It's no wonder that this ethereal and evocative film is largely content to loiter, to listen and to bear witness to the folks who've been there, seen it all, heard what they didn't personally experience and aren't willing to simply move just because a boutique spot is poised to take over. Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel streams via DocPlay. BUMP Time-jump alert: when Bump returns for its third season, four years have passed in this supremely bingeable Aussie dramedy's on-screen world. Oly (Nathalie Morris, Petrol) and Santi (Carlos Sanson, Sweet As) are no longer high schoolers, or even teenagers. They're also no longer the couple that took a big leap at the end of season two by moving into their own apartment, away from both of their chaotic families, while Oly finished her HSC, Santi started working full-time and both juggled all of the above with caring for baby J. Indeed, this new batch of Bump episodes begins with its central pairing taking the now almost five-year-old Jacinda (Ava Cannon) to her first day of kindergarten. All three are both excited and nervous amid the awkward co-parenting energy between the now-split Oly and Santi — and as Oly's mother Angie (Claudia Karvan, Moja Vesna) surprises them en route. Times and ages may have changed, and situations and appearances as well, but the warmth this series feels for its characters — and the complexity it works through in well-worn scenarios — steadfastly remains. We said it when the first ten-episode season dropped at the end of 2020, and we still stand by it today: Heartbreak High fans, Bump is for you, too. That isn't just because Karvan starred in The Heartbreak Kid, the movie that the OG Heartbreak High spun off from, but due to its dedication to chronicling the ins and outs of growing up and parenting in Sydney — yes, with school a focus as well. Bump has matured as Oly and Santi also have, however, even if the same can't always be said about Angie, Oly's dad Dom (Angus Sampson, The Lincoln Lawyer) and her older brother Bowie (Christian Byers, Between Two Worlds). A key theme in season three: what it means when life already hasn't turned out as planned when you still have so much of it left ahead of you. The show is called Bump, after all, and finds plenty of them paving everyone's paths. With the series also devoting its time to Santi's stepmother Rosa (Paula Garcia, Thirteen Lives) and best friend Vince (Ioane Saula, Preppers) among its broader look at Oly and Santi's support network, it also finds an array of ways to contemplate hopes, dreams, loves, losses, joys and disappointments. Bump streams via Binge from December 26. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK ABBOTT ELEMENTARY The Office did it, in both the UK and US versions. Parks and Recreation did so, too. What We Do in the Shadows still does it — and, yes, there's more where they all came from. By now, the mockumentary format is a well-established part of the sitcom realm. Indeed, it's so common that additional shows deciding to give it a whirl aren't noteworthy for that alone. But in Emmy-winner Abbott Elementary, which is currently streaming its second season, the faux doco gimmick is also deployed as an outlet for the series' characters. They're all public school elementary teachers in Philadelphia, and the chats to-camera help convey the stresses and tolls of doing what they're devoted to. In a wonderfully warm and also clear-eyed gem created by, co-written by and starring triple-threat Quinta Brunson (Miracle Workers), that'd be teaching young hearts and minds no matter the everyday obstacles, the utter lack of resources and funding, or the absence of interest from the bureaucracy above them. Brunson plays perennially perky 25-year-old teacher Janine Teagues, who loves her gig and her second-grade class. She also adores her colleague Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph, Ray Donovan), the kindergarten teacher that she sees as a mentor and work mum. Actually, Janine isn't just fond of all of the above — she's so devoted to her job that she'll let nothing stand in her way. But that isn't easy or straightforward in a system that's short on cash and care from the powers-that-be to make school better for its predominantly Black student populace. Also featuring Everybody Hates Chris' Tyler James Williams (also The United States vs Billie Holiday) as an apathetic substitute teacher, Lisa Ann Walter (The Right Mom) and Chris Perfetti (Sound of Metal) as Abbott faculty mainstays, and Janelle James (Black Monday) as the incompetent principal who only scored her position via blackmail, everything about Abbott Elementary is smart, kindhearted, funny and also honest. That remains the case in season two, where Janine is newly single and grappling with being on her own, sparks are flying with Williams' Gregory and James' Ava can't keep bluffing her way through her days. Abbott Elementary streams via Disney+. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN Is every vampire film destined to become a television series? Where Buffy the Vampire Slayer, What We Do in the Shadows and Interview with the Vampire have already tread — the latter just this year, too — Let the Right One In now follows. Originally a devastatingly haunting Swedish novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, then an entrancing 2008 film in its original language, then an American big-screen remake called Let Me In, this one just keeps drawing audiences in. In its present guise, it takes its tale to New York, where Mark Kane (Demián Bichir, Godzilla vs Kong) and his daughter Eleanor (Madison Taylor Baez, Selena: The Series) are trying to live as normal a life as they can when the latter is a member of the bloodsucking undead. Other changes abound, including the fact that Ellie has been blighted by her condition for just a decade; that NYC is being plagued by a series of brutal but strange killings; and that former pharmaceutical executive Arthur Logan (Željko Ivanek, The Last Duel), his estranged daughter Claire (Grace Gummer, Dr Death) and afflicted son Peter (Jacob Buster, Colony) factor into the narrative. Because everything is a murder-mystery of late — see: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery above, and fellow recent streaming hits Only Murders in the Building, The Afterparty, Bad Sisters and Black Bird — so is Let the Right One In circa 2022 in its way. When Ellie befriends a boy, as has happened in every version of this tale so far, his mother happens to be a police detective investigating those aforementioned deaths. So, while the show chronicles Ellie and Isaiah Cole's (Ian Foreman, The Holiday Switch) affinity as outsiders, with the magic-loving neighbour kid bullied at school, it also charts his mum Naomi's (Anika Noni Rose, Maid) time on the job. And, this Let the Right One In is also a survival quest, chasing a cure for Ellie's predicament. In other words, creator and writer Andrew Hinderaker (Away) has taken the source material, filtered it through thoroughly 2022 obsessions, conjured up there requisite moody vibe and filled it with weighty performances. Sinking your teeth in is recommended. Let the Right One In streams via Paramount+. 2022 CINEMA HIGHLIGHTS WORTH CATCHING UP WITH AT HOME FLUX GOURMET Flickering across a cinema screen, even the greatest of movies only engage two senses: sight and hearing. We can't touch, taste or smell films, even if adding scratch-and-sniff aromas to the experience has become a cult-favourite gimmick. British director Peter Strickland hasn't attempted that — but his features make you feel like you're running your fingers over an alluring dress (In Fabric), feeling the flutter of insect wings (The Duke of Burgundy) or, in his latest, enjoying the smells and tastes whipped up by a culinary collective that turns cooking and eating into performance art. Yes, if you've seen any of his movies before, Flux Gourmet instantly sounds like something only Strickland could make. While it's spinning that tale, it literally sounds like only something he could come up with as well, given that his audioscapes are always a thing of wonder (see also: the sound-focused Berberian Sound Studio). And, unsurprisingly due to his strong and distinctive sense of style and mood, everything about Flux Gourmet looks and feels like pure Strickland, too. The setting: a culinary institute overseen by Jan Stevens (Gwendoline Christie, Wednesday), that regularly welcomes in different creative groups to undertake residencies. Her guests collaborate, percolate and come up with eye-catching blends of food, bodies and art — hosting OTT dinners, role-playing a trip to the supermarket, getting scatalogical and turning a live colonoscopy into a show, for instance. Watching and chronicling the latest stint by a 'sonic catering' troupe is journalist Stones (Makis Papadimitriou, Beckett), who also has gastrointestinal struggles, is constantly trying not to fart and somehow manages to keep a straight face as everything gets farcical around him. Asa Butterfield (Sex Education), Ariane Labed (The Souvenir: Part II) and Strickland regular Fatma Mohamed play the three bickering artists, and their time at the institute get messy and heated, fast — but this is a film that's as warm as it is wild, and stands out even among Strickland's inimitable work. Also crucial: riffing on This Is Spinal Tap. Flux Gourmet streams via Shudder. Read our full review. STREAMING HIGHLIGHTS FROM EARLIER IN THE YEAR WORTH CATCHING UP ON THE LAST MOVIE STARS Filmmakers adoring filmmakers is basically its own on-screen genre. Six-part documentary limited series The Last Movie Stars gives that idea a different spin: actors loving actors. Here, Ethan Hawke turns director, not for the first time — see: films Blaze, Seymour: An Introduction, The Hottest State and Chelsea Walls — to show his affection for the inimitable Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Unsurprisingly, he has a wealth of company, some chatting through their fondness for two Hollywood talents like no other and some contributing by giving voice to interview transcripts. For a memoir that didn't eventuate, Newman and Woodward compiled chats by a who's who of showbusiness during their careers; however, they also had the tapes destroyed. Cue George Clooney voicing Newman's chats, Laura Linney doing Woodward's, and everyone from Oscar Isaac, Sam Rockwell and Mark Ruffalo to Rose Byrne and Zoe Kazan also subbing in for other famous names. That's where The Last Movie Stars' audio comes from, echoing with insightful discussions given the emotion they deserve. Hawke also includes new zoom chats with his players, as well as with Martin Scorsese, his daughter and Stranger Things star Maya and more, but his engrossing and probing series is head over heels for pairing those recreated interviews with archival footage. Staring at Newman and Woodward is easy, as is celebrating them and their relationship. This isn't just a case of deserved worship, though, but shows its subjects as real people rather than just stars — all while exploring Hollywood at the time, stepping through their careers and contemporaries, and overflowing with clear-eyed warmth. Hawke doesn't avoid tricky traits or truths, and this in-depth doco is all the more enlightening and compassionate for it. Whether you already treasure Newman and Woodward or you've always wanted to know more about the two legends, this is a movie buff's pure and utter dream. The Last Movie Stars streams via Binge. MO For three seasons on Ramy, Mohammed Amer has played Mo, the diner-owning cousin to the show's namesake. For those three seasons, including 2022's batch of episodes, he's also been part of one of the best and most thoughtful shows currently streaming, especially when it comes to the immigrant experience and telling Muslim American stories. Instead of just co-starring in an art-imitates-life dramedy inspired by someone else's existence, however, Amer has taken a leaf out of Ramy Youssef's book with Mo — a show with the same underlying concept, as co-created by Amer and Youssef. This time, the pair draw upon Amer's background rather than Youssef's. So, Amer's on-screen alter-ego is a Palestinian living in America. He's a refugee, in fact, who fled the Middle East when he was a child and sought asylum with his family. His US home: Houston, Texas. IRL, every one of these points is drawn from Amer's existence, as fans of his Netflix standup specials Mo Amer: The Vagabond and Mo Amer: Mohammed in Texas will recognise. That's the history behind Mo, with the series' eight-episode first season honing in on its protagonist's attempts to gain US citizenship. Mo Najjar (Amer, Black Adam), his mother Yusra (Farah Bsieso, Daughters of Abdul) and brother Sameer (Omar Elba, Limetown) have been waiting two decades to have their cases heard — another detail ripped from reality — and trying to forge new lives while remaining in legal limbo has long since taken a toll. Spanning losing jobs, trying to find a new one as an undocumented American resident, the Najjars' family dynamic, pain from back home they haven't processed, the weight of cultural traditions and expectations, and Mo's relationship with Mexican and Catholic mechanic Maria (Teresa Ruiz, Father Stu), there's no shortage of detail and drama to Amer's passion project. Indeed, every second of the series feels as personal and authentic as it clearly is, and does far more than merely give Amer his own Ramy. Mo streams via Netflix. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November this year. You can also check out our running list of standout must-stream 2022 shows as well — and our best 15 new shows of the year, top 15 returning shows over the same period, 15 shows you might've missed and best 15 straight-to-streaming movies of 2022.
Audible is the world's largest creator and retailer of audiobook content, so you can be sure they know a thing or two about great stories. During Vivid Sydney, Audible is hosting three separate events with some of the city's best names in audio entertainment. On Wednesday, June 1, former MasterChef Australia champion Adam Liaw will be speaking about how the food we cook and eat shapes the world around us. Wednesday, June 8, sees TV presenter Melissa Doyle examine how the world handles – or rather, doesn't handle – the concept of women ageing. Finally, on June 15, writer Laura Nagy and journalist Marc Fennell uncover some of pop culture's more unusual and niche trends.
Chart-topping UK grime MC Stormzy is finally set to return to Australian and New Zealand before the end of 2022, with a slew of previously postponed tour dates being given new dates. Originally scheduled for 2020 before being pushed back multiple times for obvious reasons, the H.IT.H World Tour will make its long-awaited arrival across Australian and New Zealand from Wednesday, November 23. That's when the tour will begin at Perth's HBF Stadium, before continuing on to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Wellington — and concluding in Auckland on Sunday, December 11. Folks that purchased tickets to the original tour and held onto them for the past two years need not worry, as their purchase is still valid, while limited extra tickets are on sale now. Stormzy last graced our shores for Splendour in the Grass 2018. In the following half a decade, the rapper has released his second UK #1 album Heavy Is The Head, which was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize; made history by becoming the first black British solo artist to headline Glastonbury; and set up multiple social enterprises including the #Merky Foundation and the Storzmy Scholarship at the University of Cambridge. The tour will mark the first time audiences down under will have the opportunity to catch Heavy Is The Head hits like 'Vossi Bop', 'Own It' and 'Crown', alongside favourites from Stormzy's back catalogue. With many of the tickets already snatched up back in 2020, the remaining spots are sure to fill up fast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ClYy0MxsU0 STORMZY AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND TOUR DATES 2022 Perth — Wednesday, November 23, HBF Stadium Sydney — Sunday, November 27, Hordern Pavilion Sydney — Monday, November 28, Hordern Pavilion Brisbane — Wednesday, November 30, Riverstage Melbourne — Friday, December 2, John Cain Arena Adelaide — Thursday, December 8, AEC Theatre Wellington — Saturday, December 10, TBS Arena Auckland — Sunday, December 11, Trusts Arena Stormzy will tour Australia and New Zealand in November and December 2022. For further information and to buy tickets, head to Handsome Tour's website. Top image: Raph_PH.
For the first time, Darling Harbour's Tumbalong Park is getting in on the Vivid Sydney action with the introduction of Tumbalong Nights. From Wednesday to Saturday throughout the festival, you can enjoy performances from the very heart of the Light Walk. From rising Aussie starlets like Stevan and Elsy Wameyo to established acts like Haiku Hands and Donny Benét — and long-time festival favourites like Hot Potato Band — there's a diverse array of musical talent at Tumbalong Nights in 2022, plus short film screenings on offer too. What's more, every single one of these events is completely free. Music will start at 8pm on Wednesdays and at 7pm from Thursday to Saturday. Plus, head down with your minis a bit earlier on Saturdays for some of Australia's best acts for children as part of Vivid Kids at Tumbalong from 5pm.
When it opened in May 2007 in the heart of Elwood village, The Leaf Store set out to help locals 'eat better and feel better'. This friendly neighbourhood grocer has all the weekly grocery essentials, seasonal produce, specialty items from local suppliers and a bunch of ready-to-eat meals that are actually healthy. With its own range of meal boxes and an online shop with home delivery service, Leaf is like a supermarket chain but better. Dips from Fresh Fodder (Orange, NSW), fresh lasagne and pizza bases from Coburg's Take Me Home, Ridiculously Delicious Peanut Butter made from nuts grown in Queensland, Melbourne Hot Sauce, Bramble and Hedge Confectionary, Schulz Organic Dairy — these are just some of the products and labels you'll find on the shelves of The Leaf Store.
A holiday at a luxurious resort in Thailand is usually relaxing. For Walton Goggins (Fallout), Carrie Coon (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Jason Isaacs (The Crowded Room), Michelle Monaghan (MaXXXine), Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale), Parker Posey (Mr & Mrs Smith) and more in The White Lotus season three, however, getaway bliss might prove elusive. In 2025, TV viewers will find out what the hit anthology series has in store for its latest batch of travellers. Fancy a sneak peek now? HBO has dropped a new teaser trailer for its upcoming slate. The latest glimpse at what the US network has on the way covers a heap of series, so The White Lotus season three only features briefly. But Goggins peers at the sights, Bibb and Monaghan mosey through a crowd, and Posey and returning cast member Natasha Rothwell (How to Die Alone) also pop up, while Lisa from BLACKPINK welcomes guests. Exactly when The White Lotus returns hasn't been revealed as yet, other than sometime in 2025. Also arriving next year, and also debuting never-before-seen footage in the clip: IT prequel series Welcome to Derry, season four of Hacks, season two of The Rehearsal, a new show led by Bottoms and Saturday Night's Rachel Sennott, two-part documentary Pee-Wee as Himself, The Righteous Gemstones season four, Peacemaker season two, The Pitt with ER veteran Noah Wyle, Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things)-led FBI series Task and Tim Robinson (I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson) comedy The Chair Company. The second season of The Last of Us, new Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, season three of And Just Like That... and season three of The Gilded Age also feature in the trailer, albeit without any new material, with each series joining the list for 2025. You can spot scenes from Dune: Prophecy, season three of The Sex Lives of College Girls, the animated Creature Commandos and limited series Get Millie Black, too, each of which are 2024 releases. From 2025's lineup, newcomer Duster with Lost's Josh Holloway and season two of Conan O'Brien Must Go score a look as well. Where Australians will be watching all of the above is yet to be revealed, however, given that HBO has confirmed that its own streaming service Max will launch here sometime in the first half of 2025. Watch HBO's new 2024–25 roundup trailer below: The shows highlighted in HBO's new trailer will arrive across the end of 2024 and in 2025. At present, the bulk of the network's programs stream via Binge in Australia and on Neon in New Zealand. Images: HBO.
It's a truth that Morticia, Gomez, Wednesday and Pugsley would treasure: nearly a century might've passed since The Addams Family first graced the pages of The New Yorker in the 1930s, but this creepy, kooky, mysterious and ooky brood will never die. America's first macabre family keeps entrancing and enchanting audiences, luring them in with their unflinching embrace of the eerie, the gothic, and the all-round dark and twisted. Forget bumps, jumps, screams and shrieks, however; this off-kilter crew might pal around with a severed limb and adore graveyards, but they also delight in a gloriously eclectic, eccentric, embrace-your-inner-outcast fashion, as the 1960s TV show, 1991's live-action film The Addams Family and its 1993 sequel Addams Family Values, and now new Netflix series Wednesday understands and adores. Dropping all eight season-one episodes on November 23 — a Wednesday, when else? — The Addams Family's latest go-around arrives stitched-together as so much is of late. Netflix's algorithm has accurately gleaned that viewers love cartoonist Charles Addams' horror-influenced creations. It knows that people like mysteries and teen coming-of-age tales, two of the platform's favourite genres. And, the service is well-aware that already-beloved big names are a drawcard. Throw in Tim Burton directing like it's his 80s and 90s heyday, current scream queen Jenna Ortega sporting the trademark plaits, 90s Wednesday Christina Ricci returning in a new part, and a supernatural school for unusual children complete with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children-meets-Hogwarts vibes, and Wednesday's various pieces are as evident as the sewn-on limbs on Frankenstein's monster. Mary Shelley's famous creature is an icon and a marvel, of course, and more things should want to follow in its footsteps. In the author's game-changing book, it lived, breathed and fascinated despite its seams being oh-so-visible, and Wednesday does the same — and quickly engages and entertains. Seeing why and how Netflix has crafted this series, and which levers it's pulling to electrify its experiment, is as easy as getting a killer glare from Wednesday's teenage protagonist. Enjoying every second because it's astutely, knowingly and lovingly spliced together is just as straightforward, especially with Scream, Studio 666 and X star Ortega leading the show so commandingly and convincingly. This version of the Addams family's eldest child is indeed full of woe, like the nursery rhyme she's named for. She wouldn't have it any other way. Played by Ortega with a knockout stare every bit as gleefully bitter as Ricci's and 60s TV show star Lisa Loring's, Wednesday has been bouncing around public schools, but she's suddenly out of options. After unleashing a pool of piranhas on Pugsley's (Isaac Ordonez, A Wrinkle in Time) tormenters — torturing him is her job, not the water polo team's — she's enrolled in the haunted house-esque Nevermore Academy. Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Prodigal Son) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán, The Resort) went there. In fact, they met and fell in love there. But the preternaturally morbid Wednesday is even less thrilled than usual, until she discovers there's a spate of grim deaths to solve. Harry Potter and X-Men comparisons spring the moment that Wednesday locks eyes on Nevermore, and only deepen when the series reveals that it caters to vampires, werewolves, sirens, gorgons and other paranormal folks. Wednesday's roommate is pastel-loving lycan Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers, Girl in the Basement), who hasn't yet 'wolfed out', for instance. Her immediate nemesis is queen bee Bianca (Joy Sunday, Dog), who has to wear an amulet to avoid unleashing her siren powers. Smartly, series creators and writers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough — who co-created Smallville together two decades ago, so know the ropes when it comes to mining the high-school angst of well-known figures — stick with Wednesday's namesake's withering attitude, and with a wryly comedic mood. She isn't fussed about the whole magical educational institution setup, and the show she's in recognises that it's a setting and a source of plenty of humour rather than the real focus. That centre of attention instead: Wednesday, always. People in and around Nevermore are disappearing, though. Students and Vermont locals might be getting torn to pieces by a monster, or they might show up again the next day even after Wednesday witnesses their murders. None of the adults — not headmistress Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie, Flux Gourmet), new teacher Marilyn Thornhill (Ricci, Yellowjackets), local sherriff Donovan Galpin (Jamie McShane, The Lincoln Lawyer) or Wednesday's court-ordered therapist Valerie Kinbott (Riki Lindhome, Knives Out) — are particularly open to her theories or happy about her investigations. A misanthropic teen black sheep sleuthing around an exclusive school and the insular town it's in, making few friends in the process, and determined to expose deep, dark secrets? Yes, there's more than a touch of Veronica Mars to Wednesday, too. Yes, there's thorny romances as well (enter Your Honor's Hunter Doohan as the sheriff's son Tyler and Pretty Hard Cases' Percy Hynes White as Nevermore pupil Xavier Thorpe), just with a brunette lead, a blacker colour palette and moody woodland surroundings. If you're well-acquainted with the formulas behind most high school-set dramas, or whodunnits and detective tales, then Wednesday has few shocks and surprises. Nonetheless, it remains a twisted and easy to binge from start to finish, all thanks to two key factors. First is that standout lead casting, with Ortega slipping into Wednesday's dead-eyed scowl like she's always worn it, never softening it, ensuring that Wednesday lives up to it and perfecting the part's deadpan humour at the same time. Zeta-Jones and Guzman play the lusty Morticia and Gomez with flair, Fred Armisen (Los Espookys) makes a suitably offbeat Uncle Fester, and Christie relishes her authoritative role, but the intense Ortega is the show's blackly and wittily charming heart. Secondly, although Burton doesn't helm every episode in the series — just the first four — Wednesday is as quirkily mesmerising as the Frankenweenie, Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands' greatest work. More than that, it's among his finest output in a couple of decades, in no small part because it looks so bewitchingly attuned to his preferred melancholy aesthetic, complete with wonderfully surprising and seductive design choices. There's Danny Elfman-composed theme music to help perfect the mood, too, continuing a collaboration with Burton that goes all the way back to 1985's Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Wednesday doesn't exceed its 60s or 90s predecessors — it swiftly and thoroughly bests the recent animated flick and its own follow-up, though, which isn't hard — but it's exactly what a Burton-style take on The Addams Family was always bound to be. Whether you're popping a witch's shawl on and grabbing a broomstick you can crawl on, or not, it's worth playing a call on. Check out the trailer for Wednesday below: Wednesday streams via Netflix from Wednesday, November 23. Images: Courtesy of Netflix © 2022.
When The Square won the top prize at last year's Cannes Film Festival, it was considered a controversial choice. That's an understandable reaction — an over-the-top satire about the art world that's filled with odd incidents and clocks in at nearly two-and-a-half hours long was never going to be everyone's idea of a masterpiece. But with Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund behind the camera, that's by design. Fittingly, he's made a piece of art that's not only about a divisive piece of art, but also proves incredibly divisive itself. A complex look at the responsibilities that come with living within a society, as seen through the filter of creativity, contemporary art galleries and the reactions to both, The Square marches straight into the gap between public posturing and private truths. As such, it places the writer-director in very familiar thematic territory. Fans of Östlund's previous film, the fantastic Force Majeure, should instantly recognise his thematic hangups, as he skewers humanity's general tendency to say one thing but do another. Last time, he stepped inside the intimate confines of a dysfunctional marriage undone by a husband's selfish behaviour in a time of crisis. Here, the filmmaker similarly contemplates a wealth of complicated contradictions, this time in a world known for being polarising, prestigious and — sometimes — downright pretentious. Indeed, if egotistical Stockholm gallery curator Christian (Claes Bang) was to offer his thoughts of the film he's in, he'd likely declare The Square a triumph — all while knowing that half of the audience strongly disagrees. Moreover, he'd do so with a particular kind of arrogance meant to pressure others to come around to his way of thinking. That's how he talks about his new installation, also called 'The Square', which is designed to cultivate empathy. Whether he's being interviewed by journalist Anne (Elisabeth Moss), discussing viral promotional strategies with his marketing team, or trying to wow the elite art crowd at gallery functions, Christian is certain that the four-by-four metre space (a "sanctuary of trust and caring" where participants "all share equal rights and obligations") is vitally essential and important. How much of his behaviour is authentic? When you're expected to act a particular way, can you ever be your real self? Or are you putting on your own piece of theatre, whether you know it or not? And should your own personal role-play come at the expense of others? Again and again, Östlund puts his protagonist in situations that ponder the boundaries between art, life, truth and performance. Christian goes home with Anne, only to discover that she has a chimpanzee for a roommate. He hosts an elaborate party, which features an actor (Terry Notary) accosting the guests by acting like an ape. He's mugged on the street, but it's so well choreographed that it could be a show. As Christian, Bang lives up to his surname. It's not a loud performance, but rather a commanding and compelling one, with the Danish actor turning in a portrayal that's as dense and disarming as the film itself. Considering he's in a movie that probes the difference between the organic and the staged, that's quite a significant feat. Furthermore, he also achieves something that Östlund sometimes struggles with: balance. The Square might contend that art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, but it sometimes overplays its hand in making that statement. The film is funny and insightful when you're on its wavelength, and positively grating when you're not. Its stunning set-pieces grab attention no matter which side you fall on at any given moment, but the movie can jump from astute and amusing to patience-testing with whiplash-inducing speed. And yet, in a picture this savage, smart and wildly ambitious, even the infuriating bits always feel like they're part of Östlund's playful game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXOV2-7tYP8
Say ‘adios’ to humdrum and ‘hello’ to ten hotels that are so fresh and so cool, they’ll have you reaching for the thermostat. Boutique hotel experts Mr & Mrs Smith have the lowdown on where the trendsetters sleep. La Maison Champs Elysees - Paris What: Classic couture, Haussmann heritage Where: 8 rue Jean Goujon In the heart of the Golden Triangle, where fashion and sophistication reign supreme, La Maison Champs Elysées showcases design icon Martin Margiela’s impeccable aesthetic. A canvas of muted hues and eclectic artworks, the soothing colour palette extends into the monochrome restaurant, elegant White Lounge and darkly seductive Cigar Bar – exclusively for guest use, with staff not permitted inside. The Terrace, a lush green haven in the heart of Paris, is the perfect spot for taking breakfast or reinvigorating exploration-weary muscles. Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort & Spa - Bora Bora What: Turquoise tryst Where: Motu Tevairoa, BP 169 Vaitape, Bora Bora, French Polynesia A recipe for tropical perfection, Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort & Spa is a stunner — luring in loved-up honeymooners and glamorous jetsetters with its white-sand beaches and idyllic lagoon setting. Take in spectacular views from every angle on this island paradise; they're especially beautiful from the Overwater Bungalows, which have direct access to the water, or the Beach Suites with Jacuzzis that are set directly on the sand. If lazing on the beach or dining on lavish buffets suddenly becomes all too much, make a beeline for Manea Spa, whose menu includes Vichy showers or massages with ‘dancing feet’. For a souvenir with serious style — and that will never collect dust — the in-house tattooist Tuhei, from the Tuamotus islands, can help create a permanent reminder of your stay. Sal Salis - Ningaloo Reef What: Seaside safari Where: Yardie Creek Road, Cape Range National Park, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia Snugly nestled in the sandy dunes of the Cape Range National Park, Sal Salis flaunts a decidedly luxurious spin on camping. Leave your swags and camp kitchens at home; there’s no need for bush basics when there are heavenly pillows and organic 500-thread cotton sheets waiting at the end of the day. The lapping Indian Ocean is only metres from your doorstop, so while away hours dreamily swinging in your hammock or mingling with whale sharks, manta rays and shoals of fish. And when it comes time for a feast, bush tucker is banished as Sal Salis serves contemporary Australian cuisine under the star-speckled night sky, watched inquisitively by visiting kangaroos and wallaroos. Claska - Tokyo What: Too cool for school Where: 1-3-18, Chuocho, Meguro, Tokyo Sleek and fresh in its contemporary architecture, Claska is at the apex of Tokyo’s cultural hotspot, and in the hub of what is considered to be the coolest suburb in the city. Beautiful in its elegant simplicity, Claska retains the hallmarks of traditional Japanese hospitality. We love the Tatami Rooms, designed by c, with pretty paper lanterns and contemporary furniture. The gallery and boutique, Do, offers innovative designs, creative products and bespoke souvenirs that reflect Claska’s innovative design philosophy. Commandeer one of Claska’s free ‘tokyobikes’ to enjoy a pleasant 10-minute pedal to the attractions featured on the hotel’s ‘Tokyo by Tokyo’ iPhone app. King & Grove - Williamsburg What: Urban jungle retreat Where: 160 North 12th Street, Brooklyn, New York City In the city that never sleeps, King & Grove Williamsburg offers a welcome change of pace – without sacrificing on style and street cred – by seducing guests to venture into Brooklyn. A creative hub, Williamsburg’s collection of eateries, bars and indie boutiques is ripe for exploration (on the hotel’s hipster-approved red bicycles, of course). The open-air rooftop lounge of the Upper Elm overlooks McCarren Park and has snacks, cocktails, music and a view of the city skyline that takes some trumping. Leisure-lovers should snag a prime position in a day-bed by the backyard-style saltwater pool – one of the largest in the city – or spend an afternoon unwinding over a drink with fellow guests. Taveuni Palms - Fiji Islands What: Private paradise Where: Matei, Taveuni Island, Fiji Islands Ever dreamed of retreating to the seclusion of a private island? With only three exclusive-hire villas, understated luxury is the name of the game at Taveuni Palms. Flanked by its own private plunge pool, day-beds and panoramic Pacific views, each villa comes with seven staff including a manager, two chefs, barman, housemaid and nanny. If you can tear yourself away from your villa, Taveuni Palms offers guided snorkelling and kayaking trips, cooking lessons and local excursions. The hardest thing you will have to do is leaving – a burden made lighter by instantly booking your return visit. Das Stue - Berlin What: Animal magnetism Where: 1 Drakestrasse, Berlin, Germany Withdraw from playing tourist into a place so hip, so cutting edge and so darned cool, it could only be in Berlin. Housed in the former lodgings of the Royal Danish Embassy, Das Stue is a heritage heavyweight with a serious dose of style. Everything from the impressive entrance, marble staircase and scattered artworks is impeccable – and enough to make even the most blase of hipsters twiddle their moustache with excitement. Backing onto Berlin Zoo, Das Stue guarantees a room with a view – feathery, furry or otherwise. Catalan chef Paco Pérez is at the helm of the restaurant, Cinco, and with four Michelin stars up the sleeves of his chef’s whites, he delivers outstanding gastronomic creations inspired by the rich produce of his native Spain. Kahanda Kanda - Galle What: Serene Sri Lanka Where: Angulugaha, Galle, Southern Province Monkeys, mongooses and bright-feathered birds are your neighbours at Kahanda Kanda. Surrounded by a 12-acre tea estate, each of the eight villas has been impeccably styled by the villa’s British owner and has its own distinct feel; Peacock, Tamarind and Mango each have a private balcony overlooking the garden, and the only room with a TV, the Dubu Suite, is set into the hillside with large, private lawn and pool — just be prepared to share paradise with any tree-swinging visitors. Classic Sri Lankan curries and contemporary fusion dishes are crafted using fruits, vegetables and herbs exclusively grown on the estate. Cooking classes with Kahanda Kanda’s resident chefs are available for those wishing to learn the secrets of Sri Lankan or Thai cuisine. Kurá - Costa Rica What: Sustainably stylish Where: Uvita de Osa, Calle Bejuco, Osa/Bahia Ballena, Puntarenas, Costa Rica Six teakwood villas blend harmoniously into the lush backdrop at Kurá. Reflecting the hotelier’s passion and vision for eco-friendly accommodation that doesn’t skimp on luxury, the bungalows are minimalist in style but lavish in feel. Each contemporary, open-plan villa includes a floating bed, open-air showers and a balcony that ushers in views of the jungle and Pacific Ocean. Dive into the rectangular, saltwater infinity pool that offers bird’s-eye ocean views, calming underwater music and sun loungers tailor-made for spending an afternoon getting lost in a book or enjoying a cocktail. The Sky Lounge, which has 360-degree vistas of the Costa Rican jungle and ocean, is the prime position to whale-watch and specialises in tamarind margaritas, fruit coladas and inventive mojitos. Soneva Fushi - Maldives What: Desert-island indulgence Where: Kunfunadhoo Island, Baa Atoll Shed your shoes and worries the moment you step onto this private island and into Soneva Fushi. Only missing Fabio riding a white stallion, Soneva Fushi has all the makings of a Harlequin romance: white sand, blue seas, an observatory, a wicked chocolate room and ice-cream parlour, a wine cellar and a private butler service. Bordered by imposing walls of untouched jungle and slices of too-turquoise ocean, the island is a playground of hot stone massages and Japanese watsu treatments, liquid thrills and fresher than fresh beachside feasts. As the day dwindles and sun descends, popcorn and tropical cocktails are served in the open-air cinema beneath a twinkling night sky. Ready to leave? We thought so. Scoot over to Mr & Mrs Smith to book your own stylish stay or call the expert Travel Team on 1300 896 627.
We've all heard the term 'airport novel', which refers to fast-paced, easy-to-devour fiction that's perfect to read when you're on a long flight and you've watched everything on the onboard entertainment system — or, to flick through while you're waiting to hop on the plane. If you're the kind of traveller who always starts your trip with a visit to the airport newsagency to pick up new reading material to help while away the hours, then you probably have a stash of paperbacks that fit the bill. And, because its name and premise are oh-so-perfect for the genre, you might even have The Flight Attendant on that pile. Chris Bohjalian's novel was first published in 2018. Two years later, at a time when we'd all love to be flying far more than we've been able to of late, it makes the leap to the screen as an eight-part miniseries. On the page and on streaming platform Binge, The Flight Attendant unfurls a pulpy, twisty tale that starts high in the sky, bounces around the globe and delivers a hectic murder-mystery — all with the eponymous Cassie Bowden (The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco) at its centre. Cassie likes sipping mini bottles of booze as much as she likes pouring them for the travellers on her flights — and she also loves her jet-setting lifestyle. When she's at home in New York between trips, she parties away her time in bars and via her vodka-packed fridge. When she's stopping over in overseas cities between legs, she's known to do the same. In Bangkok, though, she does something that she's not supposed to. After flirting with first-class passenger Alex Sokolov (Game of Thrones' Michiel Huisman) throughout the flight, she makes an excuse to ditch drinks with her coworkers and takes up his dinner offer. The next morning, she feels the repercussions. Also, she finds herself confronted by a dead body, trying to outsmart the authorities both in Thailand and back in the US, and endeavouring to work out just what's going on. The Flight Attendant's many ups and downs are best discovered by watching, of course, with the series aligning viewers with Cassie as she embarks upon a very turbulent ride. Her life in general fits that bill — it's chaotic and, in depicting that reality as Cassie slowly begins to explore why she's so drawn to her job and to boozy benders, the show itself is as well. Think sudden revelations and reversals, multiple points of interest playing out across a split-screen setup, and cliffhangers to end every episode (and keep viewers keen to watch more). Also noticeable, and crucial: the fact that Cassie is unreliable in general, and was blackout drunk on the night in question so she can't remember what happened. This is a tightly and glossily made whodunnit; however, it's also a thorny thriller that tasks its key figure with scrambling around not only trying to investigate the case, but also to work out her role within it. In topic, themes and tone, Cuoco leaves The Big Bang Theory far behind. She's still engagingly erratic as Cassie, though — but in a different and deeper way. As the character's personality, background and present situation calls for, she finds the fine line between messy and likeable, and poignant and even slapstick on occasion. Cassie makes so many terrible decisions that they become her defining trait but, thanks to Cuoco in career-best form, she never feels like she's just being driven by the plot's many machinations. The always-charming Huisman gets more screen time than viewers might initially expect, too, and the series is better for it. Plus, post-Girls, Zosia Mamet is also a welcome inclusion as Cassie's steely, no-nonsense best friend and lawyer Annie, who eventually calls out her pal on her baggage. Airport novels frequently require readers to simply go with the flow. As a slick, swift-moving TV series that knows exactly the kind of story it's telling and goes for broke, The Flight Attendant is no different. The fact that it's filled with intrigue, often of the implausible and even ridiculous yet still instantly addictive type, will surprise no one — it's what such tales are supposed to serve up, after all. But there's darkness, weirdness, pathos and plenty of twisty comedy on offer here as well. It's easy to get immersed in, and to be entertained by. And, it'll help vicariously indulge your wanderlust and plunge you into a bingeworthy mystery at the same time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rWnlXbnQLk&feature=youtu.be The Flight Attendant is available to stream via Binge — with the first seven episodes online now, and the series finale available from the evening of Thursday, December 17. Images: Phil Caruso, HBO.
Hold onto your hats because things are about to get fizzy. On Saturday, February 22, The Prosecco Festival returns for its eighth annual edition, transforming Abbotsford Convent into an oasis of effervescence. Needless to say, bubbles will be the order of the day as leading prosecco producers from Australia and Italy show off their finest fizz across two sessions (11am–3pm, 4.30–8.30pm). Tickets start from $65, which gets you entry, a tote bag and a reusable tulip-shaped glass, plus four hours of unlimited tastings. You'll sample over 50 different proseccos from locals like Pizzini, Dal Zotto, Brown Brothers and Vino Intrepido; and Italian labels including Bandini, Calneggia, Rigoni and Divici. Even Kylie Minogue's signature prosecco rosé will be pouring. Other fizz-related delights will include local craft brews, cider and a spritz menu from the Van Di Vino prosecco van, plus Edenvale Wines will offer a range of alcohol-removed vinos. Meanwhile, an Italian-accented food offering is set to feature bites like arrostocini, arancini, Milawa cheese and desserts by The Pav Queen. Feeling festive? Nab a $120 VIP ticket and you'll also enjoy an additional snack-matched tasting masterclass led by The Prosecco Queen Melissa Brauer. And for the first time ever, the Oratory is hosting kick-ons for The Prosecco Festival, playing 90s bangers from 8.45–10.30pm ($30 entry).
If you're a fan of watching smart, rewarding, deep-thinking science fiction, then you're probably a fan of Alex Garland's. Originally an author, he initially came to fame as the writer of 90s bestseller The Beach, before moving into screenwriting with the script for 28 Days Later. More screenplays followed, including Sunshine, Never Let Me Go and Dredd — but it was his 2014 directorial debut Ex Machina that showed the extent of his filmmaking prowess. Annihilation proved a highly worthy addition to his resume in 2018, too, even after it was shuffled onto Netflix rather than screening in cinemas in much of the world. Given his track record so far, any new project by Garland is cause for excitement. In 2020, direct your enthusiasm towards new eight-part series Devs. The writer/director is making the leap to television with a cast led by Nick Offerman — and with Ex Machina's Sonoya Mizuno, Love's Karl Glusman, American Horror Story's Alison Pill and Bad Times at the El Royale's Cailee Spaeny also featuring. Due to start streaming in the US in March — with availability Down Under yet to be confirmed — Devs begins with a premise that doesn't sound all that different from Ex Machina. At a quantum computing company called by Amaya, which is run by an unnerving CEO called Forest (Offerman), things don't seem quite right. That especially seems the case to computer engineer Lily Chan (Mizuno), who believes that Amaya is responsible for the disappearance of her boyfriend. The more she investigates, the stranger and more sinister it all appears, as seen in the show's first trailer. Expect conspiracies, futuristic tech thrills, dark yet vivid images and Offerman sporting a long-locked hairstyle that Ron Swanson surely wouldn't approve of — plus, as the series' sneak peek demonstrates, killer set design. Naturally, the bulk of Devs' mysteries are being kept close to Garland's chest until the show premieres, but the initial teaser still paints an immensely intriguing picture. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8klax373ds Devs starts streaming in the US on March 5 via Hulu, with the series' air date Down Under yet to be revealed. Image: Miya Mizuno, FX Networks.
For many beer drinkers, opting for a craft creation isn’t just about taste. It’s also about supporting the little guys and choosing microbreweries over multinationals. But the fact that more and more consumers are spending their dollars on local produce is not going unnoticed by big companies. And they’re responding by bringing out beverages that might look, smell and taste like craft beers, but are, in fact, macrobrewed masqueraders. So, a team of US-based entrepreneurs has come up with an app that can tell the difference between beverages from "real craft breweries" and those from "assembly line multinationals". It’s called Craft Check and its motto is "Drink Craft — Not Crafty". Using an iPhone, the user scans the bottle’s barcode or searches by brewery name. The app responds by communicating whether the brewery meets the Brewers Association’s definition of ‘American Craft Brewery’. Thousands of producers are included and records are updated monthly, incorporating new businesses and buy-outs. Findings can be shared via Twitter and Facebook, meaning that friends can be kept in the loop. The only catch for Antipodean drinkers is that ‘Craft Check’ is pretty much only applicable in the US. That’s because most other nations in the world don’t have a definition for ‘craft brewery’. It’s such a subjective term that deciding exactly what it means is pretty tough. Luckily, our team has taken out some of the guess work for you. Via PSFK.
In multiple different web-slinging franchises across multiple decades, everyone's favourite friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man has been on quite the on-screen journey. He's been played by different actors, faced a whole heap of different foes, and spun his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, too — and in Spider-Man: No Way Home, all this chaos is set to converge. The third Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland (Chaos Walking) in the role, Spider-Man: No Way Home already teased plenty of multiverse madness in its first teaser trailer. Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog) plays a pivotal part this time around, too, ahead of the character's own dedicated next flick — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — which is set to arrive in 2022. But the just-dropped new Spidey sneak peek shows just how far the movie is willing to go when it comes to all those other Spider-Man films that've reached screens over the years. No, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield don't show up, but some of the villains they fought make an appearance. Get ready to get reacquainted with Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin from 2002's Spider-Man, as well as Alfred Molina's Otto Octavius from 2004's Spider-Man 2 and Thomas Haden Church's Sandman from 2007's Spider-Man 3. Also re-emerging: Rhys Ifans' the Lizard from 2012' The Amazing Spider-Man and Jamie Foxx's Electro from 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. If you're wondering how this all works, it stems from the big reveal at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, where Peter Parker's secret identity was unveiled to the world. No Way Home picks up with Parker struggling to deal with the fact that everyone now knows who he is, and that he can't now just be an ordinary high schooler when he's not acting the hero. So, he asks Doctor Strange to spin a time- and space-twisting spell, which tears a whole in the world and sparks all of this multiverse mayhem. So far, there's still no sight of Maguire or Garfield — but that could be the kind of surprise that's being saved for cinemas. And, whether the film gets playful as the phenomenal animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is obviously still yet to be seen. No Way Home will feature a heap of other familiar faces, including Zendaya (Space Jam: A New Legacy), Marisa Tomei (The King of Staten Island) and Jacob Batalon (Let It Snow). Behind the lens, Jon Watts returns after previously helming both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home as well. In a nice piece of symmetry, when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness does hit cinemas next year, it'll be directed by Sam Raimi — who also directed the Maguire-starring Spider-Man movies in 2002, 2003 and 2007. Check out the full No Way Home trailer below: Spider-Man: No Way Home opens in Australian cinemas on December 16. Images: ©2021 CTMG. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL.
UPDATE, April 30, 2021: Nomadland is available to stream via Disney+ — and it's still screening in cinemas, too. Frances McDormand is a gift of an actor. Point a camera her way, and a performance so rich that it feels not just believable but tangible floats across the screen. That's true whether she's playing overt or understated characters, or balancing those two extremes. In Fargo, the first film that earned her an Oscar, McDormand is distinctive but grounded, spouting midwestern phrases like "you betcha" but inhabiting her part with texture and sincerity. In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, her next Academy Award-winning role, she's an impassioned mother crusading for justice and vengeance, and she ripples with deep-seated sorrow mixed with anger so fiery that it may as well be burning away her insides. Now, in Nomadland, McDormand feels stripped bare and still a commanding force to be reckoned with. She's tasked with a plucky but struggling part — defiant and determined, too; knocked around by life's ups and downs, noticeably; and, crucially, cognisant that valuing the small pleasures is the hardest but most rewarding feat. It'll earn her another Oscar nomination. It could see her nab a third shiny statuette just three years after her last. Both are highly deserved outcomes because hers is an exceptional performance, and this is 2020's best film. Here, McDormand plays the widowed Fern — a woman who takes to the road, and to the nomad life, after the small middle-America spot where she spent her married years turns into a ghost town when the local mine is shuttered due to the global financial crisis. A slab of on-screen text explains her predicament, with the film then jumping into the aftermath. Fern lives in a van that has seen better days, but she's spent so much effort customising the inside that she's reluctant to part with it. She works hard wherever she can, be it an Amazon warehouse in the pre-Christmas rush, a trailer park over its busy summer season, or a restaurant job she lucks into thanks to a new friend (David Strathairn, Godzilla: King of the Monsters). She's qualified to do far more employment-wise, but the post-GFC recession has wiped out most options, so she's doing her best to get by as she can. She drives wherever she has to in order to earn the most modest of livings, and returns to any gig possible when the time cycles around. This isn't the life she dreamed of, but it's the one she has. Nomadland follows Fern over the course of more than a year, chronicling the 60-something's travels — the jobs, the places and the people she meets. When asked, she's quick to stress that she isn't destitute, and that not having a house isn't the same as being homeless. Based on Jessica Bruder's 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, that's one of the film's most valued ideas. Indeed, while McDormand convincingly steps into the fictional Fern's shoes, she also leads a cast that includes real folks experiencing the existence portrayed within Nomadland's narrative. Seen on-screen as themselves, Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells couldn't be more organic and authentic as a result, but this movie earns those terms several times over anyway. Writer/director Chloé Zhao is known for this approach, using non-professional actors in 2015's Songs My Brothers Taught Me and 2017's The Rider as well. She's also known for making movies driven by pure empathy and compassion, and Nomadland's observational portrait of those that society happily overlooks overwhelmingly fits the bill. A deeply humanist road trip drama that ponders home, identity and community, Nomadland is intimate and almost disarmingly tender and thoughtful, as every movie made by Zhao proves. Those traits mightn't carry over to her next release — 2021's Marvel flick Eternals, which'll see her operating on a much different scale — but they're the reason that she's the filmmaker she is. No one else could've made this movie, even with McDormand as its lead. The cinema industry isn't lacking in talented directors, but no one else would've seen Fern, her transient life, and the ebbs and flows she navigates in the same way. Zhao truly sees everyone in her frames, be they fictional or real. She understands their plights, and ensures her audience understands them as well. Actually, one other filmmaker would've likely done as superb a job, because Debra Granik's 2018 drama Leave No Trace is the perfect companion piece to Nomadland — but Zhao's almost documentary-esque contemplation is all her own. One shot, lensed as gorgeously and naturalistically as everything else within the film by Zhao's now three-time cinematographer Joshua James Richards, typifies this knockout movie's charms. Fern has to be coaxed into attending a meet-up with other nomads but, once there, she fits in with her fellow drifters as they attend informal outdoor seminars about vehicle maintenance and faeces disposal, share stories and swap unneeded belongings. One morning, Fern walks through the makeshift camp, and the camera follows her. It sits at shoulder level, so McDormand's face monopolises the centre of the frame, but her surroundings still peek in at the sun-dappled edges. It's a sublime example of visual storytelling, and a sequence so in tune with the figure it's gazing at that it's virtually staring into her soul. It instantly conveys how Fern holds herself as she makes her way through the world, too. Meticulously crafted, filmed and performed — and with a resonant score by composer Ludovico Einaudi (The Third Murder) that lingers just as potently — Nomadland overflows with these types of moments. Each scene, no matter how routine Fern's acts and deeds might seem at any given second, unearths another sliver of her essence. Every sight, including all the natural wonders that America's sprawling expanse can serve up, has the same effect. Gleaming sunsets, winding roads, otherworldly rock formations, peaceful streams and various critters sighted aren't just background fodder here. Rather, they're used to relay Fern's inner radiance, twisty complexities, fluidity and adaptability, and unwavering strength. That's how layered Nomadland is, because its protagonist, those around her and their lives earn the same term — and Zhao never forgets that, or lets her viewers either. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSFpK34lfv0&feature=youtu.be Nomadland screened in Melbourne cinemas during a two-week preview season in 2020, starting Saturday, December 26. From Thursday, March 4, 2021, it's back on the big screen for its general release season.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe's phase four is so 2022, and earlier. In 2023, the comic book-based blockbuster screen saga is all about phase five. And, to begin with, it's 100-percent focused on the MCU's tiniest superhero: Ant-Man, as adorably played by Paul Rudd. Here, entertaining things come in small packages, as the character's two solo big-screen outings have shown. Yes, those past flicks have also wavered between charming and familiar, but whenever the ageless star himself pops up — and wherever, given that he hasn't just been confined to his own franchise within the franchise — he's always proven a treat. So, of course a third Ant-Man movie is on its way, because who doesn't want to give the world more Paul Rudd more often? The MCU clearly does, and that new film is Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which dropped its first trailer in 2022 and will buzz into cinemas this February. This time, the MCU's insect-sized superheroes — including both Scott Lang aka Ant-Man (Rudd, Ghostbusters: Afterlife) and Hope van Dyne aka The Wasp (Evangeline Lily, Crisis) — are thrust into a secret universe beneath the one they already know and inhabit, and also face a new enemy. The chaotic space? The quantum realm, hence the Quantumania part of the upcoming movie's title. The adversary? Kang the Conqueror, as played by Lovecraft Country and The Harder They Fall's Jonathan Majors. And yes, both pop up in just-released new trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, too, where the story gets dark quickly. Also part of the movie is the return of Hope's parents Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer, French Exit) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method), plus Scott's now-older daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton, Freaky). Viewers of 2015's Ant-Man and 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp will know that Janet spent decades stuck in the quantum realm, so it's unsurprising that she's a key part of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. But, she hasn't told her family and friends everything about the place — as the film is set to explore. When it hits cinemas, the movie doesn't just spark Marvel's fifth phase — it also notches up the MCU's 31st film. Of course, if you're reading this, you know that, and you're ready for the company's latest silver-screen adventure after 2022's Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Check out the new Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania trailer below: Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania hits cinemas Down Under on February 16, 2023. Images: courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL.
If you've ever said "XOXO" aloud, you've obviously seen Gossip Girl, the glossy, quickly addictive drama about Manhattan teens, their hectic lives and their glam outfits that initially aired between 2007–2012. It's the show that introduced the world to Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, Leighton Meester and Penn Badgley, and made everyone want to sit on the steps of The Met. It also demonstrated that you can never have too many headbands, and had us all wishing that Kristen Bell could narrate our every move, too. Gossip Girl is getting a follow-up series with a brand new cast that's also heading to Binge, because nothing says goodbye forever these days — and because all that drama was never going to subside for too long. But there's still nothing quite like the original, which starts with the return of Serena van der Woodsen (Lively) to the Upper East Side and the fallout within her inner circle, as constantly chronicled by an all-knowing blogger.
If there's anyone in Sydney who knows where to find the best street art, the smartest galleries and the most fun art gatherings, it's Scott Marsh. Even if you don't know his name, chances are, you know his work. His most famous piece is undoubtedly Kanye Loves Kanye, a seven-metre-tall mural of two Kanyes kissing one another, which appeared in Teggs Lane, Chippendale, in April 2016. Within a month, someone paid Marsh $100,000 to buff (graffiti-speak for paint over) it. Also among his international headline-grabbing works are Casino Mike, a satirical portrait of former NSW premier Mike Baird painted as a protest against the lockout laws, and Tony Loves Tony, an image of Tony Abbott marrying himself. In partnership with Pullman Hotels and Resorts, we're helping you explore more on your next holiday and make sure you get those experiences that the area's most switched-on residents wouldn't want their visitors to miss. In Sydney, we've called in Scott, whose favourite spots range from Wendy Whiteley's dreamy harbourside garden to the best shops for premium spray paint. A stay in one of Pullman's two locations in central Sydney — Hyde Park and Quay Grand Sydney Harbour (there's also two more at Sydney Airport and Sydney Olympic Park) — will not only put you in the thick of all this action, it will let you contemplate all you've seen in five-star luxury at the end of the day. Read on for Scott's perspective on Sydney's artistic hot spots, and check out the rest of our Explore More content series to hone your itinerary for some of Australia's best holiday destinations. SUNDAY WALLS AT THE LORD GLADSTONE Since June 2015, artists and musicians have been gathering once a month at the Lord Gladstone in Chippendale for Sunday Walls. From 2 until 10pm, an emerging or established graffiti artist works on a temporary mural with a stack of spray cans, while live hip hop DJs provide a soundtrack. Punters hang around to watch, eat $10 fried chicken and share $15 jugs of Frank Strongs. The Lord Gladstone attracts a pretty laidback, eclectic crowd, and watching a new art work appear before your eyes can't not be fun. GOODSPACE GALLERY OPENINGS Goodspace Gallery gives Chippendale a weekly art fix with exhibition openings on Wednesday evenings from 6pm–9pm. Artists score a good deal because the space doesn't charge rent or take commissions. Plus, both local and international talent features. In early November, Sydney-based photographer James Simpson exhibited Endless Summer, a collection of photos influenced by French and Italian cinema of the '60s and '70s. The week before, photographer Joshua Valageorgiou, who splits his time between Sydney and Athens, took over the space with Cluster, a black-and-white analogue series. [caption id="attachment_644404" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] by Luke Shirlaw[/caption] IRONLAK ART AND DESIGN About a year ago, this graffiti-dedicated retail space opened on the ground floor of Central Park, Broadway. It's the Sydney flagship of Ironlak, a premium spray-paint brand founded in the early 2000s by Australian graffiti artist Luke Shirlaw, in collaboration with brothers Levi and Heath Ramsay, and now sold internationally. Not only is Ironlak Art and Design a great place to check out quality products and meet artists, the walls are covered in street art. Plus, it's open until 8pm 363 days a year, so even if you're in a full-time job, you can drop by and get what you need to start your next project. REDFERN AND NEWTOWN GRAFFITI AND STREET ART There's a few great street art spots around Redfern and Newtown that I check out whenever I can. More often than not, I find something new to see. In Redfern, expect to catch me around The Block or Phillip Lane, where there's a lot of Indigenous street art, including works by Reko Rennie and Hego, telling stories of history, identity and resistance. When I'm in Newtown, I take a wander down Wilford and Gladstone Streets. Young Henrys is nearby, which means it's pretty tempting to stop for a beer sample or two. FINTAN MAGEE'S HOUSING BUBBLE MURAL This is my favourite mural in Sydney. It's called The Housing Bubble and it's on the side of the Urban hotel, on the corner of Enmore and Station Streets. Fintan Magee, an artist who was born in Lismore and grew up in Brisbane, painted it over the course of four days during Marrickville Council's Perfect Match street art festival in July 2015. Every year, the event brings a bunch of new works to Sydney, by providing artists with spaces and encouraging crowds to watch as they sketch, paint and spray. [caption id="attachment_644637" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] by Newtown Graffiti[/caption] SYDNEY STEEL ROAD, MARRICKVILLE Found just a short walk from Sydenham Station, Sydney Steel Road puts a whole lot of excellent art, colour and vibrancy into an otherwise industrial area. There's everything from realistic portraits to political statements to giant, surrealist murals. When you're done here, wander across Camdenville Park to May Lane, which gives you a stack more work to see. A shopkeeper started a graffiti wall there more than 15 years ago because he wanted to create a space where artists could work legally. May Lane is a fixture on the Perfect Match program, so major new works are added each year. 567 KING Newtown's graffiti writers have been stocking up here since August 2005, and these days, artists of all kinds drop by. Whether you want spray paint, pencils, paints or paper, you can get it. Plus, if listening to a bit of hip hop on vinyl or CD while you're working is your thing, you can make your picks in the shop and ask the crew to deliver them to your door. There's also a handy commissioning service: get in touch with a request for an artwork and 567King will hook you up with the right artist for the job. BRETT WHITELEY STUDIO When Brett Whiteley died in Thirroul in 1992, he left behind this studio in Surry Hills, where he'd worked and lived since 1985. Walking in here is a bit like stepping back in time, into Whiteley's private and artistic life. There are paintings he started but never finished, piles of books that gave him inspiration and quotes scrawled across the wall. In the adjoining gallery, temporary exhibitions showcase works owned by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Whiteley Estate and private collectors, so there's always a new reason to visit. WENDY'S SECRET GARDEN Across the harbour, in Lavender Bay, is the creative work of the other half of the legendary Whiteley partnership: Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden. From 1970, for the best part of 20 years, the Whiteleys lived in a house nearby. When Brett passed away, Wendy coped with her grief by setting to work on the land, which back then, was disused railway property, covered in rubbish and weeds. Now, it's a haven of blood leaf, ginger, angel's trumpets, palms, fig trees and sandstone walls overhung with rambling vines, where I come to escape, sketch and drink coffee. MCA ARTBAR MCA ARTBAR combines art with music and live performance to create something entirely new. The happening takes over various parts of the gallery on the last Friday of every month, and even if you've checked out the program, you never can tell quite what you're in for. In July 2017, Latai Taumoepeau curated Archipela_GO ....this is not a drill, a mix of live performances and interactive works exploring climate change. Before that, in May, Vivid 2017 artist Julia Gorman brought together samba dancers, DJs, artists and a pop-up jewellery stall for a night of colour and light. Explore more with Pullman. Book your next hotel stay with Pullman and enjoy a great breakfast for just $1.
Waiting in line at the game for a measly beer has driven many a tormented, forward-shuffling queuer to madness. Sweating brows, heavy tsking and dancing tip toes are the marks of those desperate to balance missing chunks of team victory and avoiding sobriety. But those purveyors of everything fast and novelty, the US, have solved that pesky problem of waiting in line for your frosty beverage. Concessionaire Delaware North and Anheuser-Busch have created Draftserv, a self-serve beer vending machine because BASEBALL. Although regular beer vending machines have been a Thing for some time now, this one's a draft pourer. The slightly gaudy machines appeared at a Minnesota Twins baseball game on the weekend and caused spontaneous jigs and raised eyebrows across the joint. You pay by the ounce (per 28 grams) and the machine cuts you off if it knows you've chugged too much. Bonafide genius. Thirsty beer lovers flash their ID and buy a preloaded $10, $20 or $50 card, then head on over to the Draftserv and scan it for frothy goodness via touchscreen. The machines serve Bud and Bud Light for 38 cents an ounce (about US$4.50), which is almost, almost, almost considered beer but quintessential for sportswatching. Fancy beer drinkers can up it to 40 cents an ounce for Shock Top Lemon Shandy and Goose Island 312 Pale Ale (just under US$5). You can even order half beers. But if you try to pass that 48-ounces-every-15-minutes limit you'll be cut off, because The Machine Knows. "It's a way to engage with the customer and allows the fan to have greater control of what they're drinking," said Jerry Jacobs Jr., principal of Delaware North. "There's obviously some novelty value to this, but it also allows people to pour what they want. If they want half of a cup, that's all they will pay for." Whether or not the machines will make it to Australia remains to be seen, we'll just have to chug a few self-serve beer slushies while we're waiting in line. Via ESPN and Gizmodo.
Every year, when red carpets are rolled out, Hollywood's who's who get dressed to the nines and movie lovers around the world indulge in their favourite sport — awards season — it's easy to forget two undying truths. Firstly, receiving a shiny trophy doesn't instantly mean that a film is better than everything else. Secondly, missing out on a statuette doesn't mean that a flick is terrible, either. Amazing, astonishing and exceptional movies can earn coveted awards (see: 2020 and 2021 Oscar Best Picture-winners Parasite and Nomadland, for instance), and so can barely even average-at-best features as well (aka 2019's Green Book). Also, the list of masterpieces that haven't ever been nominated for an Academy Award is staggering. Still, when the contenders are revealed for another year, picking who should, could and will win is all part of the fun. In fact, it's up there with taking a shot of whatever you're sipping (tea, water, the hard stuff) if Jack Nicholson is seen wearing sunnies in the Oscars audience, a speech gets drowned out by music after going overtime, the host makes a gag that doesn't land or someone announces the wrong winner. From 2022's batch of Academy Awards nominees, there are plenty of worthy recipients — most of which you can watch right now in Australia and New Zealand, too. Hopefully NZ filmmaker Jane Campion will make history by becoming just the third woman to win Best Director. Fingers crossed that Aussie The Power of Dog cinematographer Ari Wegner becomes the first woman ever to win Best Cinematography as well. In those fields and a heap of others, we've done some prognosticating, all before the 94th Academy Awards take place on Monday, March 28, Australian and New Zealand time. Here are our predictions: BEST MOTION PICTURE The nominees: The Power of the Dog West Side Story Belfast Dune Licorice Pizza King Richard CODA Don't Look Up Drive My Car Nightmare Alley Should win: The Power of the Dog Could win: CODA Will win: The Power of the Dog Sometimes, the best film of the past year truly and deservingly does pick up the biggest Oscar of them all, Best Picture — as Parasite and Nomadland both did. And, that should prove true in 2022, too, with Jane Campion's exquisite revisionist western last year's best movie, and this ceremony's worthiest winner. That said, with its feel-good story about a teenager in a family that's otherwise deaf, CODA has been nabbing key awards in the lead up to the Oscars. And, if voters can't decide between the two, perhaps West Side Story will swoop in and beat 'em both — it is a glorious film and a technical marvel, and Steven Spielberg has also just announced that it's his first and last musical. [caption id="attachment_847708" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kirsty Griffin/Netflix[/caption] BEST DIRECTOR The nominees: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza Steven Spielberg, West Side Story Kenneth Branagh, Belfast Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car Should win: Jane Campion Could win: Steven Spielberg Will win: Jane Campion History is Campion's to be made — although she's already broken barriers at this year's Oscars just by being nominated for Best Director. She's now the first female filmmaker to ever score two nods in this field (after also being nominated for The Piano back in 1993) and, if she ends up clutching a statuette, she'll become just the third woman to ever win. Again, don't discount Spielberg, though. It's been more than two decades since he last won for Saving Private Ryan, and West Side Story's visual wonders have been picking up more attention since it hit streaming earlier this month. PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE The nominees: Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye Kristen Stewart, Spencer Penélope Cruz, Parallel Mothers Should win: Penélope Cruz Could win: Kristen Stewart Will win: Jessica Chastain If anyone wins this category other than Nicole Kidman, that'll be perfectly acceptable (Being the Ricardos isn't great, and neither are its performances, although the Academy clearly disagrees). But Jessica Chastain looks likely to come out on top not just because she's excellent in The Eyes of Tammy Faye — the best thing about it, in fact — but because she's reached that point in her career (and should've already won for Zero Dark Thirty). Penélope Cruz's has an Oscar for Vicky Christina Barcelona, but her performance in Parallel Mothers is something else. It's sublime in every second, and lingers long after the film has stopped rolling. Alas, the same proved true of fellow Pedro Almodóvar regular Antonio Banderas in 2020, but didn't amount to an Academy Award. PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE The nominees: Will Smith, King Richard Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick... Boom! Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos Should win: Benedict Cumberbatch Could win: Benedict Cumberbatch Will win: Will Smith If there was an award for most forceful performance while playing a real-life figure, Will Smith, Andrew Garfield and Javier Bardem would be in a dead heat. Given they're all nominated for Best Actor this year, this category has basically taken that skew anyway. And Smith is impressive in King Richard, but it always feels like a performance — although, that's what'll likely get him a trophy. If Benedict Cumberbatch manages to lasso the win, it'd be glorious — as his complicated work in The Power of the Dog is, too. And this field did throw up a huge surprise in 2021, even after the Academy changed the traditional order of ceremony to put Best Actor last in what looked like an expected chance to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman. PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE The nominees: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard Judi Dench, Belfast Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter Should win: Ariana DeBose Could win: NA — because Ariana DeBose will win. Will win: Ariana DeBose Whoever wins whatever awards, and for which films, Ariana DeBose getting the nod for West Side Story will be one of the stories of the night. We all know that it's going to happen. Shock-wise, it'd be up there with the whole Moonlight/La La Land debacle if it didn't. And, when she does, it'll see her win for the same role that Rita Moreno nabbed her Oscar for six decades ago. They'll be the first women of colour to ever achieve the feat — winning for the same role, that is — and only the third pair of performers ever, following Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, plus Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker in The Dark Knight and Joker. You'd best start humming 'America' now, because you're going to hear it during the Oscars. PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE The nominees: Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog Ciarán Hinds, Belfast Troy Kotsur, CODA Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog JK Simmons, Being the Ricardos Should win: Kodi Smit-McPhee Could win: Kodi Smit-McPhee Will win: Troy Kotsur A remake of French film La Famille Bélier, CODA improves upon its source material in a number of ways. The most of important: casting actors who are deaf to play characters who are deaf. Their portrayals are naturalistic and lived-in as a result, and the movie around them is as well, even while still being such an obvious crowd-pleaser — and, alongside past Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur is a delight. Kodi Smit-McPhee's performance in The Power of the Dog couldn't be more different — including in tone — but it's a powerhouse, and one of the best projected onto a screen anywhere (or a streaming queue) in the past year. If he loses to the equally deserving Kotsur, it's safe to expect the Aussie actor to earn more shots in the future; he's only 25, after all, although he's been turning in attention-grabbing performances for almost a decade and a half. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY The nominees: Licorice Pizza, Paul Thomas Anderson Belfast, Kenneth Branagh King Richard, Zach Baylin Don't Look Up, Adam McKay (story by McKay and David Sirota) The Worst Person in the World, Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt Should win: Licorice Pizza Could win: Belfast Will win: Licorice Pizza The Oscars always adore movies about real-life people, as well as the performances that bring those figures to life. They're also fond of tales that are personal to their directors in some way — Roma a few years back, and Belfast and Licorice Pizza now. The latter, set in the San Fernando Valley where Paul Thomas Anderson grew up, is the better film and script, and not just because it tasks Alana Haim with yelling "fuck off, teenagers!" like she was born to do it. So smartly and devastatingly exploring the reality of being in your twenties, The Worst Person in the World would be a fantastic winner in this field, too. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY The nominees: The Power of the Dog, Jane Campion The Lost Daughter, Maggie Gyllenhaal CODA, Sian Heder Dune, Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth Drive My Car, Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe Should win: The Power of the Dog Could win: The Lost Daughter Will win: The Power of the Dog Every adapted screenplay contender this year also earned other nominations. Every script in both screenplay categories did, in fact. But these fields often reward films that don't end up picking up many or any other trophies — which is why Maggie Gyllenhaal's masterful script for The Lost Daughter, her directorial debut as well, could emerge victorious. It'd be an excellent choice. Just as phenomenal is The Power of the Dog, of course. Indeed, the work that Jane Campion has done to translate her western tale from the page to the screen, and to flesh out its subtext, is the stuff that adapted screenplay dreams are made of. BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM The nominees: Drive My Car (Japan) The Worst Person in the World (Norway) Flee (Denmark) The Hand of God (Italy) Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (Bhutan) Should win: Drive My Car Could win: The Worst Person in the World Will win: Drive My Car The first-ever Japanese film to be nominated for Best Picture, Drive My Car won't win that category — but it will become the first Japanese movie since 2008 to win the Academy's field for features in languages other than English. Its three hours roll by, thoughtfully and movingly so, in a feature that couldn't be more layered or affecting. Its biggest likely challenger: The Worst Person in the World, which deserves just as much praise. And while Flee would be a perfect winner, it might be fated to become the history-making movie — for getting nods for International Feature, Documentary Feature and Animated Feature, a feat never achieved before — that goes home empty-handed. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE The nominees: Encanto Luca The Mitchells vs the Machines Flee Raya and the Last Dragon Should win: Flee Could win: The Mitchells vs the Machines Will win: Encanto More on Flee: as an animated documentary about an Afghan refugee's quest to find a new place to belong after being forced to leave his homeland as a boy, it couldn't be more different to its fellow Best Animated Feature nominees. Family-friendly fare always wins here, however, but this'd be a wonderful year to break that trend. Expected winner Encanto is an all-ages gem a, of course — and don't discount the lively and clever The Mitchells vs the Machines — but Flee takes animated filmmaking to another level. BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE The nominees: Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Flee Ascension Attica Writing with Fire Should win: Flee Could win: Flee Will win: Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Even more on Flee: again, it deserves to win every field that it's in. That said, if it loses Best Documentary, it'll be to a film as similarly astonishing — because Questlove's Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, is a tremendous piece of filmmaking. Music documentaries hit screens almost every week, or so it seems, but there's never been one like this before. And, about vastly dissimilar topics — modern-day China and a prison riot — Ascension and Attica would be easy winners in a less-competitive year, too. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE The nominees: The Power of the Dog, Jonny Greenwood Dune, Hans Zimmer Don't Look Up, Nicholas Britell Encanto, Germaine Franco Parallel Mothers, Alberto Iglesias Should win: Dune Could win: The Power of the Dog Will win: Dune Hans Zimmer, have another Oscar! Jonny Greenwood, have your first! Alas, the Academy isn't like Oprah, giving gongs to everyone — but, as different as they are, it's difficult to split Zimmer and Greenwood's two immensely powerful scores. Sand as far as the eye can see is great, but Zimmer's thrumming sounds set Dune's mood from start to finish, all while constantly surprising (especially if you're a fan of his work). And there's a jaunty yet needling, determined yet melancholy twang to Greenwood's compositions for The Power of the Dog that make just as much of an impact. BEST ORIGINAL SONG The nominees: 'No Time to Die', No Time to Die (Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell) 'Dos Oruguitas', Encanto (Lin-Manuel Miranda) 'Be Alive', King Richard (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Dixson) 'Down to Joy' Belfast (Van Morrison) 'Somehow You Do', Four Good Days (Diane Warren) Should win: 'No Time to Die' Could win: 'Dos Oruguitas' Will win: 'No Time to Die' We shouldn't talk about Encanto's 'We Don't Talk About Bruno', because it wasn't submitted to even be selected to be nominated for an Oscar. Regretful move, that — and one that magic can't fix. The song will still be performed live at the awards, though, because trying to escape that earworm is impossible. Also getting a spin live on the night: Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell's 'No Time to Die'. It's the Bond song that came out almost two years before the movie it's from, and a lingering 007 anthem (and a fine winner, most likely). [caption id="attachment_847709" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kirsty Griffin/Netflix[/caption] BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY The nominees: Dune, Greig Fraser The Power of the Dog, Ari Wegner The Tragedy of Macbeth, Bruno Delbonnel Nightmare Alley, Dan Laustsen West Side Story, Janusz Kaminski Should win: The Power of the Dog Could win: Dune Will win: The Power of the Dog All five films nominated in this category look gorgeous and glorious on-screen. Each one boasts cinematography so magnificent that it's breathtaking — whether roving over all that sand, making New Zealand look like Montana a decade ago, stripping Shakespeare down to its shadows and fury, lapping up carnival noir, or dancing through a famed and fated love story. That said, this award is a battle of the Aussies: Dune's Greig Fraser and The Power of the Dog's Ari Wegner. Whoever wins, Australia wins — but Wegner is the only one who'd make history as the first female recipient in this field. Also, her work on Jane Campion's film is hauntingly lush and captivating. BEST FILM EDITING The nominees: Dune, Joe Walker The Power of the Dog, Peter Sciberras Don't Look Up, Hank Corwin King Richard, Pamela Martin Tick, Tick... Boom!, Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum Should win: Dune Could win: The Power of the Dog Will win: Dune If you pay attention to all of the awards given out before the Oscars — accolades ahoy!; it really is that time of year — then Best Editing looks wide open. A heap of different movies have won different gongs all over the place, including King Richard and Tick, Tick... Boom!. Dune feels like this year's Mad Max: Fury Road, though — the film that picked up a heap of nominations, wins big in the technical categories but misses the big prize (and misses Best Director as well, given that Denis Villeneuve isn't even one of the five contenders). Top image: Netflix.
We're not sure whether Kings Domain's late trading hours are because it's so popular or vice versa. But we appreciate it either way. Where many other businesses close up shop when the sun goes down — or may just have one late-night trading — this Toorak Road joint stays open until 8pm on weekdays to give you a better chance of snagging an after-work spot and leaving your weekend free for fun times. Kings Domain is quite the small business success story in Melbourne. Celebrity hairdresser Joey Scandizzo and his former apprentice Aaron Chan opened this store in South Yarra opened in 2013 right as the trend for vintage barbershops was on the rise. Now, the duo (who have picked up a few other business partners along the way) can boast five outposts across Melbourne — and sixth in Sydney. Here, hot towel shaves and haircuts will set you back $55 each, or you can get creative with a fade for $35. Plus, if you book via the website, you can snag 25-percent off your first service.
That blank space in your calendar that you were hoping to fill with Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour? It's now taken care of. Australian Swifties, yes, your wildest dreams have finally come true. It definitely won't be a cruel summer for fans of the global music star Down Under, after the singer-songwriter announced five Aussie shows for February — although you'll have to be in Melbourne or Sydney to head along. Swift will play two gigs at the MCG in Melbourne across Friday, February 16–Saturday, February 17, then head north to hit the stage across three dates at Sydney's Accor Stadium from Friday, February 23–Sunday, February 25. At all shows, she'll also have company: Sabrina Carpenter in support. [caption id="attachment_906253" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The Eras Tour kicked off in March in the US, where it's still playing. As well as revealing Aussie dates, Swift locked in international stops in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil in 2023 — and in Japan, Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Poland and Australia until August 2024. The tour sees the Swift work through her entire career so far, playing tracks from each of her studio albums in a three-hour, 44-song, ten-act spectacular. 'Fearless', 'Enchanted', 'We Are Never Getting Back Together', 'Shake It Off', 'Bad Blood', 'Look What You Made Me Do', 'You Need to Calm Down' — expect them all to get a run, plus tunes from albums Folklore, Evermore and Midnights as well. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) This'll be Swift's first tour Down Under since 2018, when she brought her Reputation shows to not only Sydney and Melbourne, but Brisbane and Perth, too. In the US, it's been breaking ticketing and venue records — expect tickets to get snapped up quickly Down Under as well. [caption id="attachment_906254" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR AUSTRALIAN DATES 2024: Friday, February 16–Saturday, February 17 — Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Friday, February 23–Sunday, February 25 — Accor Stadium, Sydney Taylor Swift will bring The Eras Tour to Australia in February 2024. Tickets for the Melbourne shows go on sale at 10am AEST on Friday, June 30, with the Sydney shows on sale at 2pm AEST on Friday, June 30. The American Express VIP Package pre-sale runs for 48 hours from Monday, June 26 — from 10am in Sydney and 2pm in Melbourne — and the Frontier Members pre-sale runs 24 hours from Wednesday, June 28, again from 10am in Sydney and 2pm in Melbourne, or until all pre-sale tickets have been snapped up in both instances. Head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons.
In the late 60s, a decade after first slinging slices in America's midwest, Pizza Hut started taking the second part of its name seriously. Thanks to a design by architect Richard D Burke, who agreed to a $100 fee for each location that opened — a hugely lucrative deal, it turned out — everyone knows the fast-food chain's famous silhouette. From 70s, 80s and 90s childhoods in particular, that angular roof instantly brings to mind family feasts, birthday parties and all-you-can-eat pizza specials that gave Sizzler a run for its money in Australia, dessert bar included. Brooklyn-based Aussie filmmakers Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker, who previously made Barbecue and We Don't Deserve Dogs, are well-are of this history. In fact, they've made a documentary that's partly about it: Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts. They're equally cognisant of the nostalgic feeling that old Pizza Huts bring. "I kept thinking back to the soft-serve machine. As a kid, I was just drawn to that machine. I just wanted the soft serve with the sprinkles, the coloured sprinkles on top — my Pizza Hut dream was the soft-serve machine," Tucker tells Concrete Playground, chatting about the film that'll premiere at 2024's SXSW Sydney in October. Audiences will indeed remember their own experiences in Pizza Hut's distinctive buildings while watching Slice of Life. Craving pizza comes with the territory, too. Salleh and Tucker haven't tucked into Pizza Hut while making the movie, purely "because they're not in New York", Salleh advises, but they still understand the urge. "Occasionally we're editing and we'll see shots of pizzas, and I'll be like 'we need pizza'. Luckily, living in Brooklyn, you only have to walk about 150 metres to find some pretty awesome pizza. So if anything, it's just made me eat a lot more pizza in New York," he continues. Recalling times gone by for a global chain is just one of this doco's ingredients, however. Consider it a topping; at its heart, this film's main focus is right there in its title. While they weave in the Pizza Hut origin story, and that of those huts known around the planet, Salleh and Tucker are interested in how such immediately recognisable structures have lived on in new guises in the US once the brand left plenty of those buildings. Be it a Texan karaoke bar, a LGBTQIA+ church in Florida or a cannabis dispensary in Colorado, what made-over former Pizza Huts say about the pursuit of the American dream today is also as pivotal to their documentary as dough is to the world's most-beloved Italian dish. The pair boast a tried-and-tested approach, as their first two feature-length films also capitalised upon. Take one thing — barbecue cooking, canines, ex-Pizza Huts — then dive deep, building a portrait of what humanity's interaction with said subject explains about the world, people in general and/or a specific country. All three titles have also enjoyed a relationship with SXSW. Barbecue premiered at SXSW Austin in 2017, and was picked up by Netflix as a result. Then, We Don't Deserve Dogs was selected for the pandemic-affected US event in 2020. Now, after being one of the first films announced for this year's lineup, Slice of Life will bow at SXSW Sydney's second year. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Urtext Films (@urtext) If there's a spark of familiarity to Salleh and Tucker's latest concept, that's because the Used to Be a Pizza Hut blog has also been operating in this territory. It was a helpful resource for them, with its founder Mike Neilson among their interviewees. Wondering if the duo ever thought of expanding their remit beyond US Pizza Huts, as the site covers? They've dubbed their American focus "geographical discipline". Explains Salleh: "this is our documentary version of the great American road movie, I guess. We were tempted to to make this thing global, but then we knew we'd be probably making it for the next 20 years." Adds Tucker: "we really could, they built these things all over the place." What does having SXSW's support mean to the pair? "It's amazing. As an independent filmmaker, it's really, really tough to even get into a festival, so to do it with SXSW now three times is pretty special," says Tucker. "We're basically independent DIY, and so to be able to go to a festival that also has a little bit of a market and business side to it as well, and tries to bring those elements together is, I guess, what we try to do on a daily basis — bringing together the business of what we do and the creativity of what we do. So it's been a good fit over the years," advises Salleh. When you hone in on a specific topic per documentary, where does inspiration come from? Also, how do you know that you're onto a winner of an idea, and then get your subjects onboard? From the way that they handle to on-the-road projects to finding their former Pizza Huts and what they learned about America while making Slice of Life, we chatted through the details with Salleh and Tucker. On Where Salleh and Tucker Find Inspiration Rose: "I guess you could say we're just chronic people-watchers, and we're just interested in things that people get passionate about. So with Barbecue, that one's a fairly obvious one: people get really fired up about cooking and gathering with their family. There's a little bit of patriotism involved in that as well — everyone thinks they have the best barbecue — so it's a thing that gets people talking and gets people passionate. And similarly with dogs. People love their dogs and that's a global phenomenon." Matthew: "We have a scribble board of hundreds of ideas, and it's a survival of the fittest. It's when we can see that an idea will play out in a in a whole film, rather than be a short or something like that. I often say there's a taxi or Uber driver test, where an Uber driver will ask what you do for a living and you explain the film you're making, and they go 'ohh you have to go interview my best friend' — or if they know someone or if they can tell their passionate story. It was a similar thing with this new film, we would talk about it with people and they go 'ohh back in my town, the old Pizza Hut used to be ...'. There was either nostalgic remembrance of what it used to be or 'ohh now it's a mattress store', 'now it's a Hertz car rental' or any sort of interesting thing. So it seems to have really gotten people interested in talking passionately. And it's interesting as well, because there's a lot going around at the moment with people re-examining pop culture nostalgia and stuff like that. But then it just presented this amazing opportunity for us where we were actually able to go 'well, here's something pop culture and nostalgic, but it still exists in this strange way now'. So it was a way that we could combine the nostalgic memories of old Pizza Huts with this entrepreneurial spirit of people starting up businesses potentially in buildings they never thought they would, but making it work somehow." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Urtext Films (@urtext) Rose: "There's this idea of community that flows through these buildings. So when they're a Pizza Hut, they're a community hub. And it would be a really big deal if your small town got a Pizza Hut. It was a big, big deal. Then when they close down, that hub goes away. But now they're sprouting up again in these second, third, fourth, fifth lives, and those places are now similarly hubs for the community. They're the places that we were really focusing on trying to find — those places that still are that gathering point, or that third place that that people are drawn to and want to spend time with people in." Matthew: "And in a world where those sort of places are dying away, making this film coming out of the pandemic, where we had to eliminate that third place, those gathering places in the community‚ and even the fact that a lot of these businesses survived through some of those tougher times so that they can flourish now — that was very much part of our mind when we were making this. It's places where people can just get together, whether it's a church or whether it's a restaurant …" Rose: "Or a karaoke bar." Matthew: "… and just be part of their community." On Finding Slice of Life's Old Pizza Huts in Small Towns Across America Where Having the Chain in Town Was Originally a Source of Pride Rose: "We were actively seeking small towns. The most-rural town we visited is Walsenburg, Colorado — and that is in the middle of the country, small town, and it was a big deal. From memory, I think that the only other fast food they currently have is a Subway." Matthew: "Much less romantic." Rose: "But it was a huge deal to get this big building, this big Pizza Hut, that was right on the edge of town — it was a massive deal. And it was where all the sports teams would go on the weekend after finishing their game, it's where kids would go after their prom for their after party. Like, this was the place." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Urtext Films (@urtext) Matthew: "And I think it was this idea that the town over didn't get the Pizza Hut — we got the Pizza Hut. We're all very hip and cosmopolitan now, we might almost chuckle a little at a chain store having meaning, something important to a community — but back in the 60s, 70s and 80s, when towns, especially towns across America, were trying to grow and trying to be something, these were the test of having made it, as it were. So that seemed to be a big part of it. And then there's also a practical consideration, because we basically had to become world experts in these old Pizza Hut buildings — and they survive more in small towns, because I think the ones that were in big cities have just gotten levelled with the passage of time." Rose: "Or they were never built in the first place. This is a building that worked in suburbia and out on the highways. I don't think there were any traditional Pizza Hut buildings built within New York City, where we live at the moment. So you're not going to find one here. But you go out a little bit, you go down into Long Island, suddenly they start popping up." On Salleh and Tucker's Two-Person Approach to Filmmaking Matthew: "The main thing is the incredibly small footprint. It's basically just myself and Rose, and we do pretty much the whole movie. So I direct and Rose produces. I do the shoot. I do the cinematography. Rose does the sound. We both edit it. We do a surround-sound mix and picture work on the film in our one bedroom apartment." Rose: "In the room we're sitting at now." Matthew: "We just basically do the whole film from a technical point of view by ourselves. And, one, it makes it cheaper and more versatile — but the most-important thing is that versatility in that we don't need to have bosses that we get approval from when we come up with an idea, and we can just stay in a place until we get the story, and we can move around and be this very intimate film crew. When we film, it's not this giant truck with 20 people turning up. It's me and Rose and a backpack. And that familiarity that people have with us it just gives a gives our film something else, I hope." On How Having Such a Small Filmmaking Footprint Helps Get Subjects Onboard Rose: "We love the intimacy that we can create with it just being the two of us. The fact that we're a couple as well, I think a lot of the people we're working with, a lot of people running these businesses are little husband wife teams as well. So there's definitely a connection that we just have. We run our own business. We understand the challenges of running a small business, and we like to think we're quite entrepreneurial as well. I think we have a lot in common with the people who we are filming with." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Urtext Films (@urtext) Matthew: "When you run your own business, when you want to be sustainable and have your arts career that works as a business, you have to know as much about cinematography as you do about filing tax returns. We met with a lot of people that had a passionate thing they wanted. I think instantly of Ed running Big Ed's BBQ, who had this passion for barbecue and then instantly realised he was in over his head — and that very much resonated with me as a person that got way in over my head when I decided to start a film company however many years ago. That part of the storytelling also reminds me of my dad, who started his own business after working in government for many years. I think everyone that knows someone that's an entrepreneur, a sort of self-starter, it's a sort of crazy type of person. It was a lot of fun to hear those stories." Rose: "But we definitely had to win people over. And we'd always have a few conversations over the phone before we turn up with cameras and really explain what we were trying to do. I think particularly in this day and age, people can be a little hesitant with documentary, like 'ohh, are you making fun of me or is this a hit piece?'. And we would have to assure people that was not the case." Matthew: "Something we weren't sure about: people operate their businesses and lives out of these former Pizza Huts, and it's kind of a humorous concept. I'm like 'do they think it's humorous as well?'. And they certainly did. I remember our first phone call with everybody from the church in Boynton Beach that we filmed, and the first thing they wanted to tell us is that they'd given themselves a nickname of the Church of the Pepperoni. They think it's very funny as well. There's something about that sense of humour, it's a little wry smile when they know that they run out of an old Pizza Hut. But then you go beneath that and you go look through the window, effectively, and there's these amazing lives, and these really powerful and interesting people. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Urtext Films (@urtext) I would say that with a lot of pop culture and nostalgia, people try to remember the old thing. But for us to be able to actually go into those buildings, it was fascinating that you have a really diverse set of people — and America's an incredibly diverse country — and all of these people had one thing in common: the floor plan of their businesses were exactly the same. And it was kind of odd. A few months into filming, we'd be walking into like the fifth Pizza Hut and there'd be this weird déjà vu that would kick in — and I'd be like 'ohh, in Colorado, they put the door over that side, but I see you guys put it over here'. And there's this one bit where some of the old Pizza Huts, they always leak in the same spot — and they all go 'oh yeah, the leak'. Maybe there's something comforting in knowing that people around the world might have a common experience with you, even though you will never meet them. So that was very powerful for us." On the Research Process and Criteria for Picking the Former Pizza Huts Featured Matthew: "There were a couple that we'd heard about. You start Googling, and lots of people have documented a lot of these old buildings. But only the building. It was hard to know anything more about it. So we'd start with that process — it just started with conversations." Rose: "I would dive in and take a look at a business. You can tell a lot from their social media and things like that. You can tell when a place is a community hub, and they were the places we were looking for. And honestly, I would just shoot them a message or an email, and get on the phone and chat. I remember we called the owner of the Bud Hut in Colorado, and we talked to her for I think two hours. She was just so clearly so passionate and cared so much about her community, and we were like, 'well, that's an instant yes'." Matthew: "This is something that we've always believed as a core part of the films we make, that everyone's got an interesting story to tell. So in a way, I wasn't even really worried, because I'm like 'well, everyone's got an interesting story to tell'. Our job is to listen and find those stories. We try not to have too many preconceptions. We had ideas — as soon as we heard that there was a church down in Florida, we're like 'well that sounds amazing'. So there's ones like that. One of the interesting ones was Taco Jesús, a Taco restaurant in in Lynchburg, Virgina — not necessarily a place known for its Mexican cuisine. But funnily, that restaurant didn't even exist when we started shooting the movie. We only shot that a few months ago because we were looking back over some notes, and one of them was something that was closed down." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Urtext Films (@urtext) Rose: "I have a list of addresses and every few months I would sweep through them just to see if a new place had popped up. I was looking at this place in Lynchburg, Virginia, which, after it was a Pizza Hut, it was a another pizza restaurant — and I noticed they were permanently closed. And I was like 'that's interesting, I wonder who's going in there?'. I did a little online research and realised it was going to be this brand-new taco restaurant, and it looked beautiful." Matthew: "I think we saw a story that Jesús and his father-in-law were running it together, and I'm like 'there's a story that'. Then just your journalistic instincts kick in and you go 'oh, there's something interesting there'. I think, to be honest, as we spoke to people, it confirmed more than anything that all these are really fascinating stories that we have to capture." Rose: "There'll always be a few on the wishlist that we didn't get to, mainly just because we felt like we had a complete film. But there's always be the long list of places that maybe we could have visited — like there is a funeral home in Texas which would have been pretty interesting." Matthew: "There's actually two." Rose: "We could've kept filming forever." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Urtext Films (@urtext) Matthew: "It's interesting when we talk about when you're completely independent and you've got to do it yourself, how do you get started — but how do you finish? That's almost as much the challenging question and it's usually, with us, through exhaustion. Usually it's desperately editing into the night. I remember with We Don't Deserve Dogs and a little bit with this film, you just stop eventually and go 'I think the movie is finished'. And you almost don't want to admit it's finished, because then you've got to work out what to do next. You've got to distribute and market the film, and all the rest of it. But this one was definitely one where we had a lot of the film down, and then we took a bit of a break. Then we went and filmed with Taco Jesús, and we just slotted that in." Rose: "It was the missing thing." Matthew: "It was the different side of the story that brought it all together. So it's nice, it's been a lot of fun, because at the moment we're doing all the technical stuff, the sound and the music and all of that, and it's really lovely to be able polish up this thing that we've been putting together for a few years now." On What You Learn About the US Today on a Cross-Country Road Trip That Examines How an Incredibly Nostalgic Symbol Has Been Reborn Rose: "I think we managed to capture a pretty hopeful version of humanity. I'd like to think that. I think you realise that if you watch the news a lot …" Matthew: "Which we all do." Rose: "… which everybody does, there's maybe an impression of America and what middle America is like, and I think we wanted to challenge that expectation a little bit. There definitely are, I think, more good people than bad everywhere we went. We were met with open arms in communities of all shapes and sizes and political persuasions." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Urtext Films (@urtext) Matthew: "And we're just a bunch of hipsters from New York, so they should be very guarded. But no, to be serious, I think it's this thing where we came in to listen and hear their story, and so we didn't come in with this ulterior motive of 'we want to set up the story'. That's been a really important thing about the films we do. We film with multiple subjects, multiple locations and people, and we don't have this scribbled-out script that we want to fit. We go where the story takes us. If the story revealed a much angrier America, then we would have gone 'okay, well, what is that story?'. But for us, everyone was quite hopeful, quite proud — quite proud of being American, quite proud of their entrepreneurial side — which, by focusing just on that, was really interesting. We had this criteria for this movie: we want to meet people from all across America, but they have to be operating out of an old Pizza Hut restaurant. That limits you a little bit, and yet we found such diversity, such different people, different opinions, different lives, different stories. So it was nice, even with such limitations on your sample size, you can still find a very diverse America." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Urtext Films (@urtext) Rose: "I think Mark from the Yupp's Karaoke in Fort Worth, Texas, puts it best: 'our diversity is our strength'. And this is coming from a bartender in Fort Worth, Texas. It's pretty beautiful stuff. " Matthew: "I must admit that Yupp's Karaoke Bar was a lot of fun to film." Rose: "It was raging on a Tuesday night. It was just packed. And from what I understand, they now have lines on Saturdays — you can't get in. They are going absolute gangbusters." Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts. premieres at SXSW Sydney 2024, which runs from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details.
If your pre-coronavirus routine involved weekend plant sales and an ever-growing bounty of delightful green things, life's probably looking very different these days. Events are off the menu, shops are closed and that plant collection is pretty much dependent on whatever goodies you can get delivered to your door. It's this situation that's helped spawn Melbourne's newest online plant and gift retailer Vine Boy, which is out to offer locals some fresh gifting options, without the exxy price tags. To save you forking out the big bucks, Vine Boy's online store is stocked with an affordable curation of potted indoor plants, along with Aussie-made gifts like St Ali specialty coffee, luxe bath products from Grown Alchemist, Zig Zag Rd wines, Moss St scented candles and pre-batched booze from the crew at Melbourne Martini. Best of all, it's refreshingly accessible, with prices starting from an easy $8. The plant selection is a decent one, featuring varieties like Monstera deliciosa and Bird of Paradise, available in different sizes. And with chic pots as standard inclusions, you won't be surprised with a list of add-on charges at the checkout. In fact, you can mix and match items to create a whole swag of different gift packs between the $50 and $100 mark, delivery costs included. There's no extra charge for orders over $75, otherwise it's a flat-rate delivery fee of $10 to most Melbourne suburbs. You'll even nab same-day delivery if you order before 11am. To check out Vine Boy's full range and order delivery, head on over to
Having departed from its initial spot in Richmond, Fabric Deluxe has called Footscray home since early 2018. Undeniably passionate about everything sewing and fabric related, Fabric Deluxe sets out to engage budding seamsters from the younger generations who are searching for a fun and accessible skill to learn. For those that are looking to pick up a new hobby or complete their latest sewing project, Fabric Deluxe has just about every imaginable colour, pattern and haberdashery item you could ever need.
By now, we all know that plenty of streaming platforms are constantly vying for our eyeballs. We know that those services boast always-expanding catalogues of movies and TV shows, too. And, we're well aware that picking what to watch when you're settling down on the couch is rarely a simple exercise. So, while the fact that Australia's latest streaming service features 20,000 episodes and films is definitely great news, it won't simplify your viewing choices anytime soon. Australians now have another streamer to choose from, with new streaming service Paramount+ launching on Wednesday, August 11. The platform actually rebrands the existing 10 All Access streaming service, with parent company Viacom CBS Australia and New Zealand bringing it into line with the global Paramount+ subscription offering that launched in America in March this year. Paramount+'s big drawcard? Its library of titles from Paramount Pictures — obviously — as well as from Showtime, CBS, BET Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, the Smithsonian Channel and Sony Pictures Television. So, if you're the kind of viewer that loves rewatching your favourite flicks, you'll be able to head to the service to stream movies from the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Godfather, Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones, Transformers, Jackass, Batman and Dark Knight Trilogy franchises. Plus, the likes of Austin Powers in Goldmember, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Grease and Good Will Hunting will also be available on the service, all as part of the $8.99 per month subscription fee. On the TV front, existing series like The Good Fight, The Twilight Zone, Why Women Kill, Charmed and SpongeBob SquarePants will find a new home. Paramount+ is also betting big on new television shows being a big drawcard, so you can expect to add a heap of titles to your must-watch list — including revenge-fuelled miniseries Two Weeks To Live, starring Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams; Leonardo, a historical drama about Leonardo da Vinci; and Anne Boleyn, with Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim) as the titular figure. If you're feeling nostalgic, there's also the revival of Nickelodeon's iCarly, following the characters now they're adults; the return of Rugrats, this time with computer-generated animation; and Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, which gives everyone's favourite absorbent, yellow and porous character an origin story. New Mark Wahlberg-starring movie Infinite, which sees him play a man haunted by memories of a life he didn't live, also launches in Australia with the service — and as does new seasons of Five Bedrooms, Why Women Kill and Evil. And, before August is out, you'll be able to stream the Nancy Drew TV series, the latest season of In the Dark, all of Ziwe and Coyote, six-part satire The Bite and horror anthology Monsterland as well. Down the track, Paramount+ will also be home to the new Dexter revival; the Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Old Guard)-starring TV adaptation of The Man Who Fell to Earth; The First Lady, which sees Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) play Michelle Obama; and page-to-screen adaptation The Luminaries. New Australian drama Last King of The Cross is also destined for the platform, as are Melbourne-shot comedy Spreadsheet and coming-of-age feature film 6 Festivals. The list goes on, including spy drama Lioness, a TV adaptation of video game Halo and The Offer, a scripted drama about on the making of The Godfather. Paramount+ is available in Australia from Wednesday, August 11, rebranding the existing 10 All Access streaming platform, with subscriptions costing $8.99. For further information, head to the Paramount+ website.
One of 2024's cinema trends has a very specific number in mind: 45. It was four-and-a-half decades ago that the Mad Max franchise first rolled onto the big screen, with creator/writer/director George Miller bringing it back this year for its fifth instalment via Furiosa: A Mad Max Story. It was also 45 years ago that no one could hear you scream in space, as Ridley Scott's OG Alien advised — and it too has a new movie reaching silver screens in 2024. The latter: Alien: Romulus. While watching both the initial teaser and just-dropped full trailer for the latest entry in the franchise, can anyone hear your shouts? The answer to that question depends on where you are and who you're with, of course — we're presuming that you're not in space — but the sneak peeks themselves firmly aim to unsettle. Across the two glimpses, there's an eerie derelict space station, dark hallways aplenty, screaming and a heap of blood. There's also plenty of facehuggers, chestbursters and xenomorphs. Behind the lens, albeit producing rather than directing, Scott (Napoleon) remains involved. The seventh Alien film, and the ninth including the Alien vs Predator movies, Alien: Romulus arrives in August seven years since Alien: Covenant gave the seriesf its last entry. While Scott originated the space-thriller saga back in 1979, then returned to it with 2012's Prometheus and 2017's Alien: Covenant, now Evil Dead, Don't Breathe and The Girl in the Spider's Web filmmaker Fede Álvarez is on helming duties — clearly taking his cues from Scott's work, though, right down to specific mirrored shots. The setup: when space colonisers go a-scavenging through an abandoned space station, they get more than they bargained for. Given Álvarez's background in horror, it comes as no surprise that he's tapping into the genre for his Alien effort, just as Scott did with his. Álvarez also wrote the screenplay, reteaming with Rodo Sayagues, who he worked with on Evil Dead and Don't Breathe — and who directed Don't Breathe 2. Priscilla and Civil War's Cailee Spaeny leads the group of folks doing battle with vicious extra-terrestrials, starring alongside David Jonsson (Rye Lane), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (Madame Web), Spike Fearn (Aftersun) and feature first-timer Aileen Wu. Separate to Alien: Romulus, the Alien franchise is also expanding to TV, with a new series from Fargo's Noah Hawley in the works, as set three decades before the events of the first film. Featuring Sydney Chandler (Don't Worry Darling), Alex Lawther (Andor), Essie Davis (One Day) and Timothy Olyphant (Justified: City Primeval), it isn't expected until 2025. With all things Alien set to stalk across both the big and small screens over the next couple of years, staying away from this saga isn't in anyone's futures. Check out the full trailer for Alien: Romulus below: Alien: Romulus releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, August 15, 2024. Images: courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Chocolates, roses, free-flowing drinks, all the gelato you can eat, spending every day at the beach: none of these play a part in animated Prime Video series Undone. But if they all were a standard element of everyone's everyday lives — if we were all blissfully happy all the time, in other words — then stories like this multiverse mind-bender wouldn't exist. Screens big and small keep being filled with alternate realities, and tinkering with time as well, because asking "what if?" is an inherently human way to cope with all of life's disappointments. We dream of what might be if things were different and, when we escape into movies and TV shows, our on-screen fantasies keep dreaming those dreams for us. What if there was another realm where things were better? What if, somewhere else out there, those choices you regret had gone another way? What if you could venture backwards to mend whatever you and your loved ones are struggling with, or forwards to solve the consequences of your misdeeds? What if you could reunite with the people you've lost — or get a do-over on the opportunities you'd missed? These are the questions that Undone ponders, as the likes of Everything Everywhere All At Once, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Rick and Morty, Russian Doll and The Matrix franchise have in their own ways. A particular point of obsession flutters at the heart of all these trains of thought, and all these films and television programs, too: fixing everything that's stopping your existence from being perfect. Returning for its second season three years after its first — which was one of the best shows of 2019 — the gorgeously and thoughtfully trippy Undone is especially fixated on this idea. It always has been from the moment its eight-episode initial season appeared with its vivid rotoscoped animation and entrancing leaps into surreal territory; however, in season two it doubles down. Hailing from BoJack Horseman duo Kate Purdy and Raphael Bob-Waksberg, it also remains unsurprisingly concerned with mental illness, and still sees its protagonist caught in an existential crisis. (The pair have a type, but Undone isn't BoJack Horseman 2.0). Again, it deeply understands that contentment doesn't lead to "what if?" queries. Indeed, learning to cope with being stuck in a flawed life, being unable to wish it away and accepting that fate beams brightly away at the heart of the show. During its debut outing, Undone introduced viewers to 28-year-old Alma Winograd-Diaz (Rosa Salazar, Alita: Battle Angel), who found everything she thought she knew pushed askew after a near-fatal car accident. Suddenly, she started experiencing time and her memories differently — including those of her father, Jacob Winograd (Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul), who died over 20 years earlier. In a vision, he tasked her with investigating his death, which became a quest to patch up the past to stop tragedy from striking. Undone's first season was purposefully and perceptively vague, though. Spectacular to look at, and also inventive, smart, funny and tender, it wasn't keen on offering firm answers about Alma's mission, her mental state and its ending. Rather, it was determined to dive deep but stay ambiguous as it examined the meaning of life, and also slotted in alongside shows such as The Good Place, Forever and Maniac. Undone didn't necessarily need a second season, but this repeat dive into Alma's story is just as exceptional as its first — even with one big change. This time, her actions in the last batch of episodes are given a clearcut answer, and another timeline seems to glimmer with almost everything she's ever wanted. But every family's troubles are multifaceted, with more springing up here to fracture the Winograd-Diazs' seeming idyll. With help from her elder sister Becca (Angelique Cabral, How It Ends), Alma now splashes around in her visibly sorrowful mother Camila Diaz's (Constance Marie, With Love) past, including learning about chapters in Mexico decades back that again disrupt the status quo. If it wasn't evident already, it should be now: while it shares more than a few themes in common with BoJack Horseman, Undone dwells in its own world. Still, in its second season, it has another topic on its mind that Purdy and Bob-Waksberg's last show also surveyed — and fellow multiverse effort Everything Everywhere All At Once as well, plus the recent second season of time-travel comedy Russian Doll. Both Encanto and Turning Red mused on the same concept, too: intergenerational trauma. That some pain is so deep-seated in those bearing it that it passes down alongside genes isn't a new realisation, and wasn't back in the 60s when One Hundred Years of Solitude made it its basis on the page. But reckoning with it more often, as is happening now, is a product of a world that's far more willing to pull apart the sins and scars of the past. Accordingly, Undone joins the parade of pop-culture titles excavating it, spying the marks it leaves from generation to generation, and exploring how to face it. There's more certainty in Undone's second go-around — about what's happening, why, what it means and where it comes from — but that doesn't mean that this devastatingly astute series is done with uncertainty. Using rotoscoping, which involves drawing over filmed footage of its actors (see also: Richard Linklater's Waking Life, A Scanner Darkly and Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood), isn't just a stylistic preference or a way to get the best performances out of the series' phenomenal cast. Able to reflect Alma's ever-changing, always-fragile emotional and mental state in every frame, Undone's dreamlike animation is thoroughly unburdened by reality and all the more expressive for it. Show, don't tell: not that it shies away from talking through what's happening, but that's clearly this soulful, stunning and supremely moving program's motto. Deeply rich and resonant, as intelligent and affecting as sci-fi and animation alike get, and dedicated to thinking and feeling big while confronting everyday truths, Undone is like nothing else that's streaming. And yes, that's still accurate even in these busily multiverse-hopping, existence-contemplating times, where dreaming about alternate lives is as natural as breathing. Check out the trailer for Undone season two below: Undone is available to stream via Prime Video.
From the Box Hill Community Arts Centre and the art collection inside the historic town hall, to the bustling market and the annual Chinese New Year Festival, Box Hill has its share of suburban charm. As you may know first-hand, residents here are spoiled for choice when it comes to authentic noodles, hot pot and dumplings; a large percentage of the population has Chinese heritage, contributing to a community filled with family-run eateries and businesses and some of the best Asian food in Melbourne. We've teamed up with American Express to sift through the numerous independent local traders providing Box Hill and surrounds with the restaurants, cafes and shops that make the eastern suburbs so great. Strive to shop small, with these nine local businesses that will welcome you and your American Express Card like you're part of the family.
Well-known for his visual distinctive style and fondness for symmetry across films such as The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Isle of Dogs, Wes Anderson is now playing museum curator. Alongside his partner, set designer and illustrator Juman Malouf, he's put together an exhibition for Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum: Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin and Other Treasures. The creative couple were given a task that plenty would envy: trawling through the Kunsthistorisches Museum's more than four million objects, and selecting their favourites from the incredibly broad collection of in-house artifacts. The end result includes items from all 14 of the museum's collections, which span old master paintings, Greek and Roman antiquities, Imperial coins and more. Think pieces like historical musical instruments, suits of armour, foreign antiques, carriages and sleighs, plus a fully illustrated catalogue. If you're wondering what inspired Anderson, he explains in the exhibition catalogue that, with Malouf, he harbours "the humble aspiration that the unconventional groupings and arrangement of the works on display may influence the study of art and antiquity in minor, even trivial, but nevertheless detectable ways for many future generations to come". And if you're not planning to be in Austria before April 28, 2019 — or in Italy afterwards, with the exhibition set to travel to the Fondazione Prada in Milan at a yet-to-be-announced date — here's a look at what's on offer. [caption id="attachment_703302" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Exhibition view. © KHM-Museumsverband[/caption] Exhibition view. © KHM-Museumsverband [caption id="attachment_703299" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Exhibition view. © KHM-Museumsverband[/caption] Exhibition view. © KHM-Museumsverband Exhibition view. © KHM-Museumsverband Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin and Other Treasures exhibits at Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum until April 28, 2019. Images: © KHM-Museumsverband.
If seeing movies and TV shows you love pick up shiny trophies is your preferred form of sport, congrats — awards season is here for another year. We're never too far away from Hollywood's latest opportunity to celebrate itself, given that the Emmys were only a couple of months back. But the period between December and March tends to be the entertainment industry's version of Christmas (or until April in 2021, given that the Oscars happened later than usual). Accordingly, it's that time of year for the Golden Globes, which has just announced its latest batch of nominees. That said, if you're keen to actually watch a heap of people collect their accolades come Monday, January 10, Australian and New Zealand time, think again — the ceremony won't be televised due to multiple controversies surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organisation behind the awards, and whether it'll stream somewhere (and if any celebrities will actually show up) hasn't yet been revealed. The list of films and series competing still spans plenty of 2021 favourites — covering both the big and small screens, because the Globes likes to have it both ways. Among the cinema fields, Jane Campion's phenomenal western The Power of the Dog leads the charge with seven nods, a feat only matched by nostalgic Kenneth Branagh-directed drama Belfast, which was inspired by the filmmaker's own childhood. And in the TV categories, Succession picked up five nominations, Ted Lasso and The Morning Show nabbed four, and a heap of shows — including Squid Game — picked up three. The Power of the Dog received Australian funding — and from New Zealand, too — so there's a local tie to this year's nominees. Campion also scored a nod for Best Director for the film, and Aussie actor Kodi Smit-McPhee earned a spot among the Best Supporting Actor nominees. Still staying local, Nicole Kidman is a Best Actress in a Drama contender in the cinema fields for playing Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos, while Succession's Sarah Snook scored a Best Supporting Actress nomination in the TV categories. A heap of other excellent flicks and shows earned some love as well — including a Best Drama nod for Dune, a Best Comedy nomination for Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza, acting recognition's for the latter's first-timers Alana Haim (yes, of Haim) and Cooper Hoffman (son of the Philip Seymour Hoffman), plus a trio of nominations for The Great, Hacks and Only Murders in the Building. Other highlights span the Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical nod for Annette's Marion Cotillard, Lupin's two showings, and Jennifer Coolidge's recognition for The White Lotus. Plus, after making history in 2021 for nominating three women for Best Director for the first time ever — after only ever nominating seven other female filmmakers in the Golden Globes prior 77-year run — the awards have given not only Campion but also The Lost Daughter's Maggie Gyllenhaal some love this time around. If you're wondering what else is in the running, here's the full list: GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEES: BEST MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Belfast CODA Dune King Richard The Power of the Dog BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos Lady Gaga, House of Gucci Kristen Stewart, Spencer BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Mahershala Ali, Swan Song Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog Will Smith, King Richard Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth BEST MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Cyrano Don't Look Up Licorice Pizza Tick, Tick … Boom! West Side Story BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Marion Cotillard, Annette Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza Jennifer Lawrence, Don't Look Up Emma Stone, Cruella Rachel Zegler, West Side Story BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Leonardo DiCaprio, Don't Look Up Peter Dinklage, Cyrano Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick … Boom! Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza Anthony Ramos, In the Heights BEST MOTION PICTURE — ANIMATED Encanto Flee Luca My Sunny Maad Raya and the Last Dragon BEST MOTION PICTURE — FOREIGN LANGUAGE Compartment No. 6 Drive My Car The Hand of God A Hero Parallel Mothers BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Caitríona Balfe, Belfast Ariana DeBose, West Side Story Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard Ruth Negga, Passing BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar Jamie Dornan, Belfast Ciarán Hinds, Belfast Troy Kotsur, CODA Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog BEST DIRECTOR — MOTION PICTURE Kenneth Branagh, Belfast Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter Steven Spielberg, West Side Story Denis Villeneuve, Dune BEST SCREENPLAY — MOTION PICTURE Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza Kenneth Branagh, Belfast Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog Adam McKay, Don't Look Up Aaron Sorkin, Being the Ricardos BEST ORIGINAL SCORE — MOTION PICTURE Dune Encanto The French Dispatch Parallel Mothers The Power of the Dog BEST ORIGINAL SONG — MOTION PICTURE 'Be Alive', King Richard 'Dos Orugitas', Encanto 'Down to Joy', Belfast 'Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)', Respect 'No Time to Die', No Time to Die BEST TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Lupin The Morning Show Pose Squid Game Succession BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Uzo Aduba, In Treatment Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show Christine Baranski, The Good Fight Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale MJ Rodriguez, Pose BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Brian Cox, Succession Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game Billy Porter, Pose Jeremy Strong, Succession Omar Sy, Lupin BEST TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY The Great Hacks Ted Lasso Reservation Dogs Only Murders in the Building BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Hannah Einbinder, Hacks Elle Fanning, The Great Issa Rae, Insecure Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish Jean Smart, Hacks BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Anthony Anderson, Black-ish Nicholas Hoult, The Great Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso BEST TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Dopesick Impeachment: American Crime Story Maid Mare of Easttown The Underground Railroad BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jessica Chastain, Scenes From a Marriage Cynthia Erivo, Genius: Aretha Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision Margaret Qualley, Maid Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Paul Bettany, WandaVision Oscar Isaac, Scenes From a Marriage Michael Keaton, Dopesick Ewan McGregor, Halston Tahar Rahim, The Serpent BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick Andie MacDowell, Maid Sarah Snook, Succession Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TV Billy Crudup, The Morning Show Kieran Culkin, Succession Mark Duplass, The Morning Show Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso Oh Yeong-su, Squid Game The 2022 Golden Globes will be announced on Monday, January 10 Australian and New Zealand time. For further details, head to the awards' website. Top image: The Crown, Des Willie/Netflix.
One of the funniest TV comedies of the 2020s is back with its third season, and as hilarious as ever. So what are you waiting five? If that question doesn't make any sense to you, then you clearly haven't yet experienced the wonder that is Girls5eva. It starts with a numerical pun-heavy earworm of a theme tune that no one should ever skip, then bounces along just as catchily and sidesplittingly in every second afterwards. A move to Netflix for season three — after streaming its first and second seasons via Peacock in the US, Stan in Australia and TVNZ+ in New Zealand — might just see the Tina Fey-executive produced music-industry sitcom switch from being one of the best shows that not enough people are watching to everyone's latest can't-stop-rewatching comedy obsession. In other words, this a series about a comeback and, thanks to its swap to the biggest player in the streaming game, now it's making a comeback itself. Two years have passed for longterm fans since Girls5eva last checked in with Dawn Solano (Sara Bareilles, Broadway's Waitress), Wickie Roy (Renée Elise Goldsberry, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and also a Hamilton Tony-winner), Summer Dutkowsky (Busy Philipps, Mean Girls) and Gloria McManus (Paula Pell, Big Mouth), but the gap and the jump to Netflix haven't changed this gem. Consider the change of streamer, which kicks off on Thursday, March 14, in the same way that Dawn and the gang are approaching their leap back into their girl group after two decades: as an all-in, go-hard-or-go-home, whatever-it-takes relaunch. For new viewers, seasons one and two of Girls5eva are also now available on Netflix — and bingeing through all 22 episodes, with season three providing six of them, is the best way to spend a day, weekend or few evenings right now. With its non-stop jokes that reward multiple viewings because you're likely laughing too hard to catch all of them on the first go-around, deep-cutting pop-culture references, satire that's always both razor-sharp and raucously ridiculous, and supremely stellar cast, the series is a quintessential Fey-produced comedy. If her post-Saturday Night Live efforts were songs, 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Great News, Mr Mayor and Girls5eva couldn't make a better record. (Meredith Scardino, who created Girls5eva, is also an Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Mr Mayor alum.) The riff for Girls5eva: parodying the pop-music realm as the titular group endeavour to stop wondering what might've been after their career fizzled out 20 years earlier, aided by their single 'Famous 5eva' getting thrust back into the spotlight via another artist. The takedown of the entertainment world that was at the heart of 30 Rock hums along here, too, as does calling out the treatment of women, especially by the media, that also fuelled Fey's first sitcom hit alongside Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Great News. Whether via Liz Lemon's dating life and quest to have a family, or in Mr Mayor's experienced deputy played by Holly Hunter (Succession), unpacking how women are perceived the moment they're out of their 20s and beyond has also echoed through the Feyniverse — and Girls5eva croons that tune with force and feeling. Now firmly back together, the surviving members of Girls5eva — Ashley Gold (Ashley Park, Only Murders in the Building) died in an infinity pool accident — have taken to the road. So far, however, their big Returnity tour has been happy in Fort Worth. In the Texan city, their track 'Tap Into Your Fort Worth' keeps drawing in crowds, even if that's all that concertgoers want to hear. Also, the Marriott Suitelettes for Divorced Dads has become their home away from home, but resident diva Wickie isn't content just playing one place. Always dreaming huge, massive and stratospheric, she sets the band's sights on Radio City Music Hall, booking them in for a gig at a fee of $500,000. Cue a six-month timeline to sell it out — a feat made trickier by the fact that the show is on Thanksgiving — or risk ruin. When season three commences in Fort Worth, and among weekend-only fathers buying forgotten birthday presents for their kids out of vending machines, the quality of Girls5eva's writing proves as gleaming as ever. Here, the pregnant Dawn can put pancakes from the breakfast buffet in her robe, and also get cosy watching The Crown, which has a storyline about Prince Andrew's stuffed-toy obsession. Gloria is on a mission to hook up with all 178 types of women, complete with a spreadsheet tracking her progress, which is a riotous source of amusement. "Always gonna never stop restarting, never gonna end not un-beginning, don't un-try to un-stop us now" aren't just lyrics for Girls5eva the band and Girls5eva the show, though. So, into the van the group hops, with Percy (John Lutz, 30 Rock) as their tour manager. Girls5eva's big joke energy doesn't slow down when Wickie and company are drumming up cash at private concerts, battling with a state senator (John Early, The Afterparty) who doubles as a "Fetal Citizen Advocate" or trying to capitalise upon the fame of pop's current megastar (Thomas Doherty, Gossip Girl) — or when the series charts Summer's attempt to work out who she is without her ex-husband Kev (Andrew Rannells, Invincible) through a multi-level marketing scheme for teeth-whitening gummies. As that snapshot of season-three elements makes plain, the show's love of loopiness, hijinks and hysterical bits doesn't fade out, either. Flashbacks to the band's late-90s, early-00s fame continue to deliver gold, too, including Gloria and *NSYNC's Lance Bass trying to make a sex tape. Girls5eva isn't afraid of silliness for the comical sake of it, but it's also as savvy as comedy gets in lampooning the state of the world and fleshing out its characters while sparking never-ending chuckles. Holding back or taking a beat isn't Girls5eva's style; if it was an album itself, it'd be wall-to-wall singles. (Its tunes, which continue to showcase the musical-comedy prowess of Fey's husband Jeff Richmond after 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and the like, already make ace records.) Giving anything but 100 percent isn't Bareilles, Goldsberry, Philipps or Pell's style, either — and the series keeps benefiting. Bareilles' ability to ground every type of chaos remains essential but, away from New York and Dawn's family, that's no longer her main remit. Always at home when the show is at its most absurd, Goldsberry, Philipps and Pell have also never been funnier. ("Hi, this is Gloria, from sex!" is one of Pell's all-time great lines.) The only issue with season three: that this stint with Girls5eva's glorious on-screen talents is too short, just like forever versus 5eva. If it becomes a Netflix smash, here's hoping that it'll be famous at least one more time. Check out the trailer for Girls5eva season three below: Girls5eva season three streams via Netflix from Thursday, March 14. Read our reviews of season one and season two. Images: Netflix.
If you're in Byron Bay right now, looking forward to this year's Splendour in the Grass — or you're on your way — then you'll already know that it's mighty wet in the region at the moment. In fact, it has been so soggy that campsites have been flooded, lines to get in have taken all night, there's even more mud than usual and the past 24 hours have been filled with chaos. And with more rainy weather due for the rest of the day, the fest's organisers have pulled the plug on all main stage gigs today, Friday, July 22. "A significant weather system is currently sitting off the east coast and may reach land later today bringing more rainfall. In the interest of patron safety and in consultation with all relevant emergency services, we have decided to err on the side of caution and cancel performances on the main stages today only — Amphitheatre, Mix Up, GW McLennan and Park(lands) stages," said the Splendour crew in a statement. "All of our destination spaces (Global Village, Tipi Forest, Forum, Comedy and Science tents, etc) will remain open today for patrons who are already onsite as well as those at our satellite campground at Byron Events Farm. Please relax and enjoy what is open." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Splendour in the Grass (@splendourinthegrass) From the fest's hefty lineup, Gorillaz, The Avalanches, DMA's, Dillon Frances, Kacey Musgraves and Orville Peck are among the acts that were due to perform today, but won't now. Organisers also advised that SITG looks forward "to Saturday and Sunday programming moving ahead as planned". So, fingers crossed that The Strokes, Glass Animals, Jack Harlow, Violent Soho, Tim Minchin and more will hit the stage on Saturday — and Tyler, The Creator, Liam Gallagher, Bad//Dreems, Mura Masa and others on Sunday. More rain is forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology for Byron Bay today, with showers and wind expected on Saturday, plus possible showers on Sunday. Affected ticketholders will be contacted by Moshtix in the coming week, via the email address you used to buy your ticket, with further information on refunds. Today's cancellation comes in Splendour's big comeback year, after two winters without live tunes at North Byron Parklands due to the pandemic. Splendour in the Grass runs until Sunday, July 24 at North Byron Parklands. For further information, head to the festival's website and Facebook page. Images: Ben Hansen.
Before the pandemic, when a new-release movie started playing in cinemas, audiences couldn't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the past few years forcing film industry to make quite a few changes — widespread movie theatre closures will do that, and so will plenty of people staying home because they aren't well — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Perhaps you've been under the weather. Given the hefty amount of titles now releasing each week, maybe you simply missed something. Film distributors have been fast-tracking some of their new releases from cinemas to streaming recently — movies that might still be playing in theatres in some parts of the country, too. In preparation for your next couch session, here are eight that you can watch right now at home. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga To Valhalla, George Miller went: when Mad Max: Fury Road thundered across and shone upon the silver screen in 2015, and it did both, it gave cinema one of the greatest action movies ever made. It has taken nine years for the Australian filmmaker to back up one of the 21st century's masterpieces with another stunt-filled drive through his dystopian franchise — a realm that now dates back 45 years, with Mad Max first envisaging a hellscape Down Under in 1979 — and he's achieved the immensely enviable. Fury Road and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga's white-hued, silver-lipped war boys pray to gain entry to a mythological dreamscape just once, but Miller keeps returning again and again (only 1985's Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, in a now five-film series that also includes 1981's Mad Max 2, is anything less than heavenly). "The question is: do you have what it takes to make it epic?" Miller has Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Love and Thunder) ask in Furiosa as biker-horde leader Dementus, he of the post-apocalyptic Thor-meets-Roman gladiator look and chariot-by-motorcycle mode of transport. Returning to all things Mad Max after an affecting detour to 2022's djinn fable Three Thousand Years of Longing, the writer/director might've been posing himself the same query — and he resoundingly answers in the affirmative. An origin story-spinning prequel has rarely felt as essential as this unearthing of its namesake's history, which Fury Road hinted at when it introduced Furiosa (then played by Charlize Theron, Fast X) and made her the movie's hero above and beyond Mad Max (Tom Hardy, Venom: Let There Be Carnage). Discovering the full Furiosa tale felt imperative then, too, and with good reason: Miller had already planned the figure's own film to flesh out her background before her celluloid debut, and that she existed well past her interactions with Max was always as apparent as the steely glare that said everything without words. Now with both Anya Taylor-Joy (The Super Mario Bros Movie) and Alyla Browne (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) playing the lead, Furiosa lives up to that promise. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and George Miller. Monster When a movie repeats its events through fresh eyes, answers usually follow. But as Hirokazu Kore-eda opts for the Rashomon effect in Monster, using a technique that fellow great Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa deployed with one of his famous features, the director that won the Palme d'Or for 2018's Shoplifters refuses to stop asking questions. In this picture, which picked up the Queer Palm at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival — and again sees Kore-eda collaborate with Kazuko Kurosawa (The Third Murder), daughter of Akira, as its costume designer — layers keep mounting. There's no shortage of cinema that stresses how there's never merely one set of peepers to peer through, but in this masterful and moving addition to that realm, from one of the best at conveying empathy that film as a medium benefits from today, each pass in search of the full story builds a case not just for filtering the world through more than what's easy and reactive, but through acceptance and understanding. Kore-eda knows this: that perspectives, just like perceptions, can be misleading, blinkered and blinded. So when rumour proclaims that a new teacher frequents hostess bars, when a boy has tales of being called names by the same educator, when said man points the finger at the kid as a bully to one of his classmates instead and when the two children at the centre of the situation are friends with a cherished bond, a clearcut view is in short supply. This is the first movie since 1995's Maborosi that the filmmaker has only helmed and not also written, but Yûji Sakamoto's (In Love and Deep Water) Cannes Best Screenplay-winning script is a classic entry on the director's resume. Monster is also Kore-eda's homecoming, after making his post-Shoplifters films until now elsewhere — 2019's The Truth in France, then 2022's Broker in South Korea — and it's a stellar return. Monster streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. The Watchers A quarter of a century ago, M Night Shyamalan started coaching audiences to associate his surname with on-screen twists. Now that The Sixth Sense writer/director's daughter Ishana Night Shyamalan is following in his footsteps by making her first feature, decades of that viewer training across Unbreakable, Signs, The Visit, Split, Glass and more laps at The Watchers' feet. The question going in for those watching is obvious: will the second-generation filmmaker, who first worked as a second-unit director on her dad's Old and Knock at the Cabin — and also penned and helmed episodes of exceptionally eerie horror TV series Servant, on which her father was the showrunner — turn M Night's well-known and -established penchant for surprise reveals that completely recontextualise his narratives into a family trademark? Viewing a Shyamalan movie from The Sixth Sense onwards has always been an exercise in piecing together a puzzle, sleuthing along as clues are dropped about how the story might swiftly shift. It's no different with The Watchers, which Ishana adapts from AM Shine's novel and M Night produces. The younger filmmaking Shyamalan leans into the expectations that come with being her dad's offspring and picking up a camera, making a supernatural mystery-thriller horror flick and living with his brand of screen stories for her entire life. That said, while it's easy to initially think of The Village when The Watchers sets its narrative in isolated surroundings where the woods are filled with threats, and also of Knock at the Cabin given that its four main characters are basically holed up in one, Ishana demonstrates her own prowess with this Dakota Fanning (Ripley)-led flick, including by heartily embracing her source material's gothic air. The Watchers streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Ishana Night Shyamalan. The Beast Watching a film by French writer/director Bertrand Bonello can feel like having a spell cast upon you. In movies such as 2016's Nocturama and 2019's Zombi Child, that's how magnetic and entrancing his blend of ethereal mood and dreamy imagery has felt. So it is with The Beast, too, another hypnotic feature that bewitches and also probes, because none of these three Bonello flicks ask their viewers to merely submit. Rather, they enchant while raising questions about the state of the world, whether digging into consumerism and anarchy, hierarchies of race and class, or the role of humanity in an increasingly technology-mediated society. The latter is the domain of the filmmaker's loose adaptation of Henry James' 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle — a take that, as its author didn't and couldn't, perceives how the clash of humanity's emotions and artificial intelligence's data-driven analysis is fated to favour the cold and the calculating. In 2044, the very fact that people are guided by their feelings has rendered them unsuitable for most jobs in The Beast's AI-dominated vision of the future. Played with the mastery of both deeply conveyed expression and telling stillness that's long characterised her performances, Dune: Part Two, Crimes of the Future and No Time to Die's Léa Seydoux is Gabrielle, who is among the throngs relegated to drone-like drudgery in this new world order. To shift her daily reality, where she reads the temperature of data cores, she only has one path forward: a cleansing of her DNA. It involves spending sessions immersed in a black goopy bath to confront her emotions and past, a procedure that she's told will rid her of her trauma and baggage. Crossing paths with Gabrielle at the treatment centre, Louis (1917 and True History of the Kelly Gang's George MacKay) has the same choice. The Beast streams via YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Read our full review. Housekeeping for Beginners Every film is a portrait of ups and downs, no matter the genre. Without change and complications, plus either a sprinkling or a shower of chaos, there's little in the way of story for a movie to tell. In just three features, each hitting cinemas Down Under in successive years since 2022, Macedonian Australian filmmaker Goran Stolevski has demonstrated how deeply he understands this fact — and also that life itself is, of course, the same rollercoaster ride. So, when Housekeeping for Beginners starts by jumping between a joyous sing-along and a grim doctor's visit, he lays that juxtaposition between existence's highs and the lows bare in his third picture's frames. He has form: You Won't Be Alone, his folkloric horror film set in 19th-century Macedonia, segued early from new life to a witch's fate-shaping demands; Of an Age, a queer love story that unfurls in Melbourne, kicked off by flitting between dancing and a desperate against-the-clock rush. In You Won't Be Alone, the shapeshifting Wolf-Eateress who chose an infant to be her protege was played by Anamaria Marinca, the Romanian actor who has proven an unforgettable screen presence ever since the one-two punch of 2004's TV two-parter Sex Traffic — which won her a Best Actress BAFTA — and 2007's Cannes Palme d'Or-winning film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Stolevski reenlists her assistance for Housekeeping for Beginners, and also illustrates his awareness of another immutable fact: that the eyes of Anamaria Marinca relay tales all by themselves. Here, they're weary but sharp and determined. They're devoted yet fierce, too. They possess the unrelenting gaze of someone who won't stop fighting for those she loves no matter what it takes, and regardless of how she initially reacts, a path that her social-worker character Dita is no stranger to traversing. Housekeeping for Beginners streams via YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Move over New York — it's time for New South Wales to be overrun by a simian civilisation. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes doesn't swap the Statue of Liberty for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Rather, it was just made in Australia; this franchise is long past needing to anchor itself in a specific location, but America's west coast is the in-narrative setting. No it-was-earth-all-along twists are necessary, either, as France's famous gift to the US signalled back in 1968 when Pierre Boulle's novel La Planète des singes initially made it to the screen. More than half a century later — plus four sequels to the OG Planet of the Apes, both live-action and animated TV shows, Tim Burton's (Wednesday) remake and the reboot flicks that started with 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes — the saga's basics are widely known in pop culture. The titular planet is humanity's own. In this vision of the future, a different kind of primate runs the show. Since day one, every Planet of the Apes tale has been a mirror. Gazing into the science-fiction series means seeing the power structures and societal struggles of our reality staring back — discrimination, authoritarianism and even the impact of a world-ravaging virus should ring a bell— but with humans no longer atop the pecking order. These are allegorical stories and, at their best, thoughtful ones, probing the responsibilities of being the planet's dominant force and the ramifications of taking that mantle for granted. Not every instalment has handled the task as well as it should've, but those that do leave a paw print. Coming after not just Rise of the Planet of the Apes but also 2014's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes from The Maze Runner, The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and The Maze Runner: Death Cure director Wes Ball falls into that category. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. La Chimera It's a film about searching for treasure, and it is indeed a treasure. La Chimera is also dreamy in its look and, while watching, makes its viewers feel as if they've been whisked into one. There's much that fantasies are made of in writer/director Alice Rohrwacher's fourth feature, which follows Corpo Celeste, The Wonders and Happy as Lazzaro — God's Own Country breakout and The Crown star Josh O'Connor leading the picture as a British archaeologist raiding tombs in 80s-era Italy chief among them. Thinking about Lara Croft, be it the game, or the Angelina Jolie (in 2001 and 2003 flicks)- or Alicia Vikander (2018's Tomb Raider)-led movies, is poking into the wrong patch of soil. Thinking instead about the way that life is built upon the dead again and again, and upon unearthed secrets as well, is part of what makes La Chimera gleam. Rohrwacher's latest, which also boasts her Happy as Lazzaro collaborator Carmela Covino as a collaborating writer — plus Marco Pettenello (Io vivo altrove!) — resembles an illusion not just because it's a rare mix of both magical-realist and neorealist in one, too (well, rare for most who aren't this director). In addition, this blend of romance and drama alongside tragedy and comedy sports its mirage-esque vibe thanks to being so welcomely easy to get lost in. As a snapshot of a tombaroli gang in Tuscany that pilfers from Etruscan crypts to try to get by, it's a feature to dig into. As an example of how poetic a film can be, it's one to soar with. The loose red thread that weaves throughout La Chimera's frames, intriguing folks within the movie, also embodies how viewers should react: we want to chase it and hold on forever, even as we know that, as the feature's 130 minutes tick by, the picture is destined to slip through our fingers. La Chimera streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. IF Imaginary friends should be seen, but people trying to survive an alien invasion should not be heard. So goes John Krasinski's recent flicks as a filmmaker. While IF, The Office star's fifth feature behind the lens, has nothing to do with 2018 horror hit A Quiet Place or its 2020 sequel A Quiet Place Part II, the three movies share a focus on the senses and their importance in forming bonds. When Krasinski's two post-apocalyptic hits forced humanity into silence for survival, they contemplated what it meant to be perceived — or not — as a basic element of human connection amid the bumps, jumps and tale of a family attempting to endure. With IF, the writer/director also ponders existence and absence. It skews younger, though, and also more whimsical, for a family-friendly story about a girl assisting made-up mates that are yearning Toy Story-style to have flesh-and-blood pals again. The horror genre still lingers over IF, however. It doesn't haunt in tone, because this isn't 2024's fellow release Imaginary; rather, it's a sentimental fantasy-adventure film, enthusiastically so. But from the moment that the movie's narrative introduces its IFs, as the picture dubs imaginary friends, it's easy to spot Krasinski's inspiration. In New York staying with her grandmother Margaret (Fiona Shaw, True Detective: Night Country) while her dad (Krasinski, Jack Ryan) is having heart surgery, 12-year-old Bea (Cailey Fleming, The Walking Dead) starts seeing pretend creatures. Aided by Cal (Ryan Reynolds, Ghosted), who lives upstairs from Bea's nan, she then has a task: reuniting critters such as Blue (Steve Carell, Asteroid City), the purple-hued furry monster that, alongside Minnie Mouse-meets-butterfly Blossom (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), is one of the first IFs that she spots, with the now-adults that conjured them up as children. IF streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Looking for more viewing options? Take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows — and fast-tracked highlights from January, February, March, April, May and June 2024 (and also January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December 2023, too). We keep a running list of must-stream TV from across 2024 as well, complete with full reviews. And, we've also rounded up 2024's 15 best films, 15 best new TV shows and 15 best returning TV shows from the first half of the year. Also, here's 2023's 15 best films, 15 best straight-to-streaming movies, 15 top flicks hardly anyone saw, 30 other films to catch up with, 15 best new TV series of 2023, another 15 excellent new TV shows that you might've missed and 15 best returning shows as well.
For most people, waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee is one of life's simple pleasures. Soon, waking up in bedding made from coffee grounds might be as well. Forget using caffeinated leftovers in the garden or around the house — Australian outfit Ettitude wants to reuse the parts that don't make it into your cuppa, infusing them into their new sheets range. It seems that they're not the only ones keen on the idea, with their Kickstarter campaign fully funded, and the first sheets due to ship in November. Their range includes the whole bedding kit and caboodle — aka flat and fitted sheets, quilt covers and pillow cases — in double, queen and king sizes, as available in a range of packs of combinations. And while they don't actually smell like everyone's favourite hot beverage, they do supposedly reap plenty of rewards. So, how does it work? The company's bamboo coffee bedding collection uses coffee yarns sourced from S.Cafe, who repurpose coffee grounds from cafes around the world, blend them with a polymer made from recycled plastic drink bottles, and turn the mix into fabric. At Ettitude, the yarns are then woven through their own sustainable bamboo lyocell textiles, ready to bring some coffee goodness to bedrooms everywhere. It's not just the environmentally friendly aspect of their new creation that Ettitude is getting all frothed up about, either; their sheets apparently offer a range of other benefits. It's unsurprising that material made out of something as heavy-scented as coffee grounds can block out other odours, but it can also wick away moisture faster, ensuring that bedding stays fresher for longer. Ettitude also state that hypoallergenic, thermoregulating bamboo-based linen doesn't irritate hair and skin as much as other fabrics, helping you wake up feeling refreshed — before you even roll out of bed and grab a coffee. For more information about Ettitude's bamboo coffee sheets, head to their Kickstarter campaign.
Is there anything that Bill Hader can't do? While watching Barry's third season, that question just won't subside. The deservedly award-winning HBO hitman comedy has been phenomenal since 2018, when it first premiered. When it nabbed Hader an Emmy for his on-screen efforts in 2019, it had already proven one of the best showcases of the ex-Saturday Night Live performer's talents so far, too — yes, even beyond SNL. But season three of Barry three slides into another stratosphere: it's that blisteringly clever, deeply layered, piercingly moving and terrifically acted. It's also that exceptionally well-balanced as a crime comedy and an antihero drama, that scorchingly staged during its tense and thrilling action scenes, and that willing to question everything that the show and its eponymous character are. Hader has always lit up whichever screen he's graced, big or small — be it during his eight-year SNL stint, including as New York City correspondent Stefon, or in early supporting movie parts in Hot Rod and Adventureland. In 2014's The Skeleton Twins, opposite fellow ex-SNL cast member Kristen Wiig, he'd never been better to that point. But Barry is a tour de force both in front of and behind the lens, and a show expertly steeped in the kind of deep-seated melancholy that Hader can so effortlessly exude even when he's overtly playing for laughs. He doesn't just star, but writes and frequently directs. He co-created the series with Alec Berg (Silicon Valley), and he'll also helm every episode of its in-the-works fourth season. And, every choice he makes with Barry — every choice the show has made, in fact — is astounding. Freshly wrapped up on Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand — and so now available to stream in full — Barry's third season is propulsive. It knows its premise: a contract killer does a job in Los Angeles, catches the acting bug and decides to change his life. It also knows that it has to keep unpacking that concept. And, it's well-aware that there are repercussions for everything we do in life, especially for someone who has spent their days murdering others for money, even if they're extremely relatable and likeable. There has long been an air of The Sopranos to Barry, and of Mad Men as well, both of which seep through season three. It's both a portrait of someone who does despicable things, and a dive behind the gloss of an industry that sells a dream: an ex-soldier turned assassin-for-hire rather than a mob boss, and entertainment instead of advertising. Three seasons in, Barry Berkman (Bill Hader, Noelle) still wants to be an actor — and to also no longer kill people for a living — when this new batch of episodes begins. That's what he's yearned for across the bulk of the show so far; however, segueing from being a hitman to treading the boards or standing in front of the camera has been unsurprisingly complicated. Making matters thornier are the many ways that his past actions, as an assassin and just as Barry himself, have caused inescapable ripples. Season three focuses on history biting back again and again, including the investigation into murdered police detective Janice Moss (Paula Newsome, Spider-Man: No Way Home), the fallout with Barry's beloved acting teacher Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler, The French Dispatch), his relationship with fellow actor Sally Reed (Sarah Goldberg, The Night House) after she gets her own show — plus the dramas that causes for Sally — and the vengeance sought by his ex-handler Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root, The Tragedy of Macbeth). Chaos ensues, emotional and physical alike, because Barry has always been determined to weather all the mess, darkness, rough edges and heart-wrenching consequences of its central figure's actions. That's true of his deeds not only in the past, but in the show's present, and it's one of the series' smartest and most probing elements. Hader and Berg know that viewers like Barry. You're meant to. That's what the first season so deftly established, and the second so cannily built upon. But that doesn't mean ignoring that he's a hitman, or that his time murdering people — and his military career before that — has ramifications, including for those around him. Indeed, season three also spies the reverberations for Gene, Sally and Fuches not just due to Barry, but thanks to their own shortcomings and questionable decisions as they keep mounting. It's no wonder that Barry is one of the most complex comedies currently airing, and that its third season is as intricate, thorny, textured and hilarious as the first two to begin with — and even more so as each new episode gives way to the next. That's no small feat, but it's an even bigger achievement given that it's ridiculously easy to see how cartoonish Barry would be in far lesser hands. (Or, how it might've leaned into a lazy odd-couple setup with Hader as the titular figure and Bill & Ted Face the Music's delightful Anthony Carrigan as Chechen gangster Noho Hank). But Barry keeps digging into what makes its namesake tick, why, and the effects he causes. It sinks in so deeply that this, not chasing an acting dream, is what the relentlessly gripping show is truly about. And, it follows the same course across its entire main quintet. In reality, perfect and flawed aren't binary options for any single person, and this sublime piece of TV art mirrors life devastatingly well. With visual precision on par with Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, two of the most stylishly and savvily-shot shows ever made — two series where every single frame tells a tale without saying a word, and no aesthetic choice makes the expected move — Barry's third season is also spectacular to look at. It ends with an image that as simple as it is truly haunting, after a climactic finale episode that also features an intense showdown set against a purposefully stark backdrop, plus an action scene handled with more finesse and flair than most big-screen releases. As a dramatic motorcycle chase and vivid raid earlier in the season also illustrate, Barry is as devoted to staging dynamite action scenes as it is at plunging deep into its characters. And, as every intelligently penned and outstandingly performed episode just keeps proving, too, this masterful show is downright stellar at that. Barry's third season also remains immensely funny, and also savagely unsettling. Yes, it and Hader can do it all. The third season of Barry — and the first and second seasons as well — is streaming in full via Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. Images: Merrick Morton/ HBO.
Good news, sleepyheads: the Tour de France is about to touch down on the streets of France (and late night SBS), and we have the perfect place to huddle up and watch it. Presented by the legends from The Shadow Electric, Domestique is a pop-up bar now in its fourth annual form, dedicated to all things Le Tour. This year the pop-up takes over Mighty Boy on Gertrude Street, with a live-feed of the all important Alps stage (July 23-26), plus music, drinks, food and, most importantly of all, heating. Hide away from the winter chill, dose yourself up with beer and bar snacks, and start mingling with all the other deranged humans staying up late for sport. Domestique will be open 5pm till late from July 23-26, and will also host an opening night party of July 18. Head to their Facebook page for more details.
Woodford Folk Festival is a veritable smorgasbord of all things music, performance, creativity and so much more, with this year's lineup boasting over 400 events and 2000 performers over six days that straddle this year and the next. With artists making the trek to the small town of Woodford from all over the world, the festival presents the best that Australia and the world have to offer in the broad category of folk. The town of Woodford, about 70km north of Brisbane, boasts a population of just over two and a half thousand people, so rather than blow that number out of the water for a few days every year, the festival is held about five minutes out of Woodford, on the 500-acre headquarters of Woodfordia, a not-for-profit organisation that produces the festival. The region is a quiet, rural area, nestled in some truly beautiful surroundings and not too far from the beaches at Moreton Bay. With that in mind, why not take a detour from your routine, and build an itinerary that includes the festival, as well as a few other side quests that you wouldn't normally set out on. We've teamed up with our pals at Mazda3 to get your ideas going for where to stay, what to eat and what to do while you're in town. [caption id="attachment_642063" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image credit: Woodford Folk Festival via Flickr.[/caption] EAT AND DRINK While at the festival, you'd be mad to not gorge yourself on the slew of food on offer within the festival itself. Far from your classic dagwood dog and can of Fanta combo, the streets of the festival village are filled with the scents of cuisine from all over the world. From Mexican to Indian, German to Vietnamese, you can get your fix for any hankering in the festival's boundaries. There are cafes for the mornings and bars for the evening, so whatever your poison, the Festival of Food's got you covered. For the remainder of your stay, however, it's worth taking a few trips off the beaten track to find somewhere more unique to eat and, with rugged mountains providing the stunning backdrop to the areas surrounding Woodford, there's no harm in chasing a good view to wash it down with. Perched atop Mount Mee and enjoying views that range from farms to beaches, Birches Restaurant serves classic bistro food with an emphasis on seafood, a trait not uncommon throughout the region. A little further south, in Ocean View, you'll also find Ocean View Estates, a local winery with a cellar door and restaurant thrown in for good measure. As well as a menu drawing influence from Japan and French cuisines, the winery also added craft beer to their acumen only last year, so it's a just chance to check out the local brews, too. Given that Woodford and its neighbours ride the boundary line between inland rural and coastal beaches, it's not surprising that the region is home to some excellent country pubs. Not that inner-city-bar-pretending-to-be-a-country-pub sort of pub, but an actual pub in the country where the aesthetic is legitimate. So, if the winery hasn't slaked your thirst, sit yourself down at the nearest local and blow the froth off a couple. The Village Garden Bar & Grill in Woodford Village Hotel, for example, provides exactly what it says on the label, dishing out pub grub and beverages in a lovely beer garden. DO The Woodford Folk Festival is more than just a few bands performing over a few days. It's more like a Mary Poppins bag bursting with workshops, comedy, cabaret, talks and debates, a film festival, art, meditation, dance, circus and a whole manner of sins. As well as live musical acts like Sampa the Great, Husky, Montaigne, Kate Miller-Heidke, John Butler and Rising Appalachia, the full program offers a million ways to explore the festival. Brisbane-based slam poet Anisa Nandaula will be in attendance, discussing her own brand of political lyricism, and executive director of the Climate Foundation Dr Brian von Herzen will be discussing a range of issues — and potential solutions to them — facing marine life. From the Circadia circus workshops to 80s dance workshops, Chenda Melam's traditional music from southern India to Kim Kirman and Brian Martin with the Seraphim Baroque ensemble, there's never a dull moment, drinking in traditional folk culture from around the world. And, if you feel like getting out of the throng and into the calm embrace of Mother Nature, there's even the option of an organised walk to check out the local mushrooms. [caption id="attachment_642064" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] D'aguilar National Park, Troy Bell via Flickr.[/caption] Beyond the festival, it would be a sin to pass up the abundant bushlands and national parks that run through Woodford and the surrounding towns. It's a quick drive from town into the D'Aguilar National Park that runs almost all the way south to Brisbane. In addition to a spot of bushwalking, the park also allows four-wheel driving, trail bike riding, and horse riding. The Somerset Trail, which crawls up Mount Mee, is perfect for pretty much everyone who might be down to see the diverse ecology of the area and is pretty close to Woodford. It's an easy track that takes about three to four hours, so if you've brought kids along for the trip, they'll be able to handle it, no worries. The trail takes you through scribbly gum groves, rainforests and ultimately to a lookout that gives an incredible view over the whole Moreton Bay region. STAY With such a huge swathe of land available for the festival, camping is, of course, the traditional method of experiencing the festival. If you're the kind of person who already owns camping stuff, you can bring that along, and the General Store in town will have most things you might not have. Alternatively, there's the option of the Tent Motel, where you can just rent out a pre-erected tent for the duration of your stay. Shower facilities are available for all campers because even though we're sleeping outside, we don't have to be animals. If, however, you're the kind of person who prefers to sleep in a bed, in a room, in a building, there are still places to rest your weary head around the area. The nearby town of D'Aguilar is home to the freshly renovated Dag Pub and Motel, for example, with reasonably priced rooms and a bar and bistro with solid eats and a penchant for memorabilia. If you're making the road trip, it's always good for a city kid to dive into some greener scenery, and a trip to the Moreton Bay area is the perfect opportunity to do just that. With so many national parks such a short drive away, perhaps an unwinding couple of nights at Conondale's Eco Retreat might get you a little bit more in touch with nature. But, if you're looking to get even closer to the trees and the mountains, a stay at Glass on Glasshouse might be the ticket, where your accommodation is a cabin made of floor-to-ceiling windows, snug among the rainforest itself. Woodford Folk Festival takes place at Woodfordia from December 27 to January 1. Top image: Woodford Folk Festival via Flickr. Personalise your next adventure via The Playmaker, driven by Mazda3.
Wander down Malvern Road and you'll come across a set of shop windows that are a little bit brighter than most. That's The Fresh Flower Man, aka Ian Sparkes, who, across a long career, has earned a stellar reputation for producing some of the most beautiful bouquets anywhere in the city. Working with a kaleidoscope of native and exotic species, The Fresh Flower Man is on-hand to provide you with some great advice for freshening up your home or planning a special event. The colourful jungle emerging from the green store is tough to miss. Images: Parker Blain.
We're not big fans of food celebration days, but we are big fans of doughnuts. Especially free ones. And this Friday, June 1 — 'International Doughnut Day', if you will — a heap of shops around the city will be giving away thousands of doughnuts to mark the occasion. Whether you like them hollowed and glazed or sugared and stuffed with Nutella, you'll find them — for free. A word of warning: you'll need to get in early. Nothing draws a crowd like free doughnuts. If you miss out, or your sweet tooth still isn't sated, check out one of our favourite Melbourne doughnut shops. OASIS BAKERY, MURRUMBEENA The legendary Oasis Bakery is getting into the spirit by giving away a hefty 10,000 free doughnuts. Fans can choose from the bakery's two most popular cult creations — the classic jam-filled version, or one stuffed with a hit of Nutella. They're up for grabs from 8am through 9pm. What? 10,000 doughnuts from 8am DANDEE DONUTS, DANDENONG MARKET The colourful Dandee Donuts truck has got around town plenty in the past five decades, though, these days, it's best recognised as a mainstay of the Dandenong Markets, slinging hot, jammy, sugared doughnuts to the masses four days a week. These guys are preparing for a huge International Doughnut Day, with two trucks on site to keep up with demand. Visit either window between 8am and 4pm this Friday, to score one free classic doughnut per person. What? Free doughnuts from 8am until sold out [caption id="attachment_670537" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Credit: Simon Shiff [/caption] PONTOON, ST KILDA If you like the sound of a free warm doughnut, matched to some spiffy bay views, put St Kilda hotspot Pontoon on your radar for this Friday. The beachside bar and eatery is celebrating this international food day by handing out hundreds of its signature sugared doughnuts, from midday until they're all gone. These little beauties have been going gangbusters since hitting the menu this autumn, so don't dally. What? Free doughnuts from midday until sold out GOLDELUCK'S, EASTLAND SHOPPING CENTRE Croydon South bakery Goldeluck's has earned itself quite the reputation for its artisanal pastry creations, from clever riffs on the classic doughnut, to the doughnut-croissant hybrid it has dubbed the 'dossant'. And a whole lot of each variety will be walking out the door of Goldeluck's new Eastland store for free this Friday. From 9am, the first 50 customers to purchase a coffee will score a free doughnut to match. Then, there's another swag of free doughnuts going to the first 100 customers from 6.30pm, with the first person in line gifted a nine-pack of doughnuts and the following five punters walking away with a four-pack. To claim yours, you'll need to RSVP to Goldeluck's Facebook event and share it to your own page. What? 50 free doughnuts (with coffee purchase) from 9am, 100 from 6.30pm KRISPY KREME, VARIOUS STORES Melbourne has no shortage of artisan doughnut makers, but if you're in the mood for something a little more mainstream, you'll be chuffed to know that the folks at Krispy Kreme are also jumping on the International Doughnut Day bandwagon. On June 1, the group is set to give away a huge 50,000 original glazed doughnuts across its dedicated stores in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria. There's a limit of one per person — best check your local store's opening hours so you can be one of the first in line. What? 50,000 doughnuts nationally, visit your local store SHORTSTOP COFFEE & DONUTS, MELBOURNE Raised, filled, cake or cruller, Shortstop explores the boundaries of doughnut experimentation, spanning the entire flavour spectrum and borrowing a few international influences along the way. And this Friday it's jumping on the doughnut-day bandwagon and is giving away 700 free doughnuts to sweet-toothed punters. One classic cinnamon cake doughnut will be given away with every transaction, from 7.30am till they sell out. What? 700 free doughnuts (with purchase) from 7.30am HONOURABLE MENTION: COP SHOP ESPRESSO, HAWTHORN Hawthorn's Cop Shop Espresso might not be giving out any free doughnuts this International Doughnut Day, though it does have a pretty tidy deal for anyone looking to mark the occasion in style. Head in from 7am on June 1, purchase any house-made doughnut and they'll swing you a small, standard coffee, on the house. Recent doughnut hits include salted caramel, peanut butter and jelly, and a passionfruit-filled, pink-glazed number. What? Free coffee with doughnut purchase from 7am–5pm
Entertaining takes a particular skill. Managing all the moving pieces for an evolving group of people, catering to all tastes and keeping everything running smoothly can be difficult even for hardcore party people. If you get it right, you've pulled together a great evening for your guests. Get it wrong, and it can be messy. You might screw up a key ingredient in dessert, three people might turn up with potato salad or you could forget that one friend who is going veg-o this month. We're not all made for it, and that's okay. What if we told you there's a way to have that winning success and have most of the work done for you? That's where Woodford Reserve comes in. This bourbon has been making waves and memories the world over since 1996. Now it's ready to bring the gold entertaining standard to your home on a mission to revolutionise the at-home cocktail party. We've teamed up with Woodford Reserve to offer one lucky winner the Woodford Reserve Whiskey Wagon, a complete evening of high-end whiskey tasting at home, paid for and stocked by Woodford Reserve. The prize includes a four-hour session for up to 40 people, with two professional bartenders preparing and pouring classic old fashioned cocktails, bourbon and sodas, lighter summery cocktails plus canapés to match, as long as the wagon can be parked on private property, you're eligible to win. Ten lucky runner-ups will receive a bottle of Woodford Reserve and a premium cocktail kit to craft the drink however they like. To enter this luxurious giveaway, all you need to do is fill out the form below before Monday, November 6. [competition]916881[/competition]
There might be an abundance of vegetarian restaurants up on Brunswick Street, but Madame K's is one of the best (and there's another branch in Williamstown for westsiders). With a menu that isn't to be trifled with, you'll have to go in accepting that you'll be beat before you even start — you simply can't try everything in one visit. All the Southeast Asian favourites make an appearance — from laksa and pad thai to massaman curry and steamed wontons. But there's a key difference between these dishes and any neighbourhood Asian restaurant — every dish is vegetarian. Madame K's uses vegetables, tempeh and wheat protein to create the 'meats' for its dishes — including BBQ duck and slow-cooked lamb. For dessert, you can tuck into roti with banana filling and homemade berry sauce, coconut mousse or black sticky rice. Madame K's Vegetarian offers BYO wine and beer. Images: Tracey Ah-kee
