Hotel dining all over Australia is having a renaissance. Top chefs are being brought in to shake up less-than-inspirational menus. And architects are creating spaces with their own unique identities, separate from the accommodation. Hotel owners are finally seeing the power that comes with turning these restaurants into proper destinations — not just doing the bare minimum to get hotel guests to book a table. One of the latest hotels to really invest in its new restaurant is Hotel Vera out in Ballarat. At the end of January 2024, the team launched Babae with Culinary Director Tim Foster (The Gold Mines Hotel and ex-Source Dining) at the helm. This 26-seat fine-diner has no à la carte offerings, instead plating up a seven-course degustation for dinner and a shorter four-course spread for lunch. For a long time, Foster has worked with farmers, breeders, and providores in and around the Goldfields region, so plenty of hyper-local produce will find its way to the plate and into your wine glass. Produce grown in the hotel's own garden will also feature when possible. Cuisine-wise, it's best described as contemporary Australian, but it mostly has European influences. Dishes change frequently, depending on what's in season, but you can expect to find a selection of snacks to start, followed by a bunch of larger dishes and two desserts when heading in for dinner. Wines are, unsurprisingly, a mostly Victorian affair, with a few sweet Italians also up for grabs in the suggested wine pairings. You won't have a stack of choices when dining at Babae, but with Foster running the show, there's no need to worry. His previous restaurant, Source Dining, was hatted for nine years in a row, and Babae might follow suit. Find Babae at 710 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, open for lunch from 12–4pm Saturday–Sunday and dinner from 6–11pm Thursday–Saturday. For more details and to book a seat, head to the venue's website. Images: Emma Duzhnikov
There's no way around it — these pleasant sunny days are waning fast. All the bright autumn colours will soon fade to grey, the breeze will turn to a gale and we'll be swapping cardigans for parkas. If, like us, you're keen on soaking up every last bit of this season, you'd better get going. In partnership with award-winning bourbon brand American Honey, we're bringing you the top five ways to savour the last days of autumn before winter officially arrives in Melbourne. Think rooftop igloo gardens, brunches, backyard barbecues, houseboat stays and art galleries aplenty. ESCAPE TO A ROOFTOP IGLOO Making the adjustment back to indoor dining after a summer spent leisurely feasting outdoors can be a tough one. That's why The Auburn Hotel in Hawthorn East is bringing back its rooftop igloos for a second year. Kicking off in autumn despite its name, the Winter Igloo Garden lets Melburnians enjoy the rooftop while escaping the cold and embracing a chilly weather theme all at once. This year, the space will be home to five igloos for small groups and one jumbo igloo that'll fit up to 30 of your nearest and dearest. Inside, expect tonnes of lush greenery, as well as a specially curated menu of food and drinks. To kick things off, American Honey-themed cocktails like the hot toddy will keep you warm, made with bourbon, lemon, honey and hot water — or there's also the old fashioned with a honeycomb twist. All of the honey is sourced from the Melbourne Rooftop Honey sustainable beehives. Food-wise, there's a menu for small or large groups starting at $49 per person. Think salt and pepper calamari and charcuterie boards for starters, 18-hour braised lamb shoulder for the main, and chocolate fondue with strawberries, marshmallows and honey popcorn for dessert. Prices include an American Honey cocktail on arrival as well. The Winter Igloo Garden will be open for a limited time from May through August, with bookings available online. INDULGE IN BRUNCH Fitzroy's The Provincial is throwing its own rooftop breakfast feast. The Let's Do Brunch Honey will see the space transformed into a lush garden — and sustainably fitted with recycled timber, scrap metal, salvaged glass and beehives. Thanks to a farm-to-table menu featuring all locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients, attendees can expect an American-style brunch with beer, wine and featured cocktails, plus a stacked share menu. Get ready to tuck into winter fruit platters, honey-smoked chicken wings, waffles topped with barrel-aged honey and honey-whisky cheesecake. Cocktails caught your eye? The list is curated by American Honey and features a garnish wall for pick-your-own trimmings. Cocktails on offer include the old fashioned (smoked bacon-washed American Honey, peach liquor and fresh apple juice) and the Honey John Collins (American Honey, Creme de Cassis, lime and ginger ale). Grab your friends and enjoy a cocktail pitcher or two — the drinks won't stop from 11am–1pm. The Let's Do Brunch Honey is available from May through August. To book, head online. GATHER YOUR MATES FOR A BACKYARD BARBECUE There's no better way to enjoy these last drops of sun than a classic backyard barbie with your best mates. Grab the snags, obviously, and farewell the last of the good weather by trying your hand at creating a few crowd-pleasing cocktail jugs to pair with your grilled feast. Reminiscent of those summer days is the honey and kombucha iced tea, a concoction of American Honey bourbon, Triple Sec, lemon and kombucha. And if you don't have a backyard, don't worry — this cocktail will taste just as good on a balcony or in the park. GO ON AN EPIC ART GALLERY HOP While the weather permits, try your hand at a DIY exhibition tour around the city. With so many display spaces in and around the Melbourne CBD, we recommend getting a group together and embarking on one epic art gallery hop — the Immigration Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art are all within walking distance and, for the really ambitious, could all be hit in one day. First up, explore the Immigration Museum's new exhibition of tattoos, Our Bodies, Our Voices, Our Marks. Then, at the NGV this autumn, there's a massive exhibition by lauded American sculptor Alexander Calder. As for the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, it's offering a large-scale display of drawings and sculptures by internationally renowned Melbourne-born artist Tom Nicholson. [caption id="attachment_660939" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria[/caption] SPEND THE NIGHT ON A MURRAY RIVER HOUSEBOAT One of the best ways to immerse yourself in the vibrant colours of autumn (while you still can) is to head toward the Murray River, which is just two-and-a-half hours north of Melbourne. The season turns the natural surroundings vibrant red, orange and golden hues — which'll catch your eye and make for quite the gorgeous happy snaps. Cruising the pristine river doesn't have to be a day activity, either, especially if you skip the Airbnb and book your accommodation on a houseboat. The region specialises in houseboat stays, with options ranging from budget-friendly to high-end. For the latter, try the luxury two-deck Magic Murray Houseboats, featuring two fully-equipped kitchens, luxe linens, a sun deck and a heated spa to boot. For a more wallet-conscious option, check out Mildura Houseboats. Some houseboats also offer adventure packages, including kayaking and fishing, along with exploration of local wineries and villages along the river.
No longer just the realms of year three excursions where your mum came as chaperone, Melbourne Zoo Twilights — the after-hours live music series that boasts perhaps one of the best summer nights out, as well as lots of adorable animals — has proven it's got some real cred when it comes to hosting outdoor gigs in the past few years. After all, the event has hosted headliners such as Kurt Vile, Cat Power and Ben Folds over the last few years. And this summer the event will return with a series of live sets every weekend from Friday, January 24 through Saturday, March 7. Last month, Zoo Twilights announced famed LA composer and singer Randy Newman — who has won two Academy awards and seven Grammys, and is behind songs in nine Disney and Pixar films — as one of its headline acts. And, now, it's just dropped the full 2020 lineup. Aussie pop royalty Missy Higgins, Twilight regulars The Cat Empire, seminal Jamaican reggae group Toots and The Maytals, Perth noir-pop band Methyl Ethel and dance floor starters Confidence Man will all taking the stage this season. A few big throwbacks are also on this year's program, including the pub-rock legends behind 'Great Southern Land' and 'Electric Blue' Icehouse, 70s English band 10cc — if you don't know the name, you'll definitely know their hit 'I'm Not in Love' — and US gospel queen and 99 Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Mavis Staples. UK-French avant-pop band Stereolab has also reunited after a ten-year break and will be treating to the crowd to its first live performance in a decade. Bringing your own picnic is encouraged, but there'll also be handy gourmet hampers available on-site, as well as a slew of food trucks to choose nosh from. Either way, it's one of the best dates in Melbourne. Plus, all proceeds from Zoo Twilights go back into Zoo Victoria's ongoing conservation work to help fight the extinction of the Mountain Pygmy possum. MELBOURNE ZOO TWILIGHTS 2020 PROGRAM Friday, January 24 — Confidence Man, supported by Wax'o Paradiso Saturday, January 25 — Icehouse, with special guests Friday, January 31 — Toots and The Maytals, supported by Systa BB Saturday, February 1 — An Evening with Randy Newman Friday, February 7 — Missy Higgins, supported by William Crighton Friday, February 14 — The Cat Empire, supported by Emily Wurramara Friday, February 21 — 10cc, supported by Russell Morris Saturday, February 22 — Methyl Ethel, supported by Hatchie Friday, February 28 — Julia Jacklin, supported by Weyes Blood Saturday, February 29 — Meg Mac, supported by Fergus James Friday, March 6 — Stereolab, supported by Mildlife Saturday, March 7 — Mavis Staples, supported by Emma Donovan and The Putbacks Melbourne Zoo Twilights will return to Melbourne Zoo from January 24 until March 7. Tickets go on sale at 8am on Tuesday, October 22 at zootwilights.org.au. Image: Ian Laidlaw.
Back in 2018, Australia scored the kind of festival we were always bound to, and to love: The Drop, a music fest that sets up its song-filled stages beside the country's iconic surfing spots. And if that still sounds like your idea of quite the big — and sandy — day out, you'd best get ready to surf the festival wave again, with the event returning in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, The Drop will stage a two-date run in New South Wales, hitting up Bondi Beach and Coffs Harbour in October. This marks the first time that the fest has made its way to Bondi, so expect it to be huge. On the bill at both 2022 shows: Tones and I, Matt Corby and Dune Rats, as well as Cub Sport, Gretta Ray, Shag Rock, TOWNS and Hallie. They'll head to Sydney's most famous beach on Saturday, October 15, then back it up the following week, on Saturday, October 22, at Park Beach Reserve in Coffs Harbour. [caption id="attachment_753215" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Walk Wild Studio[/caption] Fans in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, where The Drop has played before, will need to wait until next year to get their sun, surf, sand and song fix. The 2023 lineup hasn't been revealed, but dates have announced. Whether the event will do what it usually does and follow the Aussie leg of the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour hasn't been confirmed yet either, but fingers crossed. Stops are locked in for Coolangatta, Torquay and Busselton, though, plus a return to NSW thanks to the Newcastle show. And pairing music not only with sandy settings, but with surfing contests, has always been a big part of The Drop. If you have tickets to previous The Drop fest that didn't go ahead due to the pandemic, you now have a few options — to either roll them over to the new festivals in each location (where they're returning), switch to Bondi or Coffs Harbour instead, or obtain a refund. [caption id="attachment_753214" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Ian Laidlaw[/caption] THE DROP FESTIVAL 2022 DATES Saturday, October 15 — Bondi Beach, Bondi, New South Wales Saturday, October 22 — Park Beach Reserve, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales THE DROP FESTIVAL 2022 LINEUP Tones And I Matt Corby Dune Rats Cub Sport Gretta Ray Shag Rock TOWNS Hallie THE DROP FESTIVAL 2023 DATES Saturday, January 21_Sunday, January 22 — Queen Elizabeth Park, Coolangatta, Queensland Tuesday, March 28 — Empire Park, Newcastle, New South Wales Saturday, April 8 — Torquay Common, Torquay, Victoria Saturday, April 15 — TBC, Busselton, Western Australia Saturday, May 13 — Queen Elizabeth Park, Coolangatta, Queensland The Drop will return for two 2022 festivals in New South Wales in October. Ticket pre-sales start at 9am on Tuesday, August 9, with general sales from 9am on Wednesday, August 10. For more information, visit the festival's website. The Drop's 2023 lineup will be announced closer to its 2023 dates — we'll update you when details come to hand. Images: Ian Laidlaw / Miranda Stokkel.
Some kinds of movie magic never get old, and Studio Ghibli's films are exactly that type. Understandably, a whole heap of Melbourne cinemas, indoors and out, have agreed with that idea over the years — and the Japanese animation house's flicks are rarely far from a screen around the Victorian capital. Your latest chance to catch one of the studio's delights comes courtesy of Federation Square, as part of its all-ages programming over the Easter school holidays. From Monday, April 14–Thursday, April 17, 2025, Studio Ghibli's gorgeous features will grace the location's big screen. Yes, you should make like a moving castle to see Howl's Moving Castle. And yes, you'll be palling around with My Neighbour Totoro, too. Other highlights include Spirited Away, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Pom Poko, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, The Cat Returns and Whisper of the Heart. Two films are playing daily, with the doubles running back to back from 2pm — and heading along is free. If you've missed these pictures in their limited cinema runs or fest appearances in the past, consider this your chance to catch up. Sure, you might've seen everything that Studio Ghibli has made before, but these movies really are something extra special when they're flickering across the silver screen. At Fed Square, you can either sit in deckchairs or BYO camping seat or picnic rug. For choc tops, popcorn and drinks, there's a snack bar near ACMI's entrance. And yes, this does sound like the perfect excuse — magical even — to finish work early.
Melbournians love to get a little fancy in January. Despite the monumental heat, we don our tennis whites, pack inside scorching stadiums and fan ourselves while sipping bubbly. But, if you're feeling a little worn out from the Australian Open, we have an alternative that has all the class without the apocalyptic heat. Trade in your rackets for some croquet clubs, get some fresh air down by the Yarra, and cool off with some icy, icy Pimms. The Royal Croquet Club is coming to town. Fresh from its debut run in Adelaide earlier this year, the Royal Croquet Club is a pop-up summer haven of food, drinks, music and croquet. Set up in the city during the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the club was an absolute hit for those after a summer tipple, now it's Melbourne's turn. The venue will be set up in the grasslands of Birrarung Marr for 17 days in January 2015. Though details are pretty scarce at the moment, we know that there will be a rather impressive group of foodie favourites on board. "The Adelaide Royal Croquet Club didn’t have a serious focus on food but with Melbourne being such a food town, we felt it was crucial to get this aspect right," event organiser Grant Smillie told Broadsheet. But it's not just the food, you'll be coming for. This urban oasis will have fully-stocked bars — specialising in jugs of Pimms, of course — functioning croquet courts and musical acts on stage. Those at the Adelaide event were even treated to a show from Remi. "Everything has got to be considered across the board so we can meet Melbourne's lofty expectations and exceed them," said Smillie. "There are so many festivals now, you want a full experience. We feel this one will be pretty organic and special." Special is certainly the right word to describe it. The Royal Croquet Club seems to have everything we want in a summer hangout spot: games, sun, shade, music, and cocktails that won't stop flowing. For those feeling a little lost outside the scorching heat of Rod Laver Arena, they'll even have the tennis on big outdoor screens. Sorted. Via Broadsheet. Photos via Royal Croquet Club.
To ring in the year of the ox, dumpling master Din Tai Fung created cute masked ox buns, continuing its annual tradition of welcoming the Lunar New Year with an adorable addition to its menu (see also: its monkey buns from 2016 and pig bao from 2019). But creative dishes aren't just a once-a-year thing here. Now that Easter is almost upon us, the chain is serving up something else to tempt your tastebuds: hot cross bao. Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like — and the bao is only available for a limited time. On the outside, each one looks like a hot cross bun, but they're made with steamed bread. And, you won't find any raisins inside. Instead, they're filled with molten chocolate. The hot cross bao is available at all Din Tai Fung restaurants and food court outlets in Sydney, so you'll want to hit up its World Square, Westfield Chatswood, Westfield Miranda, Westfield Sydney, Broadway Shopping Centre, Gateway Sydney, The Star, Greenwood Plaza and MLC Centre venues. In Melbourne, you have one spot to head to, with the bao on offer at Emporium Melbourne. If you'd rather have them brought to your door, they're also available for delivery in frozen form. If you'd like to stock your freezer and enjoy them once Easter passes, that's an option as well. The only problem we can foresee with this latest hybrid dish? Wanting to devour as many as possible. They'll cost you $5.80 for two in-store, and $8 for three in frozen packs. Hot cross bun bao are available for $5.80 for two at all Din Tai Fung stores. They're also available for delivery, for $8 — plus a $10–20 delivery fee.
Another day, another must-try food hybrid. That's the lamington vodka, Iced Vovo cruffin and lasagne pie-filled world we now live in. The latest such combo comes courtesy of two homegrown brands that likely had a hefty part in your childhood sugar highs: lolly company Allen's and soft drink purveyors Kirks. You can do the math from there — yes, Allen's is releasing a range of confectionery inspired by Kirks' classic drink flavours. The brand's Pasito, creaming soda and lemonade varieties are getting the lolly treatment, all via little bottle-shaped gummies, and all in the same pack. Kids birthday parties will never be the same again. Mark mid-August in your diary if you know what you'll be snacking on from now on — for nostalgic reasons, because Pasito and Kirk's creaming soda are still particularly delicious no matter how old you are, or just because these Frankenstein's monster-style culinary mashups always tempt your tastebuds. The lollies will hit major supermarkets and convenience stores, and retail at $3.60 for a 170-gram pack. Clearly, you already know what you need to wash them down with. Also, if you're more of a Kirks' lemon squash or ginger beer fan — or ginger ale in Queensland, or Sno Drop in South Australia — there's no sign of those tipples getting a lolly equivalent just yet. Cross your fingers, though. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kirks Originals (@kirksoriginals) Allen's new Kirks-inspired lollies will hit major supermarkets and convenience stores from mid-August, for RRP $3.60 for a 170-gram pack.
Bottomless brunch is great and all, but how do you feel about a cosy evening settled in with a cheese board and free-flowing wine? That's exactly the situation you can get involved in at The Smith every Thursday night this winter, courtesy of the Prahran pub's new Supper Club series. Book a table from 5pm each week and get ready to snack away those winter blues. For $45, you'll tuck into a three-cheese selection served straight from The Smith's covetable cheese trolley — perhaps some Tarago River Gippsland Blue, a wedge of Maffra cheddar or a French brie by La Monique. You can even upgrade, adding an extra cheese variety for $5, or an additional two cheeses for $10. Of course, the midweek fun doesn't end there — also included in the price is 90 minutes of bottomless Aussie wine, French bubbly and spritzes. The latter's lineup features options like the rosemary-spiked Mr Bianco and a blood orange-infused Sicilian number. You're in for some bloomin' great views, too, with the pub's atrium currently decked out in swathes of purple and white wisteria as part of its new dreamy winter look.
Some like it hot. Other milder folk prefer not to flirt with such danger. But whichever category you fall into, your tastebuds will find plenty to love when the Yarra Valley's Herb and Chilli Festival returns to spice up your weekend. Descending on founders Clive and Di Larkman's Wandin herb farm from Saturday, March 15–Sunday, March 16, the flavour fest is set to once again deliver a fiery mix of food, entertainment and more. A hefty lineup of stallholders will be slinging everything from chilli plants and fresh herbs to flavour-packed pantry goods. Visit the international food court for a ready-to-eat spice hit from the likes of The Smoke Pit, Tornado Spuds and Wun Hung Lo Dumpling Company, and sample feisty booze products like hot chilli wine and Logan's signature Thai Venom Vodka. Easier-drinking sips will be on offer from labels including Hop Hen Brewery, Burnley Brewing, and Morgan's Winery and Distillery. As you can imagine, you'll find a tastebud-tingling array of hot sauce varieties to try and buy on Hot Sauce Alley, while the live cooking stage will play host to both chef demos and a stack of fiery eating competitions. Are you game to try the Stinger Wing Challenge? Reckon you could reign supreme in the famed chilli-scoffing contest? Luckily, you can keep your cool between chillies with a program of live tunes — with the six-piece band Harmaniax taking centre place. There'll even be a Chilli Express bus service carting people to and from Lilydale Station — helping folks drink the day away without worrying about driving or having to get expensive cabs.
Listen up: Listen Out is back for its 11th year and it isn't slouching on the lineup front. The bill for the touring festival boasts 21 Savage, Skepta, Tyla and Flo Milli among its hip hop and R&B names. On the electronic side, John Summit and Sub Focus feature. Yes, the list goes on from there. Fans of 21 Savage, Tyla and Flo Milli — and of Teezo Touchdown, Jessie Reyez and Jazzy, too — should be especially excited. When they each take to Listen Out's stages at Caribbean Gardens in Melbourne on Friday, September 27, they'll be hitting the country for the first time. Among their company, Lil Tjay, Lithe, Folamour, The Blessed Madonna, Cassian and Disco Lines are just some of the fellow acts that'll have festivalgoers dancing. 2023's fest was Listen Out's most successful in terms of ticket sales ever, and the crew behind it are hoping to continue that trajectory. Something that might help: turning the fest into a 16-plus event, age-wise, which is a first for 2024. As the roster of names on the lineup demonstrates, the festival's focus is staying true to its niche, filling its stages on electronic and hip hop artists — both international and local talents, too. Listen Out 2024 Lineup: 21 Savage Skepta Lil Tjay Tyla Flo Milli Jessie Reyez Teezo Touchdown Lithe John Summit Sub Focus Folamour The Blessed Madonna Cassian Disco Lines Jazzy Koven Conducta A Little Sound Ben Gerrans AK Sports Foura B2B Tom Santa Miss Kaninna Djanaba Soju Gang Melbourne only: Yo! Mafia Sixten Kelly T J-OK Top images: Jordan Munns and Sam Venn.
UPDATE: OCTOBER 25, 2019 — Due to popular demand, Hamer Hall has added a fourth Love Actually in Concert show at 6pm on Sunday, December 22. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Monday, October 28 — don't sleep on it. When the end of the year hits, do you get 'Christmas is All Around', as sung by Bill Nighy, stuck in your head? Have you ever held up a piece of cardboard to tell the object of your affection that, to you, they're perfect? Does your idea of getting festive involve watching Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Rowan Atkinson and Martin Freeman, all in the same movie? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you clearly adore everyone's favourite Christmas-themed British rom-com, its high-profile cast and its seasonal humour. And, you've probably watched the beloved flick every December since it was first released in cinemas back in 2003. That's a perfectly acceptable routine, and one that's shared by many. But this year, you can do one better. A huge success during its 2017 and 2018 tours of the UK (to the surprise of absolutely no one), 'Love Actually' in Concert is finally making its way to Australia — and, to the festive delight of Melburnians, to Hamer Hall at 3.30pm and 7.30pm on Sunday, December 15, and at 1pm on Sunday, December 22. Revisit the Richard Curtis-written and -directed film you already know and treasure, step through its interweaved Yuletide stories of romance, and hear a live orchestra play the movie's soundtrack. Tickets are on sale now — and, yes, Christmas (and love) will be all around you.
A giant gumball machine that you can climb inside. An igloo made of doughnuts. An adult-sized ballpit in bubblegum-pink hues. A mini-cinema dedicated to sweet-themed movies. Throw in a free ice cream, sweets and snacks; a dedicated fairy floss room with its own swing; and the ability to jump out of a giant birthday cake — and Melbourne's new pop-up dessert museum sounds like the kind of place Willy Wonka might own. Called Sugar Republic, it's actually a short-term exhibition on Smith Street in Fitzroy, bringing eight weeks of sugary delights to folks with a sweet tooth. Running until August 17, the pop-up features 14 spaces designed to immerse the senses in all things chocolate, confectionery and dessert-oriented. When you're not making yourself a soft serve and showering it in sprinkles, you'll be spinning a wheel o' treats. Other highlights include a sherbet-filled rainbow bridge, a forest of giant bananas, an interactive sprinkles wall, a neon art wall and other dessert-centric art, including a giant Bubble O' Bill sculpture. And it wouldn't be a celebration of all things sweet without a huge lolly store, of course. As for the location, Sugar Republic's site was once the MacRobertson's confectionery factory — aka the brand originally behind the Freddo frog and Cherry Ripe. The last room in the space pays tribute to the company's founder, Sir Macpherson Robertson, adding a dose of history to the sugar rush. Basically, if you missed out on visiting New York's Museum of Ice Cream back in 2016, this is Australia's equivalent. Typically these kind of places are designed to be as photogenic as possible, so expect plenty of pics to clog your Instagram feed. If you're keen to take some of your own, tickets cost $35 for adults, which includes free lollies, treats and ice cream over your 90-minute stay. Find Sugar Republic at 377 Smith Street, Fitzroy until August 17. For more information, visit the museum's website.
Eight years since Netflix arrived Down Under, the streaming era has brought so many different platforms our way that switching between Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and the like is the new changing channels. But, however many different services you subscribe to, and why, only one platform hails from Australia's National Film and Sound Archive: the just-launched NFSA Player. As a bricks-and-mortar celebration of sound and vision, the Canberra-based NFSA fills its walls and halls with the country's screen history, a task that it has embraced since 1935. In fact, when it was first established, it became one of the first audiovisual archives in the world. Almost nine decades later, the institution features more than four million items, including scripts, props, costumes and promotional materials — a range that keeps growing in order to continue maintaining this pivotal record of Aussie creativity. In the online space, NFSA is now sharing its expertise digitally, which is where the on-demand NFSA Player comes in. As part of an aim to make the national audiovisual treasure trove more accessible — and all over Australia, too — viewers will now find everything from feature films and documentaries to TV shows and animation in the streaming platform's catalogue. Getting things started: its very first collection Buwindja. Spanning 17 titles, this debut selection of screen content is timed to celebrate NAIDOC Week, and showcases Indigenous trailblazers in the process. Both as part of the collection and in the future, NFSA Player features free and pay-per-view content — so you can rent Warwick Thornton's Samson & Delilah for $4.99, or opt for a half-hour biographical documentary about Bundjalung author and historian Ruby Langford Ginibi without paying a cent. Other highlights from Buwindja include Mabo, stunning Bangarra dance film Spear, drama series The Gods of Wheat Street and rock n' roll doco Wrong Side of the Road. Also included: more documentaries such as Black Divaz, The Song Keepers, Buried Country and My Survival as an Aboriginal. "Buwindja represents an opportunity for Australians to reflect on the part they play in ensuring that the voice that our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders have fought for in the past and present continues to be heard," said Gillian Moody, a Wodi Wodi woman, filmmaker and the NFSA's Senior Manager, Indigenous Connections. "I curated it with the hope of inspiring audiences to reflect, imagine and act when they listen to and watch these stories." To check out NFSA Player, head to the streaming platform's website.
Six months after a group of ten adorable platypuses were introduced into the Royal National Park, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has reported that the duck-billed buddies are thriving in their new home. The iconic native animal had been extinct from the area for 50 years up until 2023, but now they're back and they're loving it, with nine of the ten platypuses reportedly adapting well to their new environment. As for the tenth, it has travelled beyond the established tracking area, but the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service said: "we are confident the little adventurer is just exploring other creeks". Originally announced back in 2021, the project is the first-ever translocation program for platypuses in New South Wales, coming from collaborative work between NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, UNSW Sydney and WWF-Australia. The ten ultra-cute pioneers were collected from southern NSW before being given health checks and fitted with transmitters at Taronga Zoo's platypus refugee. They were then brought to the national park and shown their new digs, where they've been hanging out ever since. The project was started after a 2020 UNSW study that found that the areas where platypuses live in Australia had shrunk by 22 percent in the last three decades. The group of furry trailblazers will be monitored through 2024, with hopes that they might breed and rear young — a milestone moment for the project if it does occur. If you want to head out and explore this expansive stretch of nature — and possibly catch a sighting of a platypus — there are plenty of walks and stays that you can plan in the Royal National Park. Find out more about the platypus reintroduction project via the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Facebook page.
In 2024, the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival consists of over 400 events. Stacks of these involve international and interstate collaborations, where chefs, bartenders and owners fly over to Melbourne to work with local hospitality venues to create short but unique drinking and dining experiences. One to particularly look forward to is happening at Afloat. Here, teams from two of Sydney's best Mexican restaurants, El Primo Sanchez and Ricos Tacos, are joining forces to throw a huge taco and tequila party on Thursday, March 21. Afloat and its pool deck have already been slinging tacos and agave-based drinks all summer long, right on the Yarra, so this takeover makes sense. [caption id="attachment_938711" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alana Dimou[/caption] Paddington tequila bar El Primo Sanchez is running the bars for the night, where its Bar Manager Eduardo Conde and Maybe Sammy co-founder Stefano Catino will be pumping out a massive range of tequila- and mezcal-based tipples. Expect El Primo's signature drink, the Patrón Primo Margarita — which is made with mescal naranja, agave and lime — plus heaps of other easy-drinking cocktails. For food, Afloat's Executive Chef James Gibson will be joined by Ricos Tacos' Founder and Executive Chef Toby Wilson in the kitchen, serving up six different tacos. Some of Ricos' signature tacos will be up for grabs, as well as a few one-off creations made just for the Taco and Tequila Party at Afloat. What's even better is that the $85 ticket not only includes a welcome cocktail but also gives guests two hours of unlimited tacos. Then, once your time is over, spend the rest of the night dancing to DJ sets on the water, beneath disco balls and fairy lights. Top images: Jake Roden
Gather 'round science nerds and art freaks, for we bring you good news — your Friday nights just got a whole lot cooler thanks to Science Gallery Melbourne and its latest exhibition, Dark Matters. Beginning Friday, September 1, the gallery will host a monthly after-dark science party complete with DJs, musicians, drag stars, dancers, and more. The parties, aptly named Friday Night Socials, will be held on the first Friday of every month, and run until November. So mark your calendars and tag your mates because here's the best part — it's all free. Science, art, live music, and free stuff — what could be better? The first of the bunch will be an interstellar odyssey that invites guests to explore the universe through performance art and live music. Headlining the evening will be a special collaboration between Now or Never festival and Liquid Architecture to present a special performance by Indonesian vocal performer Rully Shabara and collaborators. The evening will also feature live performances from DJ Kalyani, Abby Sundborn, and Bendy Ben. But that's not all, as guests can look forward to additional spectacles including installations from Melbourne Uni students and a special appearance from Dark Matters artists Lawrence Leung, Dom Chambers and Vyom Sharma, who will be showcasing their "Mystery Box" illusionist act. Friday, October 6 will see students from the Victorian College of the Arts take over the gallery with a magical array of sonic and performance interventions. While Friday, November 3 will see Melbourne Science Gallery play host to a special night of music and performance art that invites guests to "traverse through the human soul and outer space to contemplate the sheer scale of the universe and how much of our own lives (floating alone in space on this tiny blue planet) remains a mystery to us". Expect "soaring vocal performances, intergalactic records, abject horror and ethereal sounds" as Science Gallery Melbourne mixes "fear and wonder" to create an existential experience not to be missed. Beats small talk at the pub if you ask us. Each Friday Night Social event will run from 6pm to 9pm. Images: Supplied.
Life became wildly unpredictable and messy for a moment there, but Collingwood's newly opened massage and mindfulness studio might be just what you need to give stress the flick and start the year off strong. In the top levels of a converted Easey Street warehouse, Mary Minas and Freya Berwick have opened the first stage of their wellness hub Sense of Self, with its much-anticipated bathhouse set to launch downstairs in the coming months. The duo is out to flip the script on the usual wellness concept, with an unpretentious offering that's focused on connection, inclusivity and restoration. As Minas says, they're here to "offer a more approachable, no-BS approach to self-care as a practice, rather than a performance". So, put the phone away, get off the 'Gram and give yourself some much-needed attention. Within the new massage and mindfulness studio, this ethos translates to a careful spread of body treatments for relaxation, remediation and pregnancy, backed by a soothing lounge area where naps are not just welcomed, but encouraged. [caption id="attachment_799061" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Oli Sansom[/caption] There's a pared back menu of elevated massage treatments, featuring customisable options for the feet, scalp, arms and body. You can treat your post-iso bod to a mix of Swedish massage, aromatherapy and meditation — this service fittingly dubbed The Hiatus — or maybe a deep remedial massage finished with a dry body brush or foot treatment. Outside of face mask restrictions, you can settle into a stimulating gua sha facial, too. The space itself has been transformed into a haven of calm and tranquility, thanks to abundance of creamy hues, lots of soft textiles and massage rooms decked out in natural timbers. Guests are encouraged to take time out and really relax for as long as they need before and after treatments, emerging back into reality at their own pace. And, while there's a tidy retail selection on offer featuring plenty of high-quality Sans Ceuticals products, the owners are adamant to avoid any pushy sales element that might interfere with that relaxation and self-care time. Once the bathhouse opens, Sense of Self's offering will expand to include a Finnish-style sauna, large mineral bath and cold plunge pool. Find Sense of Self at 30–32 Easey Street, Collingwood from 4.30–9pm Wednesday–Friday and 10am–6pm Saturday–Sunday. Images: Oli Sansom
When King Kong swung into cinemas back in 1933, it reshaped movie history — and also had viewers everywhere thinking twice about great apes. Fast-forward almost nine decades, and now another giant gorilla is making an impact. You can see King Nyani IRL, however, and not just on the silver screen. Even better: you can now climb into the 30-foot-long creature's hands at Taronga Zoo. Created by public artists Gillie and Marc Schattner, King Nyani was inspired by King Kong. Consider the bronze statue — the world's largest bronze gorilla statue, in fact — a response to that pop-culture behemoth. "In the movie, Kong is seen as a ferocious beast. That was so far from our experience meeting the actual animals. We wanted to show the world that this great creature was really a pacifist who put family above all else," says Marc. Spreading a message of conservation, King Nyani first popped up in New York City — where else? — in August 2020, and understandably received a huge reaction. Now, the the first edition of the sizeable statue sits in the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, with a second due to be installed at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut. Yes, that makes Sydney's version edition three. "We decided to create three editions after seeing the unbelievable response to the original Nyani in NYC. We knew that this was a cause that many people were willing to get behind," advises Gillie. "This was a chance to inspire three times as many people to protect gorillas to save them from extinction." King Nyani is definitely big — up to three people can sit inside the bronze silverback's hands, an act that serves multiple purposes. "We wanted to create a sculpture where the public could really get close to the silverback, both physically and emotionally. Being able to sit in his hand and look up into his gentle face, we hope they will fall in love and join the movement to save the gorillas," explains Gille. At Taronga, King Nyani now sits next to the Centenary Viewing Platform, underneath a giant fig tree — and mere metres away from the zoo's harbour view. You'll need an entry ticket to Taronga to check out its new addition, and to snap those pics you know are going to be all over social media, but those funds will go towards the zoo's efforts to support, care and protect wildlife, including gorillas. King Nyani is on display next to the Centenary Viewing Platform at Taronga Zoo, Bradleys Head Road, Mosman. For more information, head to the zoo's website.
Despite the fact Ichi Ni's St Kilda site closed down last month, the group's Fitzroy restaurant is ramping up to celebrate its 15th birthday on Friday, March 15, with a huge dinner party in partnership with Nikka Whisky. Ichi Ni Nana Izakaya is creating five courses of both traditional and contemporary Japanese dishes that will each be paired with one of Nikka's fine whiskies. Tickets are going for $150 per person and include an Old Fashioned and appetiser on arrival, plus five courses of food and five tasting drams of whisky to accompany each. That ain't a bad price for all of that. As for the menu, you'll start off with Ichi's classic tuna tataki before the sushi masters whip up a course that consists of freshly made nigiri, maki rolls and sashimi. Bigger bites come in the form of the team's slow-cooked pork belly with miso yakiniku sauce, sliced pear and king mushroom chips, and chargrilled lamb cutlets served with broccolini and goma mayo. Ichi's matcha tiramisu is the big finish that'll be paired with a coffey malt whisky. Once the feast is finished, guests are invited to stick around and order more drinks off the a la carte menu to keep the party going. Either stick to the whisky or opt for some Japanese beers, cocktails and bottles of sake.
UPDATE, March 8, 2023: The Banshees of Inisherin is now available to stream via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies and Prime Video. In The Banshees of Inisherin, the rolling hills and clifftop fields look like they could stretch on forever, even on a fictional small island perched off the Irish mainland. For years, conversation between Padraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell, After Yang) and Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson, The Tragedy of Macbeth) has been similarly sprawling — and leisurely, too — especially during the pair's daily sojourn to the village pub for chats over pints. But when the latter calls time on their camaraderie suddenly, his demeanour turns brusque and his explanation, only given after much pestering, is curt. Uttered beneath a stern, no-nonsense stare by Gleeson to his In Bruges co-star Farrell, both reuniting with that darkly comic gem's writer/director Martin McDonagh for another black, contemplative and cracking comedy, Colm is as blunt as can be: "I just don't like you no more." In the elder character's defence, he wanted to ghost his pal without hurtful words. Making an Irish exit from a lifelong friendship is a wee bit difficult on a tiny isle, though, as Colm quickly realises. It's even trickier when the mate he's trying to put behind him is understandably upset and confused, there's been no signs of feud or fray beforehand, and anything beyond the norm echoes through the town faster than a folk ballad. So springs McDonagh's smallest-scale and tightest feature since initially leaping from the stage to the screen, and a wonderful companion piece to that first effort. Following the hitman-focused In Bruges, he's gone broader with Seven Psychopaths, then guided Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell to Oscars with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, but he's at his best when his lens is trained at Farrell and Gleeson as they bicker in close confines. There's no doubting who's behind the camera of The Banshees of Inisherin from the get-go, with McDonagh speedy and concise in setting his scene, and showing his knack for witty dialogue and clever character-building in the process. The year is 1923, and the time — at first — is 2pm on an ordinary day. Except, after Pádraic calls on Colm's fisherman's cottage for their usual bar jaunt and gets no answer, nothing about it plays out as it typically would for the film's two main figures. Pádraic can see Colm sitting inside, in fact, smoking but not opening his door. He tries to talk it through with publican Jonjo (Pat Shortt, Pixie) after heading for a drink anyway, and with his sister Siobhán (Kerry Condon, Better Call Saul) later at home. It's the next day when Pádraic gets the response no one wants to hear from the man he thought was his best friend, but that's hardly the end of their rift. A tragicomedy that lives up to both halves of that term without a whiff of formula, The Banshees of Inisherin twists Pádraic and Colm's hostilities in circles — not to be repetitive or due to any lack of plot, but because life's cycles keep spinning both within the duo's fractured bond and around them. Endings are never easy but neither is life, McDonagh has his film contend, doing so with intelligence, humour and an unshakeable unwillingness to shy away from bleakness. Take the inclusion of village oddball Dominic (Barry Keoghan, The Batman), for example. He buzzes around the movie's central quarrel, endeavouring to use it to become Pádraic's BFF and make his romantic intentions for the single Siobhán known, and he's frequently a source of overt laughs. And yet, as his backstory with his drunk cop dad Peadar (Gary Lydon, Brooklyn) is fleshed out, he proves as sorrowful a resident as Inisherin has, in a feature that sees life's small joys and heartbreaking woes alike with clear eyes. McDonagh is a master at packaging the grim with the chucklesome, however, as Pádraic's attempts to cope with his rejection convey. The writer/director has his dejected protagonist go through several stages of grief — but once he's done being shocked, denying his friend's rebuffs, getting angry, trying to bargain his way to a new outcome, feeling depressed and hoping Colm will change his mind, seeking revenge becomes his baseline. The alternative: feeling uncomfortable at the pub and in general; and badgering the protective Siobhán to spend more time with him, ignorant to her yearning to leave an island that embodies everything to most of its inhabitants but offers far too little for her. Or, Pádraic can accept his beloved miniature donkey Jenny and the ever-present Dominic as his new chief sources of company. Simply watching Farrell's eyebrows as Pádraic faces his changing circumstances is entertaining, emotional and evocative; the depths and shades he can relay with a twitch, many actors can't muster with their entire bodies. Watching Gleeson's exhaustion and despair is equally revelatory — indeed, while Farrell plays Pádraic as constantly searching for a silver lining and eagerly proud of being the village nice guy, his co-star conjures up a man who doesn't expect to find anything much to smile about even after making drastic choices. In Bruges sparked it and now The Banshees of Inisherin cements it: Farrell and Gleeson are one of cinema's very-best pairs, and they're mesmerising to an awards-worthy degree here. Also exceptional is Condon as the kind but frustrated woman who can see both sides. "He's always been dull; what's changed?" she replies to Colm when he admits his boredom with Pádraic. Amid the grand performances, scenery, cinematography (by The King's Man's Ben Davis) and score (from Catherine Called Birdy's Carter Burwell), McDonagh hasn't anchored this griping, one-upping, apologising, pleading and vengeance-seeking a century ago for fun. He hasn't made the move to avoid technology, either, although this'd be a lesser movie with phones and apps fuelling fires and gossip. As poignant and resonant as it is amusing — and sometimes horrifying — The Banshees of Inisherin works sparklingly as an odd-couple decoupling comedy, a slice of insular small-town life, a bittersweet musing on mortality and an interrogation of masculinity, but it's also firmly a product of its homeland. Despite being Irish, this is McDonagh's first film set in the country, and harks back to the 1920s Civil War. The conflict rages across the bay from Inisherin without disrupting the isle's daily life, but Pádraic shouts tellingly at its gunshots: "good luck to you, whatever it is you're fighting about".
If you thought deciding where to go for dinner with your significant other was difficult, try organising a date with another couple entirely. Oof. But if you've been fortunate enough to hit it off with another duo, you're probably eager to solidify your double couple hangs with a stellar night of food and booze. So, as well as taking all tastes into consideration, you need somewhere that's fun and lively, but not too loud that a conversation can't carry across a four-person table. Fortunately, we know five places that are perfect for a double date. And where you can score a complimentary bottle of wine as part of the Citibank Dining Program. Simply head to any of the following spots, mention the offer upon arrival, pay using your Citi card, and voila — you'll not only have saved a few dollars, but probably secured a second date, too.
A year goes slowly when you're waiting for one weekend but, at last, Harvest Rock season is almost upon us. We're all in full prep mode for the 2023 iteration of the huge South Australia music festival, and it's looking like it might be one of the biggest yet. The good news doesn't stop coming, after the absolute banger lineup dropped our attendance was all but guaranteed. Luckily, we have an exclusive deal over on Concrete Playground Trips that wraps up a brilliant VIP package under one ribbon of convenience. That package includes nearby accommodation, VIP entry to the festival and loads of goodies (from exclusive dining options to an Archie Rose gift pack) to complete your experience. In case you're not across the deets of this year's festival, it's taking place on the weekend of October 28–29 in Adelaide and offers a real superstar lineup that includes exclusive Australian performances from Jamiroquai and Beck. This is a show curated by Secret Sounds, after all, the maestros behind Splendour in the Grass and Falls Festival. It's not all music though, the festival splits the spotlight onto food too. Everything from fine dining curated by leading APAC chefs to food trucks and live mixology sessions with culinary geniuses from around Australia, like wine expert and personality Nick Stock and Sydney distillery Archie Rose, will be on offer. This year the festival also features The Grape Escape, a dedicated wellness centre designed to help you unwind from the hectic activities outside. Expect hot drinks, tarot readings, massages and more to help you enjoy some well-deserved time to yourself. Harvest Rock will take over Rymill Park/Murlawirrapurka and King Rodney Park/Ityamai-itpina, Adelaide, on Saturday, October 28 and Sunday, October 29. Tickets are on sale now. To secure yours and find more info, visit the website, or visit Concrete Playground Trips to book our exclusive VIP package.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest through to old and recent favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from November's haul. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH FROM START TO FINISH NOW SCOTT PILGRIM TAKES OFF When word arrived that a new version of Scott Pilgrim was on its way, it felt as inevitable as the person of your dreams having a complicated romantic past. That said, making a Scott Pilgrim anime series also felt more fitting than most similar movie-to-TV jumps. Thanks to the manga-style aesthetic that filled Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novels, the video game-esque plot about battling seven evil exes and the cartoon vibe that Edgar Wright brought so engagingly to his 2010 big-screen live-action adaptation, imagining how O'Malley and co-writer/co-producer BenDavid Grabinski (Are You Afraid of the Dark?) — plus Wright (Last Night in Soho) again as an executive producer — could bring that to an eight-part animation was instantly easy. And so, called Scott Pilgrim Takes Off rather than Scott Pilgrim vs the World, this series begins as a straightforward Scott Pilgrim anime, introducing the same tale that's been spread across pages and cinemas (and played through via a video game, too) right down to repeated shots and dialogue. Meet Scott Pilgrim again, then. The Michael Cera (Barbie)-voiced twentysomething bassist is once more fated to fall in love with literal dream girl Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ahsoka), who first appears to him as he slumbers, then fight the seven folks who dated her before him. When sparks fly, he also has his own amorous mess to deal with, including that he's dating high-schooler Knives Chau (Ellen Wong, Best Sellers) and remains heartbroken over being dumped by now-superstar singer Envy Adams (Brie Larson, The Marvels). He's still in Sex Bob-Omb! alongside his friend Stephen Stills (Mark Webber, SMILF) and ex Kim Pine (Alison Pill, Hello Tomorrow!). He still gets Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha, Sense8) introducing him to his battles to be with Ramona. Accordingly, just like Kim shouting "we are Sex Bob-Omb!" at the beginning of a set, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off starts with comfortable familiarity. But at the end of its initial instalment, after every detail looks like the graphic novels and film given the anime treatment to the point of feeling uncanny, in drops the first twist. There's reimaginings, and then there's this playful take that adores the comics and movie, pays homage to them, riffs on and even openly references them, but charmingly shirks the idea of being a remake. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off streams via Netflix. Read our full review. LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY Brie Larson makes a great Captain Marvel. She's even better as Elizabeth Zott. In the 2015 Room Best Actress Oscar-winner's first non-franchise on-screen role since 2019's Just Mercy, she turns executive producer, too, guiding a page-to-screen adaptation of Bonnie Garmus' bestseller that needs her performance as its star ingredient. A chemistry genius and then a TV cooking show host who is forced to battle sexism as both, Elizabeth is as complicated as the holy-grail project that she works in secret as a lab technician, and as the recipes that she later perfects for television audiences. Regardless of whether you've read Lessons in Chemistry's 2022 source material or are coming anew to the small-screen version, the character is magnificent to watch because Larson steps into her shoes so completely. Elizabeth is direct, determined and conscientious. She's not just nonplussed about being likeable, but near-allergically averse to that being her primary goal. She's curious and dryly funny, too, albeit careful about who she's open with. But being serious and rightly cautious about how 50s and 60s America routinely disregards women doesn't mean that she's anything but authentic, whether she's asserting what she's always held dear, navigating life's traumas or finding space for others in her life. Lessons in Chemistry starts with a brief jump forward to cameras and adoring viewers, and with Elizabeth's Supper at Six series an established hit. It'll take half of the broader show to get back to TV cooking with no-nonsense science explanations, an appreciation for domestic duties and an uplifted fanbase, but the opening burns an imprint, signalling that its lead character's days of being expected to make coffee for male-only Hastings Research Institute scientists are numbered. Although Elizabeth has a master's degree in chemistry, her Southern Californian employer cares little about that, or that she's the smartest person on their books, because she lacks a Y chromosome. Instead, they scold her for after-hours experiments — the only time that she can delve into her own work — and lack of interest in the company beauty pageant. It's at Hastings that Elizabeth meets Calvin Evans (Lewis Pullman, Outer Range), however, who inhabits another world when it comes to respect, yet resides on the exact same non-conformist turf. And it's through him and their romance that she'll meet his neighbour Harriet Sloane (Aja Naomi King, How to Get Away with Murder) in Los Angeles' Sugar Hill, in a series that expands upon the novel as it richly explores trauma and oppression. Lessons in Chemistry streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. RUSTIN After Selma, One Night in Miami and Judas and the Black Messiah arrives Rustin, the latest must-see movie about the minutiae of America's 60s-era civil rights movement. All four hail from Black filmmakers. All four tell vital stories. The entire quartet boasts phenomenal performances, too — complete with a Best Supporting Actor statuette for Judas and the Black Messiah's Daniel Kaluuya, plus nominations for his co-star Lakeith Stanfield and One Night in Miami's Leslie Odom Jr (Selma's David Oyelowo was robbed). Colman Domingo, an Emmy-winner for Euphoria and Tony-nominee for The Scottsboro Boys, deserves to join that Academy Awards list for his turn as Rustin's eponymous figure. His performance isn't merely powerful; it's a go-for-broke portrayal from a versatile talent at the top of his game while digging into the every inch of his part. Domingo doesn't only turn in a showcase effort in a career that's long been absent on-screen leading role, either; he's everything that Rustin hangs off of, soars around, and lives and breathes with. Focusing on Bayard Rustin, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom director George C Wolfe's latest feature already had a riveting and important tale to tell, but Domingo proves its stunning beating heart. Rustin's namesake holds a place in history for a wealth of reasons, but here's one: it was at the event that he conceived, organised and gave almost everything he had to ensure took place that Martin Luther King Jr have his "I Have a Dream" speech. That moment at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963 will never be forgotten. Nor should Rustin's efforts in ensuring there was a protest — a historic demonstration with more than 200,000 attendees, in fact— to begin with against overwhelming pushback. Dr King (Aml Ameen, I May Destroy You) is a supporting player in this film, which explores the behind-the-scenes hustle and bustle from idea until the day, as well as Rustin's fight not just against racism but also homophobia as an openly gay Black man (including the battles he's forced to wage among his fellow crusaders for civil rights). Even while only covering a sliver of his subject's life, Wolfe largely takes the traditional biopic route, working with a script by Julian Breece (When They See Us) and Dustin Lance Black (an Oscar-winner for Milk); however, the potency of the Rustin's deeds and struggles, the importance of everything that he was rallying for and Domingo's electrifying lead performance all make his movie anything but standard. Rustin streams via Netflix. THE ARTFUL DODGER For nearly two centuries, everyone has known the Artful Dodger's story. Charles Dickens wrote the character, aka Jack Dawkins, to life in 1838's Oliver Twist — and readers have thumbed through the pickpocket's part of the tale ever since. But what happened once the book's narrative ended? What if Fagin's apprentice was on the straight and narrow 15 years later, living in penal colony-era Australia? What if he was a navy-trained surgeon now plying his trade on the other side of the world from London, and great at it? What if Fagin is still alive despite Dickens' words on the page, and he's the latest convict arrival, complete with a plan that cares little about Dodge's new upstanding reputation? If you're wondering how the Aussie-set The Artful Dodger can exist, that's how: by telling the above story. Australian-made as well, with Jeffrey Walker (The Clearing), Corrie Chen (Bad Behaviour) and Gracie Otto (Seriously Red) directing, it's not an origin story — it's an after story. Two decades on from Love Actually, Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Queen's Gambit) plays the show's namesake, while David Thewlis (Landscapers) is his former mentor. This eight-part series also enlists a hefty lineup of Aussie talent, from Damon Herriman (The Portable Door), Miranda Tapsell (Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe), Susie Porter (Mercy Road) and Tim Minchin (Upright) to Damien Garvey (Troppo), Jessica De Gouw (C*A*U*G*H*T) and Kym Gyngell (Black Snow). Chief among the homegrown actors is Maia Mitchell (Good Trouble) as Lady Belle Fox, daughter of the Governor, and an aspiring doctor herself — not that a female surgeon in the 1850s is approved of. That's the groundwork laid, with Dodge endeavouring to keep on the up and up, even with a shady gambling debt to pay on penalty of losing a hand, which he needs to continue his line of work; Fagin up to his usual scheming, plus ample gloating about how his pilfering instructions helped his protege earn his new calling: and Belle deeply uninterested in just finding a husband no matter what's expected of her. Energetically told, and always entertaining, the end result is anything but an old-school period piece. The Artful Dodger streams via Disney+. Read our full review. THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER Daisy Ridley hasn't been on-screen enough in the past four years. After her pivotal role and excellent performance in the three most recent Star Wars movies adorned with Roman numerals — that'd be Episode VII — The Force Awakens, Episode VIII — The Last Jedi and Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker — neither Chaos Walking nor The Bubble have done her justice. The Marsh King's Daughter is her best part since her time as Rey, then, and a film that capitalises upon the resolve that she was so adept at portraying in the sprawling space opera. Here, Ridley is Helena Pelletier, in another flick that has father issues. She's also the titular figure, while Ben Mendelsohn (Secret Invasion) similarly swaps a tale set long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (aka his Rogue One: A Star Wars Story villain role) for something earthbound as that pivotal dad. Divergent and Voyagers director Neil Burger fills out his main cast with Brooklynn Prince (Cocaine Bear), Caren Pistorius (Unhinged), Garrett Hedlund (The United States vs Billie Holiday) and Gil Birmingham (Yellowstone), but it's both Ridley and Mendelsohn who unsurprisingly make this page-to-film thriller worth watching. Here's a two-film trend: British actors named Daisy who were thrust to enormous fame via one big role, then took on American accents in movie adaptations of US books about complicated relationships in swampy surroundings. Where the Crawdads Sing made it to the screen first, of course. In The Marsh King's Daughter, everything that the young Helena (Prince) thought that she knew about her father is shattered when she discovers that their wilderness-based survivalist life in Michigan's remote reaches was been forged from kidnapping her mother Beth (Pistorius) and keeping her against her will. As an adult married to Stephen (Hedlund), and also a mother to Marigold (Joey Carson, House of Chains), the past she's spent decades trying to move on from returns to threaten her new family. Whether or not you've read Karen Dionne's 2017 book has no influence on knowing where this story will go, but Ridley is in sterling form. No one plays shady and downright chilling characters like Australia's own Mendo, too. The Marsh King's Daughter streams via Prime Video. QUIZ LADY Jeopardy! fans, or whichever quiz show takes your fancy, prepare to feel seen. If firing back answers while watching a daily slice of TV trivia or puzzles has ever been part of your routine, Quiz Lady understands, especially if you've ever built your schedule around it and found that half-hour stint your happy place. Since childhood, Anne Yum (Awkwafina, Renfield) has kept a standing date with Can't Stop the Quiz. Now in her 30s, she settles in nightly with her dog Mr Linguine — and she isn't just skilled at responding; rather, she's exceptional. Shy, introverted and terrified of public attention, she's content playing along from home instead of auditioning to give the real thing a go. Thanks to the title of director Jessica Yu (Misconception) and screenwriter Jen D'Angelo's (Totally Killer) movie, however, getting Anne into the studio doesn't come as a shock to audiences. For the character, it involves her mother absconding to Macao from her aged-care facility, leaving an $80,000 debt that local heavy Ken (Jon "Dumbfoundead" Park, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens) comes to collect via dognapping, and Anne's chaotic older sister Jenny (Sandra Oh, Killing Eve) secretly filming a video of Anne in prime Can't Stop the Quiz savant mode, which goes viral. For more Jeopardy! nods, Will Ferrell (Strays) plays host Terry McTeer, bringing his sketches in Alex Trebek's shoes in Saturday Night Live's Celebrity Jeopardy skits instantly to mind. Although he's not behind the microphone as he is in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Jason Schwartzman joins Quiz Lady as the long-running Can't Stop the Quiz contestant who desperately wants McTeer's job, with his character feeling like a nod to Ken Jennings. That's all colour and texture, though. At this comedy's core is an adult coming-of-age story and a tale of two sisters finally finding common ground. Without Awkwafina and Oh splashing around their spectacular chemistry as those two squabbling siblings, and selling its slapstick antics and heartfelt emotions alike in the process — both gloriously playing against type, too — Quiz Lady could've easily faltered. With them, it's an entertaining odd-couple effort that's happily silly, frequently amusing and largely entertaining. Quiz Lady streams via Disney+. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK THE CURSE It has always been impossible to watch TV shows by Nathan Fielder, including Nathan for You and The Rehearsal, without feeling awkwardness gushing from the screen. The films of Josh and Benny Safdie, such as Good Time and Uncut Gems, are such masterclasses in anxiety and chaos — and so astute at conveying life's anything-that-can-go-wrong-will certainty — that viewers can be forgiven for thinking that their chairs are jittering along with them. From Easy A, La La Land and Maniac to The Favourite and Poor Things, Emma Stone keeps proving an inimitable acting force. Combine Fielder, the Safdies and Stone on one series, then, and whatever sprang was always going to be a must-see. Exquisite new dark satire The Curse is also as extraordinary in its brilliance as it is excruciating in its discomfort. As well as co-creating the ten-part series, Fielder and Benny Safdie co-star, co-write and co-direct. Stone joins them on-screen and as an executive producer, with Benny's brother Josh doing the latter as well. The Safdies' regular collaborator Oneohtrix Point Never, aka Daniel Lopatin, gets the show buzzing with atmospheric agitation in one of his best scores yet — even after winning the Cannes Soundtrack Award for his unforgettable work on Good Time. Yes, The Curse is everything that the sum of these parts promises. It's more, in fact, then even more again. It flows with disquiet like a burst hydrant. It fills each almost hour-long episode with a lifetime's worth of cringe. It's relentless in its unease second by second, moment by moment and scene by scene. It's also a marvellous, intense and hilarious black comedy that apes the metal Doug Aitken-esque houses that Stone and Fielder's Whitney and Asher Siegel like to build, reflecting oh-so-much about the world around it. The Curse takes the show-within-a-show route, with the Siegels eager to grace the world's screens as reality TV hosts. Their angle: environmentally sustainable passive homes that only use energy that they create, which Whitney and Asher consider their contribution to their adopted New Mexico hometown of Española. The newly married pair have American pay TV network Home & Garden Television interested in Fliplanthropy, as well as their efforts to green up the community, create jobs for locals, and revitalise a place otherwise equated with struggling and crime stats. Lurking between the couple and HGTV is producer Dougie Schecter (Safdie, Oppenheimer), Asher's slimy and manipulative childhood friend with a nose for sensationalism — particularly when he gets the scent of disharmony among his stars as they try to start a family, get their show on the air, build their gleaming houses, find ideal buyers, honour the area's Indigenous history and overcome The Curse's title. The Curse streams via Paramount+. Read our full review. A MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD Whichever miniatures are stuffed inside a snow globe, a simple shake surrenders them all to the same fate: flakes falling in their tiny dome. Pop culture's enduring murder-mystery obsession can feel much the same way. When the pieces start raining down in Disney+'s seven-part miniseries A Murder at the End of the World, there's much that instantly feels familiar from a heavily populated field of recent and classics whodunnits. That checklist includes a confined single setting, potential victims cooped up with an unknown killer, rampant secrets and lies, fingers pointed everywhere, Nordic noir's frosty climes, an eerie butler, a wealthy host who might just have the most to lose and, of course, a gifted gumshoe sleuthing through the group. A Murder at the End of the World radiates its own Gen Z Sherlock Holmes vibe, though. That's even how its sharp protagonist is described, and early. In the role of 24-year-old hacker-turned-author Darby Hart, who is invited by billionaire recluse Andy Ronson (Clive Owen, American Crime Story) to an intimate Iceland symposium of bright minds, Emma Corrin (Lady Chatterley's Lover) also turns Agatha Christie. The OA creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij have put their own intriguing, involving, can't-stop-watching spin on their addition to the genre, as they make clear early. As the duo share writing duties and split time in the director's chair — with Marling also co-starring — they take cues from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Stieg Larsson's sequels as well, all while also sliding their series in alongside Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery; however, the mood, ambition, pursuit of weighty themes, shadowy conspiracies, earnestness and love of telling puzzle-box tales match perfectly with their last show, plus their film collaborations Sound of My Voice and The East. Two timelines unspool: the present-day storyline at the ideas salon, where bodies soon start falling; and the the road trip that Darby took with fellow Reddit-aided citizen detective Bill Farrah (Harris Dickinson, Scrapper) to solve the case that fuels her debut novel. Both are compelling; shake this snow globe for more and you won't want to stop. A Murder at the End of the World streams via Disney+. Read our full review. MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS Godzilla is still big, but the picture around cinema's most-famous kaiju gets smaller in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the Japanese-created creature's new TV series. This ten-episode show sits within the American Monsterverse, which has previously filled movie theatres with 2014's Godzilla, 2017's Kong: Skull Island, 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters and 2021's Godzilla vs Kong — and it hits streaming with a scaled-down focus on family drama. People matter in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, far more than they have in any of the US franchise's instalments so far. The folks hopping around the globe chasing the giant critter and its fellow titans are also worth caring about. As a result, there's nothing little about how engaging Monarch: Legacy of Monsters proves. Getting Kurt and Wyatt Russell involved helps. The real-life father-son pair portray the same character with not just ease but charisma. Wyatt slips into Lee Shaw's military uniform in the 1950s, Kurt (Fast and Furious 9) plays the retired elder version in the mid-2010s, and jokes reference how well the pivotal figure has aged to make the maths work out (in the later timeline, Shaw has to be in his 90s). Needing to make that gag is worth it for such stellar and captivating casting. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters isn't about Shaw's family, however — at least not as bonded by blood. In 2015, a year after the G-Day events of the 2014 film, San Franciscan teacher Cate Randa (Anna Sawai, Pachinko) is suffering from kaiju-inflicted PTSD and mourning her missing father Hiroshi (Takehiro Hira, Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story), making a trip to Japan to pack up his Tokyo apartment challenging several times over. There, she finds artist Kentaro (Ren Watabe, 461 Days of Bento), a shared history and links to secret government monster-hunting organisation Monarch. Those ties comes courtesy of a satchel filled with documents that Bill Randa (John Goodman, returning from Kong: Skull Island) is seen tossing into the sea in a 70s-set prologue; having possession of it sparks chaos for not only Cate and Kentaro, but also the latter's hacker ex-girlfriend May (Kiersey Clemons, The Flash). When a shadowy international outfit is on your trail, who can assist? Given that Shaw was a 50s-era colleague of Hiroshi's parents Keiko (Mari Yamamoto, also Pachinko) and Bill (played by Inventing Anna's Anders Holm in the earlier timeline), his help is swiftly needed. And amid Cate, Kentaro, May and Shaw's attempts to evade the "like the CIA, but for Godzilla" operation pursuing their every move, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters also dives into Shaw, Keiko and Bill's backstory. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. FARGO This is a true story: in 2014, Hollywood decided to take on a task that was destined to either go as smoothly as sliding on ice or prove as misguided as having a woodchipper sitting around. Revisiting Fargo was a bold move even in pop culture's remake-, reboot- and reimagining-worshipping times, because why say "you betcha" to trying to make crime-comedy perfection twice? The Coen brothers' 1996 film isn't just any movie. It's a two-time Oscar-winner, BAFTA and Cannes' Best Director pick of its year, and one of the most beloved and original examples of its genre in the last three decades. But in-between credits on Bones, The Unusuals and My Generation, then creating the comic book-inspired Legion, writer, director and producer Noah Hawley started a project he's now synonymous with, and that's still going strong five seasons in. What keeps springing is always a twisty tale set in America's midwest, as filled with everyday folks in knotty binds, complicated family ties, crooks both bumbling and determined trying to cash in, and intrepid cops investigating leads that others wouldn't. Hawley's stroke of genius: driving back into Fargo terrain by making an anthology series built upon similar pieces, but always finding new tales about greed, power, murder and snowy landscapes to tell. Hawley's Fargo adores the Coenverse overall, enthusiastically scouring it for riches like it's the TV-making embodiment of Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter's namesake. That film hailed from Damsel's David Zellner instead, and took cues from the urban legend surrounding the purported Fargo ties to the IRL death of Japanese office worker Takako Konishi; however, wanting the contents of the Coen brothers' brains to become your reality is clearly a common thread. Of course, for most of the fictional figures who've walked through the small-screen Fargo's frames, they'd like anything but caper chaos. Scandia, Minnesota housewife Dot Lyon (Juno Temple, Ted Lasso) is one of them in season five. North Dakota sheriff, preacher and rancher Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm, Good Omens) isn't as averse to a commotion if he's the one causing it. Minnesota deputy Indira Olmstead (Richa Moorjani, Never Have I Ever) and North Dakota state trooper Witt Farr (Lamorne Morris, Woke) just want to get to the bottom of the series' new stint of sometimes-madcap and sometimes-violent mayhem. Fargo streams via SBS On Demand. Read our full review. SLOW HORSES In gleaming news for streaming viewers, Mick Herron's Slough House novel series boasts 12 entries so far. In an also ace development, several more of the British author's books have links to the world of veteran espionage agent Jackson Lamb. That thankfully means that Slow Horses, the small-screen spy thriller based on Herron's work, has plenty more stories to draw upon in its future. It's now up to its third season as a TV series, and long may its forward path continue. Apple TV+ has clearly felt the same way since the program debuted in April 2022. In June the same year, the platform renewed Slow Horses for a third and fourth season before its second had even aired. That next chapter arrived that December and didn't disappoint. Neither does the latest batch of six episodes, this time taking its cues from Herron's Real Tigers — after season one used the novel Slow Horses as its basis, and season two did the same with Dead Lions — in charting the ins and outs of MI5's least-favourite department. Slough House is where the service rejects who can't be fired but aren't trusted to be proper operatives are sent, with Lamb (Gary Oldman, Oppenheimer) its happily cantankerous, slovenly, seedy and shambolic head honcho. Each season, Lamb and his team of losers, misfits and boozers — Mick Jagger's slinky ear worm of a theme tune's words — find themselves immersed in another chaotic case that everyone above them wishes they weren't. That said, Slow Horses isn't a formulaic procedural. Sharply written, directed and acted, and also immensely wryly funny, it's instead one of the best spy series to grace television, including in a new go-around that starts with two intelligence officers (Babylon's Katherine Waterston and Gangs of London's Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) in Istanbul. When the fallout from this season's opening events touches Lamb and his spooks, they're soon thrust into a game of cat-and-mouse that revolves around secret documents and sees one of their own, the forever-loyal Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves, Creation Stories), get abducted. The talented River Cartwright (Jack Lowden, The Gold) again endeavours to show why being banished to Slough House for a training mistake was MI5's error, while his boss' boss Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas, Rebecca) reliably has her own agenda. Slow Horses streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. SCRUBLANDS There's no forgetting Scrublands' opening. There's no chance of not being hooked, either. After a Sunday congregation, as his worshippers disperse, Riversend priest Byron Swift (Jay Ryan, Muru) starts shooting with a sniper rifle. Five men are killed, with the man of the cloth not living out the fray himself. After that introduction, the bulk of this four-part series picks up a year later as the small, remote and deeply drought-stricken town is still attempting to live with an event that it'll never get over. In drives journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold, True Colours), who has been dispatched from Sydney to write about the situation 12 months after the unthinkable occurred. His welcome is mixed, with bookstore owner Mandy Bond (Bella Heathcote, C*A*U*G*H*T) initially frosty, then more open; police officers Robbie Haus-Jones (Adam Zwar, Squinters) and Monica Piccini (Freya Stafford, New Gold Mountain) varying in their cooperation; and resident chief landowner Harley Reagan (Robert Taylor, The Newsreader) blunt but reluctant. Among those who lost husbands and fathers, the response is just as complicated. Recurring among most of the townsfolk: the certainty that the picture painted of the cleric that changed everything isn't what it seems. In the official tale doing the rounds, abuse allegations were levelled at the priest just days before the incident. So, in outside law enforcement's minds, that's the case closed. But Martin is increasingly unconvinced — and, far from writing the "torture porn" that he's initially accused of, starts digging deeper. The list of Australian films and TV shows that involve a big-city outsider galloping in to run through a regional area's problems, struggles and secrets is considerable, including The Dry, Black Snow, Limbo and Deadloch in recent years. Scrublands happily fits the bill. As those aforementioned movies and series have shown, and this page-to-screen effort based on Chris Hammer's novel as well, such as setup can provide the basis for weighty stories, meaningful performances and eye-catching imagery when presented with care, thought and style. As well as being involving and gripping, Scrublands is all of those things. Helming all four episodes, Greg McLean isn't in Wolf Creek or Wolf Creek 2 territory. Scrublands streams via Stan. Read our full review. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September and October this year. You can also check out our running list of standout must-stream shows from this year as well — and our best 15 new shows of 2023's first six months, top 15 returning shows over the same period and best 15 straight-to-streaming movies from January–June 2023, too.
Have you launched a hospitality business that deserves some love? Think you could be Australia's next great business success story? Been in business for five years or less? Keep reading because you could be in with a chance to win a business-changing worthy prize. Here at Concrete Playground, we love championing the hospitality businesses that keep the country fed and entertained. We also understand that times are tough right now. That's why, in partnership with Square, Concrete Playground is giving away a marketing package worth $20,000. If you've been in business for five years or less, the Boost Your Business competition aims to shine a light on your brand. By entering the competition, you could be in with a chance to win a native editorial feature on Concrete Playground and get your business in front of our dedicated readers, as well as inclusion in Concrete Playground's hospitality directory. You'll also receive a social media push as we promote your business across various channels and help you reach engaged audiences with an eDM inclusion. Intrigued? Simply tell us in 25 words or less why your hospitality business is Australia's next great success story. For the full details, see the comp form below. T&Cs apply. [competition]1022571[/competition]
Call this 'The One with Familiar But Still Exciting News': Friends! The Musical Parody is bringing its comedic, song-filled take on a certain 90s sitcom to Australia in 2022. Yes, this announcement has been made before, and more than once. The show has even opened its umbrellas in some parts of the country already. But we all know how the past two years have turned out — so the fact that the production is doing the rounds again should still make your day, week, month and even your year. This time around, Friends! The Musical Parody will kick off its tour in Adelaide in May, before being there for audiences in Hobart, Wollongong, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne. So, wherever you live, get ready to spend time with the show's versions of Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey and Phoebe — hanging out at their beloved Central Perk, of course, and sitting on an orange couch, no doubt. The musical starts with caffeinated catch-ups, but then a runaway bride shakes up the gang's day. From there, you'll get to giggle through a loving, laugh-filled lampoon that both makes good-natured fun of and celebrates the iconic sitcom. Yes, no one told you that being obsessed with the Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer-starring show about six New Yorkers would turn out this way — with on-stage skits and gags, recreations of some of the series' best-known moments, and songs with titles such as 'How you Doin?' and 'We'll Always Be There For You'. And no, no one told us that being a Friends aficionado would continue to serve up so many chances to indulge our fandom 17 years after it finished airing, either. FRIENDS! THE MUSICAL PARODY AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2022: May 4–15: Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide May 20–21: Wrest Point Entertainment Centre, Hobart May 26–28: Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong June 10–18: Riverside Theatres, Parramatta July 13–15: The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra July 20–24: The Tivoli, Brisbane September 9–11: Regal Theatre, Perth November 23–December 17: Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne Friends! The Musical Parody tours the country from May–December 2022. For further details, and to buy tickets, visit the production's website.
Melbourne's renowned wining and dining scene copped some big hits over the last two years, and lockdowns left us punters all well out of practice. But now, one new initiative is encouraging us to get right back on that horse and spread some love for the city we call home. From Chris Lucas, the name behind Chin Chin, Baby Pizza, Yakimono and co, comes Lucas Loves Melbourne — a four-week offering of specials, dollar-saving deals, music and masterclasses designed to reignite our passion for Melbourne's hospitality scene. From Tuesday, February 15 to Tuesday, March 15, each Lucas Group venue is serving up its own slew of goodies. For example, nab a sweet 30-percent rebate voucher when you dine at any of the restaurants between 11am–5pm Monday to Thursday, and enjoy free parking as a customer on tickets up to $18. From 4–6pm daily, a multi-venue happy hour deal will see you quaffing $11 Piper-Heidsieck champagne, $11 Yakimono cocktails, $6.50 spritzes at Baby and $16 signature sips from the Society bar, amongst others. Also on the program are special Kisume Chef's Table masterclasses, cook-along sessions with Chin Chin's Benjamin Cooper, and a curated weekend DJ program at Hawker Hall, Chin Chin and Lillian Terrace. A stack of prizes are up for grabs, too. [caption id="attachment_843533" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Champagne at Lillian Terrace[/caption] Updated: Tuesday, March 29
With work, family and other commitments, finding time to catch up with your friends can feel nearly impossible. So when you finally spot a gap in the calendar and lock in a date, the restaurant better be top-notch — we're adults now, after all. If you're just not sure where to go that'll offer the good feed you desire and the space to accommodate your potentially rowdy crew, never fear. We've teamed up with Westpac to offer you a list of eateries that'll ensure your long-awaited rendezvous will be one to remember. Westpac knows how awkward some money moments feel, which is why it's teamed up Beem It, the fast and simple way to pay and get paid. Forget waiting days for bank transfers, furiously typing in BSB and account numbers or hoping your mates will get you back next time. Beem It lets you split expenses and settle up instantly, no matter who you bank with. Plus, the app does all the pesky math and lets you know who owes what in seconds (without hassling the waitstaff). In charge of organising a well-overdue catch up with your mates? Read on for a list of group-friendly dining spots you need to book once you've locked in a time for your next crew do.
Maybe you've got a thing for boldly coloured blooms and outdoor architecture. Or perhaps your indoor plant addiction has inspired a green thumb that just won't quit. Either way, your horticultural side is about to get a big ol' dopamine boost when the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show returns this autumn. Taking over Carlton Gardens and the Royal Exhibition Building from Wednesday, March 26 to Sunday, March 30, the long-running festival will once again serve up a jam-packed program of workshops, talks, product showcases, landscape installations and, of course, gardens galore. In fact, it's set to be the largest horticultural festival in the southern hemisphere. Browse the stunning Show Gardens to see plant-filled oases from Australia's top landscape designers, and hit the Boutique Gardens and Balcony Gardens to admire horticulturalists battling it out to see who can design the best wonderland in the tiniest of spaces. Step inside the Great Hall of Flowers to get lost among countless floral displays, and sip bubbly while enjoying a high tea within the Royal Exhibition Building. Forming part of the Show Gardens, the 2025 Indigenous Garden offers visitors the chance to connect with Country through the story of the iuk (eel). Holding a special place in Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung culture, this stunning installation is ideal for honouring traditions, forging a deeper bond with the landscape and understanding the enduring custodianship of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people. Another Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show first is the Garden Grill. Conceived as a pop-up social dining experience in the lush Carlton Gardens, this blossoming precinct will feature gourmet BBQ delights served in immaculate surroundings. Head along for a bite between exhibits or linger longer with friends as you feast on 18-hour O'Connor beef short ribs or a sweet dessert like summer berries with Chantilly cream. You can also swap your usual knock-offs for a visit to Gardens by Twilight, where you can wander through the garden installations while enjoying botanically charged sips, devouring gourmet snacks and soaking up live tunes. Running until 9pm on Thursday, March 27 and Saturday, March 29, epicurean cuisine and botanical beverages pair with roving circus performers and life-sized sculptures created by hundreds of Australian artists. The after-dark experience is one of our favourite parts of the whole five-day flower fest.
How did Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard become one of the biggest Australian musicians around the world right now? Attend SXSW Sydney in 2024 and you'll find out. The singer-songwriter better known as The Kid LAROI is the latest addition to the event's constantly growing lineup, in a key spot: the 'Stay', 'Without You', 'Thousand Miles', 'Love Again' and 'Girls' talent has been revealed as the fest's music keynote speaker for this year. In 2023, Chance The Rapper did the honours. SXSW Sydney isn't skimping on big names, clearly. On Saturday, October 19, 2024 at the ICC Sydney Theatre, expect The Kid LAROI to step through his career journey so far, from Redfern to streaming superstardom — and also what his future holds. The Kid LAROI postponing his Australian tour to this spring from February 2024 has worked out well for SXSW Sydney, then. As part of the event, he'll also help develop professional development workshops and performance opportunities for Waterloo and Redfern's First Nations communities. After he's chatted about his career to SXSW Sydney's patrons, The Kid LAROI will embark upon a seven-city Australian tour in support of his debut studio album The First Time. On the itinerary: HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast, Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Commbank Stadium in Sydney, Perth's RAC Arena, Adelaide Entertainment Centre, MyState Bank Arena in Hobart and Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena. Migos frontman Quavo and Sydney's own ONEFOUR are also on the bill everywhere except the Gold Coast and Hobart. [caption id="attachment_926206" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Adam Kargenian[/caption] SXSW Sydney's 2024 lineup just keeps expanding, after Lucy Lawless, Grace Tame and Tim Minchin — plus sports stars Nick Kyrgios and Noémie Fox, playwright Suzie Miller, former Bangarra Dance Theatre Artistic Director Stephen Page and more — also joined the program to round out August. Set to take place across Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 dates, the event began revealing its program back in May, which was just the beginning. Another announcement arrived in June, then not one, not two, but three more in July — and also another, focusing on the free hub at Tumbalong Park, at the beginning of August. Then came more music acts and speakers, still in August. SXSW Sydney 2024 will run from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details.
If you've ever found yourself wondering how certain foods and recipes are made, you're not alone. After all, the great Australia vs New Zealand pavlova debate fails to answer the question of who in their right mind thought whipping egg whites was a good idea. Most foods go through several iterations to come to the form we know them in today. Maybe it's because we have too much time on our hands with nearly 12 million of us locked down right now, but we decided to delve into the weird and wonderful history of some of Australia's most-loved food and drinks. From dinner party favourites to footy game snacks, here are a few brief backstories that took these foods to where they are today. PRAWN COCKTAILS Prawn cocktails reigned supreme at dinner parties in the decades leading up to the turn of the century, but the legend of this dinner party delight harkens back to the 19th century. Folklore has it that a worker came to a bar in California and ordered a plate of oysters and a whiskey after a day in the mines. After downing the whiskey, the prospector emptied the oysters into the glass and combined them with ketchup, horseradish, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. When asked what he was doing, the worker replied that he had created an 'oyster cocktail'. Somehow the bar owner thought this was a winning idea and begun selling oyster cocktails, launching the seafood cocktail. The dish popped up in Australia around the 1930s. In 1936, Adelaide's The Mail newspaper published a recipe for the seafood cocktail under the title 'Drinks For The Beach'. The recipe featured grilled shellfish in a small glass of sherry with "two dashes Tabasco sauce, a teaspoon lemon juice, two tablespoons tomato sauce or catsup, a teaspoon Worcester sauce, half teaspoon chopped chives" which would be mixed well, served over ice and with brown bread. BANH MI The Vietnamese banh mi's history is tied closely to European colonialism. The French invasion in the 1800s and subsequent global trade brought France's bread and European ingredients including cold cuts into Vietnam. This would eventually lead to the banh mi's crispy bread roll, reminiscent of a French baguette. The first banh mi was a simple sandwich featuring butter, cold cuts and paté. More traditional Vietnamese fillings became popular later, but the butter and paté stayed. The sandwich was most popular in the southern warmer parts of Vietnam as an alternative to Vietnamese staples like pho. Banh mi begun to spread far and wide in the 1960s and 70s following the Vietnam War, arriving in places like Australia where the warm climate mirrored that of south Vietnam. FOUR'N TWENTY PIES In March 2020 the Four'n Twenty pie became the Official Pie of the AFL. The crowning of this humble Australian pie brand had been a long time coming, but it was a long road to get there. The Four'n Twenty was created in Bendigo in 1947 by Les McClure, a dairy farmer who opened the Dad & Dave cafe. The pies were originally named after McClure's cafe before they were, apparently, renamed as a nod to the nursery rhyme 'Sing a Song of Sixpence' and its "four and twenty blackbirds backed in a pie". The pie's ability to be eaten with one hand while you hold a beer in the other no doubt contributed to its popularity as a stadium food, with the Four'n Twenty a frequent supplier to AFL food stands after its purchase by Peters Ice Cream in 1960. The thing that really solidified this particular brand of pies in the minds of footy fans was iconic ads that ran through the 1980s and 90s featuring catchy jingles and AFL stars. ESPRESSO MARTINI While some drinks have been around for centuries, the fun-lovin' espresso martini is fairly new to the bar scene. First created by revolutionary London bartender Dick Bradsell back in the early 80s, the cocktail's birth is attributed to a supermodel asking for a booze-fuelled drink that would simultaneously wake her up. As vodka back then was the spirit a la mode, Bradsell threw a generous shot of it in with a shot of coffee pulled from the barside espresso machine, plus some coffee liqueur (our money's on Kahlúa) and sugar syrup, then shook away before pouring it into a martini glass. It's rumoured that Kate Moss or Naomi Campbell could be the model behind the birth of the espresso martini. Initially, the drink was simply called a vodka espresso, before being known as the Pharmaceutical Stimulant in the late 90s and then the espresso martini. BOMBE ALASKA The bombe Alaska, or baked Alaska as it's known in its country of origin, has a storied past featuring former presidents and the sale of Russian land. Reports date dishes similar to the baked Alaska back to 1800s USA where President Thomas Jefferson dined on ice cream encased in a dried crust at the White House. It was apparently US inventor Sir Benjamin Thompson, the inventor of the kitchen range and a British loyalist in the American Revolutionary War, that was the first to discover meringue could be used as an insulator. The dessert's name comes from Parisian-American chef Charles Ranhofer who created a banana ice cream and walnut spiced cake version of the meal Jefferson had eaten and labeled it the Florida-Alaska. DOUGHNUTS The Smithsonian Magazine claims doughnuts have been around in some form or another for thousands of years, with archaeologists discovering fossils of doughnut-like cakes in prehistoric settlements. References to the doughnut can be found in publications as far back as 1808. A recipe from 1896 combines flour, salt, soda, cream tartar, nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, sugar, egg and sour milk to create its doughnuts. There seem to be two stories surrounding how doughnuts got their famous shape. The first is simply that the dough wouldn't cook all the way through to the middle when they were first being made so they were hollowed out. The second is a much more interesting story, involving adventures of the high seas. A New England ship captain had been given cakes from his mother to eat on a journey across the sea in order to ward off scurvy. When the captain needed to hold the wheel with both hands, he speared one of his mother's cakes onto the wheel, gifting the world the hollowed-out shape of the doughnut. MANGO PANCAKES The story of mango pancakes is one of mystery more than certainty. The bright yellow desserts are such a staple of Australian yum cha, some locals may be surprised to find out they are, for the most part, a uniquely Australian thing. The only other place across the globe that seems to have the same level of deep adoration for these creamy mango delights is Hong Kong. The dish is the signature dessert of Honeymoon Dessert, who have a strong claim to starting the craze in Hong Kong, however Honeymoon was established in 1995 and reports of Mango Pancakes online date back to the early 90s in Australia. This is all anecdotal of course, but, if there are any pancake detectives on the case, reach out as the mystery remains unsolved. Illustrations by asu_ad
The further we move away from the wild, it seems, the more we bring the wild to us. From adding rooftop gardens to buses to cultivating bioluminescent plants that replace light bulbs to the opening of the world's first fully algae powered building, the past two years have seen a surge in the green-ifying of our urban environments. The most visually dramatic movement of all has been the spread of the vertical garden. Of course, it's not necessarily a new thing. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (or Nineveh), after all, were at least imagined, if not built, in 600 B.C., and back in 1938, Stanley Hart White, Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Illinois, employed hydroponics to invent the first green wall. However, Patrick Blanc is the man behind the scattering of the seeds of "living architecture" all over the world. His vertical gardens have been planted in more than 25 cities, including San Francisco, Berlin, Tokyo and New York. As most Sydneysiders already know, he's just installed the tallest one on the planet right here, at One Central Park, Broadway. Twenty-one panels, filling 1,120 square metres of area, comprise its expanse. One hundred thousand seedlings, including exotic and native species, were established at nurseries all over New South Wales and Queensland. THE STORY STARTS BELOW SEA LEVEL Blanc first became passionate about plants at the age of 12, due to an obsession with his fish tank. "My first aim, forty years ago, was to filter the excess nutrients out of my aquarium by way of using plants," he explains. For such a child, a career in botany was inevitable. It was in the 1980s that he first became interested in training plants to defy gravity — the perfection of which is crucial to the success of any vertical garden. Now that he has the process worked out, he insists that it's technically straightforward. What can be trickier is attaching the plants firmly enough to the wall to protect passersby from an unexpected botanical deluge. They (the plants, not the passersby) are attached to mesh-covered felt, around which their roots cling as they grow, creating a secure stronghold. Mineralised water, rather than soil, provides a source of nutrients. ART MIRRORS NATURE When asked whether he's encountered any opposition to his projects, Blanc replies with a calm self-assuredness that his "living artwork" involves a mere mirroring of nature. "Some people have objections because they think it's a manipulation of the way nature intended plants to grow," he explains. "But this is not the case, well, not always. For a local example, at Wentworth Falls in New South Wales's Blue Mountains, rock-clinging plants are everywhere." At the Australian Garden Show, Blanc will be giving a lecture on how soilless plants survive in their natural habitats — cliffs, caves, waterfalls and tree branches. IT LOOKS GREEN, BUT DOES IT ACT GREEN? And what about the environment? Vertical gardens certainly help to lessen the burden of some of our more regrettable architectural decisions, but how do they score when it comes to cleaner air and reducing energy use? Some of the installations found in fancy hotels and the like are often dependent on energy-intensive lighting. They might promote an impression of environmental awareness, but they're actually doing damage if the carbon harnessed by the plants is less than that necessary to their growth. On this issue, Blanc states that making wise botanical choices is essential. "When planting indoors, it's a matter of choosing plants that are not full-sun," Blanc says. "So that lights are not required for many hours of the day." Stephen Collis, of Victoria-based business Wallgarden, agrees. He sells DIY vertical garden systems for household use that are light on resource consumption. "All the products needed are very low cost ... With its patented irrigation system, [the Wallgarden] uses one-seventh of the water that a plant uses in the ground and it also has massive insulation. Plants grow best on north western facing walls (because they get the most heat). They insulate in summer and also in winter, by keeping the heat in." BEATING BACK THE WINTER BLUES Both Blanc and Collis point out that vertical gardens can play a role in promoting mental and emotional health."Having a garden has a calming effect," says Collis, "especially in offices." "Indoor vertical gardens can bring a world of colour to the depths of winter," argues Blanc. "Given indoor spaces are climate-controlled. This provides an opportunity for plants from warm countries to grow in cold countries." He works with diverse flora, the origins of which often lie in some of the planet's most obscure locations. Recently, on a visit to the Philippines, he even discovered a new Begonia species, which has been named after him. Blanc has plenty of freedom to partake in international botanic and artistic escapades because his creations are really low on maintenance. As long as the watering system is functioning, pruning is required just once every few months. They can be expected to live for at least 31 years — Blanc planted one at his place in 1982 and it's still growing. Patrick Blanc will be appearing at The Australian Garden Show, to be held in Centennial Park, Sydney, between September 5 and 8. He'll be speaking as part of the "Seeds of Wisdom" Lecture Series. On Thursday, September 5, at 5.45pm, he'll deliver "Cliffs, Caves, Waterfalls, Tree Branches: the Natural Habitat for Soilless Living Plants", and on Friday, September 5, at 4.15pm, he'll discuss "The Vertical Garden: A Forty Year Innovation". Each 45 minute lecture will be followed by a 15 minute Q & A. Wall Garden will be exhibiting a vertical garden and conducting DIY demonstrations.
Tents at the ready: when 2023 ends and 2024 begins, there are few better ways to spend it than dancing and camping at southeast Queensland's Woodford Folk Festival. This isn't just a fest. It's a pop-up Moreton Bay village filled with live music, arts and culture. And it's returning for another year with a heap of well-known Australian — and Brisbane — names. Throwing back to the late 90s and early 00s, Regurgitator, Custard and Resin Dogs will all take to the Woodford stage between Wednesday, December 27, 2023–Monday, January 1, 2024 at Woodfordia on the Sunshine Coast. Also hailing from Brissie, along with plenty of the festival's attendees each year: Kate Miller-Heidke. Woodford 2023–24's roster of talent includes Ben Lee, Gretta Ray, Isaiah Firebrace and Kasey Chambers as well, on a list that spans more than 400 acts and 1834 shows. So, across the fest's 27 performance spaces, there'll be no shortage of things for the expected 120,000 people attending to see at Woodfordia's 500-acre parklands space (which now boasts a lake) — whether they're among the 25,000 folks who can stay onsite or just hitting up the event for the day. Accordingly, whoever piques your interest, or even if you're just keen on a Woodford experience — for the first time, tenth or 36th, because that's how many fests the event has notched up now — prepare to catch a heap of bands, wander between arts performances and get a little muddy, all around 90 minutes north of Brisbane. As always, the fest's lineup also features circus, cabaret, yoga, dance, comedy, spoken word, poetry, comedy, films, workshops, bars, cafes and restaurants. Keen to have a chat while your clothes was at The Blak Laundry? Learn to weave baskets with Kris Martin? Get giggling to talents curated by Sandeep Totlani? Hit up the Queer Ball's third year? They're some of the other standouts. Tickets are already on sale, with more highlights from the 2023–24 lineup below — and you can check out the full list of acts and activities on the Woodford website. WOODFORD 2023–24 LINEUP HIGHLIGHTS: Regurgitator Custard Resin Dogs Ben Lee Kate Miller-Heidke Isaiah Firebrace Kasey Chambers Mo'Ju Gretta Ra Odette Yirrmal A.Girl AFRO DIZZI ACT Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham The East Pointers Haiku Hands Leah Flanagan Borroloola Cultural Songwomen featuring Dr Shellie Morris AO Bumpy FourPlay String Quartet Yirinda Charlie Needs Braces Mitch King DancingWater ALPHAMAMA Jack Davies & the Bush Chooks Charm of Finches Dougie Maclean Assynt Ryan Young Hannah Rarity Dallahan Lisa O'Neill Andy Irvine Making Movies Rizo Božo Vrečo The 2023–24 Woodford Folk Festival runs from Wednesday, December 27, 2023–Monday, January 1, 2024 at Woodfordia on the Sunshine Coast. For more information, head to woodfordfolkfestival.com Images: Woodford Folk Festival via Flickr.
In Red, White and Blue, one of the five films in the Small Axe anthology, the force isn't with Star Wars' John Boyega. The police force, that is — although his character, Leroy Logan, gives up his job as a research scientist to fulfil his dream of becoming a cop. Logan wants to make a difference, and to drive change from within. He's committed to his task, even going through with his plan to enlist with London's Metropolitan Police after his father (Steve Toussaint, Doctor Who) is harassed and beaten by local officers because they can, and because they don't like the colour of his skin. But, while Logan excels at training and is quickly chosen to front a diversity campaign, British law enforcement in the early 80s wasn't welcoming to a Black man. Playing Logan — a real-life figure, like many within Small Axe — Boyega's eyes simmer with the intensity of someone who knows they're actively defying everything around them at each and every moment. Viewers can't help noticing this determined and resolute stare, just as they can't escape the Star Wars reference included by Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave and Widows filmmaker Steve McQueen and his co-scribe Courttia Newland either. Red, White and Blue is the third film in the series, however, so its audience has already spied this particular gaze several times over. Boyega and the character of Logan only appear in one movie, but the same look blazes across many of the faces seen across the entire 60s, 70s and 80s-set anthology, which places London's West Indian community firmly at its centre. In Mangrove, that same fervent expression is evident far and wide as the film tells an infuriating true tale about a police campaign to target a Caribbean restaurant in Notting Hill. When the Trinidad-born Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes, Lost in Space) opens the titular establishment, he wants to give his community a taste of home and a place to gather, but the cops quickly make their presence known. After protests about heavy-handed and racially targeted policing, nine activists — known as the Mangrove Nine, and including Black Panther leader Altheia Jones-LeCointe (played by Black Panther's Letitia Wright) — are arrested for inciting a riot. Co-scripting with Trespass Against Us and Tomb Raider writer Alastair Siddons, McQueen turns this heated situation into a gripping movie of two expertly crafted halves, with the first detailing the events from 1968 leading up to the trial, and the second showing how the defendants are treated while they're fighting for their freedom. [caption id="attachment_789616" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Mangrove[/caption] Of course, every Small Axe film is about that same fight, just in different manners. McQueen wants everyone watching to see the toll such a battle takes, especially when it has to be waged day in, day out — and the images in his work, as has proven the case across his filmography, are repeatedly concerned with people trying to navigate stress, then internalising all the pain the external world throws their way. Oscar-nominated for 12 Years a Slave, he's a master at conveying that pain and tension, often by peering intimately and empathetically at his characters. That's a skill that can't be underestimated, and that few filmmakers possess in quite the same way. Indeed, it's one of the reasons that McQueen's features always stand out. Lovers Rock, the second Small Axe entry, overflows with faces and bodies — at a West London house party in 1980, where Martha (debutant Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) and Franklyn (Micheal Ward, The Old Guard) cross paths. As the genre of reggae that shares the film's name echoes through the soundtrack, this pair of strangers lock eyes and more, with the film lovingly and tenderly showing Black Londoners just being themselves. Martha and Franklyn swoon over each other, and the movie swoons with them, its warm and sensual visuals helping to spin the only wholly fictional entry in the anthology. This tale is perhaps the most crucial part of the set, even though it departs tonally from its fellow features; the happiness snatched and shared by its two central characters feels all the more affecting and important when contextualised against the unwelcoming city around them. [caption id="attachment_797060" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Lovers Rock[/caption] Small Axe's fourth and fifth films don't leave any doubt that simply existing is often a political act for people of colour, and that trying to counter engrained discrimination and oppression is an ongoing effort. In Alex Wheatle, the series jumps into the life of the award-winning writer of the same name (as played by Ted Lasso's Asad-Shareef Muhammad as an eight-year-old, then by first-timer Sheyi Cole), who spends the bulk of his childhood in institutionalised care. When he later finds a place where he feels like he belongs, he's subsequently imprisoned during the Brixton Uprising of 1981. Unsurprisingly, Education also explores a character's formative years, using fictional figures to tell a story drawn from reality. Twelve-year-old Kingsley (Kenyah Sandy, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey) is singled out at his school, told he's underperforming and that he's being sent to another for kids with special needs — as part of an unofficial segregation policy his mother Agnes (Sharlene Whyte, We Hunt Together) learns is far too commonly applied to West Indian children. Before this anthology, McQueen hadn't directed a bad movie. That isn't changing now. Here, he gifts viewers a quintet of films that are as exceptional as anything he's ever made — and as potent, impassioned and probing as well. There's no weak link here, only stunning, stirring, standout cinema that tells blistering tales about Black London residents doing everything it takes to resist their racist treatment and live their lives. Every feature is sumptuously shot, too, thanks to the awards-worthy work of cinematographer Shabier Kirchner (Bull), which transports viewers into the five movies so vividly it's like you've been whisked back in person. McQueen's soundtrack choices also add yet another layer, including the pitch-perfect use of Janet Kay's 'Silly Games' in what might be the series' best sequence — as well Al Green's cover of the Bee Gees' 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart' that cuts deep, as everything about Small Axe does by design. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcqItifbNUA&feature=youtu.be All five Small Axe films are available to stream via Binge. Top image: Red, White and Blue.
When autumn starts winding down, end the season with a bit of sunshine. When winter kicks in, begin it with beaming rays, too. Virgin wants you to book in a Queensland getaway across May and June 2025, so much so that it's putting on a big flight sale. Fares start at $45, and you've got three days to nab a bargain. Also, your efforts will help the Sunshine State's tourism industry after the weather hasn't been kind to it so far this year. This round of specials is available until 11.59pm AEST on Saturday, March 29 — unless sold out earlier — and covers destinations from the Gold Coast up to Cairns. You have two months to head away, between Thursday, May 1–Monday, June 30, 2025, although dates vary per route. While the sale is firmly focused on one part of the country, you still have options in terms of departure points and destinations. Within Queensland, you can leave or arrive in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Hamilton Island, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Mt Isa and Proserpine. And, around the rest of the country, flights to and from Adelaide, Alice Springs, Canberra, Darwin, Launceston, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Sydney and Uluru are available. The cheapest price, $45, will get you between Sydney and either the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast. For $55, Brisbane–Proserpine and Melbourne–Gold Coast fares are on offer. From there, $79 covers Sydney–Cairns and Sydney–Hamilton Island, while Brisbane–Hamilton Island is $85 and Melbourne–Cairns is $99 — and the list goes on. The sale has the backing of the Queensland government, to assist the Sunshine State's recovery after the weather events of the past few months — and thousands of seats have been discounted. Only select fares cover seat choice and checked baggage, however, with the airline announcing back in 2021 that it now splits its economy flights into three types. Economy Lite doesn't include checking any baggage or picking your seat, but Economy Choice does — and Economy Flex gives you extra flexibility (hence the name) if you have to change your plans later. Virgin's 72hr Queensland sale runs until 11.59pm AEST on Saturday, March 29 — or until sold out. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Back in 2006, 11-part documentary series Planet Earth combined stunning high-definition images of this place we all call home with David Attenborough's inimitable narration. Then, in 2016, the show's six-part sequel Planet Earth II arrived, doing the same thing as well. A third program, Planet Earth III, is slated to join them soon — reportedly in 2023, in fact — because no one can ever get enough of the iconic broadcaster and natural historian. But that isn't the only one of his projects that's returning to screens in the near future, and neither is Prehistoric Planet's previously announced second season. The other: Our Planet II, a followup to 2019's Our Planet, which also explores our pale blue dot. Despite the name, it isn't related to BBC's Planet shows — which also include The Blue Planet and Frozen Planet — but it does still feature Attenborough's informative tones. In its first go-around, Our Planet tasked Attenborough with talking viewers through the planet's remaining wilderness areas and their animal inhabitants. The series was made in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, which meant plenty of astonishing and majestic critters scurrying across the screen. It was filmed in 50 countries across all the continents of the world, heading everywhere from the remote Arctic wilderness to the South American jungles — and to sprawling African landscapes and the depths of the ocean as well. Expect a heap more jaw-dropping imagery — and amazing animals as well — in Our Planet II, which will make its way to Netflix on Wednesday, June 14. This time around, it'll unfurl its wonders across four episodes, highlighting everything from penguins and polar bears to lions and elephants. The just-dropped first teaser trailer also features birds, turtles, seals, whales, fish and insects, because our planet boasts quite the range of species. Fans can also look forward to more nature shows hitting Netflix in the future, as part of a broader series that includes 2022's Morgan Freeman-narrated Our Universe. Also set to arrive in 2023, Life on Our Planet heads back in time, also features Freeman's voiceover and shows dinosaurs just as Attenborough's Prehistoric Planet (which streams via Apple TV+) does. Then, in 2024, Our Oceans will dive into the deep blue sea, while Our Living World is all about earth's life-sustaining natural networks. And, come 2025, Our Water World will hone in on freshwater systems. Check out the first Our Planet II trailer below: Our Planet II streams via on Netflix from Wednesday, June 14. Images: Ed Charles / John Haskew / Netflix
When telling the tale of a five-year-old Indian boy separated from everyone and everything he knows (and the man who later tries to piece together his past), names are important. In Lion, Saroo Brierley is both the child and adult in question, with the movie recounting his real-life experiences trying to return to his mother Kamla and his brother Guddu, and then being adopted by Australians Sue and John Brierley. Newcomer Sunny Pawar and English actor Dev Patel play Saroo at different stages of his life, the latter with as spot-on an Australian accent as you're likely to hear. Nicole Kidman, David Wenham and Rooney Mara help round out the high-profile cast. Yes, there's names aplenty here. One that's crucial in bringing Saroo's plight to the cinema — based on his memoir, and as covered by TV's 60 Minutes — is Garth Davis. In fact, expect to hear his name more often, particularly as Lion keeps receiving acclaim. Davis was recently nominated for two Directors Guild of America awards, while the film snagged six Oscar nods, including for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Patel) and Best Supporting Actress (Kidman). Plus, his next movie is certain to attract even more interest: reuniting with Mara, and also starring Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Aussie Ryan Corr, you'll instantly know the story at the centre of Mary Magdalene. For a first-time filmmaker previously best known for co-directing the first season of Top of the Lake with Jane Campion, it has been quite the journey to becoming one of the hottest names in Australian cinema. With Lion making its way to local screens, we chatted with Davis about taking on such a powerful story, finding excellent leads and how travelling to India to follow in Saroo's footsteps shaped the movie. ON TAKING ON SAROO'S STORY "The story itself is just an extraordinary tale. It is hard to believe it is true. And you read this story, and you can't help but be moved by it. I mean, it's incredible. But I could also sense something moving under the story, that was quite spiritual and quite special, and I think that's what really lured me into making the film. And when I started to meet the real-life people in the story, like Sue and Saroo and all his Indian family, I realised that there was such an immense love that all the characters held — and I suddenly realised it was this love that I think engineered the miracle that the story has." ON DOING JUSTICE TO SUCH A POWERFUL TRUE TALE "There's a big responsibility in telling a true story. So all you can do really is spend time with everybody and try to understand their stories as deeply and emotionally as possible. So that's what I did — I basically almost immediately went to India, coincidentally at the time that Sue was meeting Saroo's birth mother Kamla. It was such an incredible meeting, so I just tried to immerse myself in their lives as much as possible, hear their stories, hear them talk about things. I think that's a really important process to go through so you can kind of dimensionalise their story. Because a lot of people take their story, and it makes a great article or a great paragraph or a great conversation — but to turn it into a movie, you've got to go a lot deeper. And you need to really get behind it to understand it." ON HOW TRAVELLING TO INDIA AND FOLLOWING IN SAROO'S FOOTSTEPS HELPED SHAPE THE FILM "It's very simple. It's very subtle and kind of existential. Things like, for me, when I stand in that village, I try to imagine myself as a child: where would I play? What would my world feel like? What are the sounds? What's the nature like? I go wandering off into the paddocks. I spent a lot of time just sitting at the dam, the dam that is featured in the film and in the story, just watching a new generation of children. Seeing how they play, how the women do the washing, seeing the trains passing by. So I just immersed myself in that world, as a director and as an artist. And then carrying that through, like when I got to Kolkata, I didn't quite realise how powerful that was. Like imagining my kids — because I've got three kids — imagining them just being dropped off in this chaotic planet, it's like another planet really. And just trying to imagine how they'd survive. Again, I would be in Saroo's shoes, just going, "okay where would I stay? What would I do?" and I'd walk around, and eventually I stumbled across real homeless children sleeping out in the subways and in some of those forgotten paddocks that sit across the way from the train station, and the reality of it really struck me — just how important and how powerful it was going to be as a film, and as an experience with an audience." ON LION'S STRUCTURE, AND SPENDING THE FIRST HALF OF THE MOVIE FOCUSED ON A FIVE-YEAR-OLD "It's not a story of a guy who starts to remember something. It's not that kind of story. He remembers everything — he's just lost, and he's never had any hope of finding home so he's had to move on and accept his fate. And find gratitude in what's happened to him ultimately, because he's survived all the perils. So it didn't seem like it was that kind of movie where he's remembering things and putting things together. I don't know, we just felt it was more powerful in that kind of snowball effect. People can become very complacent with their own worlds, you know? I think I was very interested in that idea that anybody in the street could have an amazing story. So if the audience steps into the shoes of a young boy who they almost take on as their own because he's so beautiful — and the family, despite their poverty, are very loving — I think he's a very accessible character. And then you basically go on a journey with him. Then, suddenly you leap forward 20 years and he's like an everyday Aussie guy, and he's got a charm and he's got a great life, and he's just a really healthy, happy-go-lucky guy, but he's sitting on this enormous past that you wouldn't see until you scratch the surface. So I think that was kind of interesting for me." ON FINDING THE RIGHT ACTORS TO PLAY SAROO "We did an extensive casting. We cast in three cities, we went for about four to five months. We looked at thousands of children and we shortlisted that to a few hundred. It was a lot of hard work, and we stumbled across Sunny one day, in all of his glory and character. He was the one — it was a bullseye. When you're dealing with someone so young, you need to make sure you cast someone who covers at least more than half of the characteristics of your character. So, in their natural state, in their natural being, you've kind of got Saroo. And then you can move from there. But it is very hard to have someone go against their nature for most of the movie, so we had to find someone who had a quality and a characteristic, and a light and a sense of instinct that matched Saroo. And little Sunny had all of that. And then we just had to basically encourage him and train him and teach him how to act, and how to feel safe in front of the camera, and learn some techniques. And eventually he started to do some full-blown acting — it was amazing. Dev Patel is one of those rare people, very very rare people, if you get to meet him you'll never forget him. He's just a beautiful light, there's a light about him — and I felt that this movie is full of that. And so I think his spirit is wonderful, and also he was the best actor by far. So it was again an amazing combination of things. That's the reason why he's playing Saroo and the reason why he's so fantastic in the film." Lion opened in Australian cinemas on January 19, 2017. Read our review. Images: Mark Rogers.
The summer of you has arrived — now that you've finally shaken that winter cold that held on for weeks, stopped begrudgingly ordering hot toddies at the pub and are now prepared to bring out your bare legs for the first time in months. You're also now saving stacks on not having to get Ubers door to door because of the rain and cold. What can you do to celebrate? Well, there's a bunch of things going on this summer in Melbourne that won't blow the bank — send those Uber funds elsewhere. We've joined up with Bank of Melbourne to pull together a list of what you should be doing before the season's through. Start planning and read on. ROOFTOP POOL PARTY ON FLINDERS LANE It's a hidden gem usually reserved for hotel guests, but come Saturday, January 19, the sun-drenched rooftop pool above Holiday Inn Melbourne on Flinders will open to the public for a one-off summer splash session. Kicking off at noon, the hotel's sky-high astroturfed terrace and adjoining pool will play host to the sort of classic Aussie pool party you don't often find in the heart of the CBD. Switch between taking dips and lounging in the sun, while enjoying free-flowing beer, wine, cider and soft drinks, all included in the ticket price. A sausage sizzle will be doling out yet more pool party staples, while the soundtrack's set to feature a fun-loving mix of classic summer jams and new favourites. Best of all, a ticket to the two-hour rooftop party will set you back just $40. MIDSUMMA FESTIVAL X NOCTURNAL FEAT. NAKHANE Melbourne Museum is good for more than just cool history stuff. The monthly adults-only sessions, Nocturnal, have produced an intriguing lineup for this summer. On Friday, February 1, the museum will host a special event in tandem with Midsumma Festival, presenting Nakhane, the South African artist making waves with his mix of percussive house-pop and speaking up as an important voice in the LGBTQI+ sphere. Joining him will be OKENYO, the project of actor and musician Zindzi Okenyo, with her neo-soul/R&B vibes. More will be announced soon, and without a doubt, a good night is set to be in store. Tickets are $25 for early bird or $35 full price. JUGS OF SANGRIA NEXT TO THE BEACH AT REPUBLICA Dog-friendly, right next to the beach, with comfortable outdoor seating and a menu rich in fresh seafood, Republica is one of St Kilda's finest. The bar also offers cocktail jugs, done in one-litre size. Sit in their sprawling outdoor area post-swim, and order a couple sangria jugs to get you through a warm summer evening on the beach. There'll likely be a pretty good food special on, too, depending on the day of the week. Perfect for sharesies with mates, a date or just you and your pooch (don't give alcohol to dogs, though), the jugs are $35 each and also come filled with Pimm's, Stones & Soda and Traditional Lemonade. NGV FRIDAY NIGHTS: KLP AND EILISH GILLIGAN NGV's Friday Night series has once again kicked off with a bang, with this year bringing a huge lineup of artists, DJs and dancers to keep you feeling arty and cultured and gooey about how much you love Melbourne. The NGV might well be our city's calling card, and it'll be trumping it late on Friday nights through summer. Your ticket includes entry to the gallery's Escher x Nendo: Between Two World exhibition so you can 'two birds one stone' it. Head along from 6pm on January 11 to see musicians KLP and Eilish Gilligan both do DJ sets. While you're there catch live performances of Bach pieces, discover the NGV's architecture commission for 2018 and hit up the pop-up gin bars. Tickets are $28 for museum members and $35 full price. We recommend booking in advance. KIDULTING AT THE ENCHANTED ADVENTURE GARDEN Arthurs Seat's Enchanted Adventure Garden is full of activities for both big and little kids alike. At the adventure park, full-grown adult types will find themselves feeling intrepid and at one with nature as they push past kids to win at the hedge maze — just remember you are actually bigger than them. Along with the three mazes on offer, you'll also find tube sliding, canopy walks and a spooky 3D maze. All day access is $30 for adults. There's also something called tree surfing — like a high ropes course — and a zipline, available at an additional cost. BERRY PICKING AT BLUE HILLS BERRY FARM There's something to be said about food you've grown, harvested and prepared by yourself — and here you'll get two of those three boxes ticked. Head to Blue Hills Berry Farm for its 'u-pick' service, where you can pick as many berries as you can — to add to a pav, or just scoff on the car ride home. Take your pick from the two locations in Silvan (offering either cherries or other berries), don your runners and off you go. Tip: check the farm's fruit report the day before you go to see what's ripe and ready for the pickin'. Entry fee is $13.50, plus whatever you pick (price per kilo varies depending on berry). [caption id="attachment_656151" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nathan Doran.[/caption] THE ST KILDA FESTIVAL If you're a fan of tasteful tunes and exuberant summer vibes that don't bruise the budget, the annual St Kilda Festival should be at the top of your summer bucket list. The nation's largest free music festival returns to St Kilda's foreshore for its 39th year on Sunday, February 10, bringing eight stages of live music and a ton of food stalls and interactive workshops stretching from Catani Gardens to the south end of Acland Street. As well as bangin' tunes, the air will be filled with the scent of delicious eats emanating from more than 100 food vendors. There'll be everything from curry to burgers, ribs and sushi — providing plenty of sustenance for all that dancing. And since the tunes are free, you'll have plenty of cash to splash on all the good eats expected. [caption id="attachment_638897" align="alignnone" width="1620"] Brook James.[/caption] WINE AND CICCHETTI OUTSIDE AT HEARTATTACK AND VINE Opened by the owners as an homage to the small neighbourhood bars and cafes of Italy and Spain, Heartattack and Vine is a solo diner's dream as well as a place to have a red wine or four with friends. Sit outside in the warm months at the communal wooden table out the front and watch the Lygon Street traffic drizzle past. Heartattack's food speciality is cicchetti, a Venetian type of tapas, which constantly rotate — and at $4 a pop, you can't go wrong. Arm yourself with a negroni and go full Italiano. GERSHWIN AND FRIENDS AT THE SIDNEY MYER MUSIC BOWL The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra presents this ode to old mate George Gershwin, the famous composer, and his other musically inclined mates. At this free concert in the Music Bowl, bring a picnic rug and embrace listening to something this silly season that isn't thumping house music — or Christmas carols on repeat. Let the strains of some of Gershwin's most well-known compositions (Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris) wash over you in the 90-minute concert on Friday, February 8. 2019 will celebrate 90 years of MSO free concerts and 60 years at the Bowl so it's a good year to be choosing classical music over cooked times at Revs. Entry is $0 but first in best dressed. BRUNCH OUTSIDE AT THE STABLES OF COMO South Yarra venue The Stables of Como is a more than just a trendy brunch place. It's part of a National Trust area, it's a wedding hotspot, high tea go-to and a picnic lover's dream. The converted stables are a multi-faceted site for occasions, strolls in the gardens or an outdoor meal. So hit up the café for a pink, summery juice (watermelon, strawberries, rose, mint and coconut yoghurt) and fill up on prawn toast soldiers ($18), then grab one of the lush cakes and a takeaway coffee to have yourself a little impromptu picnic on the grounds.
You've been putting in the hard yards at the office all week. It's been early starts and late nights, and you can't remember the last time you hit the gym. The days just never feel long enough. Winter is traditionally a season of hibernation, a time to say yes to staying in and hiding from the cold with a bowl of carbonara in hand. But one too many nights like this feels good for neither the body nor the mind. To get you moving and recover some of that energy, we've teamed up with M.J. Bale to put some boredom-busting activities at the top of your winter to-do list — and provided some suggestions of what to wear while you're out and about. Read on to stay active this winter and look great doing so. [caption id="attachment_721066" align="alignnone" width="2048"] Visit Melbourne.[/caption] GO FOR A BUSH WALK When the temperature dips below 18 degrees, the couch might feel like the only place to be. But trust us on this one. Hitting the trails for a day of fresh air and lush surrounds is an unbeatable way to get the blood pumping. Plus, the cooler months mean you can throw on tons of layers and still finish your hike with minimal sweat. Genius. Head to your nearest national park or scout out a lush coastal walk and enjoy some well-earned tech-free time in the great outdoors. Where: Strap on your walking shoes and try Sydney's Aboriginal Heritage Walk in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, Melbourne's Great Ocean Walk, Brisbane's Buhot Creek Circuit in Daisy Hill Conservation Park and Perth's Bells Rapids Walk Trail in Swan Valley. Wear: The water-resistant and breathable Flannery Gilet ($199.00) layered over natural fibres to crush the cold. [caption id="attachment_721067" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Pasta Emilia.[/caption] TAKE A COOKING CLASS Has the new season of MasterChef sparked your inner gastronomic fire? Then wave goodbye to microwave dinners and say hello to gourmet home-cooked feasts that'll blow your mates' socks off. By joining a cooking class, you can have an expert teach you elusive techniques, like how to fold the perfect ravioli or whip up a bowl of authentic baba ganoush. Plus, on top of learning the tricks of the trade, you'll meet some new faces and enjoy the fruits of your labour over a celebratory glass of vino. Now that's how all school days should end. Where: Get cooking at Pasta Emilia's hands-on pasta making workshop in Sydney, craft heart-warming Middle Eastern dishes at Free to Feed in Melbourne, master Vietnamese soups and noodles at Golden Pig in Brisbane and learn how to make Japanese bar snacks at Salt & Company in Perth. Wear: The Depp Stain Repellent Tee ($59.95), because you don't want to carry your culinary masterpieces home on your clothing. [caption id="attachment_721068" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Handsome & Co.[/caption] GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY AT A SHORT COURSE There's no better detox from sitting at a desk all day than making something with your hands. Combine that with the task of learning a new skill, and you're guaranteed to give your brain a healthy gear-shift. Maybe this is the year you finally give pottery a crack, learn how to make your own jewellery or nail the basics of welding. And you never know where your new skills could take you. Here's your chance to explore a passion project or side hustle that could one day see you ditch your nine-to-five job. Where: Let your creative juices flow at The Pottery Shed's Basic Throwing Class in Sydney, try Handsome & Co's Introduction to Furniture Making in Melbourne, learn to throw clay like a pro at The Ceramic House in Brisbane and make your own gourmet cheeses at The Cheese Maker in Perth. Wear: The Tortuga Denim Shirt ($129.95) puts you in something durable while you hone a new craft. [caption id="attachment_721114" align="alignnone" width="2048"] B. Lucky & Sons.[/caption] PLAN SOME FRIENDLY COMPETITION AMONG FRIENDS A night of booze, banter and tasty nosh is how most of us choose to catch up with our mates. But, who doesn't love some healthy competition? Shake up your social routine and test your skills with an evening of group-friendly novelty games. Plenty of venues across the country host mini golf, arcade games and everything in between. All you need to do is gather your mates, pick your arena and get playing. Where: Bring the crew together at Maniax Axe Throwing in Sydney, try your hand at mini golf and karaoke at Holey Moley in Melbourne, revisit classic arcade games at B. Lucky & Sons in Brisbane and race a mate in your own go-kart Grand Prix at Kart World in Perth. Wear: Keep things casual and warm in the Buchanan Merino V-Neck Knit ($149.95). [caption id="attachment_721113" align="alignnone" width="2016"] SportUp.[/caption] JOIN A SPORTS TEAM No, this won't be anything like your memories of high school gym classes. Signing up to a sports club as an adult means social matches and light-hearted fitness with celebratory drinks at the pub afterwards. Grab a few mates or co-workers, and join as a team or go it solo for a chance to expand your network. The best bit? Regular matches mean you'll be held accountable for turning up to that 6am training session (yes, even when it's dark and pouring outside). But at least you'll have the rest of your team suffering alongside in solidarity. Where: Find your fitness tribe with dodgeball at Urban Rec Sydney, shoot hoops at Social Sport in Melbourne, give indoor netball a crack at Sport Up in Brisbane and go for a spot of social badminton with Badminton Buddies in Perth. Wear: The Sports Bag ($99.95) gives you both handle and shoulder strap options. Discover more action-ready wear for winter on the M.J. Bale website.
"Do you remember the first time you saw a dinosaur?" asks Bryce Dallas Howard in the latest instalment of the Jurassic Park franchise. We do. It was 25 years ago, as John Williams' iconic score built to its majestic climax and the cast of Steven Spielberg's iconic blockbuster rose from the seats of their jeep, tore off their glasses and stared wide-eyed at a beautiful, towering Brachiosaurus. It's been a quarter of a century since the first Jurassic Park captured the imagination of moviegoers the world over and ushered in the brave new world of CGI-enhanced filmmaking. The whole thing was classic Spielberg: a rollicking, family-friendly adventure that pushed the boundaries of innovation whilst remaining grounded in entirely relatable human stories. Its extraordinary success made sequels inevitable, but unfortunately none except perhaps 1997's The Lost World have come even close to recapturing the magic and wonder of the original. In Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom we have a film significantly better than its immediate predecessor, yet one that still falls well short of the bar set back in 1993. Much of the problem with this instalment lies with the franchise's so-called villains. In Jurassic Park the combination was perfect: flawed human antagonists in Dennis Nedry and John Hammond, existential menace in the form of technological hubris, and, of course, those dinosaurs. Between the thuggery of the T-Rex, the cunning of the raptors and the toxic spit of the Dilophosaurus, every step through the failing park held unbearable peril for its characters, instilling a dread that overflowed into the audience. Since then, however, the Jurassic movies have relied largely on a generic recurring villain: InGen, the unscrupulous genetics corporation behind all that Dino-DNA splicing. Even worse, the raptors and T-Rex have become, thanks to their broad popularity, inadvertent heroes, leaving the Dino-threat to come from species that never even existed. Here again in Fallen Kingdom it's that same formula at play: InGen is secretly cooking up some new dinosaurs to sell as weapons (still as ridiculous a concept as it was in Jurassic World), and the big scary dinosaur is a genetically-engineered ultra raptor. Around them are cookie-cutter human bad-guys in the form of mercenaries, big game hunters and money-hungry suits, as well as franchise regular Dr. Henry Wu (B.D. Wong), the original Jurassic Park geneticist who continues to learn precisely zero from all his past mistakes. There is still a lot of fun to be had here, and even a few unexpected feels as director J.A Bayona (A Monster Calls) reminds us that monsters of choice are always worse than monsters of instinct. The film's central conceit, too, is a compelling one: a volcano on the island upon which the dinosaurs currently reside is poised to erupt, meaning they will again become extinct without human intervention. To rescue or not to rescue becomes the burning question for Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Claire Dearing (Dallas Howard) and returning fan favourite Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). InGen, predictably, wants the animals saved for far less noble reasons than preservation. The scenes set on the island are the strongest in the movie, and include perhaps the most affecting moment in the entire franchise in the form of a heart-wrenching callback to that iconic Brachiosaurus shot from all those years ago. Thereafter, Fallen Kingdom transforms into a semi Gothic horror film as the action shifts to an isolated mansion in which the characters are stalked by Wu's latest creation. Toby Jones and James Cromwell give spirited performances during this phase, but the weaknesses of the script refuse to be covered up. The bad get eaten whilst the good survive, and it honestly never feels like our heroes are in any genuine peril. As part two of a planned trilogy, the end-point of Fallen Kingdom certainly offers some interesting possibilities for the final instalment. That said, absent a more nuanced and, dare we say, sympathetic villain, this franchise, like Dr. Wu, seems destined to repeat the mistakes of its past. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn9mMeWcgoM
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 and plenty of people staying home in iso will do that — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you've been under the weather. Perhaps you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Given the hefty amount of films 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 13 that you can watch right now at home. CRIMES OF THE FUTURE It takes a brave filmmaker to see cancer and climate change, and think of art, evolution and eroticism in a possible future. It takes a bold director to have a character proclaim that "surgery is the new sex", too. David Cronenberg has always been that kind of visionary, even before doing all of the above in his sublime latest release — and having the Scanners, Videodrome and The Fly helmer back on his body-horror bent for the first time in more than two decades is exactly the wild and weird dream that cinephiles want it to be. The Canadian auteur makes his first movie at all since 2014's Maps to the Stars, in fact, and this tale of pleasure and pain is as Cronenbergian as anything can be. He borrows Crimes of the Future's title from his second-ever feature dating back 50-plus years, brings all of his corporeal fascinations to the fore, and moulds a viscerally and cerebrally mesmerising film that it feels like he's always been working towards. Long live the new flesh, again. Long live the old Cronenberg as well. In this portrait of a potential time to come, the human body has undergone two significant changes. Three, perhaps, as glimpsed in a disquieting opening where an eight-year-old called Brecken (debutant Sotiris Siozos) snacks on a plastic bin, and is then murdered by his mother Djuna (Lihi Kornowski, Ballistic). That incident isn't unimportant, but Crimes of the Future has other departures from today's status quo to carve into — and they're equally absorbing. Physical agony has disappeared, creating a trade in "desktop surgery" as performance art. Also, a condition dubbed Accelerated Evolution Syndrome causes some folks, such as artist Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen, Thirteen Lives), to grow abnormal organs. These tumours are removed and tattooed in avant-garde shows by his doctor/lover Caprice (Léa Seydoux, No Time to Die), then catalogued by the National Organ Register's Wippit (Don McKellar, reteaming with Cronenberg after eXistenZ) and Timlin (Kristen Stewart, Spencer). Crimes of the Future is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. NOPE Kudos to Jordan Peele for giving his third feature as a writer/director a haters-gonna-hate-hate-hate name: for anyone unimpressed with Nope, the response is right there. Kudos, too, to the Get Out and Us filmmaker for making his third bold, intelligent and supremely entertaining horror movie in a row — a reach-for-the-skies masterpiece that's ambitious and eerie, imaginative and expertly crafted, as savvy about cinema as it is about spectacle, and inspires the exact opposite term to its moniker. Reteaming with Peele after nabbing an Oscar nomination for Get Out, Daniel Kaluuya utters the titular word more than once in Nope. Exclaiming "yep" in your head each time he does is an instant reaction. Everything about the film evokes that same thrilled endorsement, but it comes particularly easily whenever Kaluuya's character surveys the wild and weird events around him. We say yay to his nays because we know we'd respond the same way if confronted by even half the chaos that Peele whooshes through the movie. As played with near-silent weariness by the always-excellent Judas and the Black Messiah Oscar-winner, Haywood's Hollywood Horses trainer OJ doesn't just dismiss the strange thing in the heavens, though. He can't, even if he doesn't realise the full extent of what's happening when his father (Keith David, Love Life) suddenly slumps on his steed on an otherwise ordinary day. Six months later, OJ and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer, Lightyear) are trying to keep the family business, which dates back to the 1800s, running. The presence lurking above the Haywoods' Agua Dulce property soon requires just as much attention, though. Just as Get Out saw Peele reinterrogate the possession movie and Us did the same with doppelgängers, Nope goes all in on flying saucers. So, Emerald wants the kind of proof that only video footage can offer. She wants her "Oprah shot", as well as a hefty payday. Soon, the brother-sister duo are buying new surveillance equipment — which piques the interest of UFO-obsessed electronics salesman Angel Torres (Brandon Perea, The OA) — and also enlisting renowned cinematographer Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott, Veni Vidi Vici) to capture the lucrative image. Nope is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE BLACK PHONE The Black Phone didn't need to star Ethan Hawke. In a way, it doesn't really. Fresh from Moon Knight and The Northman, Hawke is definitely in this unsettling 1978-set horror film. He's also exceptional in it. But, his top billing springs from his name recognition and acting-veteran status rather than his screen time. Instead, superb up-and-comer Mason Thames gets the bulk of the camera's attention in his first feature role. After him, equally outstanding young talent Madeleine McGraw (Ant-Man and The Wasp) comes next. They spend most of their time worrying about, hearing rumours of, hiding from, battling and/or trying to track down a mask-wearing, van-driving, child-snatching villain — the role that Hawke plays in a firmly supporting part, almost always beneath an eerie disguise. Visibly at least, anyone could've donned the same apparel and proven an on-screen source of menace. There's a difference between popping something creepy over your face and actually being creepy, though. Scary masks can do a lot of heavy lifting, but they're also just a made-to-frighten facade. Accordingly, when it comes to being truly petrifying, Hawke undoubtedly makes The Black Phone. He doesn't literally; his Sinister director Scott Derrickson helms, and also co-wrote the script with that fellow horror flick's C Robert Cargill, adapting a short story by Stephen King's son Joe Hill — and the five-decades-back look and feel, complete with amber and grey hues, plus a nerve-rattling score, are all suitably disquieting stylistic touches. But as the movie's nefarious attacker, who has been terrorising north Denver's suburban streets and soon has 13-year-old Finney Blake (Thames) in his sights, Hawke is unnervingly excellent, and also almost preternaturally unnerving in every moment. Whenever he opens his mouth, his voice couldn't echo from anyone else; however, it's the nervy, ominous and bone-weary physicality that he brings to the character that couldn't be more pitch-perfect. The Black Phone is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. OFFICIAL COMPETITION Every actor has one, albeit in various shades, lengths and textures, but sometimes one single hairstyle says everything about a film. Wildly careening in whichever direction it seems to feel like at any point, yet also strikingly sculptural, the towering reddish stack of curly locks atop Penélope Cruz's head in Official Competition is one such statement-making coiffure. It's a stunning sight, with full credit to the movie's hairstylists. These tremendous tresses are both unruly and immaculate; they draw the eye in immediately, demanding the utmost attention. And, yes, Cruz's crowning glory shares those traits with this delightful Spanish Argentine farce about filmmaking — a picture directed and co-written by Mariano Cohn and Gastуn Duprat (The Distinguished Citizen), and also starring Antonio Banderas (Uncharted) and Oscar Martínez (Wild Tales), that it's simply impossible to look away from. Phenomenal hair is just the beginning for Cruz here. Playing filmmaker Lola Cuevas — a Palme d'Or-winning arthouse darling helming an ego-stroking prestige picture for rich octogenarian businessman Humberto Suárez (José Luis Gómez, Truman) — she's downright exceptional as well. Humberto decides to throw some cash into making a movie in the hope of leaving a legacy that lasts, and enlisting Lola to work her magic with a Nobel Prize-winning novel called Rivalry is quite the coup. So is securing the talents of flashy global star Félix Rivero (Banderas) and serious theatre actor Iván Torres (Martínez), a chalk-and-cheese pair who'll work together for the first time, stepping into the shoes of feuding brothers. But before the feature can cement its backer's name in history, its three key creatives have to survive an exacting rehearsal process. Lola believes in rigorous preparation, and in testing and stretching her leading men, with each technique she springs on them more outlandish and stressful than the last. Official Competition is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING No one should need to cleanse their palates between Mad Max movies — well, maybe after Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, depending on your mileage with it — but if anyone does, George Miller shouldn't be one of them. The Australian auteur gifted the world the hit dystopian franchise, has helmed and penned each and every chapter, and made Mad Max: Fury Road an astonishing piece of cinema that's one of the very best in every filmic category that applies. Still, between that kinetic, frenetic, rightly Oscar-winning movie and upcoming prequel Furiosa, Miller has opted to swish around romantic fantasy Three Thousand Years of Longing. He does love heightened drama and also myths, including in the series he's synonymous with. He adores chronicling yearnings and hearts' desires, too, whether surveying vengeance and survival, the motivations behind farm animals gone a-wandering in Babe: Pig in the City, the dreams of dancing penguins in Happy Feet, or love, happiness and connection here. In other words, although adapted from AS Byatt's short story The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, Three Thousand Years of Longing is unshakeably and inescapably a Miller movie — and it's as alive with his flair for the fantastical as most of his resume. It's a wonder for a range of reasons, one of which is simple: the last time that the writer/director made a movie that didn't connect to the Mad Max, Babe or Happy Feet franchises was three decades back. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that this tale about a narratologist (Tilda Swinton, Memoria) and the Djinn (Idris Elba, Beast) she uncorks from a bottle, and the chats they have about their histories as the latter tries to ensure the former makes her three wishes to truly set him free, is told with playfulness, inventiveness, flamboyance and a deep heart. Much of Miller's filmography is, but there's a sense with Three Thousand Years of Longing that he's been released, too — even if he loves his usual confines, as audiences do as well. Three Thousand Years of Longing is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. BULLET TRAIN Buy the ticket, take the ride, strap in for an onslaught of frenetic locomotive-bound fights: that's high-octane action-comedy Bullet Train on- and off-screen. Set on a shinkansen hurtling from Tokyo to Kyoto, in as stylised a vision of Japan that anyone not named Quentin Tarantino has ever thought of, this neon-lit adaptation of Kōtarō Isaka's 2010 page-turner Maria Beetle couldn't be more onboard with its central concept. That premise isn't snakes on a plane, but rather assassins on a train — plus one snake, one of nature's hitmen, actually. Cramming all those killers onto a single engine sparks mayhem, banter and bodies, not to mention chaotic frays in the quiet car and almost every other space. And when it works, with John Wick and Atomic Blonde's David Leitch steering the show, Tarantino and Guy Ritchie alum Brad Pitt as his main passenger, and a lifetime's worth of references to Thomas the Tank Engine slotted in, Bullet Train is as OTT and entertaining as it overtly wants to be. It doesn't always completely work, however; every journey, zipping along on a high-speed train or not, has its dips. Still, there are plenty of moving parts trying to keep the movie in motion — and plenty of plot, for better and for worse in both instances. In his second 2022 action-comedy after The Lost City, Pitt plays Ladybug, who is back riding the hired-gun rails after a zen break packed with new-age self-help platitudes. That's what he spouts to his handler (Sandra Bullock, The Unforgivable) by phone, in-between rueing his bad luck, as he tries to carry out what's supposed to be an easy job. All that Ladybug needs to do is take a briefcase, then disembark at the next station. But that piece of luggage is being transported by British assassin double-act Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, The King's Man) and Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry, Atlanta), as they escort a Russian mobster's son (Logan Lerman, Hunters) home. To up the hitman ante, the shinkansen is also carrying The Prince (Joey King, The Princess) and Kimura (Andrew Koji, Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins), who have their own beef, as well as the revenge-seeking Wolf (Benito A Martínez Ocasio aka Bad Bunny, Fast and Furious 9). Bullet Train is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. BEAST Idris Elba fights a lion. That's it, that's Beast, as far as film pitches go at least. This South Africa-set thriller's one-sentence summary is up there with 'Jason Statham battles a giant shark' and 'Liam Neeson stares down wolves' — straightforward and irresistible, obviously, in enticing audiences into cinemas. That said, the latest addition to the animals-attack genre isn't as ridiculous as The Meg, and isn't a resonant existential musing like The Grey. What this creature feature wants to be, and is, is a lean, edge-of-your-seat, humanity-versus-nature nerve-shredder. Director Baltasar Kormákur (Adrift) knows that a famous face, a relentless critter as a foe, and life-or-death terror aplenty can be the stuff that cinema dreams and hits are made of. His movie isn't completely the former, but it does do exactly what it promises. If it proves a box office success, it'll be because it dangles an easy drawcard and delivers it. There is slightly more to Beast than Idris Elba brawling with the king of the jungle, of course — or running from it, trying to hide from it in a jeep, attempting to outsmart it and praying it'll tire of seeing him as prey. But this tussle with an apex predator is firmly at its best when it really is that simple, that primal and, with no qualms about gore and jump scares, that visceral. Elba (The Harder They Fall) plays recently widowed American doctor Nate Samuels, who is meant to be relaxing, reconnecting with his teenage daughters Mare (Iyana Halley, Licorice Pizza) and Norah (Leah Jeffries, Rel), and finding solace in a pilgrimage to his wife's homeland. But Beast wouldn't be called Beast if the Samuels crew's time with old family friend Martin (Sharlto Copley, Russian Doll), a wildlife biologist who oversees the nature reserve, was all placid safaris and sunsets. Beast is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER What do you call a movie filled with giant screaming goats, magic weapons vying for attention like romantic rivals, a naked Chris Hemsworth and a phenomenally creepy Christian Bale? Oh, and with no fewer than four Guns N' Roses needle drops, 80s nostalgia in droves, and a case of tonal whiplash as big as the God of Thunder's biceps? You call it Thor: Love and Thunder, and also a mixed bag. The fourth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to focus on the now 29-title saga's favourite space Viking, and the second Thor flick directed by Taika Waititi after Thor: Ragnarok, it welcomely boasts the New Zealand filmmaker's playful and irreverent sense of humour — and the dead-serious days of the series-within-a-series' first two outings, 2011's Thor and 2013's Thor: The Dark World, have definitely been banished. But Love and Thunder is equally mischievous and jumbled. It's chaotic in both fun and messy ways. Out in the cosmos, no one can swim, but movies about galaxy-saving superheroes can tread water. Thor Odinson (Hemsworth, Spiderhead) has been doing a bit of that himself — not literally, but emotionally and professionally. Narrated in a storybook fashion by rock alien Korg (also Waititi, Lightyear), Love and Thunder first fills in the gaps since the last time the Asgardian deity graced screens in Avengers: Endgame. Ditching his dad bod for his ultra-buff god bod earns a mention. So does biding his time with the Guardians of the Galaxy crew (with Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper and company popping up briefly). Then, a distress call from an old friend gives Thor a new purpose. Fellow warrior Sif (Jaimie Alexander, Last Seen Alive) has been fighting galactic killer Gorr the God Butcher (Bale, Ford v Ferrari), who's on a mission to do exactly what his name promises due to a crisis of faith — which puts not only Thor himself but also New Asgard, the Norwegian village populated by survivors from his home planet, at grave risk. It also puts Thor on a collision course with his ex-flame Dr Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, Vox Lux), who's changed dramatically since last they crossed paths. Thor: Love and Thunder is available to stream via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. ORPHAN: FIRST KILL What's more believable — and plot twists follow: a pre-teen playing a 33-year-old woman pretending to be a nine-year-old orphan, with a hormone disorder explaining the character's eerily youthful appearance; or an adult playing a 31-year-old woman pretending to be a lost child returned at age nine, again with that medical condition making everyone else oblivious? For viewers of 2009's Orphan and its 13-years-later follow-up Orphan: First Kill, which is a prequel, neither are particularly credible to witness. But the first film delivered its age trickery as an off-kilter final-act reveal, as paired with a phenomenal performance by then 12-year-old Isabelle Fuhrman in the pivotal role. Audiences bought the big shift — or remembered it, at least — because Fuhrman was so creepy and so committed to the bit, and because it suited the OTT horror-thriller. This time, that wild revelation is old news, but that doesn't stop Orphan: First Kill from leaning on the same two key pillars: an out-there turn of events and fervent portrayals. Yes, a big twist is again one of the movie's best elements. Fuhrman (The Novice) returns as Esther, the Estonian adult who posed as a parentless Russian girl in the initial feature. In Orphan: First Kill, she's introduced as Leena Klammer, the most dangerous resident at the Saarne Institute mental hospital. The prequel's first sighted kill comes early, as a means of escape. The second follows swiftly, because the film needs to get its central figure to the US. Fans of the previous picture will recall that Esther already had a troubled history when she was adopted and started wreaking the movie's main havoc, involving the family that brought her to America — and her time with that brood, aka wealthy Connecticut-based artist Allen Albright (Rossif Sutherland, Possessor), his gala-hosting wife Tricia (Julia Stiles, Hustlers) and their teen son Gunnar (Matthew Finlan, My Fake Boyfriend), is filmmaker William Brent Bell (The Boy and Brahms: The Boy II) and screenwriter David Coggeshall's (Scream: The TV Series) new focus. Orphan: First Kill is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE FORGIVEN Patience is somewhat of a virtue with The Forgiven. It would be in it, too, if any of its wealthy white characters hedonistically holidaying in Morocco were willing to display the trait for even a second. Another addition to the getaways-gone-wrong genre, this thorny satirical drama gleefully savages the well-to-do, proving as eager to eat the rich as can be, and also lays bare the despicable coveting of exoticism that the moneyed think is an acceptable way to splash plentiful wads of cash. There's patently plenty going on in this latest release from writer/director John Michael McDonagh, as there typically is in features by the filmmaker behind The Guard, Calvary and War on Everyone. Here, he adapts Lawrence Osborne's 2012 novel, but the movie that results takes time to build and cohere, and even then seems only partially interested in both. Still, that patience is rewarded by The Forgiven's stellar lead performance by Ralph Fiennes, playing one of his most entitled and repugnant characters yet. Sympathies aren't meant to flow David Henninger's (Fiennes, The King's Man) way, or towards his wife Jo (Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye). Together, the spiky Londoners abroad bicker like it's a sport — and the only thing fuelling their marriage. Cruelty taints their words: "why am I thinking harpy?", "why am I thinking shrill?" are among his, while she counters "why am I thinking high-functioning alcoholic?". He's a drunken surgeon, she's a bored children's author, and they're venturing past the Atlas Mountains to frolic in debauchery at the village their decadent pal Richard (Matt Smith, Morbius) and his own barbed American spouse Dally (Caleb Landry Jones, Nitram) have turned into a holiday home. Sympathy isn't designed to head that pair's way, either; "we couldn't have done it without our little Moroccan friends," Richard announces to kick off their weekend-long housewarming party. But when the Hennigers arrive late after tragically hitting a local boy, Driss (Omar Ghazaoui, American Odyssey), en route, the mood shifts — but also doesn't. The Forgiven is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING Timing is everything in Where the Crawdads Sing, the murder-mystery melodrama set in America's Deep South that raced up bestseller lists in 2018, and now reaches cinemas a mere four years later. Its entire narrative hinges upon a simple question: did North Carolina outcast and recluse Kya Clark (Daisy Edgar-Jones, Fresh), cruelly nicknamed "the marsh girl" by locals, have time to speed home from an out-of-town stay to push star quarterback Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson, The King's Man) from a fire tower, then resume her trip without anyone noticing? On the page, that query helped propel Delia Owens' literary sensation to success, to Reese Witherspoon's book club — she's a producer here — and to a swift film adaptation. But no timing would likely have ever been right for the movie's release, given that Owens and her husband are wanted for questioning in a real-life murder case in Zambia. Unlike the film, those off-screen details aren't new, but they were always bound to attract attention again as soon as this feature arrived. One of the reasons they're inescapable: the purposeful parallels between Owens' debut novel and her existence. Like Kya, Owens is a naturalist. The also southern-born author spent years preferring the company of plants and animals, crusading for conservation causes in Africa. Where the Crawdads Sing is timed to coincide with Owens' own life as well; it's set in the 50s and 60s and, as a child (played by Jojo Regina, The Chosen) and a teenager, Kya is around the same age that Owens would've been then. Another reason that the ways that art might link with reality can't be shaken, lingering like a sultry, squelchy day: what ends up on-screen is as poised, pristine and polished as a swampy southern gothic tale can be, and anyone in one. There's still a scandal, but forget dirt, sweat and anything but lush, vivid wilderness courtesy of filmmaker Olivia Newman (First Match), plus a rustic hut that wouldn't look out of place on Airbnb. Where the Crawdads Sing is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. MURDER PARTY If Amelie and Knives Out combined, the end result would look like Murder Party. If Wes Anderson and Agatha Christie joined forces, the outcome would be the same. It's highly unlikely that first-time feature writer/director Nicolas Pleskof and his co-scribe Elsa Marpeau (Prof T) were ever going to call this feature Murder in the Game-Filled Mansion or Death While Rolling the Dice, but that's the overwhelming vibe. There's an escape room element, too — thankfully, though, nodding towards the Escape Room franchise isn't on the agenda. Murder Party's characters get stuck in intricately designed locked spaces and forced to piece together clues to secure their freedom, and are only permitted to remain breathing by keeping their wits about them, but no one's in a horror movie here. The feature starts with a killer setup: an eccentric crew of relatives, their brightly hued home on a sprawling country estate, an usual task given to a newcomer and, naturally, a sudden passing. Architect Jeanne Chardon-Spitzer (Alice Pol, Labor Day) is asked to pitch a big renovation project to the Daguerre family, transforming their impressive abode so that living there always feels like playing a game (or several). Patriarch César (Eddy Mitchell, The Middleman) already encourages his brood to enjoy their daily existence with that in mind anyway, including dedicating entire days to letting loose and walking, talking and breathing gameplay. But he's looking for a particularly bold next step. He's unimpressed by Jeanne's routine proposal, in fact. Then he drops dead, the property's doors slam shut and a voice over the intercom tells the architect, plus everyone else onsite, to undertake a series of challenges to ascertain the culprit among them — or be murdered themselves. Murder Party is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN If The Phantom of the Open was part of a game of golf, rather than a movie about the club-flinging, ball-hitting, bunker-avoiding sport, it wouldn't be a hole in one. It couldn't be; perfection doesn't suit the story that director Craig Roberts (Eternal Beauty) and screenwriter Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2) are telling, which is as real and as shaggy — as so-strange-it-can-only-be-true, too — as they can possibly come. That other key factor in spiriting dimpled orbs from the tee to the cup in a single stroke, aka luck, is definitely pertinent to this feel-good, crowd-pleasing, happily whimsical British comedy, however. Plenty of it helped Maurice Flitcroft, the man at its centre, as he managed to enter the 1976 British Open despite never having set foot on a course or played a full round of golf before. It isn't quite good fortune that makes this high-spirited movie about him work, of course, but it always feels like a feature that might've ended up in the cinematic long grass if it wasn't so warmly pieced together. When Maurice (Mark Rylance, Don't Look Up) debuts on the green at the high-profile Open Championship, it doesn't take long for gap between his skills and the professionals he's playing with to stand out. In the words of The Dude from The Big Lebowski, obviously he's not a golfer — although what makes a golfer, and whether any sport should be the domain of well-to-do gatekeepers who reserve large swathes of land for the use of the privileged few, falls into The Phantom of the Open's view. So does a breezily formulaic yet drawn-from-fact account of a man who was born in Manchester, later settled in the port town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria and spent much of his life as a shipyard crane operator, providing for his wife Jean (Sally Hawkins, Spencer), her son Michael (Jake Davies, Artemis Fowl), and the pair's twins Gene (Christian Lees, Pistol) and James (Jonah Lees, The Letter for the King). Maurice had never chased his own dreams, until he decided to give golfing glory a swing. The Phantom of the Open is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Looking for more at-home viewing options? Take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows — and our best new TV shows, returning TV shows and straight-to-streaming movies from the first half of 2022. Or, check out the movies that were fast-tracked to digital in January, February, March, April, May, June, July and August.
Seven is a nice number. So nice in fact, that it's the number of days of the week you could be eating for cheap. Yep, every single day. Just when you thought the $10 pub meal was dead and that the average price for pizza was now $32, we've managed to hunt down the best cheap pub eats around the city. They're budget-friendly, delicious and some of them are even vegan. So line up your week and put these cheap eats in your diary — both your stomach and your wallet will approve. MONDAY Mondays are hard. Make them better with cheap pizza from The Park Hotel, an Abbotsford watering hole that's been operating for over 150 years. They serve $10 pizzas every Monday and Wednesday — so you can go the full 360 degrees with their artichoke, caramelised onions and feta without having to shell out. Keeping with the Italian theme, Monday is pasta night at South Melbourne's Railway Hotel. Anyone who has have ever slaved over hand-making pasta for guests know it's quite the slog — and with the Railway's handmade fettuccini and gnocchi with your choice of sauce coming in at $10, you'd be best to keep yourself as fresh the goods and take your pals here instead. If pasta doesn't meet your quota of deep fried-ness, head across town to The Wilde in Fitzroy. It's not only a nod to one of London's most popular playwrights, but also home to one of Britain's most popular pub menu items: mushy peas. Find them served alongside the Monday night snapper and tots (that is, fish and chips) for $12. TUESDAY We all know Tuesdays are for tacos, and when they're are offered at such an inoffensive price, one should celebrate with copious amounts of them. At Footscray's Reverence Hotel, they're only $3 a pop from 6-9pm on Tuesdays, and Mexican beers are only $3 as well. Take our advice and spend the money you saved on mains on the vegan coconut ice-cream sandwiches for dessert. Meanwhile, come 5pm in the CBD, Father's Office is serving up a range of $17 specials, including a veggie burger and a shallow-fried snapper coated in a rosemary and ginger beer batter. Both are served with shoestring fries and come with a schooner of beer, too boot. And if you're in Northcote looking for lunch earlier in the day, you can't go past The Peacock Inn's $10 weekday lunch specials. Their house-made gnocchi comes with salmon, semi-dried tomatoes, garlic, chilli and baby spinach. One to surely have you knock-y-ing down their door. WEDNESDAY Celebrate hump day with nacho night. The Charles Weston (formerly The Sporting Club Hotel) is still a popular Brunswick haunt for those who like beer gardens, a shot of pool and deer heads above their fires — and corn chips with all the toppings. Vegan and vegetarian friendly nachos are a lazy $10, and are perfect to share with amigos over trivia. If you're looking for something with a bit moe kick, head further north to The Woodlands Hotel in Coburg. The whimsical bar offers cracking curries and a pot of beer or cider for $15 every Wednesday night from 5.30pm — we recommend you try the eggplant, peanut and coconut cream creation. And how could we not mention The Rainbow Hotel's steak? One the best steak nights north of the river, The Rainbow curbs your bovine blues with their 300g rump with chips and salad or veggies and a big mound of buttery, garlicky mash for $14. Nab a spot in the beer garden and heckle the pool sharks through mouthfuls of meat. THURSDAY Sitting on the corner of Elgin and Drummond Streets, The Shaw Davey Slum may have lured you in on the pretence of pastry with their beef pie — but you'll be happy to discover that every day is a special day here, as The Slum offer a range of $10 meals each and every day of the week. Veggie-only eaters can bypass the pie and nab the curry or stuffed mushrooms instead. On the other side of the river, you can organise a cheap pit stop away from the Chapel Street hustle at the Temperance Hotel. A burger and drink will set you back $15, giving you enough respite and leaving you plenty of coin for the shops you missed. FRIDAY You've been waiting for this moment all week, so why not dive into Friday with deliciousness? Lunch is sorted thanks to The Union Club Hotel on Gore Street. Head in between 12pm and 3pm, check the $10 pizza specials on the blackboard, and find your nook in one of their beer gardens. Later on, when the working day is officially over, make sure you're at The Bank on Collins for oysters. Their natural and Kilpatrick oysters come in $2 a pop — just make sure you order between 5pm and 7pm. SATURDAY Cheap meals can be difficult to find on a Saturday evening, but at Lucky Coq in Prahran the pizzas are just $4 between 7pm and 9pm. And they're not even half bad. In the city, the $15 burgers at Japanese bar Horse Bazaar will get you dancing all night. Try their Tokyo Tower Power beef burger or the Veg Parmy burger, which is practically two meals in one. Thanks bun. And just around the corner, the Asian Beer Cafe offers hungry punters the chance to chow down on any three tapas for $12 every day from 11am to 11pm, and Saturday is no exception. Mix your crab croquettes, with bacon potato skins or Panko-crumbed tofu. The opportunities are endless — if your stomach is. SUNDAY As a day of rest and recuperation, Sunday is the day to fill up on comfort food before the real world kicks in again. First stop should be a toastie, and we're drunk in love for The Public Bar's $8 three cheese grilled sanga with beer-glazed onions. Their tinned spag and cheese jaffle (just $6) is another fix that makes our knees weak, and arms heavy. Another way to cure your hangover is with wings. The Collection in Richmond is offering you a chance to empty your bad toxins (as well as your coin purse) with their juicy Buffalo chicken wings at only a buck per piece. Crumbed in all the right places, and served from noon til 5pm, these little fellas will practically fly straight into your Sunday mouths. If you're vegan and can't do all those cheeses and chicken, your best best to head up to Brunswick's Cornish Arms Hotel for a $14 vegan parma. The Cornish's kitchen runs from noon to 9.30pm, so there's plenty of time to cure your Sunday blues and confuse your tastes with some of the best vegan pub food going around. Don't forget to grab a beer to wash down the deadliest of sin-free eats.
Head to Melbourne's Reine and La Rue for a French meal in the luxe surroundings of the neo-gothic Melbourne Stock Exchange building, or to Purple Pit in the same abode for Euro-style cocktails, and you'll be eating and drinking at Australia's two most-stylish hospitality venues for 2024. At this year's Australian Interior Design Awards, which were announced on Friday, June 14 in Sydney, the pair shared the Hospitality Design accolade in a night that showered plenty of love upon Victorian locations. A house in Northcote earned the top award at this year's ceremony, the Premier Award for Australian Interior Design. Unsurprisingly, it also took out the Residential Design Award, although it had company there with a a New South Wales abode named Daddy Cool. And if you're wondering what makes a home dazzle so much that it's considered the absolute pinnacle of interior design in Australia for the past year, Northcote House earned praise for boasting an "exciting collision of technology, sculpture and innovative material use" — and also for its "unfamiliar yet captivating interior spaces". [caption id="attachment_962126" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Reine and La Rue, Tim Salisbury[/caption] Now in its 21st year, AIDA highlights spectacular decor in shops, workplaces, homes and public settings. When it revealed its shortlisted picks for this year in April, it whittled down its choices to 222 projects from around the country (plus a few overseas that spring from local talent), which is a record for the awards. Back in the Hospitality Design field, four other venues received commendations, giving the revamped Gerard's in Brisbane, Bar Besuto in Sydney, The Sporting Club Hotel in Melbourne and Bambino in Vietnam some affection. [caption id="attachment_962130" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Northcote House, Tom Ross[/caption] In the Retail Design category, the flagship store for fashion outfit Song for the Mute in George Street in Sydney did the honours, with the city's LeTAO getting a commendation alongside Melbourne's Pidapipó Laboratorio, July at QVM and Up There. The list of award-winning spots — and commended ones — that the public can easily check out includes the Public Design field, where the Berninneit Cultural and Community Centre on Phillip Island in Victoria emerged victorious. The Art Gallery of New South Wales' library and members lounge scored a commendation, as did the Memorial Hall at Christ Church Grammar School in Melbourne and The Embassy of Australia in Washington DC in the US. [caption id="attachment_962131" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Song for the Mute, Tom Ross[/caption] While you can't head along anymore, the Installation Design Award went to the design wall championing Melbourne-born product designs at the National Gallery of Victoria, in a category that commended the Community Hall at the NGV's 2023 Melbourne Now exhibition, as well as Zampatti Powerhouse — a retrospective devoted to fashion designer Carla Zampatti — at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum. The Australian Interior Design Awards also make state-by-state choices from both commercial and residential premises, with plenty of the above spots also popping up. In Victoria, Reine and La Rue and Northcote House topped the list, while 477 Pitt Street and Daddy Cool were NSW's picks, and Gerard's and a Gold Coast apartment were Queensland;s. Vin Populi and Proclamation House did the honours in Western Australia, as did the Samstag Museum of Art at University of South Australia and Stirling Residence in SA. [caption id="attachment_962127" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gerard's, David Chatfield[/caption] [caption id="attachment_962128" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bar Besuto, Damian Bennett[/caption] [caption id="attachment_962129" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Sporting Club Hotel, Derek Stawell[/caption] For the full Australian Interior Design Awards 2024 winners, head to the AIDA website. Top image: Purple Pit, Peter Clarke Photography.
Melbourne has no shortage of cheap eats for students, rents weeks and people just generally trying to save a dime. Chinatown's newest opening, however, is combining budget eats with sophistication and fancy surrounds — so you can feel like you're dropping big cash on a nice dinner, when you're actually not. Located in the heart of the bustling city centre, Le Charme is filled with long teal banquettes and lotus flower-shaped light fittings hanging from the ceiling. Matching teal shutters keep the restaurant's interior sheltered from the frenetic foot traffic happening right outside its doors. It's inside this seemingly serene — and definitely charming — restaurant that you'll enjoy Executive Chef Gary Lau's extensive and affordable menu. It's filled with lots of pescatarian and vegetarian options, too, so everyone can get in on the action. Set to be a sure-fire hit with CBD workers, Le Charme's $9.90 lunch menu features generous bowls of beef pho and bun bo hue, while its $11.90 menu is filled with hits like spicy chicken laksa, stir-fried beef with rice and mapo tofu. During lunchtime hours, you can also add a drink — including tea, soft drink and Vietnamese coffee imported directly from Hanoi — to your meal for an extra $2. [caption id="attachment_726782" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Julia Sansone[/caption] Head here at night and you'll find an a la carte that pulls its inspiration from across Asia. There's a Hong Kong-style soft shell crab with black beans ($11.90), dumplings ($6.90–7.90) — served steamed or pan-fried — chicken mee goreng ($14.9) and a lineup of popular Vietnamese noodle soups and cold vermicelli dishes. But for the the best bang for your buck, order the $30 'feed me' menu (for a minimum of two people), which includes a whopping six dishes: four entrees, one main and a dessert. While exactly what you'll get changes regularly, expect the likes of crunchy wasabi prawns, pan-fried chicken and prawn dumplings, chicken san choy bao and a rich Saigon curry with beef brisket, potato and okra. For dessert, you'll get banana fritters and coconut ice-cream. There's a vego option available for meat-free folk, too The Chinatown diner also has a range of Asian-inspired cocktails and mocktails on offer, with standouts being the opulent salted caramel espresso martini ($19) — made with Kahlua, Baileys and a Nutella rim — and the fruity Royal Rose Fizz ($20). A tidy lineup of beers, ciders and wines are available, too. While Chinatown's newest offering steers away from the traditional, it will surely be a hit with those looking for a fun, tasty and affordable feed. Find Le Charme at Shop 3, 178 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne. It's open from Tuesday–Friday 11.30am–3pm and 5–10pm; Saturday 11.30am–11pm and Sunday 11.30am–10pm. Images: Julia Sansone.
There's so, so much more to the Snowy Mountains than skiing and snowboarding. When the ice and snow melt away, a whole wonderland of adventures emerges. If you're into the outdoors, get ready to walk and ride (by bike or horse) some of the most spectacular terrain in Australia. If you're a mad foodie, then gear up to taste a bunch of excellent cool climate wines, linger over schnapps made with local produce and sink into some fine French cooking while overlooking a shimmering lake. Meanwhile, for arty types, there are galleries galore. Here are five jam-packed itineraries that'll keep you busy in the Snowies for days — if not weeks — whatever your inclination. [caption id="attachment_659667" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW.[/caption] FOR FOOD LOVERS The Snowies' pristine mountain streams and unspoilt farming land mean there's an abundance of fresh, local produce to sample — from wild-caught trout to freshly picked berries. For a hearty brekkie, grab a table at Central Road 2625 in Thredbo. If you're still in town by dinner time, there's irresistible Italian fare at Segreto within the Thredbo Alpine Hotel. Alternatively, make tracks east to Lake Crackenback Resort for local, seasonal dishes at Cuisine or a woodfired pizza at the laidback Alpine Larder. And a hop, skip and jump down the road is idyllic Crackenback Farm, where farmhouse-style dishes are served up on a sun-dappled terrace. Most conveniently, it's just around the corner from the Wildbrumby distillery, whose delicious European schnapps are made from local fruit. Another option is to head northwest from Thredbo to Tumbarumba, a cool climate wine region known for its stellar chardonnay and pinot noir. Among the outstanding cellar doors are Courabyra and Tuscany-inspired Tumbarumba Wine Escape. If you're after a coffee, head to Nest Cafe or for a meal, there's Elms Restaurant within the Tumbarumba Motel. [caption id="attachment_659672" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Snowy Mountains.[/caption] FOR ADVENTURE SEEKERS How long have you got? Even a total adrenaline junkie could spend months in the Snowies without running out of things to do. A hike is a good place to start, and the classic is the Main Range Walk, a 22-kilometre loop that swings by several glacial lakes before climbing to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko. Looking for a shorter stroll? There are loads of options, including Nichols Gorge in the northern section of Kosciuszko National Park. If mountain biking's your thing, you have hundreds of kilometres to conquer, covering all standards. Novices can get started on the easy Lake Jindabyne Foreshore Trail, then have a crack at the Thredbo Valley Trail, which offers a mix of beginner and more challenging sections. For experienced riders, the 50-kilometre Cascade to Pinch Trail is an extraordinary adventure, taking in stunning alpine terrain and epic panoramas. Then, of course, there's horse riding, for which the Snowies are legendary, thanks to The Man From Snowy River. Take a brief ride with Thredbo Valley Horse Riding or consider a multi-day escapade with Cochran Horse Treks, which involves staying at homesteads along the way. [caption id="attachment_659657" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lake Crackenback Resort Sculpture Trail.[/caption] FOR ART AFICIONADOS From Banjo Paterson to Prue Acton, numerous writers, artists and musicians have sought refuge and inspiration in the Snowies' dramatic, unpredictable landscapes. Begin your explorations at Raglan Gallery and Cultural Centre in Cooma, set inside a 150-year-old former inn. Next, head to Jindabyne to visit Kunama Gallery, where there's a permanent exhibition of works by Alan Grovesnor, who spent decades painting nearby landscapes before passing away in 2012. Also in Jindabyne is the Snowy Region Visitor Centre; its tiny gallery hosts temporary shows by local artists. Should you happen to be passing through in early autumn, make your visit coincide with Lake Light Sculpture, an outdoor event that fills the shores of Lake Jindabyne with illuminated sculptures and the town with artists from far and wide. Visiting at another time? Despair not. Instead, make your way to Lake Crackenback Resort Sculpture Trail or to Wildbrumby distillery, where co-owner Brad Spalding displays his sustainability-themed works made of recycled materials. Then, continue north to Tumbarumba to check out Artists on Parade. [caption id="attachment_659668" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul Sinclair / Destination NSW.[/caption] FOR HISTORY BUFFS The Snowy Mountains are famous all over the world for being home to the Snowy Hydro Scheme. Built between 1949 and 1974, this engineering feat channelled the energy of the Snowy River and transformed it into hydroelectricity, which today provides 4500 gigawatt-hours per year to the ACT, NSW and Victoria. To find out all about it, drop into the Snowy Hydro Centre in Cooma. While you're at it, pop into the visitors' centre, grab a map and take the Lambie Town Walk, a five-kilometre stroll that passes through three heritage-listed areas. To stay in the 19th-century, visit the Early Settlers Hut built in the 1840s at Delegate and Burnima Homestead, a 32-room mansion in Bombala with a six-acre garden that dates back to 1896. Half-way up Mount Kosciuszko will transport you into the early 20th-century should you visit the Seaman's Hut, a shelter built in 1929 following the deaths of skiers W. Laurie Seaman and Evan Hayes. [caption id="attachment_659675" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW.[/caption] FOR SIGHTSEERS If your trip to the Snowies is all about seeing classic sights at a leisurely pace, then make your first stop Yarrangobilly Caves, a series of limestone marvels in the northern part of Kosciuszko National Park. Here you'll also find a thermal pool, which is a warming 27 degrees celsius all year-round, and a relaxing river walk. Continuing south, stop by Lake Eucumbene, the biggest lake to have been created by the Snowy Hydro scheme, where you can try your hand at trout fishing, and Lake Jindabyne, which appeared in Australian films Somersault (2004) and Jindabyne (2006). Then, it's on to Thredbo where you can get instant mountain views without having to strain a muscle on the two-kilometre-long, 560-metre-high Kosciuszko Express Lift. While you're in town, take a stroll along pretty Thredbo River. Or, to get an even higher perspective on mighty Mount Kosciuszko, book a scenic flight with Heli Fun. Discover all that the Snowy Mountains has to offer outside of winter months, from picturesque hikes to culinary excursions and so much more.
With international travel off limits, many Australians are electing for staycations instead. Instead of taking off to Europe or South America, many holiday-goers are saving up their annual leave and electing to make the most of their own cities. If you're looking for a few days off work and a once-in-a-lifetime experience, MTV has launched a new travel deal for lovers of live music. At the core of the MTV Unplugged travel deal is two tickets to see Tash Sultana play an intimate show as part of the MTV Unplugged series on Tuesday, May 4. The concert will be held at a beloved, yet-to-be announced venue in Melbourne. Attendees will provided with transport too and from the venue where they'll witness stripped-back takes on songs from Sultana's new album Terra Firma, as well as classics from her back catalogue. The package also includes access to the exclusive VIP afterparty and a room at the Ovolo South Yarra. The 70s-inspired, dog-friendly hotel opened late last year and each room comes with a mini-bar full of free goodies, 24-hour gym access and a free drink at happy hour down at the hotel bar. Tickets start at $799 which covers two adults and a one-night stay at the Ovolo, or $1099 for two nights if you're looking to properly soak up the experience of the new hotel. Those who opt for the two-night package will also be given a $100 gift card to use on an extravagant trip to Melbourne mega-venue Ballers Clubhouse. Head to MTV's website to take check out the full offer. [caption id="attachment_794221" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ballers Clubhouse, Michael Gazzola[/caption] Top Image: Tash Sultana, Eric de Redelijkheid FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
It's only a few years young, but Australia's most inclusive music festival just keeps getting bigger and better. Case in point: Ability Fest just announced the jam-packed lineup of artists that'll be joining in the fun for its next instalment on Saturday, March 25 — and it's a cracker. Leading the talent firing up the crowds at Melbourne's Birrarung Marr this autumn: Aussie hip hop legends Hilltop Hoods, dance duo Mashd N Kutcher and ARIA Award-winning songstress Sampa the Great, along with names like Paris, Meg Mac, DZ Deathrays, Linda Marigliano and dameeeela. Unfolding across two stages, including one devoted to dance acts, there's something on this program for all kinds of music fiends — with SHOUSE, Telenova, Juno Mamba, Mulalo and Latifa Tee just some of the other artists who'll be working their magic at Ability Fest 2023. The brainchild of 2022 Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott and Untitled Group (the crew behind Pitch Music & Arts and Beyond the Valley), Ability Fest is carefully designed to be completely accessible and as inclusive as they come. It'll feature ramps and pathways for easy access, Auslan interpreters working alongside the artists, and elevated platforms to give everyone a shot at seeing the stage. Plus: quiet zones, a dedicated sensory area, ticketing for companions and accessible toilets. And tickets start from $89. During its life, the not-for-profit fest has raised close to $500,000 for the Dylan Alcott Foundation, while continuing to dish up primo live tunes and music experiences to Aussies of all abilities. "I'm so proud to see the path Ability Fest has already paved for inclusive events across the country," says Alcott. "First and foremost, our main priority is to create a kick-ass festival that happens to be accessible. And that's something I think we've achieved since launching in 2018." Here's the full lineup: ABILITY FEST 2023: Alex Lahey Alter Boy BROODS Daine Dameeeela DJ Cooper Smith DZ Deathrays Hilltop Hoods Juno Mamba Latifa Tee Linda Marigliano Mashd N Kutcher Meg Mac Mulalo PARIS Sampa the Great SHOUSE Telenova The Journey Tiff Cornish Tyson O'Brien YO! MAFIA Ability Fest 2023 will hit Birrarung Marr in Melbourne on Saturday, March 25. Pre-sale tickets are available from 6pm AEDT on Monday, January 23 (register online), with general tickets selling online from 12pm on Tuesday, January 24.
One name, many faces. That's what you can expect when Italian-leaning newcomer Stella opens her doors next month, showing off four distinct offerings across four stylish levels in the heart of South Yarra. The heritage-listed corner building will soon be home to a contemporary Aussie take on the classic Italian trattoria, with a chic fitout led by Sum Design Studio and Projects of Imagination. It's named after the daughter of owner Ali Mousavi. Stella's basement level will feature an impressively stocked wine cellar and private dining room for ten, leading up to the ground floor restaurant, where a circular pizza bar takes centre stage and a Marana Forni oven is the hero of the kitchen. [caption id="attachment_863590" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Venue Manager Paul Mitchell, owner Ali Mousavi and Executive Chef John Park[/caption] Executive Chef John Park (Vue de Monde, 400 Gradi) is heading up the food offering, with a menu starring pizzas crafted on a signature dough recipe passed down through generations. Plenty more Italian influence shines through the lineup of share plates and classic regionally-inspired mains. Meanwhile, the level above the restaurant is set to play host to a relaxed drinking destination complete with fireplace and velvet seating, where you can cosy up with bevs and bar snacks. And you'd best believe there's a rooftop crowning the whole thing, boasting its own vertical garden and offering a primo spot to kick back with some of the bar's reimagined classic cocktails. Stella is set to open at 427 Chapel Street, South Yarra, in September. We'll share more details as they drop.
Visiting New York City sits on plenty of bucket lists, and there are more than a few reasons why that's the case. But if you've always wanted to head to the Big Apple, wear designer outfits, get paid to write about your love life and, between cocktails and dates, hang out outside your apartment — sitting on the stoop with your significant other, whether you're making up or breaking up — then you obviously have Sex and the City to thank. Running from 1998–2004 (forget the terrible 2008 and 2010 movies), the hit HBO series made Manolo Blahniks a must-wear, turned cosmopolitans into the drink of choice for sips with the gang, and gave tutus their moment outside of ballet. It also showered Carrie Bradshaw's apartment stoop with ample attention, including in big, life-changing moments. Unsurprisingly, the filming location has become a tourist attraction over the last quarter-century. Always wanted to make the trip to follow in Sarah Jessica Parker's footsteps, but haven't yet had the chance? With Sex and the City spinoff And Just Like That... arriving for its second season this month — after first debuting in 2021 — Binge is bringing a replica of that famous apartment stoop to Melbourne. And if this sounds familiar, that's because it did the same a couple of years back in Sydney. This time, the 2.2-metre-wide, 4.8-metre-high stoop is popping up at the David Jones Dome at Melbourne's Chadstone Shopping Centre for three days, between Thursday, June 8–Saturday, June 10, ready to fill your Instagram feed. Just like when the Friends couch toured Australia, the Squid Game Red Light, Green Light doll towered over Sydney Harbour and a statue of Borat made an appearance at Bondi Beach — and when the Iron Throne did the rounds, and all of the other film- and TV-themed pop-ups over the years — this is all about three things: indulging one of your pop-culture obsessions, taking snaps and promotion ahead of And Just Like That...'s season two return on Thursday, June 22. It also marks 25 years since Sex and the City began. And no, as you're taking photos of yourself living out your Carrie Bradshaw stoop dreams — Manolo Blahniks optional — you won't find any Peloton fitness equipment in sight. Find the replica Sex and the City and And Just Like That... apartment stoop at the David Jones Dome at Melbourne's Chadstone Shopping Centre from 11am–3pm and 5–9pm on Thursday, June 8–Friday, June 9 — and 11am–3pm on Saturday, June 10. Images: Chris Pavlich Photography.
Whether you watched along from 2009–15 when it was in production or you discovered its joys via an obsessive binge-watching marathon afterwards, Parks and Recreation is one of the 21st century's TV gifts — and the beloved sitcom cemented its stars, from its lead roles through to its supporting parts, as audience favourites. Plenty of those talents also share something else in common: a fondness for touring Down Under. Nick Offerman has done it, taking to Australia's stages. Amy Poehler has made multiple promotional Aussie trips for Inside Out and Inside Out 2. Henry Winkler even headed this way to chat through his lengthy career. Now, add the latter's on-screen son to the list. Ben Schwartz, aka Parks and Recreation's Jean-Ralphio Saperstein, has a date with Melbourne in 2025. Don't be suspicious: Schwartz will be performing his Ben Schwartz & Friends live improv show, which begins with just a couple of chairs onstage. Where it goes from there, you'll only discover at Hamer Hall on Sunday, May 4, because that's the joy of improv. Schwartz isn't just known for Parks and Recreation, although that's the first thing on his resume that'll always come to mind for Parks fans. Since his time in Pawnee wrapped up — since he stopped being one of the woooooooorst people in the fictional Indiana town, that is — he's also starred in murder-mystery comedy The Afterparty, voiced a certain spiny blue mammal in Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, loaned his vocal tones to Star Wars: The Bad Batch and Invincible, and featured in Space Force and Renfield. Top image: Disney/Image Group LA.
