Make some room in your budget for a new streaming service: soon, HBO's lengthy list of must-see TV shows will have their own platform in Australia. The network's dedicated streamer Max debuted in America in 2020, and has been rolling out through Latin America, the Caribbean and parts of Europe since — and newly in Japan as well. Now, Aussie viewers will be able to subscribe sometime in the first half of 2025. Earlier in 2024, it was rumoured that Australia was on Max's list in the next 18 months. At the APOS media and entertainment conference in Bali between Tuesday, September 24–Thursday, September 26, Warner Bros Discovery's President for the Asia-Pacific James Gibbons confirmed the Aussie launch, as well as the 2025 timing. Exactly how the rollout will work across the Asia-Pacific region is yet to be revealed, and it won't be the same Max model everywhere. But Australia will have a direct-to-consumer setup, which means signing up directly for Max. "We will be flexible and diverse as to how we go about it. There will be a mixture of direct service and partnership models. Our goal is to reach the fan base," said Gibbons, Variety reports. The great streaming service rush, when new platforms seemed to appear every few weeks or so, might be a few years in the past; however, HBO bringing Max to Australia is huge news. Depending on exactly when in the first six months of 2025 that it hits, that's where you might be watching The Last of Us, The White Lotus and Euphoria when they return for their next seasons. At present, the US network's shows largely screen and stream to Aussie viewers via Binge and Foxtel. When the former launched, boasting HBO's catalogue was one of its big selling points. The deal between Binge, Foxtel and Warner Bros Discovery — which owns HBO — was extended in 2023, but it was reported at the time that Max might debut in Australia from 2025. Moving HBO's catalogue away from Binge and Foxtel would impact a hefty number of shows, with the network also behind House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and any other Game of Thrones spinoffs that make it to fruition — and True Detective, And Just Like That..., The Rehearsal, The Penguin, on-the-way IT prequel series Welcome to Derry, soon-to-arrive Dune spinoff Prophecy and much, much more. HBO's past original programming spans everything from The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Oz, Deadwood, Big Love, True Blood, Big Little Lies, Westworld and Succession to The Larry Sanders Show, Sex and the City, Flight of the Conchords, Bored to Death, Girls, Veep, Barry and Enlightened. Max is launching in Australia sometime in the first half of 2025 — we'll update you when more details are announced. Via Variety / The Hollywood Reporter. Top image: Macall Polay/Max.
Melbourne treasure hunters — there might not be many of you but we know you're out there — how would you like to track down some actual treasure for once? A step up from the usual weekend scavenger hunt, this Saturday, December 6, TMC Fine Jewellers is hosting a citywide scavenger hunt for a very shiny and valuable prize. TMC is opening their first Melbourne showroom and inviting Melburnians to peer 'Through the Looking Glass' and take part in a hunt that hides clues in plain sight. And what better prize to offer up to eager hunters than a bespoke ring studded with lab-grown diamonds and valued at $10,000? The hunt begins at 6am sharp, with the first clue (the showroom's location) posted on TMC's social media pages and sent to registered participants via EDM slightly earlier. The hunt official begins at 8am and from there, you'll have to follow four printed riddle clues within a 5km radius of the store. If you get confused, TMC will be posting hints on its TikTok page. Collect all four, and you'll go into the running to win the prize ring. "Melbourne has always been a city of creativity and curiosity, so it felt only fitting to celebrate our first flagship store with an experience that brings those values to life," said Makayla Donovan, co-founder of TMC Fine Jewellers. TMC Fine Jewellers, founded by young couple Makayla and Tom Donovan, strives to deliver affordable, bespoke and ethically responsible engagement and wedding rings. Part of the growing industry shift away from mined diamonds to lab-grown, TMC has gone from a passion project to an established jeweller in just four years — now we can all get involved with the celebrations and win some jewellery of our own. For more information on TMC Fine Jewellers, visit the website.
The Environmental Film Festival returns this October to celebrate its 15th birthday with a week-long program spanning 23 titles — including 14 premieres — alongside cine-art talks under the theme "Environment is Everywhere." From Thursday, October 16 to Thursday, October 23, cinemas across Melbourne will host feature films, shorts, documentaries and discussions celebrating the intersection of art, activism and the environment. Leading the program is Documerica, Self-Portrait of a Nation on the Brink, a recollection of an American natural photo survey undertaken in the 1970s, The People's Tree, a story of the impacts of environmental legislation on tree trimmers in India and These Sacred Hills, an insight into the culture and history of the Rock Creek Band of the Yakama Nation, who's sacred sites are threatened by a proposed green energy project. [caption id="attachment_1028468" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] The World According To My Dad, directed by Marta Kovářová[/caption] Let's not forget The World According To My Dad, a heartwarming documentary about director Marta Kovářová's physicist father, who dreams of putting a stop to climate change with bold ideas — or No More History Without Us, a manifesto documentary by two Amazonian filmmakers on the falsehoods invented by European colonisers about the Amazon rainforest and its many peoples. This is just the tip of the program's iceberg, and you can find the full offering on the website. Beyond the screen, there'll be some in-person events, including the festival's 15th birthday soiree serving plant-based bites, and a community beach clean on Elwood Beach. Freyja Gillard, Co-Director of Environmental Films Australia, said: "This year's program is really unique for us, focusing on the idea that the environment is indeed everywhere; it's not an 'other', separate from us, only available in the 'wild'. The vast majority of humans live in urban spaces and cities and this year's selection really showcases what that looks like in an environmental-sense, exploring the interconnection between people and place, what our environments mean to us, and what we mean to our environments." The Environmental Film Festival will run at cinemas and venues around Melbourne from Thursday, October 16 to Thursday, October 23. For tickets or more information, visit the website. Header: 'No More History Without Us', directed by Priscilla Brasil. Images courtesy of Environmental Film Festival
If you're on the lookout for a summertime adventure, a weekend away at Mount Hotham and Dinner Plain (just a 15-minute drive away) ensures you head home with endless memories. While these alpine peaks are known for their snowy activities, you might be surprised to learn that the warmer months are just as bountiful. With incredible hiking, mountain biking and glamping to be found in every corner of the region, there's also a great collection of restaurants, pubs and lodges that ensure your visit is suitably dreamy. Ready to hit the road? We've partnered with Victoria's High Country to highlight some of the area's must-visit destinations. [caption id="attachment_834174" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Victoria's High Country[/caption] BIKE YOUR WAY THROUGH MOUNTAINOUS TRAILS When there's this much alpine beauty to admire, you want to be able to experience as much of it as possible. The Dinner Plain Mountain Bike Park is one of the best places to go on two wheels, thanks to its 24-kilometre stretch of easy, flowing trails that weave their way through the famous snow gum terrain. If you'd prefer to tackle a day-long adventure, the 26-kilometre-long Brabralung Trail passes through mountainous plains and dense woodland to provide visitors with copious vistas. With the lofty JB Hut offering a wonderful camping spot, you can also pitch a tent and explore more of this pristine area when the sun comes up. [caption id="attachment_834178" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Victoria's High Country[/caption] SOAK IN SKY-HIGH VIEWS AT VICTORIA'S SECOND-HIGHEST PEAK There's no shortage of stunning hikes in the Alpine National Park, but the 22-kilometre Razorback Trail is one of the very best. It leads outdoor adventurers from Diamantina Hut to Mount Feathertop — Victoria's second-highest peak, which reaches 1922 metres above sea level. As you follow along the high, tapered ridge, moseying from one striking slope to the next, you'll be presented with mightily impressive views thanks to your position above the treeline. Don't fancy doing the full 22 kilometres? Take your tent and set up camp overlooking one of the many impressive vantage points. [caption id="attachment_834986" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Victoria's High Country[/caption] PAIR A GUIDED HIKE WITH A FIRESIDE FEAST Rather than weighing down your daypack with gourmet goods, join up with the Hike 'n' Feast experience instead. As this guided 15-kilometre stroll follows along the Huts Walk, you'll get to admire Mount Hotham's most historic (and famous) cattlemen's huts, as well as panoramic views of the surrounding peaks from the top of Mount Loch. When you reach the end of the trail, you'll wander into a remote eco-camp where you'll relax by the fireside, get to know your fellow hikers and dine on a gastronomic meal. With everything included in the price, this is a stellar way to experience Victoria's High Country. [caption id="attachment_834990" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Victoria's High Country[/caption] SLEEP IN ALPINE SURROUNDINGS AT AN ECO-GLAMPING CAMP Get back to basics — sort of — with a summertime stay at Mount Hotham's premier eco-glamping camp. Operated by Alpine Nature Experience, it lets you sleep suspended above the ground in a cosy tree tent, all while soaking up the sparkling night sky and the roaring campfire. Each booking comes with breakfast, and you can get platters and hampers for lunch — and fire-cooked dinners. As well as an array of daytime activities like yoga, guided hikes, paragliding and abseiling, there's also a wood-heated outdoor bath to maximise your relaxation if you book into the premium tree tent. SPEND A NIGHT IN A COSY ALPINE CHALET If you're really looking to get the most out of your alpine experience in Dinner Plain, staying overnight in a luxe highland chalet means that you can jam-pack your schedule even more. There are loads of places to choose from, ranging from charming freestanding chalets to six-bedroom manors with sprawling countryside views. With these chalets all positioned within the tight-knit Dinner Plain township, you'll also be able to stop in at the area's much-loved restaurants and pubs to keep you well and truly fed during your visit. And, thanks to access to nearby hikes, waterfalls and stirring lookout points, booking accommodation for the weekend will take your experience to greater heights in a variety of ways. The best part? You won't have to leave your fur baby at home — Dinner Plain is as dog-friendly as towns get, with most of the accommodation allowing your four-legged bestie to stay with you, too. [caption id="attachment_835410" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Victoria's High Country[/caption] ENJOY BURGERS AND CRAFT BREWS IN AN ALPINE BEER GARDEN Keen for a big feed? The Hotel High Plains is one of the top destinations in the region. Open from afternoon onwards, the kitchen serves up burgers, parmas and smokehouse meats. It also slings woodfired pizzas as the sun begins to set on Wednesday nights. Situated in the heart of Dinner Plain, Hotel High Plains also boasts a top-notch selection of craft beers from breweries like Panhead and Wolf of the Willows — plus a wine list that features a variety of local drops. A visit here means not only getting a bite and a beverage, but settling in at the wide-open beer garden to relish the fresh alpine air. [caption id="attachment_834994" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Victoria's High Country[/caption] SAY CHEERS TO AUSTRALIA'S HIGHEST ALTITUDE PUB Perched on the slopes of Mount Hotham, The General is a local institution. With a claim to fame as Australia's highest altitude pub — it sits at a dizzying 1750 metres above sea level — it pairs an eye-catching mountain backdrop with a stellar all-day menu. Plus brews, obviously. As you drink in the views from the pub's breezy balcony, The Genny serves classics like chicken parmas and beef burgers, as well as smaller options like corn fritters, pork tacos and chicken karaage. You can't go wrong with a feast at what feels like the top of the world. [caption id="attachment_835415" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Victoria's High Country[/caption] RELAX WITH YOGA SESSIONS AND COCKTAIL-MAKING CLASSES After you've spent the day trekking up and down the countryside, The Hub in Dinner Plain invites you to rest and recuperate. As a social enterprise dedicated to physical and mental wellbeing, it hosts soothing in-house yoga sessions and pilates classes, offers e-bike rentals, and also sports a fully stocked gin and whisky bar. Alongside a sumptuous selection of local pastries and barista-quality java provided by Bright's Sixpence Coffee, there are even regular cocktail-making classes. So, you can learn how to master numerous potent concoctions — then impress your mates when you return from your holiday. For more information on things to see and do at Mount Hotham and Dinner Plain this summer, head to the Victoria's High Country website. Images: Victoria's High Country
At the 11th hour on Wednesday, April 17, just before Moon Dog Wild West in Footscray was set to host its launch party, guests were told to turn around and head back home. According to the Moon Dog team, this was because Maribyrnong City Council sent them a last-minute notice indicating that the placement of one of the venue's fire hydrants was no longer suitable. The crew weren't able to make the necessary changes in time, so the event was cancelled. Sadly, the public opening has also been scrapped until the council's needs have been met. That means it's time to put your cowboy boots and Akubras back in the wardrobe — at least for now. Or keep them on to listen to Beyonce's Cowboy Carter album one more time. "We are so sorry to everyone that turned up last night excited to check out our amazing new venue, but instead were turned away. We always knew creating a venue of this size and scale with ambitious timelines was going to have its challenges, but it's bitterly disappointing to have been tripped up at the last hurdle after doing everything by the book," said Moon Dog Co-Founder Karl van Buuren. "We have had amazing support from the council and the Footscray community in the lead up to opening this venue, and we are very sorry to all the bookings, functions and everyone else that was planning to come down tonight," he added. "We're hopeful to have a resolution as soon as possible and, when we do, we look forward to sharing a new opening date with everyone and finally cracking an ice cold beer and jumping on the bucking bull." There's plenty of old-western fun to look forward to beyond riding the mechanical bucking bull once Moon Dog Wild West opens. There'll be a secret little Pianola Bar, an arcade, pool tables, a private dining space, a barrel-ageing room, and a stunner of a dog-friendly rooftop that's littered with cacti and fake dessert rocks. Every part of the ambitious venture has been packed out. Moon Dog Wild West will have bars on each level pouring Moon Dog beers and seltzers from over 100 taps. Three-time Australian Bartender of the Year Chris Hysted-Adams has also been brought in to design the cocktail list and shots menu. This includes an old-school pickleback shot, a regularly changing old fashioned that'll be served in a barrel for four people and a layered tequila sunrise slushie. Then you've got the food, which is all very Tex-Mex-inspired. The team is pumping out sizzling fajitas, buffalo chicken ribs, double-decker tacos, Mexican twists on prawn cocktails and a big ol' one-kilogram t-bone steak. There's so much to look forward to when the crew finally gets the green light to let punters in through the swinging saloon doors. The same can be said for the upcoming Docklands and Frankston bars, which the team plans to open later in 2024. When Moon Dog Wild West opens, you'll find it at 54 Hopkins Street, Footscray, operating from 3pm–late Monday–Tuesday and 11.30am–late Wednesday–Sunday. For more information, head to the venue's website. Images: Arianna Leggiero.
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 watching 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 to old favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from May's haul of newbies. NEW SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK OBI-WAN KENOBI More Ewan McGregor in anything is always a good thing, including in returning to a galaxy far, far away (and long ago). But before Disney+'s new Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi gives the space opera franchise's fans that gift as part of the platform's third live-action spinoff from the blockbuster movie saga (following The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett), it has another present to bestow. Across a few minutes in the show's "previously on" prelude prior to its opening episode, it recaps what viewers need to know about the Jedi and his time with Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen, The Last Man) before now. That means that viewing the terrible prequel trilogy is no longer ever necessary, because the main point of the entire three films has been condensed down into this quick montage. Elated, you should be — and may the force be with the time you'll never waste rewatching them again. There's obviously more to Obi-Wan Kenobi than that. Set ten years after Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, it finds Obi-Wan (McGregor, Halston) living as Ben Kenobi on Tatooine, all to keep an eye on a young Luke (Grant Feely, Creepshow) from afar. But the Empire is after the former Jedi master, and all Jedis — with a particularly determined Inquisitor, Third Sister (Moses Ingram, Ambulance), especially vicious in her efforts to hunt him down. That's all as expected; however, the storyline involving the kidnapping of young Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair, Waco), who is growing up with the Organas (In the Heights' Jimmy Smits and 11%'s Simon Kessell) as her adoptive parents, is far more of a surprise. Also boasting everyone from Joel Edgerton (The Green Knight) and Kumail Nanjiani (Eternals) to Sung Kang (Fast and Furious 9) and Benny Safdie (Licorice Pizza) among its cast, this six-part limited series slots easily into the ongoing sci-fi franchise at its big-screen best — including both looking and feeling the part. Obi-Wan Kenobi streams via Disney+. THE STAIRCASE On December 9, 2021, novelist and aspiring politician Michael Peterson called the North Carolina police to report that his second wife Kathleen had fallen down the stairs. It was late, and he was distraught. She was unconscious but still breathing, he said, and he pleaded for medical help ASAP. While waiting for the ambulance, he rang back to say that Kathleen was no longer breathing. When the paramedics arrived, she was dead. But the scene they found was shockingly bloody, and questions about Michael's story were asked immediately. Protesting his innocence, and originally supported by all five of his biological, adopted and step children, he was arrested and charged with his wife's murder. And yes, if this all sounds familiar — and not just from news headlines two decades back — it's because it was originally chronicled by 2004 French-made true-crime documentary miniseries The Staircase. Now, HBO's eight-part dramatised version — also called The Staircase — is relaying the same story. Whether or not you already know the full tale, the result is still gripping, tensely shot and edited, and also masterfully acted. Colin Firth (Operation Mincemeat) plays Michael, albeit with a far-from-convincing American accent. Aussie actors abound, too, with Toni Collette (Nightmare Alley) as Kathleen, plus Olivia DeJonge (Better Watch Out) and Odessa Young (Shirley) as two of the family's daughters. With Juliette Binoche (How to Be a Good Wife), Michael Stuhlbarg (Call Me By Your Name), Parker Posey (Lost in Space), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones), Dane Dehaan (Lisey's Story) and Patrick Schwarzenegger (Moxie) all also popping up — and Rosemarie DeWitt as well, playing Collette's sister again after United States of Tara — getting absorbed in this retelling comes quickly and swiftly. The Staircase streams via Binge. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL RIGHT NOW CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS Peeking into intimate connections and making audiences feeling as though they've been lifted from their own lives, or from emotions they've navigated and weathered, is one of Sally Rooney's key skills as an author. It's true of both Conversations with Friends and Normal People in print, and it's a knack that the same creative team — Rooney as an executive producer, co-screenwriter Alice Birch (Lady Macbeth) and co-director Lenny Abrahamson (Room, Frank) — have brought to TV adaptations of both. In text and flickering across the screen, the two tales step into complicated romances that simmer with intensity. They confront class clashes and the difficulties that spring from them as well. And, they force contemplative women to confront what they want, who they are, how they'll grow as people and the others they might give their hearts to. In the instantly addictive Conversations with Friends, 21-year-old Frances (quietly magnetic newcomer Alison Oliver) is first poised as the other half in a couple that's not a couple, at least anymore; she went to school with and used to date the outspoken and outgoing Bobbi (Sasha Lane, American Honey), but now the two university students are best friends and spoken-word poetry partners. It's during one of their performances that successful writer Melissa (Jemima Kirke, Sex Education) spots the duo's act, compliments them afterwards and invites them over for a swim, then back to her well-appointed house for a drink. Enter Nick (Joe Alwyn, The Souvenir: Part II), Melissa's actor husband, who holds himself like he'd rather be anywhere but there but is too polite to upset the status quo. He's as reserved and introverted as Frances — and they catch each other's eyes, while Bobbi and Melissa gravitate towards each other. Conversations with Friends streams via Prime Video. Read our full review. PREHISTORIC PLANET Five episodes, one comforting voice, and a time-travelling trip back 66 million years: that's the setup behind Prehistoric Planet, an utterly remarkable feels-like-you're-there dive into natural history. Having none other than David Attenborough narrate the daily activities of dinosaurs seems like it should've happened already, of course; however, now that it finally is occurring, it's always both wonderful and stunning. Filled with astonishing footage on par with the visuals that usually accompany Attenborough's nature docos, all thanks to the special effects team behind The Jungle Book and The Lion King, it truly is a wonder to look at. It needs to be: if the Cretaceous-era dinosaurs rampaging across the screen didn't appear like they genuinely could be walking and stalking — and fighting, foraging for food, hunting, flying, swimming and running as well — the magic that typically comes with watching an Attenborough-narrated doco would instantly and disappointingly vanish. Welcome to... your new insight into Tyrannosaurus rex foreplay, your latest reminder that velociraptors really don't look like they do in the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World flicks, an entertaining time spent with al kinds of animals, and your next favourite dinosaur project with an Attenborough attached. Each of Prehistoric Planet's five instalments focuses on a different type of terrain — coasts, deserts, freshwater, ice and forests — and chats through the creatures that call it home. Set to a spirited original score by Hans Zimmer, fresh from winning his latest Oscar for Dune, there's a formula at work. That said, it's no more blatant than in any David Attenborough-hosted show. Viewers watch as some dinos look after their young, others try to find a mate, plenty search for something to eat and others attempt not to be eaten. The same kinds of activities are covered in each episode, but the locations and dinosaurs involved all change. Prehistoric Planet streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. STRANGER THINGS Finally back for its fourth season after a three-year wait (yes, finally), Stranger Things ventures beyond its trusty small-town setting of Hawkins, Indiana, and in several directions. It keeps its nods and winks to flicks and shows gone by streaming steadily of course — but expanding is firmly on its mind. Once again overseen by series creators The Duffer Brothers, its latest batch of episodes is bigger and longer, with no instalment clocking in at less than an hour, one in the first drop running for a feature-length 98 minutes, and the final two not set to release until Friday, July 1. Its teenage stars are bigger and taller as well, ageing further and faster than their characters. The show has matured past riffing on early-80s action-adventure movies, too, such as The Goonies; now, it's onto slashers and other horror films, complete with new characters called Fred and Jason. And with that, Stranger Things also gets bloodier and eerier. That said, it's still the show that viewers have loved since 2016, when not even Netflix likely realised what it had unleashed — and no, that doesn't just include the demogorgon escaping from the Upside Down. But everything is growing, as Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, Godzilla vs Kong), her boyfriend Mike (Finn Wolfhard, Ghostbusters: Afterlife), and their pals Will (Noah Schnapp, Waiting for Anya), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo, The Angry Birds Movie 2), Max (Sadie Sink, Fear Street) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin, Concrete Cowboy) all visibly have. Eleven, Will, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton, The Souvenir Part II) and Joyce (Winona Ryder, The Plot Against America) have branched out to California, and Mike comes to visit. Back in Hawkins, Dustin, Lucas, Max, Steve (Joe Keery, Free Guy), Robin (Maya Hawke, Fear Street) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer, Things Seen & Heard) have a new evil to face. And, as for Hopper (David Harbour, Black Widow), he's stuck in a Russian gulag. The first seven episodes of Stranger Things season four are streaming via Netflix. Read our full review. EMERGENCY The 'one wild night' genre isn't solely comprised of films about high school or college parties — Martin Scorsese's ace After Hours isn't, for example — but it's still filled with them. Emergency is the latest, but it's also a movie with something to say beyond the usual life lessons about valuing your real friends and working out who you genuinely are when you're at that awkward time learning about what being an adult means. It also takes a huge cue from a fairy tale that everyone knows, and adapts it to reflect an inescapable part of America today. How does being a person of colour change your options during a supposedly carefree night of partying? How does it influence your choices when something unexpected happens to someone else and you want to help? And what would happen if Goldilocks and the Three Bears was about a drunk white high schooler who passes out inside a house shared by one Latino and two Black college seniors? These are Emergency's questions. The answers to the above queries come courtesy of filmmaker Carey Williams (R#J) and screenwriter KD Dávila (Salvation), who adapt their short film of the same name. Their focus: pals Sean (RJ Cyler, The Harder They Fall), Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins, The Underground Railroad) and Carlos (Sebastian Chacon, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels), on what's supposed to be a huge night hopping between seven different campus shindigs. Then, they find Emma (Maddie Nichols, The Outsider) passed out on their lounge room floor. The Princeton-bound Kunle wants to call 911, but Sean knows how it'll look to the authorities — even though they're trying to do the right thing, have never met the girl before and don't know how she ended up in their house. Savvier than it is funny, Emergency is an oh-so-topical satire first and foremost, and doesn't hold back for a second. Emergency streams via Prime Video. UNDONE Returning for its second season three years after its first — which was one of the best shows of 2019 — the gorgeously and thoughtfully trippy multiverse series Undone is fixated on one idea: that life's flaws can be fixed. It always has been from the moment its eight-episode initial season appeared with its vivid rotoscoped animation and entrancing leaps into surreal territory; however, in season two it doubles down. Hailing from BoJack Horseman duo Kate Purdy and Raphael Bob-Waksberg, it also remains unsurprisingly concerned with mental illness, and still sees its protagonist caught in an existential crisis. (The pair have a type, but Undone isn't BoJack Horseman 2.0). And, it deeply understands that it's spinning a "what if?" story, and also one about deep-seated unhappiness. Indeed, learning to cope with being stuck in an imperfect life, being unable to wish it away and accepting that fate beams brightly away at the heart of the show. During its debut outing, Undone introduced viewers to 28-year-old Alma Winograd-Diaz (Rosa Salazar, Alita: Battle Angel), who found everything she thought she knew pushed askew after a near-fatal car accident. Suddenly, she started experiencing time and her memories differently — including those of her father, Jacob Winograd (Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul), who died over 20 years earlier. In a vision, he tasked her with investigating his death, which became a quest to patch up the past to stop tragedy from striking. Undone didn't necessarily need a second season, but this repeat dive into Alma's story ponders what happens in a timeline where everything seems to glimmer with all that its protagonist has ever wanted, and yet sorrow still lingers. Once again, the end result is deeply rich and resonant, as intelligent and affecting as sci-fi and animation alike get, and dedicated to thinking and feeling big while confronting everyday truths. Undone streams via Prime Video. Read our full review. RETURNING FAVES DROPPING EAGERLY AWAITED NEW EPISODES WEEKLY BARRY Three seasons into the sitcom that bears his name, all that Barry Berkman (Bill Hader, Noelle) wants is to be an actor — and to also no longer kill people for a living. That's what he's yearned for across the bulk of this HBO gem, which has given Saturday Night Live alum Hader his best-ever role; however, segueing from being an assassin to treading the boards or standing in front of the camera is unsurprisingly complicated. One of the smartest elements of the always-fantastic Barry is how determined it is to weather all the chaos, darkness, rough edges and heart-wrenching consequences of its central figure's choices, though. That's true of his actions not only in the past, but in the show's present. Hader and series co-creator Alec Berg (Silicon Valley) know that viewers like Barry. You're meant to. But that doesn't mean ignoring that he's a hitman, or that his time murdering people — and his military career before that — has repercussions, including for those around him. One of the most layered and complex comedies currently airing, Barry's third season is as intricate, thorny, textured and hilarious as the first two. Indeed, it's ridiculously easy to see how cartoonish its premise would be in lesser hands, or how it might've leaned on a simple odd-couple setup given that Anthony Carrigan (Bill & Ted Face the Music) plays Chechen gangster Noho Hank with such delightful flair. But Barry keeps digging into what makes its namesake tick, why, and the ripples he causes. It does the same with his beloved acting teacher Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler, The French Dispatch) as well. With visual precision on par with Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, it's also as phenomenal at staging action scenes as it is at diving deep into its characters — and, as every smartly penned episode just keeps proving, it's downright stellar at that. Barry streams via Binge. HACKS In 2021, Hacks' first season quickly cemented itself as one of 2021's best new TV shows — one of two knockout newbies starring Jean Smart last year, thanks to Mare of Easttown as well — and it's just as ace the second time around. It's still searingly funny, nailing that often-elusive blend of insight, intelligence and hilarity. It retains its observational, wry tone, and remains devastatingly relatable even if you've never been a woman trying to make it in comedy. And it's happy to linger where it needs to to truly understand its characters, but never simply dwells in the same place as its last batch of episodes. Season two is literally about hitting the road, so covering fresh territory is baked into the story; however, Hacks' trio of key behind-the-scenes creatives — writer Jen Statsky (The Good Place), writer/director Lucia Aniello (Rough Night) and writer/director/co-star Paul W Downs (The Other Two) — aren't content to merely repeat themselves with a different backdrop. Those guiding hands started Hacks after helping to make Broad City a hit. Clearly, they all know a thing or two about moving on from the past. That's the decision both veteran comedian Deborah Vance (Smart) and her twentysomething writer-turned-assistant Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder, North Hollywood) had to make themselves in season one, with the show's second season now charting the fallout. So, Deborah has farewelled her residency and the dependable gags that kept pulling in crowds, opting to test out new and far-more-personal material on a cross-country tour instead. Ava has accepted her role by Deborah's side, and is willing to see it as a valid career move rather than an embarrassing stopgap. But that journey comes a few narrative bumps. Of course, Hacks has always been willing to see that actions have consequences, not only for an industry that repeatedly marginalises women, but for its imperfect leading ladies. Hacks streams via Stan. Read our full review. GIRLS5EVA When it first hit streaming in 2021 with an avalanche of quickfire jokes — as all Tina Fey-executive produced sitcoms do, such as 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Great News and Mr Mayor — Girls5eva introduced viewers to its eponymous band. One-hit wonders in the late 90s and early 00s, their fame had fizzled. Indeed, reclaiming their stardom wasn't even a blip on their radars — until, unexpectedly, it was. Dawn Solano (Sara Bareilles, Broadway's Waitress), Wickie Roy (Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton), Summer Dutkowsky (Busy Philipps, I Feel Pretty) and Gloria McManus (Paula Pell, AP Bio) had left their days as America's answer to the Spice Girls behind, barely staying in contact since the group split and their fifth member, Ashley Gold (Ashley Park, Emily in Paris), later died in an infinity pool accident. But then rapper Lil Stinker (Jeremiah Craft, Bill & Ted Face the Music) sampled their single 'Famous 5eva', and they were asked to perform backing vocals during his Tonight Show gig. Jumping back into the spotlight reignited dreams that the surviving Girls5eva members thought they'd extinguished long ago — well, other than walking attention-magnet Wickie, who crashed and burned in her attempts to go solo, and was happy to fake it till she made it again. That's the tale the show charts again in its second season, which is back with more rapid-fire pop-culture references and digs; the same knowing, light but still sincere tone; and a new parade of delightful tunes composed by Jeff Richmond, Fey's husband and source of music across every sitcom she's produced. One of the joys of Girls5eva — one of many — is how gleefully absurd it skews, all while fleshing out its central quartet, their hopes and desires, and their experiences navigating an industry that treats them as commodities at best. The show's sophomore run finds much to satirise, of course, but also dives deeper and pushing Wickie, Dawn, Summer and Gloria to grow. Obviously, it's another gem. Girls5eva streams via Stan. Read our full review. RECENT AND CLASSIC FLICKS TO CATCH UP ON — OR REVISIT NO SUDDEN MOVE Any film by prolific director Steven Soderbergh (Unsane, Kimi) is a must-see event, even if it bypasses cinemas — as No Sudden Move sadly did. This crime thriller would've looked dazzling on a big screen, and for a plethora of reasons, but it's as excellent as ever even while watching on your TV. Soderbergh is no stranger to helming capers — he has Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen on his jam-packed resume, plus both Out of Sight and Logan Lucky — and No Sudden Move is as energetic as the rest of his heist fare. Here, he also revels in period details, with this Ed Solomon (Bill & Ted Face the Music)-scripted tale unfurling in the 1950s. As he's known to do, Soderbergh both shot and edited the movie himself, too, and that exceptional craftsmanship is another of this playful neo-noir's many delights. Spinning an engaging story steeped in Detroit's crime scene, No Sudden Move has something to say as well. Don Cheadle (Space Jam: A New Legacy) in is career-best form as Curt Goynes, who gets out of prison, then gets enlisted for a job by a middleman known as Jones (Brendan Fraser, Trust). That gig? With two colleagues (The French Dispatch's Benicio Del Toro and Succession's Kieran Culkin), he's tasked with babysitting the Wertz family (Archenemy's Amy Seimetz, A Quiet Place Part II's Noah Jupe and debutant Lucy Holt), all so the Wertz patriarch (David Harbour, Stranger Things) can steal a document from his work. There's no shortage of plot — No Sudden Move keeps twisting from there — but capitalism's worst consequences also bubble prominently underneath. Soderbergh and Solomon savvily tease out the details, though, keeping their audience guessing as much as their characters. No Sudden Move is available to stream via Netflix and Binge. EVERY JAMES BOND MOVIE Break out the martinis and prepare for a shaken but not stirred couch session: Bond, James Bond, is coming to your lounge room. Just in time for wintry binge-viewing marathons, the famed espionage franchise has hit Prime Video, spanning every flick in the series from the now 60-year-old Dr No through to 2021's No Time to Die. Sean Connery smouldering his way through everything from that first-ever Bond instalment through to Diamonds Are Forever, Roger Moore stepping into 007's shoes between Live and Let Die and A View to A Kill, Timothy Dalton's two-film run in The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill — they're all included. So is Pierce Brosnan's stint as the secret agent between GoldenEye and Die Another Day, and Daniel Craig's five contributions from Casino Royale onwards, wrapping up with what might be the best Bond film yet. Aussie actor George Lazenby's one-movie appearance as Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service is also on the bill. That's all 25 official movies in total covered, but there is also a 26th movie, Never Say Never Again, that you might want to watch. Made in 1983, it stars Connery as the suave spy. But, because it was made by a different company from the rest of the Bond movies, it's not considered part of the franchise itself — however, it is also on Prime Video now. Exceptional Bond flicks, terrible ones, everything in-between: if 007 is involved, it's now in this one spot. For everything other than No Time to Die, this isn't the first time the franchise has all sat on one streaming platform, and we've all seen various flicks hop between different services over the years. That said, the Bond movies aren't likely to move from Prime Video moving forward given that Amazon recently purchased MGM, the nearly century-old film studio that's behind all things 007. The entire Bond franchise streams via Prime Video. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December 2021, and January, February, March and April 2022 — and our top new TV shows of 2021, best new television series from last year that you might've missed, top 2021 straight-to-streaming films and specials and must-stream 2022 shows so far as well.
Mugen Ramen is something a little different to the quick in-and-out hustly bustly ramen restaurants that line the CBD streets. This one, in true Melbourne style, is down an alley just off Flinders Lane and has a basement vibe (you'll likely be sitting downstairs). There's also a punchy, pop-culture feel to the décor — menus handed over to customers look like comic books and Japanese films project silently onto the walls. Come for the tsukemen ramen ($17 for a regular size), where the noodles and broth are served separately before you lovingly combine them — by dipping the former into the latter. Two become one; you become full. But, a word of warning, this ramen is dangerous for those who wear white. As well as ramen, Mugen serves up a range of snacks and a heap of craft beers — mostly from local or Japanese microbreweries.
There's a moral dilemma involved in writing about a great new place. On one hand, people deserve to know about it — but on the other, this might make it harder to get a seat. Graham Hill and Georgina Russell have turned the former Storm in a Teacup space into an intimate wine bar, and in doing so, have created a little portal between Collingwood and Paris; stepping off Smith Street and into Smithward is like escaping somewhere down Rue de Buci or maybe Rue Mouffetard. Inspired by a memory of a bar the couple loved in London, the space revels in its pared back, mismatched style and 17 seats. Choose between imbibing in the duskiness down the back, at a small marble table along the side wall or channel your inner Parisian and perch on the window ledge stools and watch the world go by. Two details stand out in the decor of Smithward: the blue tile-lined counter and the two large 'portraits' of Edgar and Wilbur, the budgerigars, who also appear on the coasters and wine glasses. Sensing a theme here? Ask Graham about it and he might just roll up his sleeve and show you his budgerigar tattoo, gifted because his wife has a fear of birds and this is as close as he'll get to the real thing. The succinct menu features charcuterie sliced to order and a cheese selection put together by Harper and Blohm and served with crusty house sourdough baguette, which is made by Graham every afternoon with the sourdough starter he created back in April. Think aperitif rather than dinner. Although, if you were to graze your way through the selection of three cheeses and three meats, try the Anchoa Atocha, a combo of salted crisps with white anchovies, or immerse yourself in the cheesiest of all cheesy delights: the raclette. Melted to order and deftly scraped straight from the wheel to then blanket boiled potatoes and little spear-like cornichons, eating raclette is a little like eating a fondue in reverse. As for the wine part of the wine bar, it's slim but quality pickings: three whites, three reds, a rosé and a sparkling. There is one beer on tap, with seasonal varieties from local brewer Wolf of the Willows taking centre stage. For those evenings that require a little more fortifying, there's a Negroni and a Victorian martini, which features Maidenii vermouth and locally produced Four Pillars gin. So, for a little bit of Frenchiness in heartland Collingwood, get along to Smithward. Just don't tell everyone about it. Please.
If it's true that the things that don't kill you only serve to make you stronger, we can all expect Melbourne's Rising festival to come out fighting fit for its long-awaited premiere run this year. After COVID-19 unravelled its planned 2020 debut, then returned to cancel all but opening night of its 2021 program, the blockbuster citywide multi-arts festival will this year, finally, get its moment. As announced today, Rising is set to descend on Melbourne from Wednesday, June 1–Sunday, June 12. Determined to make this third time a charm, the festival is delivering a hefty, carefully-honed program of art, music and performance. "Overall, we're expecting one million people to experience Rising across 225 events, with over 800 artists involved," festival co-director Gideon Obarzanek tells Concrete Playground. Over 12 days and nights, those artists will transform the streets and spaces of Melbourne into their canvases and stages, serving up a diverse, supersized culture fix to kickstart winter. With borders reopened, a stack more international names have been able to join the bill, too. [caption id="attachment_846653" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Wilds, 2021[/caption] While the program has evolved and morphed since last year, some of its key experiences are built on return concepts. "The Wilds and Golden Square are the two big pillar pieces," explains co-director Hannah Fox. "But a lot of the content within those projects is new." The Wilds will return to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, this time dishing up a fluorescent-tinged fusion of art, sound and flavour courtesy of renowned New York-based Aussie artists Tin & Ed. It'll play host to performances, quirky large-scale structures, and an ice-skating rink beating to the sound of 80s and 90s bangers. Exceptional eats here include snacks from the likes of 1800 Lasagne and Smith & Daughters, and a 'glowing glasshouse bistro' manned by celebrated chefs David Moyle, Jo Barrett and Matt Stone. [caption id="attachment_846649" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul Yore's 2018 work 'It's All Wrong But It's Alright'. Credit Rémi Chauvin.[/caption] Golden Square will again transform a multi-storey Chinatown carpark into a vibrant, sensorial art park, featuring parades, rooftop bars and a compelling site-wide exhibition from artists like Paul Yore, Scotty So, Atong Atem and Jason Phu. Patricia Piccinini's otherworldy exhibition A Miracle Constantly Repeated will continue its popular run, gracing the Flinders Street Ballroom until the festival's end on June 12. Leading audio-visual artist Robin Fox is also creating a mesmerising laser and sound work, Monochord, that will beam one kilometre along the Yarra each night. And, thanks to Keith Courtney, one of the folks behind House of Mirrors and 1000 Doors, a 20-metre-long kaleidoscopic labyrinth will invite attendees to immerse themselves in a playground of mazes and light. [caption id="attachment_846648" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Robin Fox's work MONOCHORD[/caption] Gig-starved music-lovers can expect a smorgasbord of sonic delights throughout the fest, as international names like Moses Sumney, Welsh electro star Kelly Lee Owens and the multi-talented Andy Shauf join homegrown talent including renowned drummer Jim White, Tkay Maidza, Harvey Sutherland and the legendary Sampa the Great. Meanwhile, a diverse program of dance performances will share stories from around the world, with unmissable works from the likes of Stephanie Lake Company, Denmark's Mette Ingvartsen, Indonesian choreographer Rianto and Uruguay's Tamara Cubas. Legendary text-based artist Jenny Holzer will transform a 19th-century building facade with her six-storey projection work I CONJURE, too — and for The Invisible Opera, the constant buzz of Federation Square will be mapped in real-time, creating an immersive multi-disciplinary performance piece. [caption id="attachment_846654" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tkay Maidza[/caption] Jurrungu ngan-ga (meaning 'straight talk') explores refugee detention and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in custody via a captivating, culture-bridging dance performance by the Marrugeku crew. Plus, the return of the famed Melbourne Art Trams will showcase six trams emblazoned with designs by First Peoples artists, alongside a reproduction of the 1991 tram work by acclaimed artist, painter and sculptor Lin Onus. And, nodding to one of the city's greatest sporting loves, there's the work that has Hannah Fox most excited, Still Lives. "It's a performance we commissioned back in 2020, which is now going to take place in the NGV, in the Great Hall," the festival director explains. "It's essentially two artists, Luke George and Daniel Kok, who are working with five retired AFL players to suspend them in rope bondage from the ceiling… in the form of an iconic mark from the AFL's history. Yeah, I'm very excited for that." Rising will run from Wednesday, June 1–Sunday, June 12 at venues and public spaces across Melbourne. Presale tickets are available from 12pm on Monday, March 21, with regular tickets selling from 12pm on Friday, March 25.
Piccolina's new Hawthorn store is set to open from mid-November onwards. We'll share more info about the space, menu and opening hours as it drops. Sandra Foti's beloved gelato brand Piccolina has closed its original Hawthorn shop to open this spacious new gelateria just 100 metres down Glenferrie Road. And it'll be serving up a subtly refreshed spin on the Piccolina concept. The roomier new outpost is set to scoop the brand's full range of all-natural gelato: crowd favourites like peanut butter, honeycomb and fior di latte, plus dairy-free options including pistachio and the dark chocolate. All the limited-edition varieties will be getting a spin here, as will a new series of special releases launched to coincide with the opening. With recent specials including hits like the Hedgehog — chocolate gelato with toasted coconut, butter biscuit and fudge — and the marshmallow-spiked S'mores, you're in for some very good times, indeed. Like its siblings, the shop's aesthetic comes courtesy of a collaboration with Hecker Guthrie and Projects of Imagination. This time, however, you can expect a few considered tweaks to the chain's signature stylings, with custom-made communal tables, new materials heroed throughout the fitout and some surprises, too. There'll be a tap pouring Piccolina's warm homemade Better Than Nutella sauce to drizzle atop your scoops, a machine churning out freshly whipped cream, a giant double-doored freezer to house the signature gelato cakes, and a menu of Italian-style milkshakes and thickshakes. [caption id="attachment_825791" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Foti[/caption]
UPDATE: AUGUST 26, 2020 — Yoku is still open for takeaway from 5–8pm Wednesday–Sunday for those living within five-kilometres of the store. You can head online or call (03) 9533 2218 to order. Prefer delivery? You'll find that over on Deliveroo. A ramen and a sake bar is just the ticket for cold weather. Why? Liquid dinners abound — in both forms. Nothing warms you up more than a hot bowl of ramen and a tumbler full of sake, and they're a beautiful pair made especially to heat your cold and tired bones. Pick from one of 15 different sake varieties, then move on to the ramen. The speciality at this Prahran restaurant is the chicken broth ramen. Cooked over eight hours, it's rich and creamy and, turns out, could be the magical health remedy you've been searching for your whole life. No big deal. It's then topped with chicken thigh or pork belly — or, if you like it spicy, with a chilli-heavy pork mince. Vegetarians and vegan are well catered for here, too, with the restaurants signature meat-free broth made with 20 different vegetables, mushrooms and herbs.
When a hit show comes to an end, the network behind it often tries to fill the gap with something similar. It's the situation that HBO found itself in last year when Game of Thrones wrapped up, with the US cable channel quickly launching new fantasy series His Dark Materials and committing to making a GoT spinoff called House of the Dragon. And, with Big Little Lies looking like it's also all done and dusted, the station seems to be in the same predicament in the star-studded murder mystery genre as well. Enter The Undoing. Starring Nicole Kidman, and written and produced by Big Little Lies' David E. Kelley, it's definitely a case of HBO sticking with what they know. Kidman plays a successful therapist who appears to have the perfect life, with a loving husband (Hugh Grant), a son (Honey Boy's Noah Jupe) attending an elite school and her first book about to be published. Then a violent death sparks a chain of revelations that shatters her life as she knows it. Also part of the plot, as seen in the show's first teaser, its second teaser as well and now its just-dropped new full trailer: a missing spouse, plenty of public attention, a heap of interrogations and a plethora of tough choices for Kidman's Grace Fraser. It'll all play out as a once-off limited series — although that was originally the case with Big Little Lies before it came back for a second season. Based on the novel You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz, The Undoing also features The Burnt Orange Heresy's Donald Sutherland and American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace's Edgar Ramirez — with Bird Box director Susanne Bier behind the camera on every episode, just as she was on excellent Emmy-winning mini-series The Night Manager. As for when you'll be able to watch it, it was originally set to premiere sometime in May; however now it'll launch on Monday, October 26. In Australia, it'll screen via Foxtel, Foxtel Now and Binge. Check out the latest teaser below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWoiNlLqLR8&feature=emb_logo The Undoing will screen in Australia via Foxtel and Binge, with episodes airing weekly from Monday, October 26. Top image: Niko Tavernise/HBO.
There are two types of people in this world: those who must eat brekkie and those who roll out of bed and get to the office sans sustenance. If you're the latter, we get it — life often gets in the way of breaking your fast. No doubt, though, when 11am hits, you're usually stinging for a snack. Whether you reach for the office bikkie tin or dash out to grab something from the closest cafe, there's no question our productivity is better when we're not counting down the minutes till lunch. So, why not save yourself from going hungry — and save some dosh — by making your own snacks? In partnership with Glad and its new Glad to be Green range, we've teamed up with Cornersmith Co-owner Alex Elliott-Howery to bring you the perfect go-to treat: the tahini muesli bar. While Alex is a master of pickles and preserves, she also makes mighty good snacks. She's also passionate about reducing food waste, with sustainability a big focus at Cornersmith, as well when she cooks at home. Alex's tahini muesli bars are packed with pantry staples, so minimal planning is required — and they take all of 20 minutes to make. So, do yourself a favour and whip up these nutritious and delicious bars. And, just think of the bragging rights when you bring these homemade treats into the office. [caption id="attachment_813279" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Reuben Gibbs[/caption] INGREDIENTS Makes 12 bars Dry ingredients 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup desiccated coconut or puffed rice (or a mix of both) 1 cup mix of pepitas, linseed, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds Handful chopped walnuts, almonds or hazlenuts 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/3 cup LSA or wheatgerm 60g chocolate buttons or dried fruit Wet ingredients 1/2 cup tahini 1/2 cup honey 1/3 cup coconut oil [caption id="attachment_813284" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Reuben Gibbs[/caption] METHOD Preheat oven to 160 degree celsius and line a 16 centimetre x 16 centimetre tray with Glad's compostable baking paper. Combine tahini, honey and coconut oil in a small saucepan and melt over low heat. Then, in a bowl, combine rolled oats, desiccated coconut or puffed rice (or both), your mix of seeds, the nut of your choice and ground cinnamon. Stir wet mixture through the dry muesli mix, ensuring to coat well. Add LSA (or wheatgerm) and chocolate buttons (or dried fruit) and stir well to combine. Pour mixture into baking tray and press to flatten. Cover with baking paper and firmly press the mixture again with the palm of your hand. Bake for 20–30 minutes, or until golden brown. Refrigerate overnight to allow to set. Then, cut into 12 bars (or whatever your ideal snack size is). Keep in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to two weeks. For some additional tips, check out the video below. https://vimeo.com/557081707 Go green and visit the Glad website for more tips and tricks. Top images: Reuben Gibbs
Every film festival has its highlights, and its events that make each specific fest special. For the Melbourne International Film Festival, its Hear My Eyes gigs are one such standout. With movies such as Drive, Girlhood, Suspiria and Two Hands, MIFF has brought beloved and classic flicks back to the big screen, accompanied by a live — and all-new, completely original — score that's played while film lovers sit, watch and listen. It's as unique a movie-going experience as you can get, even if you've seen the feature in the spotlight countless times before — and for MIFF 2022, another exceptional film is getting the Hear My Eyes treatment. Get ready to revisit the role that made Eric Bana an international movie star, and to dive back into one of the most infamous crime tales in Australian history. In other words, get ready for Chopper. Twenty-two years after it first hit cinemas, the exceptional Andrew Dominik (This Much I Know to Be True)-directed flick will grace The Astor Theatre's big screen for one night only, on Wednesday, August 17, with sessions at 6.15pm and 9pm. It'll also pair its visuals with a brand-new original live score, as spearheaded by Mick Harvey, member of the Bad Seeds, and the musician who originally gave Chopper its soundtrack. As well as composing the new score, Harvey will be joined by supergroup Springtime — featuring Gareth Liddiard from Tropical Fuck Storm and The Drones, Jim White from Dirty Three and Chris Abrahams from The Necks — to play it live. That big-screen date with Uncle Chop Chop is all well, great and fantastic for Melburnians, with tickets on sale from 10am on Thursday, June 16 — but it's also excellent for Sydneysiders, too. Outside of MIFF, Hear My Eyes will bring its Chopper performance to the New South Wales capital, at City Recital Hall, at 6pm on Saturday, August 27. Tickets for the Sydney show go on sale at 9.30am on Thursday, June 16. Check out the trailer for Chopper below: HEAR MY EYES 2022: Wednesday, August 17 — 6.15pm and 9pm, The Astor Theatre as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival Saturday, August 27 — 6pm, City Recital Hall, Sydney Hear My Eyes' Chopper screenings with Springtime + Mick Harvey start touring the country in August. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the Melbourne International Film Festival and Hear My Eyes websites. The 2022 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 4–Sunday, August 28 at a variety of venues around Melbourne and Victoria, and online. For further details, including the full program from Tuesday, July 12, visit the MIFF website.
Bar Ampere is serving up back-alley Parisian bar vibes, in all the best ways. Head down Russel Place in Melbourne's CBD any night of the week to find this small but mighty late-night drinking and dining spot filled with those in the know. The whole space is incredibly unassuming, with smashed-out concrete walls and chain links lining the entrance. At first glance, it feels a little run down. But a polished and carefully curated late-night bar lies within. Grab a seat on the terrace, at one of the few indoor tables or right at the bar — and let the expert front of house staff take care of you for the night. These folks are ever-professional, yet casual and friendly at the same time. It's an effortlessly cool spot. The European centric food is ace — think cheesy raclettes, steak tartare, ham and cheese croquettes and chicken and pork meat balls. The obligatory cheese and charcuterie boards also make an appearance. And for heartier options, you've got classic burgers and sandos. But it's the drinks list that makes Bar Ampere stand out. The cocktail menu is vast, and we suggest you get one of the waiters to recommend your first drink. Tell them your tastes and they'll bring you one of their own creations. As you sip on cocktail number one — there ought to be many — read through the rest of the drinking options to choose your next poison. But you don't have to go down the cocktail route. Wines and a huge selection of whiskies, amaros and other spirits are also available to the late-night revellers staying right up until close at 3am. If you find yourself wandering the CBD streets in search of nightcap, consider swinging by Bar Ampere. [caption id="attachment_903477" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kristoffer Paulsen[/caption] Appears in: The Best Bars in Melbourne for 2023
If farewelling winter has put you in the mood to skip town and head out to see some beautiful blooms, Victoria is leaving you spoilt for choice this season. You've probably already got the famed Tesselaar Tulip Festival and Cherryhill Orchards' Blossom Festival on your radar. And here's another — Bendigo's Annual Tulip Display is set to bring the regional town alive with a sea of vibrant flowers from Saturday, September 14–Sunday, October 6. [caption id="attachment_843475" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria[/caption] Bendigo's Pall Mall and Conservatory Garden will be blooming bright as they play host to an eye-catching showcase of more than 43,000 tulips, courtesy of the region's Park and Natural Reserves crew. The display's been carefully curated with a mix of flower colours, sizes and blooming schedules, so you're in for something different each time you visit. As always, the tulips will be free to wander through at your leisure, and there'll be a program of curator talks for anyone looking for inspiration to create their own tulip-filled backyard paradise. Plus, from Friday, September 20–Sunday, October 6, there'll be a special Bloom After Dark event that sees the tulip beds illuminated by colourful light projections. Image: Visit Victoria.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. DRIVE MY CAR More than four decades have passed since Haruki Murakami's debut novel reached shelves, and since the first film adaptation of his work followed, too; however, the two best page-to-screen versions of the author's prose have arrived in the past four years. It's easy to think about South Korean drama Burning while watching Drive My Car, because the two features — one Oscar-shortlisted, the other now the first Japanese movie to be nominated for Best Picture — spin the writer's words into astonishing, intricately observed portraits of human relationships. Both films are also exceptional. In the pair, Murakami's text is only a starting point, with his tales hitting the screen filtered through each picture's respective director. For Drive My Car, Japanese filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi does the honours, taking audiences riding through another of the Happy Hour, Asako I & II and with Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy helmer's layered, thoughtful and probing reflections on connection. Using Murakami's short story from 2014 collection Men Without Women as its basis, Drive My Car's setup is simple. Yes, the film's title is descriptive. Two years after a personal tragedy, actor/director Yūsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima, Silent Tokyo) agrees to bring Chekhov's Uncle Vanya to the stage in Hiroshima, and the company behind it insists on giving him a chauffeur for his stay. He declines— he'd asked to stay an hour away from the theatre so he could listen to recorded tapes of the play on his drive — yet his new employers contend that it's mandatory for insurance and liability reasons. Enter 23-year-old Misaki Watari (Tôko Miura, Spaghetti Code Love), who becomes a regular part of Yūsuke's working stint in the city. Drive My Car doesn't hurry to its narrative destination, clocking in at a minute shy of three hours. It doesn't rush to get to its basic premise, either. Before the film's opening credits arrive 40 minutes in, it steps through Yūsuke's existence back when he was appearing in a version of Uncle Vanya himself, married to television scriptwriter Oto (Reika Kirishima, Japanese TV's Sherlock) and grappling with an earlier heartbreak. His wife is also sleeping with younger actor Takatsuki (Masaki Okada, Arc), which Yūsuke discovers, says nothing about but works towards discussing until fate intervenes. Then, when he sits in his red 1987 Saab 900 Turbo just as the movie's titles finally display, he's a man still wracked by grief. It's also swiftly clear that he's using his two-month Hiroshima residency as a distraction, even while knowing that this exact play — and Oto's voice on the tapes he keeps listening to — will always be deeply tied to his life-shattering loss. This prologue does more than set the scene; there's a reason that Hamaguchi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Takamasa Oe (The Naked Director), directs so much time its way. Where tales of tragedy and mourning often plunge into happy lives suddenly unsettled by something catastrophic or the process of picking up the pieces in the aftermath — typically making a concerted choice between one or the other — Drive My Car sees the two as the forever-linked halves of a complicated journey, as they are. The film isn't interested in the events that've forever altered the plot of Yūsuke's life, but in who he is, how he copes, and what ripples that inescapable hurt causes. It's just as fascinated with another fact: that so many of us have these stories. Just as losing someone and soldiering on afterwards are unshakeably connected, so are we all by sharing these cruel constants of life. Read our full review. BENEDETTA What do two nuns in the throes of sexual ecstasy gasp? "My god" and "sweet Jesus", of course. No other filmmaker could've made those divine orgasmic exclamations work quite like Paul Verhoeven does in Benedetta, with the Dutch filmmaker adding another lusty, steamy, go-for-broke picture to his resume three decades after Basic Instinct and more than a quarter-century since Showgirls. His latest erotic romp has something that his 90s dives into plentiful on-screen sex didn't, however: a true tale, courtesy of the life of the movie's 17th-century namesake, whose story the writer/director and his co-scribe David Birke (Slender Man) adapt from Judith Brown's 1986 non-fiction book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy. For anyone that's ever wondered how a religious biopic and nunsploitation might combine, this is the answer you've been praying for. Frequently a playful filmmaker — the theories that Showgirls is in on its own joke keep bubbling for a reason — Verhoeven starts his first film since 2016's Elle with that feature's more serious tone. The screen is back, the words "inspired by real events" appear and the score is gloomy. When Benedetta's titular figure appears as a girl (played by Elena Plonka, Don't Worry About the Kids), she's the picture of youth and innocence, and she's also so devoted to her faith that she's overjoyed about joining a convent in the Tuscan village of Pescia. But then villains interrupt her trip, and this pious child demonstrates her favour with the almighty by seemingly getting a bird to shit in a man's eye. It isn't quite as marvellous as turning water into wine, but it's its own kind of miracle. As an adult (Virginie Efira, Bye Bye Morons), she'll talk to strapping hallucinations of Jesus (Jonathan Couzinié, Heroes Don't Die), too, and use her beloved childhood statuette of the Virgin Mary as a dildo. There is no line between the sacred and the profane in Benedetta: things can be both here, and frequently are. Case in point: on her first night at the convent, after a bartering session between her father (David Clavel, French Dolls) and the abbess (Charlotte Rampling, Dune) over the girl's dowry for becoming a bride of christ, a statue of the Virgin Mary collapses upon Benedetta, and she shows her sanctity by licking the sculpture's exposed breast. So, 18 years later, when she's both seeing Jesus and attracted to abused newcomer Sister Bartolomea (Daphné Patakia, Versailles), they're the most natural things that could happen. To Benedetta, they're gifts from god, too. She does try to deny her chemistry with the convent's fresh novice at first, but the lord wants what he wants for her. Unsurprisingly, not everyone in the convent — the abbess' daughter Sister Christina (Louise Chevillotte, Synonyms) chief among them — agrees, approves or in believes in her visions. Verhoeven puts his own faith in crafting a witty, sexy, no-holds-barred satire. That said, he doesn't ever play Benedetta as a one-note, over-the-top joke that's outrageous for the sake of it. His protagonist believes, he just-as-devoutly believes in her — whether she's a prophet, a heretic or both, he doesn't especially care — and he also trusts her faith in her primal desires. His allegiance is always with Benedetta, but that doesn't mean that he can't find ample humour in the film or firm targets to skewer. The hypocrisy of religion — "a convent is not a place of charity, child; you must pay to come here," the abbess advises — gets his full comic attention. Having the always-great Rampling on-hand to personify the Catholic Church at its most judgemental and least benevolent (at its money-hungry worst, too) helps considerably. Indeed, what the veteran English actor can do with a withering glare and snarky delivery is a movie miracle. Read our full review. DEATH ON THE NILE Some folks just know how to rock a moustache. When Kenneth Branagh (Tenet) stepped into super-sleuth Hercule Poirot's shoes in 2017's Murder on the Orient Express, he clearly considered himself to be one of them. The actor and filmmaker didn't simply play Agatha Christie's famously moustachioed Belgian detective, but also directed the movie — and he didn't miss a chance to showcase his own performance, as well as that hair adorning his top lip. You don't need to be a world-renowned investigator to deduce that Branagh was always going to repeat the same tricks with sequel Death on the Nile, or to pick that stressing the character's distinctive look and accompanying bundle of personality quirks would again take centre stage. But giving Poirot's 'stache its own black-and-white origin story to start the new movie truly is the height of indulgence. Branagh has previously covered a superhero's beginnings in the initial Thor flick, and also stepped into his own childhood in Belfast, so explaining why Poirot sports his elaborately styled mo — how it came to be, and what it means to him emotionally, too — is just another example of the director doing something he obviously loves. That early hirsute focus sets the tone for Death on the Nile, though, and not as Branagh and returning screenwriter Michael Green (Jungle Cruise) must've intended. Viewers are supposed to get a glimpse at what lies beneath Poirot's smarts and deductive savvy by literally peering beneath his brush-like under-nostril bristles, but all that emerges is routine and formulaic filler. That's the film from its hairy opening to its entire trip through Egypt. At least the moustache looks more convincing than the sets and CGI that are passed off as the pyramids, Abu Simbel and cruising the titular waterway. It's 1937, three years after the events of Murder on the Orient Express, and Poirot is holidaying in Egypt. While drinking tea with a vantage out over the country's unconvincingly computer-generated towering wonders, he chances across his old pal Bouc (Tom Bateman, Behind Her Eyes) and his mother Euphemia (Annette Bening, Hope Gap), who invite him to join their own trip — which doubles as a honeymoon for just-married heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot, Red Notice) and her new husband Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer, Crisis). Poirot obliges, but he's also surprised by the happy couple. Six weeks earlier, he saw them get introduced by Linnet's now-former friend and Simon's now ex-fiancée Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey, Sex Education). That awkward history isn't easily forgotten by the central duo, either, given that Jackie has followed them with a view to winning Simon back. Boating down the Nile is initially an escape plan, whisking the newlyweds away from their obsessive stalker. But even as the group — which includes jazz singer Salome Otterbourne (Sophie Okonedo, Wild Rose), her niece and Linnet's school friend Rosalie (Letitia Wright, Black Panther), the bride's own ex-fiancé Linus Windlesham (Russell Brand, Four Kids and It), her lawyer Andrew Katchadourian (Ali Fazal, Victoria and Abdul), her assistant Louise Bourget (Rose Leslie, Game of Thrones), her godmother Marie Van Schuyler (Jennifer Saunders, Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie) and the latter's nurse Mrs Bowers (Dawn French, The Vicar of Dibley) — adjust to the change of schedule, two things were always going to happen. The pouty Jacqueline can't be thwarted that easily, of course. Also, the fact that there'll soon be a murder for Poirot to solve is right there in the movie's moniker. Read our full review. MARRY ME Romantic comedies are all about timing. Whoever pairs up in whichever film, they share moments: meeting-cute at just the right time, going on life-changing dates, coming to big realisations in tandem and such. Marry Me lives for those kinds of incidents, but the film's timing itself is also unfortunate. Based on Bobby Crosby's webcomic and subsequent graphic novel of the same name — with the former dating back to 2006 — it arrives on the big screen at a time when Starstruck has already delightfully riffed on Notting Hill's tale about an everyday person falling for someone super famous, and when reality TV's Married at First Sight has been making people who've just met get hitched since 2013 (and in versions made in multiple countries), too. If Marry Me managed to transcend its Starstruck/Notting Hill-meets-MAFS premise, it could reach cinemas whenever and it wouldn't matter; however, even Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson's charms can't make that happen. Releasing a rom-com starring Lopez and Wilson in 2022 does toy with time a little, though. Its source material doesn't date back 25 years, to when its stars were both in Anaconda, but its broad strokes could've still fuelled a late-90s addition to the romantic-comedy genre. That's how creaky it feels; of course, that timing would've meant spinning a story without livestreamed concerts — and livestreamed lives, outside of films such as The Truman Show and EdTV — but it also would've rid the movie of one of its biggest crutches. Marry Me finds it too easy to blame too many character choices on the always-online, always-performing, always-oversharing mentality that's now the status quo. It too lazily uses the divide between constantly broadcasting one's every move via social media and happily living life offline to fuel its opposites-attract setup as well. It's no wonder that the movie always feels shallow, even for an obvious fairytale, and even as the script attempts to layer in knowing nods to how women like its central popstar are treated by the world whether or not they record and share every moment they're awake. That singing celebrity is Kat Valdez, aka Lopez playing a part that could've easily been originally penned with her in mind. Kat is a global superstar who, to her dismay, is known as much for her hits as for her personal life. That said, she also willingly combines the two in the track 'Marry Me', a duet with her fiancé Bastian (Colombian singer Maluma) that the pair plan to get married to during a show livestreamed to 20 million people. But moments before Kat ascends to the on-stage altar, news that Bastian has been unfaithful spreads across the internet. Sick of being unlucky in love — and just as fed up with being publicly ridiculed for her romantic misfortunes — she picks out Owen's middle-school maths teacher Charlie Gilbert from the crowd and weds him instead. He's just holding a banner with the movie's title on it for his pal and fellow educator Parker Debbs (Sarah Silverman, Don't Look Up), and he's accompanied by his daughter Lou (Claudia Coleman, Gunpowder Milkshake), but he still says yes. Director Kat Coiro (A Case of You) knows the kind of glossy, crowd-pleasing, comfort-viewing fare she's making and has a feel for that exact niche, but no one is served well by John Rogers (The Librarians), Tami Sagher (Inside Amy Schumer) and Harper Dill's (The Mick) paper-thin script. Worlds away from their last respective big-screen roles in Hustlers and The French Dispatch, Lopez and Wilson do what they can with the fluffy, frothy material, but make viewers wish they had something better to work with. Charismatic casting can keep formulaic rom-coms afloat, and this pairing frequently does, but it can't hide Marry Me's surface-level skimming of anything that could've given it depth. What's expected of women, especially in the public eye; the struggle to keep believing in love when past relationships have silenced your hope; the chasm between the dream of fame and the reality: fleshed out, they all could've helped make Marry Me sing something more than the same old romantic-comedy tune. SIMPLE PASSION To watch Laetitia Dosch in Simple Passion is to watch a woman flipped and flung about by the forces of love and lust, sometimes literally, while proving steadfastly willing to flail and even flounder in the pursuit of her desires. After appearing in films such as 4 Days in France, Gaspard at the Wedding and Of Love and Lies, the French Swiss actor plays Hélène Auguste, a Parisian university lecturer caught in the throes of her most profound sexual relationship yet. Alas, Russian diplomat Aleksandr Svitsin (ballet star Sergei Polunin, The White Crow), the man she can't get enough, has a wife and another life in a different country. He also alternates between showing up unannounced for marathon lovemaking sessions, ghosting her texts and standing Hélène up on hotel rendezvous, a dynamic that leaves her as tussled and tumbled as their rumbles between the sheets. Passion is the perfect word for what she feels, as the movie's moniker proclaims — but the other term in its title couldn't be more loaded. Hélène's attraction to and obsession with Aleksandr is simple in its most primal form. Whenever the couple are in bed — or on whatever other surface fits the task in her sunny home, as writer/director Danielle Arbid (Parisienne) eagerly depicts — everything just clicks. But when more than flesh against flesh is involved, it isn't merely complicated; the infatuated Hélène may as well be an errant rose petal caught in a gusty breeze on a glorious day. The passion that she holds so dear, that makes her feel like something other than a single mother with a straightforward life, and that seems so perfect when coloured by post-coital bliss, is also a whirlwind that can thrust her in any direction at any time without notice. She wants to bask in the glow that her affair with Aleksandr ignites, not just internally and emotionally but in the way it makes everything about her existence seem brighter, and yet that happiness is always at his mercy. Arbid adapts Annie Ernaux's novel of the same name with a key, calm and clear-eyed aim: steeping her film deep within Hélène's mindset so that every frame reflects her longing and desire, and her passion at its most simple and complex alike. As its lengthy sex scenes linger on Polunin's body, the feature firmly sports a female gaze — the yearning that Hélène feels for Aleksandr filters through every image, whether the couple is getting physical, she's peering at the stoic face that so infrequently betrays what he's thinking, or she's taking her time cataloguing his tattooed torso. Simple Passion is explicit, and often, including with Hélène's ecstatic moans as its soundtrack. It's sensual, soulful and emotional, though, traits that equally apply in the dead space between the dates that its protagonist anticipates breathlessly. Indeed, Arbid and cinematographer Pascale Granel (The Wild Boys) capture the way that she stares around her house as she keenly awaits any sign from Aleksandr with the same intimacy and delicacy. That's a pivotal touch; stylistically, Hélène is never defined by Aleksandr, but by her own feelings. Dosch is remarkable as Hélène, turning in a rich and subtle performance that's both physically expressive and deeply internalised, and usually at the same time. Her body speaks its own language when she's with Aleksandr, while her face coveys everything that bubbles inside — sometimes hope and joy, sometimes despair and listlessness — whether she's revelling in his presence or rueing his absence. In fact, she so sensational that she helps the film patch over easy choices that, in hands less meticulous and careful than Arbid's, would threaten to put Simple Passion in the 50 Shades of Grey and After franchises' company. Of course Hélène is a literature professor, because female-focused features about thorny affairs that spring from the page to the screen love the field. Of course the movie's pop-music cues are heavy-handed. Of course Polunin operates in one register, even if his off-screen infamy lends more texture to his character. Nonetheless, when Simple Passion rises to its seductive and astute peaks, it showers the screen in sparks. WYRMWOOD: APOCALYPSE Add The Castle to the list of influences flavouring Australian zombie franchise Wyrmwood: here, as in the beloved homegrown comedy, it's the vibe of the thing. Starting with 2014's low-budget labour of love Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead and now continuing with Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, this bushland-set saga has atmosphere to spare. Free-flowing gore, a crash-and-bash urgency and a can-do attitude splatter across the screen in abundance, too. They're key factors in all movies about a dystopian future ravaged by the undead, but filmmaking siblings Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner ask that mood and tone to do much of their series' heavy lifting. The Wyrmwood films blast away with affection for all of the zombie flicks that've preceded them, and all of the outback thrillers, Ozploitation fare and mad scientist-fuelled tales as well — and they couldn't be more blatant about it — but, even with that teeming passion and prominent energy, they still prove less than the sum of their evident sources of inspiration. As its predecessor did, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse nonetheless makes a smart move or two within its sea of well-worn concepts and overt nods. The strongest and savviest here: casting Shantae Barnes-Cowan and Tasia Zalar, and pointing the camera at them at every chance possible. The former takes on the shuffling, brain-munching masses fresh from battling vampires in the outback in Aussie TV series Firebite, and turns in another fierce and formidable performance. The latter arrives with The Straits, Mystery Road and Streamline on her resume and, while playing a character who needs rescuing — a half-human, half-zombie at that — she could never be described as a damsel in distress. Indeed, Barnes-Cowan and Zalar help set this sequel's ferocious tone as much as the gritty, go-for-broke aesthetics that the Roache-Turner brothers and their returning cinematographer Tim Nagle gleefully and eagerly covet. Writer/director/editor Kiah and writer/producer Tristan still stick with the most obvious protagonist, however: Rhys (Luke McKenzie, Wentworth), a special forces soldier who also happens to be the twin of a crucial figure from the prior film. He weathers dystopian life by holing up in a fenced-in compound where he uses a pen full of zombies to his advantage — aided by various contraptions, plenty of chains and shackles, plus blood-dripping carcasses as incentives — and by driving a Mad Max-style vehicle to round up undead test subjects for The Surgeon (Nicholas Boshier, The Moth Effect). In fact, after crossing paths with Zalar's Grace, he delivers her for military-approved experiments, but Barnes-Cowan's Maxi soon demands that he help set her free. Rhys has been operating under the assumption that The Surgeon and his armed pals had humanity's best interests in mind, despite all glaring appearances otherwise, a misguided belief that Maxi quickly vanquishes. Wyrmwood: Apocalypse also weaves in ex-mechanic Barry (Jay Gallagher, Nekrotronic) and his sister Brooke (Bianca Bradey, The Pet Killer), survivors of the first film, and toys with zombies controlled by virtual reality, too. Just like its heaving pile of influences, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse doesn't lack in moving parts — although that isn't the same as telling an engaging story, which the sequel doesn't ever muster up. Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead already echoed too loudly with been-there, done-that touches; this follow-up positively screams, especially for fans of both horror and science fiction who've seen all the same movies that the Roache-Turners clearly have. Unsurprisingly, while Bosher steals scenes by pure force in his attempt to one-up even the craziest of past on-screen mad scientists, everything around Barnes-Cowan and Zalar — McKenzie's supremely standard leading role included — frequently feels like filler in an familiar wasteland. BLACKLIGHT In most movies, Liam Neeson's Blacklight character wouldn't be the protagonist. Secret FBI fixer Travis Block likely wouldn't even be given a name. Instead, he'd merely be a brief presence who popped up to help other on-screen figures — the federal agents he gets out of tricky situations, for instance — as they went about their business and connected the script's necessary plot points. Turning someone who'd usually be seen as disposable into its lead is this action-thriller's one good idea, but the flattened henchman scene in Austin Powers gave the notion more thought than the entirety of Blacklight demonstrates. There's a difference between thrusting a character to the fore and fleshing them out, especially when a film is happy to define them solely by the actor in their shoes. Here, Travis Block is another prosaic entry on Neeson's action resume first and foremost. When Blacklight begins, Block has spent his career doing whatever FBI Director Gabriel Robinson (Aidan Quinn, Elementary) has asked. Typically, that's assisting on-the-books operatives struggling with off-the-books missions — and Block is great at his job. But when he's tasked with aiding the suddenly erratic Dusty Crane (Taylor John Smith, Shadow in the Cloud), he begins to see more in the rogue agent's story than his old Vietnam War pal Robinson wants to share. Crane has quite the wild tale to tell, tied to the assassination of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-style politician Sofia Flores (Mel Jarnson, Mortal Kombat) and filled with dark government secrets, and he's eager to share it with scoop-chasing reporter Mira Jones (Emmy Raver-Lampman, The Umbrella Academy). That's exactly what Block is supposed to stop, with his new crisis of conscience putting his daughter Amanda (Claire van der Bloom, Palm Beach) and granddaughter Natalie (debutant Gabriella Sengos) in peril. Spotting similarities between Blacklight and Neeson's other recent work isn't just a sign of spending too much time watching the Irish actor's features of late. His latest release shares a filmmaker with Honest Thief, which reached cinemas less than 18 months ago — and writer/director Mark Williams doesn't stretch himself or his star in their second collaboration. Another flick that's solely about getting Neeson to deploy the no-longer-special set of action skills he's been trotting out since the Taken films became such hits, Blacklight is dispiritingly bland and by the numbers, even within the growing pile of movies that fit the same description (see also: The Marksman and The Ice Road in the past year). It isn't just that first-time co-scribe Nick May's formulaic script ticks every expected box, and that Williams' every directorial choice sticks to the easy and obvious as well. Flatter than the weary gaze emanating from Neeson at every turn, the film persistently suffers from a lack of life and energy. Melbourne dubiously stands in for Washington DC, and the conspiracy-fuelled action that takes over its streets and buildings is even less convincing; whether tracking foot chases or crashing along roadways, the movie's set pieces are perfunctory at best. And while the subplot involving Travis' yearning to spend more time with Amanda and Natalie is meant to add depth amid the routine blows, it's as flimsy and implausible as everything else in the narrative (especially when Amanda can't fathom why her dad, whose personality is solely defined by his work, family and having OCD, has a paranoia problem). The twists surrounding Robinson prove just as laboured, and Neeson and Quinn's long-standing on-screen rapport — dating back to 1986's The Mission — can't bolster the dialogue or the dynamic between their. Indeed, when Neeson utters resigned lines about making poor career choices, it rings with truth for all of the wrong reasons. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on October 7, October 14, October 21 and October 28; November 4, November 11, November 18 and November 25; December 2, December 9, December 16 and December 26; January 1, January 6, January 13, January 20 and January 27; and February 3. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Alpinist, A Fire Inside, Lamb, The Last Duel, Malignant, The Harder They Fall, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, Halloween Kills, Passing, Eternals, The Many Saints of Newark, Julia, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Zola, Last Night in Soho, Blue Bayou, The Rescue, Titane, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Dune, Encanto, The Card Counter, The Lost Leonardo, The French Dispatch, Don't Look Up, Dear Evan Hansen, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Lost Daughter, The Scary of Sixty-First, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza, The Matrix Resurrections, The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Worst Person in the World, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci, The King's Man, Red Rocket, Scream, The 355, Gold, King Richard, Limbo, Spencer, Nightmare Alley, Belle, Parallel Mothers, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Belfast, Here Out West and Jackass Forever.
Few Australian actors just starting out — not even half a decade into their resumes, in fact — have enjoyed the jump into the spotlight that Eliza Scanlen did between 2018–2020. After a 15-episode run on Home and Away in 2016, Scanlen made her international debut on HBO's Sharp Objects, so in a miniseries based on a novel by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, and starring Amy Adams (Nightbitch) and Patricia Clarkson (She Said). Her initial role in a US film came next as one of the March sisters, Beth, in Greta Gerwig's (Barbie) adaptation of Little Women, with Scanlen starring alongside Saoirse Ronan (Blitz), Florence Pugh (We Live in Time), Emma Watson (The Circle), Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Laura Dern (Lonely Planet) and Meryl Streep (Only Murders in the Building). Then, for her first Aussie movie, she earned a well-deserved AACTA Best Actress Award for Babyteeth, where she played a 16-year-old navigating a cancer diagnosis; Essie Davis (Apple Cider Vinegar) and Ben Mendelsohn (The New Look) portrayed her parents. Amid those impressive television and film parts, Scanlen also hit the stage at home, featuring in Sydney Theatre Company's 2019 production of Lord of the Flies with Mia Wasikowska (Blueback), Yerin Ha (Dune: Prophecy, and soon to be seen in Bridgerton's fourth season) and Daniel Monks (Kaos). On Broadway that very year, she did the same, but in To Kill a Mockingbird with Ed Harris (Love Lies Bleeding) and Nick Robinson (Damsel). 2025 sees the screen and stage sides of Scanlen's career collide. After past movies The Devil All the Time, Old, The Starling Girl and Caddo Lake, plus TV's Fires, The First Lady and Dope Girls, Scanlen is back in Australian cinemas thanks to her theatre work. From late November 2024–late January this year, the Aussie actor trod the boards in London in National Theatre's glorious new staging of The Importance of Being Earnest. Down Under, viewers can now watch Scanlen as Cecily Cardew in the Oscar Wilde-penned farce via NT Live. The British theatre company's love of recording its productions and beaming them around the world has long been an initiative to celebrate, and the reason that stunning works such as Danny Boyle's (Yesterday) version of Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch (Eric) and Jonny Lee Miller (Guy Ritchie's The Covenant) alternating between Victor Frankenstein and his monster, the Carey Mulligan (Spaceman)- and Bill Nighy (That Christmas)-starring Skylight, and Jodie Comer (The Bikeriders) in Prima Facie have been accessible to audiences who couldn't attend the live shows in the UK. Add The Importance of Being Earnest to NT Live's must-sees and sparkling gems, with Scanlen joined by Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who) as Algernon Moncrieff, Hugh Skinner (Wicked Little Letters) as Jack Worthing, Sharon D Clarke (Wicked) as Lady Bracknell and Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ (Alex Rider) as Gwendolen Fairfax. Director Max Webster — who also helmed National Theatre's Macbeth, Life of Pi and Henry V, all of which enjoyed the NT Live treatment — couldn't be having more fun with Wilde's now 130-year-old work. Neither could Scanlen and her co-stars, visibly so from the moment that this iteration opens with Gatwa in a hot pink dress. The last play by its author, premiering mere months before his imprisonment for homosexual acts and clearly drawing upon Wilde's own experiences as it tells of living double lives, The Importance of Being Earnest has always possessed queer subtext. Webster pushes that further forward, alongside the search for identity, plus what it means to be your own person and break free of expectations. This is still "a trivial comedy", as its originator himself dubbed it. It remains a story about impersonation and romance, too. No one has brought it to the stage like this before, however. Of course, the narrative still charts Jack's attempts to be an upstanding custodian to his ward Cecily in his country existence, only to live it up in town under a different name with his friend Algernon — and the latter's own similar scheme, aka "Bunburying", aka making up a fictitious ailing friend that often needs his attention as an excuse to ditch the city. And, this The Importance of Being Earnest remains the tale of two young women, Cecily and Gwendolen, with their sights set on married futures, but the reality of their hopes and dreams impacted by Jack and Algernon's duplicity. What's Scanlen's take on Cecily's journey? When the character falls in love with Jack's made-up brother Ernest, "I think she knows that deep down that he might not exist, but she's so invested in this imaginary world that she's built for herself to escape the boredom of her life in the country that she's willing to do anything to will this person into existence," she tells Concrete Playground. "And so when Algernon shows up at her home, she assumes him to be Ernest, her fiancé. I guess he represents to her freedom, an escape from the boredom of her life, and a promise of wealth and fun. I think she's a kindred spirit with Algernon in the play." Asked if her path to here, to acting on the London stage in a famous farce that's now screening in cinemas afterwards, was something that she could've imagined when she booked her stint in Summer Bay almost a decade ago now, and Scanlen notes that "never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd be onstage playing Cecily at the National Theatre. I think that is pretty special". She continues: "I don't think I was looking that far ahead. I knew that my heart was in films and television, and I knew that I wanted to make films, too. But I did find acting through theatre originally, so theatre has always had a special place in my heart — and I returned to theatre when I was 19, I think, at Sydney Theatre Company." "I guess with this career, it's not really something that you can plan. You just have to give yourself up to whatever happens, and I'm really lucky to find myself here," Scanlen also advises. "I can't see myself doing anything else. I've been doing it for so long now that the idea of pivoting careers seems crazy to me. I can't really see my life without acting and film and TV and theatre. I've just followed my curiosity along the way, and I don't really know exactly where I'm going, but I think that's how it works. You just have to stay inspired and stay curious. And I've been lucky enough that it's taken me to some just some wonderful places and I've met some wonderful people along the way." One of those people: Gerwig. Taking inspiration from her Little Women director is part of the reason that Scanlen is in The Importance of Being Earnest at all — and Gerwig came to see her in the production during its London stage season. The actor-turned-filmmaker's influence on Scanlen's career; the excitement of playing Cecily; Webster's vision for the play; being part of such a phenomenal cast; what she looks for in roles; the experience of that whirlwind Sharp Objects, Little Women and Babyteeth run: we also dug into them all with Scanlen, among other topics. On What Excited Scanlen About Being Part of The Importance of Being Earnest Onstage "It didn't take much — it didn't take anything for me to audition for this. When I heard that the National Theatre was putting on The Importance of Being Earnest, I was so excited to take a crack at it. And I auditioned and it was quite daunting, because it's such a well-known play and the language is quite challenging. And physically, too — the physical comedy is quite specific. So going into the audition, there was a lot I was thinking about. And I think also this play can be interpreted in a number of different ways, depending on what lens you're looking at it through, so I didn't really know what Max, the director, wanted to do with it at that point. So I was just taking a shot and I just gave it my best, and it worked out." On Getting Into Cecily's Mindset in Webster's Version of the Play "I guess Oscar Wilde wrote Cecily as this farcical character. Cecily is based on this farcical character of the time, which was this bloomer-wearing, cigarette-smoking, bicycle-riding, independent woman. And I guess in this play, all the characters in the play are based on tropes and stereotypes of characters at the time, and he sets them up to subvert them. So Cecily is illustrated as this young, innocent woman, but she's actually very much in charge of her own destiny and makes all the decisions. To get into character, it felt like to get into the head of Cecily, I had to do a lot of mental gymnastics — because Cecily, she doesn't feel real sometimes. And her way of seeing the world is quite convoluted because of her diary. I think Cecily is usually seen as a fantasist, but I don't think that's the most-helpful way for an actor to access the character. So I did a lot of mental gymnastics trying to understand what Cecily wanted, and why she is so attached to her diary. And she spent so much time with her diary that now her diary is the compass for truth and reality, so anything that diverges from what she's written in her diary is false. She's got a very specific worldview, I suppose. I think a lot of getting into character for this play, though, was just having fun and enjoying the surface-level nature of the play. And also interacting with the audience. The audience is really important for this play and we had very direct contact with them whilst we were performing. So just getting comfortable acknowledging the audience and getting the audience onside. It was a huge learning experience for me." On Working with the Rest of The Importance of Being Earnest's Cast "It was such a joy to come in every day and be onstage with this group of people. It's a very special time that I know I won't get back. And I think that the beauty of theatre is that it's all so temporary, but what we created together was beautiful. Honestly, I don't really know any other way to describe it other than pure joy. It was just a joy to be onstage with the company every day. Obviously, there's days where you're tired and maybe you didn't sleep well or someone's sick, but you can't really do this play without having fun. So even if you rocked up in a bad mood, you're bound to come out of it in a good mood." On NT Live Bringing the Production Beyond London and Broadening the Show's Audience "I think it's incredible. I think it's the closest thing to being there and the technology has improved so much that what NT Live is bringing out to the world is incredible and hugely impactful, too. I think theatre can feel inaccessible at times, and what NT Live does is make it really accessible, and people from all around the world can watch this play. I also think that this play has a really important message to share about being yourself and expressing yourself. And queer pride, queer joy, all of those things, I think are really important for younger audiences, and it makes me really excited to know that this play can be seen by so many school kids around the world, too. This play, it's been done many, many times before, but it's for a reason, and I'm really happy that it's been immortalised. It's really cool." On Digging Into the Play's Interrogation of Identity and Breaking Free of Expectations "I think that was a really important theme to our interpretation of the play. In the past, other versions of this play feel quite stuffy, and it is more about the snobbery of high society than it is about identity and expression and queerness. And we wanted to make it feel fresh and use the queer lens more than anything. This play is about young people inventing themselves in virtuosic expression.The opening of the play, too, the dance sequence that we put in the opening of the play, I think really represents that. It's the dream. We wanted it to be feel like an empowering play rather than weighed down by the satire of it." On the Experience of Starring in Sharp Objects, Little Women and Babyteeth in Such Short Succession at the Start of Scanlen's Career "It was pretty overwhelming. I'm aware that most people, it doesn't happen in such quick succession, usually. And I did find it quite overwhelming and felt the urge to withdraw from it all, but knew that I couldn't — and was very aware that the opportunities I was getting were really special and it would be silly not to ride the wave. But I was very young, and I think I handled it as well as I could've. But now that I'm older and I have a bit more experience and am probably a bit more mature, I can look back on that time and think to myself 'how did I do that?'. I would say that now I feel a bit more robust and in control. I think I'd be more prepared if something like that happened again. But I wouldn't change it for the world, though." On Scanlen's Trend of Starring in Adaptations, Screen and Stage, of Classic Works "It's not something that's intentional, but I feel really honoured that I'm a part of these incredible classic texts. I did To Kill a Mockingbird onstage as well, and I studied To Kill a Mockingbird in high school, so it's really cool to be able to return to these texts as an actor — and there's still so much to be learnt from these texts. I guess I'm really lucky." On What Being Cast in Little Women Meant to Scanlen — and the Influence It Still Has "It was pretty life-changing being a part of that film. Looking back now, I realise that getting roles like that are few and far between, and to be that excited about a role is pretty rare. And to get no-brainer roles as well, it's very rare. Again, I was so young, and spent a lot of time watching other people and learning. And obviously that's a text that most young women have read and have a relationship with. I think Greta, in particular, was a huge inspiration for me, because I really am inspired by the way she's moved into writing and directing, and that's something I want to keep exploring. I remember being on set on that film and thinking about going into theatre, and she was super encouraging. And so I went on to do that. I think she had a huge part to play in how I made decisions on my career and made decisions on what I wanted to do. And she actually came and saw The Importance of Being Earnest, and it felt like a really special full-circle moment." [caption id="attachment_997124" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Max[/caption] On What Else Inspires Scanlen's Choice of Roles — Other Than Gerwig "My choices on roles are informed by a few different things, but usually the question I ask myself 'is have I done this before?'. I think that's a question that most actors ask themselves. And I know I'm in a privileged position to be able to ask myself that question and not have to take every job, but I think that I'm at a stage in my career where I feel like I'm having to resist, a bit, falling into stereotypes or falling into typecasting. And I'm constantly looking for things that push myself as an actor. I felt like, for example, The Importance of Being Earnest was a huge challenge for me. I'd never done a comedy before. And I had never been entrusted with a character as substantial as Cecily and as iconic as Cecily onstage. So I felt like I was really stretched as an actor in the rehearsal room, and I guess that's the kind of thing that I'm looking for. But it's hard. It's really hard, especially in film and TV. There's so many things that need to fall into place for a film or a show to happen, and it's really hard for all of those things to be right. But I guess that's how I see things." On the Joy of Making Babyteeth in Scanlen's Home Town, and What She Looks for in Australian Projects "I love making things at home. It's an incredibly special experience. And what I loved about Babyteeth was that we shot it in my home town, so it was an incredible experience seeing a city I know so well become a set for a film. And there's parts of Sydney that I now look at in a completely different way because of it — and I just think that's really amazing. But I'm not looking for anything in particular. I think the script is obviously incredibly important, and I would love to make a film here next. But I guess I'm just waiting for the right thing to come along — but I'm desperate to work in Australia again." NT Live's The Importance of Being Earnest opened in Australian cinemas on Thursday, March 27, 2025. The Importance of Being Earnest images: Marc Brenner.
Back in 2020, the Hella Mega Tour tour was meant to come to Australia, bringing Green Day, Weezer and and Fall Out Boy our way all on the same bill. Dates were announced, tickets went on sale, but then the pandemic hit, so the event didn't go ahead. Now, three years later and within the space of mere days, both Weezer and Fall Out Boy have either locked in or teased trips Down Under. Weezer have made everything official, unveiling dates for three shows along the east coast in October. Fall Out Boy, however, are just dropping hints at the time of writing. But you don't post an Aussie flag, a kangaroo emoji and a clip from The Simpsons' Australian episode if you're not going to follow through — we hope. 🇦🇺🦘🔜 pic.twitter.com/34YUSb2dr8 — Fall Out Boy (@falloutboy) August 14, 2023 So far, the above tweet is all that fans have to go on — so watch this space for actual tour details when they're announced. If you haven't heard the name Fall Out Boy for what seems like ages, the Chicago-formed band weren't just big in the 00s — they reformed in 2013, complete with both new music and new live gigs. [caption id="attachment_913087" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rufus via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] If Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump, Andy Hurley and Joe Trohman do make the trip Down Under sometime soon — adding dates to a tour that's also taking them to Japan this weekend, then to Europe until November — they'll do so of the back of their eighth studio album So Much (for) Stardust, which released in March this year. And, of course, they'll treating audiences to everything from 'Sugar, We're Goin Down' and 'Dance, Dance' to 'Uma Thurman' from their couple of decades together. Fall Out Boy haven't announced Australian tour dates yet, but we'll update you if/when they do. Keep an eye on their website and social media in the interim. Top image: Drew de F Fawkes via Wikimedia Commons.
With an unusually late licence (until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays), this late-night cocktail bar is a must for those partying along Melbourne's famed Smith Street. During these nights, the curtained booths down the back of this small prohibition-style bar fill up fast, while night crawlers crowd the bar, the few tables lining the wall and the stools by the window — eventually sprawling outside where the busy Smith Street is heaving with folks lining up for Yah Yahs, The Lame Duck, and Wows. It really does get busy on Friday and Saturday nights, when folks come for the upbeat vibes before or after some dancing nearby, so do expect to talk loudly to your mates when visiting. But any other time of the week, this speakeasy bar has a significantly more chill vibe. Take your time exploring the long cocktails list of both classics and signature concoctions — it's also home to one of the best espresso martinis in town, guaranteed to keep you going until the early hours. Beers and wines also adorn the Caz Reitop's Dirty Secrets drinks menu, but this local spot is best known for its cocktails made by the super laidback and friendly bartenders who know exactly what they're doing. Be sure to down a few when visiting. This Melbourne bar also has a hidden private events space in the basement — known as The Vault — which is free to hire out as long as you put a minimum spend on the bar. It's equipped with its own bar and a decent dance floor — meaning no lining up to get into some of the (almost, too popular) clubs scattered around Collingwood and Fitzroy. Appears in: The Best Bars in Melbourne for 2023
It's been a long wait in Australia if you want to rock 'n' roll with AC/DC live. 2025 marks ten years since the iconic Sydney-formed band last took to the stage Down Under. It's also the year, thankfully, that they're making their Aussie concert return. After kicking off in 2024, the group's Power Up tour has finally locked in Australian dates, with Brian Johnson, Angus Young and company hitting up five cities in November and December 2025. Getting thunderstruck: Melbourne to kick off the Aussie leg on Wednesday, November 12; Sydney on Friday, November 21; Adelaide on Sunday, November 30; Perth on Thursday, December 4; and Brisbane to wrap up the Australian shows on Sunday, December 14. As one of the biggest bands that the country has ever produced, AC/DC are putting on huge gigs at every one of their homegrown dates. Let there be rock at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Accor Stadium, the bp Adelaide Grand Final, Optus Stadium and Suncorp Stadium, then. This is the first time that the legendary Australian rockers have toured Down Under since their 2015 'Rock or Bust' world tour. For this run of dates, Amyl and The Sniffers are onboard in support to make these massive Aussie concerts even more so, and to give attendees a taste of two different generations of Aussie rockstars. Playing Sydney isn't just part of a fitting homecoming for AC/DC, but comes more than half a century since the band played their first-ever show in the Harbour City. Their 2025 gig will be just over a month and a half short of 52 years since that 1973 debut. Power Up is also the name of the group's 2020 album, their most-recent record — which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, made multiple best-of lists for that year and scored Grammy nominations. For those about to rock, AC/DC's high-voltage current set list spans their entire career, however, including everything from 'If You Want Blood (You've Got It)', 'Back in Black' and 'Hells Bells' to 'Highway to Hell', 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' and 'You Shook Me All Night Long'. So far, the Power Up tour has played Europe and North America, selling more than two-million tickets across 24 shows in the former and notching up ten soldout gigs in the latter. AC/DC will be back in Europe, hitting the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, France and Scotland, before their Aussie dates. AC/DC Power Up 2025 Australian Tour Wednesday, November 12 — Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Friday, November 21 — Accor Stadium, Sydney Sunday, November 30 — bp Adelaide Grand Final, Adelaide Thursday, December 4 — Optus Stadium, Perth Sunday, December 14 — Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane AC/DC are touring Australia in November and December 2025, with tickets on sale from Thursday, June 26, 2025 — at 9am AEST for Sydney, 10am ACST for Adelaide, 11am AEST for Brisbane, 1pm AEST for Melbourne and 1pm AWST for Perth. Head to the tour website for further details. Images: Christie Goodwin.
Need a new spot for a morning brew? Toby's Estate has opened a new flagship cafe smack-bang in the middle of Fitzroy, the heartland of Melbourne's coffee scene. Situated on Rose Street – just a few steps away from The Rose Street Market – the impressive setup will undoubtedly go toe-to-toe with the area's most beloved coffeemakers. Featuring a lineup of high-end single origins, flavour-forward blends and frozen creations, the coffee-centric focus feels right at home in this neighbourhood. The fit-out looks the part too, with the rejuvenated industrial space seeing galvanised steel finishes set against mottled wood panelling. In the centre, an imposing coffee bar stretches through the space, allowing customers to perch with their order of choice or get up close to watch the baristas pouring the perfect shot. Keeping coffee central to every visit, this design brings a little innovation to the cafe-going experience. "We want our guests to experience the coffee-making process firsthand by sitting around our coffee bar or even walking right up next to a barista to see them at work. It's not your typical functional espresso bar, but rather one that focuses on breaking down the divide between barista and customer," says Jody Leslie, Toby's Estate general manager. Complementing the wide-ranging coffee menu, this inner-city haunt also boasts an appealing breakfast and lunch menu for those seeking more than a takeaway. Expect a selection of stacked bagels, topped with tasty combinations like cream cheese and bocconcini spread with spinach pesto drizzle and Roma tomatoes; cucumber with house gochujang cream cheese and spicy red sauce; and sauerkraut and pickled jalapeños with slow-cooked beef, double cheese and house-made barbecue sauce. As the latest edition to Toby Estate's cafe offering, the Fitzroy flagship joins other specialty spots in Sydney and Brisbane, as well as those taking Australian coffee culture further afield in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines. Not bad for an operation that started in a Woolloomooloo garage back in 1997 with little more than a beat-up roaster. As for this new venture, the emphasis remains firmly placed on what goes into every cup. "As with all our flagships, coffee is not ancillary to the dining experience, it is the focus, and so the entire venue exists around this as the central focal point," says Leslie. Toby's Estate Fitzroy is now open Monday–Friday from 7am–3pm and Saturday–Sunday from 8am–3pm at 35 Rose Street, Fitzroy. Head to the website for more information.
Back in August, to encourage Australians to roll up their sleeves, Hawke's Brewing Co handed out free beers. If you got the jab, you could put your hand up to get a slab. Yes, it was that simple. Now, the Marrickville craft brewer has gone big with its latest show of support for Australia's COVID-19 vaccination campaign. When you deck out the exterior of your property with a ten-metre-tall mural of Bob Hawke holding a schooner, wearing a mask and donning a "race you to the pub" t-shirt, the message is loud and clear. The towering likeness of the former Australian Prime Minister, and the brewery's namesake, was painted by renowned mural artist Scott Marsh — who has previously given Sydney a large-scale portrait of AFL footballer Adam Goodes, and whipped up others of everyone from George Michael to Danny Lim. For Hawke's, he's painted Bob Hawke in the past, too. This time, though, Hawke has had the vax and he's standing beneath the words "every jab gets us closer to the pub". Look at the PM's arm and you'll actually see a telltale bandaid. It features a QR code as well — and if you scan it with your phone, you'll be directed to a website that'll tell you where you can find your nearest COVID-19 vaccination clinic. Also, that beer glass Hawke is holding? It features percentages on the side, and Marsh is going to top it up as the nation gets closer to the 80-percent fully vaccinated mark, aka the threshold that'll see a heap of restrictions loosen. "It's been encouraging to see jabs on the rise. And now, with more vaccines becoming readily available, it's time to find another gear", said Hawke's co-founder Nathan Lennon. "The sooner we hit 80 percent, the sooner vulnerable businesses can get back on their feet, and the sooner we can all get back to living our lives — less lockdowns, more freedoms and yes, freshly poured beers at our favourite venues. Hopefully just in time for summer." Hawke's is also using the mural to help another good cause, with folks who interact with the artwork via the brewery's social media unlocking $10,000 in donations to hospitality relief fund Tip Jar. If you leave a comment on Instagram, tag a mate you'd love to have your first post-lockdown brew with, tag the venue you'd like to go to and use the #raceyoutothepub hashtag, you'll unlock a $1 donation. If you tag Hawke's as well, that'll go up to $2. Or, you can buy a "race you to the pub" t-shirt via the beer company's website, and $5 from your purchase will go to Tip Jar as well. You can see Hawke's Brewing Co's Bob Hawke mural at 8-12 Sydney Street, Marrickville. To interact with Hawke's Brewing Co's Bob Hawke mural on social media to help unlock donations for hospitality relief fund Tip Jar, head to the brewery's Instagram page.
QT Melbourne is a multi-faceted playground for its guests. The lobby and common areas are filled with lots of colourful lighting, mountains of modern furniture and elaborate wallpaper. Then, in the stunning guest rooms, you'll find timber flooring, state-of-the-art technology and designer furniture that's at once quirky and tasteful. They were gunning to be one of Melbourne's best hotels when they were dreaming up this luxury space — and they clearly hit the mark. But we must take a few moments to talk about the artwork. The commitment to create an authentic arts experience was clear from the outset, with award-winning art advisor Amanda Love bringing together an eclectic array of visual delights. QT Melbourne and Love have brought together a collection of acclaimed local and international artists whose work is showcased throughout the hotel's guest rooms, restaurants, bars and public spaces. Artists include Melbourne-born twin sisters and video art duo Gabriella and Silvana Mangano, renowned American installation artist Jennifer Steinkamp, Sydney-based site-specific artists Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro, video artist Grant Stevens, and conceptual installation pairing Janet Burchill and Jennifer McCamley. You'll feel like you're spending the night in a particularly glamorous gallery (and yes, you can touch the artworks). [caption id="attachment_828901" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hayden Dib[/caption] In addition to this luxe accommodation, the hotel also has some serious eats: Parisian-style dinners at Pascale Bar and Grill, pastries in The Cake Shop, laneway bar feels and Korean food at Hot Sauce, and a buzzing rooftop bar, too. The 'secret' rooftop garden is also open to the public, showcasing bespoke Four Pillars cocktails. This leafy haven even hosts private parties of 10–25 people if you fancy a taste of luxury without booking a night's stay. Top image: Alexandra Anderson. Appears in: The Best Hotels in Melbourne
Everyone has heard about — or tried to eat their way through — KitKat's famed range of weird and wonderful Japanese flavours. A cough drop version once existed, and it really wasn't great. The sake version, a perennial favourite, is absolutely delicious. But if you're vegan, none of these varieties will have tempted your tastebuds. KitKats in general won't have either, actually. That changed back in 2021 for Aussies who follow a plant-based, dairy-free and cruelty free diet, and were also keen to sink their teeth into a KitKat. The brand launched a vegan-certified KitKat, as made with a rice-based milk alternative. The result: a KitKat covered in a smooth plant-based milk chocolate — not dark chocolate — which is then layered over the usual crisp wafers. The original run of plant-based KitKats was a limited-time deal; however, they're now back in Australian supermarkets again. This time, they've hit Coles stores — and only for a short period. That means that everyone can now have a break — and a KitKat — with KitKat Plant Based joining other plant-based alternatives among Nestle's products. So, if you'd like to crack open a few fingers while tucking into a glass of plant-based Milo, you'll be able to. The 41.5-gram bars cost $3 and, if you're super keen, they can also be ordered from the KitKat Chocolatory website. When your next sugar craving hits, add them to your list alongside vegan Natural Confectionery Co fruit lollies, vegan choc tops, and vegan Magnums, Cornettos and Weis Bars. KitKat Plant Based is available now at Coles stores around Australia — or you can them from the KitKat Chocolatory website.
Rose Street Market is the famed Melbourne gem — running every weekend in Fitzroy. But the market is packing up once a month — from Saturday, February 15–Saturday, July 19 — and setting up shop at Kensington's newly developed Younghusband precinct. From 10am–3pm, over 60 stallholders will be selling a curated mix of handmade art, ceramics, fashion, jewellery, and artisan goods like distilled gin and boutique pantry items. Kensington folks are in for a real treat with this huge pop-up artisan market, which has become somewhat of a Melbourne institution over in Fitzroy. It's a sign that this oft-forgotten suburb is finally getting the attention it deserves. Just make sure you get the dates right — February 15, March 15, April 19, May 17, June 14 and July 19.
2022 hasn't been kind to anyone's bank balances, with inflation having a hefty impact on the cost of living all around the world, including in Australia. We know you know this, and so does your wallet. In Sydney in fact, the year's financial struggles have seen the Harbour City reclaim global recognition for being a mighty expensive place to call home, taking tenth place on The Economist Intelligence Unit's annual Worldwide Cost of Living survey. While Melbourne was dubbed Australia's most liveable city in the EIU's Global 2022 Liveability Index earlier in 2022, Sydney has nabbed a less sought-after mantle, after sitting in the same spot back in 2018. Again, it's an exxy time all-round in general, with the survey noting that prices worldwide, in the 172 major cities surveyed, have shot up 8.1 percent year on year on average (in local currencies). That's the biggest jump in the 20 years that the EIU has digital data for. The place on the planet that'll trouble your pennies the most? This year, there's two: New York and Singapore. The pair of cities tied for the top spot, with New York earning the unwanted honours for the first time ever, but Singapore taking the crown for the eighth time in a decade. The two places bump down 2021 leader Tel Aviv to third, with Hong Kong and Los Angeles then sharing fourth spot. The Swiss cities of Zurich and Geneva came in at six and seven respectively, while San Francisco sits at eighth, Paris at ninth and Copenhagen shares tenth place with Sydney. Yes, this means that Sydney is more expensive to live in at the moment than London and Tokyo — two cities that aren't considered cheap at all. In fact, Tokyo dropped down 24 spots to sit in 37th place. As per The Guardian, Sydney's rise from 14th in 2021 to tenth this year isn't the only upward movement among Australia's cities. Melbourne leapt from 16th to 15th, and Brisbane from 36th to 32nd. For further details about the 2022 Worldwide Cost of Living survey, head to The Economist Intelligence Unit's website.
Among the many great filmmaker-actor pairings that cinema has gifted the world, Ryan Coogler and Michael B Jordan have spent more than a decade cementing their spot on the list. It was back in 2013 that the two first joined forces, one for his feature directorial debut and the other for his first lead film role, on Fruitvale Station. Each time that a new Coogler movie has arrived since, including 2015's Creed, then 2018's Black Panther and its 2022 sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Jordan (Creed III) has been a key part — and after playing Oscar Grant, Adonis Johnson and Killmonger for his go-to helmer, Jordan is at the heart of 2025's Sinners, too. Five pictures into their collaboration now, how does Coogler manage to double down on working with Jordan? Literally, actually. This time, in the director's first horror film, he has cast his favourite actor in two roles. Sinners focuses on brothers — twins, in fact, called Elijah and Elias — who find more than familiar faces awaiting when they try to start afresh upon returning to their home town. They also find much greater troubles than have been haunting them in their lives elsewhere. This is a movie set in America's south in the Jim Crow-era, as well as a film where being able to enjoy blues music at their local bar is a welcome escape for Sinners' Black characters. But as the just-released second trailer for the feature makes clear, there's more than a touch of the supernatural to Coogler's new flick. Yes, things get bloody. Cast-wise, the movie also gets stacked, with Hailee Steinfeld (The Marvels), Wunmi Mosaku (Loki), Delroy Lindo (Unprisoned), Jack O'Connell (Back to Black), Jayme Lawson (The Penguin) and Omar Benson Miller (True Lies) co-starring. Sinners marks the first time that Coogler hasn't either explored a true story, jumped into an existing franchise or brought an already-known character to the screen — and alongside him working with an original tale, he's also telling a personal one. Inspiration came from members of his family, including for the film's setting and pivotal use of music. But Coogler also considers every feature that he's made to be personal. Asked at a press Q&A about the movie and its new trailer if this tops the list in that regard, he advises that "it's interesting because at each point in my life, that statement has been correct — but never like this one". [caption id="attachment_988567" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] "I don't want to give all of this away, but each time I make something — and none of the films that I worked on have had the horror or the thriller element like this one has — but each time I'm conquering a fear, a personal fear of mine, and this one is no different," Coogler also shared. For Sinners, Jordan isn't the writer/director's only returning collaborator. For a picture that's partly shot on IMAX — "I got to get some advice from Chris and Emma, who are masters of the form," Coogler offered, speaking about Christopher Nolan and his producer and wife Emma Thomas — he also reteamed with pivotal talents behind the lens. Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw (The Last Showgirl), production designer Hannah Beachler (Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé), editor Michael P Shawver (Abigail), composer Ludwig Göransson (Oppenheimer) and costume designer Ruth E Carter (Coming 2 America) each return from either Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever or both — some, such as Göransson and Carter, with Oscars for their past efforts working with Coogler. The filmmaker also chatted about his clearly rewarding creative partnership with Jordan, Sinners' origins, its mix of genres and supernatural elements, and his aim with using large-format visuals — plus how Stephen King's Salem's Lot proved pivotal, the eeriness of twins, why making movies is a form of catharsis for him and more. On Making Five Films Now with Michael B Jordan — and How Their Collaboration Pushes Coogler Creatively "It's incredible. With Mike, he was a working actor when I met him. He had been on some incredible television shows, basically been a professional actor since he was a school-aged kid, but he hadn't had a feature-length role where he was the lead just yet. So when we worked together on Fruitvale, that was his first time in a lead role in a movie, and it was my first time making a movie — so in many ways, we've grown up together in the industry, in these situations. I've definitely found a kindred spirit in him. He's somebody who's incredibly gifted. In some ways, it's god-given: his charisma, his ability to channel empathy without even trying. But the other facets are the things under his control: his work ethic, his dedication to the craft. And the other thing is his constant desire to want to push himself, to increase his capacity, to continue to stretch. Having both those things rolled up into one, and being somebody who's around the same age, we became work friends and eventually have become like family since. It's an incredible gift to have somebody like that, who you can call up and say 'hey, I've got a new one for you, what do you think?'. And I know he is always trying to look for new challenges constantly. He doesn't want to rest on his on his laurels. And I thought that this role would be something where we could challenge each other." On Injecting Personal Elements Into Coogler's First Horror Film "Each time I've made a film, it's become more and more personal. With this one, I was really digging into two relationships. One with my maternal grandfather, who I never met, he died about a year before I was born — but he was from Merrill, Mississippi, and eventually moved to Oakland, married my grandmother, and actually built the house that our whole family was based out of in Oakland. And I had an uncle named Uncle James who I came up with my whole life, he actually passed away while I was in post-production on Creed, and he was from another town in Mississippi — and he wouldn't really talk about Mississippi unless he was listening to the blues, unless he had a little sip of old Italian whisky, then he would reminisce. And I miss him profoundly. With this film, I got a chance to dig into my own ancestral history here in the States — not dissimilar to what I was doing with the Panther films, like that generational ancestral history, this is right there for me. And I had a chance to really go to the south and scout and think. And the film is about the music that was so special to my to my uncle — and I couldn't be happier with the film that we'll be able to show you guys in a few months." On the Movie's Supernatural Aspects "The film is very genre-fluid. It switches in and out of a lot of different genres. Yes, vampires are an element of the movie. But that's not the only element. It's not the only supernatural element. The film is about more than just that, and I think it's going to surprise folks in a good way. My favourite films in the in the genre, you could take the supernatural element out and the films would still work — but the supernatural element actually helps to heighten it, helps to elevate it. So I was aspiring to make something in that in that tradition. And the film has elements of all of the things that I that I love. It's really a personal love letter for me to cinema, to the art form, specifically the theatrical experience. It's interesting working in a post-COVID time, when everybody was sequestered — and I know I found myself missing that experience of experiencing things in a room with folks I didn't know, but still reacting in the same way, or maybe reacting in different ways and getting to enjoy that. The film is meant to be seen in that capacity." On Using Large-Format Visuals, Such as Shooting in IMAX, to Draw Audiences In "The whole effort was for the experience to be immersive. We wanted to let folks experience this world. And for me, it's the world that my grandparents were a part of. It's the world that they came up in. And it's a time that's often overlooked in American history, specifically for Black folks, because it was a time associated with a lot of things that maybe we're ashamed to talk about — but I got to talk to my have conversation with my grandmother, who's nearly 100 years old, and do some really heavy research, and it was exciting. To bring that time period to life with the celluloid format that was around then, but with the technological advancements that IMAX can provide, it's really exciting — really exciting." On How a Stephen King-Penned Vampire Novel Proved an Influence "A big inspiration for the film is a novel called Salem's Lot, and in the novel — it's been adapted quite a few times and in some really cool ways, but what's great about that novel is when Stephen King talks about it, for him it was Peyton Place, which is another novel, meets Dracula. What happens when a town that's got a lot of its own issues, a lot of interesting characters, meets up with a mythological force of nature and it starts to influence the town? So that idea for me was a great way to explore some of the real things in this place that my grandparents and uncles who influenced my life came from — but also that a lot of American pop culture came from, right there. One of the things we explore in the film is blues music and blues culture, and that became so many other things that affect what we do today. So it was great to be able to explore that. And that music has a has a very close relationship with the macabre, so to speak, with the supernatural. You hear stories about Tommy Johnson and Robert Johnson selling that souls to be able to play the guitar the way they do — the deals being struck. It was called the devil's music — and the dichotomy of these incredible singers, even still to this day, they learned how to make music in the church, but yet they chose to make music that maybe was frowned upon." On the Catharsis of Making Movies for Coogler "I'm blessed to have been able to have found this medium. I found it out by accident. But where I can work out deep, philosophical, existential questions that I may be struggling with, I get to work them out while contributing to an artform that that means so much to me and my family. Watching movies for us was a pastime, and it was a way to connect, it was how we travelled. So I feel like the luckiest person on the planet — but yeah, it is a form of therapy. Each film brings me closer to understanding myself and the world around me, I think." On Jordan Portraying Twins — and Why Twins Feel Supernatural "These are guys who there's nothing supernatural about them outside of them being identical twins. Now, when you dig into the research on twins, it is pretty strange. We still don't totally understand how we have specific identical twins, because it's not something that can be inherited. It's an anomaly. What we did on this was I hired a couple friends of mine who are filmmakers, Noah and Logan Miller — we hired them as twin consultants. They're about the same age as me and Mike, and they were able to talk to Mike and myself while we were working on the script, and he was working on prepping the characters, on what it is like to have an identical twin. Some of that work was just fascinating — like this idea of ever since you achieved consciousness, there was another version of you, right there, right there in front of you, sharing space. And how they see the world — how they see the world as 'us versus everybody else'. The other aspect of it is the fact that they're not totally different. They're actually are quite alike. They're different in subtle ways that Mike found. But it's an absolutely brilliant performance — both performances. I can't wait for folks to see him. It's Mike unlike I've ever seen him before, and I know him pretty well." On Why the Time Was Right for Coogler to Tell an Original Story "I think in terms of timing — and timing is everything, it can really make or break a project, now more than ever. But for me, in being a writer/director, the timing first has to start with me. And it felt like I was at a point in my life where I did want to try to do something original. And I realised I had been working on things that were based on pre-existing things, maybe a real-life situation, maybe a pre-existing franchise and cinema, a pre-existing comic-book franchise, and so I felt the itch to want to try. I could kind of feel like the kids are growing up, I'm getting older, I can feel time on my on my backside. So it turned out to be the perfect timing for me, personally. And at terms of looking around at the world and where we are, those two things seem to be lining up. But at the same time, you don't have any control over that one. You've got to kind of start with yourself. Even then, I did want to still play with archetypes. I guess it's original, but I'm dealing with a lot of archetypes — not just a vampire, but the supernaturally gifted musician, the twins. When I was coming up, every neighbourhood would have those twins who were well-known, sometimes notorious, just had a reputation as local celebrities. That idea is something that we're exploring in this, and a lot of other ideas. So I'm still digging into pre-existing things and culture as best I can, but synthesising them through my own personal lens." Sinners releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
Whether tearing up football fields across during his 372-game stint for the Sydney Swans, or standing up against prejudice both in the AFL and in Australian in general, Adam Goodes' name has been splashed across the headlines plenty of times over the past two decades. That's not going to change in 2019, but for a different reason — the dual Brownlow medallist and 2014 Australian of the Year is the subject of two documentaries, with each exploring his story on and off the field, including the racism he endured over his 17-season playing career. The first film, The Final Quarter, just launched at the Sydney Film Festival, premiering to a packed house on Friday, June 7 and receiving a standing ovation from the lively audience afterwards. Directed by Ian Darling, and solely compiled from archival material — in a technique reminiscent of another great sports doco in recent years, Senna — it's a powerful and impassioned chronicle of the treatment Goodes received from crowds and commentators alike. Unsurprisingly, it's also both moving in displaying the AFL champ's dignified response to such horrors, and infuriating in its thorough examination of his ordeal. As the name suggests, The Final Quarter focuses on the last stages of Goodes' time in the AFL — when he was verbally attacked by spectators and high-profile media figures, relentlessly booed at games, put under immense scrutiny for celebrating his Indigenous heritage, accused of staging for free kicks and ultimately chose not to play for a period due to the toll he was under. As Darling astutely realised, the footage says it all. The documentary intertwines media clips from Goodes' games, general AFL coverage, news stories, press conferences and interviews from the era to paint a heartbreaking picture of the ex-Swans captain's experiences. As essential for the broader public as it is for football fans, the film is set for both a cinema and television release later this year, Just hours before the premiere — but nearly four years after Goodes retired at the end of the 2015 season, notably — the AFL and its 18 clubs released a long-overdue statement that apologised "unreservedly for our failures" in not standing up for him during his career. The second Goodes-focused doco, The Australian Dream, will surface in August. It's written by acclaimed journalist Stan Grant, and will open the Melbourne International Film Festival before hitting theatres around the country. Check out the trailer for The Final Quarter below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9C8JaJxoYU The Final Quarter will release in Australian cinemas later this year. We'll update you with a release date when one is announced.
Is the story of the Presley family angling for a trilogy, each with a different cast, different acclaimed filmmaker at the helm and different person in the spotlight? After Baz Luhrmann's Elvis in 2022 and now the upcoming Priscilla by Sofia Coppola, that idea is two-thirds of the way there. Whether there'll also be a Lisa Marie movie is yet to be seen, but Coppola's take on the famous music name — which has A24 behind it — has just dropped its first teaser trailer. Coppola reteams with the coveted American distributor after The Bling Ring and On the Rocks to adapt Elvis and Me, Priscilla Presley's 1985 memoir that was co-written with Sandra Harmon. This isn't the first time that the book has hit the screen thanks to a 1988 TV movie, but it clearly has its namesake's approval given that she's one of the film's executive producers. (Another: Coppola's brother Roman.) The focus: the tale from when a teenage Priscilla Beaulieu met rock 'n' roll superstar Elvis Presley at a party, following their courtship and marriage. It's a well-told affair both on-screen and in the media, taking the couple from a a German army base to Graceland, with Coppola's version seeing its ups and downs — thrills and struggles, too — through Priscilla's rather than her hip-swinging husband's eyes. Playing the rock 'n' roll couple, thank you very much: Mare of Easttown, Devs, On the Basis of Sex, Bad Times at the El Royale and Pacific Rim: Uprising actor Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla, plus Australian Euphoria and The Kissing Booth star Jacob Elordi as Elvis. The first sneak peek at Priscilla teases its eponymous figure's well-known look, first moments with Elvis, arrival at Graceland, wedding, pregnancy and being a mother to Lisa Marie. Elvis' music stardom also features, including the singer at the piano, onstage and being snapped by photographers. Coppola writes and directs Priscilla, making her first film since 2020's On the Rocks, while Succession and Hello Tomorrow!'s Dagmara Dominczyk also stars. The movie is due in US cinemas in October, with release details Down Under yet to be announced. Check out the trailer for Priscilla below: Priscilla doesn't yet have a release date Down Under — we'll update you when one is announced.
UPDATE: JULY 24, 2020 — Keki has now launched its free home-delivery service to select postcodes, as well as regular delivery through Doordash, Easi and Panda Tucked between the grey high-rises of Queen Street, you'll find Keki Milkbar: a small, considered cafe that's a cosy escape from (the usual) hustle and bustle of the CBD. If you don't see Keki — although, it's hard to miss its moss green exterior — you'll certainly smell it. The space emanates a delicate sweetness not unlike the bakeries and cake shops you'd find in train stations around Japan. But it was Korea where Keki owner Hangyul 'Han' Oh first thought up the cafe. "It was in Ikseon-dong, Seoul, where I first played with the idea of opening up a cafe," Oh tells Concrete Playground. "My business partner Wookjin 'Jin' Jang and I saw a soufflé pancake cafe while travelling around this popular area in Korea, and he had a recipe up his sleeve." Together with Oh's third business partner Jacob Jeon, the well-versed hospitality trio united back in Melbourne and launched Keki. Instead of finding their own space, though — a difficult feat during a pandemic — they started serving takeaway pancakes at CBD cafe Workshop Bros after dark. To make the gravity-defying pancakes — a dish originating in Japan, but now adored all over the globe — the team whips egg whites into pancake mix to create pillowy, airy batter. They're less sweet than traditional pancakes, too, which leaves room for sugar-filled toppings. [caption id="attachment_775896" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Parker Blain[/caption] "The most important thing is the presentation," says Oh. "Our menu has six flavours and we have tried to make them as good looking as possible. We garnish delicately so every customer see just how jiggly and fluffy the pancake is." Oh's favourite flavours are strawberry and tiramisu, but other offerings include matcha and red bean, honey-macadamia (made with local honeycomb) and sticky salted caramel — a popular flavour among regulars. The drinks menu at Keki is almost as impressive as the pancakes. You can choose from orange and lemon, strawberry or mandarin sodas, which are made with fresh fruit syrup and fermented for eight hours. They can be served hot, like a tea, too. If you're looking for a milk-based drink, try a matcha, strawberry or chocolate latte (served hot or cold) made using a special Keki recipe. "We didn't want an artificial flavour taste, so we decided to hand make them for a more fresh and delicate flavour," says Oh. "We gather our ingredients from the market." [caption id="attachment_775893" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Parker Blain[/caption] With Melbourne's second round of restrictions throwing a (second) spanner in the works, Oh and his team are launching their own online ordering system and delivery service. "We will continue to do takeaway and delivery through Doordash, Easi and Panda; however, we will be opening an ordering system to deliver to lockdown suburbs the apps do not reach." This new soufflé-to-door service will be announced via Keki Milkbar's social channels shortly. Find Keki Milkbar at 190 Queen Street, Melbourne. It's currently closed, but is planning to reopen on Monday, July 20 with takeaway and delivery. Images: Parker Blain
The first sip of an oat flat white from your local cafe tells you everything you need to know. On a good day, it's smooth, balanced and creamy — on a bad day, it's flat, split or watery. So what makes the difference between a great (or not so great) dairy-free coffee? According to Anthony Douglas, World Barista Champion, long-time team member at Melbourne's Axil Coffee Roasters, and MILKLAB Global Brand Ambassador, it all comes down to the milk. Anthony knows a thing or two about making great coffee. And he's spent more hours than most perfecting the relationship between espresso and milk. "When I first touched a coffee machine I had no idea there were even competitions let alone that I would be up there myself on stage," he tells Concrete Playground, when asked how he became one of the world's best baristas. "About five years into my career, that was my first exposure to competition. I decided to give it a go, and realised how much I could learn and grow through competition. That's what kept me going until I finally won." Now, his approach is all about the fundamentals. In fact, he believes a great cup of coffee should be simple. "I've always found the best results by keeping the process simple, focusing on the basics and executing them well," he says. For Anthony, a good coffee using plant-based MILKLAB comes down to three things: temperature, texture and integration. "[It's about] being really present as you're steaming the milk and breaking down those bubbles. [Also] being conscious of how you're integrating the milk with the espresso so you preserve the flavour, while still ensuring it's integrated properly from top to bottom," he says. It's something most people have tried at home, but it seems easier said than done. That is, until you've got a few of Anthony's go-to techniques up your sleeve to help achieve the perfect jug of silky milk. "I think it's important to achieve an even whirlpool and really maximise the power of the steam wand," he recommends. "Tilting the wand to the side enough so it spins, but not too close to the side, and ensuring it's angled low enough to really break down any bubbles on top." If you really want to level up your milk game, he suggests introducing the air quickly so you have more time to texturise the bubbles into that delicious, creamy microfoam. And his final tip is temperature. "Too hot and the quality of the milk degrades, is more dilute (due to the extra time spent introducing steam). Too cool and the milk can overpower the flavour of the coffee due to the lack of dilution." "Drinking temperature also has a massive impact on the types of flavours we experience and is one of the first things most customers notice when drinking a milk-based coffee." [caption id="attachment_1014856" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anthony Douglas, World Barista Champion[/caption] When it comes to plant-based options, Anthony has a clear favourite — but rates them all. "Each milk does have its own unique flavour and texture based on the ingredient it's centred around," he says. "I think my favourite would be MILKLAB Oat as it is the most versatile and works well to showcase any coffee it's paired with. MILKLAB Almond has a beautiful natural sweetness from the almond and is quite easy drinking. MILKLAB Soy I find has a great rich sweetness and body. MILKLAB Macadamia has this beautiful lush texture. And MILKLAB coconut once again has an amazing texture and tropical flavour that really works well with coffee." It turns out, not every milk behaves the same way with every coffee and there's quite a bit of science behind making sure things go smoothly. "The key is understanding how they interact with different coffee. Coffee that is highly acidic, very fresh, or roasted darker often doesn't integrate as smoothly and can cause separation or curdling," he says. If you're running into this issue, Anthony has one simple trick. "[You can] add a small splash of cold plant-based milk to the espresso before steaming and pouring. Cold milk has a higher tolerance for acidity and heat, and this step can help neutralise the compounds in the coffee that might otherwise cause a negative reaction." So, there you have it. To get a plant-based coffee worthy of a world champion, go back to basics, perfect your steam wand technique and don't forget the power of temperature. With a little intention and the right milk, you can get cafe-level results at home. Discover the full barista-approved MILKLAB range on the website.
The community spirit is well and truly thriving at the Coburg Farmers Market. Every Saturday from 8am–1pm, the playground of Coburg Primary School transforms into a bustling community marketplace. The market features over 30 stalls where you can browse an excellent selection of fresh, seasonal produce from growers and farmers across Victoria. The market also features live music and great breakfast and brunch stalls. Entry to the market is via gold coin donation. Remember your shopping bags, too — there's a strict no-plastic policy here. [caption id="attachment_809950" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mark Chew Photography[/caption] Images: Mark Chew Photography
UPDATE: JULY 16, 2020 — Tina's Noodle Kitchen is currently offering takeaway from 11.30am-8.30pm every day via Uber Eats. From the same crew that spiced up Melbourne's palate with those beloved Dainty Sichuan restaurants, comes this northside noodle house. If you like your meals generous and your tastebuds shocked, this one's sure to tick all the right boxes. At Tina's Preston outpost, it's the hearty bowls of noodle soup that take centre stage, with rice noodles swimming either in a fiery red broth or one of the slightly tamer meat-based stocks. There's a whole swag of protein options with which to pimp your bowl, too, from thinly sliced wagyu or an assembly of fresh seafood, to house-made prawn balls and a wild array of offal additions. Familiar favourites might include braised chunks of pork belly or a mixed mushroom medley, while the 'chilli blood curd combination' speaks to the more adventurous diner. Alongside, sits a run of classic Sichuan-style snacks — think, spicy braised duck parts, house-made wontons, curls of pig's ear and a lineup of skewers, matched with a tongue-numbing chilli oil for dunking. It's busy, buzzy and delightfully easy on the wallet, even with your heftiest appetite in tow. Image: Letícia Almeida
Boutique music agency Novel, which has brought us the likes of Pitch Music & Arts and Let Them Eat Cake, has a clear knack for scouting out impressive event spaces. Having last year launched its sprawling new venue B3, down in the Marvel Stadium underground car park, the team has this week lifted the lid on its next offering — a supersized, two-level music destination that'll be known as Thornbury Social Club. To say the new northside site is large would be a bit of an understatement. Used for much of its past life as a sporting complex, the hefty venue spreads across two levels and multiple rooms, boasting a lofty warehouse arena, along with quirky added extras including an old ballroom and a series of former squash courts. As a bonus, an existing late liquor licence and the site's industrial surrounds mean party times will be able to kick on right through until 5am. Under Novel's plans, the venue will be given new life as a temple of techno, complete with state-of-the-art sound tech. It's already had a baptism of sorts, playing host to a Smalltown outing earlier this month, and Novel's already started planning the next huge events to come. Dates have been locked in for September and December — we're told to expect some big-name dance acts and immersive experiences, putting those spacious new digs to good use. Find Novel's Thornbury Social Club at 2-8 Inman Street, Thornbury. We'll keep you updated with events. Images: Novel and Duncographic.
The thought of taking a dip in the Yarra's not-so-clear waters is more appalling that appealing. But a blissful splash in an infinity-edge pool sitting atop the river? That, we can definitely get around. And it's exactly the situation that now awaits you aboard Arbory Afloat's latest incarnation, after the floating bar today launched its final offering — a new pool nestled up the venue's western end, flanked by towering palms and cabanas. Inset into Arbory Afloat's lower deck with views across the river and the city, the pool is laid with imported Italian tiles and comes complete with a hydraulic floor allowing lifeguards to adjust the water depth as required. The surrounding pool deck area is also kitted out with day beds and cabanas, primed for those post-dip cocktails and snack sessions. And of course, it's all rocking a similar Balearic Islands-themed look to the rest of the over-water bar. The new swimming spot will be open every day, but with visiting times varying throughout the week — you can keep track of opening hours via Arbory Afloat's Instagram page. A towel concierge service is also running if you'd like to travel light, and essentials like hats and sunscreen are available to buy onboard. Arbory Afloat's 2022 design pulls inspiration from the free-spirited energy of Ibiza, Formentera, Menorca and Mallorca, dishing up holiday vibes in abundance to match a Spanish-accented food and drink offering. Find Arbory Afloat and its new pool at 2 Flinders Walk, Melbourne. For pool opening hours, see Instagram. Images: Arianna Leggiero
John Malkovich took time off from being John Malkovich to be Everyone Else for a change. Shot by Sandro Miller in Los Angeles, a new series of photographs dubbed Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich recreate some of the most iconic portraits in recent history — from John and Yoko to Che Guevara, Dorothea Lange's Migrant Woman to Andres Serrano's Piss Christ. According to the exhibition statement, Miller decided to undertake the project in 2013, wanting to honour the photographers whose work had inspired him and shaped his career. After selecting thirty five images to recreate, Miller got in touch with his ol' mate Malkovich — who apparently immediately agreed. "John is the most brilliant, prolific person I know," says Miller. "His genius is unparalleled. I can suggest a mood or an idea and within moments, he literally morphs into the character right in front of my eyes. He is so trusting of my work and our process… I'm truly blessed to have him as my friend and collaborator." All at once creepy and genius with Malkovich rocking an excellent Marilyn and a spot-on Dali, the series is actually less about Malkovich than it is an homage to the photographers responsible for the portraits themselves: Dianne Arbus, Annie Leibovitz, Art Shay, Dorothea Lange, Alberto Korda. That being said, it's supremely satisfying to see Malkovich in dress-up like this — his Jack Nicholson and Albert Einstein are top notch. Sandro Miller, Albert Watson / Alfred Hitchcock with Goose (1973), 2014 Sandro Miller, Philippe Halsman / Salvador Dalí (1954), 2014 Sandro Miller, Alberto Korda / Che Guevara (1960), 2014 Sandro Miller, Andy Warhol / Green Marilyn (1962), 2014 Sandro Miller, Andy Warhol / Self Portrait (Fright Wig) (1986), 2014 Sandro Miller, Annie Leibovitz / John Lennon and Yoko Ono (1980), 2014 Sandro Miller, Arthur Sasse / Albert Einstein Sticking Out His Tongue (1951), 2014 Sandro Miller, David Bailey / Mick Jagger "Fur Hood" (1964), 2014 Sandro Miller, Herb Ritts / Jack Nicholson, London (1988) (A), 2014 Sandro Miller, Andres Serrano / Piss Christ (1987), 2014
Fans of The Handmaid's Tale have had to wait longer than expected for its fourth season, with the dystopian series' next batch of episodes among the many things that were postponed due to the pandemic. But, this coming week, that delay will come to an end — and yes, the word you're looking for is 'finally'. The new season will kick off Down Under on Thursday, April 29, airing weekly on SBS and streaming episodes via SBS On Demand in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. Based on the three trailers so far — a first teaser last year, a second glimpse early in 2021 and a third back in March — you can expect your anxiety levels to ramp up several notches while you're watching. Of course, viewing The Handmaid's Tale has never been a stress-free experience. Given its storyline, that was always going to be absolutely impossible. As seen in the sneak peeks so far, season four will see June (Elisabeth Moss, The Invisible Man) still battling against Gilead after season three's cliffhanger ending. In fact, after everything that the oppressive regime has done to her and her loved ones — and the ways in which it has changed life for women in general — she's firmly out for justice and revenge. That'll involve taking new risks, but that's what a rebel leader has to do, even if it threatens the relationships that she holds dear. So, that's what you'll be seeing play out on-screen when the new season hits. Fans will be watching where the show's narrative heads for some time to come, too, with a fifth season of The Handmaid's Tale green-lit before the fourth even airs. Toppling a totalitarian society that's taken over the former United States, tearing down its oppression of women under the guise of 'traditional values', and fighting for freedom and equality doesn't happen quickly, after all. Neither does exploring the tale initially started in Margaret Atwood's 1985 book via an award-winning TV series. Check out the latest season four trailer below: The fourth season of The Handmaid's Tale will hit start airing in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, April 29 — on SBS TV, and to stream via SBS On Demand and Neon, with new episodes arriving weekly.
Biding your time until the next season of Stranger Things drops, or just looking for a fun new procrastination technique? Thanks to Netflix's latest addition, you can now do both. The streaming platform has just jumped into the mobile games realm, adding five titles to its Android app — and two of them are Stranger Things-themed, because of course they are. If you have an Android device (and the Netflix app installed on it, obviously), you'll now be greeted with the option to play Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3: The Game — as well as the non Stranger Things-related Shooting Hoops, Card Blast and Teeter Up. Mashing buttons obviously isn't why you normally open up Netflix on your phone, but clearly the streaming behemoth is hoping that'll change. The company is aiming to leap into mobile gaming in a big way, in fact, offering the same kind of mix that it's launching with — so, titles linked to its streaming content, plus a range of others. While Netflix's gaming options are only available on Android for now, they'll be rolled out to iOs as well in the near future. If you now know how you're going to spend your public transport trips to and from work, you'll be able to access Netflix's new games as part of your existing subscription — and there's no in-app purchases, either. Netflix is offering its games in multiple languages, too, and on all devices linked to each account — but not via kids profiles. Here are the five games available to download and play, with a whole lot more coming! 🕹Stranger Things: 1984 🎮Stranger Things 3 🏀 Shooting Hoops 🃏 Card Blast 🎱 Teeter Up — Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) November 2, 2021 This isn't the first time that the streaming service has flirted with gaming, if it all sounds a little familiar. Back in 2017, it released a retro-style, side-scrolling online video game that also nodded to Stranger Things — and in its streaming content itself, it's given viewers choose-your-own-adventure style movie specials such as Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend. Also, we've all clearly just watched Squid Game. Yes, you can probably expect a mobile game linked to the hit Korean series to pop up at some point as well. Netflix's mobile games are now available via its Android app. For more details, head to the Netflix website.
The Hills Are Alive music festival has today revealed their 2015 lineup, featuring a gaggle of Australian acts headlined by Melbourne-based hip-hop artist Remi. Seven years young, the 2015 edition will also mark the first time the event has spilled over into a second evening, with festival organisers promising "twice as many good vibes." Hosted at the McLaren family farm an hour and a half out of Melbourne, THAA 2015 will feature Canberra electronic group SAFIA, Tassie punk-rockers Luca Brasi, Melbourne folk-duo Pierce Brothers, Adelaide singer-songwriter Timberwolf, triple j 2012 Unearthed High winner Asta, NZ country music crooner Marlon Williams, plus a whole lot more. Despite their 2015 expansion, The Hills Are Alive remains a small festival by design, offering an antidote to the massive crowds that often characterise these kinds of events. With a capacity of just 2000 people, tickets are by invitation only, meaning you need to either be friends with one of the acts or know somebody who's been before. Attendees are encouraged to carpool to keep their impact on the environment to a minimum, while glass and pets are prohibited on account of the cows with whom you'll be sharing the campsite. The Hills Are Alive 2015 kicks off at The Farm at 3pm Friday March 27 and runs until 4pm Sunday March 29. For more information on the line-up, head to the festival website.
When we talk about playing games at Crown, we're not just talking about blackjack. Playtime Crown is filled to the brim with 150-plus classic and new-age video games – and much better odds of walking away with a win or two. Housed within the Crown Entertainment Complex, Playtime is the arcade of your kidult dreams. In addition to the video games, there is also a bowling alley, laser tag and the vortex to keep both big and little kids entertained. Remember vortexes? Most science centres had them with the express purpose of farming child vomit. It's a tube you walk down and the walls spin (seriously, if you have a weak stomach, don't do it). Fun times.
Imagine a two-day bake sale stocked with a heaving array of treats from some of the city's best-loved bakers, tart masters and pastry icons. Well, that's exactly what's in store for you when the latest edition of Baker's Dozen takes over Fed Square as part of the 2025 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. From Saturday, March 29 to Sunday, March 30, you're invited to sink your sweet tooth into a one-stop pop-up shop showcasing mouthwatering wares from a lineup of local legends. Expect everything from buns and babka to croissants and knots — with plenty of brand new exclusive creations in the mix too. Among the culinary artists showing off their goods from 10am each day, you'll find Falco, Baker Bleu, Kudo, Monforte, Tarts Anon, The Flour and All Are Welcome, to name a few. Some of Melbourne's best bakeries and cake shops are in this incredible lineup for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. And it's the only time you can hit them all up in one spot – no need to spend the entire weekend tracing all over the city to get your favourite sweet treats. During the same two days, the festival will be running a pop-up hot cross bun bar, an electoral vote to choose the best scone flavour and an electrolyte-inducing stall serving coconut-infused refreshments, from tropical smoothies to froyo and coffee foams. Plus, some of the city's most beloved food and drink personalities will present fascinating culinary demonstrations for your entertainment. [caption id="attachment_993077" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Credit: Carmen Zammit[/caption] Top image: Shelley Horan.
UPDATE, Thursday, October 5: Zach Bryan's Australian show has now been moved to Flemington Racecourse due to demand. Not content with bringing Christina Aguilera to Australia for a one-off Down Under show, and boasting exclusive Eric Prydz and Jai Paul gigs as well, Victoria's statewide music celebration Always Live has added country music megastar Zach Bryan to its 2023 bill. The 17-day festival will now feature the biggest name in the genre right now, taking to the stage at St Kilda's Catani Gardens. The 'Something in the Orange' singer will head to Melbourne on Saturday, December 9 for an openair gig that'll give the Oologah, Oklahoma native's 2022 American Heartbreak album a hefty spin. Although he released two records prior — 2019's DeAnn and 2020's Elisabeth — his third album marked his major-label debut, and also the reason that Bryan has become such a sensation. Among Bryan's recent feats, American Heartbreak premiered in the top spot on America's Billboard 200. 'Something in the Orange' has now stayed in the charts longer than any single by a male country artist. In Australia, Bryan has earned that same achievement in the ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart for all country artists. And his streaming numbers? In excess of 6.8 billion worldwide. Yellowstone viewers will also know him from popping up in the western series. As he's been taking his American Heartbreak tour around the US — including stops at Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits — Bryan has been smashing attendance records, too. In his first-ever Australian stint, he'll also have tracks from his latest album to play, with the self-titled Zach Bryan releasing in August. Among the tunes: collaborations with Kacey Musgraves, The Lumineers, The War and Treaty, and Sierra Ferrell. Being brought Down Under by Untitled Group, which is also behind Beyond The Valley, Pitch Music & Arts, Grapevine Gathering, Wildlands and Ability Fest, Bryan's just-announced spot on the Always Live bill is his only currently scheduled gig in Australia. The statewide music celebration's full lineup includes more than 165 artists at 60-plus events — all, of course, in Victoria. Always Live 2023 runs from Friday, November 24–Sunday, December 10, with one pre-festival gig on Saturday, October 14. For more information, and to get tickets, head to the festival website. Zach Bryan will play St Kilda's Catani Gardens on Saturday, December 9, with pre sales from 12pm AEDT on Thursday, October 5 and general sales from 12pm AEDT on Friday, October 6.
For all the photos of you that exist out there on the web, odds are very few of them show you as you actually are. With The Naked Self , theatremakers Michele Lee and Tanya Dickson hope to strip away some of the artifice, inviting audiences to share a less curated version of themselves. In your own private booth, participants will be invited to undress, and prompted to share details about how they really see themselves. You'll also be able to listen to the audio self-portraits of other people, forming intimate connections with strangers you'll never meet or even see. This is part of the Festival of Live Art 2016 program. Image: Sarah Walker
First it was clap lights. Then it was Siri. Then Amazon released the Echo, their wireless voice-activated device. Now, Google (in true Google style) has swept in, taken all these ideas, made them better, and announced their plans to release their own voice-controlled speaker and device: Google Home. Announced at Google's I/O developer conference in California last week, Google Home is a device that isn't meant to be a device, as such. You don't swipe it or tap it — it doesn't even have a screen. Basically, it's a really smart small speaker that can both play music and listen to what you're saying. It's got a series of always-listening far-field mics that can hear you from across the room, so you can ask it questions, control your connected devices and play music and video through Chromecast. It also looks like a giant salt shaker. So it'll blend right in to your benchtop (we assume that was Google's thinking). Home will be integrated with Google Assistant, Google's voice technology (and essentially their version of Siri). Assistant will pull info from the Internet to answer your questions — like 'what's the temperature today?' and 'do you love me, Google Assistant?' — and allow you to have two-way convos with an empty room. Apparently 20 percent of all queries on Google's mobile app and Android devices are voice searches so, y'know, it's a thing. Home is essentially the same product as Amazon Echo, but it looks as though Google's voice technology and sound quality could be of a higher calibre. All remains to be seen. There's no date set as to when Google Home will be available to buy, but you can sign up to get updates on the product here. Via The Next Web.
Infamously the craziest time of the year when it comes to discounts, Black Friday sales can be hard to navigate at the best of times. To help you get prepped, we've narrowed down some of the best bargains from Amazon. You can expect to see some epic deals across homewares, beauty, shoes, electronics and fitness with brands like Samsung, Maybelline, Hugo Boss and Garmin. It's time to get shopping and make the most of the deals while they last. Homewares Stocking up on things for around the house and grabbing some homewares for a gift is never a bad idea. And with these discounts, you'll finally get your hands on those top-quality frying pans you've been putting off or actually replace that pillow you've had for an embarrassingly long time to admit publicly. Corelle Dinnerware Set for $51.99 – 60% off. Tontine Allergy Sensitive Pillow for $17.89 – 61% off. TEFAL Non-Stick Induction Wokpan for $61.19 – 49% off. PetSafe Staywell Aluminium Pet Door for $109.62 – 49% off. Tontine Single All Seasons Quilt for $31.96 – 70% off. Electronics Whether you're a Samsung or a Google person, these Black Friday discounts on all your electrical necessities are enough to make you drop everything. Google Nest Cam Wireless Camera for $166.00 – 50% off. Samsung Galaxy Buds FE Wireless Earbuds for $104.99 – 47 % off. Yamaha TW-E3C True Wireless Earbuds for $45.00 – 65% off. JBL FLIP 6 Portable Waterproof Speaker for $99.99 – 41% off. Rocketbook Core Reusable Smart Notebook for $29.90 – 46% off. Beauty For all the beauty queens out there, we know how expensive it can be to get your hands on the best makeup, moisturisers, perfumes and all the other essentials to keep you feeling at your best. Our recommendation? Stock up while you can. Vera Wang Princess Eau de Toilette for $28.13 – 68% off. Hugo Boss Boss Bottled Eau De Toilette for $84.93 – 59% off. Maybelline New York Matte Lipstick for $8.91 – 58% off. Garnier Brightening Serum for $16.63 – 55% off. Aveeno Daily Moisturising Body Wash for $11.10 – 57% off. Maybelline Superstay Vinyl Liquid Lipstick in Peachy for $11.47 – 58% off. Maybelline Multi-Use Concealer for $9.77 – 58% off. Shoes Finding durable, hardy shoes at a low price can feel almost impossible. However, you can get your hands on everyone's favourite brands including Dr. Martens, Keen, Salomon and Tevas for almost half-price with these spicy Black Friday deals. Dr. Martens Unisex Embury Leather Chelsea for $139.99 – 50% off. Skechers Women's Sneakers for $78.99 – 47% off. Salomon Men's XA PRO 3D Trail Running and Hiking Shoe for $120.00 – 48% off. Teva Men's M Forebay Sandal for $79.99 – 53% off. Nike Sneaker for $44.88 – 55% off. KEEN Women's Waterproof Hiking Boot for $153.06 – 49% off. Timberland Men's 6-Inch Waterproof Boot for $179.99 – 48% off. MERRELL Men's Moab 3 Hiking Shoe for $101.99 – 49% off. Fitness Get active, running, swimming or whatever kind of movement you prefer with these nifty fitness accessories. With these kinds of discounts, there's really no excuse not to. Speedo Men's Endurance + Aquashort for $31.99 – 42% off. Garmin GPS Fitness Smartwatch for $998.00 – 46% off. Buzio 1180ml Insulated Water Bottle for $29.58 – 44% off. Step One Men's Bamboo Trunks for $17.50 – 50% off. TriggerPoint GRID TRAVEL Foam Roller for $23.98 – 60% off. This article contains affiliate links, Concrete Playground may earn a commission when you make a purchase through links on our site. Images: supplied.
