Take a must-visit Paris art museum, an acclaimed Victorian gallery, an iconic French painter and one of the world's most influential architects, mix them all together, and Australia's latest huge exhibition is the end result. So is something unsurprisingly stunning: the world premiere of Pierre Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi at the NGV International in Melbourne. The National Gallery of Victoria's revolving door of blockbuster exhibitions shows no sign of slowing, with this exceptional meeting of creative minds announced earlier in 2023, and now gracing its halls from Friday, June 9–Sunday, October 8. When the temperature dips each year, the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series kicks in — and, as created in collaboration with the Musée d'Orsay, home to the world's largest collection of Bonnard works, this ode to Bonnard and Mahdavi is the current centrepiece. On display: more than 100 pieces by the famed French artist, but seen through a fresh lens. Helping provide that new perspective is scenography by internationally renowned architect and designer Mahdavi, in a major showcase that was originally slated to debut in 2020 before the pandemic did its thing. An icon of late 19th- and early 20th-century art, and a good mate of Henri Matisse, Bonnard is known for his colourful, textural depictions of French life, offering stylised yet subtle glimpses of intimate domestic scenes, urban backdrops and natural landscapes. Pierre Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi includes a hefty collection of the artist's own paintings, drawings, photographs, prints and other decorative objects, alongside works from his contemporaries — including Édouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Félix Vallotton and cinematic pioneers the Lumière brothers. Attendees can expect to step through Bonnard's early artistic days in the 1890s, highlighting his focus on Parisian street life; his evolution from there, including when he started focusing on more domestic scenes as inspired by his relationship with his companion Marthe Bonnard; and his love of landscape, especially from 1910 onwards, and as influenced by his fellow pal Claude Monet. Numerous pieces are on loan from the Musée d'Orsay, as well as other museums and private collections in Europe, Australia and the USA. The NGV's own collection also includes significant works, however, including Bonnard's 1900 painting La Sieste (Siesta). Considered one of the world's most influential architects, multi-award-winning Mahdavi has been commissioned to help bring the historic pieces to life via her scenography, tasked with creating a setting that complements Bonnard's signature use of colour and light. The results aren't just spectacular — they're dreamy. "Monsieur Bonnard and I share the same passion: colour," Mahdavi explains of the exhibition. "I love his subjective perception of colour — the way he transforms the intimacy of everyday life into something sublime." "Pierre Bonnard is one of the most captivating artists of the post-impressionist movement. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to experience his work within a vivid scenography designed by India Mahdavi, one of the world's leading designers working today. Both the artist and the designer are celebrated for their ingenious use of colour, which made them a natural and authentic pairing for this NGV-exclusive exhibition," adds Tony Ellwood AM, the NGV's director. Pierre Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi runs at the NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne from Friday, June 9–Sunday, October 8. For more information, see the venue's website. Images: Installation view of Pierre Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi, on display from June 9–October 8, 2023 at NGV International, Melbourne. Photos: Lillie Thompson.
El Jannah well and truly has cult-like status in Sydney. There are those who swear by the roasted bird, chippies and the renowned garlic sauce — and there are those who won't hear even a syllable towards the idea that the Lebanese-Australian joint doesn't reign supreme. And with locations now popping up in Melbourne, we're sure this mentality is going to cross state lines, too. But, fans are not only in love with the food, but the people behind the counter and pass, too. "[Our customers] treat us like an extension of their friends and family," Brett Houldin, CEO of El Jannah, shares. "They know people by name, they can tell you a lot about their first experience, and that seems to resonate." Together with Uber Eats, we cruised over to El Jannah's Earlwood venue and fired a few quick, fun questions at Houldin to catch his vibe (and to pursue that garlicky recipe). Have a watch below, and read on for the low down. https://vimeo.com/756998413 STICKING TO YOUR STRENGTHS We're all better placed if we stick to our strengths. Knowing when you're out of your depth is a key life skill — as Houldin learned. When was the last time he donned a hairnet and jumped in the El Jannah kitchen? "I'm only really effective on the chip station," he laughs. "That's all they'll let me do." He leaves the cooking to the pros, who smash out order after order (after order) for customers who are more than willing to stand in a lengthy line (or order via Uber Eats) to chow down. Houldin does still manage to get his fill of charcoal chicken, though. His weekly El Jannah count? Three or four times a week. "There's probably customers out there who eat it just as much, if not more, as I do," he laughs, well aware of the chicken shop's hype. THE BUSINESS OF BUSYNESS Given he's a busy man, you'd be forgiven if you think Houldin's El Jannah count is higher in actuality. So what was the last thing he cooked when he did have time? "Does it count as 'cooked' if I bought lasagne, put it in the oven and fed it to the kids?" he asks. THE SECRET IN THE SAUCE Sadly, Houldin kept mum on El Jannah's lauded garlic sauce recipe. We did press him on the issue — and have the unedited footage to prove it — but, through a big ol' smirk, he said, "I'll have to die with that one. That is only a family-known secret." All this chat put you in the mood for El Jannah chicken? Head to the website to find a location near you, or place your order via Uber Eats. Top image: Jarrad Shaw
It started with everyday awkwardness. It plunged straight into a memorable meet-cute, too. And, it pondered what might happen if a medical student and a microbrewery owner crossed paths in Sydney, ended up with an injured dog between them, then went from strangers to pet co-owners almost instantly. Also, it's the latest collaboration between real-life couple and No Activity stars Harriet Dyer (The Invisible Man) and Patrick Brammall (Evil). From the moment that Colin From Accounts hit screens late in 2022, it clearly wasn't short on highlights. Among last year's best new TV shows, this Aussie gem stood out for its charm, relatability, smarts and fleshed-out characters — plus its ace two- and four-legged cast. Thankfully, there'll be more where all of the above came from, with Australian streaming service Binge confirming that a second season of Colin From Accounts is officially on the way. "We're thrilled that Binge is finally giving in and letting us do another one. Turns out the border terrier community is extremely powerful," said Dyer and Brammall in a statement announcing the homegrown hit's impending return. "Thank you to everybody around the world who has enjoyed the show — we can't wait to bring you all a second season. Stay tuned for more shenanigans." So far, there's no exact timing set for a second date with Dyer as Ashley and Brammall as Gordon; however, the renewal news comes after Colin From Accounts nabbed itself a trio of 2023 Logies. The series picked up Most Outstanding Comedy Program, Most Outstanding Actor and Most Outstanding Actress — all industry voted, rather than by audiences. Story-wise, the first season of Colin From Accounts followed Ashley and Gordon after the latter was distracted by the former one otherwise ordinary morning, then accidentally hit a stray dog with his car. The pair took the pooch to receive veterinary treatment, then committed to look after him — and, yes, named him Colin From Accounts — causing their already-chaotic lives to intertwine. "The funniest couple on TV (and their dog) are coming back. Binge is thrilled to confirm a second season of the award-winning Colin from Accounts," Alison Hurbert-Burns, the streaming service's Executive Director. "We left season one unsure if Ashley and Gordon could get Colin back, so of course we need to see what's next for these loveable characters that audiences in Australia, and the world, have fallen in love with." Check out the trailer for season one of Colin From Accounts below: Colin From Accounts season two doesn't yet have a release date, but will stream via Binge. Read our review of season one. Images: Lisa Tomasetti / Tony Mott.
The time of boring holidays is over. No longer are we locking ourselves inside a three-star resort for two weeks, limiting ourselves to whitewashed itineraries and experiences we could find at home. To really explore the world, we must occasionally check comfort and familiarity at the door. That's what you could do with a guided, small-group tour organised by Intrepid Travel. We've teamed up with the global exploration extraordinaires to showcase just a taste of the experiences on offer. All you need to do is dive right in. [caption id="attachment_970293" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] ChanwitOhm via iStock[/caption] Hike up a Volcano in Lombok When it comes to Aussies on holiday, Bali is an all-time classic pick. The neighbouring island of Lombok isn't that far afield either, but there's more to an Indonesian getaway than massages and cocktails by the beach. Instead, you can secure a spot on a 12-day adventure across the islands of Bali, Lombok and Gili. You'll hike, bike and kayak your way through some of the most scenic landscapes Indonesia has to offer. The peak (literally) of the adventure comes on the island of Lombok, where you'll spend two days hiking up an active volcano, camp at its crater (at nearly 2600 metres high) and enjoy stunning panoramic views of the ocean — if the weather is clear. Watch the Sunrise From the Tallest Mountain in Borneo Borneo is one of the last wild nations on Earth, with a hugely diverse ecosystem and a range of iconic native wildlife—orangutans being the most famous among them. This 11-day expedition allows you to get up close and personal with those gentle forest creatures, as well as sea turtles, macaques, bears and maybe even pygmy elephants. During your adventure, you'll also get to scale Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in the country. To see the sunrise from the summit, 4095 metres above sea level, you'll spend the night on the mountain and set off at 2am — but the views will be worth it. When you've descended, you will spend the afternoon unwinding in hot springs. Help Reforest an Island in Cambodia Community service in Cambodia is a highly regarded activity for Aussies abroad, but this eight-day tour of the country will put you in touch with more than just good karma. You'll bike through the Cambodian countryside, explore ancient ruins, meet endangered river dolphins and spend two days on an island in the Mekong River. On the small island of Koh Trong, you'll overnight in a local homestay, giving you ample time to explore the island's shores, rice fields and fruit orchards. Once you've had a good night's sleep and a home-cooked meal, you'll lend a hand to a local reforestation project to put some good back into the earth. Immerse Yourself in the Himalayas Along the Trans-Bhutan Trail There are few secrets on planet Earth as well hidden as Bhutan. Literally and figuratively dwarfed by its neighbours, India and China, this tiny Buddhist kingdom transports you back in time and takes your breath away with its awe-inspiring landscapes. You can spend 11 days exploring this remarkable nation with Intrepid. The altitude might thin out the air, but it's cleaner than anywhere else since Bhutan is the world's first carbon-negative country. Breathe deep as you drive and walk across the country's heart, stopping at high-altitude mountain passes, fortified Buddhist complexes and ancient monasteries built into the sides of rock faces. Kayak Amongst Stunning Limestone Islands in Lan Ha Bay Vietnam's scenery is on another level, with mountains, valleys and fields that create incredible memories (and photographs). It's a quintessential destination for travellers, but the art of balancing its many moving pieces is best left to travel agents and trip organisers. It's a good thing Intrepid offers an 11-day tour that'll see you hiking, biking and kayaking all over the country. First, you'll venture through the busy capital city of Hanoi for an on-the-ground Vietnam experience. Then, you'll stop in regional cities and towns like Sapa, Khau Bau, Mai Chau, Ninh Binh and Cat Ba Island. Those landlocked locales will see you hit the trails and fields on bicycles and your own two feet, but the latter is in Ha Long Bay's World Heritage designation and features the iconic limestone cliffs and white sand beaches by the plenty. Explore the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka Sometimes overshadowed by its larger neighbour, India, Sri Lanka has been slept on as a destination by many for far too long. One of the most varied ways to explore it is a fairly physical eight-day exploration of the island, which will take you through mountains, tea fields, thick jungles and fast-flowing rivers. Along the way, you'll get up close and personal with four of the eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites throughout the country. First, there's the city of Sigirya, built atop a granite rock over 1500 years ago. You'll then head to the jungle-coated Knuckles Mountain Range, the Sacred City of Kandy and finally, the fortified Old Town of Galle. Trek to the Base of the Highest Mountain on Earth When talking adventure tours in Asia, we'd be remiss not to touch on the most famous of all: the two-week journey to the Base Camp of Mount Everest. It's a trip and a destination carved into human history, but the Base Camp trek is easier than the journey up the mountain itself. This tour starts in Kathmandu, but you'll fly to your real starting point in Lukla before setting off on the hiking journey of a lifetime. Take in the snow-crested peaks and green valleys of the Himalayan ranges as you make the journey up to Base Camp before turning around and taking a different route back to Lukla. You'll be spending your nights in teahouses and are likely to meet other hikers along the way since this is one of the most famous hiking routes in the world. Get out, explore, dive into adventure and find your WOW with Intrepid Travel. Find out more on the website.
"Does it always have to end up in a big giant dance battle?" asks the latest Step Up film, Step Up All In. Yes, that's an actual line of dialogue in a movie about trading fancy footwork for supremacy. The feature's Moose (Adam G. Sevani) poses the question to his ragtag gang of friends when yet another squabble sees them settling things on the dance floor. In doing so, he becomes the series' most self-aware expression, as well as the clearest enunciation of its purpose. Dance battles — plus contests, trials, tryouts, auditions, and any other competitive outlets — remain prominent not only to showcase performers' skills and add drama but to allow something to be dreamed about and aspired to, then achieved, attained and overcome. So if you've seen even one dance movie, whether from the Step Up franchise or any other (or even just Zoolander or Guardians of the Galaxy), then you know that yes, it does always have to end up in a big giant dance battle. Of course, there's more to be learned from the many efforts that have shuffled across screens since the days of Busby Berkley, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. What other important knowledge do dance films impart? We trawled through the best and worst to find out. Nobody should stay in the corner If there's one lesson the Step Up franchise preaches again and again, it's that playing by the rules doesn't offer a path to glory. If the first film's hero, played by Channing Tatum, hadn't vandalised a prestigious performing arts school and been burdened with helping clean up as punishment, the entire course of the series may have changed — and Tatum may not have become the cinema superstar he now is today. Indeed, he peddled the same message in the semi-autobiographical Magic Mike, where working a stripping job frowned upon by most offers the titular character his only hope of earning enough money to finance his dream business. Tatum is following in formidable footsteps, with ignoring instructions a dance movie staple across all possible extremes of the subgenre. In family-oriented effort Girls Just Want to Have Fun, a young Sarah Jessica Parker constantly falls afoul of her dad in her efforts to dance, while in Dario Argento's horror film Suspiria, an American ballet student in Munich finds out the truth about her new school when she flouts the rules and sneaks around. Perhaps the best-known instance comes from that perennial favourite, Dirty Dancing. Everyone remembers when Baby (Jennifer Grey) disregarded her father's decree that she stay away from bad boy dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), and when she wouldn't stay in the corner. (No one remembers when Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights unsuccessfully tried to recreate the same scenario.) Stick it (or step up) to the man In the fourth Step Up film (known as Step Up Revolution and Step Up: Miami Heat in differing parts of the world) it's not just a competition the dance crew seeks to win, though that's obviously part of the equation. In an oft-used scenario, they also square off in an against-the-odds battle with a heartless property developer threatening to gentrify their neighbourhood. Filmed flashmob-style performances help them wage both wars, providing contest entries and disrupting their nemeses efforts, but it is the challenge to authority that resonates as the feature's strongest statement. Dancers just don't know how to lie down for the man, so it seems, with putting bodies on the line their favourite form of fight. Step Up 3D, Honey and Centre Stage: Turn It Up also offer variations on rallying against authority, while an attempt to stop a corporation destroying a Brazilian rainforest drives The Forbidden Dance (a barely recalled effort attempting to cash in on the lambada craze, but the one that isn't called Lambada). And if there's one thing Footloose cemented in the consciousness of multiple generations, first in 1984 and again in the 2011 remake, it's that anyone who dares bans dancing must be defied, confronted and trounced. Stop, collaborate and listen Part of the fun of the Step Up series as it has continued is its unashamed amalgam of styles and genres. Never afraid to try something new and different when it comes to the dance scenes, if nothing else, the films themselves offer an inventive array of settings and show a wide range of sources of inspiration. Step Up All In's first breakout sequence ramps up the horror in a striking mad professor's laboratory number, while its climax sees its characters see past their rivalries to embody the same maxim in the story as well as the aesthetic. The movie is in good company, with seminal 1980s feature Breakin' teaming breakdancing with jazz ballet, Save the Last Dance's entire conceit based around the pairing of classical and ballet, and even Australia's own Strictly Ballroom introducing a Spanish influence into the titular type of dancing. Other features have interpreted the concept a little differently, but still with the same result. In Black Swan, a shy but ambitious ballerina must channel her dark side and break free from her prim and proper facade to get the lead in a production. The Full Monty saw middle-aged men get their gear off to make money after becoming casualties of Sheffield's declining steel industry. Mad About Mambo found football skills in samba. Recent release Cuban Fury tasked Nick Frost's uncharacteristic romantic lead with overcoming a childhood fear of salsa dancing to earn respect and pursue love. https://youtube.com/watch?v=j8XGmZ8HDIU There'll never be a crisis you can't dance your way out of The catharsis of getting your groove on has become so embedded in the dance film genre that almost every movie has its own example. Diving into your passion as an escape from your problems is sound advice; if movies have taught us anything, you'll emerge with a clearer head at the very least. The quintessential angry dancing scene from Footloose has become so iconic that Kevin Bacon once again kicked off his Sunday shoes to recreate it — well, with the help of a double — on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to celebrate the film's 30th anniversary earlier this year. The High School Musical movies gave Zac Efron not one but two opportunities to express his ire, the third film's moving feast of fury far superior to the second film's weak wander around a golf course. Andrea Arnold's excellent social realist effort Fish Tank shows a more serious side as its teen protagonist copes with her ills — including a liaison with Michael Fassbender — through hip-hop dancing. The trope has also been parodied in Hot Rod, where Andy Samberg's wannabe daredevil punch-dances out some anger in the forest, as well as TV's Flight of the Conchords in a number called Bret's Angry Dance. Cult comedy hit The FP took dancing through a crisis to the other extreme, with its characters forced onto their feet — duelling in an arcade game called Beat-Beat Revelation — to survive. Just do it Working as a welder by day and an exotic dancer by night, but dreaming of a more traditional way to tap your toes? Moved to the big city with stars in your eyes, but not sure if you have what it takes to give it a go? Flashdance, Burlesque and the aptly titled Make it Happen each offer a fictional testament to trying instead of wondering, as does almost every film in the subgenre that culminates in a competition: think Battle of the Year, Streetdance, Stomp the Yard, How She Move and even Take the Lead's Antonio Banderas-led ballroom dancing-focused effort, all of which address self-doubt and champion taking a chance. Billy Elliott shows just what can eventuate if, struggling valiantly through all obstacles in your way, you make it to the top of your chosen field. In Silver Linings Playbook, the stakes and the outcome are much more modest, but even securing a sense of achievement is worth the effort.
The National Gallery of Victoria's blockbuster Triennial 2020 exhibition is still in full swing, but, already, the gallery has announced the next fresh dose of artistic goodness heading our way. Today, Monday, March 1, it revealed a jam-packed lineup of exhibitions and programs for 2021. Among them, the international exclusive French Impressionism, featuring more than 100 French impressionist masterpieces on loan from Boston's renowned Museum of Fine Arts. Yep, overseas trips might still be on hold, but come June 2021, you'll be able to catch iconic works from the likes of Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt and more, when they hit the NGV for this huge showcase, as part of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition series. French Impressionism is set to feature 79 works never before shown in Australia, and will wrap up with a groundbreaking presentation of 16 Monet pieces displayed on curved walls — a nod to the oval gallery at Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris that the artist helped design for his famed Water Lilies paintings. [caption id="attachment_801662" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Camille Henrot, The Pale Fox (2014) installation view. Copyright courtesy of the artist and kamel mennour, Paris/London; König Galerie, Berlin; Metro Pictures, New York. Photographer: Anders Sune Berg.[/caption] Turning the lens closer to home, large-scale exhibition She-Oak and Sunlight: Australian Impressionism will feature a huge 270 artworks plucked from major public and private collections across the country. It aims to explore Australia's own position within the impressionist movement, showcasing both recognised and lesser-known works from names like Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin, Jane Sutherland, Jane Price, Clara Southern and John Russell. Elsewhere in the program, catch an Aussie-first survey of works by celebrated French-born, New York-based contemporary artist Camille Henrot, showcasing a diverse spread of media created across the last decade. NGV Collection exhibition Big Weather shares a new appreciation for our weather systems, as told through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, while Bark Ladies features two decades of stunning works on bark by masterful Yolngu women artists from Northeast Arnhem Land. And in groundbreaking show Queer, more than 300 works displayed across five different gallery spaces will mark the most historically expansive thematic presentation of artworks relating to queer stories ever shown in an Australian gallery. For more details about the just-announced NGV 2021 Season, jump over to the website. Image one: Claude Monet, Water Lilies (1905). Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Edward Jackson Holmes. Photography copyright Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Image two: Alfred Sisley, Waterworks at Marly (1876). Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Miss Olive Simes Photography copyright Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Image three: Tom Roberts, Shearing the rams (1890). Courtesy of National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Felton Bequest, 1932.
When you're taking your pet pooch to the park at the end of October, you want your four-legged friend to look as frightening as possible. Halloween is for all creatures, big and small, after all. While puppers are generally pretty adorable — and not in any way scary — that will all change when it dons a terrifying spider or pumpkin (maybe not so much) costume courtesy of Big W's new range of Halloween-themed petwear. This way, your dachshund can go trick-or-treating as a dangerous dinosaur, your jack russell terrier can run around the backyard in a witchie tee or your shih tzu can snooze in a ghoulish sweater. They're all super-affordable, too, with costumes starting from $8 and bandanas from $4. A heap of hair-raising costumes are currently available (including various sizes and colours) for pets and the full Halloween range also includes costumes for humans (big and small) and decorations, such as pumpkins, gravestones, buckets and skulls aplenty. While Big W has dubbed the line its 'petwear', so far it's all for dogs. That said, if you can somehow manage to get your cat into a vest or sweater, then you might just be able to get them into a dinosaur suit. [caption id="attachment_785479" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Leo the Cavoodle[/caption] Big W's Halloween petwear is currently available to purchase online, with contactless home delivery and pick up available.
Almost synonymous with the proud Aussie spirit, R.M.Williams boots are representative of far more than sturdy footwear. Made on demand in the Adelaide workshop, a pair of RMs delivers quality craftsmanship, trend-surpassing style and excellence in both form and function — all from an Australian owned and operated business. In celebration of R.M.Williams' 90th birthday — a milestone indicative of its long-held icon status — the brand released a limited-edition capsule collection. The release features an exclusive range of boots in the iconic Craftsman and Lady Yearling styles — both renowned for being made from a singular piece of leather and passing through over 80 pairs of hands in their making — which come adorned with commemorative 90th anniversary tugs. Also in the collection is the Jerrawa belt complete with a celebratory plaque (a detail that graces the boots, too). Although the boots and belts are the hero pieces of the range, the exclusive apparel and lifestyle offering from the outback originals are just as worth coveting. Joining the leatherwear is an assortment of tees, made in collaboration with the world's first climate-positive cotton company Good Earth Cotton, and sweatshirts — all of which are emblazoned with the 90th anniversary branding. Plus, if you're keen to try your hand at leatherwork, you can buy the all-new Makers Kit, which is stocked with supplies to handcraft a durable leather cover for The Bushman's Handcrafts, the book authored by RM himself. If you're a legacy fan of the company or you're simply looking to get your first piece, the brand reaching nonagenarian status offers a momentous occasion for your purchase. As the legendary bootmaker Reginald Murray Williams explained, "If you make something good, people will make a track to your door. We made simple things that people wanted and kept them simple." And come the people did. To secure your slice of Australian history, shop online or in store.
When Robert De Niro asked his reflection who it was talking to, Joe Pesci questioned whether he was funny, and Leonardo DiCaprio crawled along the ground under the influence of Quaaludes, one man was responsible. Over a career spanning almost six decades, Martin Scorsese has brought tales of taxi drivers, goodfellas and wolf-like stockbrokers to the screen — and now an exhibition dedicated to his work is coming to Australia. From May 26 to September 18, the Melbourne's Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) will pay tribute to one of America's most iconic directors, exploring everything from his early experimental beginnings to the award-winning films that have shaped many a movie buff. If you're already a fan, you'll be in Scorsese heaven. If you've somehow resisted the charms of (or completely missed) the likes of Raging Bull, The Departed and Hugo — or his concert flicks such as The Last Waltz and Shine a Light, or even Boardwalk Empire and Vinyl on TV — then prepare to have your eyes opened. [caption id="attachment_561113" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Exhibition section "New York". Photo: Deutsche Kinemathek / M. Stefanowski, 2013.[/caption] In its only Australian stop after wowing Berlin, Ghent, Turin and Paris, SCORSESE will present a collection of more than 600 objects spanning the filmmaker's entire cinema resume, as curated by the Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin's Museum of Film and Television. Expect storyboards, hand-annotated film scripts, unpublished production stills, costumes, film clips and more, all drawn from the private collections of De Niro, Taxi Driver writer Paul Schrader, and Scorsese himself. No ACMI exhibition would be complete without a bustling lineup of screenings, talks and other events, so expect plenty of those as well. The complete program is yet to be announced, but we'd advise blocking out a few days to delve into the influence and impact of the guy who hasn't only mastered movies, but directed the music video for Michael Jackson's 'Bad' too. SCORSESE will run from May 26 to September 18 at ACMI in Melbourne. For more information, visit the ACMI website. Top image: Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Paul Sorvino, Martin Scorsese, Joe Pesci in GOODFELLAS, USA (1990). Source: Sikelia Productions, New York.
For wannabe wizards and witches, the most magical place in Australia right now is located in Victoria. After boasting the country's only run of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, then playing host to a natural history exhibition based on the Fantastic Beasts films, the state is now temporarily home to a new Harry Potter-themed experience. This time, you can walk around an illuminated woodland filled with nods to the Wizarding World, with Harry Potter — A Forbidden Forest Experience finally arriving Down Under. Accio joy, clearly. Think: Lightscape, which is returning to Melbourne in 2024, but all about the world that's sprung up around the Boy Who Lived on the page, screen and stage. So, with Harry Potter — A Forbidden Forest Experience taking over The Briars Community Forest in Mount Martha until June, attendees can enjoy a nighttime stroll an hour out of Melbourne. Entering the Forbidden Forest is clearly the big attraction, as lit up with dazzling lights, all while also spying creatures from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts movies. A hippogriff features, as do nifflers and unicorns. You also have the chance to pose for a photo mid-wand duel, and to summon up a patronus spell as well. Accordingly, visitors here aren't surrounded by all things Wizarding World after dark in a forest; they can be join in like every aspiring Hogwarts student has always wanted to. Sounds and special effects also help bring the experience to life, as aided by award-winning behind-the-scenes folks. Expect to spend around 90 minutes being immersed in the all-ages event — plus however long you need at the onsite shop afterwards buying merchandise. That's part of the village at the end of the trail, where you'll also be able to grab a bite and something to drink. Wands crossed for butterbeer, obviously. Harry Potter — A Forbidden Forest Experience has hit Australia after seasons in the UK, Europe, the US and Singapore, with Warner Bros behind it just like the films and upcoming Harry Potter TV series. Also helping conjure up the fun is events platform Fever, adding to a recent Australian slate spanning Banksy and NBA exhibitions, plus the Unko Museum: The Kawaii Poop Experience. Find Harry Potter — A Forbidden Forest Experience at The Briars Community Forest, Mount Martha, until Sunday, June 9, 2024. Head to the event's website for tickets and further details.
Do you adore greenery, wish your house could be filled with blossoming petals and gorgeous leaves, but don't have the greenest of thumbs? That's a hugely relatable predicament. Now, a second question: do you firmly think that you never grow out of Lego, and also find building with the plastic bricks peaceful? The toy brand's latest range has answers to both queries. At the beginning of 2021, Lego unleashed its new Botanical Collection — part of its growing range for adults, because we're all well past pretending that Lego is just for kids. Back then, it boasted a flower bouquet and a bonsai, letting you add both to your home without worry about care, water, wilting or the expiry date that always comes with cut florals. Or, they made great gifts to your nearest and dearest for all of the same reasons. The two latest items in the range also tick those boxes. If you're terrible with keeping greenery alive, they're ideal for you, too. And no, even you can't kill these succulents or orchids — from under- or overwatering, not enough sun or too much, or the usual long list of things that can go wrong when you become a plant parent. The 771-piece succulent kit features nine different Lego cacti and the like in different shapes, sizes and hues, all in their own separate containers. Connect them together for one striking piece, or keep them apart and place them in different spots — the choice is obviously yours. As for the 608-piece orchid set, it'll see you build a towering bloom with six large flowers and two newly opened flowers, all in a blue fluted vase. And it really isn't small, measuring 39 centimetres in height. Available now in Australia and New Zealand, both kits are customisable, and also based on actual plants — so they look as lifelike as Lego succulents and orchids can. Sure, fake flowers exist, but they're nowhere near as engaging to put together as this build-your-own low-maintenance option. As well as catching the eye and adding some splashes of green to your decor, Lego's newest products are designed to help you destress and get mindful — something that the brand has been promoting for adults for a few years now. Both kits cost $89.99 each in Australia and $99.99 each in New Zealand. And if you're keen on more, the original two sets are still available, as is a bird of paradise in a pot, plus small sunflower, rose and tulip kits. For more information about Lego's new Botanical Collection, including the flower bouquet and bonsai tree kits, head to the company's website.
Montaigne has graced stages worldwide. They've represented Australia at Eurovision. They've won ARIAs, too. Now, they're the subject of an Archibald Prize-winning painting, with the singer-songwriter depicted in a piece called Head in the sky, feet on the ground — an artwork that just nabbed Sydney-based artist Julia Gutman Australia's most prestigious portrait prize in 2023. Gutman's win at the age of 29, scoring the $100,000 award, makes her one of the prize's youngest-ever winners in its 102-year history. And, she's also the 11th woman to win the acclaimed accolade — doing so for her first-ever Archibald Prize entry. [caption id="attachment_899546" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Winner Archibald Prize 2023, Julia Gutman 'Head in the sky, feet on the ground', oil, found textiles and embroidery on canvas, 198 x 213.6 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter. Sitter: Montaigne.[/caption] "I'm so elated and overwhelmed to have won. Shocked, dumbfounded, but very happy. It's honestly completely surreal. I'm so grateful to be working at a time when young female voices are heard', said Gutman about her win, which was announced at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Friday, May 5. "So much of my practice is devoted to revisiting, critiquing and contending with the histories housed in institutions. It's so affirming for that conversation to be recognised in such a public way." "Montaigne and I have been friends for a few years and there is a lot of alignment in our practices; we are both interested in creating our own forms and approaches rather than strictly adhering to any one tradition. Montaigne's work defies genres, while their mercurial soprano has become an indelible part of the fabric of Australian music," Gutman continued. [caption id="attachment_899549" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visitors in the 'Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2023' exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, featuring Archibald Prize 2023 finalists (left to right) Marie Mansfield, Yvette Coppersmith, Kim Leutwyler, Matt Adnate and Angela Brennan, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter.[/caption] Her subject was just as stoked, unsurprisingly. "It's such an insane honour to be the Archibald Prize-winning sitter. I sure didn't see it coming, not because I don't believe in Julia's incredible talent and warm heart, but because you just never think this stuff is going to happen to you," said Montaigne. Head in the sky, feet on the ground emerged victorious from a pool of 949 entries and 57 finalists, and in a year that broke a pivotal record: for the first time, more women than men made the final list of contenders for the award. Other portraits up for the gong included plenty similarly showing famous faces, such as Claudia Karvan, Sam Neill, Archie Roach, Noni Hazlehurst and Daniel Johns. [caption id="attachment_899552" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Winner Wynne Prize 2023, Zaachariaha Fielding 'Inma', acrylic on linen, 306.2 x 198.5 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter.[/caption] AGNSW pairs the Archibald Prize with two other awards: the similarly coveted Wynne and Sulman prizes. The Wynne received 726 entries, with 41 named as finalists, while the Sulman received 673 entries, naming 45 as final contenders. 2023's $50,000 Wynne Prize, which recognises the best landscape painting of Australian scenery, or figure sculpture, has been awarded to interdisciplinary artist and first-time finalist Zaachariaha Fielding. His winning work Inma depicts the sounds of Mimili, his community, which is part of the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia. The $40,000 Sir John Sulman Prize is presented to the best mural, subject or genre painting, with Doris Bush Nungarrayi doing the honours in 2023. The Luritja artist was a first-time finalist in both 2023's Sulman and Wynne Prizes, and is now the second Aboriginal artist to win the Sulman. In Mamunya ngalyananyi (Monster coming), she focuses on several Mamus — aka the ominous and malevolent spirits that terrify the Aṉangu people. [caption id="attachment_899553" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Winner Sulman Prize 2023, Doris Bush Nungarrayi 'Mamunya ngalyananyi (Monster coming)', acrylic on linen, 198 x 273.5 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter.[/caption] If you'd like to see all of the above, plus the rest of 2023's finalists, they'll all be on display at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney from Saturday, May 6–Sunday, September 3. After that, they'll tour to select venues in NSW and Victoria. Gutman's Archibald Prize win follows Blak Douglas' portrait of artist Karla Dickens in the Lismore floods in 2022, Peter Wegner's portrait of fellow artist Guy Warren in 2021 and Vincent Namatjira's portrait of Adam Goodes in 2020, as well as Tony Costa's 2019 victory with his painting of fellow artist Lindy Lee and five-time Archibald finalist Yvette Coppersmith's first win in 2018. And, Head in the sky, feet on the ground is still in the running for another award, as are all of this year's Archibald Prize finalists. If you don't agree with the judges, you can cast your own vote for People's Choice, which will be announced on Wednesday, August 9. [caption id="attachment_899550" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of the 'Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2023' exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, featuring Archibald Prize 2023 finalists (left to right) Charles Mouyat, Oliver Shepherd, Paul Newton and David Fenoglio, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter.[/caption] ARCHIBALD PRIZE 2023 DATES: Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, NSW — May 6–September 3, 2023 Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria — September 15–November 5, 2023 South East Centre for Contemporary Art, Bega, NSW — November 18, 2023—January 7, 2024 Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, NSW — January 19–March 10, 2024 Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, NSW — March 15–April 28, 2024 Tamworth Regional Gallery, NSW — May 11–June 23, 2024 Glasshouse Port Macquarie, NSW — July 5–August 18, 2024 If you can't make it to any of the above dates, you can check out the award winners and finalists of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes on the Art Gallery of NSW website. Top image: Excerpt of winner Archibald Prize 2023, Julia Gutman 'Head in the sky, feet on the ground', oil, found textiles and embroidery on canvas, 198 x 213.6 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter. Sitter: Montaigne.
After a hefty two-year hiatus, one of the bright sparks of Melbourne's frosty winter has made its way back onto the social calendar. You'd best clear your hump day schedule for the foreseeable future, because Queen Victoria Market's beloved Winter Night Market is set to return next month, running from June 1 to August 31. From 5pm every Wednesday, the QVM will be transformed into the kind of winter wonderland worth getting excited about, tempting you off the couch with a cosy program of street food, pop-up bars, live entertainment and artisan market stalls. What's more, come the middle of the season, the Night Market will be sating all your Euro winter holiday cravings with a special run of Christmas in July-themed nights, complete with festive decorations and gently-falling snow. As always, the Winter Night Market is set to serve up a tantalising assortment of street eats each week, with a huge array of food vendors repping dishes from all corners of the world. You can get excited for bowls of cheesy pasta, piping-hot dumplings, barbecued meat dishes and things grilled on sticks, perfectly paired with warming sips like mulled wine, hot gin toddies and spiced cider. The full culinary lineup will be dropping soon, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, as you're filling your belly with tasty winter fare, you'll be kept entertained with a rotation of live gigs and roving performers. After all, what better way to warm your cockles and work off a big serve of caccio e pepe, than a cheeky dance floor session? If you're a longtime fan, you'll know market stalls are also a big part of the offering here. This year, expect as vast a lineup as ever, with vendors slinging everything from jewellery and art, to skincare, homewares and books. The Winter Night Market will return to the Queen Victoria Market, corner of Queen and Therry Streets, Melbourne, running Wednesday nights from June 1–August 31. We'll share the full lineup of entertainment and food vendors as it drops.
If bliss to you means peering at infinite reflections in lit-up mirror rooms, wading through brightly coloured ball pits and having pillow fights — plus hanging out in digital forests, watching tales told via shadows and hopping over musical tiles, too — then prepare to beam with joy when Dopamine Land arrives Down Under. The latest multi-sensory experience that's hitting Australia, it's being pitched as an interactive museum. Inside, you'll find themed spaces that you can mosey through, engage with their contents and, ideally, bask in nothing but pure happiness. With a name like Dopamine Land, it's immediately clear that contentment, glee, merriment and exuberance is the aim of the game here. So is evoking those feel-good sensations through nostalgia, because this is another kidulting activity — it's all-ages-friendly as well — and it's making its Aussie debut in Brisbane from Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Brisbanites, and anyone keen for a Sunshine State trip to revel in more than the sun's glow, can look forward to wandering around Dopamine Land at Uptown in the River City's Queen Street Mall. Locals know that the site was previously the Myer Centre — and, decades back, was home to a dragon-themed rollercoaster. So, it's a fitting venue to get everyone channeling their inner child, unleashing their imagination and, yes, hitting each other with cushions. Heading this way direct from London, the experience combines optical illusions, engaging soundscapes and more across its ten themed rooms. The ball pit is self-explanatory, but also takes its cues from Miami in the 80s, complete with a pina colada scent, an electro soundtrack and LED lights that pulse to mirror waves. The pillow-fight space also doesn't need much explaining; however, the decor is inspired by marshmallows and boxes of lollies, Mexican wrestling is also an influence and you can win the pillow-fighting championship. Fancy seeing stories play out via shadows? There's a room for that featuring a big top-style roof. If you try your hand at the musical tiles — well, your feet, to be more accurate — you'll create a melody as you jump around, with the lights changing as you go as well. And if getting as serene as possible is your aim, head to the Keep Calm Forest, which artificially recreates a woodland via LED trees, mirrors and sounds to match. There's even a room dedicated to the autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR, which goes big on projections and animations by Australian digital artist Cassie Troughton. As is always the case with these kinds of pop-ups — Fever, the company bringing Dopamine Land to Australia, has also been behind The Art of Banksy: Without Limits, The NBA Exhibition, Dinos Alive: An Immersive Experience and Unko Museum: The Kawaii Poop Experience — there'll be ample opportunities to take photos. Accordingly, you know what you'll be seeing on your social-media feeds. There's no word yet whether Dopamine Land will head to other Australian cities beyond Brisbane, but expect it to be popular either way. Find Dopamine Land at Uptown, Queen Street Mall, Brisbane from Tuesday, May 28, 2024, with tickets on sale from 7pm on Thursday, April 11. For more information, or to join the ticket waitlist, head to the experience website.
If you've got a hard-earned thirst for some spiffy beer merch, the folks at Victoria Bitter have you covered, and that's been the case for a couple of years. Hankering not just for branded VB gear for your wardrobe, but also for a VB fragrance? That's also been a possibility since 2020 — because if you love the famed Carlton & United Breweries beer, you probably don't mind smelling like it as well. That fragrance now has a sequel, with Thirst now available in longneck bottles. Once again, it also been dubbed "eau de hard work" — by VB itself, of course. And, to answer the first question that will have instantly popped into your head, yes, it comes in a bottle that looks the part. As for second query that we're sure you're pondering, the fragrance is made from perfume oil combined with "the essence of Australian Super Pride hops" — aka an extract from the same hops that are used to brew VB. So, while you hopefully won't reek like the stale aroma that sticks to your clothes after you've accidentally spilled your beer, you will definitely smell like hops, it seems. Apparently the scent has whiffs of "bitter citrus" and "icy aromas", too. If you're eager to not only drink VB, but bathe yourself in a cloud of its distinctive bouquet, you can purchase Thirst from Chemist Warehouse, either online or in-store — and via VB's own website. [caption id="attachment_780167" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Victoria Bitter Thirst stubbie edition[/caption] If you're keen on other VB-themed items as well, you can still head to the brand's site to check out its latest range, which always has a retro flair that nods to the brew's lengthy history quenching the thirst of hardworking Aussies. There are crewneck jumpers, singlets, socks, beanies, bucket hats, caps, thongs and shoes, all emblazoned with that instantly recognisable logo. Alongside all the clothes, you'll also find VB wall art and jigsaw puzzles — plus glasses, water bottles, coolers, bar mats and even fridges. Victoria Bitter's Thirst scent is available to purchase from Chemist Warehouse — and from VB's own website.
Finding greatness in Bong Joon-ho's Parasite isn't difficult. The perceptive class-clash and eat-the-rich story, the array of pitch-perfect performances, the acclaimed director's stunning mastery of tone, the insightful and revealing production design: they're all examples in this Oscar- and Cannes-winning South Korean masterpiece. Another instance comes courtesy of composer Jung Jae-il's score, which soundtracks the film with tunes both disquieting and baroque. It's no wonder that accolades came Jung's way, too, including from his homeland's Grand Bell Awards. Hearing Jung's contribution echoing as Parasite screens is the best way to appreciate it, of course — and watching him perform it live in Australia with Orchestra Victoria will dial what's already a spectacular experience up a few notches. For the first time, the composer is heading Down Under, all thanks to 2025's Melbourne International Film Festival. The event's commitment to honouring the art of screen composition via screenings that pair live tunes and movies is continuing, and two Parasite in Concert sessions are set to be among this year's fest highlights. At 2pm and 8pm on Saturday, August 23 at Hamer Hall in the Victorian capital, Jung is taking to the keys. He's also conducting Orchestra Victoria as he plays. Seeing Parasite on a big screen is already a treat, no matter how many times you've watched it before; however, giving the picture the concert treatment is something extra special. Jung isn't just known for Parasite. If you've felt the tension emanating from Squid Game's score, then you've also appreciated the composer's efforts. Prior to Parasite, Jung collaborated with Bong on Okja, then did so again afterwards on this year's Mickey 17. The tunes in Hirokazu Kore-eda's Broker hail from him as well, as does the score for MIFF 2025 title Twinless.
Autumn might be in full swing across Australia — whatever autumn looks like in your part of the country — but an endless summer now awaits. Fancy spending a year flying around the country, and the world, to various beach spots? Win Jetstar's latest giveaway and that's on your agenda. The Aussie airline is handing out a golden ticket — and, because it isn't Willy Wonka, there's no free chocolate involved. Instead, the carrier is gifting the lucky recipient a year's worth of free flights, although there is a limit to how much you can get soaring over a 12-month period. One person will receive up to $24,000 in Jetstar flights, which'll come in the form of 12 return flights to any beach within Australia, plus six international return flights — both for two people. So, if you win, your other half / bestie / sibling is going to want to start making holiday plans, too. Before you can go in the running for the contest, which is only open to over 18s, you need to start how Jetstar wants you to continue: by hitting up a local beach. Until Thursday, March 16, the airline is asking for your snaps — but where you'll need to head, when and what you'll need to do for your picture varies. On Saturday, March 11 in Melbourne, for instance, you'll need to head to Catani Gardens Beach in St Kilda between 10am–12pm. On Sunday, March 12 in Sydney, the same applies at Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club from 10am–12pm, too. At both spots, folks will find a pair of 14-karat gold trunks. And yes, that's what you'll need to take a photo of — a selfie, in fact — then upload it to Instagram Stories while tagging @JetstarAustralia #TheGoldenTicketTogs. Those shimmering swimmers won't be heading elsewhere, but residents of Canberra will still want to hit up Lake Burley Griffin from 9am–5pm on Monday, March 13 — and Adelaide inhabitants should make their way to Adelaide Oval from 9am–5pm on Tuesday, March 14. In Perth, you're going to City Beach from 9am–5pm on Wednesday, March 15. And southeast Queenslanders, including Brisbanites, have a date with the Pelican Beach boat ramp on the Gold Coast in their future from 9am–5pm on Thursday, March 16. Visit those togs-free spots in the ACT, SA, WA and Queensland, and you'll be looking for Golden Ticket Togs posters and billboards. Again, you'll need to take a pic, then upload to Instagram Stories while tagging @JetstarAustralia #TheGoldenTicketTogs. Jetstar advises that the most creative golden snap will win, so interpret that however you like. It'll then pick one per state/territory, and open up the ultimate winner to a public vote. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jetstar Australia (@jetstaraustralia) Jetstar's Golden Ticket Togs promotion runs on different dates in different states, closing with its Queensland leg on Thursday, March 16. Head to Jetstar's Instagram for further details, and the airline's website for terms and conditions. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
After putting on a spectacular footballing show as the host of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup — and the Matildas making history in the process — Australia will next roll out the green carpet for the 2026 Women's Asian Cup. The Asian Football Federation has given the Aussie bid for the event the go-ahead, meaning that the country will host two major women's soccer tournaments in the space of just three years. Get ready for a sea of green and gold again. Australia has welcomed the Women's Asian Cup to our shores before, back in 2006, with the tournament taking place in Adelaide. In 2026, you'll be able to check out the football action in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. All three states were put forward as locations during the bidding process. And yes, that means that the tournament won't head to other parts of the nation — so there'll be no games in either Victoria or South Australia, notably. Twelve countries will compete in the 2026 Women's Asian Cup — including Australia, of course, with the hosts automatically qualifying. So, the Matildas will get another moment to shine on home soil in a major contest. China will also compete, defending their title from the last edition in 2022, which took place in India. The Tillies were knocked out in the quarter finals — and were runners up in 2014 and 2018. Back in 2010, we won the competition, our only time as champions so far. "Securing the AFC Women's Asian Cup is a testament to our nation's dedication to football. It is not only a victory for the sport but for every Australian, offering significant economic and cultural benefits," said Anter Isaac, Chairman of Football Australia, about hosting the 2026 tournament in a statement. "We are profoundly honoured to host the 2026 edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup™. This decision reflects the global football community's confidence in our capability to deliver outstanding events. Following the resounding success of last year's FIFA Women's World Cup™, we are eager to create another tournament that celebrates women's football and inspires a new generation," added James Johnson, CEO of Football Australia. Exactly when the in 2026 the Women's Asian Cup will take place hasn't been locked in as yet, so you can't mark your calendar just yet. The Matildas next play in Australia at the end of May and beginning of June, hosting two games against China in the lead-up to the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the latter, in July and August, they're in the same group as Germany, Zambia and the US. During the team's next Aussie leg, goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold and Mackenzie Arnold and coach Tony Gustavsson will also hit the stage at Vivid Sydney 2024 to talk all things Tillies. [caption id="attachment_912895" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Matildas: The World at Our Feet[/caption] The 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup hasn't yet announced its exact dates — we'll update you when they're revealed. Head to the AFC website for more details in the interim. Images: Tiffany Williams / Football Australia.
It's the time of the year when the days begin to shorten, the evenings get cooler and your stomach starts grumbling for comfort food. But, while that'll remain true for the next few months, only one particular day will bring free tacos. Tex-Mex giant Taco Bell has been steadily opening stores around the country since 2017, with a new Sydney store in Green Square launching on Tuesday, May 4 — and it's doing a big giveaway nationwide on the same day. If you're a big fan of Mexican-inspired food and you live in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, chances are you've already started to make your way through the brand's extensive menu. If you haven't tried its Crunchy Taco Supreme, though, this is your chance. Or, if you have and you just like freebies, count yourself in as well. Either way, on Tuesday, May 4 , you can pick one up at any Taco Bell location nationwide without paying a cent. There is a catch, though. This free taco day, as Taco Bell is calling it, is themed around the moon — because the chain has decided to name the half-moon the 'taco moon'. So, to get your freebie, you need to mention 'taco moon' or say 'I saw the taco moon' when you get to the counter. Yes, it's a gimmick, but if you've already spent this week obsessing over all things lunar due to the 'pink' supermoon, you'll be in the right mental space for it. Also, there's a limit of one free taco per person, so you won't be able to stuff your stomach full of them. What's a Crunchy Taco Supreme? A crunchy taco, as the name suggests, as filled with seasoned beef, sour cream, fresh lettuce, tomato and cheese — or black beans for vegetarians. If you happen to be one of the first 20 people through the door at each store, you'll also score a taco moon party kit — which includes merchandise. And if you're wondering where to head, Taco Bell has stores in Albion Park, Ballina, Blacktown and Jesmond in New South Wales — plus the about-to-launch Green Square, which'll be the closest venue to the Sydney CBD. In Victoria, the chain is located in Altona North, Hawthorn, Roxburgh Park and South Yarra. For Queenslanders, you'll be going to Annerley, Beenleigh, Cairns, Cleveland, Currajong, East Ipswich, Keperra, Logan Central, Morayfield, North Lakes, Robina and Southport. Taco Bell is offering free Crunchy Taco Supremes to every customer who mentions 'taco moon' on Tuesday, May 4. To find your nearest store, head to the chain's website.
That pup of yours (or that pup you've been thinking about getting) could soon score a whole bunch of new places to sniff, socialise and play, with the Victorian Government announcing plans to create nine new off-leash dog parks and 15 new 'pocket parks' by 2021. The new green spaces are included in the first round of the Government's $154 million Suburban Parks Program, which will see a total of 6500 hectares of new parkland, walking trails and bike trails, as well as a total 25 pocket parks and 16 off-leash dog parks, created across the city. Victorian Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio announced plans for the new parks yesterday, Sunday, May 25, saying: "being stuck inside the last few months has reminded us of the value of open green space to stretch the legs, clear the head and get some fresh air. As our suburbs continue to grow, we're making sure people have easy access to much needed open green space to exercise, relax or just enjoy the outdoors." [caption id="attachment_771284" align="alignnone" width="1920"] New pocket and dog parks projects funded under round 1 via Victorian Government[/caption] Set to being opening from next year, the nine new dog parks will be located in Carrum, Cranbourne East and Rowville in Melbourne's south; South Yarra in the east; Eltham North and Mickleham in the north; and Maribyrnong, Cairnlea and Werribee in the west. The pocket parks will be popping up everywhere from Flemington to Moorabbin. According to the Government, the locations have been chosen based on accessibility by public transport, road or walking and biking trails, as well looking at what dense, urban areas were lacking green open spaces. Funding for the second round of parks will open on June 1. It's not the first time the Andrews Government has proved itself pet-friendly, having recently introduced new rental reform laws making it way harder for landlords to ban pets, too. For more information about Melbourne's new pocket and off-leash dog parks, head to the Victorian Government website.
Fans of weighty Australian fare that reckons with the country's past are fans of the Mystery Road franchise, spanning both the big and small screens. They're fans, then, of the way that the outback-set saga surveys the nation's distinctive ochre-hued landscape from above in picturesque drone shots, all while contemplating the racist ills waged to live and work upon it. Stan's new six-part series Black Snow borrows much that's made Mystery Road such a hit, including a shock murder in a small town, a cop riding in to solve the mystery it heralds, a grim look at Aussie history and a bird's-eye view of its setting. But when this instantly compelling show peers down, it spies fields of green sugar cane fields far and wide. And, when it explores the country's traumas, it focuses on the treatment of the Australian South Sea Islander community. Seventeen-year-old Isabel Baker (talented debutant Talijah Blackman-Corowa) is the first person seen in Black Snow's opening moments, riding her bike hurriedly through the cane in the thick of night, making a frantic call from a remote phone booth and getting spooked by a music-blaring car's sudden appearance. The year is 1994, and the evening is the high schooler's Year 12 formal, as well as her last alive. Black Snow's second face belongs to James Cormack (Travis Fimmel, Raised by Wolves), a Brisbane-based Cold Case Unit police officer trying his luck in 2019 at a claw machine in a pub. He's troubled in a different way, haunted by emotional pain he attempts to deaden by paying for a Fight Club-style beating in the bar's back alley, and he'll swiftly be on Isabel's trail. Flitting between the two timeframes — hopping back and forth so heartily that Isabel is as much Black Snow's protagonist as Cormack, meaningfully so — this series isn't short on 90s touchstones. VHS stores, mix tapes, camcorders, Smashing Pumpkins and You Am I on the soundtrack, a Thelma & Louise video, teen chat about piking and being cut, a mention of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: they're all covered. The best TV show of that decade, Twin Peaks, doesn't get an overt shoutout; however, David Lynch's influential masterpiece springs to mind while watching as clearly as Mystery Road does. Ashford, Black Snow's setting, is indeed a quaint locale centred around a mill and populated by inhabitants who all know each other. And, due to the murder of its most promising daughter, the town's secrets start to spill. As simple maths makes plain, Ashford's 90s tragedy bubbles up again a quarter-century later, in one of creator Lucas Taylor (Harrow) and co-writers Beatrix Christian (Hearts and Bones) and Boyd Quakawoot's (Black Comedy) sharpest moves. In what's supposed to be a moment of celebration to mark the local school's centenary, the town gathers to unearth a time capsule buried by Isabel and her classmates, with the blasts from the pasts that result spanning far beyond nostalgia. In addition to providing the series with an immediate point of difference — outsider detectives dropping by to solve dead-girl crimes is a well-worn on-screen trope — the excavated box also signals Black Snow's devotion to looking backwards. Fields like the fictional Ashford's have been blighted by blackbirding, the exploitation of South Sea Islanders involving forced relocation, severe underpayment and brutal working conditions, a grim form of slavery that isn't forgotten here. In the show's 2019 timeline, Cormack heads north to sweaty heat, an unwelcoming Senior Sergeant Turner (Kim Gyngell, Wakefield) — who originally led the case, and is adamant a passerby was responsible — and a mixed reaction from Isabel's sister Hazel (potent first-timer Jemmason Power), mother Glenda (Seini Willett), aunt Rosa (Lisa Blackman) and pastor father Joe (Jimi Bani, Mabo). His job: to find the murderer by "finding out who people really were back then", he notes, with his enquiries also involving Isabel's boyfriend Anton Bianchi (Alexander England, How to Please a Woman) and best friend Chloe Walcott (Brooke Satchwell, The Twelve), the former a farmer's (Rob Carlton, Bali 2002) son and the latter gifted every advantage courtesy of her mill-owning father (Erik Thomson, Blueback). Back in 1994, Isabel wades through her own chaos, with the younger Hazel (Molly Fatnowna) watching on. Her parents are strict, so much so that she's scared to tell her dad about plans for a pre-university road trip to Sydney with Chloe (played by The Unlisted's Annabel Wolfe as a teen). Anton (Josh Macqueen, Significant Others) is hardly reliable, but he is jealous of the time she's spending with the picked-on Hector Ford (Fraser Anderson, Rock Island Mysteries). Plus, Isabel soon has her own investigation causing waves around town, tied to fresh-faced Vanuatu newcomer Ezekiel Iesul (musician Ziggy Ramo), absent visas, hellish abuse and missing people. Without its leaps backwards, Black Snow would still be gripping and well-acted, with Fimmel giving the series an expectedly dogged but quietly magnetic cop — one so breezily spoken that he stands out from every other detective that's ever chased comparable cases — and Power living up to her name as a woman that's spent more than half her life in a tragedy's shadow. Still, it can't be overstated how essential the 1994 segments prove. They gift Isabel a voice and presence past being a mere victim; showcase Blackman-Corowa's luminous performance in the process; and inescapably anchor Black Snow's narrative in colonial crimes, horrors waged for centuries since, the deep-seated intergenerational traumas they've caused, Australian South Sea Islander culture and telling class clashes. Come for Australia's latest must-stream crime drama, and the first of 2023, then, but stay for a show that embraces and interrogates much more than its recognisable basic setup typically indicates. Stay, too, for taught and tense direction from helmers Sian Davies (Spreadsheet) and Matthew Saville (A Month of Sundays), an emotive score by Ramo with Jed Palmer (Animals), and eye-catching cinematography from Eric Murray Lui (We Are Still Here) — scenic sights lush with greenery but as stained with hurt, woe and sorrow as Australia's reddest soil. Check out the trailer for Black Snow below: Black Snow streams via Stan.
UPDATE, MARCH 5: Due to concerns around the coronavirus, Universal Pictures has announced that No Time to Die will no longer release on its initially scheduled date of Thursday, April 8, 2020. It will now release worldwide in November 2020 — including Down Under on November 12, 2020. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. It's trailer time. James Bond trailer time. That means espionage thrills, world-in-peril action, formidable villains, savvy ladies, plenty of gadgets and — since 2006's Casino Royale — Daniel Craig as 007. All of the above is present and accounted for in the just-released first look at No Time to Die, which'll mark the British spy's 25th official big-screen outing. It's also Craig's final go-around as the martini-loving hero. After the events of 2015's Spectre — and after retiring from active service to soak in Jamaica's splendours — Craig's version of Bond is looking a bit shaken and stirred in the No Time to Die trailer. That's bound to happen when he's told his skills are needed to rescue a kidnapped scientist, only for that mission to bring him face-to-face with an unhinged new adversary (Bohemian Rhapsody Oscar-winner Rami Malek). Throw in a new 00 agent (Captain Marvel's Lashana Lynch) covering Bond's turf, a forced meeting with imprisoned ex-opponent Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) and things not seeming to have ended well with psychiatrist Dr Madeleine Swan (Lea Seydoux), and it's safe to say that the mood is rather tense. The instalment is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective, Maniac) and penned by a team that includes Fukunaga, The Report director Scott Z Burns and Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge — and all the usual Bond offsiders are on hand, too. Yes, Ralph Fiennes is back as M, alongside Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q, Rory Kinnear as MI6 head Bill Tanner and Jeffrey Wright as CIA agent Felix Leiter. Plus, reuniting with Craig after co-starring in the fabulously entertaining Knives Out, Ana de Armas also joins the cast. And, naturally, the first No Time to Die sneak peek delivers plenty of impressive action. It is a Bond film after all. Indeed, if Craig is stepping away from the role after five features (including 2008's Quantum of Solace and 2012's Skyfall), he looks to be going out in suave, stunt-filled, Aston Martin-driving style. Watch the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo-jtTLBhok&feature=youtu.be No Time to Die was originally due to release in cinemas on April 8, 2020, but will now release in Australia on November 12, 2020.
Pizza lovers of Melbourne, this is all the news you need to justify tucking into a slice today. Fans of the Italian staple elsewhere around Australia, here's a reminder to add a delicious destination to your next Victorian trip. For the third year in a row, 48h Pizza e Gnocchi Bar has been recognised as one of the Asia Pacific region's best pizzerias — and Australia's number-one standout — as decided by the experts at the 2023 50 Top Pizza awards. The Melbourne pizzeria with outposts in South Yarra, Elsternwick and Spotswood is no stranger to international praise, having claimed the title of Best Pizzeria in Oceania in 2021's 50 Top Pizza awards, then coming out on top in the entire Asia Pacific in 2022. It was also crowned #1 Pizza in Australia at the Pizza World Championships in 2019. For the 2023 50 Top Pizza accolades, it placed fourth in the Asia Pacific, which also means that it also came first in Australia for the third year in a row. This year's best pizzerias were named at a ceremony at the Italian Institute of Culture in Tokyo, ahead of worldwide rankings being unveiled in September. Last year, 48h Pizza e Gnocchi Bar came in 13th globally, a placing that it's hoping to beat in 2023. Running for the last six years, the 50 Top Pizza awards are chosen by around 1000 experts across the globe, who visit the pizzerias anonymously to judge and rank their offerings. The annual international pizzeria guide names its top 50 Asia Pacific picks based not just on the merit of their slices, but on each pizzeria as a whole, rating the food, drinks, service and overall ambiance. In top spot in the Asia Pacific this year: The Pizza Bar on 38th in Tokyo. In second came Bottega in Beijing, then another Tokyo eatery, Pizzeria Peppe – Napoli sta' ca", ranked third. And, Hong Kong's Fiata by Salvatore Fiata rounded out the top five. A handful of other Aussie venues were also named in this year's Asia Pacific top 50 best pizzerias, including Sydney's Al Taglio (11), Pizza Madre (24), Lil Franki Pizzeria (28), Queen Margherita of Savoy (32) and Gigi's Pizza in Balmain (33); fellow Melburnians +39 Pizzeria (34), Shop225 (37) and Il Caminetto (41); and Maestro Sourdough Pizza in Perth (46). Find 48h Pizza e Gnocchi Bar at 373 Malvern Road, South Yarra; 15 Gordon Street, Elsternwick; and Grazeland, Spotswood. For the full 50 Top Pizza Asia Pacific awards list, jump over to the website. Craving a slice, Melburnians? Check out our top picks for pizza in Melbourne. Top image: Hi Sylvia.
New York City is known for its best-in-class dining. But here's something not everyone tells you: there are some incredibly tasty spots to eat and drink outside the five boroughs, too. From Poughkeepsie to Buffalo and everywhere in between, upstate New York is teeming with culinary destinations that are worth venturing beyond the city for. As you make your way between outstanding outdoor landmarks and cultural institutions, finding a charming town filled with acclaimed eateries and brewery bars is a cinch. There's also a rich variety of farms and specialty stores to drop by to see how the magic happens right before your eyes. We've teamed up with New York State to showcase some of the best cafes, restaurants, markets and drinking spots that ensure your next adventure to New York is one your tastebuds will remember. [caption id="attachment_846987" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Plan Bee Brewery, Derek Dellinger, Plan Bee Farm Brewery[/caption] DRINKS New York State's farm-to-table scene hasn't overlooked the world of drinks, with a raft of breweries, distilleries and wineries ensuring you can sip a small-batch drop that leaves a powerful impression. Poughkeepsie's Plan Bee Farm Brewery has a ground-to-glass philosophy. Most of the company's ingredients grow either on-site or in nearby paddocks — we're talking water from the wells, estate-grown hops and fruits, and yeast cultivated from the farm's raw honey. The taproom is open Fridays to Sundays from 12pm, so swing by to sample what's on tap. Don't let the name get you down – The Brewery of Broken Dreams in Hammondsport is anything but. Founded by a couple of dedicated beer lovers, the venue earned its moniker following several failed attempts to get a craft beer venture off the ground. Drawing inspiration from their hardship, the duo transformed an old winery into a stunning brewery bar with 12 rotating taps of ale that display the best local hops and malt. In Aurora, on the outskirts of Buffalo, the 42 North Brewing Company has a first-rate taproom, brewery and beer garden that you can easily while away a few hours in. And don't worry if you really do lose track of time — the venue also has four lofts that you can spend the night in, complete with windows peeking into the brewery floor, balcony doors overlooking the beer garden and complimentary growlers. [caption id="attachment_845910" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Arrowood Farms[/caption] Then, in Accord, Arrowood Farms is a celebrated gastropub with a sustainable ethos. Via a small-batch brewery, a distillery and a farm-to-table restaurant, it produces diverse culinary pleasures from ingredients grown on the property or within the Hudson Valley. If vino is more your bag, pay a visit to Bacchus Wine Bar. You'll find this restaurant and wine bar tucked inside Buffalo's historic Calumet building — a famous art nouveau landmark built in the early 20th century. Here, visitors will discover an award-winning seasonal wine list that shuns pretension. Food-wise, the venue serves a simple yet delicious menu, including New York-style strip steaks, half-racks of lamb and pecan-crusted salmon. Meanwhile, Kingston's reputation as an artsy hub deserves a cute wine bar to match. Fortunately, these prayers are answered in Brunette. This chic wine bar is big on low-intervention wine, beer and cider. It's a theme that tracks to the venue's design, too, with simple wood furnishings, white marble benchtops and a baby pink facade. Pair your vino with a selection of snacks to share — think trout roe nachos, tinned fish served with bread and pickles, and kale caesar salad. Or, to try directly from the source, visit some of the state's top wineries. Our picks are Ravines Wine Cellars in Geneva, particularly to try its bone-dry riesling in the stunning historical barn, and Millbrook Vineyards and Winery, based in the Hudson River region, where you can enjoy a picnic in the garden with a bottle of its award-winning chardonnay or tocai friulano (an Italian variety). [caption id="attachment_845328" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Phoenicia Diner[/caption] RESTAURANTS As you wander your way through upstate New York, you'll be presented with many blue-chip restaurants putting unmatched passion into their cuisine. Nowhere is this more evident than Woodstock's Silvia. This family-owned eatery bases its offering around locally sourced organic ingredients prepared over a woodfired grill. Alongside grilled wild shrimp, woodsmoked pork chops and seared brussels sprout, trademark cocktails like pomegranate hibiscus sours and spiced beet margaritas will go down an absolute treat. A few miles up the road in Phoenicia, the Phoenicia Diner has served classic American cuisine since 1962. The current owner has taken this longstanding roadside eatery in a local direction, with the menu showcasing seasonal produce grown on farms throughout the Catskills and Hudson Valley. All-day breakfast classics like buttermilk pancakes and bagels topped with lox and cream cheese hit the spot. Lunch takes things up a notch with sandwiches jam-packed with your choice of Korean fried chicken, meatloaf or chorizo. Po'boy fans will struggle to resist a Catskills interpretation of this Louisiana favourite: cornmeal-crusted trout, remoulade, tomato and lettuce on a baguette. Keep driving inland along scenic Route 28 to come across Peekamoose in Big Indian — a stunning example of farm-to-feast dining that makes the most of its surrounding landscape. The rustic yet refined menu highlights the close relationships the restaurant has built with the region's top farmers and makers. Plus, the rejuvenated farmhouse is styled with fascinating found objects, which may prompt some interesting dinner conversation. [caption id="attachment_845288" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Garage Taco Bar[/caption] The Garage Taco Bar offers more than its no-frills storefront and decor may suggest. Housed inside a former auto shop in Binghamton, this industrial-chic taco joint and cocktail bar is decorated with the remnants of old steering wheels, bumper grills and rims. The Mexican street food-style cuisine includes everything from taco platters to stacked burritos. Further north, at the tip of Seneca Lake, FLX Table in Geneva is where food and community combine. You may have frequented pared-back restaurants that only offer a dozen or so seats before — but have you ever had to join everyone around the same table? Embrace your inner extrovert to make the most of the dinner party vibes and the seasonal five-course meal. [caption id="attachment_845006" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anchor Bar, NYSDED, Darren McGee[/caption] Of course, we can't forget to mention one of the most legendary foods to come out of the state of New York: buffalo wings. If you're going to eat 'em, Anchor Bar — the (alleged) birthplace of this hearty snack — is where to do so. As the story goes, Teressa Bellissimo tossed some leftover wings in hot sauce to feed her son's ravenous friends in 1964, resulting in the famed dish that's now served in bars around the globe. The restaurant is a great pitstop on the way to Niagara Falls, so you have no excuses not to pull in for a wing feast. [caption id="attachment_851107" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Roots Café, Courtesy of Roots Café[/caption] CAFES Directly opposite Hudson train station, you'll find Kitty's Market and Cafe. Nab a table in the outdoor patio to soak up the sun as you dine on home-style cuisine — the venue is renowned for its signature rotisserie chicken sandwiches and top-notch coffee. Have a long drive ahead? Stock up on road-trip snacks from its range of eclectic provisions. When exploring the picturesque Finger Lakes district, Roots Cafe in Naples is the ideal spot to rest up and re-caffeinate. This quaint old-fashioned home may look like something straight out of an iconic US TV show (think more Dawson's Creek than Schitt's Creek) but it also happens to serve some pretty tasty food. The menu changes seasonally based on local supply but is always reliably hearty Modern American fare, like braised brisket with veggies, barbecue pulled pork sambos and good ol' fashioned mac 'n' cheese. [caption id="attachment_853529" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ithaca Farmers Market, NYSDED, Darren McGee[/caption] MARKETS AND SPECIALTY STORES Upstate New York is a haven for fresh produce and locally made goods, so there are unsurprisingly dozens of markets and microbusinesses worthy of a visit. First up: the Ithaca Farmers Market. Each weekend, 130 chefs, farmers and artisans (each of whom grow their wares within 30 miles of Ithaca) set up shop to sell their wares. You also don't have to trek to Canada to sample world-class maple syrup. Based in Dover Plains, Soukup Farms is a third-generation producer of pure syrup and other specialty products, including maple cream, maple hot sauce and even maple candles. Another enduring operation selling sweet treats is Parkside Candy. This popular confectionery store and ice cream parlour was founded in Buffalo in 1927, and the decor doesn't seem to have aged a day. Parkside is known for its handmade chocolates and old-fashioned lollipops, but don't leave without trying its signature Sponge Candy — it's melt-in-your-mouth good. To start planning your trip to New York State, head to iloveny.com. Also, be sure to check out our recommendations for the best places to stay, cultural experiences, outdoor adventures and day trips from NYC. Top image: Arrowood Farms
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. DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA The movies have come to Downton Abbey and Violet Crawley, the acid-tongued Dowager Countess of Grantham so delightfully played by Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van) since 2010, is none too fussed about it. "Hard same," all but the most devoted fans of the upstairs-downstairs TV drama may find themselves thinking as she expresses that sentiment — at least where Downton Abbey: A New Era, an exercise in extending the series/raking in more box-office cash, is concerned. Violet, as only she can, declares she'd "rather eat pebbles" than watch a film crew at work within the extravagant walls of her family's home. The rest of us mightn't be quite so venomous, but that's not the same as being entertained. The storyline involving said film crew is actually one of the most engaging parts of A New Era; however, the fact that much of it is clearly ripped off from cinematic classic Singin' in the Rain speaks volumes, and gratingly. When the first Downton Abbey flick brought its Yorkshire mansion-set shenanigans to cinemas back in 2019, it felt unnecessary, too, but also offered what appeared to be a last hurrah and a final chance to spend time with beloved characters. Now, the repeat effort feels like keeping calm and soldiering on because there's more pounds to be made. Don't believe the title: while A New Era proclaims that change is afoot, and some of its narrative dramas nod to the evolving world when the 1920s were coming to a close, the movie itself is happy doing what Downton Abbey always has — and in a weaker version. There's zero reason other than financial gain for this film to unspool its tale in theatres rather than as three TV episodes, which is what it may as well have tacked together. Well, perhaps there's one: having Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery, Anatomy of a Scandal) proclaim that "we have to be able to enter the 1930s with our heads held high" and set the expectation that more features will probably follow. A New Era begins with a wedding, picking up where its predecessor left off as former chauffeur Tom Branson (Allen Leech, Bohemian Rhapsody) marries Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton, Mank) with everyone expected — the well-to-do Crawleys and their relatives, plus their maids, butlers, cooks, footmen and other servants — in attendance. But the film really starts with two revelations that disrupt the Downton status quo. Firstly, Violet receives word that she's inherited a villa in the south of France from an ex-paramour, who has recently passed away. His surviving wife (Nathalie Baye, Call My Agent!) is displeased with the arrangement, threatening lawsuits, but his son (Jonathan Zaccaï, The White Crow) invites the Crawleys to visit to hash out the details. Secondly, a movie production wants to use Downton for a shoot, which the pragmatic Mary talks the family into because — paralleling the powers-that-be behind A New Era itself — the aristocratic brood would like the money. With Violet's health waning, she stays home while son Robert (Hugh Bonneville, Paddington 2) and his wife Cora (Elizabeth McGovern, The Commuter) journey to the Riviera — as part of a cohort that also includes retired butler Mr Carson (Jim Carter, Swimming with Men), who's determined to teach his French counterparts British standards. And, as the Dowager Countess remains in Yorkshire exclaiming she'd "rather earn a living down a mine" than make movies, potential family secrets are bubbling up abroad. That subplot takes a cue or two from Mamma Mia!; Downton Abbey creator and writer Julian Fellowes must've watched several musicals while scripting. Violet also notes that she "thought the best thing about films is that I couldn't hear them", because the production helmed by Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy, Late Night), and led by stars Guy Dexter (Dominic West, The Pursuit of Love) and Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock, Transformers: The Last Knight), has hit a period-appropriate snag: talkies are the new hot thing, but their flick is silent. Read our full review. AFTER YANG What flickers in a robot's circuitry in its idle moments has fascinated the world for decades, famously so in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 — and in After Yang, one machine appears to long for everything humans do. The titular Yang (Justin H Min, The Umbrella Academy) was bought to give Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith, Queen & Slim) and Jake's (Colin Farrell, The Batman) adopted Chinese daughter Mika (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, iCarly) a technosapien brother, babysitter, companion and purveyor of "fun facts" about her heritage. He dotes amid his duties, perennially calm and loving, and clearly an essential part of the family. What concerns his wiring beyond his assigned tasks doesn't interest anyone, though, until he stops operating. Mika is distressed, and Kyra and Jake merely inconvenienced initially, but the latter pledges to figure out how to fix Yang — which is where his desires factor in. Yang is unresponsive and unable to play his usual part as the household's robotic fourth member. If Jake can't get him up and running quickly, he'll also experience the "cultural techno" version of dying, his humanoid skin even decomposing. That puts a deadline on a solution, which isn't straightforward, particularly given that Yang was bought from a now-shuttered reseller secondhand, rather than from the manufacturer anew, is one roadblock. Tinkering with the android's black box is also illegal, although Jake is convinced to anyway by a repairman (Ritchie Coster, The Flight Attendant). He acquiesces not only because it's what Mika desperately wants, but because he's told that Yang might possess spyware — aka recordings of the family — that'd otherwise become corporate property. Before all that, there's a stunning dance — a synchronised contest where families around the globe bust out smooth moves in front of their televisions, competing to emerge victorious. The dazzling scene comes during After Yang's opening credits and is a marvel to watch, with writer/director/editor Kogonada (TV series Pachinko) conveying a wealth of meaning visually, thematically, philosophically and emotionally in minutes. To look at, the sequence brings to mind Ex Machina's, aka the Oscar Isaac-led scene that launched a thousand gifs. In what it says about After Yang's vision of an unspecified but not-too-distant future, it's reminiscent of Black Mirror, with engrained surveillance technology eerily tracking participants' every move. It's here, too, amid the joy of the family progressing further than they ever have before, that the fact that Yang is malfunctioning becomes apparent, turning a techno dream in more ways than one into a potential source of heartbreak. When a feature so easily recalls other films and television shows, and so emphatically, it isn't typically a positive sign. That isn't the case with After Yang. Adapting Alexander Weinstein's short story Saying Goodbye to Yang, Kogonada crafts a movie that resembles a dream for the overwhelming bulk of its running time — it's softly shot like one, and tightly to focus on interiors rather than backgrounds — and that makes it feel like a happily slumbering brain filtering through and reinterpreting its wide array of influences. Another picture that leaves an imprint: Kogonada's own Columbus, his 2017 wonder that also featured Haley Lu Richardson (The Edge of Seventeen), who pops up here as a friend of Yang's that Jake, Kyra and Mika know nothing about. It isn't the shared casting that lingers, but the look and mood and texture, plus the idea that what we see, what we choose to revel in aesthetically and what makes us tick mentally are intertwined; yes, even for androids. Read our full review. WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND FANTASY To watch films written and directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi is to watch people playing a part — in multiple ways. That's one of the key truths to features not only by the Japanese filmmaker, but by anyone helming a movie that relies upon actors. It's so obvious that it doesn't usually need mentioning, in fact. Nonetheless, the notion is as essential to Hamaguchi's pictures as cameras to capture the drama. He bakes the idea into his films via as many methods as he can, pondering what it means to step into all the posts that life demands: friend, lover, spouse, ex, sibling, child, employee, student, classmate and the like. Hamaguchi loves contemplating the overt act of performance, too — his Best International Feature Oscar-winning Drive My Car, which also nabbed its helmer a Best Director nomination at this year's Academy Awards, hones in on a play and the rehearsals for it in dilligent detail — but the auteur who's also behind Happy Hour and Asako I and II has long been aware that the art of portrayal isn't just limited to thespians. Shakespeare said it centuries back, of course. To be precise, he had As You Like It's Jaques utter it: "all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players". Hamaguchi's Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, his second film to reach cinemas in mere months, definitely isn't a French-set comedy; however, it lives and breathes the Bard's famous words anyway. Here, three tales about romance, desire and fate get a spin. This trio of stories all muse on chance, choice, identity, regret and inescapable echoes as well, and focus on complex women reacting to the vagaries of life and everyday relationships. They're about sliding into roles in daily existence, and making choices regarding how to behave, which way to present yourself and who you decide to be depending upon the company you're in. While Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy mightn't ultimately mimic Drive My Car's Oscars success, it's equally masterful. In the first part, model Meiko (Kotone Furukawa, 21st Century Girl) discovers that her best friend Tsugumi (Hyunri, Wife of a Spy) has just started seeing her ex-boyfriend Kazuaki (Ayumu Nakajima, Saturday Fiction), and grapples with her complicated feelings while pondering what could eventuate. Next, college student Nao (Katsuki Mori, Sea Opening) is enlisted to seduce Professor Sagawa (Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Tezuka's Barbara) as part of a revenge plan by her lover Sasaki (Shouma Kai, Signal 100). Finally, in a world where the internet has been eradicated due to a virus, Natsuko (Fusako Urabe, Voices in the Wind) and Nana (Aoba Kawai, Marriage with a Large Age Gap) cross paths — thinking that they went to school together decades ago. Hamaguchi's resume is littered with other obsessions beyond the fictions people spin to get through their days — to themselves and to each other, and willingly and unthinkingly alike — many of which also pop up in Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy. Coincidence has a role in each of the movie's trio of intelligently and painstakingly plotted narratives, and destiny and fortune as well (as the name makes plain). The tangled web that romance weaves, and the sticky strands that represent alluring exes, also leave a firm imprint. So does seduction, and not always in its usual and most apparent form. All three of the picture's sections could stand alone, but each could've been fleshed out to feature length as well; as they exist, they leave viewers wanting more time with their lead characters. Commonalities ebb and flow between them, though, because this is a smart, astute and savvily layered triptych that's brought to the screen with everything that makes Hamaguchi's work so empathetic, warmly intimate and also entrancing. Read our full review. HELMUT NEWTON: THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL One of the great treats in Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful stems from perhaps the film's simplest move: letting viewers peer at the often-provocative photographer's works in such a large format. Being able to do just that is the reason why the Exhibition On Screen series of movies exists, surveying showcases dedicated to artists such as Vincent van Gogh, David Hockney and Frida Kahlo over the years — and this documentary isn't part of that, but it understands the same idea. There's nothing like staring at an artist's work to understand what makes them tick. Writer/director Gero von Boehm (Henry Miller: Prophet of Desire) fills The Bad and the Beautiful with plenty more, from archival footage to recent interviews, but it'd all ring empty without seeing the imagery captured by Newton's lens firsthand. Every word that's said about the German photographer, or by him, is deepened by roving your eyes across the frequently contentious snaps that he sent Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Playboy and other magazines' ways. Those photos aren't run-of-the-mill fashion pics. Largely, the highly stylised images are of naked women — naked famous women, if not then then now, such as Isabella Rossellini, Charlotte Rampling, Grace Jones and Claudia Schiffer — and they're as fetishistic as the artform gets. They're the kinds of snaps that saw Susan Sontag call Newton out for being a misogynist to his face, as seen in a French TV clip featured in the film. The Bad and the Beautiful is an affectionate doco, but it also dives headfirst into the trains of thought that his work has sparked for decades. Anna Wintour explains that when someone books Newton, "you're not going to get a pretty girl on a beach". Women who posed for him, including the aforementioned stars, plus Marianne Faithfull, Arja Toyryla, Nadja Auermann and Hanna Schygulla, all talk through their differing experiences as well — and the portrait painted is varied. As a result, The Bad and the Beautiful is both a biography and a conversation. It covers the birth-to-death details, such as Newton's upbringing in Berlin, fleeing the Nazis in the late 1930s, and his time in Australia, where he met his wife June. It chronicles his stint in Singapore before heading Down Under, and his jaunts in London and Paris afterwards — and the fact that Monte Carlo and Los Angeles were both considered his homes when he passed away in 2004. The film is an easy primer on his life, complete with the requisite Wikipedia-style information, but it's an engrossing watch because of how eagerly it engages with the plethora of views that his images have and continue to inspire. (Admittedly, even a documentary that's clearly an authorised exploration of its subject couldn't justify really existing if it had left all traces of anything controversial out.) Don't go expecting answers, though. That isn't The Bad and the Beautiful's remit, unsurprisingly. That isn't necessarily a criticism; von Boehm's still-fascinating film presents the debate that's raged around Newton's works — are they sexist, art, both or neither? — and unpacks perspectives on either side, although the fact that this is a fond examination of his life, career, impact and legacy is never in doubt. A doco can be candid, probing, hagiographic and happy to let its viewers make their own calls, however, as this one clearly is. It can offer insider tidbits, conflicting views, comparisons and simply the change to look on in-depth as well, as is similarly the case here. And, it can let its images keep fuelling and furthering questions, which everything that Newton shot likely always will. 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 January 1, January 6, January 13, January 20 and January 27; February 3, February 10, February 17 and February 24; and March 3, March 10, March 17, March 24 and March 31; and April 7, April 14 and April 21. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as 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, Jackass Forever, Benedetta, Drive My Car, Death on the Nile, C'mon C'mon, Flee, Uncharted, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Cyrano, Hive, Studio 666, The Batman, Blind Ambition, Bergman Island, Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, The Souvenir: Part II, Dog, Anonymous Club, X, River, Nowhere Special, RRR, Morbius, The Duke and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore, Ambulance, Memoria, The Lost City, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Happening, The Good Boss, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, The Northman and Ithaka.
Welcome to... your latest reason to be surrounded by lifelike prehistoric creatures in 2024. After roaring into Sydney in 2023, and teasing a trip further south since early this year, Jurassic World: The Exhibition has a date with Melbourne from August. When you head to The Fever Exhibition Hall from Friday, August 2, expect to feel like you've been transported to Isla Nublar, complete with a walk through the big-screen saga's famed gates. From there, you'll mosey around themed environments featuring life-sized versions of the movie franchise's dinos, including a brachiosaurus, velociraptors — yes, get ready to say "clever girl" — and a Tyrannosaurus rex. Also linking in with the animated Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous series, there'll be baby dinos, such as the show's Bumpy. Attendees will be able to get roaming while staring at animatronics, including the new ankylosaurus and carnotarus. Fingers crossed that a velociraptor pops up in advance of the exhibition's arrival, as it did up north as well. Now, all that's left is to decide which Jurassic franchise character that you want to emulate (the best choices: Laura Dern's palaeobotanist Ellie Sattler, Sam Neill's palaeontologist Alan Grant and Jeff Goldblum's mathematician Ian Malcolm, of course). And no, when Michael Crichton penned Jurassic Park in 1990, then Steven Spielberg turned it into a 1993 film, they wouldn't have expected that this'd be the result 31 years — and five more movies — later. It's been a great time to fascinated with dinosaurs over the past few years — we've seen two seasons of Prehistoric Planet on streaming in 2022 and 2023, too — and this latest exhibition arrives as part of a global tour. A showcase with the same name displayed in Melbourne back in 2016, but the new visit comes after stops everywhere from London, San Diego, Paris and Madrid to Seoul, Shanghai and Toronto. Jurassic World: The Exhibition will return to Melbourne from Friday, August 2, 2024 — head to the exhibition's website for tickets from 6pm on Thursday, May 23. Images: Universal Studios and Amblin Entertainment.
Avocado on toast is back, not that it ever went anywhere. But there's a bit of urgency around tucking into the brunch staple right now, all thanks to Australia's massive avo glut. Yes, it's as straightforward as it sounds: we have too many avocados, we're not eating enough and only smashing avo onto some heated bread en masse will get us through. Obviously, tackling the country's current avo oversupply problem isn't just about eating avocado on toast for every meal. Still, Australia does have a huge amount of avos to consume. According to a report by specialist agribusiness bank Rabobank called The 'Avolanche' of Australian Avocados, this year's avocado supply is up 26 percent on the past year per capita — which is 22 avocados for every Australian. Remember the days when we were told that tucking into smashed avo breakfasts was to blame for young Aussies not being able to buy houses, because we were apparently spending too much money on avocado and not enough saving for a home? No one should've ever been floating that ridiculous argument, but you won't hear it now. Instead, the Avolanche report advises that Australians need to devour more avos — and not just this year, but for the next five years. The reason for the glut? A significant maturing of avocado trees in the past season, particularly in Western Australia and Queensland, which has sparked a bumper crop. So, avos are now everywhere at the shops, and prices have been falling to entice us all to eat them. In WA alone, Rabobank says that avocado production is up 265 percent on last year. That's a lot of guacamole needed for a lot of nachos, a lot of avo smoothies, and a lot of salads with green slivers in them — or just a lot of avo for however you like to eat it. If you need a few more figures to explain just why there really are so many avos, Australia's avocado production for 2021–22 is estimated at 124,000 tonnes, too — and we brought in another 12,500 tonnes in imports. Those numbers are forecast to go up as well, with domestic avocado production expected to expand by 40 percent — or 50,000 tonnes — before 2026, reaching 173,000 tonnes of Aussie avos. RaboResearch associate analyst Pia Piggott advised that Australia will need to significantly up its avo exports to manage the oversupply issue, so it's not just up to us to eat our way out of this avo onslaught. That said, if you were thinking about having smashed avo this weekend, for brekkie tomorrow or just right now after reading the word 'avocado' a heap of times in this article, you now have a very good reason to. For more information about Rabobank's The 'Avolanche' of Australian Avocados report, head to its website.
Bridge Road Brewers' Brunswick East taphouse opened in 2023, and it's already a local favourite. Drink inside or out at this haunt, sampling some of the Beechworth brewery's 30 beers on tap — which regularly change as the team experiments with new creations. Local wines also feature prominently — especially drops from lesser-known wineries in Beechworth. You've then got all your classic cocktails, non-alcoholic wines and sodas. Chef Jabili Mchawala is running the kitchen here, championing top-notch pizzas, and a huge selection of snacks, sangas, salads and other bites. There's a bit of everything here, from pretzels with Bavarian cheese dip, grazing boards and meatball subs to peri-peri chicken, grilled barramundi and Morrocan brasied lamb.
When you first visit a major city, it's natural to come armed with a list of must-see venues and landmarks. You've done your research, taken recommendations from family and friends, now you're ready to make your way through all the famous sites along with hundreds of other tourists. But what happens when you've ticked everything off your list? Sure, you could revisit the same spots — an arvo spent at Bondi Beach or the MCA will never get old — but why not discover another side of the city? To give you some inspiration and put a few more must-sees on your list, we've partnered with City of Sydney and crafted an itinerary that'll get you far away from the tourist traps and into the real Sydney. Yep, you'll be living like a legit Sydneysider in no time. [caption id="attachment_694707" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Don't Tell Aunty.[/caption] EAT AND DRINK Sydney is a big ol' melting pot of different cultures and one of the best ways to experience the city's inherent diversity is via food and booze. Make tracks to the colourful inner-city burrow of Surry Hills to sample some top-notch multicultural nosh from all corners of the globe. There's trail-blazing Indian that breaks all the rules at Don't Tell Aunty, molto buono Italian at Caffe Bartolo, authentic family-style fare at Korean joint Sang by Mabasa and traditional Lebanese eats at Nour restaurant — and, really, that's barely scratching the surface. At the other end of the spectrum, there's a throng of venues focused on making native Australian ingredients sing. For a chance to savour indigenous flavours, head along to Paperbark in Waterloo's Casa Building. The experimental plant-based menu changes weekly depending on what's in season, but you can expect the likes of finger limes, saltbush, wattleseed and pepper berry. Similarly, Barangaroo's expansive 230-seat restaurant 12-Micron is "a culinary salute to Australia's surrounds". Here, the menu is simply a list of the main ingredients in each dish, like rock oysters, blue swimmer crab and spring lamb, so you're given a chance to really appreciate each element. [caption id="attachment_654873" align="alignnone" width="1920"] PS40 by Alana Dimou.[/caption] Next, to get a dose of bush tucker in an upscale cocktail, head to celebrated 'soda door' PS40. At this cuisine-bending bar, you can expect tipples that borrow from a variety of different cultures. The cocktails are kind of pastiche, blending together native and unusual ingredients — so, yes, you'll get wattleseed but you'll also get smoked miso caramel, Ayurvedic spiced yoghurt, beer pretzel reductions and pandan barley soda. It's weird but wonderful stuff. The best part? The non-alcoholic sodas and mocktails are equally as tasty. For a slightly different take on native Australian ingredients — we're talking true-blue, dinky-di kinda stuff — head to The Unicorn in Paddington. Here, you'll find Jatz and dip, potato scallops, fruit-plenty pavs and basically a whole bunch of Aussie classics that'll bring a patriotic tear to your eye. Speaking of patriotic, the bar has a 100-percent homegrown beer and wine list because, well, Aussie alcohol rules. Duh. [caption id="attachment_653207" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Young Henrys by Destination NSW.[/caption] And, if you need further proof of this, check out a few of the breweries and bars slinging beers made right here in Sydney. There's a ton within the city limits, like Yulli's Brewing (Alexandria), Frenchies (Rosebery), Staves (Glebe), Sydney Brewery (Surry Hills), Bitter Phew (Darlinghurst) and Young Henrys (Newtown). Be sure to pick up a couple of growlers of your favourite beer, they make great gifts for family and friends back at home — if they make it home, that is. [caption id="attachment_622378" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cafe Lounge.[/caption] PLAY AND SEE Given you're on Eora land, kick off your Sydney adventures by checking out some local Aboriginal art. In the heart of The Rocks, you'll find Spirit Gallery — one of Sydney's pre-eminent galleries for Aboriginal arts and craft. Since 2002, the gallery has been showcasing the work of many traditional and contemporary Aboriginal artists. In addition to canvas paintings, the gallery also exhibits carvings, boomerangs, ceramics, glassware, baskets and bark paintings. Oh, and a large portion is available for purchase at quite affordable prices. If that wasn't enough of an arty fix, take a short stroll to Gannon House Gallery. Operating for nearly 30 years, the gallery exhibits a hefty selection of Aboriginal art from the Central and Western Desert, as well as Arnhem Land. Be sure to check out the striking work by Minnie Pwerle; her bright colour palette and rhythmic linear patterns are utterly striking. Next, nab a seat in the stalls with some local Sydneysiders for a spot of theatre. Looking past the Opera House and Sydney Theatre Company, you'll get a glimpse at some emerging local actors, dancers, singers and comedians. So opt for a Sydney-based theatre house (or pub with a makeshift stage). This no-frills style of theatre allows you to really focus on the actors without any fancy bells and whistles (read: big-budget sets and costumes) to distract you. There are a handful of places in suburbs Kings Cross, Surry Hills and Redfern, including the Griffin, Old Fitz, Belvoir, Cafe Lounge, Giant Dwarf and The Tudor. [caption id="attachment_705398" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Social Outfit by Luisa Brimble.[/caption] Then, when you're ready for some retail therapy, spend some time traversing the boutique shops and local stores across the city. Newtown, somewhat of a design mecca, has a host of spots to pick from. We suggest Milk & Thistle, run by designer Danielle Atkinson and renowned for its stylish, easy-fit garments that are designed, printed and made entirely in Australia. And The Social Outfit, an ethical trading social enterprise where you can get some cracking threads while helping out the refugee and migrant communities. Since 2014, The Social Outfit has been recycling clothing and providing employment and training in the fashion industry to refugees and new migrants. If you're closer to the city, pop by The Standard Store (Surry Hills) for Australian and international fashions and Squidinki (The Rocks) for Sydney-infused souvenirs you'll actually want. [caption id="attachment_706202" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Old Clare.[/caption] STAY When you're ready to rest your head (and your belly), you'll want to sleep somewhere equally boutique and Sydney-centric. Thankfully, over the past few years, a number of luxe-yet-local joints have popped up over the city, meaning you don't need to stay at the usual big names. Situated in the quiet, cute neighbourhood of Chippendale, you'll find The Old Clare, an immaculately finished hotel which exudes luxury. Hell, it even has a 14-metre rooftop pool complete with sweeping panoramic views of Sydney's skyline. [caption id="attachment_660514" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paramount House Hotel by Tom Ross.[/caption] A short stroll away, in neighbouring suburb Surry Hills, lies Paramount House Hotel. Opened is 2018, the upscale accommodation blends old with new in a similar fashion to The Old Clare. The red-brick heritage building — the former headquarters of Paramount Pictures Studios — features swanky amenities, like a rooftop gym, outdoor cafe, private terraces and even a mini-bar stocked with snacks from local favourite LP's Quality Meats and Tom Shobbrook wines. It's this juxtaposition between the refined and the raw, the polished and the crude, that makes this style of accommodation so endearing. But, if you want less exposed brick and more of a modern stay, book a night at The Urban in Newtown. The chic industrial-style boutique accommodation is a stone's throw from buzzing King Street where you'll find a host of pumping bars and eateries. Plus, you get a free mini-bar. Really, what else do you need? Other standout stays include Hotel Palisade (The Rocks), complete with a rooftop bar boasting one of Sydney's best views, and dog-friendly Medusa (Darlinghurst), Sydney's alleged first 'true' boutique hotel. Forgo the tourist traps and instead traverse the great City of Sydney like a local. Discover more around the city here. Top image: PS40 by Alana Dimou.
Cosying up next to your date on a horse-drawn carriage ride through the snow may be Hollywood's answer to a date in winter, but, in Victoria, plenty of romantic adventures in the chilly weather abound. Just an hour's drive from Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula has plenty of wintry date activities that trump anything on the flicks. You and your person can go truffle hunting, walk along a sculpture trail or eat some hearty dishes made from fresh, seasonal produce while you sip on cool-climate vinos — there's something for all the couples out there. We've put together a list of out-of-town date ideas to help you woo your significant other. So, turn Netflix off, put on a big coat and grab your date by the hand for an adventure down south. [caption id="attachment_699976" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pt. Leo Estate[/caption] FOR ART LOVERS Wow your date by eyeballing some art at Mornington Peninsula's most impressive galleries and sculpture gardens. Start off at Pt. Leo Estate, where a mammoth cellar door is paired with a restaurant boasting seasonal produce. The estate's rolling vineyards overlook the ocean, plus there's a sprawling sculpture park, featuring 50 large-scale works, with panoramic Western Port Bay views. After you scope out the sculptures, you can have a cosy lunch at the restaurant, which champions seasonal produce. In winter, expect wallaby pies, wood-roasted snapper and quality local proteins like lamb and beef, cooked in a central woodfired oven. Then, head to Montalto for an afternoon tipple in the vineyard's cellar door before strolling hand-in-hand through the Sculpture Trail — a one-kilometre outdoor gallery of over 30 works. Alternatively, escape the winter chill and head indoors at one of Australia's top regional galleries, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery. Here, you will see artworks by both local and international artists. Plus, the gallery hosts both traditional and contemporary works in a variety of mediums — so there's something for every art aficionado. [caption id="attachment_705358" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Red Gum BBQ[/caption] FOR EPICURES For a heartwarming feed, head to Red Gum BBQ, which cooks up local meats barbecued over local wood. Share a plate of beef brisket with potato salad or the slightly spicy, slightly sweet pulled pork with mac 'n' cheese. You'll probably need a caffeine hit while exploring the region with your partner, too. So, stop off at Merricks General Wine Store's cafe to escape the winter air, with a hot mug of coffee and a sweet treat. If you're after something a little more substantial, the space also offers a hearty bistro menu and sells hampers of homemade goodies, too. You can also get your hands dirty on a truffle hunting tour with MP Experience at Red Hill. After digging in the dirt, you'll finish with your choice of a cooking class or a five-course truffle degustation — both equally romantic. And, while you're in the area, it would be remiss not to stop into Green Olive at Red Hill, where you can wander through the farm, snack on tapas at the restaurant and sip wine from the cellar. Cooking classes are also on offer at Green Olive, plus you can even have a cosy overnight stay in its tranquil farmhouse. [caption id="attachment_725741" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Crittenden Estate[/caption] FOR LOVERS OF A GOOD DROP We all know nothing complements a winter date better than a nice glass of red, which is why taking a DIY tour of the region's wineries is a must. Kick things off at Montalto — an award-winning vineyard known for its pinot noir (in a region known for its pinot). You can warm up by pairing your glass with dry-aged duck with burnt onion and quince or the sirloin with oyster cream and wasabi greens, which have been cooked over an asado grill. if it's a sunny winter's day, head to Polperro next and stay nice and toasty next to a heater on the restaurant's expansive outdoor deck. Next up is Port Phillip Estate, where you can drink wines made with minimal intervention. Marked by its sculptural limestone building, Port Phillip has sweeping views across its vineyards and the ocean and houses a cellar door, fine-dining room, a more casual eatery and luxury accommodation. Then, push on to Crittenden Estate, where you and your partner in crime can sip on Spanish, Italian and French varieties as well as the estate's foundation range of pinots and chardonnays and its few vegan vinos. Or, drop into Rare Hare and sit by the indoor central fireplace. If you're more of a craft beer lover or after some good ol' fashioned firewater to warm you up, then follow the Beer, Cider and Spirits Trail. Stop into Mock Red Hill Cider before making your way to some of the region's best microbreweries — Twobays Brewing Co, St Andrews Beach Brewery and Red Hill Brewery, to name a few. Make your own gin at Bass and Flinders Distillery, then sip on some single malt whisky at Chiefs Son Distillery before rounding things off with some rum at JimmyRum. [caption id="attachment_726805" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Peninsula Hot Springs[/caption] FOR THE INTREPID Just because it's winter, it doesn't mean all your one-on-one time needs to be spent rugged up indoors. With such invigorating scenery and rugged coastline, the Mornington Peninsula has plenty of sights that'll make you want to embrace the crisp winter air. If you're after some R&R, head to Victoria's Peninsula Hot Springs. Here, you can relax in the warm spring pools and get cosy with your date while still taking in the crisp winter air. If you'd rather stay dry, take a scenic horse ride. Don't worry if you are a bit of a novice — there are trails suitable for all so you can romantically ride side-by-side from the bush to the beach. Alternatively, get walking. Take in ocean views and gaze at basalt cliffs as you stroll along the two-hour Cape Schanck to Bushrangers Bay Track or hike the 26-kilometre Two Bays Walking Track which takes you onto Kings Falls. For views across Port Phillip Bay, amble along the Arthurs Seat Circuit Walk, which is a leisurely 1.8-kilometre loop. [caption id="attachment_725555" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ashcombe Maze[/caption] FOR THE KIDULTS For the couples young at heart, brave the outdoors together and head to Ashcombe Maze. You can get lost in the hedge maze, which will be flowering with hellebores (winter rose), camellias and rhododendrons at this time of year. If you're more of a thrill-seeking duo, take your date to greater heights and go Tree Surfing at Enchanted Adventure Garden. Here, your hearts will race with adrenaline levels as you clamber along the obstacle course through the trees — nothing says bonding like seeing each other's faces as you take a leap of faith, 12 metres up on a glorified Tarzan swing. For more wintry places, spaces and events in regional Victoria, visit Your Happy Space. Top image: The Peninsula Hot Springs.
Things are about to get loud at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Busy, too. Thanks to Melbourne's six lockdowns, the city spot hasn't been hosting gigs or welcoming in music lovers for most of the past 18 months or so — but come Saturday, October 30, that'll change when Play On Victoria takes over the venue. The site's first big event in months, this one-day music fest was first announced earlier in October, although it didn't have a name back then. A couple of weeks back, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews revealed that Sidney Myer Music Bowl would host a gig for a solely double-vaccinated audience. The reason: to test the state's reopening settings in the period between hitting the 70-percent double-jabbed mark and coming out of lockdown — which is happening at 11.59pm on Thursday, October 21 — and relaxing even more restrictions at the 80-percent double-vaxxed threshold. Now, further details have been announced. If you're double-jabbed, get ready to see King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Baker Boy, Amyl and the Sniffers, Grace Cummings, and Vika and Linda Bull all take to the stage. Everyone performing and working the event will be double-vaxxed, too, in a sign of how things in Victoria are expected to operate as the state opens back up. Play On Victoria will welcome in 4000 patrons, with tickets costing $29.90 each. You can nab yours from 3pm on Friday, October 22, with tickets limited to folks in metropolitan Melbourne. Attendees will need to wear masks at the gig, and will be allocated seats. You'll also be spread across the venue for social-distancing purposes, and to test how concerts can work safely moving forward. [caption id="attachment_829284" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tim Sabo via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] In terms of proving that you're vaxxed, you can display your COVID-19 digital certificate via the Service Victoria app, the Medicare app or your smartphone's wallet — or present a printed version of your certificate or immunisation history statement, or provide evidence of a valid exemption. Back when Play on Victoria was first announced, the Premier said that the gig is "incredibly important for them and for the live music scene. We are the live music capital of our nation that has had it very tough. We have been there to support them all the way through, but they want to get out and perform and do what they do best. That's two entertain and inspire, to question all of us, to be that incredibly soulful part of our city and state. That's 30 October." Other smaller gigs are also set to be held around the state to help test the reopening settings, with further details yet to be announced. Play On Victoria will take place at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, on Saturday, October 30. For further information or to buy tickets from 3pm on Friday, October 22, head to the Ticketek website. For more information about the status of COVID-19 and the current restrictions, head over to the Victorian Government's website. Top image: Piknic Electronik, Wade Malligan.
Always on the lookout for your next photo op? Wanting a fun way to escape your reality? Make sure to have your cameras at the ready because Honey House is about to hit Queensbridge Square (and have Melbourne feeling a little topsy-turvy — in a good way). Courtesy of Honey Insurance, the bold building is here to help you up your know-how on protecting that home of yours with seven interactive rooms (think mirrored illusions, misplaced furniture in candy-bright hues and photo spots aplenty). Want to know the best part? The part-photo-studio-part-art-installation is completely free for everyone to enjoy. Once you're in, you'll have plenty of time to explore, play and get the perfect shot — check out the Honey Instagram for a sneak peek. Running from Thursday, June 2 until Monday, June 6, this surreal experience is not one to miss. Reserve your tickets in advance, because it's sure to draw some serious crowds. Head to the website to reserve your spot. Top images: Scott Ehler
We all have a mate with a special interest that doesn't quite match up to our own. Maybe you've got a friend who is trying to drag you on a camping trip when you'd much rather spend a weekend staying in a luxury hotel? Or a Crossfit-mad mate who wants you to fall in love with the beloved fitness regimen that you have zero interest in? We get it. But it doesn't mean you can't have a good time while supporting your mate's penchant for niche activities. To help you be a supportive mate (and to have a good time while you're at it) we've teamed up with Ticketblaster to find a few ways to enjoy yourself at your friend's special interest events. Whether it's getting around the footy or seeing a movie you don't couldn't care less about, read on to find out how you can have a good time in unexpected places — even when you'd rather be anywhere else. TO ENJOY THE FOOTY: WATCH THE GAME AT THE MEDALLION CLUB If you need extra convincing to head along to the footy in Melbourne, Ticketblaster has your back. You can nab tickets to the Medallion Club on a game-by-game basis exclusively through the ticketing site. Even if you're not a member, you can still have an elevated AFL experience (think: premium seats, dining and access to the corporate suites) at the MCG and its Shane Warne Stand or Marvel Stadium courtesy of Ticketblaster. That means you can enjoy all the perks of a season membership without the hefty annual price tag with tickets starting from $50. TO APPRECIATE THE THEATRE: START WITH TWILIGHT DRINKS IN THE COURTYARD If you're not typically keen on theatre or sitting in the dark for long periods on end, beginning your evening with an alfresco drink beforehand might just be the gateway you've been looking for. Make tracks to Malthouse Theatre, an old brewery turned contemporary theatre complex, which presents various forms of performing arts including comedy, music and theatre. Here, you can enjoy drinks in the sunny courtyard bar before heading inside to see that play that your friend won't stop banging on about. TO GET ON THE GREEN: MAKE IT MINIATURE Golf isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if you make the game a more bite-sized length, it can be a good time for the game's naysayers. Thankfully, Victoria has a few options when it comes to mini golf. Holey Moley promises a putt putt party in the CBD, with a fully stocked bar and plenty of snacks to keep you going as you tackle the venue's whopping 27 holes across its three colourful courses. And, if you get sick of swinging your golf club, you can jump on the mic and have a crack at karaoke instead. Feeling adventurous? Head further afield to Maru Koala and Animal Park to test your skills at Pirate Pete's 18-hole course. Don't forget to say hello to all the gorgeous animals at the park after your day on the green. TO HEAD OFF ON A HIKE: SCHEDULE A SUNSET SOAK AFTERWARDS Been guilted into digging out the trainers for a hike in the great outdoors? Why not reward yourself with some serious relaxation after your trek? After getting your heart rate up, escape to the Peninsula Hot Springs for a soak in its spectacular baths. The geothermal mineral waters span over 50 bathing experiences, including the hilltop pool and smaller ones amongst the trees. There are also spa treatments if you really want to spoil yourself and moonlit bathing available, too. [caption id="attachment_799282" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Charlie Kinross Photography[/caption] TO ATTEND A NICHE FILM: CATCH IT A BOUTIQUE CINEMA If you're being dragged along to a movie you don't really care for, make plans to see it at a boutique theatre. The Astor Theatre on the corner of Chapel Street and Dandenong Road is an ideal spot. There's only one screen in the huge auditorium that opened in 1936, and a trip to this famous theatre really does feel like an event in its own right. It's known for showing classic and cult favourites, along with new releases here and there. Another option is the Classic Cinemas in Elsternwick, which shows a selection of new releases and arthouse classics in a gorgeous 1800s building. The best part? There are cocktails and handmade ice cream to enjoy during your mate's favourite film. TO GET YOURSELF GAMING: TEST YOUR SKILLS AT AN ARCADE Not the gaming type? The arcade and pinball bar Bartronica, located on Flinders Lane in the heart of the Melbourne CBD, might help you change that for the night. The retro arcade is filled with neon everywhere you look and boasts pinnies, consoles, arcades games and more. There's also plenty of tinnies and cocktails being slung and and bar snacks to keep you refreshed during the big gaming battles. Sounds pretty good right? Tap into the nostalgia of playing games in your younger years and enjoy a cold bev while you're at it. TO FROTH THE WAVES: HANG TEN AT URBNSURF Always wanted to try new surfing but afraid of, you know, sharks? URBNSURF Park in Tullamarine may be the way to go to indulge your mate who wants to hang ten. With ocean-like waves in a controlled environment, the surf park offers you the chance to catch a wave without the dangers (or anxiety) of deep ocean water. There are waves for newbies, intermediate surfers and challenging barrels for those who are more accustomed to the riding the sea. After your surf, head to Three Blue Ducks to refuel with food from a menu featuring sustainable and ethically farmed produce. Reckon you're ready to join your mate's niche interest activity? For more information on Medallion Club and to book tickets, visit the Ticketblaster website.
Whatever lengths you think you'd go to in order to watch your favourite sporting team, the Wellington residents that inspired big-screen comedy Red, White & Brass have you beat. In 2011, New Zealand hosted the Rugby World Cup. As part of the competition's games in the Aotearoa capital, Tonga was set to play France. Understandably, the local Tongan community was thrilled — and, amid painting the town red and white, also determined to go along. The avid fans at one particular Wellington church hit a snag, however: with tickets to attend the match both expensive and popular, they didn't end up with seats. Then, they lucked into a unique opportunity. If they said they were a brass marching band, exaggerating their experience with instruments — which was largely zero — they could perform on the field before kickoff, and sit down to watch their heroes afterwards. It's the kind of story that sounds like a pure Hollywood concoction, but it genuinely happened to Halaifonua (Nua) Finau and his family. Now, it's exactly the tale at the heart of NZ comedy Red, White & Brass. Not only stepping through this wild IRL twist of fate, but celebrating Tongan pride and māfana in the process, the resulting movie is an instantly heartwarming crowd-pleaser. It has also proven a big hit, both at home where it premiered in March, and now that it's both doing the film festival circuit — complete with a stop at the Sydney Film Festival — and opening in general release in Australian cinemas. Nua co-wrote the script, and also produces, with first-time feature director Damon Fepulea'i and on-screen movie debutant John-Paul Foliaki taking on a daunting task. How do you turn someone's real-life experience into a movie with them right by your side? That was Fepulea'i's job as both Red, White & Brass' helmer and co-scribe. How do you play the person that's there on set with you, including with his parents as your character's parents? That was Foliaki's gig as fictionalised on-screen ringleader Maka, in his first-ever acting credit after coming to fame as a NZ Popstars personality. With Red, White & Brass now screening in Australia, Fepulea'i and Foliaki chatted with Concrete Playground about their Red, White & Brass journey, including discovering the true story at the movie's core, working with Nua and his family, making a love letter to the Tongan community and the response so far. ON WORKING WITH A STORY THAT'S SO WILD THAT IT CAN ONLY BE TRUE Damon: "Writer and producer Halaifonua (Nua) Finau, it's basically his story, his family's experience. So he's an actor and a producer, and he's was just sort of telling people the story — and everyone was like, 'oh man bro, this is a really great story, you've gotta turn this into a film'. And him being like the real-life Maka, he basically just shopped the idea around and then ended up getting the film made. So when I was brought on, he told me the story and I was really connected to it as well, and we worked together and wrote the script." JP: "Honestly, when I got the script, when I got that audition — when I got the audition and when we did that first table read — that was something special. That's the first time I'd heard about it properly, and knew the story as based on a true story, and also got an insight to how special the project was going to be." ON TURNING REAL-LIFE EVENTS INTO A MOVIE WITH THE PERSON WHO LIVED IT Damon: "I think Nua and I had a really good chemistry when we were writing, because I think I had more experience as a screenwriter, but Nua is such a natural, gifted storyteller. So he would come in and yeah, lots of stories. Whether they're true or not, who knows?" JP: "Yeah!" Damon: "But actually, he would just tell stories, and we would talk and I'd ask him questions. I have a documentary background as well, so I'm always genuinely interested — and me being non-Tongan, a lot of it was just like 'what makes Tongans Tongan?'. So we explored that during the writing process — and it was actually, looking back, it was really quite a joy because we I think we complemented each other in terms of me being more kind of structure-focused, having experienced writing feature-length films, but also him bringing the truthfulness and the just the funny stories. He just would talk and he wouldn't even know he's being funny. It would just be like 'oh bro, tell this' — he'd go on these long stories and it'd be like 'oh, that's a scene'." JP: "It's like the real-life Maka and Veni from the movie." ON STEPPING INTO NUA'S IRL SHOES WHILE HE WAS THERE WATCHING JP: "I think at first I had a lot of doubts about myself being able to do good job of the role. But I think also just having him on set, yeah, I did feel like 'oh, man, I need to bring my A game'. But it was also super helpful, and he was really supportive — and he was definitely open to Maka being my own interpretation, and to bringing someone to life that I could relate to as well. And also just asking him questions when I wanted to. And his mum and dad in real life played Maka's parents in the film, so they were there and I could ask them lots of questions. We all have that type of cousin. To be honest, I'm that type of cousin to a lot of my cousins — so that was good. I had multiple sources that I could pull from." ON HAVING NUA'S PARENTS PLAYING MAKA'S REAL PARENTS JP: "For me, I think it was the kind of thing that — priceless may be the wrong word, but I think what I'm trying to say is that's the kind of thing that you almost can't cast or you can't wish for. Or, you wouldn't even think that's possible that they're writing the story about this family and the real parents from that family are going come play the parents. You know, no acting experience, Tongan through and through. They are part of the older generation of Tongan parents where they would think that this kind of thing is a joke, and you just do it when you're mucking around, or you do it for Sunday church productions and things like that — but it's nothing too serious. So to have them support their son and his story, and their family story, but also to be on the set, yeah, it meant a lot. It was sometimes really hard because it reminded me a lot about of my parents and my grandparents, and the journey that we took to get there, and all those themes of migration and having limited resources, and reaching an end goal and not worrying about what people say about you. And, that constant battle between church culture and family. Those themes are able to be brought to life — one, because of the cast, but also because the parents from the real story were there actually on set as well." Damon: "Yeah, they brought that authenticity that you just couldn't get from actors, I think. I don't know if there was actually that much acting going on — it's just them being themselves. Sometimes, in terms of directing, it'd just be like 'oh, what would you say to Nua? And how would you say it?'. And they just do it. It's just how they how they'd say things. It was an amazing blessing to have them." JP: "I was so proud of them, too. Because I'd see them highlighting their lines, learning their lines — and one of them forgets their lines, and the other one is trying to correct them. And they're talking to each other on Tongan on set, and it's so funny. They did such a good job." ON MAKING A LOVE LETTER TO THE TONGAN COMMUNITY Damon: "It was always meant to be a feel-good film right from the start. The game plan was always to capture that Tongan energy and the extraness. And the film explores what it means to be Tongan — and the way that Tongans go to these great lengths in showing the amount of pride that they have for their country and for their family. It's really about capturing that and the energy to go with it." JP: "A love letter to the community — that's such a good way to put it. I think when you think about being Tongan and and all the things that you love about being Tongan, a lot of that is displayed through the film. And not even just the things you love about being Tongan, but also the many challenges that we go through being New Zealand-born Tongans, or Tongans that, obviously, a lot of us have migrated to Australia, New Zealand, America and beyond. So all those challenges that we face, it was so cool to be like 'man, regardless of where we've moved overseas, we all share this and have this shared experience, and we can make a good movie out of it'." ON THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT COMES WITH SUCH A STRONG ODE TO TONGAN CULTURE Damon: "It was really important for us right from the start that we wanted to tell the story as authentically as possible, and also to represent Pacific culture as real as possible, and to not make it feel like it was like we were pandering to an audience, or taking out things just to make it easier to watch for non-Tongans. We always wanted to make sure the Tongan language was in there, and it was realistic, and that all the details from the costumes to the props were also all there. We really wanted to make sure that we got it right — and for me being a non-Tongan, I wanted to make sure that what I was doing represented Tonga in a good way as well." JP: "I think from an artist perspective or performance-wise, Tongans, we support 100-percent over and above — and we let it be known to the whole world that something is Tongan or something's happening that has to do Tonga. But when they don't like something, they also come out in full force as well. So I was very nervous about that. It was my first official acting role and I really just wanted to do the role justice, and make my family and my country proud, because I could see after our first reading and getting the script that it truly was going to be something special. And you don't know until you see the final cut, so I'm really happy that translated well and that we were able to do that." ON THE FILM'S SUCCESS — AND THE RESPONSE FROM TONGAN VIEWERS Damon: "It's been surreal, I have to say. We had the world premiere in Wellington, and that was in the Embassy Theatre, which is Peter Jackson's theatre. It was pretty much just full of Tongans, and they were waving flags— and it was probably the best screening experience I've ever had. It was just so much fun. It feels like we've just been on this whirlwind since then as well — it's been kind of surreal as well. It's sometimes hard to believe like 'oh, we made a film' and 'oh, people are watching it'. So yeah, it's still a lot of 'pinch me' moments." JP: "It's been incredible. I think a lot of people have shown a lot of love, and I think it's the whole idea of being able to see themselves on-screen and carrying out the themes that we know so well as Tongans, and the life that we live in our churches and our communities and our families. And having so many different versions of our cousins on the screen, but then also having universal messages and themes throughout the film. So Tongans have been very supportive — but honestly a lot of people, regardless of their ethnicity, have shown a lot of love." Red, White & Brass is currently screening in Australian cinemas. Read our full review.
After initially revealing parts of its 2025 lineup in late 2024, Sydney Opera House's annual All About Women festival has unveiled the full program of events that'll focus on gender, equality and justice in March. Across two days, more than 50 speakers, including artists, thinkers and storytellers from both Australia and overseas, will participate in sessions that span women in sport and the influence of the Matildas, racism and sexism in the music industry, the impacts of skincare routines, and plenty more. For 13 years, marking International Women's Day with talks, panels, workshops and performances has been as easy as attending this highlight of the cultural calendar — a must-attend event not only in Sydney, but also nationally in recent years, thanks to the streaming of sessions online (which continues in 2025). For this year, Kate Berlant and Gina Chick joined the All About Women bill first, as did the return of the Feminist Roast. Kara Swisher, Rachel House, Jaguar Jonze and Grace Tame are now among the folks joining them come Saturday, March 8–Sunday, March 9. As revealed last year, Berlant is making her first trip Down Under, with the comedian and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Don't Worry Darling and A League of Their Own actor set to debut a new stand-up show. Alone Australia's first-season winner Chick is on the bill fresh from releasing her memoir We Are the Stars in October, and will chat about following your own path, grief and resourcefulness. Among the latest additions on a lineup overseen by the Sydney Opera House Talks & Ideas team — as led by Chip Rolley, alongside 10 News First's Narelda Jacobs and actor and writer Michelle Law — journalist and Burn Book: A Tech Love Story author Swisher will dig into the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter, while Heartbreak High star and The Mountain director House will chat through the importance of community and her Māori culture in her career. Jonze is on the panel discussing the present state of the music industry, as is Barkaa. And Tame is part of the Feminist Roast alongside Michelle Brasier, Nakkiah Lui, Lucinda 'Froomes' Price and Steph Tisdell. The Tillies join the roster via former Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams, plus Football Australia, the Matildas and the ParaMatildas Media Manager Ann Odong, with their session exploring the current situation for women in sport. Elsewhere, Dr Michelle Wong, Jessica DeFino and Yumi Stynes — plus Price again — will examine the impacts of beauty standards, especially upon younger generations. All About Women's 2025 program also spans sessions on the women who gave testimony at the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, the rise of domestic violence-related deaths in Australia, systems that are meant to protect First Nations children, perimenopause and how women's health is being commercialised, tradwives, grief, motherhood, the nation's declining birth rate, bodily autonomy and abortion, and being friends for life. "There is so much power in women and non-binary folks coming together to talk about the issues we are facing, whether that's in our workplaces and homes, throughout our country or the world," said Jacobs back in 2024, when the lineup's first details were announced. "The events I've co-curated are inspired by hot topics that dominate conversations with the women in my life — from the transformations women undergo at pivotal points in their lives, to the ways modern culture rejigs and repeats old stereotypes. We'll be having some cracker discussions that I'm sure will continue beyond the steps of the Opera House!" added Law. All About Women 2025 takes place on Saturday, March 8–Sunday, March 9 at the Sydney Opera House, and streams online, with pre-sale tickets for the full program available from 9am on Tuesday, January 14 and general sales from 9am on Thursday, January 16. Head to the event's website for more details. All About Women images: Jaimi Joy, Jacquie Manning and Prudence Upton.
At two locations in Victoria, and over in New Zealand as well, the Peninsula Hot Springs crew have made bathing in relaxing warm water reason enough to book a holiday. Now, the team wants travellers to think about hitting the outback Queensland town of Cunnamulla in the same way. The spot has just become home to Cunnamulla Hot Springs, which the local Paroo Shire owns but Peninsula Hot Springs Group is running. If your idea of bliss is a lengthy soak in a stunning location, you have a new getaway spot to pop on your agenda, then. Perched right by Warrego River for the ultimate in scenic surroundings, Cunnamulla Hot Springs boasts seven geothermic pools. First announced in 2023, it launched at the beginning of February 2024. The $11.7-million, five-star site — which came to fruition with contributions from both the federal and Queensland state governments — is the largest-funded project that the Paroo Shire Council has ever undertaken. Getting Peninsula Hot Springs Group to look after day-to-day operations means capitalising upon its expertise honed elsewhere, however. As well as Peninsula Hot Springs, of course, it has Metung Hot Springs in East Gippsland to its name, plus Aotearoa's Maruia Hot Springs. In Cunnamulla, bathers slip into pools surrounded by native trees, and featuring mineral- and vitamin-rich water taken from and heated naturally by the artesian basin underneath. Learning about the latter around your soak is also part of the experience — calming your body and feeding your mind at the same time. Each of Cunnamulla Hot Springs's bathing spots sport different temperatures, so you can get steamy, opt for a stint in the chilled plunge pool or both. One has been specifically built to be shallow, so that folks sitting in it can gaze at the stars in the most immersive way possible. In the state-of-the-art complex, a sauna and a steam room is also part of the setup, as is an area for salt scrubs and clay masks. Fancy taking a dip by sunrise or sunset? That's on offer as well, to make the most of day's cooler temperatures. Dawn bathing starts at 6am, while a twilight soak is on offer from 5–9pm on weekdays. Patrons aren't merely surrounded by Cunnamulla's landscape as they sit; everything about Cunnamulla Hot Springs has taken its cues from its environment, with Cox Architects on design duties. Think: earthy colours, and using stone and ironbark timber among other natural materials — plus the thermal waters, of course. When it was announced last year, Cunnamulla Hot Springs was named as a highlight on the Outback Queensland Traveller's Guide, which is filled with things to do inland in the Sunshine State. Queensland isn't just about beaches, rainforests and the tropics, even if that's what it's best known for. So, the bathing venue joins everything from starlight river cruises in Longreach and Winton's Australia Age of Dinosaurs Museum through to the Southwest Queensland Indigenous Cultural Trail and a heap of national parks (and other outback spas and baths, including in Julia Creek, Bedourie, Quilpie, Mitchell and Yowah). If you're now planning a trip to Cunnamulla, it's around a nine-hour drive west from Brisbane, with flights via Rex, and also boasts an outback river lights festival; the Artesian Time Tunnel, which explores the Artesian Basin's history; and safari-style glamping — among other attractions. Find Cunnamulla Hot Springs at Lot 5 Ivan Street, Cunnamulla, Queensland — head to the venue's website for bookings and further information. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
After chronicling the day-to-day chaos at a company that sells paper, what comes next for The Office — in the US, that is? Documenting the daily reality of life working at a newspaper. As announced in 2024, the beloved American version of the hit sitcom is getting a spinoff. In The Paper, which is led by Domhnall Gleeson (Echo Valley) and Sabrina Impacciatore (G20 and also The White Lotus season two), a midwestern newspaper publisher is in the spotlight. The series debuts on Thursday, September 4, 2025 in the US and in Australia, streaming in the latter via Binge. If you're keen for a sneak peek, The Paper has also just dropped its first trailer. A new boss arriving to shake things up, staff ranging from apathetic to overenthusiastic, office-set awkwardness aplenty, a familiar face: they're all featured in the initial glimpse at the show. As its predecessor was, this is a mockumentary series. The setup: the same documentary crew that turned their cameras towards Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch have found a new workplace to explore. Their time pointing their lens the Toledo Truth Teller's way coincides with Ned Sampson (Gleeson) joining the publication as editor-in-chief, with the paper's newest employee underwhelmed with the status quo and brimming with ideas about how to change things. Chelsea Frei (The Life List), Melvin Gregg (Fight Night), Gbemisola Ikumelo (Black Ops), Alex Edelman (Unfrosted), Ramona Young (You're Cordially Invited) and Tim Key (Mickey 17) also star in The Paper, as does Oscar Nuñez (The School Duel), reprising his role as Oscar Martinez. Accordingly, the new series is set in the same universe as the Steve Carell (Mountainhead)-led hit dwelled in from 2005–13 and sports multiple ties to it, but definitely isn't simply walking back into Dunder Mifflin with new staff. Also, Gleeson starred with Carell on 2022's The Patient, giving the two series another connection. Greg Daniels — who created the US version of The Office to begin with, and has also been behind Space Force and Upload — is steering The Paper behind the camera with Nathan for You co-creator Michael Koman. And yes, the franchise that initially kicked off in the UK version in 2001 just keeps expanding, after the Australian version dropped in 2024. Cringeworthy bosses, annoying co-workers and soul-crushing office jobs show no signs of fading away, of course, which all things The Office has understood for nearly a quarter of a century now. Check out the trailer for The Paper below: The Paper debuts in Australia on Thursday, September 4, 2025, streaming via Binge. Images: Aaron Epstein and John P Fleenor/PEACOCK.
A Tasmanian distiller by the name of John Hyslop has created a Willy Wonka version of the mighty whisky. The newly established Deviant Distillery has just released Anthology, a drop they claim tastes like a ten-year-old spirit, yet was made in just ten weeks. Hyslop achieved this wonder by studying what happens when you place whisky in a barrel for a decade. Then he created an environment in which this process was accelerated by manipulating physical elements governing oxidation, esterification and evaporation. The only catch is that, legally, the resulting product cannot be called whisky. It's hand-distilled in a copper pot still with the usual four ingredients — barley, water, yeast and oak — and without any additives, but the lack of conventional ageing process means that only the label "single malt spirit" can apply. "Other than the ageing process, everything about our spirits is what you would expect from an ultra-premium craft whisky — we just can't call it that," Hyslop says. "I explain it like this: instead of putting a supercharged engine into a car and racing it to the finish line, we just remove all the obstacles in its way and let it become what it wants to be." Hyslop sees two major advantages in speeding up whisky making. Firstly, it enables frequent experimentation with various flavour profiles. "With the traditional distilling model, what is bottled today was barrelled 10 years ago," he says. "But now, in theory, we can conduct several centuries' worth of flavour tests and arrive at an ultra-premium drink that no single generation ever could before." Secondly, he considers it greener. On average, when whisky ages, between 30 to 50 percent of the spirit evaporates. However, Hyslop loses only four percent to the air, meaning the distillery uses much less water and ingredients. In addition to this, the distillery produces minimal waste and is working towards carbon neutrality. Right now, the whole operation takes place in Hyslop's mum's garage in Somerset, where he produces about 120 bottles per month. He's hoping to move to bigger, commercial premises in Hobart by early 2018. While Hyslop claims the spirit tastes like an aged whiskey, we're keen to give it test it out ourselves. Anthology is available online for $86 from today and in selected bottle shops in Tassie.
This week, you can help raise some much-needed coin for victims of the Aussie bushfires, simply by grabbing a drink at the CBD's pastel-hued cocktail and rooftop bar Peaches. From January 6 to January 12, the pretty-in-pink venue will be fundraising for wildlife rescue charity Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, through sales of a limited-edition signature cocktail. Dubbed Koala Rescue, the newly hatched drink blends Applewood limoncello, Applewood gin, grapefruit and thyme, and 100 percent of profits from each one sold this week will be heading to support the charity's work helping various wildlife affected by the recent fires. https://www.instagram.com/p/B65XcLCAeym/ Fancy a fundraising feed, as well? The bar's owners also run Preston venues Takeaway Pizza and Dexter, which will each be whipping up some fire relief specials of its own. Until January 12, all proceeds from Takeaway Pizza's $15 cheese pizzas will also be heading to Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, while profits from Dexter's special of steak, pickles and mash sold between January 9–12 is going to support both animals and humans via the Bushfire Disaster Appeal. Top image: Peaches by Kate Shanasy.
With catastrophic weather conditions saturating Queensland and New South Wales over the past week, good news has been in very short supply. Enter the team at Sikh Volunteers Australia, which has put in an enormous effort to help folks affected by flooding in northern New South Wales. Their actions can only be described as heartwarming, feel-good, wholesome and just all-round ace. Any other synonym for great, nice, lovely and generous that you can think, it'd fit as well. The charity, which has a mission to provide people in need with free food, is based in Melbourne. But after seeing that its services could be used further north as the devastating weather hit, its members hit the road. Cue a 34-hour drive to serve free, freshly cooked vegetarian meals to flood-affected communities in Lismore — which has been doing it tough after the wet conditions moved through the regional town earlier in the week. Team is serving free meals to flood affected communities in Lismore NSW pic.twitter.com/BsO1HjEaJw — Sikh Volunteers Australia (@AustraliaSikh) March 3, 2022 Originally, the plan was to head to Queensland — so that drive would've been even longer — but, based on community response, the Sikh Volunteers decided that there was more need for their services in Lismore. They arrived yesterday, Wednesday, March 2, and have been dishing up free meals since. Sikh Volunteers Australia's efforts in Lismore follow the organisation's ongoing work in Melbourne, including delivering meals to COVID-19 cases during the recent Omicron wave — and, before that, via 320 dedicated volunteer drivers who did the same during the city's 2021 lockdown from August onwards. That's a huge effort, and the charity aims to expand its work to other parts of the country in the future, too. In Lismore now, Sikh Volunteers Australia has set up at 60 Ross Street, Goonellabah, and is providing free meals to anyone who needs them. For more information about Sikh Volunteers Australia, or to support their work via a donation, head to the organisation's website.
Craft breweries abound in Melbourne, giving locals endless opportunities to sample straight from the source. But it doesn't get much fresher than Burnley Brewing where the brews flow directly from the onsite Brite tanks within days of when it's crafted. There are ten taps pouring a range of seasonal house beers, running from fruit driven sours, to hoppy US-style ales, to gutsy barrel-aged Russian imperial stouts. If beer isn't your thing, there's also a curated wine list, designed by the minds behind Toorak Cellars and Milton Wine Bar, offering a selection of local wines. The food menu is inspired by former resident Romulus and Remus: think pulled pork and beef lasagne and pasta dishes. American-inspired drinking snacks and late-night, vegan-friendly fare rounds out the food selection.
Bendigo Art Gallery will honour one of the most influential fashion icons of all time when the Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion exhibition opens on August 17. A pioneering 20th century designer hailing from Spain, Cristóbal Balenciaga was considered one of the leaders of haute couture — and hundreds of his designs are making their way to Australia this winter. For this exclusive exhibition, Bendigo Art Gallery has collaborated with the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Expect over 100 garments and hats designed not only by Balenciaga, but also by his 30 contemporaries and apprentices at the design house — who include the likes of Oscar de la Renta and Hubert de Givenchy. Along with the designer pieces — including pieces worn by actress Ava Gardner, mononymous 50s model Dovima and 60s fashion icon Gloria Guinness — visitors will gain access to Balenciaga's house through archival sketches, fabric samples, photographs and fashion show footage. [caption id="attachment_719353" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dovima and Sacha (1955), cloche and suit by Balenciaga. Image courtesy of The Richard Avedon Foundation.[/caption] This is the gallery's latest fashion-focused installation, with past exhibitions including Melbourne's own Toni Maticevski in 2016, golden era Hollywood designer Edith Head in 2017 and, most recently, an exhibition on Finnish textile icon Marimekko in June 2018. The art gallery is located about two hours' drive northwest of Melbourne. Instead of flying into Melbourne, out-of-towners can opt to take a newly operating Qantas direct flight from Sydney to Bendigo — and August would certainly be the time to do it. Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion will run from August 17 through November 10 at Bendigo Art Gallery, 42 View Street, Bendigo. Top image: Silk taffeta evening dress by Cristóbel Balenciago (1955), courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
As a dancer, he joined the New York Ballet while still a teenager. As a choreographer working in film, he's given Denis Villeneuve's versions of Dune their sandwalk. Making a dance film in the desert seems like the logical next step for Benjamin Millepied, then. The French talent's resume isn't short on other highlights — including the LA Dance Project, which he initiated; Black Swan, which he both choreographed and starred in; and the Paris Opera Ballet, where he was Director of Dance from 2014–16 — but a reimagining of Carmen not only shot in Australia, but backdropped by the outback town of Broken Hill, is quite the unique way to make his feature directorial debut. This is Carmen in name and spirit first and foremost, though. This is Carmen broken down and built back up again, too. Despite the contents of its frames, this is Carmen set not Down Under, but across the US-Mexico border amid fleeing to Los Angeles. This is Carmen following strangers who become lovers on the run, its namesake escaping cartel brutality and then racist prejudices when she migrates north, and the ex-marine that she crosses paths with post-smuggling dashing away from his own dalliances with violence. This is also Carmen led by Melissa Barrera and Paul Mescal, the former more in In the Heights mode than Scream, and the latter as entrancing as he's proven in Normal People and his Oscar-nominated performance in Aftersun. It was the pandemic that took filming in Mexico out of the equation, and brought Millepied to Australia. His visit, like Mescal's when he was cast, didn't slink under the radar — that Millepied is married to Black Swan Oscar-winner Natalie Portman, who shot Thor: Love and Thunder in Sydney, meant ample media attention. Carmen was made when much of Hollywood seemed to relocate this way; however, as spectacular as its dance sequences are, and as impressive as it leads prove as well (plus iconic Spanish actor and Pedro Almodóvar favourite Rossy de Palma, Parallel Mothers), it's as intimate as an opera-inspired drama that dances against sweeping plains of ochre Aussie soil can be. "I personally enjoyed it so much out there," Millepied tells Concrete Playground. "I love the desert. I love the light in the desert. I really loved being out there. I'm going back to Australia in a few weeks, and I'm tempted to go back out there." With Carmen now in Aussie cinemas and also screening at the New Zealand International Film Festival, the acclaimed dancer-turned-filmmaker chatted about swapping North America for Broken Hill, giving Prosper Mérimée's novella and Georges Bizet's opera his own spin, his leads, being driven by Succession composer Nicholas Britell's new score, and what he learned in making the leap from performing — or didn't. ON REIMAGINING CARMEN "I wanted to lean on a classical tragedy. I was instinctively attracted to it culturally, for its relationship to the Roma culture — and this idea of someone expressing her freedom through dance. Those were those were the key components. And really thinking that this would be a musical that was a drama with music and dance — that fantasy, that the dancing, would come through dreams, and that it was a drama. I think people forget that there's actually very few musicals that have a more realistic [approach] — here, of course, we're not fully in in realism, but I think that it's still a dark film. That's quite unusual for musicals, because you can make very light musicals, fluffy musicals, where people sing and dance. I probably will make something lighter like that. Hopefully, maybe someday, I get the opportunity. But that's not Carmen — Carmen took a different sort of sense." ON MAKING A DRAMA WITH DANCE, RATHER THAN A CLASSICAL MUSICAL, TO SUIT THE STORY "I don't think you can tackle a political subject like that and just have migrants dancing, for example. I think the subject matter implied that we had to bring a certain depth to the approach of how dance and music existed in the film. When I started to look at the history of the Roma culture in South America, and I started to think about the border — I don't know how it came up — I found out there's an important Roma community that migrated to Mexico in the early 20th century. And that story was quite fascinating, and the way they live, and the way that Mexican culture influenced their own, as they did in everywhere they went, and took on traditions and cultures. So it just made a lot of sense, this idea of the Roma culture being free and moving through the world, and with deep traditions. It made sense to set it on the Mexico-US border." ON AUSTRALIA STANDING IN FOR NORTH AMERICA "When I when I realised that I couldn't shoot in Mexico because of COVID and everything, and I had scouted and I'd done all this work, I looked at Australia because we were supposed to go there. It just made sense. I felt like I could pull it off, and I actually thought that the heightened reality that I was thinking of could really work there — I would just push that element, make it real. So that's how I thought of it, and it worked great. It was really incredible to shoot in in Australia. Just creatively, the team that I had was was really amazing. I loved it out there. We were really so lucky, and it actually looked a lot like the desert in the north of Mexico where I say it is early in the film. It was just this proximity in landscape that was really, really incredible." ON CASTING MELISSA BARRERA AND PAUL MESCAL, AND CAPITALISING UPON THEIR CHEMISTRY It's not easy to find someone who could really be a triple threat — dance and sing and act, and have that kind of magnetism, and [is] Mexican. She was really right. She was really perfect. I needed someone who was believable as a marine. I needed someone who was a real man — someone who was physical, who wasn't a dancer. He was perfect. I mean, how amazing is he in the film! She prepared a lot in terms of movement, in terms of flamenco. She prepared quite a bit, and so did he. You just hope that [the chemistry] is something that happens. You don't know. I mean, you get them together, but you just hope for the best, honestly." ON THE IMPORTANCE OF NICHOLAS BRITELL'S SCORE "The score implied so much of the film. We started with the music — so essentially the whole visual language came from the music, I would say. That was really wonderful. I even had score written that I could play on set. I think what I'm so proud of for this score is just it's so unique — so unique a sound for film, and it's filled with different influences, which is what we were going for. It's been a really beautiful journey with the music. When you hear the last hip hop track, it has West African rhythm influences. When you hear the choir, it's Eastern Europe voices — and then you have the French in the lyrics. And yet you have synths and strings, and so it's really rich in terms of its influences. That's what makes the score so unique. People wouldn't necessarily know it, but it is that way very specifically unique, I think. And I'm really proud of that for Nick, and for the film, that it doesn't sound like any other score that you've heard." ON MAKING HIS FEATURE DIRECTORIAL DEBUT WITH CARMEN "[It springs] from years of wanting to, of playing with film and the camera, and having a desire to actually make a film. It didn't come from one single thing. I think it's my love for photography, for film, for being interested in it — curious to, essentially, explore my own expression in something that has a bit more of an intellectual approach, in a way, and less instinctive like dance. Dance, I can just walk in the studio and just create something out of my dream — but a movie, you're interested in a theme, then you understand why, then you have to dig into it. I learned a lot through the process — of what to do, what not to do. And particularly the screenwriting stuff for me. I'm excited to to do it again, frankly." ON LEARNING FROM DANCING, CHOREOGRAPHY, BLACK SWAN AND DUNE FOR HIS FIRST FEATURE — OR NOT "I think nothing prepares you for really directing a film. I mean, there's little elements, but the magnitude of directing a film is so big that, no, it doesn't prepare you. But that's okay. I think there's a lot you can prepare yourself for, and yet there's so much to learn once you do it — and I love that. I love being thrown in the fire and and having to figure out everything on the go. I will make hopefully at some point a second film with so much more understanding of how do it." Carmen opened in Australian cinemas on July 13, and plays the 2023 New Zealand International Film Festival. Read our review. Images: Lisa Tomasetti / Goalpost Pictures.
The focus of yoga trends seems to be constantly changing — from beer yoga to hip hop yoga and rooftop yoga to farmside yoga, we thought we'd seen it all. Now, Dubai's Atlantis The Palm is bringing 'underwater' yoga onto the scene. Before you think about holding your breath while doing a submerged upward dog, the class isn't quite as complicated — or as cool — as it sounds. The yoga course is not held in the water, but instead it takes place inside a tank-like room called the Ambassador Lagoon. The Lagoon sits within the resort's Lost Chambers Aquarium, a 17-hectare openair marine habitat that boasts over 65,000 sea creatures within a massive maze of underwater corridors and passageways. The 250-plus salt and fresh water species include sharks, eels, rays and piranhas, as well as hundreds of exotic fish. That's a whole lot of marine life on call to sit audience to your meditation. The all-levels, 20-person class runs every Tuesday and Friday. Each ticket includes a yoga mat, bottle of water and valet parking, which we guess is what puts the price up at 120 Dirham (around $44 AUD). The lavishness of the course is no surprise coming from this 46-hectare luxury resort. Being in a darkened room surrounded by shimmering water and peacefully floating sea animals does sound quite relaxing, and, although there won't be any actual underwater feats involved, we don't think it would be quite as calming in practice anyway. Post-yoga, there's always the 18 million litres of fresh water which powers waterslides, river rides, tidal waves and pools to entertain yourself with. Underwater yoga is held at Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai. If you're heading there any time soon, visit their website for more information and bookings.
There aren't many events where the first female Australian astronaut, TikTok's marketing head, Australian screen personalities, a singer and actor who stars on Heartbreak High, a human rights lawyer and barrister, a cricketer, an Olympian, the director of Mortal Kombat, the first Australian artist to sign with Def Jam, a game about turning fruit into your own menu and a short film about a housewife trying to get a free pizza are on the same lineup. Actually, there's only one: SXSW Sydney 2024. After announcing in late 2023 that the event would return for a second year — because the inaugural SXSW Sydney was such a hit — and then getting everyone voting for its Session Selects conference events earlier in 2024, the only version of the tech, innovation, screen, music, games and culture festival outside of Austin, Texas has started unveiling its program for the year. Get ready for a busy seven days between Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20. SXSW announces its bill in multiple drops, so this really is just the beginning for 2024. Each of the conference, music fest, screen fest and games fest have revealed details — kicking off with a heap of featured speakers. Astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, TikTok executive Sofia Hernandez, Courtney Act, Nakkiah Lui, filmmaker Simon McQuoid, legal figure Jennifer Robinson, futurist Ryan Patel and the return of Non-Obvious trend curator Rohit Bhargava all grace the lineup so far. They're joined by Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, IBM's AI Platform Vice President of Product Armand Ruiz, Psychology of Your 20s host Jemma Sbeg and Esther Nguyen of POPS Worldwide, to name just a few more standouts. Plus, among the Session Selects panels, Hamish Blake will get chatting about social-media citizenship, David Warner and Tillie Kearns will talk athlete IP, and Australian Fashion Council CEO Jaana Quaintance-James and The Iconic CEO Jere Calmes will cover digital fashion. Other discussions will dig into designing with Country, taking film technology beyond the screen, the digital news transformation and the importance of nature. Stepping from Hartley High to SXSW Sydney Music Festival, Ayesha Madon is one of that strand's highlights. SAHXL, Nick Ward, BALTHVS, Total Tommy, brothers J-MILLA & Yung Milla, Joel Sunny, Ena Mori, Smol fish, HighSchool, Maina Doe, 404: you'll be able to see them as well. Film fans can look forward to short flicks such as the aforementioned Make Me a Pizza, plus Fish Tank, Meat Puppet and Vivie. And gamers can expect FRUITBUS, Blood Reaver, Curiosmos, Demon Spore, DICEOMANCER and Hyper Light Breaker, as well as Mystiques, No Case Should Remain Unsolved, Rose and Locket and Window Garden — some local; others from the UK, US, Belgium, China, Norway, South Korea and the Philippines; many with glorious names — at the Games Festival Showcase. "After the success of the inaugural SXSW Sydney in 2023, we are once again inspired by the overwhelming response from the creator communities to participate in the 2024 program. This is the first of many announcements as we roll out the extensive and diverse range of visionaries & creative thinkers from around the globe that make up the SXSW Sydney 2024 conference lineup," said SXSW Sydney Chair and TEG Group CEO Geoff Jones, announcing the initial 2024 program details. "SXSW Sydney is about discovery and an opportunity to be surrounded by the best and brightest minds from tech and innovation, games, music, screen and culture. This year's SXSW promises to be as inspiring as ever." 2023's inaugural SXSW Sydney welcomed everyone from Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker and Chance The Rapper to Future Today Institute founder and CEO Amy Webb and Nicole Kidman to its stages. In the process, it notched up 287,014 attendances from 97,462 unique attendees. Those figures came from 34,975 total tickets, with folks from 41 countries heading along to 1178 sessions. The full lineup spanned a 700-plus strong bill of talent, covering over 300 sessions, and featuring more than 300 gigs across 25 venues. From talks and concerts to films, TV shows and games, there was no shortage of things to see. Get ready for another round this October. SXSW Sydney 2024 will run from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Images: Jami Joy, Ian Laidlaw, Jess Gleeson, Katje Ford and Paul McMillan.
Don't let La Niña ruin your summer. Do you know where it rains all the time? England. And do you know what the Brits do well? Garden parties. We've teamed up with Whitley Neill Gin to help you transform your outdoor space into a charming, verdant oasis that, despite not featuring Keira Knightly in that green dress or Colin Firth emerging from a fountain, will have you living out your British country manor dreams in excellent taste and style. [caption id="attachment_839393" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul Liddle[/caption] THE SET-UP No matter what space you're working with, you'll want to include plenty of beautiful blooms. Check out your local florist for English varieties such as peonies, lavender and delphiniums. Arrange them in rustic vases — these can be easily sourced from your neighbourhood op-shop. Next up, set up a long table — a tressell will do — and cover it with a crisp linen tablecloth. Have some fun practicing your calligraphy (and playing guest matchmaker) with some old-timey seating placeholders. When it comes to napkins and tableware, opt for softer pastel shades — try using the flowers for colour palette inspo. And, if you've got the space to hang them, add some decorative bunting, which can be found at most party stores. Or if you're up for a crafternoon, make your own. [caption id="attachment_839389" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul Liddle[/caption] THE FOOD Start off with finger sandwiches. They're dead easy to make and can be adjusted to suit all dietary requirements — plus, they look super cute. We'd recommend keeping it simple and classic with chicken, curried egg, and, of course, cucumber. For something a little more substantial to complement the refreshing botanicals of Whitley Neill London Dry Gin, serve delicious barbecue pork buns with coleslaw or rare roast beef with horseradish potato salad. And for something sweet to finish, go old-school with a classic like eton mess, jam roly-poly or scones with jam and cream. Opted for the latter? Sit back and watch the all-important debate as to which goes first — the jam or cream — ensue. [caption id="attachment_839379" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul Liddle[/caption] THE DRINKS With eight generations of gin distilling to its name, and a range of 15 100-percent grain-distilled gins with a wide spectrum of flavours, it should come as no surprise that Whitley Neill has some cracking recipes when it comes to booze. Give the Johnny's Ritual Gin and Tonic a whirl and dress it with a wedge of lime or orange and sprig of rosemary. Or, make use of one of the more out-there flavours and knock up a jug of the Queen's High Tea using the Whitley Neill Rhubarb and Ginger Gin, topped up with a dash of prosecco and ginger ale. The tartness of the rhubarb mixes beautifully with the warming ginger for a full-bodied, yet refreshing, summer cocktail. THE FUN It's time to ditch the beer pong (or Goon of Fortune) for more sophisticated games. If you've got the space, why not give badminton a try? Or go full Alice in Wonderland and opt for croquet — but please refrain from using actual flamingos. Chances are you or one of your mates will have a boules or quoits set knocking about, so make good use of it. You'll be surprised how much fun you'll have. For more information on Whitley Neill's innovative gin range, head to the website. Top image: Paul Liddle
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. DUNE A spice-war space opera about feuding houses on far-flung planets, Dune has long been a pop-culture building block. Before Frank Herbert's 1965 novel was adapted into a wrongly reviled David Lynch-directed film — a gloriously 80s epic led by Kyle MacLachlan and laced with surreal touches — it unmistakably inspired Star Wars, and also cast a shadow over Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Game of Thrones has since taken cues from it. The Riddick franchise owes it a debt, too. The list goes on and, thanks to the new version bringing its sandy deserts to cinemas, will only keep growing. As he did with Blade Runner 2049, writer/director Denis Villeneuve has once again grasped something already enormously influential, peered at it with astute eyes and built it anew — and created an instant sci-fi classic. This time, Villeneuve isn't asking viewers to ponder whether androids dream of electric sheep, but if humanity can ever overcome one of our worst urges and all that it brings. Dune tells of birthrights, prophesied messiahs, secret sisterhood sects that underpin the galaxy and phallic-looking giant sandworms, and of the primal lust for power that's as old as time — and, in Herbert's story, echoes well into the future's future. Blade Runner 2049 ruminated upon a similar idea in its own way, as many movies do. Indeed, Ridley Scott was hired to helm Dune before Lynch, then made the original Blade Runner instead, so Villeneuve is following him again here. Dune's unpacking of dominance and command piles on colonial oppression, authoritarianism, greed, ecological calamity and religious fervour, though, like it's building a sandcastle out of power's nastiest ramifications. And, amid that weightiness, it's also a tale of a moody teen with mind-control abilities struggling with what's expected versus what's right. That young man is Paul Atreides, as played by Timothée Chalamet in a stroke of genius casting that seems almost fated — as if returning Dune to the big screen had to wait for the Call Me By Your Name star. (The book also earned the TV miniseries treatment in 2000, and we should be thankful that a 90s iteration soundtracked by the Spice Girls' 'Spice Up Your Life' didn't ever eventuate.) When the narrative begins in Villeneuve and co-screenwriters Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) and Eric Roth's (A Star Is Born) retelling, Paul's life has been upended. House Atreides, led by his father Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac, Scenes From a Marriage), must leave its watery home planet of Caladan to take over the desert world of Arrakis. Previously run by their enemies in House Harkonnen, it's the source of the universe's melange stores, with the spice making interstellar travel possible. Spice also expands consciousness and extends lives — and, while forced by imperial decree, the monstrous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård, Chernobyl) isn't happy about handing Arrakis over. To say House Atreides' move doesn't go smoothly is like saying that its new home is a tad toasty, but the tricky transition is just one of Dune's concerns. Another: the plans for Paul. House Atreides' heir, he's being trained as such by the Duke, security expert Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley Henderson, Devs), swordmaster Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa, Aquaman) and weaponry whiz Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin, Avengers: Endgame). But Paul's mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson, Reminiscence) hails from the Bene Gesserit, an all-female group who pull the galaxy's strings, and she sees him as its fabled chosen one. Read our full review. THE CARD COUNTER Another Paul Schrader film, another lonely man thrust under a magnifying glass as he wrestles with the world, his place in it and his sense of morality. The acclaimed filmmaker has filled the screen with such characters and stories for more than half a century — intense tales of men who would not take it anymore — as evidenced in his screenplays for Martin Scorsese's brilliant Taxi Driver and Bringing Out the Dead, and also in his own directorial efforts such as Light Sleeper and First Reformed. You can't accuse Schrader of always making the same movie, however, as much as his work repeatedly bets on the same ideas. Instead, his films feel like cards from the same deck. Each time he deals one out, it becomes part of its own hand, as gambling drama The Card Counter demonstrates with potency, smarts and a gripping search for salvation. The film's title refers to William 'Tell' Tillich (Oscar Isaac, Dune), who didn't ever plan to spend his days in casinos and his nights in motels. But during an eight-year stint in military prison, he taught himself a new skill that he's been capitalising upon after his release. His gambit: winning modest scores from small-scale casinos. If he doesn't take the house, the house won't discipline his card-counting prowess. The money keeps him moving, but each gambling den could be the same for all that Tell cares. His motel-room routine, which involves removing all artwork from the walls, making the bed with his own linen, and covering every other surface and item with carefully tied cloth — making each space as identical as it can be, and resemble incarceration — lingers between fierce self-discipline and a stifled cry for help. Assistance arrives in two forms, not that Tell is looking or particularly receptive to having other people in his life. The regimented status quo he's carved out so meticulously is first punctured by fellow gambler-turned-agent La Linda (Tiffany Haddish, Like a Boss), who backs other punters and believes they should team up to profit big on the poker circuit. That'd bring Tell more visibility than he'd like, but it'd also increase his pay days, which would come in handy for his second new acquaintance. In Atlantic City, he meets the college-aged Cirk (Tye Sheridan, Voyagers), who has proposes a quest for revenge. Tell shares a grim past with Cirk's dad, and the twentysomething wants to punish the retired major-turned-security expert (William Dafoe, The Lighthouse) that he holds responsible — which Tell is eager to discourage. Isaac doesn't ask his reflection if it's looking in his direction. And, given that The Card Counter joins a filmography overflowing with exceptional performances — including Scenes From a Marriage already this year — it won't define his career as Taxi Driver did for a young Robert De Niro. Still, it's the highest compliment to mention the two in the same breath. At every moment, this blistering film is anchored by Isaac's phenomenal portrayal, which is quiet, slippery and weighty all at once. As conveyed with a calculating glare that's as slick as his brushed-back hair, here is a man who dons a calm facade to mask the storm brewing inside, revels in routine to avoid facing change, and anaesthetises his pain and past deeds with the repetition he's made his daily existence. Here is a man desperate to paper over his inner rot with time spent amid meaningless gloss, preferring to feel empty than to feel anything else, until he has an innocent to try to save and a clear-cut way to rally against the soulless world. Read our full review. ENCANTO Five years after Lin-Manuel Miranda and Disney first teamed up on an animated musical with the catchiest of tunes, aka Moana, they're back at it again with Encanto. To viewers eager for another colourful, thoughtful and engaging film — and another that embraces a particular culture with the heartiest of hugs, and is all the better for it — what can the past decade's most influential composer and biggest entertainment behemoth say except you're welcome? Both the Hamilton mastermind and the Mouse House do what they do best here. The songs are infectious, as well as diverse in style; the storyline follows a spirited heroine challenging the status quo; and the imagery sparkles. Miranda and Disney are both in comfortable territory, in fact — formulaic, sometimes — but Encanto never feels like they're monotonously beating the same old drum. Instruments are struck, shaken and otherwise played in the film's soundtrack, of course, which resounds with energetic earworms; the salsa beats of 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' are especially irresistible, and the Miranda-penned hip hop wordplay that peppers the movie's tunes is impossible to mentally let go. Spanning pop, ballads and more, all those songs help tell the tale of the Madrigals, a close-knit Colombian family who've turned generational trauma into magic. This is still an all-ages-friendly Disney flick, so there are limits to how dark it's willing to get; however, that Encanto fills its frames with a joyous celebration of Latin America and simultaneously recognises its setting's history of conflict is hugely significant. It also marks Walt Disney Animation Studios' 60th feature — dating back to 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs — but its cultural specificity (depictions of Indigenous, Afro Latino and Colombian characters of other ethnicities included) is its bigger achievement. The focal point of their jungle-surrounded village, the Madrigals are the local version of superheroes. They live in an enchanted home, complete with a magical candle that's burned for three generations, and they each receive special powers when they come of age. The latter wasn't the case for Encanto's heroine Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), though, and that absence of exceptional abilities has left the bespectacled teen feeling like an outcast. Plus, with her young cousin Antonio (Ravi Cabot-Conyers, #BlackAF) now going through the ceremony, Mirabel's perceived failings linger afresh in everyone's minds. But then la casita, as their supernatural home is known, starts cracking — the flame begins to flicker as well, as everyone's powers waver with it — and it looks like only its most ordinary inhabitant can save the day. Encanto doesn't refer to the Madrigals by any term you'd hear in a Marvel movie, but the imprint of Disney's hit franchise remains evident. Thankfully, director Byron Howard (Tangled), and co-writers/co-helmers Charise Castro Smith (Sweetbitter) and Jared Bush (Zootopia) have sprinkled in a few fun abilities — because mixing up a template sits high among the feature's powers, even when those generic underlying pieces can still be gleaned. Accordingly, one of Mirabel's sisters, Luisa (Jessica Darrow, Feast of the Seven Fishes), is super strong, but the other, Isabela (Diane Guerrero, Doom Patrol), makes flowers blossom with her loveliness. Similarly, while their aunt Pepa (Carolina Gaitán, The Greatest Showman) controls the weather, their mother Julieta (Angie Cepeda, Jane the Virgin) heals through cooking. Read our full review. THE LOST LEONARDO Art of either great or dubious origins. Airport facilities where items can be stored — art masterpieces included — without their owners abiding by taxation rules. Both played parts in Christopher Nolan's Tenet; however, it's no longer the only recent thriller to include the two. The Lost Leonardo doesn't feature a phenomenal heist of a disputed piece from a freeport, but it is as tense and suspenseful as its 2020 predecessor. It also tells a 100-percent true tale about the artwork dubbed the 'male Mona Lisa'. Exploring the story of the Salvator Mundi, a painting of Jesus that may hail from Leonardo da Vinci, this documentary is filled with developments far wilder and stranger than fiction (sorry not sorry Dan Brown). And while there's little that's astonishing about the film's talking heads-meets-recreations approach, it still couldn't be more riveting. Although the Salvator Mundi itself is thought to date to the 15th century, The Lost Leonardo only jumps back as far as 2005. That's when the High Renaissance-era piece was sold for US$1175, and when Alexander Parrish and Robert Simon, art dealers eager to dig up sleepers — works from renowned masters that've been mislabelled or misattributed — suspected there might be more to it. The pair tasked restorer Dianne Modestini with tending to the heavily overpainted and damaged work, which revealed otherwise unseen details in the process. Cue a now-prevailing theory: that the Salvator Mundi sprung from da Vinci's hands. That's a shattering revelation given that, despite the prominence that the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper enjoy, the list of surviving works attributed to da Vinci barely hits 20 — and that's with questions lingering over his involvement in quite a few. Uncovering one of his previously unknown paintings was always going to be huge as a result; locating it in such a way, and for so cheap, only bolsters the extraordinary tale. Debates over the painting's provenance have continued for the past 16 years, although that's not the only reason that The Lost Leonardo exists. The piece has increased in fame over the last decade thanks to two factors, including the Salvator Mundi's inclusion in a 2011–12 da Vinci exhibition at the National Gallery, London, placing it alongside the author's accepted works — and its sale for US$75 million in 2013, then for US$127.5 million, and finally again in 2017 for a whopping US$450.3 million. Its unglamorous discovery, the ongoing argument over authenticity, the legitimacy gained by exhibiting in one of the world's most influential galleries, that it's now the most expensive painting ever sold: these details are unpacked and analysed by writer/director Andreas Koefoed (At Home in the World) via his array of interviewees — and so is the fact that, when that mind-blowing sale occurred, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was the secretive buyer. It's little wonder that the filmmaker has chosen to unfurl the ins and outs of these remarkable events as if he's joining the dots and puzzling together the pieces right in front of viewers' eyes, making The Lost Leonardo a detective story of a doco. It isn't a new approach, let alone a unique or unusual one, but it savvily relies upon the combined force of a ripping yarn and rollicking storytelling. Read our full review. THE HAND OF GOD For anyone that's ever watched a Paolo Sorrentino film and noticed his fascination with breasts, The Hand of God has the answers. It explains why the director behind The Great Beauty, Youth and Loro — and TV's The Young Pope and The New Pope, too — took to his chosen career as well, and why his features frequently feel pinpoint-accurate when they're either at their most sorrowful or their funniest. And, if he was ever to make a Diego Maradona biopic, the reasons why are also laid out. Sorrentino's latest drama takes its name from the Argentinian soccer superstar's infamous move during a 1986 World Cup match, where he used his hand to score a goal, wasn't penalised and helped win the game. Based on the filmmaker's own adolescence, it also tells of a time when the player was a deity to the not-yet-film-obsessed future Italian cinema great. First, those boobs: they belong to Patrizia (Luisa Ranieri, La vita promessa), aunt of teenager Fabietto Schiesi (Filippo Scotti, Luna Nera), Sorrentino's on-screen surrogate. She isn't shy — sunbathing nude on family boat trips and calling him over to hand her a towel — and the boy is obsessed to the point of chatting about it with his wannabe-actor elder brother Marchino (Marlon Joubert, Romulus). He's also fixated on Maradona's possible move to SSC Napoli, his local team, although that's a family-wide passion. At home with his mother Maria (Teresa Saponangelo, Porcelain) and father Saveria (Sorrentino regular Toni Servillo), and at get-togethers with all of his relatives, it's a frequent topic of conversation. But then a summer takes a turn for the tragic and, thanks to his devotion to Maradona, he's spared — but also caught adrift. For a filmmaker who often lets his excesses guide his frames, The Hand of God sees Sorrentino in a softer mode. The naked female skin remains, the dips into lavish visual extravagance and the eye-catching use of dolly shots as well — plus his penchant for following in Federico Fellini's footsteps, which also manifests when Fabietto tags along with Marchino to audition for the iconic figure — but this is Sorrentino at his most reflective and poignant. Bringing your most painful memory to the screen and sifting through all the complicated feelings it evokes will do that, understandably. Indeed, when Fabietto meets another real-life filmmaker, Antonio Capuano (played by Veleno's Ciro Capano), and says he wants "an imaginary life, like the one I had before" rather than his curent sea of hurt, Sorrentino reveals exactly why The Hand of God and his whole cinema career exists. It may start with a striking flight of fantasy involving a limousine and a small monk, but this is an affectionate and intimate family portrait, as populated with a wonderfully detailed central quartet. It's also a tender and touching coming-of-age story that's equally about sexual awakenings, farewelling childhood and confronting the worst that a teen can face, too. And, it's a movie layered with details about the tidbits that shape us in moments big and small, be it sport or friends or family practical jokes, and it always feels personal. As always, Sorrentino guides wonderful performances out of his cast — along with his striking cinematic eye, its long been one of his best filmic traits — and The Hand of God is never better than when Scotti, Joubert, Saponangelo and Servillo light up the screen together. BACK TO THE OUTBACK Joining the lengthy list of all-ages-friendly animated flicks that preach the importance of being yourself and not judging others on appearance (see also: Encanto and Ron's Gone Wrong), Back to the Outback hits screens with two differences. This overly glossy film is set in Australia, and sports the Aussie voice cast to prove it — Eric Bana, Isla Fisher, Jacki Weaver, Miranda Tapsell, Tim Minchin, Guy Pearce and even Kylie Minogue — while focusing on our native critters. Here, no one should assume a koala is nice, for instance. Fearing spiky, snapping and slithering creatures is similarly frowned upon. That's an immensely well-worn life lesson for kids, and also echoes with cognitive dissonance. When the animals in question are crocodiles, snakes and spiders, wanting them to be your next Finding Nemo or Finding Dory-style pet is hardly the best choice. Misreading how children will likely respond to the movie — begging for their own creatures, rather than taking a message they've already heard countless times to heart yet again — is one of Back to the Outback's many missteps. It smacks of trying to give a by-the-numbers formula a local spin but not thinking it through, a feeling that's also evoked elsewhere in the movie. Take its Steve Irwin-esque zookeeper Chaz Hunt (Bana, The Dry), who plays like a mean-spirited parody, and is the villain of the piece. Again, it must've been a quick decision to caricature Irwin and, while that choice is eventually grounded in the script, it really just seems like the easiest shorthand to make the movie more stereotypically Aussie. In the same vein, Chaz also mentions Vegemite and budgy smugglers when he's not uttering "crikey", unsurprisingly. He dons khaki and hosts wildlife shows at his Sydney zoo, too, which is where taipan Maddie (Fisher, Godmothered), funnel web spider Frank (Pearce, Mare of Easttown), scorpion Nigel (Angus Imrie, Emma) and thorny devil Zoe (Tapsell, Top End Wedding) all live — but koala Pretty Boy (Minchin, Upright) is the star of the show. That truth hits home for the sensitive Maddie when she makes her public debut and is called a monster because of her venom, while the cute and cuddly PB is a viral sensation the world over. Maternal croc Jackie (Weaver, Penguin Bloom) counsels not to take it all personally, although that's obviously easier said than done. So is the escape plan to flee the zoo and head back to the outback in search of her family — and yes, the film does utter its title in dialogue. Directed by Clare Knight (The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part's editor) and Harry Cripps (screenwriter of The Dry and Penguin Bloom, and also this), Back to the Outback hails from the distraction-filled school of family-centric filmmaking. Think: expensive and overt needle drops that add nothing to the story, but will keep kids bopping ('Bad Guy' is one such choice here); and a need to pack in as many flimsy jokes as possible in the hope that some will stick and, even if they don't, that they'll all keep viewers moving onto the next thing split-seconds later. Also high among its grating traits is an evident lack of understanding that great stories rather than half-baked sight gags and onslaughts of colour and movement make all-ages filmmaking special. Oh, and Back to the Outback's overemphasis on celebrity voicework is just as testing, as is that aforementioned heavy-handed messaging. SIT. STAY. LOVE. As Netflix keeps reminding its subscribers each and every festive season, Christmas rom-coms aren't usually known for their style, substance or depth. Instead, the most stereotypical flicks in the genre tend to favour cheese and cliches decked out in seasonal trimmings, and are designed to be consumed as easily and undemandingly as possible. They're the brandy custard of the cinema world, or the candy canes used to stuff stockings. Filler is a great way to describe the Hallmark-style fare that keeps getting churned out, too. Releasing in cinemas but surely destined to settle into a streaming platform's end-of-year roster in the future, Sit. Stay. Love is one such movie. And, while it gleefully owns all of its tropes — and all that Christmas packaging — that isn't the same as giving viewers a present. Festive-themed romantic-comedy meets animal-centric heartstring-tugger: even with an Eat Pray Love-knockoff of a title, that's the recipe here. Christmas brings people together, cute critters do as well, and Sit. Stay. Love doesn't hide either the formula at work or how blatantly it's splicing together two well-worn templates. The Australian-made film is better at getting a Gold Coast studio to stand in for Vermont in the thick of winter — because that's how firmly the movie embraces cookie-cutter Christmas flick inclusions, requisite snowy backdrop and all. Director Tori Garrett (Don't Tell) has nowhere near the same success in presenting the Australian cast as American, though, adding unconvincing accents to the feature's sack of struggles. As paint-by-numbers as it is, there's still wholesome potential in Sit. Stay. Love's premise, as penned by veteran sitcom writer Holly Hester (Ellen, Grace Under Fire, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Drew Carey Show). Overachiever Annie (Georgia Flood, American Princess) has returned to New England after a stint building a school in Nepal, but the aid worker still needs to keep herself busy — lest she actually spend meaningful time with her dad (Anthony Phelan, The Nightingale) and come to terms with her mother's death in the process. When the local animal rescue charity looks set to go under, her solution is to help save it, and to try to find homes for three of its dogs. But that isn't enough of a feel-good setup, so Sit. Stay. Love also has Annie flirtatiously banter with her old debating nemesis, Dylan (Ezekiel Simat, Back to the Rafters), who's now the town vet. The schmaltz falls as thick as snow, the dialogue is trite and no one's putting in their best performance. They're all hallmarks of exactly this kind of Christmas movie, as is the complete absence of surprises served up by the plot. Still, simply adhering to a terrible pattern shouldn't be any feature's biggest strength, even in a genre as padded out and merrily content to always stick to the obvious as seasonal rom-coms. Festive flicks have a built-in recourse to criticism — if you don't like them, you must be a grinch, or so the accusation goes — but saying bah humbug to cloying movies shouldn't stop at any time of the year. The dogs are adorable, at least, but that was always going to be a given. 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 August 5, August 12, August 19 and August 26; September 2, September 9, September 16, September 23 and September 30; October 7, October 14, October 21 and October 28; and November 4, November 11, November 18 and November 25. For Sydney specifically, you can take a look at out our rundown of new films that released in Sydney cinemas when they reopened on October 11, and what opened on October 14, October 21 and October 28 as well. And for Melbourne, you can check out our top picks from when outdoor cinemas reopened on October 22 — and from when indoor cinemas did the same on October 29. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Suicide Squad, Free Guy, Respect, The Night House, Candyman, Annette, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Streamline, Coming Home in the Dark, Pig, Big Deal, The Killing of Two Lovers, Nitram, Riders of Justice, 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 and Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn.
Most of us are gearing up to celebrate summer's return, making plans to hit up the nearest sun-soaked rooftop or beachfront with our pals. But if you're someone whose siren song is more of the alpine variety, there's one last chance to get your winter season kicks. Held from Saturday, December 6–Sunday, December 7, Mt Buller is returning to the slopes for Summer Shred. With the team harvesting top-notch snow right at the end of peak season, this wintery leftover will be used to shape a summery park for snow-loving riders and spectators. "We've kept some snow on ice, and it's amazing that even at 18 degrees, our snow preservation system can reduce snowmelt by up to 85 percent," says Terrain Park Manager Tyson Pollard. "It's frozen solid under its blanket and ready for one last shred of 2025." Open to both skiers and snowboarders, this two-day event features multiple rails and features as part of a pair of freestyle showdowns. Taking over the bottom of Mt Buller's Bourke Street, expect hospo stands, booming music and sweet giveaways too, making for a festive summertime experience up in the clouds.
It's been an absolute age since it was first announced back in January 2018, but Chadstone Shopping Centre's much-hyped five-star hotel is finally open. Dubbed simply Hotel Chadstone Melbourne, it's the work of MGallery by Sofitel — and it has hosted its first guests this weekend. The latest drawcard for Australia's biggest shopping centre, the $130 million hotel has 250 rooms and suites, a sleek rooftop pool and conservatory bar, its own day spa and wellness retreat, an LED-lit yoga studio, a lounge bar and a couple of top-notch restaurants. It's also set to be Melbourne's only five-star hotel located outside the city centre. The suites are all kinds of opulent, too, featuring a clever design by multiple world-leading studios, including Australia's own Bates Smart. Think, contemporary blush pink and teal hues, custom lighting and a range of specially commissioned designer furniture inspired by trunks from luxury European fashion labels. The ritziness continues upstairs on the roof, where you'll spy private cabanas, a pool ringed with loungers and incredible panoramic views to match. At rooftop bar and lounge Altus, you can sip classic cocktails beneath a custom-made, seven-tier wine glass holder chandelier, while the dining room is set to be a striking vision of mirrored arches and plush velvet banquettes. In a win for foodies, Hotel Chadstone is also home to Pastore, the latest venture from acclaimed chef Scott Pickett (Estelle, Matilda, Lupo). Fusing the classic flavours of Italy with a distinct Australian edge, this contemporary all-day diner and bar has a menu that heroes woodfired dishes and handmade pasta. Expect sophisticated plates like the wood-roasted king prawns with fermented tomato, 'nduja and capers, and an 1.2-kilogram, 35-day dry-aged bistecca alla fiorentina, served against a plush backdrop of dusty pink hues, warm timber and brass. Meanwhile, the wine list favours Italian varieties from local producers and a cocktail lineup reworks Italian classics with Australian botanicals and spirits. We expect it'll be a popular go-to for post-shopping snacks and drinks. If you're staying in the hotel, you'll also be able to have Pastore favourites delivered to your room, too. Find Hotel Chadstone at 1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone. Rooms start from $269 a night.
