In 2028, one of the biggest names in Hollywood — and in cinema in general — will turn 100. When that year's Oscars takes place, recognising and rewarding the films of 2027, it'll mark a century of celebrating the latest and greatest on the big screen. The event will also fix a glaring omission from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' annual accolades. There'd be no movie magic without stunts, but the Academy Award for Achievement in Stunt Design will only join the Oscars when it hits its massive milestone. On Friday, April 11, 2025, Down Under time, the AMPAS Board of Governors announced that it is creating an annual competitive Oscar for stunts — and yes, "finally" is the word that should instantly come to mind. Adding the category comes after a concerted push from stunt professionals in recent years, and after The Fall Guy's Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt were tasked with paying tribute to stunt performers at the 2024 ceremony. [caption id="attachment_999323" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Al Seib, The Academy[/caption] "Since the early days of cinema, stunt design has been an integral part of filmmaking. We are proud to honour the innovative work of these technical and creative artists, and we congratulate them for their commitment and dedication in reaching this momentous occasion," said said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang, announcing the new stunts Oscar. Details on eligibility and voting for the award are still to come, however — and the same regarding how the accolade will be presented. The former will be revealed in 2027, when the 100th Academy Awards rules are unveiled. The latter will be announced "by the Academy's Board of Governors and executive leadership at a future date". [caption id="attachment_999325" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Richard Harbaugh, The Academy[/caption] Wondering which movies might be in contention for the first-ever Oscar for stunt design? 2027's current planned releases include the live-action The Legend of Zelda film, Avengers: Secret Wars, the sequel to The Batman, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and the second live-action How to Train Your Dragon, for starters, plus Sonic the Hedgehog 4, a sequel to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and an untitled Star Wars flick. The Academy Award for Achievement in Stunt Design is just the second new Oscar field since Best Animated Feature Film joined the roster in 2001, the third since Best Makeup and Hairstyling in 1981, and the fourth since Best Costume Design in 1948. The other recent addition hasn't actually been handed out yet, with the Achievement in Casting gong set to first be awarded at the 2026 ceremony, covering movies released in 2025. [caption id="attachment_999326" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dana Pleasant, AMPAS[/caption] [caption id="attachment_718585" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Marvel Studios 2018[/caption] The Academy Award for Achievement in Stunt Design will join the Oscars for films released in 2027, so will be first presented at the 2028 ceremony. For more information, head to the Oscars website. Top image: The Fall Guy.
Before the pandemic, it was one of the annual highlights of Sydney's art calendar. If you don't live in the Harbour City, it has long been reason enough to book in a weekend spent walking around Bondi. And, in 2022, for the first time since 2019 — for obvious reasons — super-popular free outdoor exhibition Sculpture by the Sea is finally making a comeback. The dates to lock into your calendar: Friday, October 21–Monday, November 7. That's when Sculpture by the Sea will unveil more than 100 large-scale artworks by Australian and international sculptors, all along Sydney's two-kilometre Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk. While the full lineup of artists hasn't been revealed for 2022's event as yet, keen Sculpture by the Sea attendees can start looking forward to the return of a few exhibition favourites. On the lineup: Marina DeBris and Stephen King, recipients of the Helen Lempriere Scholarship; and Danish artist Naja Utzon Popov, the first person to nab the new $15,000 Friendship Society of Denmark, Australia and New Zealand Danish Artist Award. [caption id="attachment_860366" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Katja Grinling[/caption] 2022 will mark the exhibition's 24th year and, as always, it's set to draw a crowd. In 2019, Sculpture by the Sea attracted approximately 450,000 visitors over three weeks, with the same number of art lovers expected this time around. "It is great to be planning to stage the exhibition without the spectre of almost certain cancellation hanging over our heads," said David Handley, Sculpture by the Sea's founding CEO and Artistic Director. "The excitement is building as the artists, our staff and everyone who supports us financially believe the exhibition will go ahead." Indeed, the event's return won't just unleash a heap of eye-catching sights upon Sydney, and give locals and tourists alike an excuse to soak in the scenery as well — it'll cap off an understandably tumultuous few years for the exhibition. Sculpture by the Sea tried to make a comeback in October 2021, but had to scrap those plans due to the pandemic, marking the second year it went through that process. In 2020, the event initially planned to go ahead as normal in October, then aimed for an early 2021 berth. It did successfully stage a CBD spinoff, Sculpture Rocks, in autumn 2021, however. [caption id="attachment_860364" align="alignnone" width="1920"] David Jensz[/caption] That said, even before the current global health situation interrupted its annual plans, it had been already been an eventful period for Sculpture by the Sea. To rewind a little, in mid-2019, organisers were at loggerheads with the Council over the construction of a new path, and were scoping out alternative locations for the long-running art exhibition. In fact, it was only early in 2021 that the parties came to an agreement to remain in Bondi until 2030, with the organisers and Council agreeing to a ten-year deal. Amid all of the above, the Sculpture by the Sea team also branched out this year, opening the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail. It's a permanent 100-kilometre collection of outdoor art along the Snowy Valleys Way, passing through the towns of Adelong, Batlow and Tumbarumba, the hamlet of Tooma, plus the Tumbarumba wine region's cellar doors. So, as well as checking out what dazzling delights this year's array of sculptures in Bondi has to offer come spring, you can add even more huge art to your must-see list — and your travel list, too — in the Snowies whenever you like. [caption id="attachment_860363" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Danai Kotsaki[/caption] Sculpture by the Sea is will return to the Bondi–Tamarama coastal walk from Friday, October 21–Monday, November 7. For more information, head to sculpturebythesea.com. Images: Henrique Fanti / Clyde Yee / Charlotte Curd.
We've all been racking up some serious at-home time of late, while that social life takes a backseat to social distancing and our favourite venues take an enforced hiatus. So it's safe to say we're itching to get back out and soak up the best of Melbourne's legendary, creatively charged nightlife scene. The only tough bit will be figuring out which spot to hit first. So, we've teamed up with Miller Genuine Draft to round up five nighttime activities that should be top of your hit list after lockdown. In celebration of Miller Design Lab — the home of creativity and self-expression built by Australia's leading minds in design, art, technology and fashion — we want to help you celebrate and support the businesses and experiences that make Melbourne great. From DJ-fuelled dance parties to intimate basement gigs, these are the late-night favourites we've been missing the most. They're set to get one heck of a workout as soon as 2020 allows it, so read on and start plotting your return to reality. CATCHING A LIVE GIG AT HOWLER If you're feeling a Howler-shaped hole in your heart these days, you sure aren't alone. The Brunswick bar and live music venue has been a go-to for memorable northside nights out since launching way back in 2013. Punters flock to the artfully repurposed wool store for burgers, beers and a jam-packed, diverse calendar of performances and live tunes. It includes, of course, the odd cheeky surprise show — who could forget The Killers' 2017 visit? Lock in a live gig here as soon as those doors reopen, whether it's a big-name music act, dance-friendly sounds from a local legend, or a stand-up show delivering some much-deserved chuckles. ENJOYING AUDIO-VISUAL DELIGHTS AT LOOP PROJECT SPACE & BAR A fixture of Melbourne's arts and music scene for close to two decades, Loop Project Space & Bar is one venue that's been sorely missed from a whole lot of weekend plans right now. And, while its new COVID-friendly live-stream program is helping to fill the void, fans are hanging out for the return of Loop IRL. Here, no two nights out are the same, thanks to a broad rotation of immersive performances, projections, screenings, DJ sets and more. Get set to sink your teeth into some fresh local tunes, alternative club nights, or audiovisual delights when this one makes its grand post-lockdown debut. CHECKING OUT A BASEMENT DANCE PARTY AT SUB CLUB Below street level in the heart of the CBD, this much-loved spot rocks all the attitude you'd expect from an underground club, fused with a healthy appreciation for subcultures. A music venue, art space and bar rolled into one, the ultra-inclusive Sub Club is a favourite after-dark playground for alternative-minded partygoers. Its 10,000-watt sound system and progressive programming make for some big, escapist nights spent celebrating a diverse melting pot of art forms and music genres. Strap yourself in for a techno gig, hard-hitting resident DJ set, or immersive art installation as soon as nightlife normality returns. GETTING YOUR ART FIX AT WHITEHART A double-decker shipping container laneway bar dishing up a program of visual treats, DJ tunes and food truck eats, Whitehart is one of those nightlife experiences that's unmistakably Melbourne. It's an all-weather, any-mood kind of haunt, with big energy that'll see you kicking well into the night. Thankfully, the CBD favourite is gearing up to return as vibrant as ever — pay a visit if you fancy letting down your hair to some lush DJ sounds, scoping some fine local street art and performance work, and generally soaking up some urban magic from within its art-covered walls. A juicy calendar of gigs, dance parties and creative events awaits. [caption id="attachment_771632" align="alignnone" width="1920"] By Duncographic[/caption] HAVING A BOOGIE AT A COMMON ROOMS DANCE PARTY An ongoing Melbourne Fringe project that delivers the goods year-round, Common Rooms is an inclusive party and performance space celebrating culture, community and creativity. Its main focus is on supporting our local, independent artists, but it sure has a good time doing so. The events calendar is typically stacked with just about every flavour of gig, performance and workshop imaginable — not to mention, dance parties for days. And you can bank on Common Rooms coming back with a bang after lockdown, with a loaded lineup already in the works. Get yourself amped to break a sweat at the return of beloved monthly dance fiesta, Mr McClelland's Finishing School. For more ways to celebrate your city's nightlife and recreate its energy in your own space, head this way.
Each year, we all anticipate the arrival of December 25. Because of the day off, that includes the promise of an afternoon spent dozing in a hammock — and for dessert fiends, it also includes Gelato Messina's annual Christmas cake. We hope you like a certain quintessential Australian dish, because that's what is on the gelato chain's menu again. Yes, Messina is bringing back its version of the trifle. The Christmas Coma will return for its fifth year running — and, although it seems like we say this every festive season, this time it's especially decadent. In fact, it's a choc-hazelnut trifle that's topped with choc gold sheet, as well as a milk chocolate hazelnut globe that's filled with Messinatella — aka Messina's version of Nutella — and it also comes in a pack with a bake-at-home gingerbread and dark choc chip cookie pie. First, the epic trifle. In 2021, the Christmas Coma will once again feature layer upon layer of everything that is good about Christmas — but instead of being soggy and slightly regrettable, this one will have you licking the glass bowl. So what's in it? Well, Messina is going with layers of Messinatella crémeux, chocolate mud cake made with Messinatella fudge, caramelised white chocolate mousse, choc-coated puffed rice and candied hazelnuts, vanilla cream chantilly, hazelnut semifreddo and choc-hazelnut crumble. Plus, it'll come with some Messina brandy custard to douse all over the mess. And, it all serves 20–30 (or less if you really commit). With the gingerbread and dark choc chip cookie pie, it's exactly what it sounds like. Messina has been slinging cookie pies for a few years now, and you'll just need to bake this one for 12 minutes before eating. All of the above comes in a Christmas Coma mega pack, which costs $2s0 and can be pre-ordered from Monday, November 22 — with times varying depending on your state, as the gelato chain has been doing with its specials this year. That said, if you sign up on Messina's website in advance, you'll get access to pre-sale window before pre-orders open to everyone, too. You'll then be able to pick up your Christmas Coma between Tuesday, December 21–Friday, December 24, all within regular store opening hours — and from all Gelato Messina stores across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It comes in a Messina cooler bag and, if you keep it in there all sealed up, can survive for up to one hour. In each of the last few years, the trifle sold out super fast, so we suggest you don't wait on this one. The Christmas Coma will be available to order from Monday, November 22. Keep an eye on the Messina website for further details — or sign up to get access to a pre-sale window before pre-orders open to everyone.
If summer always leaves you reminiscing about the balmy school holidays of your youth, you're going to be all about the latest line of frosty creations from Gelatissimo. The gelato chain is throwing back hard and digging up plenty of fond memories with its newly launched Aussie Favourites range — a trio of flavours that includes chocolate crackle, fairy bread and Weet-Bix with honey and banana. They're scooping now at all Gelatissimo stores nationwide, up for grabs until the end of January 2020. Sure to transport you straight back to some childhood birthday party, the fairy bread flavour pays homage to a true Aussie icon. Expect buttery vanilla gelato — made with real butter, mind you — scattered with 100s and 1000s, and crunchy pieces of lightly toasted fairy bread. Cleverly blurring that line between breakfast and dessert, the Weet-Bix concoction is another riff on a favourite, though one you're probably less inclined to scoff a bowl of before netball practice. It teams real Weet-Bix chunks with creamy banana gelato and a splash of Australian wildflower honey. And the nostalgia runs extra deep with the chocolate crackle creation, a sweet tribute to one of the most recognisable party treats in all of Australian history. It boasts rich chocolate gelato infused with chunks of real chocolate crackle, crafted just like Mum used to make, with rice puffs, cocoa powder, desiccated coconut and plenty of chocolate sauce. Of course, Gelatissimo's no stranger to dreaming up wild and innovative new creations. In the past year alone, the brand's launched a dog-friendly peanut butter gelato, a boozy frosé sorbet and even a frozen take on the iconic Bundaberg Ginger Beer. Gelatissimo's Aussie Favourites range is available from all stores nationwide, from Friday, November 29, until the end of January.
Local breweries have again proved their might in craft beer's night of nights, as the Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) named their 2022 victors. Overnight at the beer competition's annual awards ceremony, 35 trophies were handed out, after judges sipped and assessed a record 2,630 entries from across the country and the world. As with last year's competition, Victoria stole a good chunk of the fizzy, amber-hued spotlight, with the state's breweries taking out 13 of those major trophies. Reservoir's Hawkers Beer claimed the honoured title of Champion Large Australian Brewery, in addition to representing its home state as Champion Victorian Brewery. [caption id="attachment_744422" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hawkers Beer[/caption] Meanwhile, fellow Melbourne-born brand Stomping Ground snapped up the trophy for Champion Medium Australian Brewery, also scoring top awards with both its Raspberry Smash and Bunker Porter. Take note if you're on the hunt for a new winter drop. Other southerners to emerge victorious included Footscray's Hop Nation, whose Get The Gist was awarded best modern IPA; Collingwood brewery Molly Rose nabbing the title of best Belgian/French ale with its Nectarined; and Co-Conspirators with a win for its Hop Peddler hazy pale. Of course, the awards proved there's also plenty of fine beer drinking to be done in other parts of the country. Those repping the craft brew scene for Queensland included Moffat Beach Brewing Co, named Champion Small Australian Brewery while also getting a gong for its Triology Best Coast IPA and Shadow Of The Moon Eclipse releases. [caption id="attachment_811810" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wayward Brewing[/caption] Inner-west Sydney mainstay Wayward Brewing nabbed the title of best wood and barrel-aged beer, and in an era where low-alc and booze-free sips are having a moment, Stone & Wood's 2.7% East Point won best reduced/low alc beer. Western Australian beer fans have cause to raise a few pints, too, after Beerland's lolly-inspired Blueberry Clouds sour took out the top slot of Champion Australian Beer. The AIBA also awarded some international breweries worth adding to your beer hit-list, including California's Belching Beaver, Weihenstephan out of Germany, Korea's Artmonster and Auckland's Deep Creek Brewing Co — the latter of which claimed the title of Champion Medium International Brewery. The AIBA is the largest annual beer competition of its kind in the world, each year recognising excellence in brewing, beer packaging design and beer media. For the full lineup of this year's AIBA awardees, jump over to the website.
Rumour has it Google employees get unlimited “sick” days, but chances are only the most raging of hangovers would convince them to stay at home. The company in charge of ruling the world gave an exclusive tour of their NYC offices, and they make the idea of working from home in your pyjamas flicking tabs between Microsoft Word and Facebook while spilling toast crumbs over your MacBook look dreadfully boring. CEOs everywhere, take note: The way to get employees eager to show up to work is not with fruit box deliveries or permission to cellotape cheesy family photographs to office cubicles. A more effective way to increase workplace morale is with Pac-Man arcades and game rooms where employees can fight brain block with a round of pool. For those who find silence more conductive to creativity the compound also features a Google Library eschewing books (so last decade) in favour of secret rooms. And for days when heating last night’s leftovers in one of the multiple “micro” kitchens (which are incidentally bigger than most people’s apartments) doesn't sound appetising there are cafés dishing up free hot meals. One of them even has a rooftop theme and an interior resembling a wooden sauna. Interesting to think what the disgruntled employees of Facebook would have to say about that wee perk. Evidently the building is also occasionally used for working. This can take place in sleek cubicle spaces housing both actual humans and Star Wars B1 Battle Droid replicas, from the comfort of a lounge chair in a space modeled on an NYC apartment, or in the Broadway-themed New Amsterdam conference room. Scroll through the images, turn green with envy and try to think of one cooler office in which to have Friday afternoon drinks. Google's "computer museum". The game room. One of the many "micro" kitchens, which appears to be connected to the Pac-Man arcade. Free M&Ms in the micro kitchen. The Google Library. A B1 Battle Droid from Star Wars. Inside the Five Borough Café. These walls are a continuous impression of what's behind them, giving the impression of viewing the NYC skyline from a balcony. A room poking fun at a cramped NYC apartment. via Refinery29.
Obsession-worthy desserts and Gelato Messina go hand in hand, whether you can't get enough of the brand's revolving ice cream lineup or you're especially fond of its one-off treats. Here's one of the latter to tempt your tastebuds, and take you all the way back to your tuckshop days: a new cookie pie, this time in a honey joy version. No need to eat cereal for breakfast — instead, you can get your fix in this indulgent dessert, which'll also clearly serve up plenty of nostalgia. It features a choc chip cookie base, vanilla custard and crunchy honey joys. The word you're looking for? Yum. It's been a couple of years since the gelato chain first introduced its cookie pies to the world in 2020, and it sure does love bringing the OTT dessert back over and over. No, we're not complaining. We all need an extra dose of sweetness every now and then, clearly, including during a particularly frosty winter. Hang on, a cookie pie? It is indeed a pie, but it's made of cookie dough. And it serves four-to-six people — or just you. You bake it yourself, too, whacking it in the oven for 20–25 minutes at 160–180 degrees , so you get to enjoy that enticing smell of freshly baked cookies wafting through your kitchen. This time around, the Frankenstein's monster-style honey joy cookie pie really is exactly what it sounds like — and you can buy it by itself for $28, or in kits with some of the cult ice creamery's famed gelato to go along with it. You can opt for a 500-millilitre tub for an extra $12, a one-litre tub for an additional $21 or a 1.5-litre tub for an extra $23. If you're keen to get yourself a piece of the pie, they're available to preorder online on Monday, August 1. And, because Messina's specials always prove popular, the brand staggers its on-sale times. Accordingly, folks in Queensland and the ACT are able to purchase at 9am, Victorians at 9.15am, and New South Wales customers split across three times depending on the store (with pies from Surry Hills, Bondi, Randwick and Miranda on sale at 9.30am; Brighton Le Sands, Tramsheds, Parramatta and Darlinghurst at 9.45am; and Darling Square, Newtown, Norwest, Rosebery and Penrith at 10am). The catch? You will need to peel yourself off the couch and head to their local Messina store to collect your order. The pies will be available to pick up between Friday, August 5–Sunday, August 7. You can preorder a Messina honey joy cookie pie from Monday, August 1, to pick up from all NSW, Victoria and Queensland Gelato Messina stores.
They say humans only use 10 percent of their brain capacity. Of course, 'they' are idiots, because even someone operating at just 10 percent would be able to plug that persistent non-fact into Google and discover: it's utter rubbish. Speaking of rubbish, Lucy — the new film by French director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, The Professional — opens this week. Here's the gist: Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) is a no-hope American student in China who ingests a new party drug that inexplicably boosts her brain capacity from 1 percent to 20 percent. The initial symptoms include: pain, inverted roof crawling and the (again inexplicable) immediate development of expertise in martial arts, small arms fire and quantum mechanics. She also gets shot and doesn't care. Kids: stay in school, because — apparently — smart people don't feel bullets. With her now enhanced brain, Lucy concludes she'll need more of the drug to stay alive and hence comes to blows with the Korean drug baron determined to instead spread it on the streets. And...that's...pretty much it. Lucy gets smarter, drug baron gets stabbier and the police remain phenomenally absent and/or ineffectual. Lucy begins by posing a question to the audience: "Life was given to us a billion years ago. What have we done with it?" 89 minutes later it concludes in a similar fashion: "Life was given to us a billion years ago. Now you know what to do with it". Wrong. Seriously, I've no idea what the message of this film was. Assuming it wasn't 'take drugs', then it could only have been the line driven by Morgan Freeman's philosopher character Professor Norman: that people with knowledge should pass it on. However, that's already what we do as humans, so actually, we've not learned anything from this film at all. The concept of wildly enhanced cerebral activity is an excellent one, and was similarly explored in 2011's Limitless. However, neither it nor Lucy felt confident enough to let the science or ethics of the issue be the sole focus. Both kept the chemistry to a minimum and instead padded their scenes with periodic action sequences and flashy special effects. It's precisely what Dustin Hoffman was referring to several years ago when he publicly bemoaned the lack of intelligent science fiction films and called for smarter scripts. The irony of movies like Lucy is that studios believe the only way to ensure box office success for stories about intelligence is to dumb them down to an almost unintelligible level. https://youtube.com/watch?v=MVt32qoyhi0
Melbourne's inner north might be repping its fair share of the local craft beer scene, but it's not where you'll find the city's newest brewpub. That, my friends, has made its home a few kilometres southeast in the unlikely suburb of Huntingdale. Much-loved brewery and cider producer Kaiju has moved into the 'hood, set to open its own brewpub next week. After close to a decade crafting popular, award-winning drops, Nat and Callum Reeves' brewery will finally open to the public, unveiling its new beer hall and pizzeria Kaiju Cantina on Wednesday, February 9. The lofty 445-square-metre warehouse space is rocking a fun fitout by We are Humble Architects, filled with bright pops of colour and featuring large-scale hand-painted murals by Mikey Burton — the same US-based artist responsible for much of Kaiju's distinctive can art. It includes a playful, 12-metre work depicting the Melbourne city skyline complete with landmarks like the MCG and St Kilda Beach. Kaiju Cantina's 16 taps will be pouring house favourites like the Kaiju Krush tropical pale ale and Aftermath double IPA, alongside limited-edition and small-batch brews crafted on the site's own dedicated six-hectolitre brewing setup. Keep an eye out also for regular collaboration pours done with local emerging brew stars and brewing students, as Kaiju looks to share use of its equipment on days when it's not brewing its own creations. A locally-focused lineup of booze-free options, wine and spirits will also be on offer, including pours from the likes of Seaford's That Spirited Lot Gin and The Gospel Whiskey out of Brunswick. [caption id="attachment_841814" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kim Jane Photography[/caption] Meanwhile, the food menu is all about beer's true BFF, pizza. Expect seasonal ingredients, hand-stretched bases and plenty of classic Italian flavours — think, a vegetarian combination of mushrooms, parmesan and truffle oil; a classic capricciosa number topped with artichokes and olives; and even a cheeseburger-inspired creation featuring American-style cheese, beef, pickles and mustard. Snacks might include the likes of a garlic, rosemary and balsamic focaccia, while the pizza oven's got dessert sorted with sweet options like a Nutella and strawberry calzone. Find Kaiju Cantina at 27 Hume Street, Huntingdale, from February 9. It'll open from 4pm–late Wednesday and Thursday, and 11am–late Friday–Sunday. Images: Kim Jane Photography
Been spending the first few months of 2022 pondering the future? That's only natural whenever a new year hits, especially a couple of years into a pandemic. Over the coming weeks, however, you might want to look to the skies as well — and feast your eyes on the night sky. Across the second half of April each year, the Lyrids Meteor Shower sets the sky ablaze. This year, it's doing just that from April 14–30. It might not be as famous as Halley's Comet, but it's still very impressive. Plus, rather than only being visible every 75 years (the next Halley's Comet sighting is in 2061), you can catch the Lyrids annually. In 2022, the Lyrids will be at its most spectacular over Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23. For folks located Down Under, you'll want to peer upwards early on the Saturday morning. Here's how to catch a glimpse from your backyard. [caption id="attachment_767783" align="alignnone" width="1920"] jpstanley via Flickr.[/caption] WHAT IS IT The Lyrids Meteor Shower is named after constellation Lyra, which is where the meteor shower appears to come from near star Vega, and is created by debris from comet Thatcher. While the comet, which takes about 415 years to orbit around the sun, won't be visible from Earth again until 2276, the Lyrids can be seen every autumn between around April 14–30. So, you can even pencil it in for next year. It's also the oldest recorded meteor shower, so there's that, too. On average, you can see up to 18 meteors per hour, but the Lyrids are also known to have outbursts of nearly 100 meteors per hour. So, while no outburst is predicted for 2022, you could get lucky. WHEN TO SEE IT In Australia, the shower will reach a peak in the early morning of Saturday, April 23 according to Time and Date, but will still able to be seen either side of those dates between Thursday, April 14–Saturday, April 30. The best time to catch an eyeful is just before dawn after the moon has set, so around 4am. At that time, you'll be in the running to see meteors moving at about 177,000 kilometres per hour, shining extraordinarily brightly and leaving a long wake. The shower's cause is, essentially, the Earth getting in the comet's way, causing stardust to fry up in the atmosphere. HOW TO SEE IT When a meteor shower lights up the sky, getting as far away from light pollution as possible is the best way to get a prime view. If you can't do that, you can still take a gander from your backyard or balcony. To help locate the Lyrids, we recommend downloading the Sky Map app — it's the easiest way to navigate the night sky (and is a lot of fun to use even on a non-meteor shower night). If you're more into specifics, Time and Date also have a table that shows the direction and altitude of the Lyrids. The site updates these details daily. The one caveat: the weather. If showers or cloud pop up, they could present problems in terms of visibility. So, keep an eye on the forecast if you're making plans to head to a prime viewing location. Top image: Mike Lewinski via Flickr.
Many Melburnians have childhood memories of lining up at Queen Vic Market's American Doughnut Kitchen van to get a bag of freshly made hot jam doughnuts. It's been kicking around since 1950, and still has masses of locals and tourists lining up every weekend to score a serve of the goods. The team has always managed the small space well, cramming a heap of staff into the van and pumping out hundreds of doughnuts each day. But, ahead of its diamond anniversary next year and no signs of slowing down, an upgrade was calling. The result: American Doughnut Kitchen officially opened its first-ever bricks-and-mortar store at Prahran Market on Saturday, July 6. The new shop has been cleverly designed to give off the same look and feel as the famous van. You'll find the signature white-and-blue colour scheme, plus a similar open workstation where customers can watch the doughnuts be cut, cooked and filled with that famous raspberry plum jam before being tossed in sugar. Like the van, these are the only doughnuts that will be available. The family running the shop see no need to experiment with new flavours and offer different varieties — truly, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. However, one change is coming, with American Doughnut Kitchen's southside spot also selling coffee. That means you can get your sweet treat and caffeine fix all in one spot. "Our handmade doughnuts that we still make using the same original recipe have been a favourite among Melburnians for generations," said American Doughnut Kitchen Managing Director Belinda Donaghey. "The opening of our Prahran Market shop represents another exciting milestone in the American Doughnut Kitchen legacy. We look forward to serving our delicious doughnuts to new and existing southside customers for years to come." You'll find American Doughnut Kitchen at Prahran Market, 163 Commercial Road, open every day of the week except for Mondays and Wednesdays. For more information, head to the venue's website.
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. JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION When Jurassic World Dominion was being written, three words must've come up often. No, they're not Neill, Dern, Goldblum. Those beloved actors reunite here, the trio appearing in the same Jurassic Park flick for the first time since the 1993 original, but the crucial terms are actually "but with dinosaurs". Returning Jurassic World writer/director Colin Trevorrow mightn't have uttered that phrase aloud; however, when Dominion stalks into a dingy underground cantina populated by people and prehistoric creatures, Star Wars but with dinosaurs instantly springs to mind. The same proves true when the third entry in this Jurassic Park sequel trilogy also includes high-stakes flights in a rundown aircraft that's piloted by a no-nonsense maverick. These nods aren't only confined to a galaxy far, far away — a realm that Trevorrow was meant to join as a filmmaker after the first Jurassic World, only to be replaced on Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker — and, yes, they just keep on coming. There's the speedy chase that zooms through alleys in Malta, giving the Bond franchise more than a few nods — but with dinosaurs, naturally. There's the plot about a kidnapped daughter, with Taken but with dinosaurs becoming a reality as well. That Trevorrow, co-scribe Emily Carmichael (Pacific Rim Uprising) and his usual writing collaborator Derek Connolly (Safety Not Guaranteed) have seen other big-name flicks is never in doubt. Indeed, too much of Dominion feels like an attempt to actively make viewers wish they were watching those other movies. Bourne but with dinosaurs rears its head via a rooftop chase involving, yes, dinos. Also, two different Stanley Kubrick masterpieces get cribbed so blatantly that royalties must be due, including when an ancient critter busts through a door as Jack Nicholson once did, and the exact same shot — but with dinosaurs — hits the screen. What do Star Wars, Bond, Bourne and The Shining have to do with the broader Jurassic Park film saga, which started when Steven Spielberg adapted Michael Crichton's book into a box-office behemoth? That's a fantastic question. The answer: zip, zero and zilch, other than padding out Dominion as much as possible, as riffs on Indiana Jones, The Birds, Alien, Mad Max: Fury Road, Austin Powers, the Fast and Furious movies, cloning thrillers, disaster epics and more also do. In nearly every scene, and often at the frame-by-frame level, another feature is channelled so overtly that it borders on parody. And, that's on top of the fact that recycling its own history is just Dominion 101. There's no theme park, but when it's mentioned that dinosaurs are being placed in a sanctuary, everyone watching knows that the film's human characters will get stranded in that spot, trying not to be eaten by a Tyrannosaurus rex and the like. From all of the above, a loose narrative emerges — an overstuffed and convoluted one, too. A few years on from 2018's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, people are endeavouring to co-exist with dinosaurs. Unsurprisingly, it's going terribly. Run by Mark Zuckerberg-esque entrepreneur Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott, WeCrashed), tech company BioSyn owns that safe dino space in the Italian Dolomites, although palaeobotanist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern, Marriage Story) and palaeontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill, Rams) also tie the firm to giant dino-locusts wreaking existence-threatening havoc. Plus, ex-Jurassic World velociraptor whisperer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt, The Tomorrow War) and his boss-turned-girlfriend Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard, Rocketman) head BioSyn's way when the adopted Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) — who links back to the first Jurassic Park thanks to Forbidden Kingdom's ridiculous storyline — is snatched. Oh, and mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum, Search Party) works there, as does cloning whiz Henry Wu (BD Wong, Mr Robot). Read our full review. A HERO With apologies to Bonnie Tyler, cinema isn't holding out for a hero — and hasn't been for some time. The singer's 80s-era Footloose-soundtrack hit basically describes the state of mainstream movies today, filled as screens now are with strong, fast, sure and larger-than-life figures racing on thunder and rising on heat. But what does heroism truly mean beyond the spandex of pop-culture's biggest current force? Who do we hold up as role models, and as feel-good champions of kind and selfless deeds? How do those tales of IRL heroism ebb, flow and spread, too? Pondering this far beyond the caped-crusader realm is Asghar Farhadi, a two-time Oscar-winner thanks to A Separation and The Salesman. As is the acclaimed Iranian filmmaker's gambit, his latest movie is intricately complicated, as are its views on human nature and Iranian society. As Farhadi has adored since 2003's Dancing in the Dust — and in everything from 2009's exceptional About Elly to his 2018 Spanish-language feature Everybody Knows as well — A Hero is steeped in the usual and the everyday. The 2021 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix-winner may start with a sight that's the absolute opposite thanks to necropolis Naqsh-e Rostam near the Iranian city of Shiraz, an imposingly grand site that includes the tombs of ancient Persian rulers Xerxes and Darius, but the writer/director's main concerns are as routine, recognisable and relatable as films get. One such obsession: domestic disharmony, aka the cracks that fracture the ties of blood, love and friendship. A Hero sprawls further thematically, wondering if genuine altruism — that is, really and wholeheartedly acting in someone else's interest, even at a cost to oneself — can ever actually exist. But it charts that path because of the frayed and thorny relationships it surveys, and the everyman caught within them. When A Hero begins, calligrapher and sign painter Rahim Soltani (Amir Jadidi, Cold Sweat) is no one's saviour, victor or ideal. While he definitely isn't a villain, he's just been given a two-day pass from an Iranian debtor's prison, where he's incarcerated over a family financial feud. Owing 150,000,000 tomans to his ex-wife's brother-in-law, he's stuck serving out his sentence unless he can settle it or his creditor, copy shop owner Bahram (Mohsen Tanabandeh, Capital), agrees to forgive him. The latter is unlikely, so with his girlfriend Farkhondeh (debutant Sahar Goldust), Rahim hatches a repayment plan. She has stumbled across a handbag filled with 17 gold coins, and together they hope to sell it, then use the proceeds to secure his freedom — except, when they attempt to cash in, they're told that their haul won't reach anywhere the sum they need. Instead, with a mixture of guilt and resignation — and at Farkhondeh's suggestion — Rahim decides to track down the coins' rightful owner. Cue signs plastered around the streets, then an immensely thankful phone call. Cue also the prison's higher-ups discovering Rahim's efforts, and wanting to cash in themselves by eagerly whipping up publicity around their model inmate's considerate choice. The media lap it up, as do the locals. Rahim's young son Siavash (newcomer Saleh Karimaei), a quiet boy with a stutter that's been cared for by his aunt Malileh (fellow first-timer Maryam Shahdaei), gets drawn into the chaos. A charity that fundraises to resolve prisoners' debts takes up the cause, too. Still, the stern and stubborn Bahram remains skeptical, especially as more fame and attention comes Rahim's way. Also, the kind of heroism that's fuelled via news reports and furthered by social media is fickle above all else, especially when competing information comes to light. Read our full review. BENEDICTION To write notable things, does someone need to live a notable life? No, but sometimes they do anyway. To truly capture the bone-chilling, soul-crushing, gut-wrenching atrocities of war, does someone need to experience it for themselves? In the case of Siegfried Sassoon, his anti-combat verse could've only sprung from someone who had been there, deep in the trenches of the Western Front during World War I, and witnessed its harrowing horrors. If you only know one thing about the Military Cross-winner and poet going into Benediction, you're likely already aware that he's famed for his biting work about his time in uniform. There's obviously more to his story and his life, though, as there is to the film that tells his tale. But British writer/director Terence Davies (Sunset Song) never forgets the traumatic ordeal, and the response to it, that frequently follows his subject's name as effortlessly as breathing. Indeed, being unable to ever banish it from one's memory, including Sassoon's own, is a crucial part of this precisely crafted, immensely affecting and deeply resonant movie. If you only know two things about Sassoon before seeing Benediction, you may have also heard of the war hero-turned-conscientious objector's connection to fellow poet Wilfred Owen. Author of Anthem for Damned Youth, he fought in the same fray but didn't make it back. That too earns Davies' attention, with Jack Lowden (Slow Horses) as Sassoon and Matthew Tennyson (Making Noise Quietly) as his fellow wordsmith, soldier and patient at Craiglockhart War Hospital — both for shell shock. Benediction doesn't solely devote its frames to this chapter in its central figure's existence, either, but the film also knows that it couldn't be more pivotal in explaining who Sassoon was, and why, and how war forever changed him. The two writers were friends, and also shared a mutual infatuation. They were particularly inspired during their times at Craiglockhart as well. In fact, Sassoon mentored the younger Owen, and championed his work after he was killed in 1918, exactly one week before before Armistice Day. Perhaps you know three things about Sassoon prior to Benediction. If so, you might be aware of Sassoon's passionate relationships with men, too. Plenty of the film bounces between his affairs with actor and singer Ivor Novello (Jeremy Irvine, Treadstone), socialite Stephen Tennant (Calam Lynch, Bridgerton) and theatre star Glen Byam Shaw (Tom Blyth, Billy the Kid), all at a time in Britain when homosexuality was outlawed. There's a fated air to each romantic coupling in Davies' retelling, whether or not you know to begin with that Sassoon eventually (and unhappily) married the younger Hester Gatty (Kate Phillips, Downton Abbey). His desperate yearning to hold onto someone, and something, echoes with post-war melancholy as well. That said, that sorrow isn't just a product of grappling with a life-changing ordeal, but also of a world where everything Sassoon wants and needs is a battle — even if there's a giddy air to illegal dalliances among London's well-to-do. Benediction caters for viewers who resemble Jon Snow going in, naturally, although Davies doesn't helm any ordinary biopic. No stranger to creating on-screen poetry with his lyrical films — or to biopics about poets, after tackling Emily Dickinson in his last feature A Quiet Passion — the filmmaker steps through Sassoon's tale like he's composing evocative lines himself. Davies has always been a deeply stirring talent; see: his 1988 debut Distant Voices, Still Lives, 2011's romance The Deep Blue Sea and 2016's Sunset Song, for instance. Here, he shows how it's possible to sift through the ins and outs of someone's story, compiling all the essential pieces in the process, yet never merely reducing it down to the utmost basics. Some biopics can resemble Wikipedia entries re-enacted for the screen, even if done so with flair, but Benediction is the polar opposite. Read our full review. 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 March 3, March 10, March 17, March 24 and March 31; April 7, April 14, April 21 and April 28; and May 5, May 12, May 19 and May 26; and June 2. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as 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, 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, Ithaka, After Yang, Downton Abbey: A New Era, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, Petite Maman, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Firestarter, Operation Mincemeat, To Chiara, This Much I Know to Be True, The Innocents, Top Gun: Maverick, The Bob's Burgers Movie, Ablaze, Hatching and Mothering Sunday.
Transport Hotel has likely already caught your eye — it's the bar with the yellow accents in Federation Square. In an ideal central location, it serves up everything you might need: a stellar drinks list, great food and lots of space. Depending on what you're feeling, you can hit the Transport Bar for drinks, or go large and sit down for a proper fancy meal at Taxi Kitchen. Whatever you decide, you're guaranteed to have a good time. Images: Giulia Morlando.
It's been 12 years since Superbad released in cinemas, made stars out of Jonah Hill and Emma Stone, and earned a spot in the teen party genre. Over that period, every coming-of-age flick about outsiders trying to enjoy high school life to the fullest has been compared to the 2007 hit. Now, two more are joining the fold. Premiering at SXSW over the past week, Booksmart and Good Boys have a few things in common with their thematic predecessor, and not just because they both feature protagonists who can't wait to experience a proper party. In the former, Hill's sister and Lady Bird actor Beanie Feldstein leads the charge alongside Beautiful Boy's Kaitlyn Dever, giving the idea a female-centric spin. In the latter, Seth Rogen co-produces — as he did with Superbad — with the movie following a group of 12-year-olds. Focusing on graduating pals Molly (Feldstein) and Amy (Dever) as they put away their studies and try to show everyone that they're fun, Booksmart marks the directorial debut of actress Olivia Wilde, and it's been getting rave reviews. Cast-wise, it also features Jessica Williams, Will Forte, Lisa Kudrow and Jason Sudeikis. As for Good Boys, it's the first stint behind the camera for The Office and Hello Ladies writer Gene Stupnitsky — and centres on three kids played by Room's Jacob Tremblay, Last Man on Earth's Keith L. Williams and Boardwalk Empire's Brady Noon. The likes of Will Forte (again), Retta and Lil Rel Howery help round out the cast. Check out the trailers below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkrY-jboiqA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeeyM8cRinI Booksmart opens in Australian cinemas on July 11, and Good Boys opens on August 15. Good Boys image: Universal Pictures.
Melbourne's NGV International will celebrate the unique designs and lasting legacy of fashion icon Christian Dior, in a world premiere exhibition launching in August next year. Running from August 27 to November 7, The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture will be one of three major surveys of Dior's groundbreaking work, alongside exhibitions in Paris and New York. The Melbourne show will include more than 140 show-stopping garments, stretching the length and breadth of the label's extraordinary history. "Highlights of the NGV's House of Dior exhibition will include one of the few surviving examples of Christian Dior's New Look collection, which revitalised women's fashion in the post-war era," said gallery director Tony Ellwood while announcing the exhibition at a launch event earlier today. "And of course it wouldn't be a Dior exhibition without their sculptural tailoring, their signature ball gowns and their glamorous evening dresses which have become synonymous with the fashion house." "Audiences will discover the nuances of Dior's fashion design, and observe the ways in which these have evolved through the decades. The exhibition will also celebrate the milestones of Dior's six successive designers," he added. A key element of the exhibition will be an exploration of Dior's historic 1948 spring fashion parade at David Jones in Sydney, considered to be the first complete Dior collection to be shown outside of Paris. The exhibition will also tie in with the gallery's first ever Gala Ball. "Think Met Gala, but with a Melbourne sense of style," said Ellwood. Speaking at the launch, Victoria's Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley called the exhibition "a major milestone for the gallery, for Dior and for our city." "The creativity and imagination of Christian Dior, the depth of his vision, and the range of his skills, could find no better city, and no better partner gallery, for a retrospective display, than Melbourne's National Gallery of Victoria," said Mr. Foley. Image: National Gallery of Victoria and House of Dior announce House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture at NGV International, August 2017. Shot by Wayne Taylor.
Much has happened in the world of Marvel this year. Black Panther started things off on a high, Spider-Man is about to return to its animated roots, and the man who started it all, Stan Lee, sadly passed away. Oh, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe completely changed the game with the snap of a few fingers. We know that you know what we're talking about — Avengers: Infinity War sits atop the box office Down Under for 2018. Of course, ever since the third Avengers movie hit screens, excitement for its follow-up has been feverish to say the least. Now, the first look at Avengers: Endgame has finally arrived — and yes, that's the film's brand new title. It all starts with a despondent Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), before giving a taste of how the remaining heroes are facing their new predicament. Check out the trailer below — and start counting down the days until Avengers: Endgame makes its way to cinemas on April 25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA6hldpSTF8 Plus, if you need a bit more excitement, Marvel also dropped the next Captain Marvel trailer earlier this week — with the first film featuring Brie Larson's superhero arriving prior to Avengers: Endgame, on March 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LHxvxdRnYc
This autumn, parts of Alice Springs and its surrounds will shine brighter than ever before, when the region's fourth annual Parrtjima - A Festival In Light delivers its most expansive program yet. Previously held in September, the festival will this year run from Friday, April 5 to Sunday, April 14. The free ten-day public celebration of Indigenous arts, culture and storytelling is perhaps best known for its dazzling light installations. And, this year, Parrtjima — the nation's first indigenous festival of its kind — will feature six of these luminous displays, gracing both Alice Springs Desert Park Precinct and Alice Springs Todd Mall. As 2019 is the UN's Year of Indigenous Languages, the festival will also have a linguistic edge. With a theme of 'Language Expressions', the program's lineup will feature many artworks, talks and workshops focused on Central Australia's many Indigenous languages. [caption id="attachment_706524" align="alignnone" width="1920"] James Horan[/caption] While Alice Spring's CBD will light up with new installations and events, just out of town, tourism and conservation facility Alice Springs Desert Park will also come alive, awash with light from 6.30–10.30pm each night of the festival. Once again, a huge artwork will transform a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the majestic MacDonnell Ranges. Visitors will be able to immerse themselves in art and storytelling as part of Grounded, where installations are projected onto the earth accompanied by a striking soundscape. The light installations are backed by a jam-packed program of dance, music, workshops and talks, sharing stories and celebrating First Nations' culture. It's a nice supplement to the area's Field of Light installation, which has been extended until 2020. Parrtjima – A Festival in Light runs from April 5–14, 2019 around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. For more information, visit the festival website. Images: James Horan.
Life keeps finding a way to bring new movies in the Jurassic franchise to cinemas — and its characters keep finding a way to come face to face with prehistoric creatures. Three years after Jurassic World Dominion, the saga's latest instalment will stomp into picture palaces come winter Down Under. Welcome to ... Jurassic World Rebirth. Also, welcome to a cast featuring Scarlett Johansson (Fly Me to the Moon), Jonathan Bailey (Wicked) and Mahershala Ali (Leave the World Behind) embarking upon a clandestine mission to a secret island that was home to the research facility for Jurassic Park's original dino sanctuary. The date for your diary to discover how that turns out (which, for the human characters involved, will be badly): Thursday, July 3, 2025. The idea at the heart of the series' seventh entry, as the just-dropped first trailer for the flick shows: on the landmass at the centre of the new movie, different species of dinosaurs to those that the films have featured before roam — species that were considered too dangerous for the park. Johannson plays covert operations expert Zora Bennett, who heads there with Bailey's palaeontologist Dr Henry Loomis and Ali as her righthand man Duncan Kincaid — and company — to obtain genetic material that could help develop drugs to save human lives. Accordingly, Rebirth turns a Jurassic World movie into a heist film — with pesky rampaging ancient beasts. As well Johansson, Bailey, and Moonlight and Green Book Oscar-winner Ali, the movie's lineup of on-screen talent also spans Rupert Friend (Companion) as a pharmaceutical executive; Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer) as a civilian who gets dragged into the mission after becoming shipwrecked; Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty) and Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs Lopez) as the latter's family members; and Philippine Velge (The Serpent Queen), Bechir Sylvain (Black Mafia Family) and Ed Skrein (Rebel Moon) among Zora and Krebs' crew. In the feature's storyline, five years have passed since the events of Jurassic World Dominion — which, for audiences, followed 2015's Jurassic World and 2018's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in the Jurassic World saga, plus 1993's Jurassic Park, 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park and 2001's Jurassic Park III in the OG Jurassic Park trilogy. Jurassic World Rebirth director Gareth Evans (The Creator) is new to the franchise, but knows a thing or two about flicks about fighting giant creatures courtesy of 2010's Monsters and 2014's Godzilla. Rebirth does have a key link back to the debut Jurassic Park movie, however, with screenwriter David Koepp returning after co-penning the initial film and scripting the second solo. (Koepp also returns to grappling with dinosaurs after a three-movie run writing screenplays for Steven Soderbergh with Kimi, Presence and Black Bag.) Check out the first trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth below: Jurassic World Rebirth releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, July 3, 2025.
Australia's picnic baskets have had quite the workout so far in 2021, but one of their biggest moments to shine is about to arrive for another year. When Moonlight Cinema starts setting up its outdoor screens in parks and gardens around the country from late November, it's officially cheese, snack and openair movie-viewing season. The end-of-year mainstay has already revealed its dates for summer 2021-22, and now it's unveiled the first batch of films that'll be gracing its outdoor setup. Get ready to catch a heap of recent blockbusters, a smattering of brand new flicks and a lineup of Christmas movies. You can't run an openair cinema at the jolliest time of the year without the latter, obviously. Moonlight Cinema's program varies city by city, with The Suicide Squad opening the bill in Brisbane on Friday, November 26, and Cruella doing the same in Adelaide on the same date, for instance. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings launches the season in both Melbourne and Perth on Thursday, December 2, while The Suicide Squad also airs first in Sydney on Thursday, December 9 — and Free Guy opens Western Sydney's run on Thursday, December 16. That said, all of the above films pop up in each city at some point, and so does Black Widow, Jungle Cruise, A Quiet Place Part II, Eternals, Red Notice and The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard. Also screening: Edgar Wright's new movie Last Night in Soho, animated sequel The Boss Baby: Family Business, Disney newbie Encanto, stage-to-screen musical Dear Evan Hansen and the family-friendly Clifford the Big Red Dog. Among the retro fare, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Greatest Showman and Dirty Dancing are all on the lineup; it would't be a Moonlight Cinema season without them, either. And, for your merry outdoor movie-watching pleasure, the Christmas selection includes Love Actually, The Holiday, Elf, The Grinch, Die Hard and Home Alone. It's also worth remembering that every city is BYO except Brisbane — but, wherever you're settling in for an outdoor cinema session, there'll be food, snacks, a bar and (if you'd like to pay for them) bean bags as well. And, in great news for movie-loving pooches, you can bring them along to all venues except Perth, too. MOONLIGHT CINEMA 2021–22 DATES Adelaide: Friday, November 26–Sunday, January 16 (Rymill Park) Brisbane: Friday, November 26–Sunday, February 20 (Roma Street Parkland) Melbourne: Thursday, December 2–Sunday, March 27 (Royal Botanic Gardens) Perth: Thursday, December 2–Sunday, March 27 (Kings Park and Botanic Garden) Sydney: Thursday, December 9–Sunday, April 3 (Centennial Park) Western Sydney: Thursday, November 16–Sunday, January 30 (Western Sydney Parklands) Moonlight Cinema kicks off in November 2021, running through until April 2022. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the cinema's website.
Despite her painting career lasting just eight years, late Aboriginal artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye smashed another art record this week, as her piece Earth's Creation I again fetched the highest price at auction for an Australian female artist. The contemporary piece went under the hammer for a huge $2.1 million, breaking its own 2007 record, having sold back then for $1.05 million. This time, it's been snapped up by art dealer Tim Olsen for his recently opened New York gallery, in an online auction headed up by Sydney's Cooee Art Marketplace and Fine Art Bourse. The sale of the acclaimed work, which has previously been on show at the likes of the National Museum of Art in Osaka, the National Museum of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria, is also a big win for Australian Indigenous art, with Fine Art Bourse auctioneer Tim Goodman telling SBS: "this sale will go a long way to breathing life back into the Aboriginal art market." Hope you managed to get a look at it while it was in the country. Kngwarreye's painting is also not that far off the auction record for an Aboriginal artist, which was set by a Clifford Possum piece that sold for $2.4 million back in 2007. By contrast, the last known painting by Leonardo di Vinci, Salvator Mundi, just sold at auction for around $AUD590 million — making it history's most expensive artwork by far. Via SBS. Image: Emily Kame Kngwarreye (c.1910–1996) painting Earth's Creation I (1994).
Everyone knows Batman is the best superhero. Superman and Captain America are too pristine and dull, Spiderman whines a lot and had an unfortunate stint as an emo kid in 2007. And though Robert Downey Jr is nearly enough to sway me on side with Iron Man, he just can't beat the brooding growl and moral complexity of the Dark Knight. As such it's no surprise that Batman fanatics are a particularly passionate breed. But what one of them has done now will truly baffle you. Zac Mihajlovic, a die-hard fan from Sydney, has spent two years creating a custom-made Batmobile. As a replica of the 1989 model used in Tim Burton's classically cartoonish Batman films, the six-metre-long chassis had to be custom built — its body panels were actually spares from the original set that were imported from the US. Completed with such skill and dedication, the resulting masterpiece was actually deemed roadworthy. Zac's been driving it around for the last few years, quickly racking up street cred as either the coolest or nerdiest man in the country (depending on your allegiances to commemorative geek memorabilia). Now, to mark the 25th anniversary of Tim Burton's original film, this absolute champion is renting out his ride to Sydney residents via Groupon. (We're not going to be offended if you immediately leave us for that link). For $250 you can experience 20 minutes in the passenger seat, or $2,500 will get you 'The Gotham Package' — a four-hour joyride with ten friends. To put this experience in perspective, this is the only Batmobile in existence in the Southern Hemisphere besides a prop at Movie World. Between 10-12 are believed to be around elsewhere, but Zac believes his is the only one with legit street registration. The creator himself has only taken it out casually a few times (because of the huge fuss it creates), and it's been predominantly utilised for kids in the Make-A-Wish foundation. Honestly, I don't even know why you're still reading this. Book it. Now. If you're not in Sydney, or don't have $250 lying around for joyrides in fictional cars that have magically manifested themselves into reality — not everyone can be as loaded as Bruce Wayne — then you'll have to settle for some mopey internet stalking instead. The rest of Zac's work/his life in general is totally worth checking out. Under the moniker of Batmobile Australia, he rents his Batmobile for weddings and conventions, and also shows off his accompanying Batbike and Batsuit. It's entertaining to flip through, but browser beware: it will dwarf every accomplishment in your own life. As for everyone else, this is your opportunity. You can be the hero Sydney deserves, but not the one it needs right now. You'll be hunted, but you can take it. Because you're not a hero. You're a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight. This offer expires Sunday, June 22 so get in quick. Via Gizmodo.
UPDATE, August 23, 2022: Elton John has added extra shows in Sydney, Newcastle and Melbourne due to demand. This news story has been updated accordingly. Some farewell tours seem to last forever — and, thanks to the pandemic, Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour is one of them. Since September 2018, the music star has been saying goodbye all around the globe, including making the trip Down Under already. But what was meant to be his final trip our way resulted in some rescheduled gigs, so he's coming back again. And, because he'll be here anyway, John has added a few extra shows to his schedule. It's been a big few years for the singer, not only with the huge tour — which spans more than 300 concerts across five continents — but with his life story hitting the big screen in biopic Rocketman. He had a massive first round of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in Australasia, too, with over 705,000 tickets sold to gigs a three-month period that spanned 34 Australian and six New Zealand dates from November 2019. Missed out then? Keen to go again? Mark January 2023 in your diary. In New Zealand, John will play his two rescheduled gigs at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium, as well as a newly announced show at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch. In Australia, he's adding encore gigs in Newcastle, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Fans can expect to feel the love through all of his hits, including 'Rocket Man', 'Tiny Dancer' 'Bennie and the Jets', 'Crocodile Rock', 'I'm Still Standing' and 'Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting' — especially the latter, you'd expect, on his Saturday shows in Brisbane and Auckland. The concerts will also feature never-before-seen images and videos show from John's 50-year career — well, never seen before the tour — which'll be displayed throughout the show. When the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour comes to an end, John will retire from touring after five decades on the road. If that all sounds rather massive, that's John's career in a nutshell. He's played more than 4000 shows across his career, sold more than 300 million records worldwide and holds the record for the biggest-selling single of all time thanks to the 1997 version of 'Candle in the Wind'. In Australia, he'll wrap up his time onstage in Brisbane, playing his 36th-ever Queensland gig — and 233rd in Australia, which comes third to only the UK and US in hosting the most-ever John concerts. In NZ, he's bowing out in Auckland — with remaining tickets to the city's shows on-sale now, and tickets to the encore gigs in Christchurch, as well as in Australia, up for grabs on Monday, August 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtVBCG6ThDk ELTON JOHN 'FAREWELL YELLOW BRICK ROAD' 2023 TOUR DATES: Sunday, January 8 and Tuesday, January 10 — McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle Friday, January 13 and Saturday, January 14 — AAMI Park, Melbourne Tuesday, January 17 and Wednesday, January 18 — Allianz Stadium, Sydney Saturday, January 21 — Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Tuesday, January 24 — Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch Friday, January 27 andSaturday, January 28 — Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour returns to Australia and New Zealand in January 2023. Remaining tickets for the Auckland shows are on-sale now, with tickets to the encore gigs in Newcastle, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane up for grabs on Monday, August 1. There are also pre-sales from Tuesday, July 26. Fore more information, head to the tour website. Images: Ben Gibson.
Melbourne's current collection of escape rooms let you use your wit to break free from a magician's lair, 'alohomora' your way through a wizarding world or even go up against some some scary characters in a Jumanji-inspired jungle. At Kensington's Autron, however, another layer of escapism is added to the regular puzzle room experience: virtual reality. Which means, at Melbourne's first free-roaming virtual reality escape room, you can fight dragons, explore underwater fantasy worlds and rocket off into space — without fear of burning, drowning or suffocating, of course. Autron's themed gaming spaces test your puzzle-solving and teamwork skills in a race against the clock, much like the traditional mind-bending puzzle rooms you've tried in the past. Only here, the interactivity is taken to a whole new level, thanks to a custom-built free-roaming VR system. Players are decked out with a headset and high-tech, point-and-shoot VR gear to take their puzzle-busting experience to a different dimension. Autron VR currently has three different escape rooms to play, suited for teams of two to four. Handily, they're also beginner-friendly, so there's no need to have any previous VR experience up your sleeves. Dragon Tower will see you transported to a Game of Thrones-style world, where you and your team will need to battle dragons and outsmart guards in an effort to escape to the tower. Meanwhile, Depths of Osiris features an underwater world with sharks and lost treasures to be collected from a sunken ancient city. And in Space Station Tiberia, your team is charged with the task of saving planet earth by restoring power to a paralysed space station and destroying a wayward asteroid. [caption id="attachment_762603" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 'Depths of Osiris'[/caption] If escape rooms aren't your thing, the venue also offers a 'player vs environment' VR gaming experience called Last 4 Standing. In this one, you and your mates will find yourselves in a hyper-realistic virtual world fighting a zombie outbreak. More escape rooms and PVE experiences are in the works, too — so keep an eye on the website. Find Autron VR at 32 Albermarle Steret, Kensington. It's open 2–10pm Thursday–Saturday and 10am–8pm Sunday.
Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art boasts plenty of highlights, including its location right next to the Brisbane River. Art lovers can walk through the venue's halls, enjoy a snack at its waterside cafe and even relax on the grass while taking in the view — but they can't usually walk along a massive indoor riverbed. 'Usually' is the key word, with GOMA due to serve up just that during its huge 2019–20 summer program, Water. As part of an expansive exploration of the titular liquid substance in all of its forms between December 7, 2019 and April 26, 2020, the site will become home to Olafur Eliasson's Riverbed installation. Created by the Berlin-based, Danish-Icelandic artist, the huge piece will use more than 100 tonnes of rock to recreate an Icelandic stream inside the South Brisbane venue. The artwork has been described as both pre-historic or post-apocalyptic — and, to answer the question that immediately popped into your head, you can indeed walk on it. When Riverbed arrives in Brisbane, it'll be on display to the public for only the second time ever, following its debut at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark. Obviously, that means it'll be visiting the southern hemisphere for the first time as well. [caption id="attachment_725225" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Cai Guo-Qiang. China, b. 1957. Heritage (installation view) 2013, Animals: polystyrene, gauze, resin and hide. Installed with artificial watering hole: water, sand, drip mechanism. Purchased 2013 with funds from the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Diversity Foundation through and with the assistance of the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © The artist. Photograph: Mark Sherwood, QAGOMA.[/caption] With more than 40 works by international and Australian artists included in the exhibition, Riverbed will have some serious company. Cai Guo-Qiang's installation Heritage will make its return to GOMA, with the piece inspired by Stradbroke Island, featuring more than 40 life-size animals drinking around a waterhole, and appearing at Water in a new arrangement. Queensland artist Judy Watson will also create a major new work with a local theme, not only drawing upon on the cultural memory of water, but reflecting upon the obvious nearby body — the adjacent Maiwar, or Brisbane river. And if you're fond of art that you can interact with and learning about the biggest threat facing humanity — and climbing — then keep an eye out for William Forsythe's The Fact of Matter, which is comprised of suspended gymnastic rings. As visitors make their way through the space, they're asked to contemplate the weight and strength of their body, the impact it has on the earth, and the power we can exert if we all come together to combat climate change. Expect topical pieces all round, with pondering the importance of water one of the exhibition's main aims. Overall, "the artworks featured in Water will make connections with many of the major environmental and social challenges faced by the world today," explains Queensland Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Minister for Science and Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch. Water exhibits at the Gallery of Modern Art, Stanley Place, South Brisbane from December 7, 2019 to April 26, 2020. Images: Olafur Eliasson. Denmark, b.1967. Riverbed 2014 (detail). Site specific installation. Pictured: The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark. Photograph: Iwan Baan. William Forsythe. America, b.1949. The Fact of Matter 2009. Site-specific installation comprising gym rings, fabric straps, gym mat and truss system. Dimensions variable. Pictured: Installation view, William Forsythe: Choreographic Objects, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, 2018-19. Image courtesy the artist. Photograph: Liza Voll. © William Forsythe.
Over the past few years, Gelatissimo has whipped up a number of creative flavours. It's a hefty list, spanning everything from frosé sorbet to gelato for dogs, plus ginger beer, Weet-Bix, fairy bread, hot cross bun, cinnamon scroll and chocolate fudge varieties. You might've tried its Biscoff, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey's Kisses scoops, too, or its gingerbread cookie dough version. That's a lot to choose from — but its Caramilk-inspired flavour was always going to stand out. Back in early 2021, the Australian dessert chain delivered a Caramilk Hokey Pokey-inspired gelato, and we're betting that your tastebuds were instantly thankful. It was a limited-time offering, however, but Gelatissimo has done us all a solid by bringing back its caramel milk version — sans Hokey Pokey — right now. This flavour is as simple as it sounds: caramelised white chocolate gelato, plus a burnt caramel sauce, all ready for you to lick either in a cone or a cup. And yes, it's the perfect option if you can't choose between devouring some Caramilk chocolate or opting for a few scoops of ice cream. Gelatissimo isn't revealing how long the caramel milk gelato is sticking around for this time, so it's the kind of dessert you want to make a date with sooner rather than later. The chain has brought it back because it's popular, understandably — and with that in mind, it's also scooping up its beloved bubble tea gelato again as well. That brown sugar bubble milk tea number starts with milk tea gelato that's infused with organic black tea, then swirls through brown sugar syrup and tops it with brown sugar pearls. And, giving everyone three past faves, Filipino ube cheesecake gelato — ube gelato topped with chunks of jiggle cheesecake — is back on the menu as well. You'll find the trio in all Gelatissimo stores Australia-wide, and only while stocks last. That includes via delivered take-home packs via services such as UberEats, Menulog, Deliveroo and DoorDash. Gelatissimo's caramel milk gelato, brown sugar bubble milk tea and Filipino ube cheesecake gelato are available from all stores nationwide while stocks last.
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. X When the Scream franchise posed the question it'll forever be known for, it skipped over a key word. Ghostface is clearly asking "do you like watching scary movies?", given the entire point of frightening flicks is seeing their thrills and chills, and being creeped out, entertained or both. We all know that's what the mask-wearing killer means, of course, but the act of viewing is such a crucial part of the horror-film equation that it's always worth overtly mentioning. Enter new slasher standout X, which splashes its buckets of viscera and gore across the screen with as much nodding and winking as the Scream pictures — without ever uttering that iconic phrase, though, and thankfully in a far less smug fashion than 2022's fifth instalment in that series — and firmly thrusts cinema's voyeuristic tendencies to the fore. That name, X, doesn't simply mark a spot; it isn't by accident that the film takes its moniker from the classification given to the most violent and pornographic movies made. This is a horror flick set amid a porn shoot, after all, and it heartily embraces the fact that people like to watch from the get-go. Swaggering producer Wayne (Martin Henderson, The Gloaming), aspiring starlet Maxine Minx (Mia Goth, Emma), old-pro fellow actors Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow, Pitch Perfect 3) and Jackson Hole (Scott Mescudi, Don't Look Up), and arty director RJ (Owen Campbell, The Miseducation of Cameron Post) and his girlfriend/sound recorder Lorraine (Jenna Ortega, doing triple horror duty in 2022 so far in Scream, Studio 666 and now this) are counting on that truth to catapult themselves to fame. Hailing from Houston and aroused at the idea of repeating Debbie Does Dallas' success, they're heading out on the road to quieter climes to make the skin flick they're staking their futures on, and they desperately hope there's an audience. X is set in the 70s, as both the home-entertainment pornography market and big-screen slashers were beginning to blossom. As a result, it's similarly well aware that sex and death are cinema's traditional taboos, and that they'll always be linked. That's art imitating life, because sex begets life and life begets death, but rare is the recent horror movie that stresses the connection so explicitly yet playfully. Making those links is Ti West, the writer/director responsible for several indie horror gems over the past decade or so — see: cult favourites The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers — and thrusting a smart, savage and salacious delight towards his viewers here. Yes, he could've gone with The Texas Porn-Shoot Massacre for the feature's title, but he isn't remaking the obvious seminal piece of genre inspiration. In this blood-splattered throwback, which looks like it could've been unearthed from its chosen decade in every frame (and was actually filmed in New Zealand rather than Texas), West pays homage to a time when flicks like this did pop up with frequency — while slyly commenting on what's changed to shift that scenario. He also explores the process of filmmaking, of putting both sex and death on-screen, and the conversation around both, all while his characters decamp to a quiet guesthouse on a remote property where they start making the film-within-the-film that is The Farmer's Daughter. Upon arrival, gun-toting, televangelist-watching, pitchfork-wielding owner Howard (Stephen Ure, Mortal Engines) is instantly unfriendly. Wayne hasn't told him why they're really there, but he's soon snooping around to see for himself. Also keen on watching the bumping 'n' grinding is Howard's ailing wife Pearl, who he warns his guests to stay away from, but is drawn to the flesh on show. Read our full review. RIVER Some actors possess voices that could narrate almost anything, and Willem Dafoe is one of them. Move over Morgan Freeman: when Dafoe speaks, his dulcet vocals echoing atop gorgeous imagery of the world's waterways as happens in River, being entranced by the sound is the only natural response. He's tasked with uttering quite the elegiac prose in this striking documentary, and he gives all that musing about tributaries and creeks — the planet's arteries, he calls them at one point — a particularly resonant and enthralling tone. Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom (Sherpa) knew he would, of course. She enlisted his talents on her last documentary, Mountain, as well. Both films pick one of the earth's crucial natural features, lens them in all their glory at multiple spots around the globe, and wax lyrical about their importance. Both make for quite the beguiling viewing experience. Thanks to writer Robert Macfarlane, Dafoe has been given much to opine in River — and what he's asked to say is obviously even more crucial than the fact that it's the Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Card Counter, The French Dispatch and Nightmare Alley star expressing it. The subject is right there in the title, but the film's aims are as big and broad as an ocean, covering the history of these snaking streams from the planet's creation up until today. "Humans have long loved rivers," Dafoe announces, which seems like a self-evident statement; however, not one to trade in generalisations without evidence, River then unpacks exactly what that means. It also uses that idea as a foundation, but paired with another, which Dafoe also gives voice to — this time as a question: "as we have learned to harness their power, have we also forgotten to revere them?". The answer is blatant, lapping away at the souls of everyone who lives in a river city and passes their central watercourse daily without giving it a second thought. Indeed, that plain-as-day response ripples with even more force to anyone who has been struck by the waterways' power when natural disasters strike, a fact that hits close to home after Australia's disastrously flooded summer across Queensland and New South Wales — timing that the movie isn't overtly trying to capitalise upon, given it first started doing the rounds of film festivals in 2021, and has had its March 2022 date with Aussie cinemas booked in for months. A documentary doesn't have to tell viewers something wholly new to evoke wonder, though. Conveying well-known truths in unforgettable and affecting ways has always been one of cinema's key skills, whether working in fact or fiction. River's sentiments won't come as a surprise, but it still feels like a fresh splash of water upon a parched face. Dafoe's narration and the film in general hone in on the importance of rivers to human civilisation since its very beginnings, starting with the unshakeable reality that rivers have made much in our evolution possible. Also just as pivotal: the devastation we've wrought in response since we learned to harness all that water for our own purposes, irrigate the land far and wide, and take an abundance of H2O for granted, which River doesn't ebb away from. The prose is flowery, but never overdone; its eager quest for potent poetry, or to be mentioned in the same breath as Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, always feels attuned to the awe it holds for its eponymous streams. It's also on par with Dafoe, Peedom and Macfarlane's work back in 2017 on Mountain, which was similarly hypnotic — and became the highest-grossing non-IMAX Australian documentary ever made, a claim to fame it still holds today. Read our full review. NOWHERE SPECIAL If the way that cinema depicts cancer was plotted out on a scale, Babyteeth and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl could easily demonstrate its extremes. One sees its protagonist as a person first and a patient last; the other uses terminal illness as a catalyst for other people's sorrows and struggles (the "dying girl" part of its moniker, right there at the end, is oh-so-telling about how it regards someone with cancer as little but an afterthought). Nowhere Special thankfully sits at the Babyteeth end of the spectrum. That said, its premise screams weepie, and being moved by its story happens easily. But there's an enormous difference between earning that response through an intimate and delicate story about a person's plight — and, here, their quest to provide for the person dearest to them after they're gone — and merely treating their life-and-death tussle as easy grist for the tear-jerking mill. Nowhere Special follows a 35-year-old single father in Belfast, John (James Norton, Little Women), who needs to find an adoptive family for his four-year-old boy (first-timer Daniel Lamont). His cancer has progressed, and now the doting dad and window cleaner's days are numbered, so he's determined to save his son Michael from more sorrow than his absence will naturally bring — in a situation that's pure emotion-courting fodder, but never manipulatively treated as such. Indeed, writer/director Uberto Pasolini opts for understatement and realism, including over overtly endeavouring to incite the kind of non-stop waterworks that most movies with this premise would eagerly turn on. The filmmaker's last feature, 2013's Still Life, was also just as beautifully measured and tender without mawkishness. Although the gap between his two latest pictures is sizeable time-wise, Pasolini hasn't lost his touch for making sensitive and affecting cinema. Suffering an illness that's turned fatal, and possessing little energy to get through everything that comes with being a single father, John's own fate isn't his primary concern. Nowhere Special takes time to dwell in the routine that marks its protagonist's remaining days — washing panes of glass, making the most of the time he has left with Michael, trying to secure his son new parents, feeling exhausted by all of it but still soldiering on while he can — which seems both mundane and extraordinary in tandem. The always-unspoken fact that life goes on even when it doesn't lingers throughout the film, as stark as a freshly cleaned, newly gleaming window, and contributes to the prevailing bittersweet mood. That's Nowhere Special's baseline. As it charts John's efforts to get Michael the best future he possibly can without himself in it, it soaks in the ups and downs of the pair's life together, recognising that it's both ordinary and remarkable — because all lives are. The search at hand is a difficult one, even when pursued with the best of intentions — by John and with the help of social worker Shona (Eileen O'Higgins, Misbehaviour). Unsurprisingly, finding the right people, or person, to entrust your child to forever is a heartbreaking job, and the weight of what John grapples with never fades from the film's emotional landscape. Features that treat ailing characters so considerately may be uncommon, and they are; however, pictures that willingly face the complicated questions, worries and fears that come with knowing your existence is about to end are rarer still. It might come as little surprise that Pasolini found his tale in reality, reportedly after reading a newspaper article about a man in the same circumstances as John, but how gracefully, attentively and still unflinchingly Nowhere Special fleshes out its story never fails to astonish. Read our full review. RRR The letters in RRR's title are short for Rise Roar Revolt. They could also stand for riveting, rollicking and relentless. They link in with the Indian action movie's three main forces, too — writer/director SS Rajamouli (Baahubali: The Beginning), plus stars NT Rama Rao Jr (Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava) and Ram Charan (Vinaya Vidheya Rama) — and could describe the sound of some of its standout moments. What noise echoes when a motorcycle is used in a bridge-jumping rescue plot, as aided by a horse and the Indian flag, amid a crashing train? Or when a truck full of wild animals is driven into a decadent British colonialist shindig and its caged menagerie unleashed? What racket resounds when a motorbike figures again, this time tossed around by hand (yes, really) to knock out those imperialists, and then an arrow is kicked through a tree into someone's head? Or, when the movie's two leads fight, shoot, leap over walls and get acrobatic, all while one is sat on the other's shoulders? RRR isn't subtle. Instead, it's big, bright, boisterous, boldly energetic, and brazenly unapologetic about how OTT and hyperactive it is. The 187-minute Tollywood action epic — complete with huge musical numbers, of course — is also a vastly captivating pleasure to watch. Narrative-wise, it follows the impact of the British Raj (aka England's rule over the subcontinent between 1858–1947), especially upon two men. In the 1920s, Bheem (Jr NTR, as Rao is known) is determined to rescue young fellow villager Malli (first-timer Twinkle Sharma), after she's forcibly taken by Governor Scott Buxton (Ray Stevenson, Vikings) and his wife Catherine (Alison Doody, Beaver Falls) for no reason but they're powerful and they can. Officer Raju (Charan) is tasked by the crown with making sure Bheem doesn't succeed in rescuing the girl, and also keeping India's population in their place because their oppressors couldn't be more prejudiced. There's more to both men's stories because there's so much more to RRR's story; to fill the movie's lengthy running time, Rajamouli hasn't skimped on plot. Indeed, there's such a wealth of things going on that the film is at once a kidnapping melodrama, a staunch missive against colonialism, a political drama, a rom-com and a culture-clash comedy — involving Bheem's affection for the sole kindly Brit, Jenny (Olivia Morris, Hotel Portofino) — and a war movie. It's a buddy comedy as well, starting when Bheem and Raja join forces for that aforementioned bridge rescue, yet don't realise they're on opposite sides in the battle over Malli. It's also as spectacular an action flick as has graced cinema screens, and as gleefully overblown. Plus, it's an infectiously mesmerising musical. One dazzling dance-off centrepiece doubles as a rebuff against British rule, racism and classism, in fact, and it's also nothing short of phenomenal to look at, too. Spectacle is emphatically the word for RRR — not quite from its scene-setting opening, where Malli is ripped from her family, but from the second that Raju shows how well he can handle himself. That involves taking on a hefty horde of protesters single-handedly with just a stick as a weapon, because extravagance and excess is baked into every second of the feature. Super-sized is another term that clearly fits, because little holds back even for a second. And a third word, if the film bumped up its moniker to the next letter in the alphabet? That'd be sincere. An enormous reason that everything that's larger than life about RRR — which is absolutely everything — works, even when it's also often silly and cheesy, is because it's so earnest about how determined it is to entertain. You don't use that amount of slow-motion shots if you don't know you're being corny at times, unashamedly so. Read our full review. 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 November 4, November 11, November 18 and November 25; December 2, December 9, December 16 and December 26; January 1, January 6, January 13, January 20 and January 27; February 3, February 10, February 17 and February 24; and March 3, March 10 and March 17. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Eternals, The Many Saints of Newark, Julia, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Zola, Last Night in Soho, Blue Bayou, The Rescue, Titane, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Dune, Encanto, The Card Counter, The Lost Leonardo, The French Dispatch, Don't Look Up, Dear Evan Hansen, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Lost Daughter, The Scary of Sixty-First, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza, The Matrix Resurrections, The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Worst Person in the World, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci, The King's Man, Red Rocket, Scream, The 355, Gold, King Richard, Limbo, Spencer, Nightmare Alley, Belle, Parallel Mothers, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Belfast, Here Out West, 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 and Anonymous Club.
There are many things that are great about The Great, and the fact that it tells you what to exclaim whenever you're enjoying it, just received good news about it or simply can't stop thinking about it is one of them. For two seasons so far, this historical satire has bandied about "huzzah!" like it's the only word worth saying. And, come May, it'll do so again when its third season finally drops. The Great was renewed after its second batch of episodes arrived late in 2021, and now season three finally has a release date. Mark Saturday, May 13 in your diary for your next binge — following the rise and reign of Catherine the Great, including her marriage to and overthrowing of Emperor Peter III, with only the slightest regard for the actual facts, this show has a concept that's all killer, no filler, after all. [caption id="attachment_771188" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ollie Upton /Hulu[/caption] Season three will once again feature Elle Fanning (The Girl From Plainville) as Catherine and Nicholas Hoult (The Menu) as Peter, and again step into their chaotic life together. Their nuptials have always been tumultuous, but season two threw everything from attempted murders to mass imprisonments at the couple — and kept disrupting their dynamic as Catherine continued to work towards the name that's a part of history, and also inspires the show's title. So, this time around, expect more of Peter figuring out what it means to play First Husband, and Catherine expanding her influence and reputation beyond just Russia. That, and visions of Peter's late father (Jason Isaacs, Mrs Harris Goes to Paris), life lessons, attempts to build a new country and the usual scheming. While the series has always been supremely confident in its blend of handsome period staging, the loosest of historical realities and that savage sense of humour (it does spring from Oscar-nominated The Favourite screenwriter Tony McNamara, after all), it felt even more comfortable in its skin during its second season. And smoother, too, yet just as biting. So, hopefully that will remain the case in season three as well, all while it keeps seesawing tonally and proving as sharp as a shot of vodka — or several. Fanning and Hoult will be joined by returning co-stars Phoebe Fox (The Aeronauts), Adam Godley (Lodge 49), Gwilym Lee (Top End Wedding), Charity Wakefield (Bounty Hunters), Douglas Hodge (I Hate Suzie Too), Sacha Dhawan (The Prince), Bayo Gbadamosi (War of the Worlds) and Belinda Bromilow (Doctor Doctor), too, because this is a show with a phenomenally great cast. There's no trailer for The Great season three as yet, but you can check out the trailer for season two below: The Great season three will be available to stream in Australia via Stan from Saturday, May 13.
With its frosty cabinets filled with decadent flavours, Gelato Messina knows how to get sweet. Among its array varieties all ready for the licking, the chain isn't afraid to get saucy as well. And if you're the kind of ice cream fiend who adores nothing more than scoops piled high on a cone, drizzling down your fingers as they melt, you'll know that Messina might also leave you slippery. That's all before you try its new Standard Procedure collaboration, too: a finger bun gelato lube that's coming on Valentine's Day. When Messina created its extremely delicious finger bun gelato, it answered an important question: why just eat finger buns or gelato when you can combine the two into a glorious dessert mashup packed with brioche gelato, whipped cream, raspberry puree and coconut icing? Now, the chain has another query: why keep this covetable combo out of the bedroom? Launching online on Tuesday, February 14 via the Standard Procedure and Messina online stores, then also headed to Sephora's shelves at a yet-to-be-announced date, the limited-edition Standard Procedure x Messina's Finger Bun Gelato Lube does indeed play up all of the flavours that make the latter's finger bun gelato as tasty as it is. So, expect to smell raspberry as part of a coconut and brioche water-based personal lubricant. Expect to be hungry for a banging time and a freshly baked sweet treat as well. Made on the Sunshine Coast, the lube features aloe vera, Kakadu plum and chamomile extract, is pH-balanced and works as a natural anti-inflammatory. Crucially, it doesn't include any parabens, petrochemicals, palm oil, silicon, hormones, alcohol or glycerin. And, whether you're enjoying it with a partner or solo, it can used with toys. It's also safe with most condoms. While Messina has already dropped a Valentine's Day dessert which promptly sold out, as its specials always do, it's also scooping up its finger bun gelato across all of its 26 stores to celebrate its new lube. It's a get-in-quick affair, however, because it's only available from February 14 until sold out. Via UberEats from 7pm on Valentine's Day itself, Messina is also doing $32 packs featuring 500-millilitre finger bun gelato tubs and 125-millilitre bottles of Finger Bun gGelato Lube. Standard Procedure x Messina's Finger Bun Gelato Lube is available from Tuesday, February 14 via the Standard Procedure and Messina online stores, and will also hit Sephora's shelves at a yet-to-be-announced date.
There’s an adorable, somewhat maternal trend emerging on the Melbourne restaurant scene. Our favourite eateries have been creating mini-me versions of themselves — snack bars, cocktail lounges, take away windows, food trucks — that channel the same vibe but are the antithesis of chain expansion. Mr Miyagi, Chapel Street's incredibly cute Japanese eatery, is following this example and opening an even cuter little cocktail bar next door. Yukie’s Snack Bar (named after Mr Miyagi’s eternal love Yukie, nawww) is opening next Tuesday, December 15 in the space next door to Mr Miyagi. The pair will work in harmony with each other, sharing opening hours — which, just FYI, are 5pm till late, seven nights a week. Yukie’s will serve bite-sized counterparts of the food you know and love at Mr Miyagi (think along the lines of the Nori Taco people lose their shit over). There'll be kingfish cured on a Himalayan rock salt slab with green chili, coriander cream and crispy quinoa, and Applewood hot smoked salmon tostadillas, served with fennel, apple, coriander, with yuzu shoyu dressing (mmmf *drools*). Yukie's will also offer a unique and extensive cocktail menu including a raspberry and tonka bean margarita with black lava salt (what even is that?) and a salted watermelon martini garnished with Midori-infused 'faux' olives (very intriguing). Yukie’s is designed as a self-contained bar offering lighter snacks while you pound drinks, or as a destination for a post-Miyagi meal cocktail. Welcome to the family, Yukie. Yukie’s Snack Bar, 99 Chapel Street, Windsor, opening on Tuesday December 15. Images: Simon Shiff and Timothy Grey
What has Wade Wilson's (Ryan Reynolds, Ghosted) wisecracks, Logan's (Hugh Jackman, Faraway Downs) surliness, Madonna's 'Like a Prayer' and "let's fucking go!" exclaimed several times? The full trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine, which follows on from the movie's 2024 Super Bowl teaser — which became the most-watched movie trailer of all time — by bringing its namesake frenemies together and giving viewers a bigger look at what's in store. The 34th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the only one arriving in 2024, is gifting the sprawling pop-culture franchise a few things that fans have been waiting for for years. Deadpool officially enters the MCU. So does X-Men hero Wolverine. The end result, which was initially announced in 2022, hits cinemas this July. After the film's debut sneak peek had Deadpool calling himself "Marvel Jesus" when he's brought into the Marvel fold by the Time Variance Authority — and the Merc with a Mouth declaring that "your little cinematic universe is about to change forever" while he's at it — the latest glimpse gets him dubbing Wolverine "the X-Man". Wade is endeavouring to enlist Logan to help save the world. Sometimes he does so by sticking a gun in his face, but often it's by talking, aka one of Deadpool's go-to traits. One won't stop nattering. The other prefers to say as little as possible. Naturally, they're becoming the Marvel Cinematic Universe's favourite big-screen odd couple. Reynolds has been playing Deadpool since 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so this isn't the first time that him and Jackman are teaming up as their famous characters — but, again, it is the first time in the MCU. Before now, Jackman has already busted out the adamantium claws in nine movies, starting with 2000's X-Men and running through to 2017's Logan, which was poised as his swansong in the role. But when you've been playing a part for that long, in that many flicks, what's one more go-around? After a non-Wolverine gap spent starring in The Greatest Showman, The Front Runner, Bad Education, Reminiscence and The Son, Jackman is clearly ready to get hairy again. That Deadpool & Wolverine falls into the MCU, the comic-to-screen realm that's been going since the first Iron Man flick and will likely never ever end, isn't a minor detail. The two characters have always been Marvel characters, but because of rights issues behind the scenes, they've stayed in their own on-screen sagas. But when Disney (which owns Marvel) bought 20th Century Fox (which brought the X-Men and Deadpool movies to cinemas so far), those business issues disappeared. Deadpool & Wolverine arrives six years after 2018's Deadpool 2. It also marks a reunion in another way. Behind the lens: director Shawn Levy, reteaming with Reynolds after Free Guy and The Adam Project. Also featuring on-screen in the new trailer: Emma Corrin (A Murder at the End of the World) as Cassandra Nova, the X-Men supervillain that's also Deadpool & Wolverine's big bad. Check out the full Deadpool & Wolverine trailer below: Deadpool & Wolverine releases in cinemas Down Under on July 25, 2024. Images: courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.
By now, there's no question that 400 Gradi is Melbourne pizza royalty. Back in 2014, owner and founder Johnny Di Francesco's margherita was famously crowned best in the world at the Campionato Mondiale Della Pizza (Pizza World Championship), beating 600 competitors from across the globe. And now, having added a swag more pizzerias to the family in the years since, 400 Gradi has claimed yet another huge glory, last night taking out the title of Best Pizza in Oceania at the second annual 50 Top Pizza Awards in Naples. The Melbourne pizzeria was secretly judged against almost 1000 others from across Italy and the globe, and secured both a place among the world's 50 best and reigned supreme over all other pizzerias in Oceania. "I am truly honoured, and almost speechless, to be honest," said Di Francesco at the event. "Never did I think that my beginnings in pizza as a twelve year old would lead me here." Other Aussie restaurants named finalists in the Oceania category include Sydney's Verace Pizzeria (Macquarie Park), La Disfida (Ashfield) and The Dolphin Hotel (Surry Hills), along with fellow Melburnian, Guy Grossi's Ombra. Best book a table now — we have a feeling these pizzas will be pretty darn popular in the coming weeks. You can check out the full lineup of award-winning pizzas here.
For much of his career, Ryan Gosling has perfected on-screen smouldering. He's the kind of actor who can utter few words and still convey everything, as movies such as Drive and Only God Forgives demonstrated so well. But Gosling is also exceptional at comedy, which Barbie reminded the world in 2023 with glorious ballad-crooning, beach-loving Kenergy. Next, cinema's baby goose is getting into action-comedy mode in the Sydney-shot The Fall Guy. Based on the 80s TV series of the same name, the film follows stuntman Colt Seavers (Gosling), whose career isn't what it used to be. After taking time off, he's back at work getting set on fire for a living — but the fact that his ex Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer) is directing brings chaos. That's just the first dose of the movie's mayhem. Also complicating matters: that megastar actor Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bullet Train), who Seavers is meant to be doubling for in Moreno's flick, has gone missing. So, the stunt professional now has another task: work out what's going on by solving a conspiracy. If you're thinking "wasn't Gosling in the stunt game in Drive?", you're correct; however, The Fall Guy couldn't be in more different territory tonally. That said, when Ted Lasso's Hannah Waddingham tells Gosling "you're a stuntman — nobody's going to notice you, that's your job", in The Fall Guy's just-dropped first trailer, you'll already know that his casting means that's never going to prove true. As well as finding a missing actor, getting immersed in action intrigue to unravel a criminal plot, saving his latest movie and doing his regular job, Seavers is on a mission to win back Moreno — but IRL stuntman-turned-filmmaker David Leitch, who also helmed Bullet Train, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2 and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, puts stunts to the fore as much as rom-com banter in the initial sneak peek. Written by Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw scribe Drew Pearce, The Fall Guy co-stars Everything Everywhere All At Once Oscar-nominee Stephanie Hsu, plus Winston Duke (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). Also a big feature in the trailer: its Sydney shooting location, including the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Everyone in Australia knows that Gosling was in the country to make the movie — and we all know that any flick shot here will show off that fact in its footage, as seen in the trailer for the also Sydney-made Anyone But You recently as well. On the small screen, The Fall Guy ran for 113 episodes from 1981–86, starring Lee Majors after his best-known role in The Six Million Dollar Man. Check out the trailer for The Fall Guy below: The Fall Guy releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, February 29, 2024.
If you're the type of traveller who doesn't just plan where you'll be staying and what sights you'll be seeing, but also what you'll be drinking while you're there, then add Australia's latest accommodation option to your dream holiday list. A collaboration between caravan rental site Camplify and The Botanist Gin, Salty the Van is the country's latest gin-themed caravan — after the pair first teamed up to bring some juniper spirits to your getaways in late 2020. Yes, a bottle of gin will be waiting for you when you get there; however, that's not all that this holiday spot on wheels has to offer. Firstly, it has made its base in completely a different location — and different state — so you can add it to your list if a Gold Coast vacation is in your future. Painted in beachy blue and white hues, the vintage Viscount caravan comes with an outdoor table and chairs, and an awning, but it's the lineup from The Botanist that'll make you thirsty. During your stay, you'll be sipping from a complimentary 700-millilitre bottle of The Botanist gin and a four-pack of Fever Tree tonic waters. So, you just need to get mixing, sipping and sitting wherever you decide to park the caravan — which'll need to be within 50 kilometres of Tugun. If this sounds like your kind of getaway, the new Botanist Van is available to book from Friday, April 9 through until the end of June from $100 per night. It sleeps four people, and there's a three-night minimum stay during off-peak times and a five-night minimum in peak and school holiday periods. You will need to get cosy over a weekend to receive the gin pack, though, as it comes with Friday–Sunday bookings. To book The Botanist's new van — with prices from $100 per day, and rentals available within 50 kilometres of Tugun in Queensland until February 30, 2021 — visit the Camplify website.
If you're always trying to stay up-to-date with all of the new shows and movies hitting Netflix, but you're also attempting to do so on the cheap — by borrowing a pal or your parents' login details — you might soon have to change your viewing strategy. Some of the service's subscribers have started reported receiving warning messages about using other people's accounts, with the platform currently testing a new feature to block password sharing. "If you don't live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching," states the message, which then gives users a few options. If you are indeed watching via your own account, you can get a verification code sent to you via email or text. If not, you can sign up for a 30-day trial. There's also a 'verify later' option, which'll let you keep watching — but only for a short but as-yet-unspecified amount of time — and then verify later. Images of the message have started appearing on social media, and Netflix has confirmed the move to media outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter and ABC News. THR reports that how the feature is being rolled out varies per country, and that protecting accounts from unauthorised use is one of the reasons behind it. To ABC News, a Netflix spokesperson advised that "this test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorised to do so." Converting folks who use other people's passwords to access the platform into paying customers is obviously one of the strategy's aims, too, especially as more and more streaming services pop up in competition. And, after most folks have just spent more time at home than usual — and more time streaming Netflix, too — the company is likely looking at ways to keep growing its numbers. Whether the password-sharing block will become a permanent feature is yet to be seen, but it isn't the only thing that Netflix has been testing of late. The platform is also working on a shuffle function, that'll automatically pick your next thing to watch and save you from scrolling for hours and hours — which is expected to be rolled out in the first half of this year. Netflix's new password-sharing block is being tested now — we'll update you when more details are announced. Via The Hollywood Reporter/ABC News.
When Michael Crichton put pen to paper and conjured up a modern-day dinosaur-filled amusement park, he couldn't have known exactly what he'd done. The author easily imagined the story making its way to the big screen, because the Jurassic Park novel started out as a screenplay. He could've also perceived that a whole film franchise could follow, and that folks would be quoting the movies for decades. And yet, we're guessing that he didn't predict the latest development: a recreation of Jurassic World, the fourth movie in the series, out of Lego. Australians will soon be able to wander through and peer at more than 50 dinosaurs, props and scenes from the 2015 movie that have all been recreated with the popular plastic bricks. They'll be on display at Jurassic World by Brickman, an exhibition that'll hit the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from Thursday, April 1–Monday, May 31, then tour the rest of the country. Exactly which other cities Jurassic World by Brickman will head to, and when, hasn't been revealed as yet — but there is plenty for Melburnians and Aussies elsewhere to look forward to. More than six million Lego blocks have been used in the exhibition, to create the four-metre-tall park gates, the lab where the dinosaurs are genetically engineered, those instantly recognisable jeeps, a petting zoo, a heap of creatures and more. Lego dinosaurs are obviously the main attraction, and this event is going big. There'll be a life-sized brachiosaurus that weighs more than two tonnes, a huge tyrannosaurus rex, two life-sized velociraptors (Blue and Delta), and everything from a stegosaurus to a triceratops, too. You'll see some in a baby dinosaur enclosure, encounter some on the loose, and learn how to track them over the exhibition's recreation of Isla Nublar (while using your imagination a whole heap, obviously). If it all sounds rather sizeable, Jurassic World by Brickman will be the largest Lego experience in Australia. And if getting a closer look at Jurassic World sounds a little familiar, you might remember the non-Lego exhibition that hit Melbourne back in 2016. Lego aficionados will also be able to get building while they're there, with 2.5 million bricks to play with. Obviously, this'll be a family-friendly affair, so expect to have plenty of small dinosaur fans for socially distanced company. Jurassic World by Brickman makes its world premiere in Melbourne and, after hitting up the rest of Australia, will also tour globally. And if you're wondering when you'll next see a Jurassic World flick on the big screen, Jurassic World: Dominion — the followup to 2018's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — is due to release in June 2022. Jurassic World by Brickman will display at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from Thursday, April 1–Monday, May 31, before touring the rest of the country — with other stops around Australia yet to be announced. Tickets for the Melbourne run go on sale at 10am AEDT on Thursday, March 11.
When spring finally arrives in Victoria, it's like an entire world of possibilities opens up in front of you. Destinations that may be difficult to appreciate in the winter, marred by wind and rain, are now ripe for exploration. And the bright, sunny days ahead are sure to make you want to get out and stretch your legs someplace new. While pretty much every regional destination has a host of new dining, cultural and adventure activities to discover, we've done the hard work for you and picked out a few of our favourites. From super traditional Japanese cuisine to sprawling hot springs and luxury glamping experiences, here are eight of the latest openings across regional Victoria for you to check out. Get out the group message, show off your knowledge of all the new places and start planning your getaway with your crew, your family or just that special someone. RELAX: PENINSULA HOT SPRINGS, MORNINGTON PENINSULA Peninsula Hot Springs has long been a go-to relaxation spot for many Melburnians looking to get away from the city and unwind. But, after years of operation, it was time for a bit of a spruce up; the hillside complex recently underwent a $13-million upgrade — its biggest expansion since opening back in 2005. The swish new facilities include two plunge pools and seven hot springs, which means there is plenty of room for spa revellers, even in the usually crowded top pool. The newly added Bath House Amphitheatre presents a host of live entertainment and the surrounding baths have an excellent view of the stage, as well as underwater speakers so you can sing along while you soak. The Hot Springs is also delving into cryotherapy with a new 'ice and fire' experience. This allows bathers to switch between hot and cold therapy — the hot being two new 30-person saunas and the cold, a new (Australian-first) ice cave and 'deep freeze' treatment room that's kept at a cool 25 degrees below freezing. The idea is that, by jumping between hot and cold, you will sweat out toxins, cleanse your skin and potentially burn calories. On top of all of this, there's now a cafe serving locally grown produce, plus a cultural meeting space thoughtfully designed in collaboration with local Indigenous elders. RELAX: THE SPA, BEECHWORTH The Spa Beechworth's relaxing effects take hold as soon as you step inside. The venue, which was previously a historic hospital, has been entirely revamped and is now equipped to create the most soothing experiences possible with screen-free rooms, expert staff and a range of specialist treatments available. The Spa Beechworth offers boutique lodging, day spa treatments and a beauty salon, plus a 'slow-living' store selling the spa's own plant-based products to keep you feeling refreshed long after you've departed. There's a wide range of treatments and self-care rituals to choose from, making this new addition one of Victoria's most serene wellbeing getaways. [caption id="attachment_684876" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sakana, Peter Tasiuk.[/caption] EAT: KUZU IZAKAYA, WOODEND AND SAKANA, DAYLESFORD Bringing the Japanese izakaya all the way to regional Victoria, Woodend's Kuzu Izakaya produces authentic and delicious Japanese food. Located an hour's drive northwest of Melbourne, the restaurant delivers delicately plated fare — highlights include wagyu beef tataki, chicken karaage and miso-cream scallops — alongside incredible local gin from the nearby Big Tree Distillery and wines from vineyards across the Macedon Ranges. If you head half an hour west to Daylesford, you'll find fellow Japanese eatery Sakana — a venue that's been impressing both locals and tourists alike since 2011. The restaurant, which was formerly known as Kuzuki's, has recently reinvented itself, pivoting from what was a formal dining experience into a casual atmosphere that's excellent for groups. The menu is designed for sharing and the best way to sample all of the pan-Asian delights is to settle in with the omakase menu ($85 a head), paired, perhaps, with one of the expertly matched wines or sakes. EAT: BISTRO TERROIR, DAYLESFORD From working in Michelin-starred Parisian restaurants, renowned Australian chef Matthew Carnell followed a long-held dream to open a high-quality French restaurant in Daylesford. Set in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, Bistro Terroir is a bona fide Gallic bistro with exquisitely assembled dishes and a simple but sophisticated setting. Depending on when you decide to visit the bistro, the dynamic seasonal menu is sure to please. As we move from winter to summer, the menu makes the most of the available produce while showcasing a throng of distinctly French techniques and dishes. To match, there's also a carefully considered drinks menu that includes a range of Australian-made wines produced from quintessentially French grapes. The one thing that's missing from this French restaurant is the hefty price tag; it's actually quite affordable (mains are around $30). So, with your spare change, head into Daylesford and Hepburn for some more treats. Get your dose of relaxation at the Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa or drop into trendy boutiques like Sarah Conners. [caption id="attachment_693031" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ross Farm.[/caption] STAY: ROSS FARM CABIN, SOUTH GIPPSLAND Tucked away in the scenic surrounds of South Gippsland overlooking the valley sits a quaint little country hideaway that's been given a new lease on life. Prominent interior designer Andrea Moore teamed up with her father Lindsay to transform what was once a dilapidated cabin into a stunning countryside retreat. Combining raw, earthy materials with modern finishes, Ross Farm Cabin takes inspiration from both Japanese and Scandinavian design to offer guests a modest but memorable rural stay. Andrea carefully managed the cabin's entire transformation, designing most of the furniture and developing the overall concept. Meanwhile, Lindsay took these designs into his workshop, handcrafting each item with outstanding results. It was a real family effort, which makes the place feel extra special. STAY: LON RETREAT, POINT LONSDALE Set on 200 acres of picturesque parkland, Lon Retreat is Point Lonsdale's luxe new hotel and spa. Featuring seven sanctuary-like suites situated among leafy surrounds, the hilltop retreat boasts elegant contemporary artworks, hand-crafted ceramics and bespoke lighting produced by several local designers. With 360-degree views of the Bellarine Peninsula and surrounding landscape, Lon Retreat also includes a private beach area and an art gallery with exclusive access for guests — just in case you weren't feeling fancy enough already. And since no indulgent hideaway is complete without an equally lavish spa, the retreat has that covered, too. Its luxurious spa includes three distinct rooms — each with panoramic views of the coastal landscape — and utilises the purest natural mineral water, sourced from the nutrient-rich earth that sits beneath the farm. While the family-owned property might not have its own restaurant — hey, you can't have it all — guests can indulge in a well-stocked honesty minibar and a 'makers and growers pantry', featuring the finest produce from throughout the Bellarine region. STAY: UNDER THE SKY AT THE MOUNTAIN, MOUNT BUFFALO Running till Monday, December 17, Under the Sky at The Mountain is a luxury glamping experience in the foothills of Mount Buffalo National Park. Pitched at Lake Catani, this is an adventure for the type of camper that still enjoys some of life's creature comforts. The ten spacious tents come equipped with high-quality linens, comfortable furnishings, as well as gas cookers and kitchen gear to prepare your own meals. You don't even have to go without running water, the park has on-site bathrooms with hot showers to keep everybody nice and fresh. The best part is, from this serene location you'll have direct access to the sprawling landscape of Mount Buffalo — including 90 kilometres of scenic hiking trails, waterfalls and native wildlife so you can explore all day and glamp all night. For more spring places, spaces and events to discover in regional Victoria visit Your Happy Space. Top image: Lon Retreat.
Bad news for Occupy protesters: Bernado Bajana has created a new riot shield which does much more than just shield officers. Inspired by the shell of the armadillo, this has an adjustable visor which allows officers to be protected from any projectiles launched from in front or above. Furthermore, if things get real rowdy, the shield is lined with multiple taser strips. Furthermore, it has a built-in pepper spray which can reach up to 30 feet. Both of these attacks are conveniently trigger-operated. Regardless of your thoughts on protesting and police misuse of power, you've got to admit that this is a pretty nifty piece of design. It would be pretty handy to have one of these when you brave the crowds at the upcoming Boxing Day sales. Those crowds can get pretty pushy. [via TrendHunter]
Whichever Disney theme park sits on your must-visit list — the original Disneyland in California, Florida's Walt Disney World, or sites in Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai — you won't be heading there while Australia's borders are closed to international travel. So, the Mouse House has brought some of its magic our way. Now open at Melbourne's newly revamped Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Disney: The Magic of Animation showcases the company's considerable animated prowess across the past century. Whether you've always been a fan of Mickey Mouse, can remember how it felt when you first watched Bambi, are able to sing all of Genie's lyrics in Aladdin or fell head over heels for Moana more recently, you'll find plenty worth looking at among ACMI's halls and walls. And in its doors, too, actually — because walking beneath mouse ear-shaped openings to move from one area to the next is all part of the experience. Of course it is. Displaying from Thursday, May 13–Sunday, October 17, marking ACMI's first big exhibition since it reopened after its $40 million transformation and making its only Aussie stop at the venue, Disney: The Magic of Animation explores everything from 1928's Steamboat Willie — the first talkie to feature Mickey Mouse — through to this year's Raya and the Last Dragon. Obviously, a wealth of other titles get the nod between those two bookending flicks. Fantasia, Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp, The Jungle Book and The Lion King also feature, as do Mulan, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia. And yes, many of these movies have been remade in live-action or photo-realistic CGI; however, ACMI's showcase is only about the animated films. The big drawcard: art from the Mouse House's hefty back catalogue of titles, and heaps of it. More than 500 original artworks feature, spanning paintings, sketches, drawings and concept art. The entire lineup has been specially selected by the Walt Disney Animation Research Library, and will let you get a glimpse at just how the movie magic comes to life, how some of Disney's famous stories were developed, and which animation techniques brought them to the big screen. "The exhibition features behind-the-scenes production artworks which were created during the development of our Disney animated films," explains Walt Disney Animation Research Library Art Exhibitions and Conservation Manager Kristen McCormick. She notes that visitors will "see how the filmmakers and artists develop our stories, and work through different ideas and concepts along the way to creating the films we know so well". And if you think the 500-plus piece collection on display is sizeable — which is is — it was chosen from more than 65 million works in the Walt Disney Animation Research Library. Get ready to peer at hand-drawn dalmatians (which is timely, given that Cruella hits cinemas and Disney+ at the end of May), stare closely at Mickey Mouse's evolution, examine Wreck-It Ralph models and pose next to Snow White. Wall-sized artworks pay tribute to a number of movies, too — The Little Mermaid piece is particularly eye-catching — and feeling like you're stepping into a Disney movie is an unsurprising side effect. Arriving on our shores after past seasons in cities such as Paris, Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore, Disney: The Magic of Animation is clearly designed to appeal to Mouse House fans of all ages. You, your parents, today's primary school kids — you've all grown up watching Disney flicks. So, while you're pondering tales as old as time, being ACMI's guest, contemplating the animated circle of life and definitely not letting your nostalgia go, prepare to be accompanied by aficionados both young and young at heart. Disney: The Magic of Animation is on display at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square, Melbourne from Thursday, May 13–Sunday, October 17 — open 12–5pm Monday–Friday and 10am–6pm on weekend and during school holidays. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the ACMI website. Images: Phoebe Powell.
Looking to level up your fitness in the southeast? Upstate is just the place. Arriving in Elsternwick with a brand-new studio, a special launch celebration is getting locals in the mood with free classes all weekend long. It's going down across Saturday, May 3–Sunday, May 4, giving visitors the chance to road test the location's extensive fitness offering. Here, you'll find two reformer pilates studios, a dynamic boxing room, a dedicated hot pilates space, plus yoga and sound bath meditation facilities. All in all, achieving your fitness goals just got easier. Renowned for its big and bold sessions, the opening of Upstate's Elsternwick location is the brand's 13th. With bustling studios dotting the inner-city and beyond, other spots to give your wellbeing a boost include Richmond, Fitzroy, Geelong and Ballarat. If you decide to get down for the launch event, a host of other goodies are also up for grabs, like special membership deals and prizes. For instance, signing up for a foundation membership means getting access to reformer, boxing and mat classes for just $44 per week. Book a free class and get your sweat on.
One of the best films to hit cinemas in 2023 so far gets a song stuck in viewers' heads like it's been slung there with the stickiest of webs. Just try to watch a Spider-Man movie — any Spider-Man movie, but preferably the stunning Spider-Verse movies — and not get the cartoon theme song lodged in your brain. You can't. It's impossible. Tweak the earworm of a track's lyrics, though, and you have the perfect description of the first six months of this year at the pictures: the greatest features to flicker through projectors truly did whatever movies can. Among 2023's best films so far, one made the connection between a parent and child feel so aching new yet so deeply relatable that you might've convinced yourself that you lived this plot yourself. Another hung out with a Sardinian donkey to muse on the fragility of life, plus the way that all creatures great and small that aren't human are so often disregarded. Some rightly garnered awards for exploring close bonds and impassioned fights; others hopped all over Japan, or Korea, or wherever on the globe that John Wick has a battle to wage. One made the Australian outback look otherworldly — and another toyed with reality on multiple levels, and in a stunning fashion. They're some of the films that've shone brightly at picture palaces this year — some releasing last year elsewhere, but only debuting Down Under in 2023; some so shiny and brand-new that they've only just reached cinemas. More than 15 ace movies have graced the silver screen over the past six months, of course, but if you only have time to watch or rewatch the absolute best 15, we've picked them. Happy midyear viewing. AFTERSUN The simplest things in life can be the most revealing, whether it's a question asked of a father by a child, an exercise routine obeyed almost mindlessly or a man stopping to smoke someone else's old cigarette while wandering through a holiday town alone at night. The astonishing feature debut by Scottish writer/director Charlotte Wells, Aftersun is about the simple things. Following the about-to-turn-31 Calum (Paul Mescal, The Lost Daughter) and his daughter Sophie (debutant Frankie Corio) on vacation in Turkey in the late 90s, it includes all of the above simple things, plus more. It tracks, then, that this coming-of-age story on three levels — of an 11-year-old flirting with adolescence, a dad struggling with his place in the world, and an adult woman with her own wife and family grappling with a life-changing experience from her childhood — is always a movie of deep, devastating and revealing complexity. Earning the internet's Normal People-starring boyfriend a Best Actor Oscar nomination, and deservedly so, Aftersun is a reflective, ruminative portrait of heartbreak. It's a quest to find meaning in sorrow and pain, too, and in processing the past. Wells has crafted a chronicle of interrogating, contextualising, reframing and dwelling in memories; an examination of leaving and belonging; and an unpacking of the complicated truths that a kid can't see about a parent until they're old enough to be that parent. Breaking up Calum and Sophie's sun-dappled coastal holiday with the older Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall, Vox Lux) watching camcorder footage from the trip, sifting through her recollections and dancing it out under a nightclub's strobing lights in her imagination, this is also a stunning realisation that we'll always read everything we can into a loved one's actions with the benefit of hindsight, but all we ever truly have is the sensation that lingers in our hearts and heads. Read our full review. EO David Attenborough's nature documentaries are acclaimed and beloved viewing, including when they're recreating dinosaurs. Family-friendly fare adores cute critters, especially if they're talking as in The Lion King and Paddington movies. The horror genre also loves pushing animals to the front, with The Birds and Jaws among its unsettling masterpieces. Earth's creatures great and small are all around us on-screen, and also off — but in EO, a donkey drama by Polish filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski (11 Minutes), humanity barely cares. The people in this Oscar-nominated mule musing might watch movies about pets and beasts. They may have actively shared parts of their own lives existence the animal kingdom; some, albeit only a rare few, do attempt exactly that with this flick's grey-haired, white-spotted, wide-eyed namesake. But one of the tragedies at the heart of this adventure is also just a plain fact of life on this pale blue dot while homo sapiens reign supreme: that animals are everywhere all the time but hardly anyone notices. EO notices. Making his first film in seven years, and co-writing with his wife and producer Ewa Piaskowska (Essential Killing), Skolimowski demands that his audience pays attention. This is both an episodic slice-of-life portrait of EO the donkey's days and a glimpse of the world from his perspective — sometimes, the glowing and gorgeous cinematography by Michal Dymek (Wolf) takes in the Sardinian creature in all his braying, trotting, carrot-eating glory; sometimes, it takes on 'donkey vision', which is just as mesmerising to look at. Skolimowski gets inspiration from Robert Bresson's 1966 feature Au Hasard Balthazar, too, a movie that also follows the life of a hoofed, long-eared mammal. Like that French great, EO sees hardship much too often for its titular creature; however, even at its most heartbreaking, it also spies an innate, immutable circle of life. Read our full review. CLOSE When Léo (debutant Eden Dambrine) and Rémi (fellow first-timer Gustav De Waele) dash the carefree dash of youth in Close's early moments, rushing from a dark bunker out into the sunshine — from rocks and forest to a bloom-filled field ablaze with colour, too — this immediately evocative Belgian drama runs joyously with them. Girl writer/director Lukas Dhont starts his sophomore feature with a tremendous moment, one that's arresting to look at and to experience. The petals pop; the camera tracks, rushes and flies; the two 13-year-olds are as exuberant and at ease as they're ever likely to be in their lives. They're sprinting because they're happy and playing, and because summer in their village — and on Léo's parents' flower farm — is theirs for the revelling in. They don't and can't realise it because no kid does, but they're also bolting from the bliss that is their visibly contented childhood to the tussles and emotions of being a teenager. Close's title does indeed apply to its two main figures; when it comes to adolescent friendships, they couldn't be tighter. As expressed in revelatory performances by Dambrine and De Waele, each of whom are genuine acting discoveries — Dhont spotted the former on a train from Antwerp to Ghent — these boys have an innocent intimate affinity closer than blood. They're euphoric with and in each other's company, and the feature plays like that's how it has always been between the two. They've also never queried or overthought what their connection means. Before high school commences, Close shows the slumber parties, and the shared hopes and dreams. It sits in on family dinners, demonstrating the ease with which each is a part of the other's broader lives amid both sets of mums and dads; Léo's are Nathalie (Léa Drucker, Custody) and Yves (Marc Weiss, Esprits de famille), Rémi's are Sophie (Émilie Dequenne, An Ordinary Man) and Peter (Kevin Janssens, Two Summers). The film adores their rapport like a summer day adores the breeze, and conveys it meticulously and movingly. Then, when girls in Léo and Rémi's grade ask if the two are a couple, it shows the heartache and heartbreak of a boyhood bond dissolving. Read our full review. ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED With photographer Nan Goldin at its centre, the latest documentary by Citizenfour Oscar-winner Laura Poitras is a film about many things, to deeply stunning and moving effect. In this Oscar-nominated movie's compilation of Goldin's acclaimed snaps, archival footage, current interviews, and past and present activism, a world of stories flicker — all linked to Goldin, but all also linking universally. The artist's bold work, especially chronicling LGBTQIA+ subcultures and the 80s HIV/AIDS crisis, frequently and naturally gets the spotlight. Her complicated family history, which spans heartbreaking loss, haunts the doco as it haunts its subject. The rollercoaster ride that Goldin's life has taken, including in forging her career, supporting her photos, understanding who she is and navigating an array of personal relationships, cascades through, too. And, so do her efforts to counter the opioid epidemic by bringing one of the forces behind it to public justice. Revealing state secrets doesn't sit at the core of the tale here, unlike Citizenfour and Poitras' 2016 film Risk — one about Edward Snowden, the other Julian Assange — but everything leads to the documentary's titular six words: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed. They gain meaning in a report spied late about the mental health of Goldin's older sister Barbara, who committed suicide at the age of 18 when Goldin was 11, and who Goldin contends was just an "angry and sexual" young woman in the 60s with repressed parents. A psychiatrist uses the eponymous phrase to describe what Barbara sees and, tellingly, it could be used to do the same with anyone. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is, in part, a rebuke of the idea that a teenager with desires and emotions is a problem, and also a statement that that's who we all are, just to varying levels of societal acceptance. The film is also a testament that, for better and for worse, all the beauty and the bloodshed we all witness and endure is what shapes us. Read our full review. SAINT OMER In 2016, a French documentarian with Senegalese heritage attended the trial of a Senegalese French PhD student who confessed to killing her 15-month-old daughter, who was fathered by a white partner, by leaving her on the beach to the mercy of the waves at Berck-sur-Mer. The filmmaker was fixated. She describes it as an "unspeakable obsession". She was haunted by questions about motherhood, too — her mum's and her own, given that she was a young mother herself as she sat in the courtroom. That story is the story of how Saint Omer came to be, and also almost exactly the tale that the piercing drama tells. In her first narrative film after docos We and La Permanence, writer/director Alice Diop focuses on a French author and literature professor with a Senegalese background who bears witness to a trial with the same details, also of a Senegalese French woman, for the same crime. Saint Omer's protagonist shares other traits with Diop as she observes, too, and watches and listens to research a book. A director riffing on their own experience isn't novel, but Saint Omer is strikingly intimate and authentic because it's the embodiment of empathy in an innately difficult situation. It shows what it means to feel for someone else, including someone who has admitted to a shocking crime, and has been made because Diop went through that far-from-straightforward process and was galvanised to keep grappling with it. What a deeply emotional movie this 2022 Venice International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-winning feature is, understandably and unsurprisingly. What a heartbreaking and harrowing work it proves as well. Saint Omer is also an astoundingly multilayered excavation of being in a country but never being seen as truly part it, and what that does to someone's sense of self, all through Fabienne Kabou's complicated reality and Laurence Coly's (Guslagie Malanda, My Friend Victoria) fictionalised scenario. Read our full review. WOMEN TALKING Get Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Frances McDormand and more exceptional women in a room, point a camera their way, let the talk flow: Sarah Polley's Women Talking does just that, and this year's Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar-winner is phenomenal. The actor-turned-filmmaker's fourth effort behind the lens after 2006's Away From Her, 2011's Take This Waltz and 2012's Stories We Tell does plenty more, but its basic setup is as straightforward as its title states. Adapted from Miriam Toews' 2018 novel of the same name, this isn't a simple or easy film, however. That book and this feature draw on events in a Bolivian Mennonite colony from 2005–9, where a spate of mass druggings and rapes of women and girls were reported at the hands of some of the group's men. In a patriarchal faith and society, women talking about their experiences is a rebellious, revolutionary act anyway — and talking about what comes next is just as charged. "The elders told us that it was the work of ghosts, or Satan, or that we were lying to get attention, or that it was an act of wild female imagination." That's teenage narrator Autje's (debutant Kate Hallett) explanation for how such assaults could occur and continue, as offered in Women Talking's sombre opening voiceover. Writing and helming, Polley declares her feature "an act of female imagination" as well, as Toews did on the page, but the truth in the movie's words is both lingering and haunting. While the film anchors its dramas in a specific year, 2010, it's purposefully vague on any details that could ground it in one place. Set within a community where modern technology is banned and horse-drawn buggies are the only form of transport, it's a work of fiction inspired by reality, rather than a recreation. Whether you're aware of the true tale behind the book going in or not, this deeply powerful and affecting picture speaks to how women have long been treated in a male-dominated world at large — and what's so often left unsaid, too. Read our full review. TÁR The least surprising aspect of Tár is also its most essential: Cate Blanchett being as phenomenal as she's ever been, plus more. The Australian Nightmare Alley, Thor: Ragnarok, Carol and The New Boy actor — "our Cate", of course — unsurprisingly scored an Oscar nomination as a result. Accolades have been showered her way since this drama about a cancelled conductor premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival (the prestigious event's Best Actress gong was the first of them), deservedly so. Blanchett is that stunning in Tár, that much of a powerhouse, that adept at breathing life and complexity into a thorny figure, and that magnetic and mesmerising. Even when she hasn't been at her utmost on rare past occasions or something she's in hasn't been up to her standards — see: Don't Look Up for both — she's a force that a feature gravitates around. Tár is astonishing itself, too, but Blanchett at her finest is the movie's rock, core and reason for being. Blanchett is spectacular in Tár, and she also has to be spectacular in Tár — because Lydia Tár, the maestro she's playing, earns that term to start with in the film's on-screen world. At the feature's kickoff, the passionate and ferocious character is feted by a New Yorker Festival session led by staff writer Adam Gopnik as himself, with her achievements rattled off commandingly to an excited crowd; what a list it is. Inhabiting this part requires nothing less than utter perfection, then, aka what Tár demands herself, her latest assistant Francesca (Noémie Merlant, Jumbo), her wife Sharon (Nina Hoss, Shadowplay) and everyone else in her orbit constantly. Strong, seductive, severe, electrifying and downright exceptional, Blanchett nails it. That Lydia can't always do the same, no matter how hard, painstakingly and calculatingly she's worked to ensure that it appears otherwise, is one of the movie's main concerns. Read our full review. SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE All the money in the world can't make people in tights standing against green screens as visually spectacular and emotionally expressive as the Spider-Verse films. If it could, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and now Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse wouldn't be so exhilarating, look so stunning and feel so authentic. Spider-Man's eight stints in theatres with either Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield or Tom Holland behind the mask — and all of the latter's pop-ups in other Marvel Cinematic Universe entries, too — have splattered around plenty of charm, but they'll now always swing far below their animated counterparts. Indeed, when Spider-Man: No Way Home tried to emulate the Spider-Verse by pointing its fingers into the multiverse, as Marvel's live-action world is now fixated upon, it paled in comparison. And, that isn't just because there was no Nicolas Cage-voiced 30s-era spider-vigilante Spider-Man Noir, or a spider-robot, spider-pig, spider-car or spider-saur; rather, it's because the Spider-Verse movies are that imaginative and agile. In Across the Spider-Verse, which will be followed by 2024's Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse plus a Spider-Women spinoff after that, being an inventive spider-flick initially entails hanging with Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld, Hawkeye). In most Spidey stories, Gwen Stacy is a love interest for Peter Parker, but the Spider-Verse Gwen from Earth 65 was bitten by a radioactive spider instead. Gwen also narrates backstory details, filling in what's occurred since the first feature while playfully parodying that overused approach. Then, when the movie slides into Miles Morales' (Shameik Moore, Wu-Tang: An American Saga) life, he takes her lead, but gives it his own spin. The first Black Latin American Spider-Man is now 15, and more confident in his spider-skills and -duties. In-between being Brooklyn's friendly neighbourhood Spidey and attending a private school that'll ideally help him chase his physics dreams, he's even guest-hosted Jeopardy!. But not telling his mum Rio (Luna Lauren Velez, Power Book II: Ghost) and police-officer dad Jefferson (Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway) about his extracurricular activities is weighing upon Miles, and he's still yearning for mentorship and friendship, especially knowing that Gwen, Peter B Parker (Jake Johnson, Minx) and an infinite number of other web-slingers are all out there catching thieves just like flies. Read our full review. SUZUME When the Godzilla franchise first started rampaging through Japanese cinemas almost 70 years ago, it was in response to World War II and the horrific display of nuclear might that it unleashed. That saga and its prehistoric reptilian monster have notched up 38 movies now, and long may it continue stomping out of its homeland (the American flicks, which are set to return in 2024, have been hit-and-miss). In such creature-feature company, the films of Makoto Shinkai may not seem like they belong. So far, the writer/director behind global hits Your Name and Weathering with You, plus The Place Promised in Our Early Days, 5 Centimetres per Second, Children Who Chase Lost Voices and The Garden of Words before that, sadly hasn't applied his talents to good ol' Zilly, either. But Japan's animators have been musing on and reflecting upon destruction and devastation for decades, too — stunningly and heartbreakingly so, including in Shinkai's latest beautiful and heartfelt effort Suzume. This about a teenage girl, matters of the heart and the earth, supernatural forces and endeavouring to cancel the apocalypse firmly has its soul in the part of Honshu that forever changed in March 2011 due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the resulting Fukushima nuclear disaster. Suzume meets its namesake (Nanoka Hara, Guilty Flag) on Kyushu, Japan's third-largest island, where she has lived with her aunt Tamaki (Eri Fukatsu, Survival Family) for 12 years. More than that, it meets its titular high schooler as she meets Souta (SixTONES singer Hokuto Matsumura), who catches her eye against the gleaming sea and sky as she's cycling to class. He's searching for ruins, and she knows just the local place — an abandoned onsen, which she beats him to. There, Suzume discovers a door standing mysteriously within a pool of water, then opens said entryway to see a shimmering sight on the other side. That's an ordinary act with extraordinary consequences, because Shinkai adores exactly that blend and clash. To him, that's where magic springs, although never while spiriting away life's troubles and sorrows. Every single door everywhere is a portal, of course, but this pivotal one takes the definition literally. Read our full review. JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 Almost a quarter-century has passed since Keanu Reeves uttered four iconic words: "I know kung fu". The Matrix's famous phrase was also the entire movie-going world's gain, because watching Reeves unleash martial-arts mayhem is one of cinema's purest pleasures. Notching up their fourth instalment with the obviously titled John Wick: Chapter 4, the John Wick flicks understand this. They couldn't do so better, harder, or in a bloodier fashion, in fact. Directed by Keanu's former stunt double Chad Stahelski, who helped him look like he did indeed know wushu back in the 90s, this assassin saga is built around the thrill of its star doing his violent but stylish best. Of course, The Matrix's Neo didn't just know kung fu, but gun fu — and Jonathan, as The Continental proprietor Winston (Ian McShane, Deadwood: The Movie) still likes to call him, helps turn bullet ballet into one helluva delight again and again (and again and again). Picking up where 2019's John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum left off, and once again so expertly and inventively executed that it's mesmerising, John Wick: Chapter 4 saddles its namesake with a new adversary: the Marquis (Bill Skarsgård, Barbarian), emissary of the death-for-hire business' powers-that-be, aka the High Table. After Wick puts the assassin realm's head honchos on notice during an early trip to the Middle East, the series' newest nefarious figure wants rid of him forever, wasting no time laying waste to the few things left that John loves. The Marquis has company, too — seeking a big payday in the case of the mercenary known as Tracker (Shamier Anderson, Son of the South), who has his own devoted dog; and due to a familiar deal with Caine (Donnie Yen, Mulan), a martial-arts whiz who is blind, and an old friend of John. That said, Wick has pals in this clash between the hitman establishment and its workers, which doubles as an eat-the-rich skirmish, including Winston, the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne, All the Old Knives), and the Osaka Continental's Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada, Bullet Train) and Akira (Rina Sawayama, Turn Up Charlie). Read our full review. INFINITY POOL Making not just another body-horror spectacle but an eat-the-rich sci-fi satire as well, Brandon Cronenberg couldn't have given Infinity Pool a better title. Teardowns of the wealthy and entitled now seem to flow on forever, glistening endlessly against the film and television horizon; however, the characters in this particularly savage addition to the genre might wish they were in The White Lotus or Succession instead. In those two hits, having more money than sense doesn't mean witnessing your own bloody execution but still living to tell the tale. It doesn't see anyone caught up in cloning at its most vicious and macabre, either. And, it doesn't involve dipping into a purgatory that sports the Antiviral and Possessor filmmaker's penchant for futuristic corporeal terrors, as clearly influenced by his father David Cronenberg (see: Crimes of the Future, Videodrome and The Fly), while also creating a surreal hellscape that'd do Twin Peaks great David Lynch, Climax's Gaspar Noe and The Neon Demon's Nicolas Winding Refn proud. Succession veteran Alexander Skarsgård plunges into Infinity Pool's torments playing another member of the one percent, this time solely by marriage. "Where are we?", author James Foster asks his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman, Dopesick) while surveying the gleaming surfaces, palatial villas and scenic beaches on the fictional island nation of Li Tolqa — a question that keeps silently pulsating throughout the movie, and also comes tinged with the reality that James once knew a life far more routine than this cashed-up extravagance. Cronenberg lets his query linger from the get-go, with help from returning Possessor cinematographer Karim Hussain, who visually inverts its stroll through its lavish setting within minutes. No one in this film's frames is in Kansas anymore, especially when fellow guest Gabi (Mia Goth, Pearl) and her husband Alban (Jalil Lespert, Beasts) invite the pair for an illicit drive and picnic beyond the gates the following day, which sparks a tragic accident, arrest, death sentence and wild get-out-of-jail-free situation. Read our full review. BROKER No matter how Hirokazu Kore-eda's on-screen families come to be, if there's any actual blood between them, whether they're grifting in some way or where in the world they're located, the Japanese writer/director and Shoplifters Palme d'Or winner's work has become so beloved — so magnificent, too — due to his care and sincerity. A Kore-eda film is a film of immense empathy and, like Like Father, Like Son, Our Little Sister, After the Storm and The Third Murder also in the prolific talent's past decade, Broker is no different. The setup here is one of the filmmaker's murkiest, with the feature's name referring to the baby trade. But showing compassion and humanity isn't up for debate in Kore-eda's approach. He judges the reality of modern-day life that leads his characters to their actions, but doesn't judge his central figures. In the process, he makes poignant melodramas that are also deep and thoughtful character studies, and that get to the heart of the globe's ills like the most cutting slices of social realism. It isn't just to make a buck that debt-ridden laundromat owner Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho, Parasite) and orphanage-raised Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won, Peninsula) take infants abandoned to the Busan Family Church's 'baby box' — a chute that's exactly what it sounds like, available to mothers who know they can't embrace that part for whatever reason — then find good families to sell them to. There's a cash component, of course, but they're convinced that their gambit is better than letting children languish in the state system. In Kore-eda's usual kindhearted manner, Broker sees them with sensitivity. Even if blue hues didn't wash through the film's frames, nothing is ever black and white in the director's movies. The same understanding and tenderness flows towards mothers like So-young (Lee Ji-eun, Hotel Del Luna, aka K-Pop star IU), whose decision to leave Woo-sung (debutant Park Ji-yong) isn't easily made but puts Broker on its course. Read our full review. BEAU IS AFRAID Beau is afraid. Beau is anxious. Beau is alone. Beau is alive. Any of these three-word sentences would make a fitting name for Ari Aster's third feature, which sees its titular middle-aged figure not just worry about anything and everything, but watch his fears come true, concerns amplify and alienation grow — and then some. And, in the Hereditary and Midsommar filmmaker's reliably dread-inducing hands, no matter whether Beau (Joaquin Phoenix, C'mon C'mon) is wallowing in his apartment solo, being welcomed into someone else's family or stumbling upon a travelling theatre troupe in the woods, he knows that he's truly on his own in this strange, sad, surreal and savage world, too. More than that, he's well-aware that this is what life is inescapably like for all of us, regardless of how routine, chaotic or grand our individual journeys from emerging out of our mother's womb to sinking into death's eternal waters happen to prove. Aster has opted for Beau Is Afraid as a moniker, with this horror-meets-tragicomedy mind-bender a filmic ode to existential alarm — and, more than that, a picture that turns catastrophising into a feature. Psychiatrists will have a field day; however, experiencing the latest in the writer/director's growing line of guilt-dripping celluloid nightmares, so should viewers in general. Even with Chilean The Wolf House helmers Cristóbal León and Joaquin Cosiña lending their help to the three-hour movie's midsection, where animation adds another dreamlike dimension to a picture book-style play within an already fantastical-leaning flick frequently running on dream logic, Aster embraces his favourite deranged terrain again. He makes bold choices, doesn't think twice about challenging himself and his audience, elicits a stunning lead performance and dances with retina-searing imagery, all while pondering inherited trauma, the emotional ties that bind and the malevolence that comes with dependence. Read our full review. LIMBO When Ivan Sen sent a police detective chasing a murdered girl and a missing woman in the Australian outback in 2013's Mystery Road and its 2016 sequel Goldstone, he saw the country's dusty, rust-hued expanse in sun-bleached and eye-scorching colour. In the process, the writer, director, co-producer, cinematographer, editor and composer used his first two Aussie noir films and their immaculately shot sights to call attention to how the nation treats people of colour — historically since its colonial days and still now well over two centuries later. Seven years after the last Jay Swan movie, following a period that's seen that character make the leap to the small screen in three television seasons, Sen is back with a disappearance, a cop, all that inimitable terrain and the crimes against its Indigenous inhabitants that nothing can hide. Amid evident similarities, there's a plethora of differences between the Mystery Road franchise and Limbo; however, one of its simplest is also one of its most glaring and powerful: shooting Australia's ochre-toned landscape in black and white. Limbo's setting: Coober Pedy, the globally famous "opal capital of the world" that's known for its underground dwellings beneath the blazing South Australian earth, but reimagined as the fictional locale that shares the film's name — a place unmistakably sporting an otherworldly topography dotted by dugouts to avoid the baking heat, and that hasn't been able to overcome the murder of a local Indigenous girl two decades earlier. The title is symbolic several times over, including to the visiting Travis Hurley (Simon Baker, Blaze), whose first task upon arrival is checking into his subterranean hotel, rolling up his sleeves and indulging his heroin addiction. Later, he'll be told that he looks more like a drug dealer than a police officer — but, long before then, it's obvious that his line of work and the sorrows he surveys along the way have kept him hovering in a void. While he'll also unburden a few biographical details about mistakes made and regrets held before the film comes to an end, such as while talking to the missing Charlotte Hayes' brother Charlie (Rob Collins, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson) and sister Emma (Natasha Wanganeen, The Survival of Kindness), this tattooed cop with wings inked onto his back is already in limbo before he's literally in Limbo talking. Read our full review. REALITY Sydney Sweeney is ready for her closeup. Playwright-turned-filmmaker Tina Satter obliges. A household name of late due to her exceptional work in both Euphoria and The White Lotus, Sweeney has earned the camera's attention for over a decade; however, she's never been peered at with the unflinching intensity of Satter's debut feature Reality. For much of this short, sharp and stunning docudrama, the film's star lingers within the frame. Plenty of the movie's 83-minute running time devotes its focus to her face, staring intimately and scrutinising what it sees. Within Reality's stranger-than-fiction narrative, that imagery spies a US Air Force veteran and National Security Agency translator in her mid-twenties, on what she thought was an ordinary Saturday. It's June 3, 2017, with the picture's protagonist returning from buying groceries to find FBI agents awaiting at her rented Augusta, Georgia home, then accusing her of "the possible mishandling of classified information". Reality spots a woman facing grave charges, a suspect under interrogation and a whistleblower whose fate is already known to the world. It provides a thriller of a procedural with agents, questions, allegations and arrests; an informer saga that cuts to the heart of 21st-century American politics, and its specific chaos since 2016; and an impossible-to-shake tragedy about how authority savagely responds to being held to account. Bringing her stage production Is This a Room: Reality Winner Verbatim Transcription to the screen after it wowed off-Broadway and then Broadway, Satter dedicates Reality's bulk to that one day and those anxious minutes, unfurling in close to real time — but, pivotally, it kicks off three weeks earlier with its namesake at work while Fox News plays around her office. Why would someone leak to the media a restricted NSA report about Russian interference in getting Donald Trump elected? Before it recreates the words genuinely spoken between its eponymous figure and law enforcement, Reality sees the answer as well. Read our full review.
With the summer months moving by at pace it stands to reason that you'd want to make every minute count. However, if you're a little bored of beach time or are looking to swap sunny sporting events for something equally exciting then Mt Hotham offers alternatives in abundance. Because, while the unique alpine village resort in Victoria's High Country (the highest in Australia, in fact) may traditionally be associated with mercury-dropping, mid-year escapes and snow days, here are six reasons why explorers should pay a visit right now. WALKING ON AIR...WELL, ALMOST With an altitude of 1861 metres, Mt Hotham is a hiking hot spot for those who like their head in the clouds but their feet firmly on the ground. And while you could certainly hit your 10,000 steps with a few laps around the block, heading to the highest mountain in the Victorian Alps offers a much more scenic way of doing it. The comfort and centrality of Mt Hotham's alpine village make it an ideal base to discover a range of alpine tracks and trails that provide access to some of Australia's best views, unique flora and the region's rich history. Do it yourself and download the Tracks & Trails Map before you arrive. Or, explore the terrain with experienced operators who provide professional guided tours for a hike that is truly a walk in the park. RUN FOR THE HILLS Melbourne's muggy February temperatures generally see the will to stick to New Year's resolutions wane among even the most motivated wellness warriors. However, if you're struggling with sweaty summer workouts but don't want to throw in the (proverbial) towel just yet, then heading to the hills — especially those of Victoria's High County — offers a cool solution. With kilometres of open space to explore and views to inspire, Mt Hotham is a trail runner's dream. Plug in your earbuds, take your pick from simple single tracks or more challenging trails and prepare to feel the wind in your hair as you leave all the worries of the world (including the fear of heat stroke) behind you. PACK A PICNIC Planning the perfect picnic can be problematic. Should your antipasto platter feature a soft rind and a blue cheese or is cheddar an essential requirement? Is there any scenic vista left in the state of Victoria that isn't already packed with crowds? While Mt Hotham may not be able to solve the cheese debate, it does offer an excellent solution to the other dilemma by delivering a long list of unspoilt picnic-friendly spots. Bring your basket and make your way to the Mt Hotham Summit for 360-degree views over the alps. Round up a group of friends and head to Silver Brumby Hut where you can unwind on the Plains of Heaven down by Swindlers Creek. Another solid option is to unfurl your picnic rug at Joyce Brockhoff Hut to enjoy a more secluded nosh in nature. ECO-CAMPING BUT MAKE IT GLAM If you love the idea of going off-grid but aren't quite ready to give up your creature comforts, Mt Hotham offers a solution by way of their Eco-Glamping Alpine Nature Experiences. As well as all the best bits of a traditional weekend of camping in the wild — crystal clear air, starry night skies and the chance to unplug from the high energy of urban life — Mt Hotham is also home to Australia's only Tree Tent accomodation. Raised off the ground and strung between trees to deliver truly stunning vistas over Hotham, these comfortable tents are perfect for campers who can't fathom the thought of ants crawling near their sleeping bag. Paired with luxury additions like private outdoor hot baths, complimentary bottle of local sparkling wine and freshly cooked breakfast (with vegetarian and gluten-free meal options), it'll be hard to ever imagine pitching your own tent again. GET THE FOUR WHEELS IN MOTION Venture off the highway and into the hills to tackle Mt Hotham's tough terrain and sensational scenery in an equally vigorous vehicle. While your own two feet can certainly play their part in transporting you to Victoria's High Country's most popular outposts, there's something seriously special about taking the wheel and discovering the striking ridge lines, creek crossings and endless valleys of Mt Hotham that would otherwise be inaccessible. For all the necessary details needed to get the most out of a 4WD adventure through the region, take a look at the extensive guide which includes everything from road conditions to washing facilities. WHITE WATER RAFTING MAGIC A February trip to Mt Hotham doesn't necessarily require you to forgo the quintessential summer experience of feeling the water between your toes. However, instead of beaches you'll find the mighty Mitta Mitta River and an abundance of opportunities to take advantage of its crystal clear mountain rapids. Consider a canoe, kayak or commit to a day of white water rafting. With the remote river surging from the magnificent Alpine Gorges and winding its way through the Omeo Valley's spectacular granite rock formations, you can expect an adrenaline rush matched only by the exquisite wilderness, Australian wildlife and impressive natural environment that Mt Hotham is known for. For more information on things to see and do at Mount Hotham this summer, head to Victoria's High Country website.
We rang in the year of the pig (goodbye year of the dog, go sleep it off) on February 5, but the festivities are continuing throughout the month. And what's the best way to partake in the celebration? We've got it right here and it'll make you happier than a pig in mud. Dumpling master Din Tai Fung is offering new limited edition 'Piggy Buns' for the first half of February and they are some the cutest dumplings we've ever seen. Just look at them. Din Tai Fung is famous for its dumplings and is known to release beautiful and novelty dumplings for special occasions (check out these adorable little monkey buns from 2016). The pig bao buns are steamed-to-order, stuffed with a sweet filling of chocolate and served on a bed of Oreo 'soil'. The pig buns are available at most Din Tai Fung restaurants and food court outlets in Sydney and Melbourne (full list below) and through Deliveroo in both cities— so you even order them straight to your desk. The only problem we can foresee is that eating those sweet little pig faces may be hard… but we'll probably manage it. If you're in Sydney and decide to head down to the World Square location on your lunch break, you'll also be able pat real life pigs while you're there. Three little piglets will be available for pats on Level 1 between 11am–2pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (February 8–10). Piggy Buns are available for $8.80 for two until mid-February at seven Din Tai Fung Sydney stores — World Square, Westfield Chatswood, Central Park Mall, Broadway, Westfield Miranda, The Star, Gateway and Greenwood Plaza — Melbourne's Emporium store and via Deliveroo.
Picking just one event to get excited about at Dark Mofo 2023 is like selecting your favourite child, niece or nephew: no matter the circumstances, no one wants to make that choice. But at Tasmania's annual winter festival, a particular shindig keeps putting its hand up, especially if you love wild affairs that run late into the evening — because anything and everything can and does happen at Night Mass. Usually, the after-dark affair takes over the In The Hanging Garden precinct; however, this year, it's sprawling wider. In their latest big reveal after announcing Florentina Holzinger's dance theatre performance A Divine Comedy back in January, the full boundary-pushing lineup in March and a few fresh additions in mid-April, the Dark Mofo team has unveiled Night Mass' roster of talent for this year, as well as its massive footprint in the middle of downtown Hobart. [caption id="attachment_898330" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Night Mass. Photo Credit: Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] In 2023, Night Mass will take over three city blocks, naming the space District X. Within its confines, there'll be 13 stages hosting a hefty list of acts, all in an area that'll have a capacity of 4500 — and take place over five nights across two weekends. Those dates: Friday, June 9–Sunday, June 11, and then Friday, June 16–Saturday, June 17. On offer: everything from music and cocktail lounges through to punk theatre and junkyard raves. [caption id="attachment_898332" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Plaid | Dark Mofo 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo.[/caption] Dark Mofo has dubbed the event Night Mass: Exstasia for 2023 and, as curator Mason Browne explains, "Extasia embraces the notion of radical entropy and exultation; that primordial desire to assume a Dionysic state. We want the Night Mass audience to journey through it being surprised, delighted, disgusted, aroused and alarmed." Attendees can also expect art, performances, cinema cabarets, games arcades, tarot readings, plenty of places to eat and drink, and fire beacons lighting the way. [caption id="attachment_898329" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Night Mass. Photo Credit: Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] District X will be split into themed precincts, spanning Walpurgisnacht in Bidencopes Lane, Underground Cinema and The Grand Poobah; The Boneyard in Watchorn Street and Harrington Lane, and their car parks; Urban Dystopia in Liverpool Street; Origins in the Cathedral and In The Hanging Garden; and Event Horizon in Odeon Theatre and its labyrinth. There's also Nachtlicker, which is concept from Alex Podger (Altar, High Altar). On the bill: folks such as Desire Marea, dameeeela, Amnesia Scanner, Violent Magic Orchestra and Mahne Frame, as well as Ms Boogie, Prison Religion, Pelada, Marie Davidson and Moktar. [caption id="attachment_898327" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Debby Friday | Dark Mofo 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo.[/caption] Run by Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art, and taking place in Hobart between Thursday, June 8–Thursday, June 22, Dark Mofo also includes The Blue Rose Ball, which does indeed take its cues from the one and only David Lynch; Giant Teddy, EJ Son's towering Korean pop culture-inspired teddy bear that has lasers for eyes; Max Richter's SLEEP, which returns to Australia for an eight-and-a-half-hour overnight stint; and Soda Jerk's latest film Hello Dankness. The list goes on from there, whether you're keen on live tunes, the kind of shows you won't see elsewhere or nude solstice swims. Keen to make the most of it? Concrete Playground Trips' Dark Mofo accommodation package might come in handy — and yes, it includes Night Mass tickets. [caption id="attachment_898328" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kinder | Dark Mofo 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] DARK MOFO'S NIGHT MASS: EXSTASIA LINEUP: Amnesia Scanner Aqueerius Arcana Arunya Lee Olive Axon Breeze Aya Gloomy Ayebatonye Bambii Big Wett Brixx Buzz Kull CaucasianOpportunities Claire O'Brien CORIN dameeeela Dane Blacklock & The Preacher's Daughter Debby Friday Desire Marea Elisabeth Dixon Eris & The Disciples Estée Louder Fabian B IN2STELLAR Jacqui Cunningham JLaw Joey Labeija Kangding Ray Kasimyn Kinder Laurel Halo Lips Service Liquid Nails L$F Mahne Frame Makeda Marie Davidson Mobiletti Giradischi Moktar Ms Boogie Nabihah Iqbal (DJ Set) Nooriyah OKENYO ONYX Our Carlson Pelada Prison Religion Real Lies SI Process Simona Castricum SMB8 Sote & Tarik Barri SOVBLKPSSY Stev Zar Stormworm Sveta The Riot Tjaka Trophie V VACUUM Varg2™ Violent Magic Orchestra Vv Pete Winternationale WÖØLWORTHS\\FLUSHOT ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U ZCluster Dark Mofo 2023 runs from Thursday, June 8–Thursday, June 22 in Hobart, Tasmania, with tickets on sale now. Top images: Night Mass, Dark Mofo 2019. Photo Credit: Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford, 2019. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. // Stev Zar | Dark Mofo 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo. // dameeeela | Dark Mofo 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo. 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 — including our Dark Mofo tickets and accommodation package.
Northeastern suburbs retail hub Westfield Doncaster is just months out from the unveiling of its newest addition — a $30 million rooftop food and entertainment precinct. The extensive revamp will see the centre's Level 2 transformed into an indoor-outdoor setting, complete with a sun-drenched conservatorium and internal laneways. And while the redevelopment isn't slated to launch fully until later in the year, we've found out which 14 retailers are set to call it home. Diners are in for a multicultural mix of both familiar names and newer players, promising something for all appetites. In exciting news for fans of Japanese fare, the centre's set to play host to the second Aussie outpost of Dohtonbori, following the launch of its debut in The District Docklands. The eatery's making a name for its broad teppanyaki menu, as well as a DIY okonomiyaki offering where guests can cook their own custom savoury pancakes at an in-table grill. Nearby, you'll find a brand-new venue from Woodstock Pizzicheria — a third-generation Sicilian restaurant group with 35 years under its belt. Here, get set for classic pizzas, crisp calzone and generous serves of pasta. [caption id="attachment_758358" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pretzel by Julia Sansone[/caption] Meanwhile, Betty's Burgers is coming to the party with its range of signature buns and frozen custard desserts, 7 Apple Gelato will unveil a brand-new kiosk-style concept, and Perth's all-pink pretzel store Pretzel continues its Melbourne expansion with another playful venue. Also in the lineup you'll spy another US-style sports bar from The Sporting Globe, Asian fusion joint and beer garden Pocha Pocha, a sushi train from Sushi Jiro and Thai street food at Little Bangkok Thai. Noodle bar Lanzhou Beef Noodles, bubble tea spot Teaser Tea and Yeosin Korean BBQ round out the slew of newcomers, while existing venues TGI Fridays and yum cha restaurant Secret Kitchen are both set to reopen, each sporting a new look and revamped offering. Westfield Doncaster's new-look level 2 food and entertainment is slated for completion later this year.
It's been three years since Docklands last lit up brightly for the flame-filled winter arts celebration that is the City of Melbourne's Firelight Festival. But inner-city precinct set to bask in that glow once more, as the free festival returns from its pandemic-enforced hiatus to deliver a huge 2022 edition next month. From Friday, July 1–Sunday, July 3, Firelight will see Docklands come alive with a family-friendly, after-dark program of performance, entertainment, culinary delights and fire-inspired art. This year's lineup promises plenty of reasons to yank yourself off the couch and into the night, headlined by Skunk Control's Adrift — an enchanting light installation set to transform Buluk Park into a luminous forest of light stems and giant petals. [caption id="attachment_671115" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Grace Petrou[/caption] Other works set to dazzle crowds nightly include a ten-metre-long glowing lion made of thousands of LEDs that moves to its own soundscape; and a bold laser and light show, which will light up Victoria Harbour every hour with its water jets and giant fiery phoenix. More than 100 performers will descend on the precinct across the three-day festival, ranging from musicians and fire-twirlers to circus acts and flaming trumpeters. And with a collection of fire sculptures, flame jets and fire pits, things are sure to be super toasty as you're exploring the festival's offerings. Of course, appetites are sorted, too, with festival vendors slinging a menu packed with wintry delights. Think, smoked meats, woodfired pizza and roasted marshmallows, washed down with hot chocolate and mulled wine. Firelight Festival will take over Docklands nightly from Friday, July 1–Sunday, July 3. For the full program, head to the festival's website.
It's about to get a whole lot harder for any Victorian driver to get away with using their mobile phone while driving — and it's thanks to new safety cameras being installed to detect this and other illegal behaviour behind the wheel. After a successful three-month trial of the phone detection cameras last year, the Victorian Government has announced that it'll now spend $33.7 million to roll out the technology permanently across the state. It's also on track to introduce new legislation to penalise any offenders. The trial, which launched in July 2020, assessed 679,438 vehicles across various metropolitan and regional locations — and found one in 42 drivers using their phone illegally while driving. And since that was bang in the middle of Melbourne's lockdowns, when travel was at a minimum, it's likely the number of risky drivers caught would be even higher during regular times. So, how do the cameras work? Well, they use an AI system to snap high-resolution images of the front seat of the car, and those images can then be viewed in real time to detect folks using their phones while they're behind the wheel. During the trial, they also observed other risky behaviours including driving without a seatbelt, driving with pets on laps and driving without any hands on the steering wheel. The cameras can apparently operate in all conditions, day and night, and regardless of the weather. And according to research from Monash University Accident Research Centre, they have the potential to prevent around 95 casualty crashes each year. Up in Sydney, the camera technology has been in use since being rolled out permanently in late 2019. Before that, an initial six-month trial of the cameras in early 2019 spied more than 100,000 drivers illegally using their phones. In Victoria, operators are now set to engage in further consultation and the system will undergo testing, before being rolled out permanently across the state's roads by 2023. Once the technology is fully operational, any camera images deemed to identify a mobile phone offence will then be passed on to properly trained police personnel for verification, before a penalty is issued. Victoria's rollout of the safety cameras is expected to be completed by 2023. To find out more, head to the Victorian Government website.
To help slow and stop the spread of COVID-19, a number of hygiene measures are recommended. We all know them by now. They include frequently washing our hands and using hand sanitiser, maintaining 1.5-metre social distancing and staying home if you've experiencing even the slightest of symptoms. Wearing masks is another tactic, but the approach within Australia has varied state by state throughout the pandemic. They were first mandated in Melbourne back in mid-July, and were made compulsory in some indoor situations in Greater Sydney at the beginning of 2021. In Queensland, they'll be required for the three days that the Greater Brisbane area is in lockdown from Friday, January 6–Monday, January 11, in response to the first community case of the new, more contagious COVID-19 strain in the country. When it comes to flying, because social distancing can be difficult and you're sat in close quarters in a confined space with other people for a period of time, mask usage has long been recommended — but it'll now be mandatory, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced today, Friday, January 8. The new rule was adopted by the first Australian national cabinet meeting for 2021, alongside a number of other changes made in reaction to the new COVID-19 strain. The mask mandate applies to all domestic flights within the country, and to international flights to and from our shores as well. For domestic flights, only children under 12 won't have to don a face covering. Folks will have to wear masks for not only for the duration of their flights, but at airports as well, including airports overseas for those about to hop on flights to Australia. The rules cover international air crews, too, who will now be required to undergo a COVID-19 test in Australia every seven days or upon arrival, with the exact requirement to be determined by each state. Compulsory pre-flight testing for international travellers coming to Australia has also been adopted by the national cabinet, as part of "a set of improved measures to tighten the end-to-end process of international arrivals in Australia," said the Prime Minister. "Travellers to Australia must return a negative COVID-19 test result prior to departure to Australia," he advised; however, there "will be exemptions in extenuating circumstances. This could include for seasonal workers from amber-risk countries where there is limited access to testing, with mitigation of testing on arrival in Australia". Australia is reducing caps on international arrivals in some states as well — in New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland — by 50 percent until February 15. In NSW, a weekly cap of 1505 will be in place, while WA's will be 512 and Queensland's will be 500. Quarantine workers will also be subject to changed requirements, moving nationally to daily testing. National cabinet is taking an expansive view of the term 'quarantine worker', and the Prime Minister said that "states are encouraged to take as broad a definition of that as they can, as is done in many states — that would extend to transport workers for people going to quarantine, not just those who are the cleaners or others directly involved in that process, medical staff and so on." As for when this'll all come into effect, the Prime Minister advised that the changes will be implemented "over the course of the next week — and the compliance arrangements that sit around that will be put in place by the Commonwealth and the state governments". For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Australia, visit the Australian Government Department of Health website.
At this time of year, it is easy to feel a bit out of sorts: the winter chill is setting in, the days are shorter, and hoards of pals are jetting off to amazing locations all around the world. However, there's plenty of fun to be had right here, no matter how dreary it is outside. That's right, Melbourne has other plans for you. There are spectacular shows exclusive to Melbourne — like & Juliet, the rollicking piece of theatre powered by bona fide bangers at the Regent Theatre until the end of July — local haunts with stellar drink lists and weekly trivia, and even a cast of penguins making a regular pilgrimage to the sand. There's lots to delight in, Melburnians. Start your planning with our eight-strong list.
Songs, tears, Travis Barker on the drums playing 'In the Air Tonight', host Anthony Anderson advising that his mother would be on "playoff mama" duties to keep the acceptance speeches for the 20-plus awards on time, first presenter Christina Applegate (Dead to Me) getting a standing ovation, a tribute to The Sopranos with an ode to James Gandolfini, Jennifer Coolidge winning another award for The White Lotus: now that's how you start an awards ceremony. The accolades: the 2023 Emmy Awards, being held on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 Australian and New Zealand time after they were postponed during Hollywood's writers' and actors' strikes. And before half an hour had even ticked over, Anderson had advised that "Miami Vice taught me that all I needed was a tanned white friend and a cool white jacket"; Coolidge had announced that Mike White "definitely dead so I'm going along with it", then thanked all the evil gays; The Last of Us ' Pedro Pascal claimed that his arm was in a sling because Succession's "Kieran Culkin beat the shit out of me"; and the latter's co-star Matthew Macfadyen thanked his two on-screen wives, aka Sarah Snook and Nicholas Braun. So, in the second huge Hollywood night of nights in as many weeks, the Emmys started better than the Golden Globes. In fact, that's an understatement. And that's even before Tina Fey (Mean Girls) and Amy Poehler (Moxie) took to the Weekend Update desk, the Cheers and Ally McBeal casts reunited, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's stars pondered why they don't have Emmys, Ru Paul spoke out against hate, DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story's Niecy Nash-Betts thanked herself and Matty Matheson couldn't be more passionate about hospitality with a "restaurants forever!" shout. All of the throwbacks and nostalgia, and spreading the love far beyond what was nominated, was in honour of a big milestone: the Emmys reaching 75 years. These awards should always feel like a celebration of the entire medium; however, that can be easier said than done — but it's a task that the delayed 2023 ceremony perfected. The big winners mirrored the Golden Globes, aka Succession among the dramas, The Bear in the comedy field and Beef in the limited series field. So, while there was no been-there-done-that feel to the presentation between the two awards, that came through in the recipients — supremely worthy as they all are. The main trio weren't the only shows to score prizes, but plenty of deserving series went home empty-handed — see: Better Call Saul, Yellowjackets, Barry and Only Murders in the Building, to name a few — even amid the warm hug-style vibes. What else nabbed a trophy? Who else was in contention? We've got that covered. Here's a rundown of the awards handed out at the main ceremony, plus the nominees competing for them — and you can check out the seven winning shows you should watch ASAP, too. EMMY NOMINEES AND WINNERS 2023 OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES Andor Better Call Saul The Crown House of the Dragon The Last of Us Succession — WINNER The White Lotus Yellowjackets OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES Abbott Elementary Barry The Bear — WINNER Jury Duty The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Only Murders in the Building Ted Lasso Wednesday OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES Beef — WINNER DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Daisy Jones & the Six Fleishman Is in Trouble Obi-Wan Kenobi OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Jeff Bridges, The Old Man Brian Cox, Succession Kieran Culkin, Succession — WINNER Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us Jeremy Strong, Succession OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Sharon Horgan, Bad Sisters Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us Keri Russell, The Diplomat Sarah Snook, Succession — WINNER OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Bill Hader, Barry Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building Jason Segel, Shrinking Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso Jeremy Allen White, The Bear — WINNER OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Christina Applegate, Dead to Me Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary — WINNER Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face Jenna Ortega, Wednesday OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE Taron Egerton, Black Bird Kumail Nanjiani, Welcome to Chippendales Evan Peters, DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Daniel Radcliffe, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Michael Shannon, George & Tammy Steven Yeun, Beef — WINNER OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE Lizzy Caplan, Fleishman Is in Trouble Jessica Chastain, George & Tammy Dominique Fishback, Swarm Kathryn Hahn, Tiny Beautiful Things Riley Keough, Daisy Jones & the Six Ali Wong, Beef — WINNER OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES F. Murray Abraham, The White Lotus Nicholas Braun, Succession Michael Imperioli, The White Lotus Theo James, The White Lotus Matthew Macfadyen, Succession — WINNER Alan Ruck, Succession Will Sharpe, The White Lotus Alexander Skarsgård, Succession OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus — WINNER Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown Meghann Fahy, The White Lotus Sabrina Impacciatore, The White Lotus Aubrey Plaza, The White Lotus Rhea Seehorn, Better Call Saul J. Smith-Cameron, Succession Simona Tabasco, The White Lotus OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Anthony Carrigan, Barry Phil Dunster, Ted Lasso Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso James Marsden, Jury Duty Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear — WINNER Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary Henry Winkler, Barry OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Ayo Edebiri, The Bear — WINNER Janelle James, Abbott Elementary Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary Juno Temple, Ted Lasso Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso Jessica Williams, Shrinking OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE Murray Bartlett, Welcome to Chippendales Paul Walter Hauser, Black Bird — WINNER Richard Jenkins, DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Joseph Lee, Beef Ray Liotta, Black Bird Young Mazino, Beef Jesse Plemons, Love & Death OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE Annaleigh Ashford, Welcome to Chippendales Maria Bello, Beef Claire Danes, Fleishman Is in Trouble Juliette Lewis, Welcome to Chippendales Camila Morrone, Daisy Jones & The Six Niecy Nash-Betts, DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story — WINNER Merritt Wever, Tiny Beautiful Things OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES Andor, Benjamin Caron, Bad Sisters, Dearbhla Walsh The Last of Us, Peter Hoar Succession, Andrij Parekh Succession, Mark Mylod — WINNER Succession, Lorene Scafaria The White Lotus, Mike White OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES Barry, Bill Hader The Bear, Christopher Storer — WINNER The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Amy Sherman-Palladino The Ms. Pat Show, Mary Lou Belli Ted Lasso, Declan Lowney Wednesday, Tim Burton OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE Beef, Lee Sung Jin — WINNER Beef, Jake Schreier DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Carl Franklin DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,Paris Barclay Fleishman Is in Trouble, Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton Prey, Dan Trachtenberg OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES Andor, Beau Willimon Bad Sisters, Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, Brett Baer Better Call Saul, Gordon Smith Better Call Saul, Peter Gould The Last of Us, Craig Mazin Succession, Jesse Armstrong — WINNER The White Lotus, Mike White OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES Barry, Bill Hader The Bear, Christopher Storer — WINNER Jury Duty, Mekki Leeper Only Murders in the Building, John Hoffman, Matteo Borghese, Rob Turbovsky The Other Two, Chris Kelly, Sarah Schneider Ted Lasso, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Jason Sudeikis OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE Beef, Lee Sung Jin — WINNER Fire Island, Joel Kim Booster Fleishman Is in Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner Prey, Patrick Aison, Dan Trachtenberg Swarm, Janine Nabers, Donald Glover Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Al Yankovic, Eric Appel OUTSTANDING SCRIPTED VARIETY SERIES A Black Lady Sketch Show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver — WINNER Saturday Night Live OUTSTANDING REALITY COMPETITION SHOW The Amazing Race RuPaul's Drag Race — WINNER Survivor Top Chef The Voice OUTSTANDING TALK SERIES The Daily Show with Trevor Noah — WINNER Jimmy Kimmel Live! Late Night with Seth Meyers The Late Show with Stephen Colbert The Problem with Jon Stewart OUTSTANDING LIVE VARIETY SPECIAL The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna Chris Rock: Selective Outrage Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium — WINNER The Oscars 75th Annual Tony Awards OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Last Week Tonight with John Oliver — WINNER Late Night with Seth Meyers The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Saturday Night Live The 2023 Emmys were announced on Tuesday, January 16, Australian and New Zealand time. For further details, head to the awards' website. Top image: Chuck Hodes/FX.
