Newtown's 28-seat no fuss cafe One Another has garnered quite the following since opening in March 2019. Its casual 'non-trendy' vibes are matched by an accessible menu that locals can't seem to get enough of — the place is packed most weekends. "We want it to be a place with quality food where everyone can find something to eat, but without slavishly following trends," says co-owner and chef Louis Spangaro-McAllan, who jokes he's cooked at over 40 cafes in Sydney. He's joined by Mitchell Antman, who has made the rounds through some of the best cafes in the city, including Fleetwood Macchiato, Cornersmith and Sample Coffee — which now supplies the coffee for One Another. The duo has been through the ringer trying to open this joint, having first shown interest in the building back in early 2016. Both owners live nearby, and saw this as an opportunity to open a quiet neighbourhood spot on the back streets of Newtown, tucked away from bustling King Street. Though the cafe's '$20-and-under' menu has received much press, it is by no means a mantra at One Another. "We're lucky enough to have Mr. Shane Roberts as our veg merchant, which allows us to get away with serving a vegetable-heavy menu without compromising quality, and this has kept the price point below $20 so far," says Spangaro-McAllan. "But this is by no means our mission statement and I'm sure at some point there will be dishes over $20." At the moment, that menu includes regularly changing weekend specials. Take the wild asparagus — it's pan-roasted in miso butter and tarragon oil, paired with crispy potatoes and a poached egg, then sprinkled with pretty purple chive flowers. Other specialties include the burrata with cavolo nero salsa and chickpea pangritata, and the lamb sausage with roasted dutch carrots, black barley and a poached egg. The cafe's signature hot-smoked ocean trout can become a protein accompaniment to any dish — the gents recommend adding it to the potato croquettes with charred brussels sprouts, capers and anchovy dressing. Staples that have stood the test of the cafe's (short) time include bacon and egg rolls, silken tofu rolls and smashed avo on toast, topped with granny smith apples, pickled ginger and coriander. Simple comfort dishes like the cheese and pickle sandwich also makes the cut. One Another's version is stuffed with melted maffra cheddar and swiss cheese, piled high with bread and butter pickles and schmeared in house mustard. The attractive tables, chairs and stools have been lovingly made from recycled Australian hardwood, sourced from old warehouses down the coast. Images: Kimberley Low.
Opening in January 2020, Mrs Palmer didn't have much time to establish itself in Darlinghurst before the lockdown hit and cafes were forced to close to dine-in customers. As the sandwich shop and margarita bar was still allowed to offer takeaway, though, it did just that — with a helping hand from some of the city's best chefs. Mrs Palmer teams up with top chefs to create limited-edition sandwiches, with each one available for takeaway for just two weeks. Past contributors have included Josh Raine, executive chef at Japanese fine diner Tetsuya's, who whipped up a burnt burger cheese bechamel, smoked bacon and kombo fried chicken number, and Aria's executive chef Joel Bickford, with a fermented chilli, wombok, pickled mushroom and fried shallot sando. Each limited-edition sandwich costs between $13–25 depending on what is inside it and is usually unveiled on Mrs Palmer's Instagram in advance. If the fortnightly sandwich special doesn't quite tickle your fancy, the shop also has a falafel sanga with garlic sauce ($11), one with crispy pork belly ($14), The Cure ($13) with three different cured meats (wagyu pastrami, spicy salami and mortadella) and a riff on a parmigiana ($14). There are also two salads and four types of fries (including tater tots and haloumi fries). When you visit, be sure to take note of the door to the left of the counter. It doesn't lead to a stock room, as you may assume, but to a tiny, dimly lit margarita bar. La Farmacia's cocktail menu is split into four types of margarita: classic, spicy, fruity and botanical. All up, there are 16 to try — ranging from a mind-numbing Carolina reaper-infused tequila tipple to a mezcal and hibiscus tea option. To pair with your marg is a selection of Mexican-style snacks, including ceviche, cactus salad, flame-grilled corn and, on Tuesdays, $2.50 tacos. Images: Terence-Kent Ow
Lodged just outside Bathurst and surrounded by the picturesque expanse of a 170-acre working family farm and vineyard lies Rest at Boxgrove. Only about two and a half hours west of Sydney, this retreat offers a blend of rural serenity and modern luxury. Established in 1971 by local Angus cattle farmers Thellie and Barry Renshaw, Boxgrove has evolved under the care of their granddaughters Kayla and Melissa and now Kayla's husband, Ben. The property has had years of success as an award-winning wedding venue, 'The Barn', and now is delving into eco-conscious luxury accommodation. Boxgrove's five cabin studios are designed with sustainability and comfort in mind. The studios harness natural ventilation and sunlight and are powered by solar panels, and use collected rainwater. Outside, each studio has its own covered parking space, firepit (and firewood), grass area and covered wooden deck. Inside, you'll find organic bedding, a bathroom with a bath and shower, energy-efficient appliances, a turntable with records and contemporary furnishings in warm natural earth colours. You won't find a cooker, but outside on the covered deck is a luxe barbecue perfect for cooking breakfast bacon or grilling some steaks. And in case you get anxious when cut off from the world, there's a TV and wifi so you can stay connected. Guests at Rest receive a welcome basket featuring produce from local farmers and producers and homegrown on the estate itself. The basket includes freshly laid eggs, veggies, baked bread, sweet treats and even some vino from a nearby winery and a small bottle of gin from the Bathurst Distillery—the content of welcome baskets is subject to change. There's plenty to explore while on your stay. Each morning, you will wake up and be greeted with breathtaking views of the surrounding pastoral countryside — be sure to head out to greet your neighbours, the curious cows. Guests are free to wander through the on-site vineyard — the property is set to produce its first vintage in 2026 — and explore the other animals on the land. Each cabin also features two side-by-side outdoor baths with heated water, so you can take a dip with your beau and a glass of wine. This is perfect for watching the sunset behind the hills. Afterwards, make your way to your cabin's firepit to toast some marshmallows as you listen to the cows moo and watch the stars twinkle.
"The bear, it fucking did cocaine. A bear did cocaine!" That's it, that's Cocaine Bear. This based-on-a-true-story caper's title really does say it all, and those understandably concerned words in the trailer sum it up perfectly, too. Meet one of 2023's instant must-sees, complete with a ridiculously entertaining sneak peek that utterly perfects the mood a bear doing cocaine deserves. "Apex predator. High on cocaine. Out of its mind." There's another way to sum up this 80s-set flick, which does indeed follow the chaos that ensues when an American black bear unwittingly ingests a hefty package of cocaine in a Georgia forest. Everyone's exclaiming things in response, really — adults, kids, cops and drug dealers in the trailer, and you while you're watching. "It kind of seems like a thing that stays with a man forever," the sneak peek tells us. It's not wrong. Cocaine Bear marks the third feature stint behind the lens by Call Jane actor Elizabeth Banks, after previously directing Pitch Perfect 2 and Charlie's Angels. And yes, the story behind it very much happened back in 1985, after a drug-running plane crashed. Forget Yogi Bear and his penchant for picnic baskets — this growling 500-pound critter is doing blow, then seeking blood. Among those screaming on-screen about a bear doing coke: a stacked cast featuring Keri Russell (Antlers), O'Shea Jackson Jr (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Margo Martindale (The Watcher), and also including Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project) and Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones). Cocaine Bear also marks one of the last films starring the late, great Ray Liotta (The Many Saints of Newark) — and if there's ever been a time for Isiah Whitlock Jr (Da 5 Bloods) to bust out one of his famous "sheeeeeeeit"s, this is it. Cinemagoers Down Under can see the results in February, in what looks like a jaw-on-the-floor kind of good time — from the trailer and the whole 'bear does cocaine' concept, at least. Until then, the film's sneak peak is the wildest thing you'll see all day. Watching it more than once comes with the territory. Check out the trailer for Cocaine Bear below: Cocaine Bear releases in cinemas Down Under on February 23, 2023.
With the Australian Centre for the Moving Image's major 2023 winter exhibition Goddess, the Melbourne cultural institution is going big on an essential topic: how women are represented on-screen. For six months from Wednesday, April 5–Sunday, October 1, the venue's new world-premiere showcase will pay tribute to formidable ladies in cinema, femininity across screen history, and what female talents have represented — and been forced to deal with — about the society around them. And, thanks to a new one-day conference with Geena Davis as its headline speaker, all that musing on representation, equality and diversity won't just be gracing ACMI's gallery spaces. Announced to celebrate International Women's Day, Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation will run on Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion's opening day. Davis will take to the stage to speak as part of a range of discussions, on behalf of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media — which the Academy Award-winning actor founded in 2004, and has been working to create gender balance in the industry for almost two decades now — and as the exhibition's lead ambassador. [caption id="attachment_891918" align="alignnone" width="1920"] GabboT via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] In addition to the rare opportunity to hear from Thelma & Louise, Beetlejuice, The Fly and A League of Their Own star Davis herself live in Australia, the Melbourne conference will also feature Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media President and CEO Madeline Di Nonno and a heap of Aussie talent. The latter includes 52 Tuesdays and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande filmmaker Sophie Hyde, journalist and TV presenter Jan Fran, actor Pallavi Sharda and casting director Anousha Zarkesh, as well as 2023 Australian of the Year Taryn Brumfitt. Goddess itself is quite the drawcard, of course, whether or not you head along on opening day. Both a massive and a landmark exhibition, it's set to display more than 150 original objects, artworks, props and sketches, all championing oh-so-many talented women and their impact upon cinema. [caption id="attachment_882193" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, 2020, Margot Robbie, © Warner Bros. Image courtesy of LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo.[/caption] That lineup covers costumes that've never been displayed before, various cinematic treasures, large-scale projections and other interactive experiences. Silent-era sirens, classic Hollywood heroines, unforgettable femme fatales and villains, Bollywood stars, women in China and Japan's cinematic histories: they're all being given the spotlight. Goddess will also dive into provocative on-screen moments from Hollywood's silent days through to today that've not only left an imprint, but also played a part in defining (and altering) what's considered the feminine ideal. Think: Marlene Dietrich in 1930's Morocco, Pam Grier's spectacular Blaxploitation career, Tilda Swinton in 1992's Orlando and Margot Robbie via 2020's Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Plus, Mae West's sky-high heels from 1934's Belle of the Nineties, costumes worn by Davis and Susan Sarandon in 1991's aforementioned Thelma & Louise and Michelle Yeoh's fight-ready silks from 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will also feature. [caption id="attachment_882194" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Blonde Venus, 1932, Marlene Dietrich. Image courtesy of PARAMOUNT PICTURES / Ronald Grant Archive / Alamy Stock Photo.[/caption] The list goes on, clearly, spanning Anna May Wong, Marilyn Monroe, Laverne Cox and Zendaya as well. And, expect everything from Glenn Close's Cruella de Vil in 102 Dalmatians to the Carey Mulligan-starring Promising Young Woman to get time to shine. Goddess will pair its wide-ranging display with soundscapes by Melbourne-based composer Chiara Kickdrum, and also feature a sprawling events program complete with late-night parties, performances and talks — and film screenings, of course. ACMI has also just revealed further details about those other activities, including in-depth monthly curator tours of the exhibition, which'll take place after hours and dive deep into the showcase. [caption id="attachment_882188" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Britt Romstad, 2022, photo by Phoebe Powell. Costume: Kitty (Elaine Crombie) costume, Kiki and Kitty, Australia, 2017, designed by Amelia Gebler, courtesy of Jetty Distribution Pty Limited. Backdrop: Marilyn Monroe on the set of Some Like It Hot, photo by Don Ornitz, © Globe Photos / ZUMAPRESS.com. Image courtesy of ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo.[/caption] There's also a music program called Goddess Nights from late May, which'll focus on three femme-centric live music lineups with performances by DJ JNETT, CD, POOKIE and Ayebatonye — and a curated range of food and booze put together just for each evening. For film buffs, movie series Divine Trailblazers will focus on contemporary actors at the height of their powers, while the Goddess Sundays is all about on-screen personas. So, the first includes Angela Bassett's Oscar-nominated performance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, fellow Academy Award contenders Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis in Everything Everywhere All At Once, Cate Blanchett also earning that description for Tár, Viola Davis in warrior mode in The Woman King, Filipino actor Dolly De Leon stealing every scene she's in in Triangle of Sadness, and Leah Purcell writing, directing, producing and starring in The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson. And, the weekly Sunday afternoon lineup includes Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, Pam Grier in Jackie Brown, Daniela Vega in A Fantastic Woman and more. After showing in Melbourne for its premiere season, Goddess will then tour internationally, taking ACMI's celebration of women on-screen to the world. Goddess will display at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square, Melbourne, from Wednesday, April 5–Sunday, October 1, 2023. For more information — including about Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation on Wednesday, April 5 — head to the ACMI website. Top image: Thelma and Louise, 1991, L-R Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, © MGM. Image courtesy of Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo.
Humans spend roughly a third of their life sleeping. Aside from the occasional drunken night or camping trip, most of this sleeping is done in a bed. So why, then, are such important objects in our lives often so commonplace and dull? Beds can be used to express our inner self, to represent our deepest loves or simply help us wake up and get going in the morning. Here are 20 of the most creative and eccentric designs that are sure to put a smile on your face. 1. The Stand Up Bed Thanks to this novel bed, which resembles a large vertical bean bag, sleeping while standing is apparently very possible. 2. The Floating Bed This magnetically charged floating bed by Janjaap Ruijssenaars not only looks incredibly chic and contemporary, but also would make it very hard for any monsters to hide underneath it. 3. The Rocking Bed The 'Private Cloud' is a a patented rocking frame designed by Manuel Kloker, which will be sure to lull you into a serene sleep every night. 4. The Sonic Bed Kaffe Matthew's Sonic bed probably isn't exactly designed to provide a good night's sleep, created with 12-channel surround sound speakers encased around the edges to cover every cell of your body with musical beats. 5. The Forest Bed For those who want to have a sense of being out in the wild whilst remaining in the comfort of their own bed, this exotic wooden bed would be the one for you. 6. The Safe Bed This 'Quantum Sleeper' is the ultimate in protection for those paranoid about the threat of natural disasters, terrorist attacks, kidnappers or any variation therein. 7. The Starfish Bed Known as the 'Hold Me Bed', this structure will ensure that you overcome those restless nights of tossing and turning because, well, you won't be able to move a muscle. 8. The Hay Bed Some people have such an affinity for hay they simply want to be surrounded by it when awake and asleep. 9. The Yin and Yang Bed If you believe you've found your absolute soulmate but can't handle sleeping next to them for whatever reason, perhaps this next bed will provide the solution to your problems. 10. The Sandwich Bed You are what you eat, right? 11. The Hammock Bed Everybody loves the tranquil and relaxing sensation induced by the gentle swinging and folding of a hammock. 12. The Pull-Down Bed If you are crammed for space due to a small apartment or want another handy spare bed that doesn't waste the space of a whole room, then this innovative and nifty pull-down bed is the way to go. 13. The Molecular Bed Scientists, sportspeople or ball-lovers will be sure to enjoy this bed made of 120 soft and pleasant balls. 14. The Cinderella Bed Perfectly suited to little princesses with large imaginations and a love for fairytales. 15. The Foetal Position Bed This bed doesn't leave much margin for movement - that is unless you want to end up snuggling up with the floorboards. 16. The Bird Nest Bed This large pit of soft pillows encased in a brown, nest-like structure is a novel way to help kids nod off to sleep. 17. The Geometric Bed If you want to keep the brain cells flowing even when getting some shut-eye, perhaps this bed with a modern geometric structure attached to it is the perfect way to achieve just that. 18. The Brush Bed This bed looks like it would be jabbing uncomfortable protrusions from every angle. 19. The Book Bed Let imaginations soar with this creative life-sized book that also doubles as a bed. 20. The Napping Pod Cure that threethirtyitis by grabbing a quick nap in one of these high-tech napping pods.
It might sound like some sort of lunar identity crisis, but the rare super blue blood moon proved a pretty spectacular addition to last night's skies. Stargazers across Australia had prime position to view the celestial phenomenon, which hasn't occurred anywhere in the world in over 35 years. The event combined the first total lunar eclipse since 2015, with a blue moon, or the second full moon of the calendar month. Clouds might have made for sketchy viewing in some parts of the country, though, as always, social media is chock full of impressive snaps from folks lucky enough to catch the astronomical treat. Here are some of the best shots of 2018's blue blood moon from around the planet. A post shared by Ken Perkes Photography (@perkesken) on Jan 31, 2018 at 11:44am PST A post shared by Jenny Herron (@jenniferherronn) on Jan 31, 2018 at 9:15am PST A post shared by Justin DeLand (@aperture_of_the_soul) on Jan 31, 2018 at 1:15pm PST A post shared by +15⚓🌴🍀🌊 (@cristian_perrone) on Jan 31, 2018 at 1:24pm PST A post shared by Jeff Morris (@itwasthelight) on Jan 31, 2018 at 8:33am PST A post shared by Landscapes-Astro-Cityscapes (@bay.photography) on Jan 31, 2018 at 9:58am PST A post shared by Senai Senna (@sennarelax) on Jan 31, 2018 at 1:13pm PST A post shared by Carlos Sanchez (@officialcarlossanchez) on Jan 31, 2018 at 7:14am PST A post shared by Maria Heni (@henimaria) on Jan 31, 2018 at 5:38am PST A post shared by @harsha_taurus on Jan 31, 2018 at 2:41pm PST
There's a difference between embracing the fantastical and making fantasy. As a book since 2018, then a stage production and now a seven-part Netflix series, Boy Swallows Universe knows how to fly in the first direction without becoming the second. Author and journalist Trent Dalton spins a semi-autobiographical 80s-set story, which surveys his childhood and its challenges with clear eyes, but also brims with hope and zero judgement. That's protagonist Eli Bell's (Felix Cameron, Penguin Bloom) approach to everything, including his recovering addict mother Frankie (Phoebe Tonkin, Babylon), his heroin-dealing stepfather Lyle Orlik (Travis Fimmel, Black Snow), his alcoholic and agoraphobic dad Robert (Simon Baker, Limbo), and his elder brother Gus (Lee Tiger Halley, The Heights), who hasn't spoken since a traumatic incident in the siblings' past. It's also how he sees family friend, babysitter, father figure, and no-nonsense but supportive source of wisdom Slim Halliday, as played by Australian acting icon Bryan Brown in Boy Swallows Universe's leap to the screen. The character is one of Dalton's great inclusions and, as with much in the novel, doesn't merely stem from Dalton's imagination. The name, that he spent decades in the Queensland capital's Boggo Road Gaol for the death of a taxi driver, his multiple escapes from the notorious prison: they're all 100-percent real. So is the fact that the young Dalton knew the convicted murderer when he was a boy growing up in Brisbane's west. Casting Brown is like most talent choices in Boy Swallows Universe: a dream pick. Chatting with Concrete Playground about the part and the Brisbane-made series, he's full of praise about Cameron as 12-year-old force-of-nature Eli. "He's a fabulous young kid and he's done a fabulous job," he advises. But Brown's own inclusion, like Tonkin, Fimmel, Baker, Halley, Totally Completely Fine's Zac Burgess as the older Eli, Talk to Me's Sophie Wilde's as Caitlyn Spies and more, is just as pitch-perfect. To Eli, Slim is a man with answers, encouragement and no sugarcoating — someone who believes in him, wants the best for him, but won't skip over life's realities. Try to picture an Aussie actor who'd nail the role and Brown is alone in springing to mind. Boy Swallows Universe joins his almost five-decade-long resume, at a time when Brown jokes that "someone asking me to do a job now is quite a good thing". In the past five months, he's been on-screen almost constantly — in fellow streaming series C*A*U*G*H*T, the recut of Baz Luhrmann's Australia as miniseries Faraway Downs and in US-produced but Sydney-shot rom-com Anyone But You. His career has followed the same path since the mid-70s, and reads like a history of Aussie film and television. For both 1980's Breaker Morant and 1999's Two Hands, he has Best Supporting Actor Australian Film Institute Awards. In the latter as with Boy Swallows Universe, he was paired with up-and-comer: there, it was Heath Ledger. [caption id="attachment_935699" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jono Searle/Getty Images for Netflix[/caption] Brown's credits also span The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, Newsfront, The Shiralee, Dirty Deeds, Beautiful Kate, Red Dog: True Blue and Sweet Country. The list goes on. Over in Hollywood in the 80s, after TV's A Town Like Alice was a hit overseas as well as at home, he earned Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for The Thorn Birds, led action-thriller F/X, famously mixed drinks with Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One) in Cocktail and starred opposite Sigourney Weaver (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) in Gorillas in the Mist. In 2004, he featured in the Ben Stiller (Locked Down)-led Along Came Polly as well. With Boy Swallows Universe, Brown was drawn in as everyone who has come across it in any form has been: by the story. Initially introduced via screenwriter John Collee's (Hotel Mumbai) scripts, he found it as astonishing as readers, theatre patrons and viewers keep doing. The series that results is now streaming — and we spoke with Brown about his first responses to Dalton's tale, his eagerness to play Slim, taking on someone with layers both on the page and in reality, mentoring Cameron, why everyone loves Boy Swallows Universe and more. ON BROWN'S FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH THE BOY SWALLOWS UNIVERSE STORY "The scripts. I hadn't read the book, and the producer Troy Lum (Palm Beach) sent me John Collee's — at that stage — eight one-hour scripts, and I thought they were quite wonderful, the scripts. That then led me to go get the book and read the book, and to thoroughly enjoy it and go 'this is a remarkable story this', given it was basically true. And so to be able to be a part of it, I was only too willing." ON WHAT APPEALED TO BROWN ABOUT PLAYING SLIM HALLIDAY "I think the fact that he was a crim, but we don't meet him doing anything criminal. We hear about what a crim he was, and how he'd been in jail for 30 years and how he'd escaped, but we see him as someone that really wants to help the boys not go the way that he did. So I think it's the fact that he's not as you would expect him to be. When someone says 'I've got a part for you to play, it's a crim, love you to do it' — [but] basically I'm babysitter in this." ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR A PART THAT ISN'T JUST A CHARACTER IN TRENT DALTON'S BOOK, BUT A REAL-LIFE PERSON "Basically I can only play the scripts. So if there's something missing in the scripts, then I go 'this conflicts with something else, I need to know more about it'. But the scripts were so well done, the character was so well-outlined, the relationship with the boy was so clear and it felt quite instinctive to be able to play — I didn't have to research his criminal activity. None of that came into the playing of this piece. So it was about trying to understand why he wanted to be with the boy and behave as he did, and pretty well the scenes answered that for me." ON PLAYING SLIM AS NO-NONSENSE BUT SUPPORTIVE, AND A FATHER FIGURE FOR ELI "Once again, I come back to how well something's written. If a character is written well, you're just pulling the glove on and getting on with it. It's where something comes into conflict or it doesn't make sense that you're at sixes and sevens in trying to play something. But this was so well-written on the page that I was able to play it pretty easily. It was a part that was enjoyable to play." ON HOW BROWN SEEES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SLIM AND ELI "I guess it is a bit father-son, but it's better than that. It's like he doesn't have to be the parent and exercise certain disciplines — he just has to be there as someone that appreciates and would always be there for the boy. And just that knowledge that he gives to the boy, there is someone solid here that believes in me, that's the relationship that I think that Slim brings." ON HOW THAT MENTORING RELATIONSHIP TRANSLATED WITH FELIX CAMERON OFF-SCREEN "People would probably say it did. We got on very well. We had a lot of fun together. He's a cheeky little bugger, and I really enjoyed mucking around with him. But behind all that there's a very bright young fella — and there's a fella who, obviously he's got wonderful parents. There's a boy that appreciates pretty well everything that's going on here. He appreciated doing this. It never went to his head in any way. I'm sure there were areas of confusion for him, but he never brought that to the table." ON WHY BOY SWALLOWS UNIVERSE CONTINUES TO STRIKE SUCH A CHORD "I think it is a story of hope. The boys want and hope that their life will be better, and do everything — they don't judge their parents, there's no judgement in this show about people, but there is the boys who just see that there's a life out there, and hope that they can have a life that's different to the ones that their parents are experiencing. I think that there's a joy in that. It's not a dour story. It's not a dark story. There's darkness in things that happen with the characters, but it's not a dark story. It's a story of hope and desire from the boys to have a real life, and I think you can't help but get affected by it." [caption id="attachment_935703" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chris Hyde/Getty Images for Netflix[/caption] ON WHAT BROWN LOOKS FOR A ROLE "It's pretty easy. I read it. I go 'do I like the story?'. If I don't like the story, there's no point even thinking about the part. And if I do like the story, then I look at the character and I go 'how does this character contribute to the story?' and 'can I do something of value with that character that makes that story live?'. It's pretty straightforward. I know pretty well straight away if I don't want to something. But if I'm a bit intrigued, then I have to ask myself more questions as I go through it. Once again, it's instinct. I look at it and I go: 'am I there? Can I be there?'. And if I can, the other side of it is, I like to know who else is doing it, and I like to know who the production company is and who the director will be to make me feel confident about that it can be done well." Boy Swallows Universe streams via Netflix, arriving on Thursday, January 11, 2024. Read our review. Images: courtesy of Netflix © 2023.
There's no shortage of ways to celebrate Halloween, whether scary movies, eerie art, a trick-or-treating stint, playing with Lego or themed mini golf is your thing. Here's a particularly tasty one: getting dressed up in costume and scoring a free Krispy Kreme doughnut. The chain is known for giving away its round treats, including handing out 100,000 of them each National Doughnut Day. For Tuesday, October 31, it isn't locking in an exact number of doughnuts that'll be on offer — but it will give one to everyone who turns up to a Krispy Kreme store dressed for the occasion. If that isn't an excuse to don your spookiest outfit, then what is? To snag yourself a signature glazed freebie, head to your closest Krispy Kreme store in Australia or New Zealand on Tuesday, October 31 while wearing a Halloween-appropriate costume. You'll receive one original glazed doughnut per person, and you don't have to buy anything else to nab the treat without paying a cent. That gives everyone a heap of places to flock to: 38 in Australia and six in New Zealand. Sydneysiders able to hit up 17 stores stretching from Penrith to the CBD, Victorians can visit nine locations from Chadstone to Collins Street, and Queenslanders given eight different doughnut shops to pick from (with the most central in Albert Street in the CBD). Residents of Perth can make a date with one of four Krispy Kreme locations. In Aotearoa, all options are in Auckland — including at Newmarket, Chancery Square and the domestic airport terminal. Of course, Krispy Kreme is hoping that you will be possessed by the Halloween vibe while you're in-store — or beforehand — and treat yourself to something from its themed range. On offer until Tuesday, October 31: four different varieties. If you opt for the Spiderweb, you'll get an OG doughnut that's been dipped in chocolate ganache and topped with white truffle. The Jack O'Lantern takes a shell doughnut, packs it with choc crème, then dips it in orange-coloured truffle — what else? — before giving it an eyes and mouth via sugar fondant. The Ghost goes with a white truffle dip, plus white choc flakes and candy for eyes. And the Graveyard fills a shell doughnut with strawberry filling, covers the outside with green truffle, then uses sour gummy worms and ground chocolate crumb as soil. Krispy Kreme's Halloween giveaway takes place in-store on Tuesday, October 31. The chain's Halloween range is available until the same date. To find your closest shop and check its opening hours, head to the Krispy Kreme website.
Shut up and take my money: Futurama is continuing its latest return with even more episodes on its way. The animated hit made another comeback this winter, slipping out of stasis to riff on pandemics, vaccines, bitcoin, streaming, cancel culture and life's general chaos. That new stint with the Planet Express team was dubbed season 11, and season 12 was locked in at the same time — but now season 13 and season 14 will officially follow. The Matt Groening-created show about life in the 31st century was in vintage form when it dropped its recent batch of ten episodes, and embraced the fact that anything and everything can and will happen as it always has. When Futurama's return was first announced in 2022, it was for a 20-episode run, which has been doubled with the latest renewal. So, viewers are going back to the future for even longer. Yes, this is good news, everyone! And yes, Futurama will just keep coming back, baby. Streaming Down Under via Disney+, the added seasons will keep audiences saying hello to the 20th-century's Philip J Fry (voiced by Billy West, Spitting Image), distant uncle to Planet Express cargo company Professor Hubert J Farnsworth (also voiced by West), plus the rest of the outfit's crew. That means more antics with one-eyed ship captain Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal, Dead to Me); fellow employees Hermes Conrad (Phil LaMarr, Craig of the Creek), Amy Wong (Lauren Tom, Dragons: The Nine Realms) and Zoidberg (also West); and everyone from self-obsessed starship captain Zapp Brannigan (West again) and his amphibious 4th Lieutenant Kif Kroker (Maurice LaMarche, Rick and Morty) through to scheming corporation owner Mom (Tress MacNeille, The Simpsons). Bender Bending Rodríguez will be causing more mayhem as well, with John DiMaggio, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts also back with the cast when season 11 arrived. When the revival was first announced, that wasn't the case — but it wouldn't be Futurama without its constantly sauced robot exclaiming "bite my shiny metal ass!". You can put a beloved show into suspended animation, but someone is going to thaw it out one day — and more than once, as fans have experienced for decades now. Initially airing from 1999–2003, the futuristic series then returned from 2008–2013, before now being given another run. Hulu, which is behind the return in the US, called this first new comeback season 11 — even though Futurama spans a past seven seasons and four direct-to-DVD movies so far. Season 12 is expected in 2024, with seasons 13 and 14 after that. There's no trailer yet for Futurama's 12th, 13th and 14th seasons, but check out the sneak peek for Futurama season 11 below: Futurama streams Down Under via Disney+, with season 12 expected in 2024, then seasons 13 and 14 after that. Read our review of season 11.
Looks like it's time to throw An Unexpected Party; The Hobbit now has its own beer. Set to be released as a trio of microbrews, the Hobbity bottles will be available in the coming weeks, brewed to promote the next Tolkien-penned chapter of Peter Jackson's epic film series, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (out this December). With chilli-infused Smaug Stout on the line, this is a branding exercise we can get behind. Created far over the misty mountains cold by Washington state-based microbrewery Fish Brewing (backed by an army of investors including New Line Productions, Warner Brothers, BevLink and Ocean Brands), the three Hobbit-themed beers take on the personas of three of the series' most villainous characters in 650ml bottles. First off the rank, the Gollum Precious Pils, golden and somewhat bitter like its namesake. Then there's the ol' Smaug Stout named for our fiery treasure hoarder, a black imperial stout infused with chillies (classic dragon beer) and the perfect companion for lengthy, Orc-pursued journeys to Lonely Mountains, if you will. Finally, the Bolg Belgian Style Tripel is a robust beer embodying the evil Orc leader, crafted with enough dark strength to lead an army of goblins, Wargs and Bats in the Battle of the Five Armies. While we're yet to learn whether the Hobbit beer will make its way to Australia, the trio will be available in the US (here's hoping some nifty Australian boutique bottle shops get importing). For now, we'll just have to take a trip to the real life Green Dragon. Via Grub Street and Beer Pulse.
Hyrule is heading to the big screen, and Link and Princess Zelda along with it. After almost four decades of mashing buttons to save the magical land, fans of The Legend of Zelda will be able to see the game franchise make the leap to cinemas. Coming off a huge year for film adaptations of its titles thanks to box-office smash that is The Super Mario Bros Movie, Nintendo has announced that it's turning its beloved Ganondorf-battling action-adventure series into a feature. The Legend of Zelda will have something else in common with Nintendo's favourite plumbers: it's getting the live-action silver-screen treatment first. While animation worked well for Mario's latest date with picture palaces in 2023, Link, Zelda and the like will be flesh and blood. Just imagine how Hyrule's stunning landscapes will look. The Legend of Zelda's move into movies will boast Shigeru Miyamoto, Representative Director and Fellow of Nintendo, as one of its producers — alongside Avi Arad, whose resume includes all the Spider-Man flicks (live-action and animated), some X-Men films, early Marvel titles like Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, and also Ghost in the Shell and Uncharted. While it's too early for any news on stars, The Maze Runner filmmaker Wes Ball will be directing. And the film will indeed hit cinemas, with Sony distributing — and co-financing the movie with Nintendo. No details about the feature's storyline have been unveiled so far, either. Accordingly, if you're wondering which game or games it might follow — and if your favourite, be it the OG 1986 The Legend of Zelda, 1991 masterpiece A Link to the Past, 1998's Ocarina of Time or 2013's A Link Between Worlds, for instance, might get a nod — there's no answers as yet. "By producing visual contents of Nintendo IP by itself, Nintendo is creating new opportunities to have people from around the world to access the world of entertainment which Nintendo has built, through different means apart from its dedicated game consoles," said the company in a statement announcing the film version of The Legend of Zelda. "By getting deeply involved in the movie production with the aim to put smiles on everyone's faces through entertainment, Nintendo will continue its efforts to produce unique entertainment and deliver it to as many people as possible." Given that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hit Nintendo Switch back in May, 2023 is clearly a big Zelda year, even if the film obviously won't release before 2024 hits. Exactly when it will start showing in cinemas is also among the details that haven't yet been revealed. The live-action The Legend of Zelda movie doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced. Images: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The blue windowpane shopfront has become a Newtown favourite for cuts, fades, beard trims and shaves. Exposed brick walls, unframed mirrors and ebony dressing tables give the place its retro vibe, while a lightshade of faux deer antlers and a forest mural add a wild air that seems appropriate for the before photo of a woodsman's hair transformation. It's first come, first groomed at this walk-in barbershop, but in recent years it has started using the SLIKR app which lets you check waiting times and hold your place in a digital queue rather than line up out front. Images: Cassandra Hannagan
While wearable tech is impressive, it's not necessarily subtle or very stylish. You can always tell when someone's wearing a Fitbit and we all know how Google Glass went down. But Google's new piece of wearable tech is integrated into one of society's more practical pieces of clothing: a Levi's denim jacket. Google's Advanced Technology and Projects arm (ATAP) has teamed up with the iconic denim brand to redesign their Commuter Trucker Jacket with Google's Project Jacquard technology. It is the first garment to be made with the tech, which works by weaving a conducive yarn into the fabric. On the jacket, the tech is installed in the left sleeve, which acts as a touchpad and allows for touch and gesture interactivity with your phone. That means that when riding your bike (which is what this technology has been primarily designed for) you will be able to swipe up to get directions, tap to change the song you're listening to or swipe down to answer a call. It's all powered by a clip-on tag, which acts as a battery and, as far as we can tell, is the only real noticeable difference to the jacket. The technology has been in the works for some time now, but further details were announced on-stage by Levi's global product innovation head Paul Dillinger and ATAP's Project Jacquard lead Ivan Poupyrev at SXSW in Austin this weekend. The jacket — which will be made in both women's and men's sizes — will be released in spring this year and retail for about $350 USD. That's not saying the jacket will be officially released in Australia or New Zealand, but it will be available for consumers to purchase. Until then, you'll just have to be content with listening to a shitty song that snuck into your Spotify shuffle until you pull up at a traffic light. Via Mashable. Images: Levi's/YouTube.
Unless you're lucky enough to live close by, Watsons Bay isn't a stumble-there-by-accident kind of place. You've either made the journey by ferry, bus or car, or you powered here on two legs. However, it's worth the effort. This picturesque suburb is home to harbour beaches, legendary fish and chip shops, wedding venues and a family-friendly park. It's also where you'll find the one-kilometre South Head Heritage Trail, which snakes through national parkland and overlooks the ocean and city. Together with Adidas, we've picked out seven rewarding pit stops to enjoy next time you tackle the South Head Heritage Trail, starting and finishing at Robertson Park. Take a look, then launch the map below to plan your own adventure. [caption id="attachment_805547" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] GREEN POINT RESERVE From Robertson Park, stroll along Marine Parade looking out to the city beyond. Follow the path around to Camp Cove and you'll soon find Green Point Reserve. Looking out over Sydney Harbour's glistening blue waters, this small patch of grass is the perfect place to stretch your limbs and take in the view. Take a moment to snap a few photos and relax on the grass as you gaze across the water. In your swimmers? There are secluded swimming spots here if you prefer to take a dip away from the crowded beaches. [caption id="attachment_805549" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] CAMP COVE Barely a stone's throw away from Green Point Reserve is the harbour-facing Camp Cove Beach. This strip of golden sand is well known for its calm waters and you'll sometimes spot divers entering the water near the kiosk. Nab a spot by the shore for quick access in and out of the water, or set up a brolly for a picnic before tackling the rest of the walk. Rich in history, Camp Cove is believed to be an important fishing location for the Gadigal people before invasion. [caption id="attachment_805662" align="alignnone" width="1920"] John Yurasek/DPIE[/caption] HISTORICAL CANON After you've brushed off the sand from your swim, follow the trail up the stairs for just 100 metres. Here you'll find a canon. Originally placed to protect the headland from potential attacks, this historic monument has become somewhat of a photo op location for tourists. Take a rest on the sandstone and appreciate the magnificent backdrop. [caption id="attachment_805698" align="alignnone" width="1920"] John Yurasek/DPIE[/caption] LADY BAY BEACH Continue along the path and you'll soon find Lady Bay Beach, also know as Lady Jane Beach. This small, sheltered beach is a popular nudist spot for (mostly male) locals and tourists. If you didn't pack swimmers and you are open to a nudie swim, take the opportunity to plunge right in. While swimwear is accepted here, it's far from the norm. Be respectful and avoid taking photos. And, as always, slip, slop and slap. [caption id="attachment_805550" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] HORNBY KEEPER'S COTTAGE Next stop on the trail is Hornby Lighthouse — the third lighthouse to be built in NSW in 1858 — and the nearby Hornby Keeper's Cottage. Originally built for the lighthouse keeper, of course, this sandstone cottage is a key milestone in the walk. From here you can spend time whale watching in winter, or spotting yachts in the harbour in summer. Swot up on your local history, or use the opportunity to lay down and enjoy South Head's views. From here, turn back around and retrace your steps to Camp Cove. [caption id="attachment_805675" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pexels; Min An[/caption] CAMP COVE KIOSK By the time you've made your way back to the beach, you're sure to have worked up an appetite. For a quick refreshment, head to Camp Cove Kiosk for an ice cream, juice or smoothie. Or, if you're feeling a bit more peckish, opt for one of its sandwiches (tuna, brisket, egg and chicken are usually on offer). Breakfast options include avocado and feta on sourdough and healthy brekkie bowls. Take your snacks to the sand as you refuel by the gentle waves. [caption id="attachment_805556" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Flickr; Marc Dalmulder[/caption] THE GAP After your feed, take the most direct route along Cliff Street for 650 metres to reach The Gap. The stunning ocean cliff has unique rock platforms and the pounding ocean below. Before colonisation, the area was home to the Birrabirragal people. Today it's a lookout point, but it also has a history of being a place where people have taken their own lives. Local man Don 'Angel of The Gap' Richie was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his prevention of more than 160 deaths at The Gap. Take a moment to remember Don and those who've walked here before us. Then, head back down the steps to Robertson Park to mark the end of your run or walk. Want to extend your day further? Enjoy an afternoon drink at Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel. In need of a new pair of runners? Take a look at the new Adidas Ultraboost 21 runners here. Launch the map below to start plotting your own running adventure in and around Sydney. Top image: Andrew Gregory; Destination NSW
Lennox Hastie is the mind behind one of Sydney's most talked about restaurants. Since bursting onto the scene in 2015, Firedoor has built a cult following. Tables at the venue book out three months in advance, and it was recently named the world's third-best steak restaurant. Now, Hastie is back with a new venture. Gildas is a more laidback display of Hastie's love of food and wine. The Surry Hills bar draws inspiration from the time the acclaimed restauranter spent in Europe's Basque Country, as well as San Sebastian pintxo, and the 1946 Rita Hayworth-starring film Gilda. From the combination of these influences comes a romantic wine bar centered around glasses of sherry, cracking martinis and fresh produce. "The Basque tradition of the pinxtos taverna is a space where locals come together as a community to snack on small plates of pinxtos, tell stories, and enjoy a drink, specifically one of Jerez's best; the Sherry," the Gildas menu states. There are 12 varieties of sherry or sherry-style wine on the menu, ranging from more affordable tipples like the Bodega Barrero Manzanilla, through to pours of 1999 Pedro Ximenez. Outside of the drink of choice, there's an extensive wine list, traversing South Australian skin contacts, Charles Heidsieck champagne, and plenty of Spanish varieties. Accompanying the array of wine is a short and to-the-point selection of cocktails and aperitif including Spanish vermouth, a manzanilla sour, white-wine sangria, and expected standards like a martini and old fashioned. As for the food, experienced chef Zach Elliott-Crenn heads up the kitchen after previously working as the Executive Chef at Maggie Joan's in Singapore and the Head Chef of Portland in London. Elliott-Crenn's menu brings together quality Australian and Spanish produce into memorable share plates. Leading the menu is a trio of cured meats — Basque ham, paleta iberico and jamon iberico. From there the dishes become more unpredictable. There are spanner crab churros, beef tartare with rock oyster cream, oyster mushrooms with smoked egg yolk and charred leeks with romesco and lardo salumi. Finish your trip to Gildas with a playful dessert — the smoked buffalo milk soft serve topped with dulce de leche. Gildas is located at 46–48 Albion Street, Surry Hills, and is open 5pm–midnight, Tuesday–Saturday. Images: Nikki To
If you've been to A Tavola in either Darlinghurst or Bondi or Besser in Surry Hills, you'll know what to expect at Flour Eggs Water. As the name suggests, the main focus of the Tramsheds hang-out is quality handmade pasta made from the namesake ingredients. With an epic pasta-making setup on display, guests can sit down for a bowl of the good stuff and watch their pasta made right in front of their eyes, or take it away to cook at home. Renowned chef-owner Eugenio Maiale deliberately deviated from the traditional restaurant formula to create something special. "A Tavola is more of a restaurant, while Flour Eggs Water is more of a pasta bar," says Maiale. "It's a place to come for fresh, handcrafted, hand-filled and extruded pastas using the best possible ingredients." A pasta bar sounds like something from our dreams, as do most of the dishes on Maiale's morish menu. The crowd-pleasing pappardelle with beef, tomato, red wine and parmesan ($33) is full of warmth and flavour while the cauliflower and mint orecchiette ($29) is deceptively simple and extremely delicious. With the basics covered — perfectly cooked al dente pasta — there's room to focus on the bucketloads of fresh seasonal produce. The venue boasts a comprehensive, cleverly curated wine list which showcases a throng of family-run wine producers that are dedicated to crafting the very best natural wines. It also has plonk from small Italian and local wineries on tap — yep, just when we thought we couldn't love this place anymore.
There were a few risks involved in the opening of Son of a Baker, the patisserie-cum-cafe in south Sydney suburb San Souci. The first was co-owner Roman Urosevski's decision to break out on his own rather than take over the family bakery as assumed; his father has been running the popular Alexander's Bakery for over two decades. The second was the location: Son of a Baker sits within a nondescript strip of shops at the sleepy Dolls Point-end of the Grand Parade — not exactly the type of place even locals would expect to find a decent feed. In an attempt to neutralise these risks, Urosevski teamed up with Marcus Gorgè, a Sydney cafe veteran (Local MBassy, Chimichuri), to open the cafe in early 2018. And it's safe to say: the risk paid off. Within only a few weeks, the Alexander's Bakery outpost in Westfield Miranda switched to a Son of a Baker store — a vote of confidence from Dad — and when we visited on a wintry Sunday morning, it was teeming with people. To figure out why, let's start with the space. Designer Korolos Ibrahim kept things things sleek and modern — pale timber tables, parquet flooring, washed cement walls and a marble counter holding a matte white coffee machine. The small space is made bigger by bifold windows overlooking the street and beach beyond. Up the back, a glass divider lets the curious look on as the pastry chefs get to work. It's small details like this that add warmth and character. Another one is the burek, a baked and stuffed Balkan pastry, which Urosevski used to make with his father. If you haven't cottoned on yet, this familial relationship is where the cafe's cheeky moniker comes from. Burek flavours vary, but during our visit there was pulled pork (soaked in orange and passionfruit) and spinach and leek. The cafe's two Macedonian pastry chefs, who were brought over from Alexander's Bakery, have also refined the dough to be vegan. It's important to call out here that the burek simply shouldn't be missed — but easily could be with red velvet croissants, nutella cronuts and strudels also on offer. Where Son of a Baker's fit-out is stunning in its simplicity, its food takes the opposite approach. Every plate on the eat-in menu has been designed by Gorgè to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible, which shows a strong attention to detail, but also means that food envy here is a very real danger. The menu is divided into brunch dishes and sweet treats. More than half of the former are vegetarian and there are varied cultural nods throughout — think shakshuka ($18), a falafel bowl ($19) and piperchi ($18), charred peppers, aged lamb prosciutto and feta with scrambled eggs. But if looks are important (hey, no judgement here), you'll want to opt for one of the burgers — barramundi with miso butter ($24), pulled pork with pear sauce ($22) or chicken with shiso slaw ($19) — served on a charcoal milk bun. Or there's the signature lobster tail benedict ($25) which, yes, is just as decadent as it sounds — three generous strips of lobster tail, two poached eggs, scallops, smashed avo, orange gel and hollandaise served in a croissant. There's a lot going on. It's not really a cohesive dish, but it's certainly fun. As is the butterfly pancakes ($18) which incorporate the uber-trendy butterfly pea powder to give the pancakes a purple hue. Drinks are simpler, but no less colourful, with coffee by Zest, freshly squeezed juices, smoothies and, no surprises, heavenly red velvet and taro lattes. Service is warm, in the way you'd expect from a neighbourhood spot, and slick, in the way you might not. It's the final piece of the puzzle that has seen this small suburban eatery go from strength to strength. It might take a little extra effort to get to Son of a Baker, but you'll be glad you made the trip. Images: Michael Wee.
Most of Australia's cinema industry has earmarked July as its relaunch date, aiming to reopen in time for the planned release of Christopher Nolan's Tenet. But if you're a film fan keen for some big-screen fun before that, the country's drive-in theatres are filling the gap — and, given that their whole concept involves folks watching flicks in cars, social distancing is already part of the experience. At the beginning of May, Queensland's Yatala Drive-In welcomed movie buffs and their vehicles back through the doors. After a successful return over the state's Labour Day long weekend, the site halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast has worked its way up to screening films seven nights a week across its three fields. Run by the same team behind Brissie's New Farm, Elizabeth and Red Hill cinemas, Yatala is playing a mix of classics and recent releases. Viewers can pick from retro titles like Shrek, Dirty Dancing, The Princess Bride, Jaws and Toy Story, or opt for newer fare such as Jumanji: The Next Level, Bad Boys for Life, The Gentlemen or Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). In Sydney, Blacktown's Skyline Drive-In quietly relaunched over the weekend of May 23–24, selling out its two sessions quickly. It's now officially reopening for regular showings from today, Thursday, May 28, screening from Thursday–Sunday each week (plus a Monday night session on the Queen's Birthday public holiday, too) — with four flicks playing each night. Films on the bill include The Invisible Man, IT: Chapter Two, Spies in Disguise, Joker, Grease and Knives Out, with horror-themed Friday nights and retro programming on Saturdays also on the agenda. Its diner is also back in business, serving burgers, hot chips, choc tops and other snacks. [caption id="attachment_622465" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brook James[/caption] Melburnians looking to catch a flick in their car under the stars will need to wait until 11.59pm on Sunday, May 31 — so, Monday June 1, effectively — which is when Victoria's next stage of eased restrictions kick in. Drive-ins will be allowed to reopen then, with Dandenong's Lunar Drive-In relaunching on that date, Village Cinemas Coburg Drive-In doing the same on Wednesday, June 3 and the Dromana Drive-In restarting is projectors on Thursday, June 4. On the various cinemas' lineups: The Fast & the Furious, Shaun The Sheep: Farmageddon, 1917 and Bloodshot at Lunar; Cats, Mad Max: Fury Road, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction at Coburg; and Sonic the Hedgehog, Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Muriel's Wedding at Dromana. Each of the reopening drive-ins is implementing additional social-distancing measures, ranging from the provision of hand sanitiser stations to asking attendees to take their rubbish home with them. Online bookings are required in some cases and recommended in others, while bathrooms at some sites are only available in emergencies — and candy bar and diner patron limits are being enforced, with some venues delivering snacks straight to vehicles. For more information about each drive-in, or to book tickets, visit the websites for Yatala in Queensland, Skyline in Sydney, and Lunar, Coburg and Dromana in Melbourne. Top image: Yatala Drive-In and Skyline Blacktown
The average person spends eight hours a day looking at a screen. That's not just your laptop or television set but also the time you spend on your phone. Observe the number of people thumbing their smart phones on the evening bus, and it's easy to believe that a lot of people exceed that average eight hours on a regular basis. Now, instead of waxing poetical about how grim this is, and imploring you to run into the streets, pick wildflowers, and dance barefoot (all thoroughly recommended pursuits), it might be better to think about how to get the most out of your time spent with a screen. Because a lot of the time we read, and look, at crap: think of the number of times you’ve heard about Kate Middleton's boobs in the past couple of weeks, or watched a Gangnam Style parody (you know you have). Last year, Eli Pariser gave a TED talk in which he pointed out that web companies like Facebook and Twitter, in trying to tailor their services to you and your tastes, end up blocking out the information they think you don't want to know about. That means you get trapped inside what he calls a 'filter bubble'. If Facebook knows you're passionately involved in campaigning for gay marriage, for instance, you won't get information that's going to expose you to other arguments in your news feed. By the same token, if Facebook thinks you only want to hear about pop culture, you're not going to end up hearing much about asylum seekers. This means that, ultimately, because we never get information that challenges our worldviews, we end up in a bubble in which we hear the same messages and information over and over again. Unless we go looking elsewhere. These are the tips we discovered while trying to get out of our media ghetto and into the bright lights of the big media city. Tidy up your RSS feed and bookmarks If you use Google Reader, go through and see how many of those subscriptions add value to your life. Balance out what you get from The Sartorialist by subscribing to The Huffington Post, Jezebel, or McSweeney's. Thinking about spreading out your information — so it's not all stories from America — is also a good way to go: you want to know what’s happening around the corner as much as you want to know what’s happening in New York this weekend. (As people who keep an eye on what's happening locally, we unabashedly recommend subscribing to us.) Buy a newspaper or a magazine One of the best things about these old-fashioned things is that, while you can skim and skip pieces, what's inside them is curated by an editor. They also offer work that people have been paid to write, and that often produces more interesting and well-researched content. Aside from your average copy of the Sydney Morning Herald or the Age, and high-brow magazines like the Monthly and the New Yorker, magazines like Fantastic Man or The Gentlewoman offer quality journalism mixed in with the pretty pictures. Mag Nation is a good place to browse. Explore Filtering Services Filtering services like Prismatic and Bottlenose collate information from your social media activity and provide you with a unique and personal newsfeed. These things are great because they expand your horizons beyond just giving you what you want to hear. The top stories in my Prismatic feed, for instance, cover the US presidential election, architecture inspired by mathematics, and (I don't know what this says about me) a guide to the top 10 hipster neighbourhoods in the US. None of which I would have stumbled across all on my lonesome. Monitor Yourself Setting limits about how long you spend on networks is really important. You can leave Facebook or Twitter open all day, but that doesn't mean life will get any more interesting. Set rules for yourself about how long you're prepared to sit monitoring a feed. Wired has a pretty awesome graphic showing how you might spread out your screen time, but I would also recommend going for a walk or baking a cake to give your square-eyes a rest. Broaden Your Horizons We’re long past the days when social media meant Facebook alone. It's not uncommon now to meet somebody who would never dream of having a Facebook account but will actively encourage you to follow them on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram at once. Different mediums offer different things. Checking out sites like Pinterest and Reddit might broaden your horizons in ways you've never thought of before. Explore Overlaps Sometimes the lowbrow and the highbrow blend together in a beautiful dance. Superficial stories can blend in with serious issues. The most recent example of this is Chris Brown's new tattoo. While everyone can marvel over its similarity to that beaten-to-a-pulp image of Rhianna, it provokes more serious discussions about domestic violence and might elevate your thinking about the subject beyond the initial "oh no he didn't!". Upworthy Eli Pariser, the same guy who gave the aforementioned TED Talk, has since started a site designed to make important and compelling things as viral as videos of people planking. Designed to give you the tools and knowledge to make yourself a better and more aware human being, Upworthy is still in it's early stages but definitely worth checking out.
Observatory Hill Park is quite the picturesque location for a picnic and a workout with its outdoor equipment and sweeping views of the harbour. Though the three fitness stations offer basic equipment and routines, the much-loved exercise spot gets packed on either side of 9–5. To get the view (and the equipment) to yourself, late afternoon is your best bet. To get the view with that beautiful 'golden hour' light, set up your picnic blanket atop the hill with some nibbles and enjoy the views of the water, the bridge, Luna Park across the way and the headlands out towards the sea.
It's possible to wish that I'll Be Gone in the Dark told its story in another way, and to still find yourself captivated by every single thing the six-part series serves up. In fact, there's no way to watch this immensely personal true-crime docuseries and not wish that author Michelle McNamara was a part of it in a very different way. She's the reason the show exists, and her obsessive work investigating the Californian murderer known as the Golden State Killer helped keep the case alive. She even wrote a book that shares this program's name, but she died from an accidental overdose in 2016, before it was published. I'll Be Gone in the Dark charts McNamara's quest to expose the man who committed at least 13 murders and 50 rapes between 1973–86, but it also intertwines McNamara's own story — including interviews with her husband Patton Oswalt. If you think you've seen every spin on the true-crime genre there is, you'll change your mind when you watch this highly detailed and also intimately personal series.
So, you've seen Nanette, then Douglas, then Body of Work, Hannah Gadsby's three most-recent stand-up shows — all of which hit stages, then Netflix. Next on your list to catch is Woof!, and in-person for now. The just-announced performance will premiere in Australia in autumn, confirming a run of dates in both Sydney and Melbourne, including at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. If you're wondering if Woof! will also get the streaming treatment, it's too early to say, so getting giggling in the New South Wales and Victorian capitals is your best bet if you're keen to check out Gadsby's new routine ASAP. In Sydney, the show will play the Roslyn Packer Theatre from Thursday, March 7–Sunday, March 17. When it makes the move to Arts Centre Melbourne, it'll run from Thursday, March 28–Saturday, April 20. [caption id="attachment_896516" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hannah Gadsby: Something Special. Jess Gleeson/Netflix © 2023[/caption] "Everyone else, sorry," says Gadsby about Woof!'s focus on just two Aussie cities in the social-media video that accompanied the stand-up show's announcement. Fingers crossed that's just the situation for now, and that the tour will also make its way around the country at some point. The comedian has a one-night gig in May in Los Angeles on their agenda after Sydney and Melbourne, with nothing announced after that so far. Woof! comes after Nanette became an international smash, travelling not only throughout Australia but also the UK, and winning awards at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Douglas then took comedy fans on a "tour from the dog park to the renaissance and back", including in Australia, NZ and Europe. And as for Body of Work, it embarked upon an extensive stint around Australia, as well as in Europe again. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dr. Hannah Gadsby (@hannah_gadsby) Hannah Gadsby 'Woof!' Tour Dates: Thursday, March 7–Sunday, March 17 — Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay, Sydney Thursday, March 28–Saturday, April 20 — Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne [caption id="attachment_871296" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ben King[/caption] Hannah Gadsby's 'Woof!' tour will kick off in Sydney and Melbourne in autumn 2024. For further details — and to buy tickets from 10am on Monday, February 5 — head to the comedian's website.
Sydney will become another star in British chef Jason Atherton's culinary constellation when his Kensington Street Social opens in The Old Clare Hotel on January 13. Yep, just when you thought Chippendale's snazziest destination couldn't fit in another eatery, the hotel has managed to loosen its belt for one, final mouthful. The Social is the third venue to open at The Old Clare, and will be keeping the esteemed company of degustation extraordinaire Automata and Silvereye's deluxe open-plan kitchen. Of the three, it'll be the biggest (with 120 seats) and the most casual. An all-day menu will invite diners to eat any way they like, whether they're after a snack and a matching cocktail or a mega, multi-course feast with premium wines. Atherton, who has a Michelin star to his name, will be acting as culinary director, with Rob Daniels (ex-Maze London) taking on the role of executive chef. Between them, they'll be coming up with an ever-changing array of share plates, which will be influenced by British and Mediterranean flavours and to the availability of quality produce. Samples on the opening menu include 'English breakfast tea and toast' (read: wild mushroom tea served in a teapot with relish and bone marrow toast), sea urchin risotto with Moreton Bay bug tail, and Zokoko alto beni chocolate soufflé with macadamia ice cream. Meanwhile turophiles (aka cheese piggies) will be over the moon. Atherton is promising a stack of tasty, cheese-focused morsels, such as Holy Goat La Luna goats' cheese, served with pickled fennel, bitter orange jam and cress. And breakfast will keep health-nuts happy, with dishes like organic seed and grain oatmeal porridge with pineapple, chilli and mint, and a lightly smoked flathead baked omelette with bacon and spring onion. Drinks will be planned by the man taking care of them everywhere else in The Old Clare, Matt Fairhurst, who’s been working with Atherton for years at City Social, London. He's been busying imagining, mixing and testing signature cocktails for every venue in the hotel. Kensington Street Social-ers can prepare themselves for the Fruit Looped Cereal Killer (vodka, Fruit Loop milk, apricot and Aperol served in a milk carton) and the Kahuna Colada (pineapple rum and Batch Brewing's coconut brown ale), which is already served in The Clare Bar. "I'm so excited to be opening my first restaurant in Sydney," says Atherton. "I'm all about sourcing the best produce, and here the ingredients are just incredible – Australian black truffles, the seafood – so I'm looking forward to using them to reinterpret a few of the signature dishes from my London restaurants." "I’ve had many Australian chefs in my brigade over the years, including my executive chef Rob and pastry chef Adrian Crabb, so it seemed like a natural step to come to Sydney and get the team back together." Shanghai's Neri & Hu came up with restaurant's design and Matt Darwon made it happen. It's a split-level affair with a feel that's contemporary, while still acknowledging the building's history as the long-time home of Carlton United Brewery. Kensington Street Social will open in The Old Clare Hotel on Wednesday, January 13. For more information, keep an eye on their website.
The London Riots have left us all a bit gobsmacked. On the 6th of August in Tottenham in the North of London what started out as peaceful demonstration against a recent police shooting turned into something quite different and unexpected — an outbreak of violence and the destruction of cars and homes and local businesses. And then the looting began. Over the next two to three days copycat riots and looting broke out over London, most notably in Peckham, Clapham and Brixton and then around the country in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham resulting in five related deaths and the worst rioting the country has seen since the 1980s. As large parts of the city were shut down and boarded up, the rest of the world looked on in shock as footage and information streamed out via mainstream and social media. The mainstream media questioned the politicians, the police response and the rioters motivations. A YouTube video, which has received in excess of four millions hits, was uploaded of a Malaysian student, bleeding and distressed, being 'helped up' by the crowd around him only then to be mugged by his supposed 'helpers'. A Tumblr site, Photshoplooter, sprang up, providing some much needed humour in a time which is anything but funny. In the aftermath of the riots, as the public, the politicians and the newspapers debate everything from increasing police powers to the impact the government's recent austerity measures have had on young people, the good people of London (and yes, there are quite a few of them) have got down to the business of cleaning up and rebuilding. RiotCleanup started as a twitter account in the early hours of the 9th of August and by the morning it was a website helping to organise an army of volunteers who wanted to help with the clean up. Building on its success, two recent architecture students, Lee Wilshire and Nick Varney, have set up Riotrebuild, which is dedicated to connecting people who have been affected by the riots with professional architects, builders and handyman to assist them to rebuild their homes, business and communities.
UK singer-songwriter Olivia Dean will make her ARIA Awards debut in Sydney this November, performing live just one day before a special headline show. ARIA confirmed the news today, announcing that Dean will take the stage at the Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday, November 19. The London-born artist will stick around for a one-off Sydney gig the following evening, before returning in 2026 for a full arena tour. "I love Australia and I'm so excited to perform at the 2025 ARIA Awards," Dean said in a statement. "This will be my first time at the awards ceremony, it's going to be lots of fun!" The announcement follows the release of Dean's sophomore album The Art of Loving, which dropped last week and is already climbing the ARIA charts. Its third single, 'Man I Need,' is sitting at #2 on the Singles chart and is tipped to go Platinum within a fortnight. This year's ARIA Awards are shaping up to be a big one, with Ninajirachi, Dom Dolla and RÜFÜS DU SOL among the top nominees. The ceremony will stream live on Paramount+ and air on Channel 10. Check out the full list of ARIA Award nominees. Images: Getty
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. THE DUKE Back in 1962, in the first-ever Bond film Dr No, the suave, Scottish-accented, Sean Connery-starring version of 007 admires a painting in the eponymous evil villain's underwater lair. That picture: Francisco Goya's Portrait of the Duke of Wellington. The artwork itself is very much real, too, although the genuine article doesn't appear in the feature. Even if the filmmakers had wanted to use the actual piece, it was missing at the time. In fact, making a joke about that exact situation is why the portrait is even referenced in Dr No. That's quite the situation: the debut big-screen instalment in one of cinema's most famous and longest-running franchises, and a saga about super spies and formidable villains at that, including a gag about a real-life art heist. The truth behind the painting's disappearance is even more fantastical, however, as The Duke captures. The year prior to Bond's first martini, a mere 19 days after the early 19th-century Goya piece was put on display in the National Gallery in London, the portrait was stolen. Unsurprisingly, the pilfering earned plenty of attention — especially given that the government-owned institution had bought the picture for the hefty sum of £140,000, which'd likely be almost £3 million today. International master criminals were suspected. Years passed, two more 007 movies hit cinemas, and there was zero sign of the artwork or the culprit. And, that might've remained the case if eccentric Newcastle sexagenarian Kempton Bunton hadn't turned himself in in 1965, advising that he'd gotten light-fingered in protest at the obscene amount spent on Portrait of the Duke of Wellington using taxpayer funds — money that could've been better deployed to provide pensioners with TV licenses, a cause Bunton had openly campaigned for (and even been imprisoned over after refusing to pay his own television fee). First, the not-at-all-inconsequential detail that's incongruous with glueing your eyes to the small screen Down Under: the charge that many countries collect for watching the box. Australia and New Zealand both abolished it decades ago, but it remains compulsory in the UK to this day. As played by Jim Broadbent (Six Minutes to Midnight), Bunton is fiercely opposed to paying, much to the embarrassment of his wife Dorothy (Helen Mirren, Fast and Furious 9) whenever the license inspectors come calling. He's even in London with his son Jackie (Fionn Whitehead, Voyagers) to attempt to spread the word about his fight against the TV fee for pensioners when Goya's painting is taken — that, and to get the BBC to produce the television scripts he devotedly pens and sends in, but receives no interest back from the broadcaster. Even the Bond franchise couldn't have dreamed up these specifics. The Duke's true tale is far wilder than fiction, and also so strange that it can only spring from reality. Directed by Roger Michell (My Cousin Rachel, Blackbird) — marking the British filmmaker's last fictional feature before his 2021 passing — it delivers its story with some light tinkering here and there, but the whole episode still makes for charming viewing. Much of the minutiae is shared during Bunton's court case, which could've jumped out of a Frank Capra movie; that's the feel-good vibe the movie shoots for and easily hits. Such a move couldn't be more astute for a flick that surveys an incident from more than half a century ago, but reaches screens in a world where the chasm between the haves and the have-nots just keeps widening. Yes, it's basically a pensioner-and-painting version of Robin Hood. Read our full review. MORBIUS Every studio wants a Marvel Cinematic Universe to call its own, or an equivalent that similarly takes a big bite out of the box office — and that very quest explains why Morbius exists. On the page, the character also known as 'the Living Vampire' has been battling Spider-Man since 1971. On the screen, he's now the second of the web-slinger's foes after Venom to get his own feature. This long-delayed flick, which was originally due to release before Venom: Let There Be Carnage until the pandemic struck, is also the third film in what's been dubbed Sony's Spider-Man Universe. As that name makes plain, the company is spinning its own on-screen world around everyone's favourite friendly neighbourhood superhero, because that's what it owns the rights to, and has started out focusing on villainous folks. So far, the movie magic hasn't flowed. If that explanatory opening paragraph felt like something obligatory that you had to get through to set the scene, it's meant to. That's how Morbius feels as well. Actually, that's being kinder than this draining picture deserves given it only has one purpose: setting up more films to follow. Too many movies in too many comic book-inspired cinematic universes share the same fate, because this type of filmmaking has primarily become $20-per-ticket feature-length episodes on a big screen — but it's particularly blatant here. Before the MCU's success, the bulk of Morbius would've been a ten-minute introduction in a flick about supervillains, and its mid-credits teasers would've fuelled the first act. Now, flinging every bit of caped crusader-adjacent material into as large a number of cinematic outings as possible is the status quo, and this is one of the most bloodless examples yet. Jumping over to the SSU from the DCEU — that'd be the DC Extended Universe, the pictures based around Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad and the like (but not including Joker or The Batman) — Jared Leto plays Morbius' eponymous figure. A renowned scientist, Dr Michael Morbius has a keen interest in the red liquid pumping through humans' veins stemming from his own health issues. As seen in early scenes set during his childhood, young Michael (Charlie Shotwell, The Nest) was a sickly kid in a medical facility thanks to a rare disease that stops him from producing new blood. There, under the care of Dr Emil Nikols (Jared Harris, Foundation), he befriended another unwell boy (debutant Joseph Esson), showed his smarts and earned a prestigious scholarship. As an adult, he now refuses the Nobel Prize for creating artificial plasma, then tries to cure himself using genes from vampire bats. Morbius sports an awkward tone that filmmaker Daniel Espinosa (Life) can't overcome; its namesake may be a future big-screen baddie, but he's also meant to be this sympathetic flick's hero — and buying either is a stretch. In the overacting Leto's hands, he's too tedious to convince as a threat or someone to root for. He's too gleefully eccentric to resemble anything more than a skit at Leto's expense, too. Indeed, evoking any interest in Morbius' inner wrestling (because saving his own life with his experimental procedure comes at a bloodsucking cost) proves plodding. It does take a special set of skills to make such OTT displays so pedestrian at best, though, and that's a talent that Leto keeps showing to the misfortune of movie-goers. He offers more restraint here than in Suicide Squad (not to be confused with The Suicide Squad), The Little Things, House of Gucci or streaming series WeCrashed, but his post-Dallas Buyers Club Oscar-win resume remains dire — Blade Runner 2049 being the sole exception. Read our full review. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 It was true in the 90s, and it remains that way now: when Jim Carrey lets loose, thrusting the entire might of his OTT comedic powers onto the silver screen, it's an unparalleled sight to behold. It doesn't always work, and he's a spectacular actor when putting in a toned-down or even serious performance — see: The Truman Show, The Majestic, I Love You Phillip Morris and his best work ever, the sublime Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — but there's a reason that the Ace Venture flicks, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber were some of the biggest movies made three decades back. Carrey is now a rarity in cinemas, but one franchise has been reminding viewers what his full-throttle comic efforts look like. Sadly, he's also the best thing about the resulting films, even if they're hardly his finest work. That was accurate in 2020's Sonic the Hedgehog, and it's the same of sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2 — which once again focuses on the speedy video game character but couldn't feel like more of a drag. The first Sonic movie established its namesake's life on earth, as well as his reason for being here. Accordingly, the blue-hued planet-hopping hedgehog (voiced by The Afterparty's Ben Schwartz) already made friends with small-town sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden, The Stand). He already upended the Montana resident's life, too, including Tom's plans to move to San Francisco with his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter, Mixed-ish). And, as well as eventually becoming a loveable member of the Wachowski family, Sonic also wreaked havoc with his rapid pace, and earned the wrath of the evil Dr Robotnik (Carrey, Kidding) in the process. More of the same occurs this time around, with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 taking a more-is-more approach. There's a wedding to ruin, magic gems to find and revenge on the part of Robotnik. He's teamed up with super-strong echidna Knuckles (voiced by The Harder They Fall's Idris Elba), in fact, while Sonic gets help from smart-but-shy fox Tails (voice-acting veteran Colleen O'Shaughnessey). Gone are the days when an animated critter's teeth caused internet mania. If that sentence makes sense to you, then you not only watched the first Sonic the Hedgehog — you also saw the chatter that erupted when its initial trailer dropped and the fast-running creature's humanised gnashers looked oh-so-disturbing. Cue a clean-up job that couldn't fix the abysmal movie itself, and an all-ages-friendly flick that still made such a ridiculous amount of money (almost $320 million worldwide) that this follow-up was inevitable. The fact that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 arrives a mere two years later does indeed smack of a rush job, and the end product feels that way from start to finish. That isn't the only task this swift second outing is keen to set up, with bringing in fellow Sega characters Knuckles and Tails the first step to making a Sonic Cinematic Universe. Yes, with Morbius reaching theatres on the exact same day as Sonic the Hedgehog 2, it's an ace time for sprawling start-up franchises sparked by a quest for cash rather than making great cinema — an ace time for the folks collecting the money, that is, but not for audiences. Both otherwise unrelated movies are flimsy, bland and woefully by-the-numbers, and seem to care little that they visibly look terrible thanks to unconvincing CGI. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 also falls victim to one of the worst traits seen in family-appropriate pictures: being happy to exist purely as a distraction. That means pointless needle drops that shoehorn in pop hits for no reason other than to give kids a recognisable soundtrack to grab their attention, and an exhausting need to whizz from scene to scene (and plot point to plot point) as if the film itself is suffering a sugar rush. Also covered: unnecessary pop-culture references, including inexplicably name-dropping Vin Diesel and The Rock, and also nodding to all things Indiana Jones. 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, March 17 and March 24. 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, Anonymous Club, X, River, Nowhere Special and RRR.
Boasting boutique accommodation, a poolside bar and an all-day bistro, Paddington's Oxford House added Bubsy's Wine and Record Bar to its offerings in 2023. It landed on Oxford Street with a P&V-curated wine list, Maybe Sammy leading the charge with the cocktails, Automata's Clayton Wells in charge of the food and a rotating list of special guests taking charge of the soundtrack. Soft lamp-lit ambience and velvety red carpets set the mood at the Paddington haunt, acting as a counterpoint to the venue's upbeat next-door neighbours, the bustling El Primo Sanchez, as well as the summer-ready Oxford House pool bar. With an intimate atmosphere and exciting drinks list, we're predicting Busby's will be an ongoing hit on Valentine's Day. Known for making eccentric drops more approachable, P&V's Mike Bennie has helped create an expansive wine list spanning bottles from Australia, France and Italy. [caption id="attachment_924013" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Parker Blain[/caption] Maybe Sammy's Paolo Maffietti has similarly ensured the cocktail list isn't too intimidating, sticking to just five signature drinks that are designed to complement the minimal-intervention vino. Sip on an Abbey Road — a combination of citrus gin, vermouth blanco, Davidson plum and champagne — or opt for the tequila, grappa and ginger wine mix of the Megatone. Public Hospitality's Group Creative Culinary Director Clayton Wells rounds out the offerings at Busby's with a snack menu you'll find difficult to turn down. Sydney rock oysters are topped with blackberry vinegar and roasted kelp oil, while the chicken liver parfait is partnered with spiced pineapple and liquorice. Then, there's the other key component of this wine and record bar: the music. Inspired by tuned-filled haunts around the world, Busby's is known to host residencies from beloved figures of Sydney's music scene. Go there with high expectations and be delighted to have them met. [caption id="attachment_924014" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Parker Blain[/caption] Images: Parker Blain and Jonny Valiant.
The Abercrombie is back! The storied corner pub and haven of electronic music is reopening in December thanks to Solotel who will be reviving the Ultimo venue, reintroducing its packed dance floors and 24-hour license to Sydney's nightlife. Mark Friday, December 23 in your diaries, as that's the date the pub will swing open its doors and kick things off in true Abercrombie fashion with a 36-hour-long party that will stretch from 5pm on the Friday all the way until 5am on Christmas Day morning. Just a few of the names making appearances across the bar's first 36 hours include Astral People DJs, dameeeela, Andy Garvey, Mike Who, Nomad Radio, Pure Space, Lovejoy, Ayebatonye and original regulars of the space back in its previous lifetime, Purple Sneakers DJs. Entry is free so you can pop in and out of the venue throughout the 36 hours if you're not ready to party for a day and a half straight. While you're at the revamped Abercrombie, you can explore the two new spaces opening as part of its reopening transformation. Head upstairs and you'll discover a sleek cocktail lounge and rooftop bar called Casa Rosa, or discover Lil Sis, a cosy wine bar and bottle shop located in the adjoining terraces next to the pub. [caption id="attachment_881870" align="alignnone" width="1920"] dameeeela[/caption] THE ABERCROMBIE 36-HOUR PARTY LINEUP: Andy Garvey Astral People DJ's Ayebatonye B_A Banquet DJ's Blueprint Bobby Vibe Positive Caravan Club Sweat DJ's Conspiracy Crew dameeeela Daniel Lupica eclectic. Edseven Gallery Recs Kali Lovejoy Mike Who Nomad Radio Paul Jextra People's Party Pure Space Purple Sneakers DJ's RAW Reenie Said Dami Undisclosed DJ's UNDR Ctrl DJ's Velodrome
Michelangelo's David means a whole lot of things to Western culture. He's a perfect specimen of the Renaissance man, all toned and taut and towering. He's a biblical hero; defeating Goliath in awe-inspiring fashion and becoming the original underdog. We've marvelled at his perfection for generations and now, he may be brought down by the fact he has weak ankles. It's poetic, really. Italian researchers have recently found a number of weak spots in the iconic statue's ankles they claim could be fatal — in as much as anything can be fatal to a statue — in the coming months. At a whopping 5,572kg, the BBC report David could collapse under his own weight if disturbed by as much as nearby roadworks. With microfractures also appearing in his legs and supporting tree stump, David's prognosis doesn't look great for a number of reasons. Firstly, the marble Michelangelo used is of a poor quality and fragile at the best of times. Secondly, his pose is naturally off-centre and La Gazetta del Sud reported that he was positioned on a dangerous angle in the city's main square for three centuries. Thirdly, he's 510 years old. You'd be showing some wear and tear at that age too. This isn't David's first time in the wars either. During a riot in 1529 he lost the lower half of his left arm and in 1991 he suffered a smashed toe at the hand of another artist. These injuries have all been restored and David regularly undergoes superficial restorations in the way of cleaning. But addressing these structural problems is a whole separate issue — is it our place to interfere or should we let David go out gracefully? Some historians have previously argued that David should go into hiding in order to retain his aura and if that is to happen, now seems like the opportune time. "I'd like to see [it] disappear for a couple of hundred years, so it's expunged from our consciousness and our popular references," said historical novelist Sarah Dunnant. "[Then] it can be found again — like the Statue of Liberty at the end of the Planet of the Apes — and seen again with a sense of awe." Maybe this is the answer. David's been on his feet for an awfully long time and perhaps he deserves a break. Surely any attempts to amend the structural integrity of his marble would end in some kind of humiliating amputation or plaster leg cast. At what point do we let history run its course? Picture it: the man who slew Goliath in one mighty blow taken down by his Achilles' heel. How appropriate. Via BBC and ABC.
Just because you're cooped at home doesn't mean you have to sink into a monotonous existence of spaghetti and canned tuna. You can, in face, add a bit of flair to your cooking repertoire without leaving the house, thanks to a new series of free virtual cooking classes from one of the world's greatest chefs. Massimo Bottura — the Michelin-starred chef behind Italy's famed Osteria Francescana (which is temporarily closed during Italy's nationwide lockdown) and Gucci's glam new LA eatery — is keeping his quarantined spirits high by sharing his culinary secrets with the masses via nightly tutorials live streamed on Instagram. The fittingly titled Kitchen Quarantine is designed to help spread feelings of connectivity, curb boredom and teach a few new tricks, at a time when an increasing chunk of the world's population is in lockdown (as Italy is), self-isolation or self distancing. And of course, with Bottura's famously cheery personality, the guy's just a total joy to watch. https://www.instagram.com/tv/B9zQFp3JbJM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Handily enough, the videos are in English, and they've so far covered dishes like a vegetable thai curry and cream tortellini. The show's live on Instagram nightly at 8pm CET, which is 6am AEDT, 5am in Brisbane and 8am NZDT. But if that's a little early, you can also catch the videos screened later on San Pellegrino's Fine Dining Lovers YouTube channel. Bottura's Instagram also has a series of Q&A's with the chef, which you can catch any time.
Back in 2020, which now seems a lifetime ago, St Jerome's Laneway Festival celebrated 15 years since Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio first decided to fill a Melbourne alleyway with tunes. The beloved fest marked that milestone with a characteristically jam-packed lineup that made its way to Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Fremantle, as well as Auckland — but since then, it's been quiet thanks to the pandemic. After two Laneway-less years, the festival has finally locked in dates for its 2023 return — plus new venues for four of its five Australian stops. The festival will kick off in Auckland, returning to Albert Park for the long weekend of Auckland Anniversary Day on Monday, January 30. From there it will arrive in Brisbane on Saturday, February 4, Sydney on Sunday, February 5, Adelaide on Friday, February 10, Melbourne on Saturday, February 11 and Perth on Sunday, February 12. Across these five Australian dates, the Brisbane venue is the only one that has remained consistent from the festival's 2020 run of shows, taking to Brisbane Showgrounds again. The Melbourne leg of the festival has been forced to move away from its previous home at Footscray Park and will now pop up at the newly opened Epsom Road venue The Park in Flemington. The Park has an on-site train station and is located just 15 minutes from the CBD. [caption id="attachment_655626" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anthony Smith[/caption] In Sydney, after 10 years at Sydney College of the Arts and Callan Park, Laneway 2020's Sydney date shifted to The Domain. Now for 2023, it's moved again and will be making its home at the Sydney Showground. Sydneysiders will associate the Showground with the Sydney Royal Easter Show, but this won't be its first time hosting a major touring music festival, as it was once the regular home for the now-defunct Big Day Out. The South Australian leg has moved from Port Adelaide's Hart's Mill to the Adelaide CBD's Bonython Park, and, in the biggest move, the Western Australia leg will be going down at the recently revamped Wellington Square. "The Laneway Festival team is constantly looking for ways to improve and enhance the patron and artist experience and each of the sites will allow us to bring in A+ production and facilities. We are absolutely pumped to host music fans and our favourite ever line-up on these new sites," Laneway Festival co-Founder Danny Rogers said. If you're hanging out to know who will be gracing the stage next year, you'll have to wait a couple more days. The lineup is set to drop at 7.40am this Wednesday, September 21. In 2020, the lineup was headed up by the likes of The 1975, Charli XCX and Earl Sweatshirt, as well as a host of local favourites like Ruel, DMA's and Ocean Alley. View this post on Instagram A post shared by St. Jerome's Laneway Festival (@lanewayfest) St Jerome's Laneway Festival will return to Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth between Monday, January 30 and Sunday, February 12. Head to the festival's social pages for all the info on its 2023 edition and for next year's lineup when it drops this Wednesday, September 21.
Experienced Henrietta's Lebanese-style charcoal chook? Now it's easier to get a taste with a new outpost landing in Parramatta Square. Bringing its signature blend of Middle Eastern spice and Aussie spirit to Sydney's west, this brand-new ESCA Group venue is primed for laidback weeknight feasts and all-in group gatherings. While the chicken remains the star of the show, the new location has a few exclusive menu items that will have Henrietta diehards hanging out for a bite. Foremost of these is the sujuk arayes, featuring a crispy pita loaded with spiced sujuk, sumac onion, pickled cabbage, parsley and toum. Meanwhile, the sumac-cured salmon comes complete with tomato kisir, Aleppo pepper and a lettuce cup. As for something sweet, the Beirut Chocolate combines tantalising pistachio kataifi with a delicate chocolate crumb for maximum pastry pleasure. Of course, the headline charcoal chicken is tough to beat, flame-grilled to perfection and served with toum, pickles, Lebanese bread and your choice of sides. "Cooking over charcoal is what makes Henrietta special. It's not just about the technique – it's about the flavour, the experience, and the energy it brings to the kitchen. The intense heat caramelises, chars, and enhances every ingredient, creating deep, smoky, rich flavours you just can't get any other way," says Luca Lonati, Executive Chef at Henrietta. Complementing your next feast at Henrietta is a curated drinks menu. Spanning a bold blend of cocktails, local brews and refreshing non-alc options, expect favourites like the Sour Cherry Negroni, Spicy Passionfruit Margarita, and Lychee Cosmo, featuring vodka, lychee, pomegranate and lime. Meanwhile, there are numerous wines to explore from top-quality Australian and international estates. Moving into the former home of Italian diner Cicciabella, Henrietta Parramatta brings a cool balance of warmth and edge. Combining high ceilings with rich wood textures and sleek aluminium accents, this design brings an energetic atmosphere that pairs perfectly with the flame-kissed action happening in the kitchen. With capacity for 80 inside and another 20 in the al fresco area, it's the ideal choice for low-key takeaway or an upbeat get-together with pals. "Parramatta has been on our radar for a while – it's got a dynamic energy, a thriving food scene, and a growing appetite for bold flavours," says Ibrahim Moubadder, Co-Founder of ESCA Group. "We're all about sharing great food, great vibes, and a little bit of fire – literally. We can't wait to bring Henrietta to the west." Henrietta Parramatta is open Monday–Friday from 11.30am–3pm and 5pm–9pm, and Saturday–Sunday from 12pm–3pm and 5pm–9pm at 3 Parramatta Square, 153 Macquarie Street, Parramatta. Head to the website for more information. Images: Jiwon Kim.
Raise a glass to your next four must-visit vino spots: the winners of the 2022 Wineslinger Awards. Every year since 2018, these hospitality gongs have singled out the best places to get sipping, including via a Top 50 list and handing out four trophies. And for this year, ready to help shape your bar choices for 2023, all of the above is now here. Wineslinger isn't actually about vino itself, or bars in general. As the name makes plain, it's focused on watering holes that specialise in wine. Only four awards are handed out each year, covering the best Wineslinger, Best New Haunt, the Maverick prize for venues that push the limits and the People's Choice gong. While the first three awards are voted on by more than 100 industry experts, the latter stems from vino aficionados at home. [caption id="attachment_623526" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To.[/caption] Nabbing the big prize this year: Sydney's Dear Sainte Éloise, which was recognised for its focus "on organic and biodynamic producers who work with as little winemaking intervention as possible", as well as its hefty 550-plus wine list. "Over the last five years, owners Matt Swieboda and Nate Hatwell have firmly cemented a new institution to pair with their legendary wine bar, Love, Tilly Devine," said the Young Gun of Wine team, which runs Wineslinger, announcing the win. "There's a by-the-glass list of about 25 – plus saké and fortifieds – with new or featured wines chalked up daily. There's also a low-waste, sustainable undercurrent to the venue that extends to the menu where whole beasts are sourced to utilise every last piece of the animal. And the produce, like the wine, is organic or biodynamic, except for the rare exception." [caption id="attachment_623522" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To.[/caption] The Potts Point spot took out the gong after Melbourne's Embla nabbed it in 2021, and the Carlton Wine Room in 2020. In 2022, Victoria's wine spots made a showing courtesy of the Best New Haunt prize, a rather self-explanatory field, which went to Bar Merenda in Daylesford. In the Maverick category, Perth's Tetsun emerged victorious, marking the second year in a row that the award has gone to a venue in the Western Australia capital. It got the nod for being "a wine bar that steps away from rigid formality to add a splash of fun," the awards advised. "Styling itself as a neo-Italian neighbourhood osteria, the room has a lively, loud and rambunctious atmosphere, which made an immediate impact since opening in the heart of inner-Perth nightlife hub Mount Lawley in mid-2022." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Young Gun of Wine (@younggunofwine) And, the People's Choice went to an Adelaide venue, also for the second year running. The winner: bottle shop and tasting room Bowden Cellars. Just like in 2021, all four winners hailed from different cities. The Wineslinger Awards were created by Rory Kent, who also founded the Young Gun of Wine Awards. Where the latter prize aims to recognise stellar up-and-comers, the former is all about excellent and innovative places where vino lovers can enjoy an ace drop. Wineslinger also releases a list of top places to drink wine across the country each year, with 2022's rundown revealed back in November. The 50 spots span everywhere from Sydney's 10 William Street, Monopole and Poly to Melbourne's Bar Liberty, Old Palm Liquor and Public Wine Shop — plus Brisbane's La Lune Wine Co, Maeve and Wineism as well. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Young Gun of Wine (@younggunofwine) For further details about the 2022 Wineslinger Award winners, visit the awards' website. Top image: Dear Sainte Eloise, Nikki To.
It's a scientific fact that the only way to survive summer is to get down to a luxurious beach resort and lie still in the shade like a lizard, rising only for an occasional dip in the pool. Bannisters Pavilion also know this, and have built one such luxury resort on NSW's pretty, pretty South Coast. And it looks so good that, honestly, we can't wait for the brutal heat of summer to hit so we can head out to Mollymook Beach and get our lizard on. The Bannisters chain are all set to open their newest boutique hotel in the picturesque beachside town next week, and it's only 100m from the beachfront. The place has been cleverly designed to let you move seamlessly between the best parts of a holiday — between the private lounge, bar and grill and suspended pool, that is. The rooftop is the hub of aforementioned activities and also features a full menu inspired by Mediterranean, Southern Californian and Mexican cuisines (i.e. the most summery places in the world), as well as booze for days. Bannisters Pavilion was crafted by a crack team of designers and blends accents of the Aussie landscape (eucalypt and sea) with a nuance of Scandinavian design. The best part, though, is the size — the whole resort consists of only 33 guest rooms and two penthouse suits, which means you won't be fighting anyone for a recliner or have to navigate through hordes of screaming kiddies in the pool. Thanks team, you know us well. Oh, and did we mention there's a day spa? Yep, summer is coming — and it's gonna be fancy. Bannisters Pavilion will open on Tuesday, December 1 at 191 Mitchell Parade, Mollymook Beach. For more information, visit their website.
Being selected for the Melbourne International Film Festival's Bright Horizons is an achievement. Only one movie each year can take home the competition's $140,000 prize, however. 2025's just-announced victor: A Poet, which follows a once-celebrated literary figure who is having trouble writing, premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and marks the second feature by Simón Mesa Soto (Amparo). The fest's annual competition for emerging filmmakers has given its coveted accolade to "a tragicomic satire and microcosm of melancholy and irreverence", as the Bright Horizons Jury led by Aftersun director Charlotte Wells described A Poet. The same group also made its pick for MIFF's Best Australian Director of 2025, with photographer James J Robinson winning the award for his filmmaking debut First Light. Bright Horizons has been part of MIFF's program since 2022, when Australia's oldest film festival started its yearly prize for new directorial voices. Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost won the award in its initial year — which Aftersun contended for — followed by Senegalese-French love story Banel & Adama in 2023, then Canadan dramedy Universal Language in 2024. "A Poet depicts Óscar, a failed poet turned reluctant mentor drifting between aspiration and self-destruction. The film is a biting fable of art as both an inescapable burden and a personal compass, breaking convention through its refreshingly brisk pace, unpretentious use of 16mm cinematography, deadpan performances by a mostly first-timer cast and pared-back jazzy score," the 2025 jury continued about A Poet. "The film's balancing act of unflinching character study and social satire marks Simón Mesa Soto as a vital voice in contemporary Latin American cinema." [caption id="attachment_1018710" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dijana Risteska[/caption] Of First Light — a Bright Horizons competitor, too — as the Best Australian Director recipient, Wells, Pavements and Videoheaven director Alex Ross Perry, Harvest filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari, composer and musician Caitlin Yeo (Last Days of the Space Age), author and screenwriter Nam Le (The Boat), performer Tamala (Late Night with the Devil) and IMDb founder Col Needham said: "James J Robinson's First Light is a moving and powerful meditation on faith, institutional corruption and moral awakening". "The film is anchored by a pitchperfect performance from Ruby Ruiz [Expats] and a sensorial mise en scène, inviting the audience into the spiritual grandeur of the landscape and the sacred intimacy of the convent to interrogate, alongside Sister Yolanda, not only the crime at hand, but also the Catholic Church and modern society itself." "As the first Australia–Philippines co-production to debut at MIFF, First Light not only showcases Robinson's promise as a cineaste but also marks a noteworthy milestone in cross-cultural cinema." 2025 is the third year of MIFF's Uncle Jack Charles Award, aka the First Nations Film Creative Award, as won this year by Yarrenyty Arltere Artists the art direction of short The Fix-It-Man and the Fix-It-Wooman. If you went to the festival and had your say in the Audience Award voting, you also contributed to 2025's winners lineup, too. After Australian documentaries Voice and Left Write Hook shared the accolade in 2024, another has won it outright in 2025: the aged care-focused Careless. For those who haven't caught them at MIFF, add the recipients of this year's accolades to your must-see list ASAP. Check out the trailers for A Poet, Careless andThe Fix-It-Man and the Fix-It-Wooman below: The 2025 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 7–Sunday, August 24. For more information, visit the MIFF website. Bright Horizons Jury image: Dijana Risteska.
The dusty expanse of a post-apocalyptic world. Life before everything changed forever. Bunker existence. Giant robotic suits. All of the above are set to feature in Fallout season two — as they did in the show's first season — and Prime Video has just dropped a series of first-look images to give viewers a glimpse at what's in store. After premiering in 2024 and becoming one of the platform's top-three most-watched shows ever, notching up more than 100-million viewers globally, the game-to-screen hit is returning for its second season in December 2025. There's no exact release date yet, and there isn't a trailer so far either, but you can get a peek via the new pictures from upcoming episodes. Yes, this is a blast — as was the news earlier in 2025 that Fallout has already been renewed for a third season. Clearly, if you bring a massively beloved video game to TV in the right way, as season one did, then viewers will come flocking. We all know that that worked for The Last of Us as well, with its second season already airing this year and a third also in the works. For season two of Fallout, audiences can look forward not only to picking up where season one's finale left off, but to venturing through the Mojave wasteland to New Vegas — and to more time spent with stars Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), Walton Goggins (The White Lotus) and Aaron Moten (Emancipation) as Lucy, The Ghoul and Maximus, respectively. When it dropped its initial eight episodes in 2024, Fallout took its cues from the games that first debuted on computers back in 1997, with three released sequels, a fourth on the way and seven spinoffs all following. The live-action television iteration follows Lucy, a lifelong vault-dweller, who leaves her cosy underground digs to navigate the irradiated wasteland that earth has remained for two centuries after the nuclear apocalypse. Crossing her path: bounty hunter The Ghoul, who has ties to life before the devastation; and Maximus, an aspiring soldier with the Brotherhood of Steel, who don those huge mechanical outfits. In this nightmarish future, a hellscape filled with mutants, wild west vibes and plenty of violence awaits beyond the bunker that the optimistic Lucy, daughter of Hank (Kyle MacLachlan, Overcompensating), who oversees Vault 33, has always called home. Bringing the chaos to life is a behind-the-scenes team featuring Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, as well as Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Captain Marvel) and Graham Wagner (Silicon Valley) as writers and co-showrunners. And yes, Bethesda Game Studios has a hand in it as well. There's no trailer for Fallout season two yet, but you can check out the trailer for season one below: Fallout streams via Prime Video. Season two will arrive in December 2025 — we'll update you with an exact release date when one is announced. Read our review of season one, and our interview with Walton Goggins, Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten. Images: courtesy of Prime Video.
Sydney's inner west is known for its shop local mentality; it has heaps of independently owned and family-run businesses to choose from, and this is especially true in Marrickville where different cultural heritages have combined to proudly offer cuisines from the homeland. If you consider yourself a foodie, it's a suburb you should get to know better if only for its award-winning coffee beans, Greek-style souvlaki shops and locally made craft brews. However, it's not all about what you can eat. In Marrickville, you'll also discover vintage homewares, speciality florists and many other gems besides. We've teamed up with American Express to bring you a hit list of the stores you should make time to explore, so whether you're here for meat, cheese, coffee or fresh buds, you can shop small with your Amex Card.
When the first motion pictures flickered across the big screen 120-plus years ago, audiences were reportedly scared. The line between truth, embellishment and fiction has become muddled over time, but the idea viewers were astonished and startled when they watched the Lumière brothers' famous The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station makes one hell of an urban legend. That was back in 1896. As we know all these years later, cinema hasn't stopped causing bumps and jumps since. The world's first horror film is thought to have released the same year — Georges Méliès' three-minute short called The House of the Devil — and plenty of folks have taken his lead afterwards. Today, that means horror's on-screen cup truly runneth over. Thanks to streaming, a wealth of unnerving flicks linger at everyone's fingertips. If you prefer celebrating Halloween by dimming the lights, popping some corn and getting cosy on the couch for a marathon of unsettling movies, we've put together ten classic recommendations — from creepy vampire films that are almost a century old to more modern must-sees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hQ40cI5C0E NEAR DARK Before she took Keanu Reeves surfing in Point Break, tasked Jeremy Renner with defusing bombs in The Hurt Locker and dramatised the international manhunt for Osama bin Laden in Zero Dark Thirty — and before she became the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar, too — Kathryn Bigelow sunk her teeth into the vampire genre. Near Dark, her 1987 sophomore film, takes elements of the western genre, throws in a clan of roving bloodsuckers and lets atmospheric horror thrills ensue. Bigelow's work has always been lean but weighty, and her dance with the fanged undead is no different. In fact, it's a flat-out vamp classic. Near Dark is available to stream on SBS On Demand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX5SG_2n4sM TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME As 2017's Twin Peaks revival proved, no one conjures up unsettling imagery quite like David Lynch. He's been thrusting eerie visuals out into the world since 1977's Eraserhead — but if you like your Lynchian unease with some damn fine coffee and a slice of cherry pie, there's nothing better than 1992's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Set in the lead-up to Laura Palmer's (Sheryl Lee) death, the prequel flick burrows deep into the sinister forces at play. It's a movie of sheer dread, even though viewers know what's going to happen. As only he can, Lynch steeps every frame in the pain, terror and suffering of his doomed protagonist, all while baking in his usual surrealist touches. No wonder it lingers long after watching, like the two seasons of Twin Peaks before it and the belated third season that followed 25 years later. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is available to stream on Stan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyW5YXDcIGs THE EXORCIST Back in 1973, the horror genre was possessed — and it has never truly recovered. That's not a criticism; The Exorcist is a landmark piece of spine-tingling cinema, with William Friedkin's film leaving a heavy imprint on everything that's followed. It even became the first horror flick to score an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, a feat that's still much more rare than it should be. When a movie spends the bulk of its time with a 12-year-old girl (Linda Blair) whose body has been overtaken by a demon, as well as with the two priests (Max von Sydow and Jason Miller) trying to cast the devil out and save her soul, it's going to make an impact. The fact that the film was based on a William Peter Blatty novel inspired by real-life exorcisms also helped, as did Friedkin's handling of Blatty's script, which gives the supernatural details a raw, visceral feel. The Exorcist is available to stream on Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-daIHTY4NQ BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER How funky is your chicken? How loose is your goose? And, to keep the questions going, how well do you remember the original Buffy? Before Sarah Michelle Gellar stepped into her shoes in the cult TV show, everyone's favourite vampire slayer shouted the above cheers, took guidance from Donald Sutherland, battled Rutger Hauer and romanced Luke Perry in the 1992 big-screen comedy. The Joss Whedon-scripted flick still takes its premise seriously, but there's a looser vibe to the movie than the television series. And a thoroughly early 90s vibe, as well. While you're enjoying the undead-killing antics, keep an eye out for everyone from Hilary Swank to Thomas Jane and Ben Affleck among the cast, too. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is available to stream on Foxtel Now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmvQ_ii42mc HALLOWEEN This time last year, the latest Halloween film hit cinemas. In 2020 and 2021, sequels Halloween Kills and then Halloween Ends will reach the big-screen in late October. But, when it comes to the absolutely best franchise for this time of year, 2019 is unfortunately an anomaly. While Michael Myers isn't terrorising a theatre near you at this very moment, John Carpenter's original 1979 flick is always worth revisiting — in the slasher-thriller realm, it's an utter masterclass. From Jamie Lee Curtis' pitch-perfect performance as formidable babysitter Laurie Strode, to the pervasive air of unease looming over suburbia and Carpenter's own exceptionally unnerving score, the original Halloween is both supremely scary and sublime. Halloween is available to stream from the Apple Store. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJew_11l6n8 HOUSEBOUND Scaring cinemagoers while simultaneously making them laugh isn't as easy as it might sound. Plenty of films call themselves horror-comedies, but they're usually just comedies with horror theming — and they're about as sinister as clown without makeup. While 2014 New Zealand picture Housebound falls into the tried-and-tested sub-genre that is haunted house flicks, writer/director Gerard Johnstone finds the ideal balance between spooks and giggles, all by following a small-time criminal placed on house arrest. Kylie (Morgana O'Reilly) would rather be anywhere but stuck at home for eight months with her mother (Rima Te Wiata); however she soon discovers that they have company in a movie that serves up jumps and chuckles in tandem. Housebound is available to stream on SBS On Demand and Tubi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NOipA99GxY NOSFERATU It's the best Dracula film that doesn't actually mention the word "Dracula". In fact, when FW Murnau adapted Bram Stoker's gothic classic in 1922 without getting permission to do so, a court ordered that the movie be destroyed. Thankfully, a few prints survived, which is how we can still soak in the wonders of Nosferatu. Even with a few changes (the famed bloodsucker is now called Count Orlock, for example) the story lures viewers in, but it's not just the plot that's captivating. As proves the case with all German Expressionist cinema from the 1920s, it's how the tale is told in a visual sense that makes an enormous impact. Also significant today, almost a century later, is how free Nosferatu is from everything that's since become a vampire cliche — with the film cutting to the heart of Stoker's disquieting narrative instead. Nosferatu is available to stream on Tubi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyWuHv2-Abk TRAIN TO BUSAN Forget Snakes on a Plane — if you want to see what happens when something scary is let loose in a confined space, but you don't want to cringe the whole time, opt for zombies on a train instead. Yeon Sang-ho's instant classic doesn't use the obvious moniker; however this frenetic thrill ride definitely fits the description. It's far, far better than that simplistic outline might seem to suggest, though. As well as forcing a father (Gong Yoo) and daughter (Kim Su-an) to fend off the shuffling hordes while they're in mid-transit, and fleshing its protagonists out more than most zombie flicks manage, Train to Busan also paints a probing picture of modern-day South Korean society. It's part of a franchise, too, with animated prequel Seoul Station exploring another aspect of the outbreak, and a sequel is also in the works. Train to Busan is available to stream on Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWin2LZkvrA THE CRAFT Is a horror classic really a horror classic if it hasn't spawned a remake? In The Craft's case, no one will need to ponder this question for much longer. A new version is currently in the works, but that doesn't mean that the 90s original is going anywhere — and if you like your retro horror fun packaged with teen goth witches, then you'll always want to go back to where it all began. Starring Neve Campbell, Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk and Rachel True, the 1996 hit charts the fallout when a group of high-schoolers start messing around with the occult and using it to rule the school. It owes a significant debt to Heathers, just with added witches, but The Craft still casts its own enjoyable spell. The Craft is available to stream on on Google Play. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7hLdktC_jY THE STUFF If you ever come across a gooey substance on the ground, don't eat it. Things don't turn out well when this exact scenario happens in 1985 satirical horror/sci-fi The Stuff — especially after the titular substance is sold in supermarkets, marketed as being calorie-free and starts a huge food craze. Where it goes from there is best discovered by watching, but don't expect anything in the way of subtlety or realism. Larry Cohen sits in the director's chair, and this is the kind of playful horror fun that the prolific B-movie filmmaker was known for. Everyone needs their spooks with a dose of silliness now and then, after all. The Stuff is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Some bands are born from skill, passion and a garage strewn with beer cans, but others are born from the shrewd minds of television producers (or at least a combination of the two). Flight of the Conchords might be the one of the biggest players in guitar-based digi-bongo a cappella-rap-funk-comedy folk spheres, but they're not the first great band to have emerged from behind a television screen (via stage and radio, to be fair). To celebrate the Conchords' upcoming tour, here are ten made-for-TV bands that have rocked the tube in decades gone by. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ehJNw-T3gpo 1. THE MONKEES Three No. 1 singles, six Top 10s, 12 Top 40s and a total of 20 Hot 100 singles. The Monkees weren't just made for television — they were made for world domination. Commanding the charts during one rock 'n' roll's most significant periods and staging a showdown against the producers who banned them from actually playing any instruments on early records, The Monkees helped define authenticity in rock. R.I.P. Davy Jones. https://youtube.com/watch?v=kFohA6mKFjc 2. MISSION CONTROL (FREAKS & GEEKS) Before James Franco was a multi-talented actor/director/writer/grad student he was a small-time guitarist (and a bit of an asshole) on NBC's Freaks and Geeks. The short-lived cult TV show was excellent for many reasons, one of the best being the quote "Rock 'n' Roll don't come from your brain! It come from your crotch!" https://youtube.com/watch?v=27EVNiKDR4k 3. ZACK ATTACK (SAVED BY THE BELL) Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris was involved in a range of extra-curricular activities, but none were so memorable as his role as lead singer and lead guitarist in Zack Attack. The band never achieved the success that it did in Zack's dreams, but it definitely made the show that much more awesome. https://youtube.com/watch?v=B7-IoFyp_68 4. DINGOES ATE MY BABY (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) Can't think of a name for your band? Why not turn to notorious stories involving the death of small children for inspiration? Pushing past the awkward name, Dingoes Ate My Baby weren't actually that bad for a post-grunge, pre-emo rock band. Probably because the more tastefully named Four Star Mary provided all their music. https://youtube.com/watch?v=8ti8-vEM3U8 5. JESSE AND THE RIPPERS (FULL HOUSE) It's not every made-for-television band that still has a frequently updated Facebook page 17 years after the demise of the television show, but it's not every made-for-television band member who had hair like Jesse Katsopolis. Hit songs included "Forever", and several hundred Beach Boys cover songs. https://youtube.com/watch?v=qCIKg3YREHY 6. FROZEN EMBRYOS (MY SO-CALLED LIFE) Also living on through Facebook are Frozen Embryos from ABC's My So-Called Life. The lead singer is the elusive Tino, who isn't actually seen in any episode. He is, however, mentioned in Juno when Ellen Page's character says her band should be ready to rock "once Tino gets a new drumhead". Rock lives! https://youtube.com/watch?v=IXMFKmiNyvk 7. DR TEETH AND THE ELECTRIC MAYHEM (THE MUPPETS) You know you've struck the right chord when your band inspires the name of a hipster dive in San Francisco's Mission district. Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem mostly stick to rock music, but it's arguable that they do a better rendition of Chopin than Chopin. https://youtube.com/watch?v=0B9wJ7EwcN4 8. SCRANTONICITY (THE OFFICE) A Police cover band with Kevin as the drummer and lead singer. This has "magnificently awkward" written all over it. https://youtube.com/watch?v=8sITlZo5r84 9. MYSTIK SPIRAL (DARIA) The fictional grunge rock band from Daria helped confirm one of lyricisms irrefutable truths: coherence is no way near as important as a good rhyme. Okay so that might not always be true, but Mystik Sprial were way cool and totally would have scored the big break they deserved had they only managed to agree upon the perfect band name. https://youtube.com/watch?v=rXWaVz4yogI 10. DETHKLOK (METALOCALYPSE) Say what you will about virtual melodic death metal as a whole, but you have to hand it to Dethklok for achieving such widespread commercial success that they were ranked as the world's seventh largest economy by the end of Metalocalypse's second season. And while the real-life version of the band hasn't achieved quite this level of success, they do still play regular shows.
Holidaying looks different to every single one of us. Rancho Relaxo is the destination of choice for many, some want to shop their way through a city, while others feel sunrise hikes and fully booked itineraries are the only way to go. If you're seeking a destination that will suit every type of travel companion, we've found it: the Southern Highlands. The region has plenty to offer, from boutique wineries and produce-driven cafes to lush bushy surrounds with an abundance of ways to relax or adventure. And, to seal the deal, Tiny Homes Joadja has four luxuriously appointed, off-grid tiny homes that are pretty unbeatable in terms of places to stay. To make life easy, together with Tiny Homes Joadja, we've curated some of the must-have experiences in the region no matter who you're holidaying with. HOLIDAYING WITH A WILDLIFE LOVER Booking a few nights in Elevation delivers proximity to creatures large and small — think eastern grey kangaroos, red necked wallabies and swathes of birds — making it a wildlife lover's dream getaway. The home for two is set in a small clearing and has large windows framing towering gums and native scrub. Here, a game of creature spotto from your plush queen bed is all in an arvo's work; and you're just a skip from the Wingecarribee River, a known spot for platypus nests. A short drive will see you arrive in charming Berrima. Meander through the eucalypts along the Berrima River Walk, keeping your eyes peeled for the ever-elusive resident platypuses. Hot tip: set out for your day in the early morning light for a better chance of spying on the shy little guys. Drive half an hour down Nowra Road and you'll be at Fitzroy Falls, a lush site teeming with birdlife. Spot cockatoos (glossy blacks and gang-gangs), honeyeaters and golden whistlers — and try to catch the incredible mimicry of a lyrebird. Then, mix some flora with the fauna along the Wildflower Walking Track. On your way back to your teeny abode, pass through Wildes Meadow and grab a classic country feed at a classic country pub, Burrawang Village Hotel. Never enough critter sightings for you? Book a Southern Highlands Wildlife Day Tour and discover the best spots to spy koalas, wombats and sugar gliders. HOLIDAYING WITH A COUNTRY-TOWN ENTHUSIAST Small bakeries with long lines, stores selling covetable homewares and quiet brick-lined streets — it's easy to be seduced by the charm of a country town. If you're travelling with someone who's forever looking to slow things down (without ditching city comforts), a Southern Highlands town-crawl is the trip for you — and Wilson's Rest offers the ideal home base. Start your meandering in Mittagong, the town heralding your arrival to the Southern Highlands from Sydney. Pop into the antique shop on Main Street for a treasure to take home, then head to The Boston Ivy for brekkie. Nab a few treats from Ms Peacock (maybe a Birthday Cake Bar or Buttercrunch Toffee) before continuing on to Bowral. Feeling regal? Head to Dirty Janes to sip tea from fine bone china within the high-ceilinged space full of vintage curios, or go all-in with a high tea. In Berrima, there's a cute country post office worth a little look, and Mrs Oldbuck's Pantry for your local jam and honey needs. Your tiny home awaits for when you need to rest those legs. Spend the night fireside, gazing up at the expanse of stars, before crawling into your lofted queen bed. HOLIDAYING WITH A LOVER If you're loved-up and looking for picturesque surroundings that mirror the way you feel, The Rapids has you sorted. It's based right on the riverfront and has a cute kitchenette, fireplace and a stunning view from the bed — so no one will blame you should you choose not to venture far. But, if you're up for some exploring, cute and couply activities are nearby. After getting caffeinated via the in-house roasted beans at Rush Roasting Co, sip your way from cellar door to cellar door, sampling cool-climate drops from boutique producers. The vast Southern Highlands Winery estate will welcome you with a glass of homegrown pinot, and the cellar door at Cherry Tree Hill has more than one award-winning tipple on offer. Head to Joadja Estate around lunchtime to taste vino from the oldest vineyard in the Highlands before soaking up the booze with rice paper rolls or vermicelli salad from on-site Vietnamese food truck Ms Pho Canteen. The task of the evening? Deciding between a night in under the stars at The Rapids and a booking at Eschalot, the seasonally driven fine diner in Berrima. HOLIDAYING WITH YOUR WHOLE GANG Travelling with more than one other person? Lock in a weekend with your pals at The River Cottage, a cosy property on the banks of Wingecarribee River that sleeps up to eight. With both an indoor fireplace and an outdoor fire pit, plus a porch that overlooks the river, this charming cottage is a great spot to recharge those friendship batteries with long evenings of beers, board games and buzzing conversation. Your chances of seeing wildlife on the property are pretty high (you'll be only 20 metres from the riverfront, after all). But if you want a guarantee of an up-close encounter, pay a visit to Australian Wildlife Sanctuary. Afterward, swing by the ever-popular Bendooley Estate to browse the shelves at The Berkelouw Book Shop and perhaps enjoy a vino by the stone fireplace. Or, to soak up more nature, time your visit to the region with the Tulip Festival in Bowral. If spending an extended period of time with your best mates (a rare occurrence these days) has you feeling like a little kid again, plan a quick stop at The Big Potato in Robertson, then stock up on sweet treats at Lolly Swagman or Gumnut Patisserie. Or, for a more substantial feed, pay a visit to Bowral cafe Veggie Nook. For more information on Tiny Homes Joadja and to book your escape, visit the website.
Maybe you're desperate to hit up a Super Nintendo theme park. Perhaps you've always wanted to walk across Shibuya's famous scramble crossing. Or, you might just want to sing karaoke in a ferris wheel. Whichever applies — and if you'd prefer to scope out the Studio Ghibli museum, wander through a kaleidoscopic maze of digital art, or hit up all the izakaya or ramen joints possible, too — travellers from Australia and New Zealand now can on a trip to Japan. Before the pandemic, Japan had cemented itself as a favourite holiday destination for tourists from Down Under, but making the journey has been impossible for the past few years due to both local and Japanese border restrictions. Then, back in May, the Japanese government started trialling letting strictly controlled package tours — including with Aussies — into the country. Now, from Friday, June 10, it has broadened its entry rules and reopened to visitors from a heap of nations, albeit still with strict requirements in place. So, if a Tokyo trip has been at the top of your post-restrictions bucket list, that's now a possibility. The huge caveat: you can only head to Japan as part of controlled package tours. That means that travellers from Australia and NZ will need to be visiting with organised tours in conjunction with travel agencies, and must be chaperoned during their whole stay. Visitors also need to test negative to COVID-19 before leaving for Japan, wear masks everywhere — including outdoors — and have private medical insurance to cover your trip. And, physical distancing, sanitising and washing your hands frequently, and minimising time in shared dining areas is also required. The changed rules place Australia and New Zealand into the 'blue' band of countries under Japan's new border entry system, alongside 50-plus other nations. That's the highest tier, above yellow (which has vaccination and testing requirements) and red (which has even tighter vaccination and testing rules). In total, folks from 98 countries can now head to Japan — but there's also an entry cap of 20,000 people per day. Japan has reopened for package tours from 98 countries from Friday, June 10. For further details about visiting Japan and its border restrictions, head to the Government of Japan website.
Beloved inner west brewery Hawke's Brewing Co's newly built 2100-square-metre Marrickville brewery is set to play home to a brand new venue paying homage to 1980s pubs and the beer's namesake. The brewery has announced its flagship venue, The Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre, will open on Thursday, March 31, boasting a retro fit-out, a bistro and the full range of Hawke's beers. The 300-seat venue comes on the cusp of Hawke's five-year anniversary. Inside you'll find a pub or community centre style restaurant and bar, decked out with wood panelling inspired by Old Parliament House. As you walk through the venue, you'll find walls lined with steel brewing tanks, a patio area, and a pool room, filled with Bob Hawke memorabilia. Food-wise, patrons can enjoy The Lucky Prawn, an 80's Chinese-Australian bistro that the Hawke's team has created with help from Nic Wong (Cho Cho San, Bodega). The food is nostalgic, just like the rest of the venue. There's prawn toast, san cho bao, honey king prawn, sizzling beef and the mother of all nostalgic creations, deep-fried Viennetta. While a Hawke's brew is obviously the recommended beverage of choice at The Lucky Prawn, you can also order a $14 bottle of Crown Larger for special occasions. [caption id="attachment_848331" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To[/caption] "While we named the venue in his honour, we were mindful of being sycophantic and simply plastering imagery of Hawkie all over the place," Hawke's co-Founder Nathan Lennon says. "I think we've achieved a balance that pays tribute to Bob in the Pool Room, while delivering an authentic Australian experience throughout the rest of the space." While the venue is drenched in nostalgia, Lennon and fellow owner David Gibson wanted to ensure it was also sustainable and future-focused. The brewery is run with the help of a 100-kilowatt rooftop solar farm, and houses several eco-innovations alongside the venue. The building's carbon capture system which was developed with UTS Tech uses carbon-dioxide from the beer's fermentation to help grow plants and vegetables to be used in the venue. [caption id="attachment_848327" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The James Adams[/caption] The Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre is located at 8–12 Sydney Street, Marrickville. It is set to open on Thursday, March 31 and will be open midday–11pm Wednesdays, midday–midnight Thursday–Saturday and midday–10pm Sundays. Images: Nikki To and The James Adams
If you're after a traditional Italian grocer, look no further than Quattro Deli in Chatswood Chase. The delicatessen sources local and imported specialty items, offering a huge range of cheeses — think Italian gorgonzola, buffalo mozzarella and plenty of washed-rind numbers — and heaps of Italian cured meats, including salami, mortadella and prosciutto. Its impressive selection also extends to olives, antipasti, jams, spreads, fresh pasta and sauces. You can grab desserts aplenty, too, including Italian nougat, biscuits, chocolates and other packaged sweets. If that's not enough, a huge cellar features vinos from Italy, France, South America and Spain, along with Australia and New Zealand. Images: Trent van der Jagt.
With restrictions on indoor gatherings currently in place across Australia — first limiting non-essential inside events and venues to no more than 100 people in one space, and then implementing a limit of one person per four square metres — the nation's hospitality industry is changing fast. Many restaurants, cafes and bars have added or expanded takeaway and delivery options, ensuring that you can still eat and drink their wares at home and, crucially, help support their businesses. And in Continental Deli Bar Bistro's case, that now extends to its popular canned cocktails. Usually, you might hop into Continental Deli's in Newtown or the CBD for a Mar-tinny. Now, you'll be knocking back a Quaran-tinny — and you can do so while sitting on your couch. The venue describes it as "like a normal martini, but you drink it alone in your house". https://www.instagram.com/p/B9_PI8wj-Za/ While you'll still need to head in to pick up your canned cocktails, this is the first time that Continental Deli has made them available for takeaway. It hopes that'll only need to be the case for a limited time — depending how long the COVID-19 situation lasts, obviously. Continental Deli is currently still open for dining in and, as always, you can grab and go from its deli, sandwich and dry goods range. Find Continental Deli Bar Bistro at 167 Phillip Street, Sydney and 21o Australia Street, Newtown — open Monday–Friday in the CBD and seven days in Newtown. Top image: Kitti Smallbone.
Make a comic-book blockbuster, then make a smaller-scale but still star-studded comedy: that's been Taika Waititi's formula of late. The first time that he jumped into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Thor: Ragnarok, he followed it up with Jojo Rabbit, an "anti-hate" comedy mocking Hitler that won the New Zealand filmmaker an Oscar. Now, after returning to the MCU with Thor: Love and Thunder, he's turning a true tale about American Samoa's soccer team into his next flick. If Next Goal Wins sounds familiar, there's a few reasons for that. Firstly, it's already the title of a documentary from 2014 about the national football squad and their efforts to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Also, Waititi's dramatised version of that story has been in the making for four years, both beginning and wrapping initial production pre-pandemic — before doing reshoots in 2021. And, of course, the details themselves might ring a bell if you're a fan of the world game and you remember the American Samoan team's big 2001 defeat. Playing Australia in a qualifying match two decades back, the squad lost 31–0. Cue the hiring of Dutch American coach Thomas Rongen, who Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Dark Phoenix) plays in Waititi's movie. As the just-dropped trailer for Next Goal Wins 2.0 shows, Rongen has just lost his job when he gets the new gig in the South Pacific. From there, Waititi and the film are in classic underdog sports-film territory, but stepping through events that genuinely happened. There's another important part of this story, too, with American Samoa squad member Jaiyah Saeluathe first non-binary player to compete in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. The doco made for rousing viewing, which the latest flick overtly aims to ape — mixed with the brand of comedy that Waititi has established in everything from Eagle vs Shark and Boy to What We Do in the Shadows to Hunt for the Wilderpeople before he hit the MCU. And yes, to answer the immediate question that any trailer for one of the writer/director's pictures inspires, Waititi does indeed pop up on-screen. Alongside the filmmaker and Fassbender, the latter of which hasn't made a movie since 2019, Next Goal Wins also stars Oscar Kightley (The Breaker Upperers), Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale), Will Arnett (Murderville), Uli Latukefu (Young Rock), Rhys Darby (Our Flag Means Death), David Fane (Duckrockers), Lehi Falepapalangi (Doogie Kamealoha, MD), Semu Filipo (The Justice of Bunny King), Rachel House (Heartbreak High), Angus Sampson (Bump), Beulah Koale (Dual) and more. Check out the trailer for Next Goal Wins below: Next Goal wins releases in cinemas Down Under on January 1, 2024.
Now that the Sydney Opera House is back in action after 2020's COVID-19 shutdown, the iconic site has filled its 2021 program with musicals, operas, comedy gigs, circus shows, family-friendly fare and more. Keen to head along, but watching your budget? The venue has just announced the perfect special for anyone who loves a bargain: $21 tickets to select performances until the end of March. Here's how it works: at midday each and every day, $21 tickets will go on sale for a performance, event or experience that's on the following day. You just need to hop onto the venue's website when 12pm hits to nab your tickets. It's a first-come, first-served affair, with tickets available until sold out. You can grab four in one transaction, and you won't pay any booking fees with your purchase. If you haven't already booked yourself in to see Rent, this could be your chance. If you'd like to giggle at Sam Simmons or Lano and Woodley, or catch Circa's Peepshow, cross your fingers they're on the cheap tickets list, too. Cabaret The Choir of Man and operas Tosca and Bluebeard's Castle are also on the bill over the next three months, so keep your eyes peeled for them among the specials. [caption id="attachment_788316" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] Top image: Hamilton Lund
Strung out like a bowstring between Oxford and Ocean Street, the main drag of Woollahra has a gentle vibe. Last year, though, it experimented with opening its quiet arms to more antic visits for the inaugural Woollahra Festival. This new festival mixed performance, food and some very literary talks to show off how much activity, and celebrity, you can squeeze happily into just a few suburban blocks. This year, it has returned with a familiar mix and some new ingredients, making a weekend in Woollahra a slicker proposition than the usual lure of lazy weekend breakfasting. This year the mantle of roaming entertainment passes to the waterheads and touchable menageries from Erth. A want for words will be filled by war artists Wendy Sharpe and Lewis Miller, meeting the briefly Venitian Hany Armanious, discussions about privacy and a bevy of high profile public speakers. Some talks weave in and out of lunchtime, and interspersed between the dining words will be demos and classes from leading Sydney chefs. The Suara Indonesian Dance Group's limber choreography forms part of the musical action on Saturday, and Sunday the music continues on stage while Queen Street is closed and converted into a Village Green. *Many talks are free, but all need to be booked in advance. Concrete Playground has teamed up with the Woollahra Festival to give away two double passes to its Brave New Chefs sessions. To be in the running, check out our Facebook page the Friday before the festival.
