When January 2022 arrives, it won't just mark the welcome start of a brand new year after the past couple have been so chaotic. Also rolling around when 2021 slinks off into the past forever: the return of Sydney's beloved Westpac Openair Cinema. Come Thursday, January 6, Mrs Macquaries Point will once again play host to the most spectacular big screen in the city — and to quite the impressive list of flicks that'll play with panoramic views of the city, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge as their stunning backdrop. At the beginning of November, Westpac Openair confirmed its 2022 summer dates — and now the event has locked in all the movies that'll be showing across its 48-night season until Tuesday, February 22. Big names, big potential award-winners and big recent favourites are all set to flicker across the outdoor cinema's 350-square-metre screen, kicking off with a preview screening of the Will Smith-starring biopic King Richard, where he plays the father of tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams. Other brand-new highlights include advanced screenings of Spencer, with Kristen Stewart stepping into Princess Diana's shoes; Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley, his first film after making such an award-winning splash with The Shape of Water; and Pedro Almodovar's Parallel Mothers, aka the movie that won Penelope Cruz the Best Actress prize at the 2021 Venice Film Festival. There's also the Australian premiere of Death on the Nile, which sees Agatha Christie's famed detective Hercule Poirot return to the big screen in the follow-up to Murder on the Orient Express — and, as well as playing the sleuth, Kenneth Branagh also has his latest directorial effort Belfast, as based on his own childhood, hitting Westpac Openair as well. On Valentine's Day, the latest film adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac — this time just called Cyrano, and starring Peter Dinklage — will screen, while other sneak-peek sessions include the Javier Bardem-starring The Good Boss, C'Mon C'Mon with Joaquin Phoenix, and stellar Australian revenge drama The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson. Or, if you haven't yet caught new Bond flick No Time to Die, it's showing multiple times. Plus, other films that'll play Westpac Openair after hitting regular cinemas include Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence-starring comet comedy Don't Look Up, sci-fi spectacle Dune, Jane Campion's exquisite western The Power of the Dog, fashion drama House of Gucci, Steven Spielberg's new version of West Side Story, Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza and the fourth Matrix flick The Matrix Resurrections. Because the films and the location are only part of the fun here, Westpac Openair will also be slinging cocktails, serving up food by Kitchen by Mike and its chef Mike McEnearney — this time with a Mexican barbecue twist — and enlisting FBi radio's DJs to spin pre-film tunes. Tickets always go fast for the outdoor cinema's season, so getting in quick when they go on sale in early December is recommended. Across the summer of 2018–19, more than 40,000 tickets sold within the first two days of pre-sale — so put it in your diary ASAP. Westpac Openair 2022 runs from Thursday, January 6 –Tuesday, February 22. Tickets go on sale from 9am AEDT on Wednesday, December 8, with pre-sales from 9am AEDT on Monday, December 6–5pm AEDT Tuesday, December 7. For more details, head to the event's website. Images: Fiora Sacco
Squid Game is a "remember when" show. We all remember when we first saw the South Korean Netflix series, became obsessed, couldn't binge it fast enough, and talked about it and nothing else for days, weeks and more. If you watched it when it initially debuted, that was back in 2021 — and we've been waiting for more ever since. 2024 is finally set to deliver, with Netflix advising shareholders as part of its fourth-quarter earnings review that Squid Game will be back this year. There's no other new details so far, but the series is set to return before 2025 rolls around, alongside season three of Bridgerton and season two of The Diplomat. One of the best new TV programs of 2021, Squid Game was such a huge smash that Netflix confirmed at the beginning of 2022 that a second season was on the way, and also dropped a teaser trailer for it the same year. And, it turned the show's whole premise into an IRL competition series as well, which debuted in 2023 — without any murders, of course. Squid Game: The Challenge has already been picked up for a second season. After getting the world seeing marbles, hopscotch and tug of war as far more than ordinary, innocent activities that everyone enjoyed when they were kids, the streaming platform also revealed in 2023 exactly who'll be playing Squid Game season two. Lee Jung-jae (Deliver Us From Evil) returns as the show's protagonist Seong Gi-hun, while Lee Byung-hun (The Magnificent Seven) will be back as the masked Front Man as well. They'll be joined by Wi Ha-joon (Little Women) as detective Hwang Jun-ho, plus Gong Yoo (Train to Busan) as the man in the suit who got Gi-hun into the game in the first place. A show about a deadly competition that has folks battling for ridiculous riches comes with a hefty bodycount, which means that new faces were always going to be essential in Squid Game season two. Yim Si-wan (Emergency Declaration), Kang Ha-neul (Insider), Park Sung-hoon (The Glory) and Yang Dong-geun (Yaksha: Ruthless Operations) will all join the series. If you somehow missed all things Squid Game when it premiered, even after it became bigger than everything from Stranger Things to Bridgerton, the Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning series serves up a puzzle-like storyline and unflinching savagery, which unsurprisingly makes quite the combination. It also steps into societal divides within South Korea, a topic that wasn't invented by Parasite, Bong Joon-ho's excellent Oscar-winning 2019 thriller, but has been given a boost after that stellar flick's success. Accordingly, it's easy to see thematic and narrative parallels between Parasite and Squid Game, although Netflix's highly addictive series goes with a Battle Royale and Hunger Games-style setup. Here, 456 competitors are selected to work their way through six seemingly easy children's games. They're all given numbers and green tracksuits, they're competing for 45.6 billion won, and it turns out that they've also all made their way to the contest after being singled out for having enormous debts. Check out Netflix's Squid Game season two cast announcement video below: Squid Game's first season is available to stream via Netflix — we'll update you with an exact 2024 release date for season two when one is announced. Images: Netflix.
Located in the sleepy backstreets of Rosebery, The Cannery is a hub of butchers, bakers, coffee roasters and world-class restaurants. It houses Sydney favourites like Archie Rose, Three Blue Ducks and Black Star Pastry. Now, just in time for the holiday season, the inner-city retail and dining centre is bringing back its old monthly markets that have sadly been missing from the majority of 2020. There will be plenty of local businesses on hand to support. If you're looking for unique presents you'll find handmade candles, jewellery, Christmas cards and artwork. If your sweet tooth gets the better of you, Christmas pudding, vegan macarons and Thicc Cookies will satisfy any festive cravings. Of course, a market at The Cannery wouldn't be complete without a tasting from some quality wineries and distillers. Never Never Distilling, Château Les Mesclances and Frerejean Frères will all be conducting tastings over the course of the weekend, Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13. Plus, you can snag a sample of Blue Mountains Grown Gin, which is raising money for regeneration efforts at the Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens. While you're there you can also explore The Cannery's regular stores and vendors, or stick around for dinner at one of its many restaurants. The Cannery Christmas Market are open from 10am–3pm.
Sydney's much loved LGBTIQ+ party collective and publisher Heaps Gay is celebrating four years of being a major thing with an all-day banger of a party on Saturday, November 18. Presented by FBi Radio, the event — which will be decked out like a big gay wedding party — will kick off at Sydney Portuguese Community Club from 1pm and feature musicians and DJs like GlamouRatz and Haiku Hands. There'll also be art, Portuguese chicken, vegan nosh, and potentially even puppies (well, probably not — but organisers are working on it). Beyond Heaps Gay's stellar rep for throwing rowdy parties, the site has established a formidable online presence spotlighting the brilliant work of Aussie LGBTIQ+ folk, such as playwright Charles O'Grady, sex worker and lyric prose Instagram caption master Tilly Lawless and former pro-surfer turned filmmaker Cloudy Rhodes. The party falls on the weekend after the marriage equality result is announced, so bring your love and celebrate the hell yes outcome or — and we're hoping this isn't the case — come commiserate in a safe, inclusive, glittery space.
Strap yourself in for a creative feast of fusion flavours at Darlinghurst's modern Asian eatery Restaurant Moon. Like its contemporaries, Chin Chin and Long Chim, Restaurant Moon has moved beyond the cheap and cheerful format to create a more refined offering. In this case, it's European meets Thai with a moon dust sprinkling of molecular gastronomy. For an entree, start of with a serving of house smoked ocean trout pate with duck fat and crispy breads or cooked scallops on cows cows perl with nori, mushroom, garlic chips and Thai kom kha veloute. The crab fried rice with shallots and bean sprouts and pickled chilli sauce is the perfect complement. If you thought that dish was daring, wait until you try the Surf and Turf — a sirloin and confit baby octopus stir-fry. Like a ring around a planet, the dish sees a soft fried egg surrounded by a halo of beef strips and tender tentacles, topped with crispy holy basil leaves. Puncture the yolk and fold all the lusciousness together. A cross between a chilli basil stir-fry and a steak tartare, the flavours and textures actually come together nicely. The diamond clams are another must have, with siracha cream, raw amaebi prawns and salmon roe. Desserts are inventive and visually stunning. For a refreshing finish, go the matcha mousse with vanilla cream and chocolate and passion fruit sorbet, which is light, sweet and cooling to the palette. It may not be what you're used to, but an exploratory mission to Restaurant Moon is sure to be rewarded.
Sydney, it's time get your glam rock on. We're talking about dusting off your favourite Ziggy Stardust jumpsuit, striking your hottest Debbie Harry pose and practising your disco dance moves. This Friday, February 28, brand new '70s-inspired live music meets live art as Easy Tiger opens its doors underneath The Unicorn Hotel, with a massive launch party titled 'When Bowie Met Blondie'. While you sip on free cocktails (available between 6pm and 8pm), street artist Mike Watt and illustrator Jo Ley will create Bowie- and Blondie-themed murals before your very eyes. Meanwhile, disco experts Midnight Pool Party will deliver a live soundtrack, bringing their funky keyboard sounds, groove-driven guitar licks and infectious choruses to the '70s repertoire and related originals. Tickets are available on the door, but you can RSVP via Easy Tiger's Facebook event page. When Bowie Met Blondie is sponsored by G'Vine Gin.
It is not easy to reference, much less celebrate, the work of Dada artists. By its very nature the Dadaist art movement self-destructs at the mere hint of mainstream acceptance. And yet here is Going Gaga for Dada – a dedication to the Dadaist chaos, nonsense and whimsy – so compelling and so deliciously relevant, it reminds the viewer that there is still plenty to be protesting about. Dada, the artistic and literary manifesto of nonsense, originated in Europe during World War I as a protest against the atrocities the war was bringing to the artists’ front doors. Out of disgust for a seemingly senseless war, the likes of Duchamp and Tzara created works intended to be provocatively absurd, as a metaphorical thumbing of the nose, if you like. Here, curator and Dada scholar Akky van Ogtrop seeks to, like the Dadaists, define the undefinable, with contemporary mixed media such as collages, books, zines, posters and sculpture. And while the Dadaist references in colour, composition and typography are frank and fierce, this exhibition still feels fresh, germane and utterly evocative. Here, the iconic, horrifying iron of Dada is manifested (Richard Tipping, the Gift) and is joined by an ironing board (Dianne Beevers, Bristling) as absurdly inoperable at the iron itself. Dianne Longley’s ceramics are wicked: the placement of Tim Burton-like baddies on the domesticity of plates is nightmareishly good. A giggle at the Chicken Tank (Will Coles) will lead your mind to questions of power in politics, and the anxiety of Rochelle Summerfield’s tumultuous cityscapes will evoke the words of Dadaist Hugo Ball who lamented that “words emerge, shoulders of words, legs, arms – Dada is the heart of words.” In support of the exhibition, there will be a zine fest at Brenda May on Saturday August 31 and Sunday September 1, with a talk by MCA curator Glenn Barkley. Image: Bristling by Dianne Beevers.
"When you've got it, flaunt it," the song goes — and when it comes to Australian movies, filmmakers have taken that advice. What they've got is a stunning outback setting, and they certainly know how to show it off. The latest example: Strangerland. A tale about missing children, arguing parents and the many factors that have caused both states of affairs, Strangerland has plenty of other things going for it. There's the high-profile cast of Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes and Hugo Weaving, for one. There's the simmering mood of melodrama, for another. There's never any doubt, however, that this is a movie defined by its location. The Parker family — pharmacist Matthew (Fiennes), his wife Catherine (Kidman), teenager daughter Lily (Maddison Brown) and younger son Tom (Nicholas Hamilton) — has moved to the country town of Nathgari, laying low and hiding from past troubles. It's the kind of place where the locals know each other by name, and where there's little to do but complain about the heat, which the newcomers do plenty. It's also the kind of place where kids wander and adults wonder, as happens when Lily and Tom disappear into the night, leaving Matthew and Catherine looking for answers. A determined cop (Weaving) investigates the case, his detective work uncovering family surprises, marital tensions and deep-seeded disharmony, while a dust storm complicates his search. A remote town turned ugly and a scenic setting brimming with complexity fuel Strangerland, recalling the likes of Wake in Fright, Picnic at Hanging Rock and Mystery Road. They're comparisons first-time feature director Kim Farrant seems happy to conjure, leaning heavily on the oppressive nature of the landscape as she does. Her film lingers, both lovingly and a little too long, on aerial shots of the rock, dirt and scrub, making the harshness of the Australian desert evident. In fact, postcard-worthy pictures of the nation's interior receive almost as much screen time as the actors. That's not to say that the cast doesn't have much to do, just that they're often dwarfed by their background — and that rings true not just visually but in the story. Kidman carries the weight of past tensions in her performance, one of her best of late, as a woman trapped on several levels. In contrast, Fiennes doesn't fare as well at expressing his character's inner turmoil, leaving his on-screen wife the star of the show. The third point in their tussle, the ever-welcome Weaving, makes the best of a stock-standard part. Indeed, stock-standard describes the majority of Strangerland as it sticks to the 'atmospheric Australian drama' playbook. What sets the movie apart from other efforts, however, is its refreshing consideration of female sexuality — a rarity in films of this and other ilk. It seems that the women at the feature's core have also heeded guidance about flaunting what they've got, their desire and desperation proving gripping viewing. Strangerland is at its most powerful when contrasting Lily's blossoming youth with Catherine's need to connect, and coping with the crises that spring from both. The space between the two is the real mystery unfolding in the outback.
Whatever else the past couple of years have served up, it has been an impressive time for folks who like staring up at the sky. 2016 ended with a huge supermoon that had everyone looking to the heavens, then 2018 began with an extremely rare super blue blood moon (a supermoon, a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse all at once). Next, at the end of July, an epic lunar eclipse will mark the next notable celestial happening. In fact, the Saturday, July 28 event will be longest lunar eclipse of this century — with the penumbral eclipse lasting just shy of four hours (236 minutes, to be exact) and the total lunar eclipse spanning 103 minutes. If you're wondering what the difference is between the two (because we're all more familiar with The Mighty Boosh's take on the moon than actual lunar terms, aren't we?), a penumbral eclipse is when the earth's outer shadow falls on the moon's surface, while a total lunar eclipse involves the moon passing directly into the earth's actual shadow. During the main event, which is expected to kick off at 5.30am local time, the moon will also turn a blood-red shade thanks to sunlight that's filtered and refracted by the earth's atmosphere. So yes, as well as a total lunar eclipse and a full moon, it'll be a blood moon as well. Australians will be able to spy the penumbral eclipse from 3.14am and the partial eclipse from 4.24am, before the full thing at 5.30am, with the maximum eclipse occurring at 6.21am. We won't be able to see the end of it, however, as the moon will be below the horizon when the full, partial and penumbral eclipses end (at 7.13am, 8.19am and 9.28am local time, respectively). While it's a great excuse to go stargazing, the 103-minute total eclipse only just pips the 100-minute event that took place on June 15, 2011 — and falls just short of the 108-minute event on July 16, 2000. Still, when the super blue blood moon did come around earlier in 2018, its full eclipse only lasted 72 minutes. If you miss it, 102-minute total lunar eclipses are expected in 2029, 2047 and 2094 — but nothing this long will occur again this century. Via Space.com and timeanddate.com.
If you've ever jumped in the ocean, headed on a camping trip or rugged up for a night of stargazing in the middle of winter, we're going to hazard a guess and say you like the cold. No, you unabashedly love it. Ticking some boxes for you? Then you'll find plenty of excuses to head outdoors during the new winter event series Sydney Solstice. Running from Tuesday, June 8 till Sunday, June 20, Sydney Solstice is taking over the harbour city with a series of pop-ups, gigs and dazzling light shows that'll help you make the most of the chillier months. We've teamed up with NSW Government via Destination NSW to round up nine Sydney Solstice adventures you can have this winter — from moonlight kayaking sessions to pop-up ice rinks and dance floors tucked away in laneways.
This isn't new news to anyone, but 2020 has been a big year for television. With everyone spending more time indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TV has been a trusty go-to to help while away the hours, days and months — whether it's beamed into your home the old-fashioned way or streamed to your chosen device. If you've spent the past few months bingeing your way through a dark superhero tale, stepping back to 50s and 60s-era New York and watching a media mogul's personal and professional dramas, it seems that this year's Emmy Awards are on the same wavelength. Announcing the nominees for the 2020 ceremony, the Television Academy showered plenty of love on Watchmen, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Succession, which notched up 26, 20 and 18 nods respectively. Also doing well was Ozark, which scored 18 nominations — while The Mandalorian, Saturday Night Live and Schitt's Creek all earned 15 nods apiece. From there, everything from The Crown, Westworld and The Handmaid's Tale to Unorthodox, What We Do in the Shadows and even Tiger King earned a mention. It's worth noting that the Emmys hand out a hefty number of awards, with its full nominee list spanning 61 pages — and Netflix picking up a huge 160 nominations across the entire spectrum — so odds are that your favourite show popped up somewhere. Notably for talent from Down Under, Hugh Jackman was recognised for Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie, for Bad Education; Cate Blanchett received a nomination for Outstanding Actress in the same category for Mrs America; and Toni Collette nabbed a Outstanding Supporting Actress nod, also in the same field, for Unbelievable. Plus, Succession's Sarah Snook earned a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Hannah Gadsby's Douglas picked up noms for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special, and Taika Waititi scored an Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance nod for The Mandalorian. Both on the local front and in general, there were snubs, too. It wouldn't be a list of newly revealed award nominees without them. Russell Crowe's performance in last year's The Loudest Voice went unrewarded — and the fact that Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn and Jonathan Banks were ignored for their exceptional work isn't just surprising, but astonishing. This year's nominations did recognise The Good Place's Ted Danson and William Jackson Harper, though, as well as Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Andre Braugher. So, like all awards nominations from all awards bodies every single time they're announced, it's a mixed bag. [caption id="attachment_756726" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Succession[/caption] The 72nd Emmy Awards will take place on Monday, September 20, Australian time. Here's a rundown of the major nominations — and you can check out the full 61-page list of nominees on the Emmys' website: EMMY NOMINEES 2020 OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES Better Call Saul The Crown The Handmaid's Tale Killing Eve The Mandalorian Ozark Stranger Things Succession OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES Curb Your Enthusiasm Dead to Me The Good Place Insecure The Kominsky Method The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Schitt's Creek What We Do in the Shadows OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES Little Fires Everywhere Mrs America Unbelievable Unorthodox Watchmen OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE American Son Bad Education Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: These Old Bones El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs The Reverend OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Jason Bateman, Ozark Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us Steve Carell, The Morning Show Brian Cox, Succession Billy Porter, Pose Jeremy Strong, Succession OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show Olivia Colman, The Crown Jodie Comer, Killing Eve Laura Linney, Ozark Sandra Oh, Killing Eve Zendaya, Euphoria OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Anthony Anderson, Black-ish Don Cheadle, Black Monday Ted Danson, The Good Place Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek Ramy Youssef, Ramy OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Christina Applegate, Dead to Me Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek Issa Rae, Insecure Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE Jeremy Irons, Watchmen Hugh Jackman, Bad Education Paul Mescal, Normal People Jeremy Pope, Hollywood Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE Cate Blanchett, Mrs America Shira Haas, Unorthodox Regina King, Watchmen Octavia Spencer, Self Made Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid's Tale Billy Crudup, The Morning Show Mark Duplass, The Morning Show Nicholas Braun, Succession Kieran Culkin, Succession Matthew Macfadyen, Succession Jeffrey Wright, Westworld OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Laura Dern, Big Little Lies Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown Samira Wiley, The Handmaid's Tale Fiona Shaw, Killing Eve Julia Garner, Ozark Sarah Snook, Succession Thandie Newton, Westworld OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine William Jackson Harper, The Good Place Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method Sterling K. Brown, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Mahershala Ali, Ramy Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live Daniel Levy, Schitt's Creek OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Betty Gilpin, GLOW D'Arcy Carden, The Good Place Yvonne Orji, Insecure Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live Annie Murphy, Schitt's Creek OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE Dylan McDermott, Hollywood Jim Parsons, Hollywood Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs The Reverend Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen Jovan Adepo, Watchmen Louis Gossett Jr, Watchmen OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE Holland Taylor, Hollywood Uzo Aduba, Mrs America Margo Martindale, Mrs America Tracey Ullman, Mrs America Toni Collette, Unbelievable Jean Smart, Watchmen Top image: Watchmen, Mark Hill/HBO
Next time you have a great idea while making a cup of coffee, it could spark a hit comedy flick. That's what happened to Jackie van Beek, New Zealand comedian and one half of the writing/directing/acting duo behind The Breaker Upperers. "I was literally just wandering aimlessly around my kitchen, and I was just thinking about all those conversations that we've all had with friends about that horrible moment when you realise that you have to break up with your partner, and that feeling of dread," she explains. "And I just thought, "gosh, how much money would somebody pay to not have to do that themselves?". And I thought it'd be quite a lot of money, and I know a lot of people that would pay to get out of that responsibility." To answer the obvious question, van Beek never considered setting up a business to end other people's relationships for cash. Instead, she called fellow NZ comedian and actress Madeline Sami, and they started working on what would become 2018's best comedy. That was back in 2013. The script took years to perfect between other jobs, and the film shot across 22 days in 2017, with a cast that included Boy's James Rolleston and Rosehaven's Celia Pacquola. This year, The Breaker Upperers premiered its tale of best friends Jen (van Beek) and Mel (Sami), their love-busting business, their various life woes and their Celine Dion karaoke singalong at SXSW, and then opened the Sydney Film Festival. "It has been a whirlwind few months," Sami observes. "I didn't really have any expectations on how it would do. You spend so long editing the film, making it, and then you're just kind of relieved to have finished it. Then it comes out, and then all of these other people see it and take it into their hearts, and it's just overwhelmingly lovely." Indeed, while The Breaker Upperers is all about helping others when love has faded, there's plenty of love blossoming for this smart, funny film, with audiences both overseas, in New Zealand and in Australia reacting warmly. With the movie now releasing around Australia, we sat down with van Beek and Sami to chat about real-life break-ups, smashing rom-com conventions and working collaboratively in a Kiwi comedy scene that also includes the film's executive producer, Taika Waititi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-phMlkRiWIg ON CREATING ROLES FOR THEMSELVES THAT DIDN'T EXIST OTHERWISE Sami: "We wanted to write characters that were fucked up women in their thirties, and that didn't have to settle down. That was the big, big point for us. Otherwise it's so unrealistic and so much pressure for women, and I hate that." van Beek: "And so exclusive. We've of course got so many friends that are single, in their early forties and are not going to have a baby now. What about happy endings for those guys? So it was very important that — we love rom-coms, but it was very important for us that we buck the convention and that we didn't end with a double church wedding with two women and two men tying the knot and talking about children." Sami: "We definitely thought about it in drafts and played with the idea, and it just never sat right. And we were just like, this is really a story about being okay with who they are, and accepting that and not having to bow to society's expectations — and the movies' expectations — of what your life should be like. It's really the movies. The movies tell us that we need to have all this shit together, especially for women. I think the pressure on women in movies — just the damsel in distress thing, it goes right back to Snow White. Or in all the Disney stuff. There's a princess who's stuck in a tower or she's in a coma, which is fucking dark, and she needs to be saved. And that same thing is in rom-coms today — a woman who's…" van Beek: "All befuddled." Sami: "And needs to be saved. And it's like, no we don't. We're cool. Just chill." van Beek: "We can figure out our own mess. It doesn't have to involve a man." Sami: "And also, a happy ending doesn't have to be what we've always been told what a happy ending is. It doesn't always have to be that conventional, settle down thing. It can just be 'well you're just not as dark and fucked up as you were at the beginning of the movie'." ON DECIDING TO NOT ONLY WRITE AND STAR IN THE BREAKER UPPERERS, BUT TO DIRECT IT, TOO van Beek: "It was always on the table." Sami: "We were scared." van Beek: "Were we scared? I wasn't scared." Sami: "There was a fear that it would take the fun away from the acting, which is what the whole reason we wanted to do it. It wasn't like scared to do it — it was just whether we were going to give ourselves too much of a workload." van Beek: "Yeah that's right. We knew that if we got too stressed, and we're on screen doing improvised comedy, it's just not going to be fun for us or the audience — so the stakes were quite high in making that decision." Sami: "And then we just like, we can't think of anyone who could fulfil this vision for us that we are planning in our own heads, so why don't we just do it? Take the gamble, and make sure we surround ourselves with really talented, experienced people so that we're supported. And that's what we did." van Beek: "People who are confident at improvisation, so we could all get there. And Taika was helpful." Sami: "Taika, we've worked with a lot — and he would've been a wonderful director for this film. But we knew that we were never going to get Taika because he was on Thor and was committed to that for years. But he shares our sensibility, we've worked with him — he directed the first series of a TV show that I'd made in New Zealand called Super City, and we had a lovely time when we worked together in that way. And he'd definitely get it. But he wasn't available, so we were the ones." van Beek: "But we got Jemaine Clement, who is an old friend of ours as well, he came up for three or four days of pre-production when we wanted to stand up and start exploring the characters ourselves. He'd come into the rehearsal room, and we'd do rewrites with him, and so it was all really..." Sami: "Collaborative." van Beek: "Supportive." Sami: "We've got so much amazing talent around us in New Zealand. There's so many amazing comedians coming up, and writers, that it was just really important for us to be energised by them. So we'd just keep them around us all the time, just everyone 'come in, add a joke in here if you want, yeah that's a good idea.' Just keep it fresh for ourselves, especially because we'd been writing for four-five years, so at a lot of points in that time, when you're right in it — especially towards the end, towards pre-production — you can't see. You're really close to it." ON SEEING NEW ZEALAND COMEDY FINALLY GET RECOGNITION OVERSEAS van Beek: "With Taika's films, and Flight of the Conchords and Rhys Darby having done so well internationally — we were over at SXSW with our film, and people were saying after the screening 'that's New Zealand' humour. They were identifying it. 'We love New Zealand humour! We love you guys.' It was quite exciting that people identify it, and many thanks to Taika who brought that New Zealand comedy voice into the mainstream with Thor." Sami: "When there's a bunch of people, and when there's support — the New Zealand Film Commission have really made an effort to get in behind New Zealand comedy over the last ten years probably. And because we've had success internationally, then there's more support back home. And it's kind of like with the Danish thrillers. All of a sudden the world loves Danish thrillers, and it's just the people making them are making them really well. I guess coming out of New Zealand right now, we've got a lot of great comedy, and it's just a time where it's just being recognised for what it is." van Beek: "Long may it last." Sami: "It's exciting. It's really just, I think, the world getting to know that New Zealand comedy a bit — and it started with Flight of the Conchords. There's an awkwardness to the comedy we make. So yeah, who knows how long that will last. But it's exciting that we don't have to explain our accent any more. People can start to tell the difference a little bit [between Australian and New Zealand accents]. We'll see Americanss try to do a Kiwi accent rather than just going 'oh, I can do a Kiwi accent — g'day mate'." van Beek: "Now they do Flight of the Conchords." Sami: "Yeah, 'Brett'. Or they do, 'oh hi, I'm Korg,' [from Thor: Ragnarok] or stuff like that. They're showing that they know the difference." van Beek: "By mocking us in a different way." Sami: "I loved being mocked." ON FINDING INSPIRATION FOR THE FILM'S MANY BREAK-UP SCENES Sami: "I've never been two-timed by someone, and then found out that... aah, I think I have." van Beek: "You have?" Sami: "Maybe I have." van Beek: "There's always going to be a bit of crossover." Sami: "There's just a bit of subconscious stuff — for me, the break up scenarios, everything you see in the film, nothing is specific to anything but everything is influenced by stories we've heard or things we've experienced. But there's no one like, 'yeah, I had this terrible breakup and this is exactly how the story went'." van Beek: "Or 'yeah, my boyfriend pretended to be in a coma and then died.' That all came from our imagination, but it was more like — definitely I've been through phases in my life when I've been a bit more like Jen, and just been in denial. I've been heartbroken and not wanting to grow up." Sami: "We did have a lot more scenarios and they got a lot more extreme. Obviously some were cut for time, and we didn't shoot all of them — a lot of them we just weren't going to be able to. To shoot someone falling off a speedboat in the middle of Auckland of harbour and taking an underwater scuba to an island and then sailing off, that would've been the whole budget of our film probably, just for that one day." van Beek: "We spent a bit of time writing it though." Sami: "It was a lot of fun writing and thinking out the ways people might choose to break up with each other." The Breaker Upperers is now screening in Australian cinemas.
When the term 'direct-to-video' was uttered in decades gone by, it was rarely used in a positive way. 'Direct-to-DVD' wasn't either, when the switch from VHS to discs hit — but shaking up the idea that a film that skips cinemas can't also be exceptional is one of the many consequences of the streaming era. Every week — every day, it sometimes seems — brand new movies join the seemingly endless array of streaming platforms. That's been especially handy during 2021, which saw us all spend more time at home than usual (yes, again), and also delivered plenty of straight-to-streaming highlights. Indeed, some of this year's finest movies didn't flicker across the silver screen. Some were meant to, others were never destined to, but they're all exceptional either way. Here are the 12 best films that should've made their way to your streaming queue in 2021 — and if you haven't watched them yet, you can remedy that at the click of a few buttons. THE GREEN KNIGHT Mesmerising and magnetic from its first moments till its last, The Green Knight is a moving musing on destiny, pride, virtue, choice, myths and sacrifice, all wrapped in a sublime spectacle. The medieval fantasy hums with haunting beauty and potency as it tells of Arthurian figure Gawain (Dev Patel, The Personal History of David Copperfield), nephew to the King (Sean Harris, Mission: Impossible — Fallout), and the only man who accepts a bold challenge when the eponymous figure (Ralph Ineson, Gunpowder Milkshake) — a mystical part-tree, part-knight — demands a duel one Christmas. The catch: whichever blows the eager-to-prove-himself Gawain inflicts on this towering interloper, he'll receive back in a year's time. So, when this initial altercation ends in a beheading (and with the Green Knight scooping up his noggin and riding off), Gawain faces a grim future. Twelve months later, that bargain inspires a quest, which The Green Knight treats as both a nightmare and a dream. There's an ethereal look and feel to every inch of this stunning movie, where the greenery is verdant, and the bloodshed and battlefield of skeletons just as prominent. Playing a man yearning for glory yet faced with life's stark realities, Patel is in career-best form — and the latter can also be said of writer/director/editor David Lowery. Every film he makes has proven a gem, from Ain't The Bodies Saints and Pete's Dragon to A Ghost Story and The Old Man and The Gun; however, The Green Knight is a startling and riveting feast of a feature that's as as contemplative as it is visionary. The Green Knight is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND Excellent filmmakers helming exceptional documentaries about music icons just might be 2021's best movie trend. It isn't new — see: Martin Scorsese's filmography as just one example — but any year that delivers both Edgar Wright's The Sparks Brothers and Todd Haynes' The Velvet Underground is a great year indeed. Both docos are made by clear fans of the bands they celebrate. Both films find creative and engaging ways to approach a tried-and-tested on-screen formula, too. And, both movies will make fans out of newcomers, all while delighting existing devotees. They each have killer soundtracks as well, obviously. They're each tailored to suit their subjects, rather than leaning on the standard music bio-doc template. As a result, they each prove the kind of rich, in-depth and electrifying features that only these two directors could've made. With The Velvet Underground and Haynes, none of this comes as a surprise. As well as the astonishing Carol and the just-as-devastating Dark Waters, he has experimental short Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, glam-rock portrait Velvet Goldmine and the Bob Dylan-focused I'm Not There on his resume, after all. Here, he makes two perceptive choices: splitting his screen Andy Warhol-style to show both archival materials and new interviews simultaneously, and avoiding the allure of giving the late, great Lou Reed all his attention. The result is an inventive, impassioned and wide-ranging doco that charts the band's story and impact; captures the time, place and attitudes that gave rise to them; and proves as dazzling as The Velvet Underground themselves. The Velvet Underground is available to stream via Apple TV+. PROCESSION For filmmaker Robert Greene, it started with a press conference, where six sexually abused men sought justice — and publicly so — for the horrors they endured at the hands of the Catholic Church. After reaching out to their lawyer Rebecca Randles, and also bringing drama therapist Monica Phinney onboard, Procession started to take shape — a film that tells their stories like no other documentary would've. Anyone who's seen Greene's also exceptional Kate Plays Christine and Bisbee '17 will know that he sifts through trauma via re-enactments, an approach used to interrogate dark incidents and abhorrent moments. Here, it's deployed as a healing technique, too. To watch Tom Viviano, Joe Eldred, Ed Gavagan, Michael Sandridge, Dan Laurine and Mike Foreman participate in Procession is to watch them not just grapple with what was done to them, but to try to undercut its power. Talking-head interviews still litter the documentary, but Procession is far more interested in the short films that Viviano, Eldred, Gavagan, Sandridge, Laurine and Foreman conceive and make — starring child actor Terrick Trobough as all of them — based on their own experiences. Greene captures the behind-the-scenes process, and also presents the finished product, both of which trawl through memories that none of his subjects will ever forget. Unsurprisingly, this isn't an easy movie to watch. It's essential and unforgettable viewing, though, examining heartbreakingly awful acts, the men who've spent a lifetime trying to cope, the cathartic nature of art and the resilience needed to soldier on. Procession is available to stream via Netflix. ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI Pondering the conversations that might've occurred between four pivotal historical figures on one very real evening they spent in each other's company, One Night in Miami boasts the kind of talk-heavy concept that'd obviously work well on the stage. That's where it first began back in 2013 — but adapting theatre pieces for the cinema doesn't always end in success, especially when they primarily involve large swathes of dialogue exchanged in one setting. If Beale Street Could Talk Oscar-winner and Watchmen Emmy-winner Regina King doesn't make a single wrong move here, however. The actor's feature directorial debut proves a film not only of exceptional power and feeling, but of abundant texture and detail as well. It's a movie about people and ideas, including the role the former can play in both bolstering and counteracting the latter, and the Florida-set picture takes as much care with its quartet of protagonists as it does with the matters of race, politics and oppression they talk about. Given the folks involved on-screen, there's clearly much to discuss. The film takes place on February 25, 1964, which has become immortalised in history as the night that Cassius Clay (Eli Goree, Riverdale) won his first title fight. Before and after the bout, the future Muhammad Ali hangs out with his equally important pals — activist Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir, High Fidelity), footballer Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge, The Invisible Man) and musician Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr, Hamilton) — with this equally meticulous and moving Oscar-nominee ficitionalising their time together. One Night in Miami is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. NO SUDDEN MOVE Up until late August, No Sudden Move couldn't have sat on this list. The latest film from prolific director Steven Soderbergh (Unsane), it was scheduled to release in Australian cinemas; however, then lengthy lockdowns hit Sydney and Melbourne, and its theatrical run was sadly canned across the country. This crime thriller would've looked dazzling on a big screen, and for a plethora of reasons. Soderbergh is no stranger to helming capers — he has Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen on his jam-packed resume, plus both Out of Sight and Logan Lucky — and No Sudden Move is as energetic as the rest of his heist fare. Here, he also revels in period details, with this Ed Solomon (Bill & Ted Face the Music)-scripted tale unfurling in the 1950s. As he's known to do, Soderbergh both shot and edited the movie himself, too, and that exceptional craftsmanship is another of this playful neo-noir's many delights. Spinning an engaging story steeped in Detroit's crime scene, No Sudden Move has something to say as well. Don Cheadle (Space Jam: A New Legacy) in is career-best form as Curt Goynes, who gets out of prison, then gets enlisted for a job by a middleman known as Jones (Brendan Fraser, Trust). That gig? With two colleagues (The French Dispatch's Benicio Del Toro and Succession's Kieran Culkin), he's tasked with babysitting the Wertz family (Archenemy's Amy Seimetz, A Quiet Place Part II's Noah Jupe and debutant Lucy Holt), all so the Wertz patriarch (David Harbour, Black Widow) can steal a document from his work. There's no shortage of plot — No Sudden Move keeps twisting from there — but capitalism's worst consequences also bubble prominently underneath. Soderbergh and Solomon savvily tease out the details, though, keeping their audience guessing as much as their characters. No Sudden Movie is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. BO BURNHAM: INSIDE Watching Bo Burnham: Inside, a stunning fact becomes evident — a life-changing realisation, really. During a period when most people tried to make sourdough, pieced together jigsaws and spent too much time on Zoom, Bo Burnham created a comedy masterpiece. How does he ever top a special this raw, insightful, funny, clever and of the moment? How did he make it to begin with? How does anyone ever manage to capture every emotion that we've all felt about lockdowns — and about the world's general chaos, spending too much time on the internet, capitalism's exploitation and just the general hellscape that is our modern lives, too — in one 90-minute musical-comedy whirlwind? Filmed in one room of his house over several months (and with the growth of his hair and beard helping to mark the time), Inside unfurls via songs about being stuck indoors, video chats, today's performative society, sexting, ageing and mental health. Burnham sings and acts, and also wrote, directed, shot, edited and produced the whole thing, and there's not a moment, image or line that goes to waste. Being trapped in that room with the Promising Young Woman star and Eighth Grade filmmaker, and therefore being stuck inside the closest thing he can find to manifesting his mind outside his skull, becomes the best kind of rollercoaster ride. Just try getting Burnham's tunes out of your head afterwards, too, because this is an oh-so-relatable and insightful special that lingers. It's also the best thing that's been made about this pandemic yet, hands down. Bo Burnham: Inside is available to stream via Netflix. BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR Throughout 2021, on screens big and small, few films have been as fun as Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Nothing has been as ridiculously, hilariously, gleefully silly, either — as you'd expect of a movie about a titular twosome who obsess over culottes, and where Jamie Dornan (Synchronic) kicks sand on the beach while singing a prayer to seagulls. A talking crab features, too, as do dance remixes of Celine Dion tunes, because this is the delightfully entertaining comedy that has it all. The setup: middle-aged Soft Rock residents Barb (Annie Mumolo, Queenpins) and Star (Kristen Wiig, Wonder Woman 1984) head to Florida for a holiday, despite their apprehension to break up their routine, while nervous, lovesick henchman Edgar Pagét (Dornan) also makes the same trip, but to help nefarious villain Sharon Fisherman (also Wiig) with her plan to kill everyone. Wiig and Mumolo also wrote Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, as they did Bridesmaids. This time, though, they've piled in enough glorious absurdity to fill several beaches. From its throwaway gags to its big musical numbers — and including its character details — there's nothing too goofy for this infectious frolic. Sometimes the film is a Romy and Michele's High School Reunion-style ode to female friendship, sometimes it's a kooky world-domination comedy, and it's also a fish-out-of-water satire and a goofy holiday flick as well. It wouldn't work quite as well if its cast weren't so committed to their parts, and to the offbeat sense of humour — and if director Josh Greenbaum (New Girl) didn't ensure that every element of the movie goes all-in on every single joke. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. BURNING "This could be the new normal," a snippet from a news report comments early in Burning. The reason for the statement: Black Summer, the Australian bushfire season of 2019–20 that decimated large swathes of the country, sent smoke floating around the world and attracted international media attention. Australians don't need a documentary to confirm how horrific the situation was, and this is now the second in months — after the gripping first-person accounts in A Fire Inside — but this powerful film from Chasing Asylum's Eva Orner also lays bare all the factors that coalesced in the tragic events of just two years ago. Accordingly, this is a doco about inaction, government indifference to the point of failure, and the valuing of fossil fuels over their destruction of the environment. It's a movie about climate change as well, clearly, because any film telling this tale has to be. Orner, an Oscar-winner for producing 2007's Taxi to the Dark Side and an Emmy-winner for 2016's Out of Iraq, takes a three-pronged approach: providing context to the bushfires, including charting the Australian government's choices before and after; amassing expert and experienced testimonies, spanning activists and those on the ground alike; and bearing witness. Facts — such as the three billion animals killed — sit side by side with personal recollections and devastating images. The latter includes not only the fires and their ashy aftermath, but political arguing and Scott Morrison's Hawaiian holiday; all hit like a punch to the gut. The result is urgent, important and stunning — and absolutely essential viewing. Burning is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. I CARE A LOT She didn't end up with an Oscar for her efforts, but Rosamund Pike's Golden Globe win for I Care a Lot was thoroughly well-deserved. The Radioactive and Gone Girl star is stellar in a tricky part in a thorny film — because this dark comic-thriller isn't here to play nice. Pike plays Marla Grayson, a legal guardian to as many elderly Americans as she can convince the courts to send her way. She's more interested in the cash that comes with the job, however, rather than actually looking after her charges. Indeed, with her girlfriend and business partner Fran (Eiza González, Bloodshot), plus an unscrupulous doctor on her payroll, she specifically targets wealthy senior citizens with no family, gets them committed to her care, packs them off to retirement facilities and plunders their bank accounts. Then one such ploy catches the attention of gangster Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones), who dispatches his minions to nudge Marla in a different direction. She isn't willing to acquiesce, though, sparking both a game of cat and mouse and a showdown. Dinklage makes the most of his role, too, but I Care a Lot is always the icy Pike's movie. Well, hers and writer/director J Blakeson's (The Disappearance of Alice Creed), with the latter crafting a takedown of capitalism that's savagely blunt but also blisteringly entertaining. I Care a Lot is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. CODA When CODA screened at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, it made history. Film distributors always clamour to snap up the event's big hits, and this four-time award-winner — which received the fest's US Grand Jury Prize, US Dramatic Audience Award, a Special Jury Ensemble Cast Award and Best Director — was picked up by Apple TV+ for US$25 million. Even though the sophomore feature from writer/director Sian Heder (Tallulah) remakes 2014 French hit La Famille Bélier, that's still a significant amount of money; however, thanks to its warmth, engaging performances and a welcome lack of cheesiness, it's easy to see why the streaming platform opened its wallet. Fans of the earlier movie will recognise the storyline, which sees 17-year-old Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones, Locke & Key) struggle to balance her family commitments with her dreams of attending music school. She's a talented singer, but she's only just discovered just how skilled she is because she's also the child of deaf adults (hence the film's title). At home, she also plays a key part in keeping the family's fishing business afloat, including by spending mornings before class out on the trawler wither her dad Frank (Troy Kotsur, No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie) and older brother Leo (Daniel Durant, Switched at Birth). Heder helms this still sweet and moving feature with a distinct lack of over-exaggeration, which plagued its predecessor. The fact that Kotsur, Durant and Marlee Matlin (Entangled), the latter as the Rossi matriarch, are all actors who are deaf playing characters who are deaf really couldn't be more important. Their portrayals are naturalistic and lived-in, as is much about this rousing but gentle crowd-pleaser — including tomboy Ruby's blossoming romance with fellow wannabe musician Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Sing Street). CODA is available to stream via Apple TV+. THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN If there's a real-life figure that needs to be brought to the screen, call Benedict Cumberbatch. He's done just that in The Imitation Game, The Current War and The Courier, and also in everything from The Other Boleyn Girl and Creation to 12 Years a Slave and The Fifth Estate as well. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain sees the British actor add another such role to his resume; however, while it steps through its eponymous artist's life and career, this biopic instantly stands out from the rest of the pack. The key: a fabulous decision by director Will Sharpe (Flowers) to style this poignant and lively film after its subject and his work. When he came to fame in the late 19th century, Wain was known for his surreal cat paintings, after all — and while this is a movie that also tracks his sorrows, as well as his struggles with his mental health, it does so with a winning mix of energy and sincerity. Indeed, it'll come as no surprise that The Electrical Life of Louis Wain was shot by Erik Wilson, the same cinematographer who added such a whimsical look to both Paddington and Paddington 2. Animals abound amidst these entrancing visuals, too, but none of the cats that Wain (Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog) becomes obsessed with eat marmalade. That feline fixation stems from a frowned-upon romance with Emily Richardson (Claire Foy, The Girl in the Spider's Web), the governess to his younger sisters — and it, just like Richardson, changes his life. Playing an eccentric artist who firmly took his own route, and was also just as fascinated with electricity as adorable mousers, Cumberbatch finds both the enchanting and the melancholy sides to Wain, while the rest of the stellar cast even includes Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter) on narration duties, plus Richard Ayoade, Taika Waititi and Nick Cave in cameos. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. SLAXX Ask any style guru for their opinion on denim, and they'll all likely give the same answer. Everyone needs a pair of killer jeans, after all — the type that fit perfectly, flatter every inch of your lower half, and that you just don't want to ever take off. In Slaxx, CCC is the store aiming to make all of the above happen. Already priding itself on its eco-friendly, sustainable, sweatshop-free threads, the chain is set to launch a new range of denim that moulds to the wearer's body, with the company's buzzword-spouting CEO (Stephen Bogaert, IT: Chapter Two) certain that they'll change the fashion industry. On the night before the jeans hit the shelves, employees at one store are tasked with making sure everything goes smoothly; however, as new hire Libby (Romane Denis, My Salinger Year), apathetic veteran employee Shruti (Sehar Bhojani, Sex & Ethnicity) and their over-eager boss Craig (Brett Donahue, Private Eyes) soon learn, these are killer jeans in a very literal sense. Quickly, the ravenous pants start stalking and slaying their way through the store. It's a concept that'd do Rubber's Quentin Dupieux proud and, in the hands of Canadian filmmaker Elza Kephart (Go in the Wilderness), the results are highly entertaining. Slaxx wears its equally silly and savage attitude like a second skin, smartly skewers consumerism and retail trends, and possesses stellar special effects that bring its denim to life — and, although never subtle (including in its performances), it's exactly as fun as a film about killer jeans should be. Slaxx is available to stream via Shudder. Looking for more viewing highlights? You can also check out our list of film and TV streaming recommendations, which is updated monthly. Plus, we picked ten standout new straight-to-streaming movies and specials in the middle of the year, too.
Technology has changed the way we travel, and as the world gets smaller it's becoming an increasingly complex place to navigate. Where once we relied on the endorsements of friends and family to help shape our plans, we now treat the opinions of total strangers on TripAdvisor, Expedia and Stayz as gospel. As Lonely Planet roll out their trusty guide books in every digital format imaginable, niche publishers like Wallpaper and le cool are getting in on the act by creating city guides for people seeking experiences that complement their new Paul Smith socks. And what's more, social networking sites Facebook, Path and Google+, paired with photography apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic, let us share things as they happen and make us look like we actually know how to use our SLRs. But what generally lies at the heart of a traveller's wishlist is not the desire to micromanage every detail of their holiday, but to witness something truly beautiful. What these new technologies provide us with is rapid access to the places and people that capture the imagination. Here are 21 locations from around the world that do just that. Mount Roraima, Venezuela Wineglass Bay, Tasmania Multnomah Falls, Oregon, USA Preikestolen, Norway Paterswoldsemeer, Netherlands Blue Caves, Zakynthos, Greece Petra, Jordan Huangshan, China Skaftafell, Iceland Ebenalp, Switzerland Kawasan Falls, Philippines Anse Lazio, Seychelles Yi Peng Festival, Thailand Sagano Bamboo Forest, Japan Santorini, Greece Bora Bora, French Polynesia Moraine Lake, Alberta, Canada Soufriere, St Lucia Capilano Suspension Bridge, British Columbia, Canada Siminopetra, Greece Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Iceland [Images via Coolhunter]
If seeing movies and TV shows you love pick up shiny trophies is your preferred form of sport, congrats — awards season is here for another year. We're never too far away from Hollywood's latest opportunity to celebrate itself, given that the Emmys were only a couple of months back. But the period between December and March tends to be the entertainment industry's version of Christmas (or until April in 2021, given that the Oscars happened later than usual). Accordingly, it's that time of year for the Golden Globes, which has just announced its latest batch of nominees. That said, if you're keen to actually watch a heap of people collect their accolades come Monday, January 10, Australian and New Zealand time, think again — the ceremony won't be televised due to multiple controversies surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organisation behind the awards, and whether it'll stream somewhere (and if any celebrities will actually show up) hasn't yet been revealed. The list of films and series competing still spans plenty of 2021 favourites — covering both the big and small screens, because the Globes likes to have it both ways. Among the cinema fields, Jane Campion's phenomenal western The Power of the Dog leads the charge with seven nods, a feat only matched by nostalgic Kenneth Branagh-directed drama Belfast, which was inspired by the filmmaker's own childhood. And in the TV categories, Succession picked up five nominations, Ted Lasso and The Morning Show nabbed four, and a heap of shows — including Squid Game — picked up three. The Power of the Dog received Australian funding — and from New Zealand, too — so there's a local tie to this year's nominees. Campion also scored a nod for Best Director for the film, and Aussie actor Kodi Smit-McPhee earned a spot among the Best Supporting Actor nominees. Still staying local, Nicole Kidman is a Best Actress in a Drama contender in the cinema fields for playing Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos, while Succession's Sarah Snook scored a Best Supporting Actress nomination in the TV categories. A heap of other excellent flicks and shows earned some love as well — including a Best Drama nod for Dune, a Best Comedy nomination for Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza, acting recognition's for the latter's first-timers Alana Haim (yes, of Haim) and Cooper Hoffman (son of the Philip Seymour Hoffman), plus a trio of nominations for The Great, Hacks and Only Murders in the Building. Other highlights span the Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical nod for Annette's Marion Cotillard, Lupin's two showings, and Jennifer Coolidge's recognition for The White Lotus. Plus, after making history in 2021 for nominating three women for Best Director for the first time ever — after only ever nominating seven other female filmmakers in the Golden Globes prior 77-year run — the awards have given not only Campion but also The Lost Daughter's Maggie Gyllenhaal some love this time around. If you're wondering what else is in the running, here's the full list: GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEES: BEST MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Belfast CODA Dune King Richard The Power of the Dog BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos Lady Gaga, House of Gucci Kristen Stewart, Spencer BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Mahershala Ali, Swan Song Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog Will Smith, King Richard Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth BEST MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Cyrano Don't Look Up Licorice Pizza Tick, Tick … Boom! West Side Story BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Marion Cotillard, Annette Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza Jennifer Lawrence, Don't Look Up Emma Stone, Cruella Rachel Zegler, West Side Story BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Leonardo DiCaprio, Don't Look Up Peter Dinklage, Cyrano Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick … Boom! Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza Anthony Ramos, In the Heights BEST MOTION PICTURE — ANIMATED Encanto Flee Luca My Sunny Maad Raya and the Last Dragon BEST MOTION PICTURE — FOREIGN LANGUAGE Compartment No. 6 Drive My Car The Hand of God A Hero Parallel Mothers BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Caitríona Balfe, Belfast Ariana DeBose, West Side Story Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard Ruth Negga, Passing BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar Jamie Dornan, Belfast Ciarán Hinds, Belfast Troy Kotsur, CODA Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog BEST DIRECTOR — MOTION PICTURE Kenneth Branagh, Belfast Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter Steven Spielberg, West Side Story Denis Villeneuve, Dune BEST SCREENPLAY — MOTION PICTURE Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza Kenneth Branagh, Belfast Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog Adam McKay, Don't Look Up Aaron Sorkin, Being the Ricardos BEST ORIGINAL SCORE — MOTION PICTURE Dune Encanto The French Dispatch Parallel Mothers The Power of the Dog BEST ORIGINAL SONG — MOTION PICTURE 'Be Alive', King Richard 'Dos Orugitas', Encanto 'Down to Joy', Belfast 'Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)', Respect 'No Time to Die', No Time to Die BEST TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Lupin The Morning Show Pose Squid Game Succession BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Uzo Aduba, In Treatment Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show Christine Baranski, The Good Fight Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale MJ Rodriguez, Pose BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Brian Cox, Succession Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game Billy Porter, Pose Jeremy Strong, Succession Omar Sy, Lupin BEST TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY The Great Hacks Ted Lasso Reservation Dogs Only Murders in the Building BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Hannah Einbinder, Hacks Elle Fanning, The Great Issa Rae, Insecure Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish Jean Smart, Hacks BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Anthony Anderson, Black-ish Nicholas Hoult, The Great Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso BEST TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Dopesick Impeachment: American Crime Story Maid Mare of Easttown The Underground Railroad BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jessica Chastain, Scenes From a Marriage Cynthia Erivo, Genius: Aretha Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision Margaret Qualley, Maid Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Paul Bettany, WandaVision Oscar Isaac, Scenes From a Marriage Michael Keaton, Dopesick Ewan McGregor, Halston Tahar Rahim, The Serpent BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick Andie MacDowell, Maid Sarah Snook, Succession Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TV Billy Crudup, The Morning Show Kieran Culkin, Succession Mark Duplass, The Morning Show Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso Oh Yeong-su, Squid Game The 2022 Golden Globes will be announced on Monday, January 10 Australian and New Zealand time. For further details, head to the awards' website. Top image: The Crown, Des Willie/Netflix.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest through to old and recent favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue in December. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery opens with a puzzle box inside a puzzle box. The former is a wooden cube delivered out of the blue, the latter the followup to 2019 murder-mystery hit Knives Out, and both are as tightly, meticulously, cleverly and cannily orchestrated as each other. The physical version has siblings, all sent to summon a motley crew of characters to the same place, as these types of flicks need to boast. The film clearly has its own brethren, and slots in beside its predecessor as one of the genre's gleaming standouts. More Knives Out movies will follow as well, which the two so far deserve to keep spawning as long as writer/director Rian Johnson (Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi) and Benoit Blanc-playing star Daniel Craig (No Time to Die) will make them. Long may they keep the franchise's key detective and audience alike sleuthing. Long may they have everyone revelling in every twist, trick and revelation, as the breezy blast that is Glass Onion itself starts with. What do Connecticut Governor and US Senate candidate Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision), model-slash-designer-slash-entrepreneur Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon), scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr, The Many Saints of Newark) and gun-toting, YouTube-posting men's rights activist Duke Cody (Dave Bautista, Thor: Love and Thunder) all have in common when this smart and savvy sequel kicks off? They each receive those literal puzzle boxes, of course, and they visibly enjoy their time working out what they're about. The cartons are the key to their getaway to Greece — their invites from tech mogul Miles Bron (Edward Norton, The French Dispatch), in fact — and also perfectly emblematic of this entire feature. It's noteworthy that this quartet carefully but playfully piece together clues to unveil the contents inside, aka Glass Onion's exact modus operandi. That said, it's also significant that a fifth recipient of these elaborate squares, Andi Brand (Janelle Monáe, Antebellum), simply decides to smash their way inside with a hammer. As Brick and Looper also showed, Johnson knows when to attentively dole out exactly what he needs to, including when the body count starts. He also knows when to let everything spill out, and when to put the cravat-wearing Blanc on the case. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery streams via Netflix. Read our full review. KEVIN CAN F**K HIMSELF Not once, not even jokingly, does Annie Murphy utter the words "ew, David" in Kevin Can F**k Himself. She's never ever just a little bit Alexis, either. Murphy is just as exceptional and awards-worthy here, however, in a superb show that's a clever and cutting dark comedy — and, perhaps more accurately, offers a clear-eyed unpacking of what sitcoms usually mean (Schitt's Creek excluded, obviously) for women. In its first season in 2021, Kevin Can F**k Himself cast its star as Allison Devine-McRoberts, wife to the manchild of a titular figure (Eric Petersen, Sydney to the Max), and clearly in the kind of TV show about obnoxious husbands and their put-upon spouses that've been a small-screen mainstay for far too long. In those segments of the series, the lights glow, the McRoberts home looks like every other abode in every other program of its ilk, multiple cameras observe the action and viewers can be forgiven for expecting Kevin James to show up. Also, canned laughter chuckles — always unearned. Consider the above setup Kevin Can F**k Himself's starting point, though, because the show itself does. From there, creator Valerie Armstrong (Lodge 49) exposes what life is truly like for Allison — who is considered Kevin's wife first and foremost by almost everyone around her — including by switching looks, hues and camera arrangements whenever its namesake isn't around. The visible change is smart and effective, with this two-season show keeping digging into Allison's bleak situation from there. In the spirit of the series' title, she's trying to rid herself of her horrible marriage, including with help from neighbour Patty (Mary Hollis Inboden, The Righteous Gemstones). Alas, as this second and sadly last batch of episodes shows — as its first did as well — nothing is ever that easy. In a better world, Kevin Can F**k Himself would've had more time to unfurl and interrogate its story, but in this world it doesn't put a foot wrong with the time it's been given. Murphy and Inboden make one of TV's best duos, too; fingers crossed that someone reteams them again sometime soon. Kevin can F**k Himself streams via AMC+. Read our full review of 2021's season one. LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER Neither Emma Corrin's nor Jack O'Connell's resumes lack past highlights — The Crown for the former, and Skins, Starred Up, '71 and The North Water among the latter's — but the two actors scorch up the screen in Lady Chatterley's Lover. There'd be a problem if they didn't, given that the film adapts DH Lawrence's famously steamy and even banned 1928 novel. (In Australia, even a book about the British obscenity trial that the tome inspired was censored.) To tell this tale about an upper-class wife, her unfulfilling marriage to a Baronet injured in World War I, and the sexual and emotional yearning she quenches with the family property's gamekeeper, chemistry has to drip from the images, sparks need to fly so furiously that the movie's frames almost ignite, and a feverish and all-encompassing mood is a must. Along with actor-turned-director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (The Mustang), Corrin and O'Connell bring all of the above to the latest take on Lady Chatterley's Lover, and help the sumptuous erotic period drama itself not just bubble but boil. As lensed with a sensual eye by cinematographer Benoît Delhomme (At Eternity's Gate), this achingly romantic film sees its titular Lady Connie (Corrin, My Policeman) meet her also-eponymous paramour Oliver Mellors (O'Connell, Seberg) following the war, after Clifford Chatterley (Matthew Duckett, A Confession) has returned paralysed and moved his bride into his stately estate. Talk of an heir remains — pre-injury, it was the first thing mentioned in their wedding toast — but Clifford's condition, as well as his focus on writing a novel and then modernising the local mine, prove obstacles. Connie could have a discreet affair for the sole purpose of getting pregnant, however, as Clifford suggests. But it isn't just a head-over-heels clandestine love that springs with Mellors, who's also a veteran. Connie and Oliver are bowled over by the kind of adoration, affection and lust that inspires frolics in the fields and stripping down in the rain, all while their romance also helps interrogate class clashes. As well as woozily heady, vibrantly performed and handsomely shot, Lady Chatterley's Lover also enjoys eating the rich; yes, that's sexy, too. Lady Chatterley's Lover streams via Netflix. NANNY In Nanny, Aisha (Anna Diop, Us) is haunted, both when she's asleep and awake. Her slumbers are disturbed by nightmares, but seeing rising waters and unwelcome spiders isn't just relegated to when the Senegalese woman in New York closes her eyes. A gut-wrenching sense of unease also lingers while she works, after securing a childminding job for rich Upper East Side residents Amy (Michelle Monaghan, Echoes) and Adam (Morgan Spector, The Gilded Age). Their five-year-old daughter Rose (Rose Decker, Mare of Easttown) adores Aisha — more than her parents, it often seems. And, the nannying gig helps Aisha distract herself from missing her own son, who she's desperately trying to bring over to the US. She's haunted by his absence, too, and by the stolen snippets of conversation she gets with him on the phone, constantly juggling the time difference. The supernatural disturbances plaguing Aisha and her feelings about leaving her child in Senegal to chase a better future for them both are clearly linked, although Nanny is atmospheric and insightful rather than blunt and overt. The first horror film to win Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize, this evocative effort hails from writer/director Nikyatu Jusu, who makes her feature-length debut with quite the calling card. 2022 isn't short on affectingly moody and evocative female-focused thrillers with a maternal bent — see: Resurrection, which also debuted at Sundance — but Nanny's addition to the fold is deeply steeped in Aisha's immigrant experience. Thanks to all that otherworldly water, it feels like it's always steeping, in fact, soaking in the troubles and struggles of trying to snatch even a piece of the American dream when you're not wealthy, white and originally from the so-called land of the free. Also prominent: the dispiriting minutiae of Aisha's day, aka exactly what she has to endure to even have a chance of gaining what comes easily and obliviously to her employers. Like its central figure, Nanny is haunted several times over, too. Nanny streams via Prime Video. COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS A girl, a guy and a meet-cute over an adorable animal: that's the delightful and very funny Colin From Accounts' underlying formula. When medical student Ashley (Harriet Dyer, The Invisible Man) and microbrewery owner Gordon (Patrick Brammall, Evil) cross paths in the street one otherwise standard Sydney morning, they literally come to an impasse. He lets her go first, she flashes her nipple as thanks, then he's so distracted that he hits a stray dog with his car. As these circumstances demonstrate, Colin From Accounts isn't afraid to get awkward, much to the benefit of audiences. There's a syrupy way to proceed from the show's debut moments, intertwining sparks flying with idyllic dates, plus zero doubts of a happy ending for humans and pooches alike. If this was a movie, that's how it'd happen. Then there's Dyer and Brammall's way, with the duo creating and writing the series as well as starring in it, and focusing as much on ordinary existential mayhem — working out who you want to be, navigating complex relationships and learning to appreciate the simple pleasure of someone else's company, for example — as pushing its leads together. Just like in the Hollywood versions of this kind of tale, romance does blossom. That Dyer and Brammall are behind Colin From Accounts, their past chemistry on fellow Aussie comedy No Activity and the fact that they're married IRL means that pairing them up as more than new pals was always going to be on the show's agenda. It's how the series fleshes out each character and their baggage — including those who-am-I questions, Ash's difficult dynamic with her attention-seeking mother Lynelle (Helen Thomson, Elvis), and the responsibility that running your own business and committing to care for other people each bring — that helps give it depth. Colin From Accounts lets Ash and Gordon unfurl their woes and wishes, and also lets them grow. Sometimes, that happens by peeing and pooping in the wrong place, because that's also the type of comedy this is. Sometimes, it's because the show's central couple have taken a risk, or faced their struggles, or genuinely found solace in each other. Always, this new Aussie gem is breezy and weighty — and instantly bingeable. Colin From Accounts streams via Binge. Read our full review. DREAMING WALLS: INSIDE THE CHELSEA HOTEL Part of Manhattan since the 1880s, the Chelsea Hotel is as much a New York City icon as the Statute of Liberty or the Empire State Building, and as influential over the cultural landscape as well. It's where 2001: A Space Odyssey was written by Arthur C Clarke and Stanley Kubrick, where Janis Joplin and Allen Ginsburg have resided — Patti Smith, Madonna, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Leonard Cohen as well — and a key factor in the Andy Warhol co-directed 1966 film Chelsea Girls. It's the last place that poet Dylan Thomas stayed, and where Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of the Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious, was found dead. All of these details could fuel a documentary, or several, but that's not the approach that the Martin Scorsese-produced Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel takes. As the building undergoes extensive renovations that've been happening for years, upending long-term inhabitants and transforming historic apartments, filmmakers Amélie van Elmbt (The Elephant and the Butterfly) and Maya Duverdier spend time with the people determined not to leave. Everyone who still calls the Chelsea home knows the ins and outs of its past; "the ghosts who haunt it," as one puts it. But Dreaming Walls considers those everyday dwellers — most linked to creative fields in one way or another, of course — the life and soul of the current joint. That might be easy when so much of the place, and its gorgeous gothic architecture, is a construction site in the documentary's frames. The contrast between stripped-bare walls and jam-packed apartments that've been occupied by the same people for decades is haunting as well. It's no wonder that this ethereal and evocative film is largely content to loiter, to listen and to bear witness to the folks who've been there, seen it all, heard what they didn't personally experience and aren't willing to simply move just because a boutique spot is poised to take over. Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel streams via DocPlay. BUMP Time-jump alert: when Bump returns for its third season, four years have passed in this supremely bingeable Aussie dramedy's on-screen world. Oly (Nathalie Morris, Petrol) and Santi (Carlos Sanson, Sweet As) are no longer high schoolers, or even teenagers. They're also no longer the couple that took a big leap at the end of season two by moving into their own apartment, away from both of their chaotic families, while Oly finished her HSC, Santi started working full-time and both juggled all of the above with caring for baby J. Indeed, this new batch of Bump episodes begins with its central pairing taking the now almost five-year-old Jacinda (Ava Cannon) to her first day of kindergarten. All three are both excited and nervous amid the awkward co-parenting energy between the now-split Oly and Santi — and as Oly's mother Angie (Claudia Karvan, Moja Vesna) surprises them en route. Times and ages may have changed, and situations and appearances as well, but the warmth this series feels for its characters — and the complexity it works through in well-worn scenarios — steadfastly remains. We said it when the first ten-episode season dropped at the end of 2020, and we still stand by it today: Heartbreak High fans, Bump is for you, too. That isn't just because Karvan starred in The Heartbreak Kid, the movie that the OG Heartbreak High spun off from, but due to its dedication to chronicling the ins and outs of growing up and parenting in Sydney — yes, with school a focus as well. Bump has matured as Oly and Santi also have, however, even if the same can't always be said about Angie, Oly's dad Dom (Angus Sampson, The Lincoln Lawyer) and her older brother Bowie (Christian Byers, Between Two Worlds). A key theme in season three: what it means when life already hasn't turned out as planned when you still have so much of it left ahead of you. The show is called Bump, after all, and finds plenty of them paving everyone's paths. With the series also devoting its time to Santi's stepmother Rosa (Paula Garcia, Thirteen Lives) and best friend Vince (Ioane Saula, Preppers) among its broader look at Oly and Santi's support network, it also finds an array of ways to contemplate hopes, dreams, loves, losses, joys and disappointments. Bump streams via Binge from December 26. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK ABBOTT ELEMENTARY The Office did it, in both the UK and US versions. Parks and Recreation did so, too. What We Do in the Shadows still does it — and, yes, there's more where they all came from. By now, the mockumentary format is a well-established part of the sitcom realm. Indeed, it's so common that additional shows deciding to give it a whirl aren't noteworthy for that alone. But in Emmy-winner Abbott Elementary, which is currently streaming its second season, the faux doco gimmick is also deployed as an outlet for the series' characters. They're all public school elementary teachers in Philadelphia, and the chats to-camera help convey the stresses and tolls of doing what they're devoted to. In a wonderfully warm and also clear-eyed gem created by, co-written by and starring triple-threat Quinta Brunson (Miracle Workers), that'd be teaching young hearts and minds no matter the everyday obstacles, the utter lack of resources and funding, or the absence of interest from the bureaucracy above them. Brunson plays perennially perky 25-year-old teacher Janine Teagues, who loves her gig and her second-grade class. She also adores her colleague Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph, Ray Donovan), the kindergarten teacher that she sees as a mentor and work mum. Actually, Janine isn't just fond of all of the above — she's so devoted to her job that she'll let nothing stand in her way. But that isn't easy or straightforward in a system that's short on cash and care from the powers-that-be to make school better for its predominantly Black student populace. Also featuring Everybody Hates Chris' Tyler James Williams (also The United States vs Billie Holiday) as an apathetic substitute teacher, Lisa Ann Walter (The Right Mom) and Chris Perfetti (Sound of Metal) as Abbott faculty mainstays, and Janelle James (Black Monday) as the incompetent principal who only scored her position via blackmail, everything about Abbott Elementary is smart, kindhearted, funny and also honest. That remains the case in season two, where Janine is newly single and grappling with being on her own, sparks are flying with Williams' Gregory and James' Ava can't keep bluffing her way through her days. Abbott Elementary streams via Disney+. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN Is every vampire film destined to become a television series? Where Buffy the Vampire Slayer, What We Do in the Shadows and Interview with the Vampire have already tread — the latter just this year, too — Let the Right One In now follows. Originally a devastatingly haunting Swedish novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, then an entrancing 2008 film in its original language, then an American big-screen remake called Let Me In, this one just keeps drawing audiences in. In its present guise, it takes its tale to New York, where Mark Kane (Demián Bichir, Godzilla vs Kong) and his daughter Eleanor (Madison Taylor Baez, Selena: The Series) are trying to live as normal a life as they can when the latter is a member of the bloodsucking undead. Other changes abound, including the fact that Ellie has been blighted by her condition for just a decade; that NYC is being plagued by a series of brutal but strange killings; and that former pharmaceutical executive Arthur Logan (Željko Ivanek, The Last Duel), his estranged daughter Claire (Grace Gummer, Dr Death) and afflicted son Peter (Jacob Buster, Colony) factor into the narrative. Because everything is a murder-mystery of late — see: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery above, and fellow recent streaming hits Only Murders in the Building, The Afterparty, Bad Sisters and Black Bird — so is Let the Right One In circa 2022 in its way. When Ellie befriends a boy, as has happened in every version of this tale so far, his mother happens to be a police detective investigating those aforementioned deaths. So, while the show chronicles Ellie and Isaiah Cole's (Ian Foreman, The Holiday Switch) affinity as outsiders, with the magic-loving neighbour kid bullied at school, it also charts his mum Naomi's (Anika Noni Rose, Maid) time on the job. And, this Let the Right One In is also a survival quest, chasing a cure for Ellie's predicament. In other words, creator and writer Andrew Hinderaker (Away) has taken the source material, filtered it through thoroughly 2022 obsessions, conjured up there requisite moody vibe and filled it with weighty performances. Sinking your teeth in is recommended. Let the Right One In streams via Paramount+. 2022 CINEMA HIGHLIGHTS WORTH CATCHING UP WITH AT HOME FLUX GOURMET Flickering across a cinema screen, even the greatest of movies only engage two senses: sight and hearing. We can't touch, taste or smell films, even if adding scratch-and-sniff aromas to the experience has become a cult-favourite gimmick. British director Peter Strickland hasn't attempted that — but his features make you feel like you're running your fingers over an alluring dress (In Fabric), feeling the flutter of insect wings (The Duke of Burgundy) or, in his latest, enjoying the smells and tastes whipped up by a culinary collective that turns cooking and eating into performance art. Yes, if you've seen any of his movies before, Flux Gourmet instantly sounds like something only Strickland could make. While it's spinning that tale, it literally sounds like only something he could come up with as well, given that his audioscapes are always a thing of wonder (see also: the sound-focused Berberian Sound Studio). And, unsurprisingly due to his strong and distinctive sense of style and mood, everything about Flux Gourmet looks and feels like pure Strickland, too. The setting: a culinary institute overseen by Jan Stevens (Gwendoline Christie, Wednesday), that regularly welcomes in different creative groups to undertake residencies. Her guests collaborate, percolate and come up with eye-catching blends of food, bodies and art — hosting OTT dinners, role-playing a trip to the supermarket, getting scatalogical and turning a live colonoscopy into a show, for instance. Watching and chronicling the latest stint by a 'sonic catering' troupe is journalist Stones (Makis Papadimitriou, Beckett), who also has gastrointestinal struggles, is constantly trying not to fart and somehow manages to keep a straight face as everything gets farcical around him. Asa Butterfield (Sex Education), Ariane Labed (The Souvenir: Part II) and Strickland regular Fatma Mohamed play the three bickering artists, and their time at the institute get messy and heated, fast — but this is a film that's as warm as it is wild, and stands out even among Strickland's inimitable work. Also crucial: riffing on This Is Spinal Tap. Flux Gourmet streams via Shudder. Read our full review. STREAMING HIGHLIGHTS FROM EARLIER IN THE YEAR WORTH CATCHING UP ON THE LAST MOVIE STARS Filmmakers adoring filmmakers is basically its own on-screen genre. Six-part documentary limited series The Last Movie Stars gives that idea a different spin: actors loving actors. Here, Ethan Hawke turns director, not for the first time — see: films Blaze, Seymour: An Introduction, The Hottest State and Chelsea Walls — to show his affection for the inimitable Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Unsurprisingly, he has a wealth of company, some chatting through their fondness for two Hollywood talents like no other and some contributing by giving voice to interview transcripts. For a memoir that didn't eventuate, Newman and Woodward compiled chats by a who's who of showbusiness during their careers; however, they also had the tapes destroyed. Cue George Clooney voicing Newman's chats, Laura Linney doing Woodward's, and everyone from Oscar Isaac, Sam Rockwell and Mark Ruffalo to Rose Byrne and Zoe Kazan also subbing in for other famous names. That's where The Last Movie Stars' audio comes from, echoing with insightful discussions given the emotion they deserve. Hawke also includes new zoom chats with his players, as well as with Martin Scorsese, his daughter and Stranger Things star Maya and more, but his engrossing and probing series is head over heels for pairing those recreated interviews with archival footage. Staring at Newman and Woodward is easy, as is celebrating them and their relationship. This isn't just a case of deserved worship, though, but shows its subjects as real people rather than just stars — all while exploring Hollywood at the time, stepping through their careers and contemporaries, and overflowing with clear-eyed warmth. Hawke doesn't avoid tricky traits or truths, and this in-depth doco is all the more enlightening and compassionate for it. Whether you already treasure Newman and Woodward or you've always wanted to know more about the two legends, this is a movie buff's pure and utter dream. The Last Movie Stars streams via Binge. MO For three seasons on Ramy, Mohammed Amer has played Mo, the diner-owning cousin to the show's namesake. For those three seasons, including 2022's batch of episodes, he's also been part of one of the best and most thoughtful shows currently streaming, especially when it comes to the immigrant experience and telling Muslim American stories. Instead of just co-starring in an art-imitates-life dramedy inspired by someone else's existence, however, Amer has taken a leaf out of Ramy Youssef's book with Mo — a show with the same underlying concept, as co-created by Amer and Youssef. This time, the pair draw upon Amer's background rather than Youssef's. So, Amer's on-screen alter-ego is a Palestinian living in America. He's a refugee, in fact, who fled the Middle East when he was a child and sought asylum with his family. His US home: Houston, Texas. IRL, every one of these points is drawn from Amer's existence, as fans of his Netflix standup specials Mo Amer: The Vagabond and Mo Amer: Mohammed in Texas will recognise. That's the history behind Mo, with the series' eight-episode first season honing in on its protagonist's attempts to gain US citizenship. Mo Najjar (Amer, Black Adam), his mother Yusra (Farah Bsieso, Daughters of Abdul) and brother Sameer (Omar Elba, Limetown) have been waiting two decades to have their cases heard — another detail ripped from reality — and trying to forge new lives while remaining in legal limbo has long since taken a toll. Spanning losing jobs, trying to find a new one as an undocumented American resident, the Najjars' family dynamic, pain from back home they haven't processed, the weight of cultural traditions and expectations, and Mo's relationship with Mexican and Catholic mechanic Maria (Teresa Ruiz, Father Stu), there's no shortage of detail and drama to Amer's passion project. Indeed, every second of the series feels as personal and authentic as it clearly is, and does far more than merely give Amer his own Ramy. Mo streams via Netflix. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November this year. You can also check out our running list of standout must-stream 2022 shows as well — and our best 15 new shows of the year, top 15 returning shows over the same period, 15 shows you might've missed and best 15 straight-to-streaming movies of 2022.
For screen fiends who spend their winters indoors at their favourite picture palaces, there's one surefire way to know that better weather has hit: the arrival of outdoor cinema season. When Sydney's chillier temperatures give way to sunny days and warm nights, the city's spaces set up plenty of openair big screens showing flicks. One such spot: The Rocks Laneway Cinema. As you might know from past runs, this film-loving pop-up sticks around for close to half the year, screening movies every Wednesday night — and for free. After returning for the end of 2024 in November, it's screening until March 2024. Mark your diary for a date on Atherden Street. Also, get ready for different monthly themes. December will naturally showcase Christmas classics. On the lineup: 80s-era laughs thanks with Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building) and the late, great John Candy in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, which screens on Wednesday, December 4; a dose of Dr Seuss via The Grinch Who Stole Christmas on Wednesday, December 11; and 90s favourite Home Alone 2: Lost in New York on Wednesday, December 18. Laneway Cinema's movies screen from 7pm each week — and although entry is free, bookings are recommended because seating is limited. Heading along also means helping a good cause, with the proceeds from every $2 bag of popcorn sold going to charity. The beneficiary changes monthly, too, with Plate It Forward receiving the funds in December. If you're the kind of cinemagoer that needs snacks and sips, the venues around laneway have plenty to eat and drink on offer. That means making a date with spots such as Caminetto Restaurant, Ribs and Burgers, Pancakes on the Rocks, Playfair Restaurant and more. Obviously, you'll need your wallet for whatever tempts your tastebuds. Images: Anna Kucera / Adam Scarf.
You might picture gold when the prospect of exploring the Bendigo region comes up, but you'll quickly discover that the city and its surrounding townships are full of contemporary cultural landmarks and unique places to visit. Whether you plan on taking a stroll along the Bendigo Artists Walk or want to pay a visit to the Buda Historic Home and Garden, you'll be happy to know that a host of incredible stays are waiting for you to rest your weary head at the end of the day. From the cutest country cottages to converted halls and glamping homesteads, we've teamed up with Bendigo Regional Tourism to bring you a list of the most distinctive places to stay and use as a launchpad to explore the best cultural hotspots of Bendigo, Castlemaine and beyond. [caption id="attachment_746467" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mackenzie Quarters.[/caption] VISIT BENDIGO ART GALLERY AND STAY IN A 140-YEAR-OLD BENDIGO ICON Since undergoing a stellar facelift in 2014, the Bendigo Art Gallery has emerged as one of Australia's top regional art institutions. Having hosted some world-class contemporary art exhibitions throughout its esteemed history, the gallery's modern design draws in visitors from across Australia. In recent months, they've been coming in droves to gaze upon the showcase of influential fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga. After the exhibition closes on November 10, the gallery will welcome works from Gunditjmara/Yorta Yorta artist Joshua Muir — What's on your mind? will run from November 31–March 1, 2020. You can't stay much closer to the Bendigo Gallery than The Residence at Mackenzie Quarters. Mackenzie Quarters was built in 1877 as the deanery for the neighbouring school hall and was referred to as 'The Master's Residence'. It's located in the heart of the arts precinct, and cuts a striking figure, right across the road from the gallery. The residence has been lovingly restored to offer guests modern conveniences across five bedrooms, two bathrooms and multiple entertaining spaces. Come February 2020, there'll also be a sophisticated wine bar in the premise's basement. [caption id="attachment_746487" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sandhurst Ridge Winery Bed & Breakfast.[/caption] EXPLORE THE GREAT STUPA AND FINISH THE DAY WITH WINE STRAIGHT FROM THE VINEYARD An absolute must-visit when in the region is the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, an enormous Buddhist pagoda. Symbolising the path to enlightenment and providing a calm place to meditate, this (almost) 50-metre tall structure is the largest example of a stupa in the Western world. To continue the calming vibes, head to Sandhurst Ridge Vineyard for a relaxing bed and breakfast experience amid the greenery, or treat yourself to a luxurious stay at Balgownie Estate Winery Retreat. Choose from a self-contained cottage with views of Sandhurst's tranquil pond, vineyard and bushland, or one of 15 glamping tents dotted across the Balgownie Estate grounds. There's even a personal outdoor soaker tub on the deck of the safari-style tents on offer. [caption id="attachment_746947" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Scout Hall, Harcourt.[/caption] WANDER AROUND CASTLEMAINE ART MUSEUM AND SPEND THE NIGHT IN THE OLD SCOUT HALL Founded in 1913, the Castlemaine Art Museum is one of regional Victoria's most striking cultural landmarks. The museum boasts a delightful art deco design with purpose-built galleries showing everything from historical artefacts to contemporary art, including the 2019 Experimental Print Prize exhibition, which opens December 7 and runs until May 2020. The leafy township of Castlemaine is located within the heart of the Victorian goldfields. It's little wonder this area is a hub for creative types — it's surrounded by quaint little towns and stunning bushland waiting to be explored for inspiration. Earn your explorers badge with a stay in nearby Harcourt at the old Scout Hall, which is complete with a stage for forcing your friends and family to watch you perform. The luxury self-contained apartment retains plenty of its original charm — including soaring ceilings, exposed arch beams and shiny wood floorboards — but has been upgraded so you get all the modern things you need like a nice kitchen and wifi. [caption id="attachment_746297" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Big4 Castlemaine Gardens Holiday Park.[/caption] CHECK OUT THE BUDA HISTORIC HOME AND SLEEP IN A LUXURY BELL TENT Once the legendary property of prominent Hungarian silversmith Ernest Leviny, today the Buda Historic Home and Garden provides a fully intact glimpse into the past with furniture, artwork and personal belongings remaining much the same as the home's heyday back in the 19th century. A visit to the property is a day well spent, with three acres of heritage garden to explore as well as a gift shop and plant nursery so you can take home a piece of the history. Continue the garden vibes of your getaway at the nearby Big 4 Holiday Park. Stay with us — this isn't your typical caravan park. Set on the edge of the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens, you can get yourself a luxury bell tent complete with a queen-size bed and exceptionally comfortable linen. You'll be glamping in style on a timber deck, perfect for kicking back with a bottle of vino, looking out to the greenery. [caption id="attachment_746549" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Fairbank House.[/caption] SPEND THE NIGHT IN A COTTAGE SURROUNDED BY GREENERY AND STOP BY CASCADE ART Set inside a former Gothic Revival church, Cascade Art is a stunning regional cultural landmark that any big city would be grateful to have. Led by long-term Maldon residents Kareen Anchen and Jeff Gardner, the place is more than just an art gallery — it also hosts regular creative launches, artist talks, workshops and pop-up events. It also supports emerging printmakers from across the region. Just across town, you'll find a cute Victorian cottage that's perfect for a weekend getaway. The stylish Fairbank House has plenty of entertaining spaces and lovely country garden vibes but is also conveniently located to explore the rest of Maldon, a picturesque town that has maintained much of its 19th-century architecture in tribute to rich gold rush-era history. [caption id="attachment_746305" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pretty Cottage.[/caption] EXPLORE THE CENTRAL GOLDFIELDS FROM HISTORICAL TALBOT Presenting artwork inspired by the wonders of the Central Goldfields, Maryborough's Central Goldfields Art Gallery offers visitors a frequently changing lineup of exhibitions that draw from its vast permanent collection and a range of local creative talent. Home to works by seminal Australian artists such as Dean Bowen, Arthur Boyd and Ray Crooke, the space has everything from landscapes to textile art on display. While in the area, you can also visit Possum Gully Fine Arts Gallery. This bush gallery exhibits a unique collection of works from established Australian artists, covering disciplines including printmaking, painting, drawing, art glass and ceramics. If it's local history and creativity that interests you, the neighbouring town of Talbot is the perfect spot to make your home for the weekend. We found a particularly Pretty Cottage, which was built way back in the 1880s. The fully restored home and its quaint country garden will be all yours during your stay. [caption id="attachment_747414" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Learmonths Place[/caption] STEP INTO HISTORY AT WEDDERBURN'S COACH HOUSE GALLERY THEN ESCAPE TO A FARM For a brief moment in the 1850s, Wedderburn had a significant role in the Victorian gold rush. It only lasted a few years, but the tight-knit community continues to present travellers with a glimpse into the past. The Coach House Gallery and Museum is where to head to see the best work from local artists, while there's also a replica general store that harks back to a time more than a hundred years ago. If you're after a real getaway from city life, there's a 22-acre property on the Loddon River ready to act as your home away from home after a day of exploring Wedderburn and surrounds. Learmonths Place is a fully renovated family farmhouse, where you can breathe fresh country air and enjoy taking in the river views and starry nights. [caption id="attachment_747412" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rostrata Country House[/caption] ANTIQUE SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP AND THEN RELAX IN NATURE If you're a lover of knick-knacks and collectables, you may have already known that Inglewood is a must-visit when it comes to searching for antique goods. Wander down Brooke Street and you'll soon discover everything from art, books and French furniture being sold in stores such as Fusspots at Inglewood, Sharps Bazaar and Inglewood Emporium. After all that shopping, you'll need somewhere to rest and rejuvenate, so why not escape to Rostrata Country House. Just a short drive from Inglewood through Tarnagulla (the town of churches), the farm stay lets you enjoy the quiet country life for as long as you like. The fully contained home has space for six, plenty of seating in the gardens, and bikes you can use to explore. To start planning your trip to Bendigo and to discover more cultural happenings in the region (and beyond), head to the Bendigo Regional Tourism website. Top image: Rostrata Country House.
If you've ever wanted to indulge in an immersive fine-dining feast onboard a luxe yacht, here's your chance. Acclaimed chef Nelly Robinson will be plating up a six-course sensory fare for this year's Vivid Sydney. NEL's founder and chef patron will take over the kitchen of superyacht The Jackson on Saturday, May 25, for what promises to be a colourful culinary journey backed by front-row views of the iconic Sydney Harbour. Robinson is known for his avant-garde and often kooky degustation menus, so prepare for the kind unbridled creativity that's been on display in his previous degustations, which span from Disney-inspired dishes and Christmas-themed festivities to a dedicated showcase of native Aussie ingredients and even a bold take on KFC. Upon boarding the multimillion-dollar cruiser, you'll be met with free-flowing sparkling for the first hour, as well as a selection of small bites including beetroot and tuna tarts, smoked oysters and a chicken and macadamia toastie. For the sit-down portion of the evening, you'll tuck into a lemon myrtle-infused poached salmon for entree, lamb shoulder with herb risotto for main and a banana-starring dessert. To finish the cruise on a high, head on upstairs for a boogie accompanied by a rose heart canapé. Tickets cost $325 per person, but you can add an additional $65 for a Tyrrell's Wine pairing to accompany your meal. At the end of the evening, you'll disembark at King Street Wharf where you can continue partying into the night. If you love fine food, immersive creative experiences and fabulous views, you best consider adding this to your list of must-book Vivid Sydney events. Head to The Jackson's website to purchase tickets to A Night with Nelly Robinson before they sell out.
There are a lot of similarities between Wild Nothing and fellow chillwave pioneers Toro Y Moi and Washed Out. All three are bedroom recordings by one-man bands, and all three men are from the southern U.S. Freaky! All make dreamy, lo-fi music with breathy vocals and steady beats that you can a) dance to at an underground disco, or b) listen to alone in your room while you stare at your posters of '80s indie bands. In the case of Wild Nothing's Virginia-born Jack Tatum, the posters he's staring at belong to The Cure, The Smiths and Simple Minds. Tatum puts a sunny disposition on their '80s gloom pop with chiming guitars and soothing vocals. You can chillax to his latest LP Nocturne in your room alone, or join some other shoegazers for a little boogie at Oxford Art Factory when Wild Nothing visits Australia for the first time in March. I hope he plays Chinatown. https://youtube.com/watch?v=zm636VSQXUU
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest to old favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from November's haul of newbies. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL CAUSEWAY Trauma is a screenwriter's best friend. If on-screen characters didn't have past stresses to overcome or new hardships to cope with — usually both — then dramatic scripts would barely last a few pages. Neither would horror flicks, or thrillers, or plenty of comedies; however, few films are happy to sit with trauma in the way that (and as well as) Causeway does. Starring Jennifer Lawrence (Don't Look Up) as a military veteran sent home from Afghanistan after being blown up, working her way through rehab and determined to re-enlist as soon as she has medical sign-off, this subtle, thoughtful and powerful movie grapples with several stark truths. It knows that some woes do genuinely change lives, and not for the better. It's well aware that many miseries can't be overcome, and completely alter the person experiencing them. It's keenly cognisant that that simply existing can be a series of heartbreaks, and escaping that cycle can be the most powerful motivator in the world. And, when Atlanta and Bullet Train's Brian Tyree Henry enters the picture as a New Orleans mechanic with his own history, it sees the solace that can be found between people willing to face their tough realities together. When Causeway begins, Lawrence's Lynsey is freshly out of hospital, and learning how to walk, dress, shower, drive and do all other everyday tasks again. Even then, she still wants to redeploy. Directed by feature first-timer Lila Neugebauer (The Sex Lives of College Girls), and penned by fellow debutants Ottessa Moshfegh, Luke Goebel and Elizabeth Sanders, the film spies the determination in its protagonist's eyes — and the pain she's trying to bury after she goes home to stay with her mother (Linda Emond, The Patient), gets drawn into old unhealthy dynamics, but finds a friend in Henry's kind, eager but haunted James. There's no cross-country drive with a canine, if the similarly themed Dog comes to mind, but rather a willingness to steep in Lynsey and James' complicated emotions. Neugebauer has the perfect central duo for the movie's key parts, too; neither Lawrence nor Henry's resumes are short on highlights, acclaim or award nominations, but their respective textured, naturalistic and deeply felt performances in Causeway ranks among each's best work. Causeway streams via Apple TV+. CALL JANE Whenever Call Jane peers Elizabeth Banks' way, the look on her face doesn't just speak a thousand words — it screams a million of them, even while she's silent. That said, although first-timer filmmaker Phyllis Nagy (who last penned Carol's screenplay) directs the lens towards her star often, there's nothing quite like Banks' expression in an early pivotal scene. The Charlie's Angels and Brightburn star plays Joy, a happy Chicago housewife with a 15-year-old daughter (Grace Edwards, American Crime Story) and a baby on the way, until she learns that her pregnancy is causing a heart condition. If she remains in the family way, there's a 50-percent chance that she mightn't survive; however, this is 1968 in America, before the Roe v Wade decision that legalised abortion. In the scene in question, Joy is the only woman in the room, and yet the men around her talk about her life and potential death like she isn't even present. Worse: most of those male doctors are only concerned about whether the baby might make it to term. Joy seethes with pain, anger and heartbreak, then secretly takes a path that'll be familiar to viewers of 2022 documentary The Janes, contacting a clandestine service that helps women in such circumstances. As played with charm, warmth, depth and potency by Banks, Joy does more than merely pick up the phone. Soon, she's helping other women cope, alongside a team of ladies led by Sigourney Weaver (Ghostbusters: Afterlife) as Virginia. The latter is also canny casting, bringing both gravitas and understanding to the role — and the rapport between Call Jane's two central figures helps convey not only the urgency driving and importance behind the hotline's existence, but the crucial camaraderie. Still at home venturing decades into the past on-screen, Nagy and cinematographer Greta Zozula ensure that every second looks the rich, authentic period part, and a well-chosen soundtrack adds to the time-capsule feel. Of course, Call Jane isn't merely a look back. It'd be moving, sensitive and inspiring if the situation in the US hadn't changed this year via a Supreme Court ruling, once again putting women in Joy's situation, but now it acts as a cautionary tale as well, not to mention a reminder about banding together to fight back. Call Jane streams via Prime Video. WEDNESDAY It's a truth that Morticia, Gomez, Wednesday and Pugsley would treasure: nearly a century might've passed since The Addams Family first graced the pages of The New Yorker in the 1930s, but this creepy, kooky, mysterious and ooky brood will never die. America's first macabre family keeps entrancing and enchanting audiences, luring them in with their unflinching embrace of the eerie, the gothic, and the all-round dark and twisted. Forget bumps, jumps, screams and shrieks, however; this off-kilter crew might pal around with a severed limb and adore graveyards, but they also delight in a gloriously eclectic, eccentric, embrace-your-inner-outcast fashion, as the 1960s TV show, 1991's live-action film The Addams Family and its 1993 sequel Addams Family Values, and now new Netflix series Wednesday understands and adores. The Addams Family's latest go-around arrives stitched-together as so much is of late. Netflix's algorithm has accurately gleaned that viewers love cartoonist Charles Addams' horror-influenced creations. It knows that people like mysteries and teen coming-of-age tales, two of the platform's favourite genres. And, the service is well-aware that already-beloved big names are a drawcard. Throw in Tim Burton directing like it's his 80s and 90s heyday, current scream queen Jenna Ortega sporting the trademark plaits, 90s Wednesday Christina Ricci returning in a new part, and a supernatural school for unusual children complete with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children-meets-Hogwarts vibes, and Wednesday's various pieces are as evident as the sewn-on limbs on Frankenstein's monster. And yet, while seeing why and how Netflix has crafted this series, and which levers it's pulling to electrify its experiment, is as easy as getting a killer glare from Wednesday's teenage protagonist, enjoying every second because it's astutely, knowingly and lovingly spliced together is just as straightforward — especially with Scream, Studio 666 and X star Ortega leading the show so commandingly and convincingly. Wednesday streams via Netflix. Read our full review. 1899 Before the Titanic collided with an iceberg, became one of modern history's most famous tragedies and inspired one of cinema's biggest box-office hits, a different cross-Atlantic liner sailed into chaos. So says Dark's Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, with the German pair's new — and wholly fictional — Netflix series 1899 taking place onboard the steamship Kerberos 13 years before the sinking that everyone knows about. This vessel is travelling from England to America with 1400 crew and passengers, filling everywhere from stately rooms to jam-packed halls. Among its number: Maura Franklin (Emily Beecham, The Pursuit of Love), a rare female doctor at the time; Kerberos' captain Eyk Larsen (Dark alum Andreas Pietschmann); and everyone from French newlyweds hardly in the throes of married bliss to a devoutly religious Danish family. Then the ship receives word of a missing craft. Owned by the same company, the Prometheus took the same route four months prior, and was thought to have disappeared without a trace until that distress signal beckons. Friese and bo Odar love a mystery, and 1899 has a hefty one right from the outset. Friese and bo Odar also love making labyrinthine puzzle-box shows that keep dropping clues, twists, and philosophical ideas about the meaning and point of existence in aid of the bigger picture — aka an approach that made 2017–20 German-language effort Dark such a massive and deserving success. Here, they ensure that sparks ignite twice by diving even deeper into their favourite themes, tactics and flourishes, and delivering a boatload of thrills, suspense and intrigue. With Friese and bo Odar pulling the strings, Dark and now 1899 instantly grab attention with their riddles, nightmarishly brooding mood and — as one series put right there in its name — their willingness to get and stay dark. Throw in the pair's penchant for existential musings, trippy setups and premise-shattering revelations, and both shows are catnip for mystery lovers. 1899 streams via Netflix. Read our full review. THE ENGLISH It tells of gold rushes, of brave and dusty new worlds, and of yellow frontiers stretching out beneath shimmering and inky blue skies; however, the true colour of the western is and always will be red. This isn't a genre for the faint-hearted, because it's a genre that spins stories about power and its brutal costs — power over the land and its Indigenous inhabitants; power-fuelled in-fighting among competing colonialists; and power exercised with zero regard for life, or typically for anyone who isn't white and male. It's a rich and resonant touch, then, to repeatedly dress Emily Blunt (Jungle Cruise) in crimson, pink and shades in-between in The English, 2022's best new TV western. She plays one instance of the show's namesakes, because the impact of the British spans far beyond just one person in this series — and the quest for revenge she's on in America's Old West is deeply tinted by bloodshed. In her first ongoing television role since 2005, in a stunning and powerful series from its performances and story through to its spirit and cinematography, Blunt dons such eye-catching hues as Lady Cornelia Locke. With a mountain of baggage and cash in tow, she has just reached Kansas when The English begins, seeking vengeance against the man responsible for her son's death. But word of her aims precedes her to this remote outpost's racist hotelier (Ciarán Hinds, Belfast) and, with stagecoach driver (Toby Jones, The Wonder), he has own mission. That the aristocratic Englishwoman arrives to find her host torturing Pawnee cavalry scout Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer, Blindspot) is telling: the plan is to blame her end on him. Before the first of this miniseries' episodes ends, however, Cornelia and Eli have rescued each other, notched up a body count and started a journey together that sees them each endeavouring to find peace in a hostile place in their own ways — and started their way through one helluva show. The English streams via Prime Video. Read our full review. DEAD TO ME When Dead to Me's ten-episode first season came to an end back in 2019, it was with secrets being exposed, plus a growing list of both woes and deaths. In season two, which dropped another ten episodes in 2020, Jen Harding (Christina Applegate, Bad Moms 2) and Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini, Hawkeye), the chalk-and-cheese pair at the show's centre, had worked through the fallout. There's been plenty to deal with, including the hit and run that left Laguna Beach real-estate agent Jen widowed, Judy's tale about the loss of her fiancé Steve Wood (James Marsden, Sonic the Hedgehog 2) and the truth behind both — as well as the reality of having Steve's kinder, cornier twin brother Ben (also Marsden) around. This is a show about cycles and circles, so when its second outing finished, it was with another accident, this time with Jen and Judy as its victims. That's where season three's ten episodes pick up, with the two women in hospital weathering yet another aftermath to a significant event with yet another round of life-changing consequences. Finding solace in complicated bonds, the strength to confront life's challenges, and the savviness to know when to appreciate the small wins and big delights: that's Dead to Me season three's arc. It's the series' in general, and was long before it was announced that it would finish after a third and final run. Of course, now that it's coming to an end — a fitting one, that keeps recognising the gifts, shocks, joys and sorrows that greet everyone — farewells and heightened feelings frequently go hand in hand. Cue unexpected diagnoses, meddling cops (returnees Diana Maria Riva, Kajillionaire, and Brandon Scott, Goliath), sleuthing federal agents (series newcomer Garrett Dillahunt, Where the Crawdads Sing), old flames (Natalie Morales, The Little Things) and frustrating neighbours (Suzy Nakamura, Avenue 5). And, cue creepy rooms filled with twin dolls, plus outlaw names: Bitch Cassidy and Judy Five Fingers (who chooses which is obvious) as well. Yes, Dead to Me goes all in on as many more plot swings as it can fit in as it rides off into the sunset. In the process, the show's swansong evokes as many emotions as it can, too. Dead to Me streams via Netflix. Read our full review. THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL Two words: Kevin Bacon. That's the festive gift that The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special gives audiences, aka the gift that always keeps on giving. Viewers of this ragtag crew's big-screen adventures so far — including 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy and 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 — know that Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt, Jurassic World Dominion) loves the Bacon. Rightly so, too. Accordingly, in what's an obvious but also delightful move, the gang's first small-screen special celebrates the holiday season by trying to give the iconic Footloose, Friday the 13th, Apollo 13 and Wild Things star as a present. New to Christmas and its significance to humans, and knowing that Quill is struggling after a big loss, Mantis (Pom Klementieff, Westworld) and Drax (Dave Bautista, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) think that their plan is perfectly acceptable, but chaos ensues, including when the two discover Christmas decorations. The second of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's straight-to-streaming specials in 2022, and the second that's occasion-themed as well — following the Halloween-targeted Werewolf by Night — The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is Marvel at its silliest and fluffiest. Getting gleefully goofy, and retro, has always been Quill and company's vibe, but this 44-minute affair takes that tone to another level. There's no missing how slight it all is, how much heavy lifting Bacon does just by being Bacon in an on-screen realm that worships Bacon, and the fact that it's a piece of marketing timed just when merchandise sales could double as gifts. Nonetheless, the gang's usual writer/director James Gunn (The Suicide Squad) still heartily embraces his brief. A big highlight, other than the vibe, the fun and poignancy that spring, and teenage Groot (Vin Diesel, Fast & Furious 9), is the range of alternative Christmas songs on the soundtrack — starting with The Pogues' 'Fairytale of New York' and including Julian Casablancas and The Smashing Pumpkins' merry contributions. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special streams via Disney+. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALES Scandals are to the true-crime genre like loose bills are to erotic dancers: virtually essential. On-screen stories about real life can exist without getting into ripped-from-the-headlines territory, of course, and performers who disrobe onstage can do their job without crumpled notes being thrust their way. Still, some synergies just work. In 2022, TV writer and producer Robert Siegel has happily mined sordid chapters of the past for two new streaming series, and how — first with the instantly watchable and engrossing Pam & Tommy, and now with the just-as-easy-to- Welcome to Chippendales. The second sees him survey the eponymous male stripping business, of course, showers of dollar notes and all. And for viewers who don't already know the details behind the world-famous touring dance troupe and its West Los Angeles bar origins, as started by Somen 'Steve' Banerjee back in the 70s and earning ample attention in the 80s, the full rundown has far more than scantily clad guys aplenty, lusty women, and bumping and grinding to an era-appropriate soundtrack. Kumail Nanjiani (Eternals) plays Steve, who rustles up the cash to start his own backgammon club by working in a service station for years. His dream place: cool, suave and sophisticated, and somewhere that Hugh Hefner might want to hang out. When a rush of patrons doesn't eventuate, the male dancer idea springs after a night at a gay bar with club promoter Paul Snider (Dan Stevens, Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities) and his playboy model wife Dorothy Stratten (Nicola Peltz Beckham, Holidate). But as business partners change, choreographer and Emmy-winning producer Nick De Noia (Murray Bartlett, Physical) gives the troupe its crowd-pleasing moves, Steve kinds a kindred spirit in accountant Irene (Annaleigh Ashford, American Crime Story) and costume designer Denise (Juliette Lewis, Yellowjackets) comes on board, this twists into a tale of money, envy, squabbles over power and ultimately murder. And yes, both Nanjiani and Bartlett are riveting to watch — as are the dance routines De Noia conjures up. Welcome to Chippendales streams via Disney+. MYTHIC QUEST Starring in short-form ABC iView and YouTube series Content back in 2019, Charlotte Nicdao played a wannabe influencer who hoped that her online antics would bring her fame. Nicdao's career dates back almost two decades now, including past roles on The Slap, Please Like Me and Get Krack!n, but the Australian actor has certainly catapulted to stardom after her #Flipgirl days. In Mythic Quest, her character Poppy Li has also been seeking the spotlight. A gifted coder, as well as the technical force behind the hit video game that gives the series its name, she wants recognition and respect more than celebrity status, however. Three seasons in, she also wants her own hit title, rather than just always being stuck in creative director Ian Grimm's (Rob McElhenney, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) shadow. So, they've branched out on their own, away from their big success, in what's supposed to be a true 50/50 partnership — if they can get it together. On-screen, this season is about breaking out of one's comfort zones and embracing new challenges, even if Ian and Poppy are just on a different floor of the same building as Mythic Quest's regular crew — such as neurotic executive producer David Brittlesbee (David Hornsby, Good Girls), his brusk assistant Jo (Jessie Ennis, The Flight Attendant) and disgraced ex-finance head (Danny Pudi, Community). The series itself isn't quite in the same situation, though, because it's still finding new depths to explore by focusing on its characters' relationships with each other. Throwing a motley crew together, watching them bounce around, seeing how they change and grow — if the characters in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia were capable of significant change and growth, McElhenney's two shows would have plenty in common. They still do, including an incisive ability to satirise and reshape the genre they're each in, aka the workplace sitcom. As Mythic Quest keeps going, it also keeps getting sharper and funnier. Mythic Quest streams via Apple TV+. FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE The title doesn't lie: when Fleishman Is in Trouble begins, its namesake is indeed struggling. He's also perfectly cast. If you're going to get an actor to play an anxious, unravelling, recently divorced man in his forties who's trying to navigate the new status quo of sharing custody of his kids, having a high-powered ex, and being initiated into the world of dating apps and casual hookups, it's Jesse Eisenberg. If his Zombieland character lived happily ever after until he didn't, or his Vivarium character was trapped into a different type of domestic maze, this book-to-screen series would be the end result. Fleishman Is in Trouble has Eisenberg play Toby, a well-regarded hepatologist who is passionate about being able to help people through medicine, but has spent more than a decade being made to feel inferior by Upper East Siders because his job hasn't made him rich enough. His theatre talent agent wife — now former — Rachel (Claire Danes, The Essex Serpent) had the exact same attitude, too, until she dropped their kids off at his place in the middle of the night, said she was going to a yoga retreat and stopped answering his calls. Written to sound like a profile — something that journalist, author and screenwriter Taffy Brodesser-Akner knows well, and has the awards to prove it — Fleishman Is in Trouble chronicles Toby's present woes while reflecting upon his past. It's a messy and relatable story, regardless of whether you've ever suddenly become a full-time single dad working a high-stakes job you're devoted to in a cashed-up world you resent. As narrated by the ever-shrewd Lizzy Caplan (Truth Be Told) as Toby's old college pal-turned-writer and now stay-at-home-mum Libby, Fleishman Is in Trouble dives into the minutiae that makes Toby's new existence such a swirling sea of uncertainty. At the same time, while being so specific about his situation and troubles, it also ensures that all that detail paints a universal portrait of discovering that more of your time is gone, your hopes faded and your future receded, than you'd realised. Everything from class inequality and constant social hustling to the roles women are forced to play around men earns the show's attention in the process, as layered through a show that's both meticulously cast and evocatively shot. Fleishman is indeed in trouble, but this miniseries isn't. Fleishman Is in Trouble streams via Disney+. THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS That Chalamet family is everywhere. In cinemas, Timothée is currently taking a bite out of another yearning-filled romance — his specialty — in Bones and All. On streaming, The Sex Lives of College Girls starring his sister Pauline (The King of Staten Island) has just returned. After ranking among 2021's new highlights, this university-set comedy gets its second season off to just as charming and energetic a start, and with just as healthy a lashing of the kind of comedy that series co-creator Mindy Kaling is known for. If you watched The Office, The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever and the TV Four Weddings and a Funeral remake, you know the vibe — but focused on four 18-year-olds navigating their freshman year at a prestigious Vermont college. And, while each one of that key quartet fits a type to begin with, including studious, sporty, posh and funny (yes, they're one short of the full Spice Girls), unpacking those first impressions sits firmly at the heart of the series. This time around, scholarship student Kimberly Finkle (Chalamet), aspiring comedy writer Bela Malhotra (Amrit Kaur, The D Cut), star soccer player Whitney Chase (Alyah Chanelle Scott, Reboot) and the wealthy Leighton Murray (theatre star Reneé Rapp) know what to expect on campus. When season two starts, however, they're persona non grata among the fraternities after season one's events. As well as humorously observing the antics of teenage girls discovering who they are, The Sex Lives of College Girls loves unfurling and interrogating obvious but loaded contrasts, like why its four smart protagonists feel drawn to the frat party scene to begin with. Also earning the show's focus in its latest batch of episodes, as examined with the same warmth, insight and hilarity as its first go-around: income inequality, busting preconceptions, coming out, relationship double standards and starting a comedy magazine. The Sex Lives of College Girls streams via Binge. 2022 CINEMA HIGHLIGHTS WORTH CATCHING UP WITH AT HOME PETITE MAMAN Forget the "find someone who looks at you like…" meme. That's great advice in general, and absolutely mandatory if you've ever seen a Céline Sciamma film. No one peers at on-screen characters with as much affection, attention, emotion and empathy as the French director. Few filmmakers even come close, and most don't ever even try. That's been bewitchingly on display in her past features Water Lillies, Tomboy, Girlhood and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, any of which another helmer would kill to have on their resume. It's just as apparent in Petite Maman, her entrancing latest release, as well. Now 15 years into her directorial career, Sciamma's talent for truly seeing into hearts and minds is unshakeable, unparalleled and such a lovely wonder to watch — especially when it shines as sublimely and touchingly as it does here. In Sciamma's new delicate and exquisite masterpiece, the filmmaker follows eight-year-old Nelly (debutant Joséphine Sanz) on a trip to her mother's (Nina Meurisse, Camille) childhood home. The girl's maternal grandmother (Margot Abascal, The Sower) has died, the house needs packing up, and the trip is loaded with feelings on all sides. Her mum wades between sorrow and attending to the task. With melancholy, she pushes back against her daughter's attempts to help, too. Nelly's laidback father (Stéphane Varupenne, Monsieur Chocolat) assists as well, but with a sense of distance; going through the lifelong belongings of someone else's mother, even your spouse's, isn't the same as sifting through your own mum's items for the last time. While her parents work, the curious Nelly roves around the surrounding woods — picture-perfect and oh-so-enticing as they are — and discovers Marion (fellow newcomer Gabrielle Sanz), a girl who could be her twin. Petite Maman streams via Stan. Read our full review. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September and October this year. You can also check out our running list of standout must-stream 2022 shows so far as well — and our best 15 new shows from the first half of this year, top 15 returning shows over the same period and best 15 straight-to-streaming movies up until June.
Disney didn't need to add a new take on Peter Pan to its 2023 slate to tell audiences what we already know: the huge entertainment company doesn't want anyone to grow up. For further evidence, see its long list of live-action remakes of its animated hits, aka the films that filled our childhoods — a trend that will also see The Little Mermaid swim back into cinemas this year. Come May, the Mouse House's latest actor-led remake (see also: Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, Lady and the Tramp, Mulan, Pinocchio) will get Halle Bailey (Grown-ish) slipping into Ariel's scales and tail, and take a dip into the story of a mermaid pining for a different life. And, after dropping two sneak peeks before — one in 2022, one earlier in 2023 — the upcoming flick has finally unveiled its full trailer. Given that viewers already know and adore the original 1989 movie — there's a reason that The Little Mermaid-themed events such as screenings with live orchestral scores and cocktail experiences at aquariums keep proving popular — then we are all well aware how this tale goes. Ariel dreams of being human, and is willing to make a deal with a sea witch to see her wishes come true. That involves a trade, though: giving up her voice to get legs in return, which'll allow her to live above the water. Accordingly, as well as Bailey as Ariel, this new version of The Little Mermaid features Jonah Hauer-King (The Flatshare) as Eric, the human prince that Ariel falls for; Javier Bardem (Lyle, Lyle Crocodile) as King Triton, Ariel's protective and unimpressed father; and Melissa McCarthy (Nine Perfect Strangers) as Ursula, said sea witch. Also among the cast, on voice duties: Daveed Diggs (Snowpiercer) as Sebastian the crab, Jacob Tremblay (Doctor Sleep) as Flounder and Awkwafina (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) as Scuttle. Based on all three trailers so far, this take on The Little Mermaid from filmmaker Rob Marshall (Chicago, Nine, Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns) — and not Sofia Coppola — promises vivid underwater realms, glowing light shining down from above, mermaid dances, bright coral, friendly fish and floating jellyfish. Also included: the flick's star singing 'Part of Your World'. As for the tunes, they come courtesy of Alan Menken — returning from the original movie, as do all those old songs — and recent Australia visitor Lin-Manuel Miranda. Check out the full trailer for The Little Mermaid below: The Little Mermaid will release in cinemas Down Under on May 25. Images: Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Today, Sydney hospitality giant Merivale has unveiled the first phase of its 'Ivy 2.0' project, which will see four new venues open in the Sydney CBD this year. First up is Little Felix: a 60-seat cocktail bar and little sister to Ash Street's hatted French bistro Felix on George Street. The space itself — by lauded design firm Acme and stylist Amanda Talbot — is opulent and designed to transport guests back to 1920s Paris — or at least to the set of Midnight in Paris. Think Zelda and F Scott Fitzgerald parties at their grandest. In terms of drinks, Group Bar Manager Sam Egerton has created a succinct cocktail list featuring eight old-world classics made with premium French ingredients and liqueurs. Instead of a straightforward French 75 (gin, citrus and champagne), Little Felix serves up the Paris Meridian, which uses Chandon blanc de blancs and Farigoule de Forcalquier (a French thyme liqueur). Then there's the Le Ricain (the bar's take on a Sidecar), made with Hennessy VS, Cointreau and Armagnac. The wine list is impressive in its own right, too, curated by Merivale's Master Sommelier Franck Moreau and Head Sommelier Jean-Charles Mahe. Expect by-the-glass wines and champagnes to be poured from magnums — 1.5-litre bottles — and a custom-built wine fridge behind the bar. Guests can also order back vintages from the (impressively large) wine list next door at Felix. [caption id="attachment_736325" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To[/caption] To eat, Head Chef Nathan Johnson has created a dedicated menu of simple French dishes for Little Felix, with the focus on charcuterie, cheese and tartines (temptingly spread out on the bar). Order a plate of jambon and melon, creamy duck liver parfait or one of the nine different cheeses. Also joining the group's Ivy Precinct this year is a casual Middle Eastern eatery by ex-Rockpool Chef Simon Zalloua, a sister to Bondi's Italian restaurant Totti's and a new Mexican joint. The precinct is already home to Bar Topa, Felix, Palings, Ash St Cellar, The Royal George and Ivy Pool Club, Den and Lounge. The openings coincide with the big Light Rail reveal and the soon-to-launch George Street pedestrian zone that comes along with it, as well as City of Sydney's newly approved late-night trading plan. This phase of Merivale's 'Ivy 2.0' project is the first step toward entirely redeveloping the site, but that won't come into play for many years to come. We'll keep you in the loop as we learn more about all of the new Merivale happenings. Little Felix is now open at 2A Ash Street, Sydney. Opening hours are Monday through Wednesday from 5pm–10pm, Thursday through Friday from 3pm–11pm and Saturday 5pm–11pm. Images: Nikki To
Whether you spend January 26 pumping the Hottest 100 and wading in an ankle-deep paddling pool in your mate's backyard, knocking back tinnies and listening to live music, lazing on the beach or taking the opportunity to wear your favourite bucket hat un-ironically, Australia Day means different things to different people — and that's just fine. It's a day for doing stuff that's uniquely Australian, and no matter what your preference (and yo' price range) we have something for everyone this Aussie Day. 'Strayaaa! Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel There are some pretty epic events on offer over the upcoming Australia Day long weekend. But no schedule is quite as epic as that of Watsons Bay Hotel. With a line-up set to stretch over three days, gear up for beach volleyball, crab racing, beach cricket, stand-up paddle board races, live DJ sets and an Aussie BBQ featuring the special 'Watsons Bay Sausage'. And okay, we're not really sure what an 'epic water trampoline' is, but we know it is running all weekend and sounds really, really rad. Those keen on the stand up paddle races will need to register online here. January 25, 26 & 27 from 7am; Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, 1 Military Road, Watsons Bay. The Rocks There's nothing Aussies like more than a freebie. And Australia Day at The Rocks will be no exception. A fusion of music, arts and activities, the event will stretch across George Street, The Rocks Square and First Fleet Park — uniting Sydneysiders in the very place our nation began. With an unapologetically good musical bill including the uber-popular indie unit Cloud Control, visual art-freestyle rap fusionist Sketch the Rhyme and killer up-and-comers Jones Jnr, this totally free celebration will kick off from 12 noon. Check out George Street for pop-up bars, installations, karaoke stages and paddling pools. January 26; free; 12 noon-6pm. Yabun Festival January 26 is also vital in that it marks the annual Yabun Festival, a showcase of the very best in Indigenous artwork and music, Australia-wide. The biggest of its kind in the country, Yabun will this year celebrate its 12th at Camperdown's Victoria Park and completely free of charge. Emphasising the 2014 theme, 'Survive', come performances from Bart Willoughby Band, Leah Flanagan, King Brown and many more. Then boogie on into the evening with the Yabun After Party at Marrickville's The Factory Theatre. Featured are some of the biggest names in Aussie hip hop, including MC Sky'High and Native Rhyme. January 26; 10am-6pm; Victoria Park, City Road, Camperdown. Old School Bakery Pop-Up at Adriano Zumbo Thought the days you could buy finger buns — with their iconic pink icing and coconut shavings — with the silver scraped from the bottom of your bag were gone? Not quite (you might need more than just silver). Adriano Zumbo is transforming his Rozelle and Waverley patisseries into 'Fluffy's Aussie Bakery' as a creative homage to Australia Day. For ten days Zumbo's will be the classic Aussie bakery with kitsch decor, vintage chalkboard art and baked goods. Among the treats on offer from tomorrow until January 26 are finger buns, neenish tarts, cream buns and lamingtons. All that's missing is a milkshake and sausage roll. January 17-26; 114 Terry Street, Rozelle and 24 Arden Street, Waverley. Great Sydney Swim, Sydney Harbour For many people, Australia Day means donning your saggiest Speedo and getting amongst some sun and saltwater. Beginning at the doorstep of the Opera House, The Great Sydney Swim incorporates all of this Aussie goodness. And the 2.2km swim across Sydney Harbour doesn't even have to be as strenuous as it sounds; there's a variety of swims for every skill (or effort) level. Distances include 300 to 700 metres, as well as the whole 2.2km shebang. Australia Day marks the final swim in January 2014, with prizes up for grabs and every participant receiving a race pack. January 26; 6.30am-noon; Farm Cove, Sydney Harbour. Son of a Beach at The Bank Hotel If you live in the Inner West you probably claim that the only thing the I-dub is lacking in is beaches. But fear not this Australia Day, with The Bank Hotel Newtown bringing the beach west side. We’re talking sand, beach volleyball, DJs, thong-throwing comps — even lifeguards. Sausage sambos and slow-roasted lamb rolls will be available all day, along with Australia’s own Vale Ale and a tequila cart (for those a little confused of their location). And when the sun goes down, head Upstairs at the Bank for live music and cocktails. Son of a Beach will run from 11am till reaaaal late. January 26; The Bank Hotel, 324 King St, Newtown. Ben and Jerry's Openair Cinemas Sundae Session Need another excuse to spend this Australia Day by the beach? The Ben and Jerry's Openair Cinema returns in January, bringing with it a regular stream of summer tunes by day, and killer flicks by night — held beachside at Sydney's iconic Bondi. In celebration of January 26 comes the Australian comedy classic Crocodile Dundee, as well as a fully licensed bar, lawn games and free ice cream all day long. Not feeling like a Paul Hogan fix but still in the mood for an al fresco movie experience on Aus Day? The Castle will be screening at Moonlight Cinema on January 26, and Muriel's Wedding on January 27 (and for free!) at The Beresford. January 26; $17-40; Dolphin Lawn, Bondi Beach. Symphony in the Domain For an Australia Day that's a little less reminiscent of stubbies and cheap Straya paraphernalia (made everywhere but Australia), Sydney Festival's annual Symphony in the Domain offers something a li'l more refined. The free event welcomes you, your hamper, a blanket and friends to settle in under the stars. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra will perform Gustav Holst's The Planets — an astrological journey through the solar system — along with readings from Bell Shakespeare's John Bell and fireworks to finish off the night. Performances kick off at 8pm, but many set up camp at The Domain throughout the day. January 26 at 8pm; free; The Domain, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Camping Australia Day is the perfect time to appreciate all that our great southland has to offer — beautiful beaches, endless bushland and summer weather not to be rivalled. So why not spend an Aus Day taking it all in and camping under the stars. The abundance of coastal beaches and inland lakes in New South Wales means you can close your eyes, point to a map and end up in a place that possesses its own unique beauty. Alternatively, check out our own list of ten killer camping getaways, all within easy driving distance of Sydney. Whenever/wherever ya bloody want! Australia Day Colour Dash, Darling Harbour The Good Samaritans of Australia (which, um, is probably what the day is 'sposed to be all about: remember that good ol' Aussie spirit thing?) will be spending the 26th raising money for the 23,000 who live with multiple sclerosis. The MS Colour Dash is a non-competitive 5km run (or skip/walk/dance) along Darling Harbour as volunteers shower you with natural rainbow dust. Participants reach the finish line covered in colour and then dabble in the range of live music, food and drinks on offer. An even better idea might be volunteering — which means throwing stuff at strangers and not getting arrested for it. January 26; Darling Harbour. By Mairead Armstrong and Rachel Eddie.
There couldn't be a better spot to gather for a feast after a day's exploration than in the mess hall of The Shearers Quarters at Kimo Estate. A 12-person gaggle of friends can spread out in this rustically renovated shed that sits within 7000 acres of rolling sheep- and cattle-grazing land. The earthen, knobbly kitchen benches are ideal for cooking up a storm after touring the Gundagai wine region or dropping lines in the Murrumbidgee and Tumut rivers searching for a catch of trout, Murray cod, yellowbelly or bream to bring to the barbecue. If you're an adventurous lot, consider planning your trip around the estate's five-day horse riding program, or jump out the front door and into a helicopter for a stunning flight through the Snowy Mountains foothills. Top image: Destination NSW
Summer might be in full swing on both sides of the ditch, but it's never too early to start thinking about your music festival plans for the year ahead, as well as how to spend the frostier months. One solution that ticks both boxes: Queenstown winter music festival and ski trip Snow Machine, which is returning in September 2023 for its huge second year. It's the hottest festival for the colder months, packed with five snow-filled days of music and adventure at two mountain-topping ski resorts this year. On the just-dropped lineup sits a heap of must-see names, including Art vs Science, Hayden James, Hilltop Hoods, The Jungle Giants and Peking Duk, all helping give Snow Machine's winter wonderland a thumping soundtrack. After launching in Japan in 2020, the festival was actually supposed to make its arrival in Aotearoa in September 2021 but was cancelled due to the pandemic. It finally debuted in September 2022, and now makes a comeback from Tuesday, September 5–Sunday, September 10, 2023. Attendees will be treated to action-packed days on the slopes, après ski events on both Coronet Peak and The Remarkables, and a hefty roster of international acts against the idyllic backdrop of New Zealand's adventure capital. Also dropping in to share the stage will be Benee, Broods, Coterie, Danny Clayton, Jacotène and Jimi The Kween, as well as Kate Fox, Neil Frances, Northeast Party House, Pete Murray, Set Mo, Shapeshifter, Stace Cadet (doing a DJ set), Sweet Mix Kids and Zahn Walker. Other than the wintry backdrop, one of the things that sets Snow Machine apart from other music fests is being able to book your entire getaway with your ticket. Packages span both five and seven nights of accommodation, and include a four-day festival ticket and five-day ski pass. If you'd rather make your own way or pass on the skiing, there are 'ticket only' options — and VIP packages if you really want to do it in style. Festival goers are also encouraged to immerse themselves in the adventure capital by adding on heli-skiing, jet boating, bungy jumping, canyon swinging and skydiving — and that's on top of Snow Machine's huge welcome party, and vintage retro day dedicated to old-school ski suits. Also returning in 2023: the second annual Polar Bare, which endeavours to set a world record for the most amount of people heading down the slopes their swimwear. SNOW MACHINE 2023 LINEUP: Art vs Science Benee Broods Coterie Danny Clayton Hayden James Hilltop Hoods Jacotène Jimi The Kween The Jungle Giants Kate Fox Neil Frances Northeast Party House Peking Duk Pete Murray Set Mo Shapeshifter Stace Cadet (DJ set) Sweet Mix Kids Zahn Walker Tom Tilley and Hugo Gruzman present First Base Snow Machine will be held from Tuesday, September 5–Sunday, September 10, 2023 in Queenstown, New Zealand. Presale tickets go on sale from 12pm AEDT on Tuesday, January 17, with general tickets available from 12pm AEDT on Wednesday, January 18. For more information, visit the festival's website. Images: Pat Stevenson/Ben Lang. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Waverley residents — here's something to celebrate: an ambitious Italian restaurant spearheaded by Nigel Ward is set to arrive on Bronte Road within the next six months. The accomplished Sydney chef (ex-Uccello, ex-10 William St) and former owner of Darlinghurst favourite, Sagra, has found a home for his new project in Charing Cross, Australia's second-oldest shopping strip. Named after the Italian tradition of passeggiata, the renovated building will boast three distinct culinary spaces. Passeggiata is a type of unhurried, leisurely stroll you take with your family after a hearty meal. "After a big long lunch, everyone puts on their suits and their Sunday best and they all go out to the town square and walk around real slow, go have some gelato, or have a little drink somewhere," Ward explains. "Nobody's in too much of a hurry, the intention is to ... slow down and enjoy the little qualities of life." It's this kind of relaxed energy that he wants to emulate in his new venture. "I hope when people come here [that] they're not coming with an out time. They just want to come and enjoy themselves and take their time, get a nice bottle of wine [and] eat lots of food," he says. Passeggiata will serve hyper-seasonal Italian dishes, local and international wines made from 100 percent Italian varietals and weekly set menus. Downstairs will serve as the main dining room — a 40-seat venue with comfortable chairs, music that isn't too loud and a menu that champions a progressive spin on classic Italian dishes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by wine bar l restaurant l garden (@passeggiata_au) Upstairs will play host to a smaller 30-seat dining room where Ward and his team will host four-course dinners for groups on Friday and Saturday night. The plan spans a continually rotating set menu priced at around $75 per person. "It might change halfway through the night," he says. "You can just go with a big group of people, order some nice wine and leave it over to us." The final element of Passeggiata is a 24-seat outdoor area open for long Tuscan-style Sunday lunches. The sunny courtyard will boast its own herb and veggie garden, and Ward is in the process of building an in-house bakery in the space. Drawing on the history of the building and taking inspiration from 1970s Rome, the interior of Passeggiata will be designed by Tim Leveson. Towering archways complemented by exposed brickwork, clean brass, muted oak and a moody mustard colour palette is expected to feature throughout the venue. An old pressed metal ceiling and fireplace is also promised. The building is still under construction but Ward is aiming to open all three areas simultaneously, depending on Sydney's venue restrictions and the availability of hospitality workers come summer. To keep up with its progress you can follow along at Passeggiata's Instagram account. "I'm building the restaurant I want to go to," Ward says. "This is it for me. I've bought the building, I want to be here for 30 years. I want this to be the Lucio's of the 21st century." View this post on Instagram A post shared by wine bar l restaurant l garden (@passeggiata_au) Nigel Ward's Passeggiata is set to open at 318 Bronte Road, Waverley between late 2021 and early 2022.
With their visceral and deceptively simple sounds, the Mess Hall are loved for their attitude laden blues, heavy on guitars and stripped back to the bare bones. The two piece kicked around for a long time, impressing audiences and doing sporadic but good things for years. Since a drummer change in 2005, and signing to Ivy League in 2007, the band has stepped on the accelerator and have gone from strength to strength. The real run of success started when they won the Australian Music Prize in 2008 with their second album Devils Elbow, which amassed much critical acclaim. On the back of the album they toured non stop, here and overseas, and even opened for rock giants Foo Fighters last year. Their third album For The Birds sees the band splash a bit more pop into the mix. No glittery sparkles, but some definite added layers that bring the songwriting of Jed Kurzel to the fore. These embellishments can be heard on first single 'Bell' with its errant shakers and organ driven riff that Kurzel deadpans over "well I feel like Adam when you shot me from a cannon". Its lazy drum rolls and slightly twisted guitar solo almost hint at early Beck, but the vocal is all snarl. In March the Mess Hall embark on a huge tour with special guests Bridezilla and Cabins, taking in a few regional spots along the way. Tickets go on sale January 11 and they will hit home soil March 6 at Manning. TOUR DATES MARCH 2010: Thur 4th: Wollongong Uni, Wollongong Fri 5th: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Sat 6th: Manning Bar, Sydney Thur 11th: Neverland Bar, Gold Coast Fri 12th: Joes' Waterhole, Eumundi Sat 13th: The Zoo, Brisbane Thur 18th: Republic Bar, Hobart Fri 19th: Hotel New York, Launceston Sat 20th: Corner Hotel, Melbourne Sun 21st: Karova Lounge, Ballarat Thur 25th: Mojo's, Fremantle Fri 26th: Rosemount, Perth Sat 27th: Jive Bar, Adelaide We're giving away 5 double passes to see the Mess Hall play their Sydney show on March 6th. To win, just email hello@concreteplayground.com.au with "Mess" in the subject line and approximately ten words on why you want to go. https://youtube.com/watch?v=evaQHIcGkkM
A sad fact about cozzie livs going up and up is that the amount of cash people have to spend on their family and friends shrinks and shrinks. Fortunately, Afterpay is bringing back its Pay It Forward Mystery Market from 8am on Thursday, August 14, to address what it's calling the 'generosity gap'. Centred around a standout activation tucked into Pitt Street Mall, the first 1000 Afterpay customers will score themselves a mystery box, taking home the prize inside and receiving an identical one to present to a loved one. Just don't think you'll be walking away with socks and undies. Featuring a total prize pool valued at over $200,000, there's no shortage of incredible gifts perfect for spreading the good times. Up for grabs are a $5,000 Webjet voucher, a Dyson Airwrap, or even a Nintendo Switch 2 — just imagine non-stop multiplayer fun with your best pal. Meanwhile, other much-loved brands like Ninja, CROCS, Petbarn, Red Balloon and Prezzee are getting in on the action. With Afterpay Day happening from Thursday, August 14–Sunday, August 17, the Pay It Forward Mystery Market signals the start of this bi-annual shopping event.
If there's a time warp we still love stepping into, it's a video store like Dr What. A local Sydney institution, the shop with Australia's largest range of rental titles brings back nostalgic memories of return dates, rewinding tapes and carefully curating the perfect combo of new releases and weeklies for $10. That was the '90s. Today, the shelves at Dr What are largely empty. The Crisford family, owners for 30-plus years, will soon be closing the doors of the iconic Bondi shop with its mad doctor mascot painted above the awning. Although the quirky name is thanks to the original owners who opened the store in 1981, it's the Crisfords who made it what is today. "It was in liquidation, there [were only] about two thousand movies and we had to work hard to build it back up," says Neal Crisford. "Very early it was porn and horror, then the action movies came in." Gradually, Neal, his wife, Carol, and later his son, Daniel, expanded the number of genres to include no less than 40,000 videos, all curated into carefully thought-out categories. "Rather than buying fifty copies of the one movie, we would buy a range," says Crisford. "We concentrate on buying odd stuff and in the early days, I … spent my time going around warehouses and finding little gems." You can hear the passion in his voice as he reminisces about finding these lesser-known movies, a testament to the store's support of the independent film industry. For years, filmmakers, university students and cinephiles have come to Dr What to source the rare and obscure, knowing that, as Crisford puts it, "if its available, there's a good chance you can get it at Dr What." At its peak, video rental was a ritual for most Australian families, with VCRs selling faster here than anywhere else in the world. Crisford considers the late '80s and early '90s as the most successful years, "before cable, before people had internet". "Back then you didn't have a lot of movies at home, they were expensive to buy," he says. "Purchases were probably 10 percent of the market, so most people would rent." But Crisford is also the first to admit the industry has been a roller-coaster. Though the store survived the transition from VHS to DVD, the online availability of films today has meant the store simply isn't profitable. "We're a non-profit organisation", Crisford adds with a wry smile. Until the end of the month, all VHS and DVD stock at Dr What is on sale and the loyal following the store has garnered over the years means "they're all going to good homes". "We worried about breaking up the collection, but people who really appreciate films, who love them and who've been our regular customers … can take a little bit of Dr What home with them". Crisford is also positive these regular customers will follow the store's move to an online platform. Though it may be the end of the bricks-and-mortar Dr What, part of the legendary collection will have an online life through Quickflix, which has bought some of the titles. Plus, Dr What will continue to provide film production services through their own website, and since Crisford has previously moonlighted as a film producer, he is keen to spend more time behind the camera. "That's an area we're going to expand … a TV show about films is one of the things we're looking at doing". In the days left, drop in to the shop for a heady dose of nostalgia and some bargain film finds to boot. Find Dr What at 562 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction, open 10am-9pm Mon-Sat and 11am-9pm Sun. The store closes for the final time at the end of August.
Plenty of movies have hit cinemas and streaming in 2022, including ace and terrible flicks alike, but few films have sparked as much chatter as Don't Worry Darling. First up, it earned attention thanks to its director and cast, with the twisty thriller marking actor-turned-filmmaker Olivia Wilde's second stint behind the lens after Booksmart, and starring Florence Pugh (The Wonder) and Harry Styles (My Policeman). Then, the picture started causing talk due to a whole heap of off-screen chaos, such as awkward press conferences, possible spit and other rumoured scandals among its main figures. So, by now, everyone has heard about Don't Worry Darling. If you haven't yet seen it since it released in Australian cinemas at the beginning of October — and it is worth seeing — you can now do that at home, too. Like everything from Dune, The Matrix Resurrections, Spencer and West Side Story through to Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Elvis and Nope this year, the film has joined the list of fast-tracked flicks making their way to digital while still brightening up the big screen. Here, Pugh plays Alice, who gets stranded in the worst kind of 1950s-style ordeal despite all initial appearances to the contrary. Victory, the community where she lives with her husband Jack (Styles), appears picture-perfect; however, we all know how that can be deceiving. Indeed, the dreamy facade unravels quickly. The town is home to the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project — such as Jack — and their families, and it's where Don't Worry Darling's central duo are meant to enjoy nothing but bliss. They're given two rules to abide to, though: exercising the utmost discretion and committing 100-percent to Victory's vision, even if the town's wives don't actually know what their husbands get up to all day. That's all well and good — and terrific, in fact for most of Victory's residents — but it stops being the case for Alice. Despite a pervasive mood of optimism around the place, as well as overt reassurances by company CEO Frank (Chris Pine, All the Old Knives) and his wife Shelley (Gemma Chan, Eternals), Alice is certain that all isn't quite what it seems — or that she can or should trust what the company is so determined to impress upon the town's inhabitants. Yes, as immaculate as Don't Worry Darling looks, it's 100-percent a psychological thriller. It gives off huge The Truman Show vibes, too, as Alice refuses to acquiesce. The film also co-stars Wilde herself, playing another Victory employee's spouse, as well as Nick Kroll (Our Flag Means Death), KiKi Layne (The Old Guard), Sydney Chandler (The Golden Rut), Kate Berlant (A League of Their Own), Asif Ali (WandaVision), Douglas Smith (Big Little Lies), Timothy Simons (Station Eleven) and Ari'el Stachel (Zola). Check out the trailer for Don't Worry Darling below: Don't Worry Darling is currently screening in Australian cinemas, and is also available to stream online via video on demand from Monday, November 7 — including via Google Play, YouTube Movies and Prime Video in Australia. The film is also still showing in NZ theatres as well, and can be streamed in Aotearoa via Neon, Google Play and iTunes. Read our full review.
It was the decade that gave us Magic Eye pictures, the Macarena, Pokemon and Tamagotchi, too. We're talking, of course, about the 90s. The decade might've come to an end exactly 20 years ago now, but it's easy to get nostalgic about — especially in a hectic year where we're all thinking about how simple life once was. The easiest way to indulge that nostalgia? You can pop on a flannelette shirt or some Hypercolour if you like, or you can head back in time via your viewing choices. Press play on one of the big hits of the decade, and you'll be transported back to a period when a group of mates sat on an orange coffee shop couch, and when the Dude also abided. To help plan out your ultimate retro watch list, we've teamed up with streaming service Binge to highlight five beloved TV shows and movies that'll take you back to the 90s faster than a DeLorean — including via a 14-day free trial for new customers.
Living under lockdown isn't easy for anyone, as the entirety of Greater Sydney has experienced since the end of June. But for residents of the city's Local Government Areas of concern, even stricter conditions have been in place for the bulk of this ongoing stay-at-home period. Slowly, though, the rules in these hotspot LGAs have been easing this month, including changes to exercise and outdoor recreation limits, and ditching the overnight curfew. And now, from 12.01am Monday, September 20, these LGAs will finally move back under the same restrictions as the rest of the city — except when it comes to authorised workers and the permits they need. At New South Wales' COVID-19 press conference today, Sunday, September 19, Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that "in the areas of concern, all the rules will be the same to the rest of Sydney except for authorised workers and permits. So from tomorrow, very pleasingly, all areas of concern will be equalised — so relating to exercise, recreation and outdoor gatherings, everything will be the same across greater Sydney, except for the list of authorised workers and the associated permits." The Premier continued: "as you know, we still have relatively high case numbers in those areas, but this is a wonderful step forward in relation to COVID rules." The news came as NSW announced 1083 new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday, September 18, and also that the state's vaccination rates have hit 81.9 percent first doses and 51.9 percent second doses based on NSW residents over the age of 16. ❗️Restrictions to ease in LGAs of concern❗️ From 12.01am Monday, 20 September, restrictions in local government areas of concern will start to align with other lockdown areas, as vaccination rates continue to rise in Sydney's West and South-West. pic.twitter.com/2SmW5iOigl — NSW Health (@NSWHealth) September 19, 2021 Accordingly, from Monday, September 20, all of Sydney will be under the same rules in almost every circumstance — including people who live in the Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta and Strathfield LGAs, as well as 12 suburbs in the Penrith. This means that people in these areas won't have any limits on how long they can go out for outdoor exercise and recreation. And, folks in these LGAs will be able to gather outdoors in groups of up to five fully vaxxed adults, as long as you're in your LGA or within five kilometres from home. That expanded distance rule will also apply to shopping, exercise and all forms of outdoor recreation, too. And, folks in the soon-to-be former hotspot LGAs will be able to have a single bubble buddy from anywhere in Greater Sydney, rather than just within five kilometres of their home. "The opportunity for us to ease the restrictions in the areas of concern or equalise them in line with the rest of Sydney is due in large part to the high rates of vaccination," said the Premier. "We have seen some of those communities go from rates of around 19 or 20 percent up to nearly 90 percent, and is extremely encouraging," "The health experts also advise that in some of those areas of concern, we have seen a decline, the curve is starting to change," the Premier continued. "But what is always concerning us is that any super spreader event, anyone being too complacent actually can things very quickly." Regarding authorised worker conditions and travel permit requirements, they'll still remain as in LGAs of concern — so if you need to travel outside of your LGA to work, you need to be on the authorised worker list, and get a permit confirming that. As always, Sydneysiders are asked to continue to frequently check NSW Health's long list of locations and venues that positive coronavirus cases have visited. If you've been to anywhere listed on the specific dates and times, you'll need to get tested immediately and follow NSW Health's self-isolation instructions. In terms of symptoms, you should be looking out for coughs, fever, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, or loss of smell or taste — and getting tested at a clinic if you have any. Sydney's LGAs of concern will move to the same rules as the rest of Greater Sydney, other than the authorised worker and permit requirements, from 12.01am on Monday, September 20. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website.
Sydney hospo favourite Odd Culture Group (Odd Culture, The Duke of Enmore) is throwing a free street party to raise money for its historic Woolloomooloo theatre. So if you want to spend a Sunday soaking in rays with live music, theatre previews and a top-notch food and drink lineup — all for a good cause — you're in luck. Located within one of our favourite pubs in Sydney, The Old Fitz Theatre has been a vital space for Sydney's arts scene for over two decades now. To celebrate the exciting things the theatre has in store and to ensure the space continues to thrive for another 20+ years, A Streetparty Named Fitz (good name) will take over Dowling Street out the front of The Old Fitz from midday until 7pm on Sunday, February 11. [caption id="attachment_937223" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Old Fitz Theatre, Sydney Fringe Festival[/caption] On the day, you can expect a pair of performances from the theatre for a preview of its upcoming season, plus a live set from red Wiggle Murray Cook's band The Soul Movers, DJ Aunty Jonny on the decks, and roaming performers popping up throughout the crowd. Odd Culture Group Executive Chef James MacDonald has created a summer barbecue menu inspired by the cuisine of New Orleans (the setting of A Streetcar Named Desire). There will be jambalaya, smoked meats and veggies, smoked cheeseburgers and loaded fries. The Mapo Bus will also be on deck for all your gelato desires. Some high-profile friends have been called on to assist with the day's drinks: a pop-up bar will feature slushies and spritzes created by Matt Whiley (Re), Evan Stroeve (The Waratah) and Eduardo Conde (El Primo Sanchez), as well as margarita seltzers and Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz gin and tonics. A very good time for a very good cause. What's not to love?
Lebanese-style charcoal chook in Sydney has long been synonymous with El Jannah. Yes, there's northern Sydney chain Chargrill Charlie's, but its sauces — Greek Island, Portuguese Piri Piri and Thai Fresh Herbs — are notably missing toum. Frango's has firm Portuguese roots and Red Rooster is, well, Red Rooster. As of July 1, though, another player has flown into the proverbial coop. Henrietta is the new restaurant by Nour's Ibby Moubadder and Jorge Farah specialising in Middle Eastern charcoal chook — and it's not too dissimilar to its Crown Street sibling. Both restaurants celebrate traditional Lebanese cooking techniques, but aren't afraid to stray from the straight and narrow. Nour's falafel comes in crumpet form and its halva is served alongside pumpkin cheesecake. Henrietta's baba ghanoush gets an umami hit from miso, its beef brisket is served atop tacos with zhug (a Yemeni hot sauce) and its chicken tawouk comes, not as a kebab, but inside spring rolls. But the newcomer's focus is not the rule-breaking sides, it's the charcoal chook. Henrietta's take comes with a glistening layer of smoky, spicy sauce, the requisite char and juicy flesh. It comes with the requisite garlic toum, too, as well as zingy pickles and Lebanese bread. It's suggested sumac chicken salt-covered chips are ordered, too, and rolled using that bread — together with the chicken, toum, chilli sauce and pickles — to create a DIY chicken sandwich. Just how you do this is illustrated in easy-to-follow steps on the menu. Sound like too much work? You can order one, pre-rolled, for $14. Alongside the charcoal chook, you'll find three Lebanese-ish desserts — chocolate mouse with rose, baklava sundaes and rice pudding with halva — as well as seven fun cocktails. A slushie machine is pumping out frozen takes on a Pornstar Martini, while a bartender shakes the likes of spicy passionfruit margaritas and hibiscus sours. Walking a fine line between casual-night-out-with-the-crew and date-night, the 65-seater restaurant has been designed by creative agency DS17 and is filled with neon signs of 'Henrietta', concrete walls and terrazzo bars. While dining out is allowed in NSW — and has been since mid-May — some Sydneysiders are still dining in. Henrietta is catering for both with its takeaway window selling its charcoal chooks for $18 a pop.
Ichi-ban is a well-known ramen in Sydney for a reason. It's cheap, it's delicious and you have it in front of you just minutes after ordering — which is handy given the queue you can expect at peak times. While there are plenty of options on the menu, including some great gyoza, the ramen is the real hero here. The noodles are made fresh and cooked al dente and we recommend the karaage ramen, which is topped with melt-in-your mouth fried chicken. Having said that, their miso ramen is also worth your money, particularly if you want to stick to the cheapest $18.90 option. While there are a few Ichi-bans now in Sydney, head to their flagship restaurant at The Galeries for the best. As of just recently, the restaurant now takes card.
This family-run nursery has been in operation for over 30 years and is a go-to for Annandale locals. As well as plenty of natives, the Booth Street shop also stocks exotic shrubs, trees and tropical plants from around the country. Plus, the shop has lots of indoor plants, cacti and succulents — and a massive selection of bonsai, too — so you'll be catered for whether you have a rolling lawn or a small balcony. [caption id="attachment_779260" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cassandra Hannagan[/caption] The staff are locals and are happy to offer gardening advice if you need it. And if you're keen to look after some dying species, ask them about their endangered plants and how to look after them. Images: Cassandra Hannagan
Wes Anderson and symmetry are virtually synonymous. Wes Anderson and pastel hues, too. And, Wes Anderson and stars such as Jason Schwartzman (I Love That for You), Tilda Swinton (Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio), Ed Norton (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery), Adrien Brody (See How They Run), Willem Dafoe (The Northman), Tony Revolori (Servant) and Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic World Dominion) are frequently (repeatedly, even) mentioned in the same breath. All of the above gets a big tick in the trailer for the filmmaker's latest film Asteroid City, but so is something else. If you've ever wondered what a Wes Anderson movie would look like with aliens descending on a desert town, you're about to find out. Two years after The French Dispatch hit cinemas, Anderson is returning to the big screen, with his 11th feature hitting cinemas in 2023. And, that movie now has a trailer that is about as Wes Anderson as Wes Anderson gets — a description that every trailer for his flicks, and every picture itself, keeps earning because it keeps proving true. Releasing on June 16 in the US, and August 10 in Australia and New Zealand, Asteroid City sports a Moonrise Kingdom-esque premise. The flick follows a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention in the titular (and fictional) American town in 1955. Students and their parents descend on the contest from around the country, all in the name of scholarly competition; however, then world-changing events shake things up. Anderson isn't one for making the same thing twice, of course, with aliens invading Asteroid City's plot (which was penned by the filmmaker with his frequent writing partner Roman Coppola, who also co-wrote Moonrise Kingdom and The Darjeeling Limited, and has a story credit on Isle of Dogs and The French Dispatch). The trailer for the film firmly gives it its own vibe, too. That's present in the imagery alone, which makes ample use of desert tones to stunning — and yes, sometimes symmetrical — effect. Alongside Schwartzman, Swinton, Norton, Brody, Dafoe, Revolori and Goldblum, fellow Anderson regulars Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeffrey Wright (The Batman), Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan), Stephen Park (Warrior) and Bryan Cranston (Better Call Saul) help bring the story to life. They're joined by Tom Hanks (A Man Called Otto), Margot Robbie (Babylon), Steve Carell (The Patient), Matt Dillon (Proxima), Hong Chau (The Whale), Hope Davis (Succession), Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Maya Hawke (Stranger Things), Jake Ryan (Uncut Gems), Grace Edwards (Call Jane), Aristou Meehan (The Contractor), Sophia Lillis (IT: Chapter Two), Ethan Lee (Mr Robinson) and Rita Wilson (Kimi). Check out the trailer for Asteroid City below: Asteroid City will release in Australia and New Zealand on August 10, 2023. Images: Focus Features.
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. GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE People have orgasms every day, but for decades spent closing her eyes and thinking of England in a sexually perfunctory marriage, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande's lead character wasn't among them. Forget la petite mort, the French term for climaxing; Nancy Stokes' (Emma Thompson, Cruella) big wrestling match with mortality, the one we all undertake, has long been devoid of erotic pleasure. Moments that feel like a little death? Unheard of. That's where this wonderfully candid, intimate, generous and joyous sex comedy starts, although not literally. Flashbacks to Nancy enduring getting it over with beneath her now-deceased spouse, missionary style, aren't Australian filmmaker Sophie Hyde (Animals) or British comedian-turned-screenwriter Katy Brand's (Glued) concern. Instead, their film begins with the religious education teacher waiting in a hotel room, about to take the biggest gamble of her life: meeting the eponymous sex worker (Daryl McCormack, Peaky Blinders). For anyone well-versed in Thompson's prolific on-screen history, and of Brand's work before the camera as well, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande inspires an easy wish: if only Nancy had a different job. Back in 2010, the pair co-starred in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, a title that'd also fit their latest collaboration if its protagonist cared for kids rather than taught them. Jokes aside, the instantly charming Leo is used to hearing that sentiment about his own professional choices. Indeed, Nancy expresses it during their pre- and post-coital discussions, enquiring about the events that might've led him to his career. "Maybe you're an orphan!" she says. "Perhaps you grew up in care, and you've got very low self-esteem," she offers. "You could have been trafficked against your will — you can't tell just by looking at somebody!" she continues. There are plenty of "if only" thoughts and feelings pulsating through Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, a film where its namesake's tongue couldn't be more important — yes, in that way, and also because talk is as crucial as sex here. If only Nancy hadn't spent half of her existence in a pleasure-free marriage. If only a lifetime of being middle class and socially conservative, and of internalising Britain's stereotypical 'keep calm and carry on' mentality, hadn't left her adrift from her desires. If only being a woman in her mid-50s wasn't seen as a libidinous void by society at large, a mindset that's as much a part of Nancy as the wrinkles and ageing body parts she can barely look at in the mirror. If only prioritising her sensual needs wasn't virtually taboo, too, especially in her mind — even after, two years since being widowed, she's booked an expensive rendezvous with Leo. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande unpacks those if onlys — not the Nanny McPhee one, obviously, but the idea that Nancy's life is immovably stuck in the same rut it has always been. As played by Thompson at the height of her acting powers, at her absolute splintery, finicky yet vulnerable best even with Last Christmas, Years and Years, Late Night and The Children Act on her recent resume, she's nervous, anxious, uncertain and always on the cusp of cancelling, including once Leo strolls into the room, beams his easy magnetism her way and starts talking about what she wants like it's the most natural thing in the world. Slipping into the sheets and knowing what excites you is the most natural thing in the world, of course, but not to Nancy. As her four appointments with Leo progress, she comes up with a lineup of carnal acts she'd like to experience — and she may as well be reading from her grocery list. But getting her to shed her inhibitions is as much his focus as shedding her clothes, and the twentysomething won't let Nancy keep getting in the way of herself. Read our full review. CRIMES OF THE FUTURE It takes a brave filmmaker to see cancer and climate change, and think of art, evolution and eroticism in a possible future. It takes a bold director to have a character proclaim that "surgery is the new sex", too. David Cronenberg has always been that kind of visionary, even before doing all of the above in his sublime latest release — and having the Scanners, Videodrome and The Fly helmer back on his body-horror bent for the first time in more than two decades is exactly the wild and weird dream that cinephiles want it to be. The Canadian auteur makes his first movie at all since 2014's Maps to the Stars, in fact, and this tale of pleasure and pain is as Cronenbergian as anything can be. He borrows Crimes of the Future's title from his second-ever feature dating back 50-plus years, brings all of his corporeal fascinations to the fore, and moulds a viscerally and cerebrally mesmerising film that it feels like he's always been working towards. Long live the new flesh, again. Long live the old Cronenberg as well. In this portrait of a potential time to come, the human body has undergone two significant changes. Three, perhaps, as glimpsed in a disquieting opening where an eight-year-old called Brecken (debutant Sotiris Siozos) snacks on a plastic bin, and is then murdered by his mother Djuna (Lihi Kornowski, Ballistic). That incident isn't unimportant, but Crimes of the Future has other departures from today's status quo to carve into — and they're equally absorbing. Physical agony has disappeared, creating a trade in "desktop surgery" as performance art. Also, a condition dubbed Accelerated Evolution Syndrome causes some folks, such as artist Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen, Thirteen Lives), to grow abnormal organs. These tumours are removed and tattooed in avant-garde shows by his doctor/lover Caprice (Léa Seydoux, No Time to Die), then catalogued by the National Organ Register's Wippit (Don McKellar, reteaming with Cronenberg after eXistenZ) and Timlin (Kristen Stewart, Spencer). When Crimes of the Future stages one of Saul and Caprice's gigs, it drips not with blood but spectacle and seduction. Indeed, it's no wonder that a curious Timlin utters that catchy observation about medical slicing and intimate arousal shortly afterwards. Alluring, eerie, grotesque and enthralling — and the epitome of the feature's sparse yet entrancing look and mood in the process — it's a powerhouse of a scene, with a self-autopsy pod at its centre. Saul lies still, Caprice uses an eXistenZ-esque fleshy video-game controller to get the contraption cutting, and an enraptured audience hang on every incision. Saul and Caprice do, too, although their visibly aroused reactions have nothing on their time later in the suite alone. (Cronenberg does love eschewing traditional ideas about what titillates; see also: his 1996 film Crash, about characters excited by car crashes. It's a clear precursor to this, and the movie that purred so that 2021 Palme d'Or winner Titane, by filmmaker Julia Ducournau, could rev.) Crimes of the Future's scalpel-equipped coffin is just one of Saul and Caprice's Lifeform Ware gadgets; if eXistenZ, Naked Lunch and Dead Ringers procreated, these are the devices the three flicks would spawn. HR Giger could've conjured them up as well, and thinking of the biomechanical artist's contribution to Alien, which saw him share an Oscar for visual effects, is as natural as feeling spellbound and perturbed by Cronenberg's movie in unison. This is a grimy world where a bed covered with skin and tentacles floats in Saul's home, calibrated to cater to his "designer cancer"-riddled body's needs as it slumbers — and where a chair that looks like a skeleton reassembled as furniture contorts Saul as he's eating, something he is having increasing trouble with otherwise. In other words, it's a world where the old flesh isn't doing what it always has, new flesh is sprouting in a changing and devastated reality, and technology fills in the gaps as it is always designed to. Read our full review. BOSCH & ROCKIT Remember the name Rasmus King. Based on 2022's slate of Australian films and television shows, that shouldn't be hard. The Byron Bay-born newcomer hadn't graced a screen, large or small, before this year — and now he has no fewer than four projects pushing him into the spotlight before 2023 arrives. Most, including surfing TV drama Barons, capitalise upon the fact that he's a pro on the waves IRL. Two, 6 Festivals and the upcoming sci-fi featurette What If The Future Never Happened?, get his long blonde locks whipping through the Australian music scene. The latter is based on Daniel Johns' teenage years, actually, and has King playing that pivotal part. If he's half as impressive in the role as he is in father-son drama Bosch & Rockit, Silverchair fans will have plenty to look to forward to. When writer/director Tyler Atkins opens his debut feature, it's in the late 90s, along Australia's east coast, and with King as eager surfer Rockit — son to weed farmer Bosch (Luke Hemsworth, Westworld). Sometimes, the titular pair hit the surf together, which sees Rockit's eyes light up; however, Bosch is usually happy tending to his illicit business, making questionable decisions, and coping with splitting from his son's mother Elizabeth (Leeanna Walsman, Eden) with the help of other women. Then a couple of unfortunate twists of fate upend Rockit's existence, all stemming from his father. Begrudgingly, Bosch is pushed into stepping outside his drug-growing comfort zone by an old friend-turned-cop (Michael Sheasby, The Nightingale) and his corrupt partner (Martin Sacks, Buckley's Chance). When a bushfire sweeps through the region shortly afterwards, he's forced to go on the run to stay alive. Bosch & Rockit approaches Bosch's absconding from Rockit's perspective, adopting the line that the former gives his boy: that they're going to Byron for an extended holiday. Atkins doesn't feed the same idea to its audience, but ensures that viewers understand why a bright-eyed teenager would take his dad at his word — not just because he doesn't know what Bosch does for a living, which he doesn't; or he's naïve, which he is; but also because he's eager to hang onto his biggest dream. There's sorrow in King's spirited performance, with Rockit more affected by his parents' split, bullying at school and the isolation that comes with finding solace in the sea, usually alone, than Bosch has the shrewdness to spot. There's earnestness as well, because what struggling kid who's desperate for the kind of love that genuine attention signifies, as Rockit visibly is, won't blindly believe whatever fantasy their dad or mum sells them for as long as possible? King does a magnetic job of conveying Rockit's inner turmoil, and expressing his uncertainty, too. There's an effortlessness to his portrayal, whether Rockit is lapping up Bosch's presence like a plant swaying towards the sunlight, listlessly left to his own devices when his dad decides he'd rather chase Byron local Deb (Isabel Lucas, That's Not Me), or finding a kindred spirit in Ash (Savannah La Rain, Surviving Summer), another restless and yearning teen vacationing under less-than-ideal circumstances and feeling like she's alone in the world. Avoiding formulaic plotting isn't Bosch & Rockit's strong suit, however, as the film makes plain at every turn. That's evident in both of its namesakes' trajectories, for starters — with Bosch a small-time crim falling afoul of the wrong people, with help from bad luck, then trying to start anew; and Rockit an innocent kid stuck with subpar parents, forced to grow up faster than he should, but hanging onto whatever he can. 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 May 5, May 12, May 19 and May 26; June 2, June 9, June 16, June 23 and June 30; and July 7, July 14, July 21 and July 28, and August 4 and August 11. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Petite Maman, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Firestarter, Operation Mincemeat, To Chiara, This Much I Know to Be True, The Innocents, Top Gun: Maverick, The Bob's Burgers Movie, Ablaze, Hatching, Mothering Sunday, Jurassic World Dominion, A Hero, Benediction, Lightyear, Men, Elvis, Lost Illusions, Nude Tuesday, Ali & Ava, Thor: Love and Thunder, Compartment No. 6, Sundown, The Gray Man, The Phantom of the Open, The Black Phone, Where the Crawdads Sing, Official Competition, The Forgiven, Full Time, Murder Party, Bullet Train, Nope, The Princess and 6 Festivals.
To help you make the most of Sydney's balmy nights, the Museum of Contemporary Art has a launched new weekly after-hours program, aptly dubbed MCA Late. The event is taking over the much-loved arts space from 5–9pm every Friday till the end of April, so you can watch the sunset on the working week. And did we mention it's free? Take a stroll through the Museum and you'll catch performances by performance artists and musicians, including Nicola Morton, Phantom Chips, Loose-y Crunché, Papaphilia and Moniker Gronk. And, you can join American-born Aussie artist Kate Just in a 20-minute chat as she completes the final panels of her project Anonymous was a woman. Or, you can grab a drink at the rooftop cafe and soak up the spectacular harbour views. For April, the gallery has collaborated with Surry Hills' old-world movie house and bar Golden Age, too, so expect more than just your average glass of vino. Instead, you'll be sipping a double yuzu margarita, a spiced berry negroni or a popcorn-flavoured old fashioned. [caption id="attachment_806500" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bianca De Marchi[/caption] To top it off, MCA x FBi Radio's free, monthly live music event, Sounds on the Terrace, has moved to Fridays. The next one happening on April 9 with performances by FBi Radio Dance Class DJs and Skeleten. So, after you wander through the exhibitions, you can climb the stairs and kick back to some live tunes. Sounds on the Terrace features rising stars from Sydney's flourishing music scene. No bookings are required, but we suggest you get there early as numbers are limited. MCA Late takes place from 5–9pm every Friday till April 30. For more information, head to the MCA website. Top images (in order): Sam Whiteside, Bianca De Marchi, Jordan Munns and Liam Cameron
We've scored giant slip 'n' slides, trampoline gyms and bouncing castle obstacle courses. Now, it's time to get on board the latest kidult craze to hit our shores, as Australia's biggest game of hide and seek takes over a cruise ship on Sydney Harbour next month. That's right: hiding and seeking is no longer just child's play. In fact, Australia's even got its own national hide and seek adults team, the Nascondingos, who took out eighth place at the most recent world championships, which are a thing. And on Sunday, February 18, these guys will be honing their finding skills, playing a team of 'seekers' as locals of all ages hide onboard one of the world's biggest cruise ships, Ovation of The Seas. It's thought to be the largest official game of hide and seek ever played at sea — and, yeah, it probably is. Applications to compete in the game are open to just about everyone, with one game for kids aged 8–14 and another for adults aged over 15. There's a solid prize pool, too, with the last person to be found in the adult's game taking home a cool $10,000 and a cruise. Of course, it's all part of a huge promo for Royal Caribbean, but that shouldn't stop it being a bit of fun. If you fancy yourself a hide and seek pro, don't be shy about it — enter here by February 5.
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. TOP GUN: MAVERICK As dripping with jingoism, machismo, militarism and sweat as cinema gets — and there really was oh-so-much sweat — 1986's Top Gun was a dream of a recruitment ad. The US Navy's aviation program couldn't have whipped up a stronger enlistment campaign in its wildest fantasies. Even if it had, getting Hollywood's gloss, a star who'd still be box-office catnip four decades later and Kenny Loggins' second-best movie tune (slipping in behind Footloose, of course) probably would've felt like a one-in-a-billion longshot. But all of the above, plus a lurid sheen and homoerotic gaze, didn't make Top Gun a good film. Loggins' 'Danger Zone' remains an earworm of a delight, but the feature it's synonymous with took a highway to the cheesy, cringey, puffed up, perpetually moist and aggressively toxic zone. The one exception: whenever Tony Scott's camera was focused on all that flying, rather than a smirking, reckless and arrogant Tom Cruise as a portrait of 80s bluster and vanity. Gliding into cinemas 36 years after its predecessor, Top Gun: Maverick is still at its best when its jets are soaring. The initial flick had the perfect song to describe exactly what these phenomenally well-executed and -choreographed action scenes feel like to view; yes, they'll take your breath away. Peppered throughout the movie, actually shot in real US Navy aircraft without a trace of digital effects, and as tense and spectacular as filmmaking can be in the feature's climactic sequences, they truly do make it seem as if you're watchin' in slow motion. Thankfully, this time that adrenaline kick is accompanied by a smarter and far more self-aware film, as directed by TRON: Legacy and Oblivion's Joseph Kosinski. Top Gun in the 80s was exactly what Top Gun in the 80s was always going to be — but Top Gun in the 2020s doesn't dare believe that nothing has changed, that Cruise's still-smug Maverick can't evolve, and that the world the movie releases into hasn't either. Early in the film — after Harold Faltermeyer's famous Top Gun anthem plays, text on-screen explains what the titular elite pilot training program is all about, a montage of fighter planes kicks in and then 'Danger Zone' sets an upbeat tone; that is, after the flick begins exactly as the first did — Captain Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell (Cruise, Mission: Impossible — Fallout) is given a dressing-down. Still as rebellious as his call sign makes plain, he's just wantonly disobeyed orders, flown a ridiculously expensive hypersonic test plane when he's not supposed to and caused quite the fallout. "The future is coming and you're not in it," he's told, and Top Gun: Maverick doesn't shy away from that notion. As its opening moments show, along with a touch too many other nostalgia-steeped touches elsewhere this sequel hasn't wholly flown on from the past; however, it actively reckons with it as well. Still hardly the navy's favourite despite his swagger, megawatt smile, gleaming aviators and unfailing self-confidence — well, really despite his need for speed and exceptional dogfighting skills in the air — Maverick is given one last assignment. His destination: Fightertown USA, the California-based Top Gun program he strutted his way through all those years ago. There's an enemy nation with a secret weapons base that needs destroying, and his talents are crucial. But, to his dismay, Maverick is only asked to teach. Given a squad lorded over by the brash Hangman (Glen Powell, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood), and also including Coyote (Greg Tarzan Davis, Grey's Anatomy), Payback (Jay Ellis, Insecure), Fanboy (Danny Ramirez, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Phoenix (Monica Barbaro, Stumptown), Bob (Lewis Pullman, Outer Range) and the frosty Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw (Miles Teller, The Offer), he's tasked with training them to fly like he does, navigate a Star Wars-style impossible path that zips speedily at perilously low altitudes and, ideally, still survive the supremely dangerous mission. Read our full review. THE BOB'S BURGERS MOVIE Across its 12-season order to-date, the best episodes of Bob's Burgers have always resembled exactly what they should: a delicious serving of the meat-and-bread combination that shares the hit sitcom's name. There's a knack to a great burg — to a tastebud-thrilling, so-appetising-I-need-more-now example of this extremely accessible culinary art — and it's all about perfecting the absolute basics. No matter what else gets slotted in (and plenty of other ingredients can), every burger's staples should be the stars of the show. Indeed, a top-notch burg needn't be flashy. It definitely mustn't be overcomplicated, either. And, crucially, it should taste as comforting as wrapping your hands around its buns feels. On the small screen since 2011, Bob's Burgers has kept its version of that very recipe close to its animated, irreverent, gleefully offbeat heart. Unsurprisingly, the show's creators whip up the same kind of dish for The Bob's Burgers Movie, too. It's a winning formula, and creator Loren Bouchard knows not to mess with it while taking his beloved characters to the big screen. Co-helming with the series' frequent supervising director Bernard Derriman, and co-writing with long-running producer Nora Smith, he experiments here and there — in filmic form, Bob's Burgers is a tad darker, for instance — but he also knows what keeps his customers a-coming. That'd be the goofy but extremely relatable Belcher clan, their everyday joys and struggles, and the cosy little world that sprawls around their yellow-hued Ocean Avenue burger joint up the road from seaside fairground Wonder Wharf. Bouchard also knows that if you make something well enough time after time — be it a burger or a TV show that's spawned a movie; both fit — it'll be warmly, reliably and welcomingly familiar rather than just another helping of the same old nosh. As always, the action centres on the film's namesake — the diner where patriarch Bob (H Jon Benjamin, Archer) sizzles up punningly named burgs to both make a living and live out his dream. And, as the show has covered frequently, financial woes mean that Bob and his wife Linda (John Roberts, Gravity Falls) have more to worry about than cooking, serving customers, and their kids Tina (Dan Mintz, Veep), Gene (Eugene Mirman, Flight of the Conchords) and Louise (Kristen Schaal, What We Do in the Shadows). Their solution: a burger, of course. But their bank manager isn't munching when they try to use food to grease their pleas for an extension on their loan. That mortgage also involves their restaurant equipment, leaving them out of business if they can't pay up. As their seven-day time limit to stump up the cash ticks by, Bob sweats over the grill and Linda oozes her usual optimism — only for a sinkhole to form literally at their door. As trusty as Bob's Burgers gets, and still refreshingly committed to depicting the daily reality of its working-class characters, that above setup is the movie's buns. Layered inside are tomato, lettuce, cheese, pickle and beetroot, aka the narrative's well-balanced fillings. First comes a murder-mystery ensnaring the Belchers' eccentric landlord Calvin Fischoeder (Kevin Kline, Beauty and the Beast) and his brother Felix (Zach Galifianakis, Ron's Gone Wrong). Springing from there is Louise's determination to solve the crime to save the diner and prove she isn't a baby just because she wears a pink rabbit-eared hat. Then there's Tina's quest to make her crush Jimmy Jr (also voiced by Benjamin) her summer boyfriend; Gene's need to get The Itty Bitty Ditty Committee, the family band, a gig at Wonder Wharf's Octa-Wharfiversary celebrations; and Bob and Linda's attempt to sell burgs at the amusement park using a barbecue on wheels MacGyvered up by number-one customer Teddy (Larry Murphy, The Venture Bros). Read our full review. ABLAZE A documentary that's deeply personal for one of its directors, intensely powerful in surveying Australia's treatment of its First Peoples and crucial in celebrating perhaps the country's first-ever Aboriginal filmmaker, Ablaze makes for astonishing viewing. But while watching, two ideas jostle for attention. Both remain unspoken, yet each is unshakeable. Firstly, if the history of Australia had been different, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta man William 'Bill' Onus would be a household name. If that was the case, not only his work behind the camera, but his activism for Indigenous Aussies at a time when voting and even being included in the census wasn't permitted — plus his devotion to ensuring that white Australians were aware of the nation's colonial violence — would be as well-known as Captain Cook. That said, if history had been better still, Bill wouldn't have needed to fight so vehemently, or at all. Alas, neither of those possibilities came to a fruition. Ablaze can't change the past, but it can and does document it with a hope to influencing how the world sees and appreciates Bill's part in it. Indeed, shining the spotlight on its subject, everything his life stood for, and all that he battled for and against is firmly and proudly the feature's aim. First-time filmmaker Tiriki Onus looks back on his own grandfather, narrating his story as well — and, as aided by co-helmer Alec Morgan (Hunt Angels, Lousy Little Sixpence), the result is a movie brimming with feeling, meaning and importance. While Aussie cinema keeps reckoning with the nation's history regarding race relations, as it should and absolutely must, Ablaze is as potent and essential as everything from Sweet Country, The Nightingale and The Australian Dream to The Furnace, High Ground and The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson. As the last filmic ode to a key Indigenous figure within cinema also did, aka My Name Is Gulpilil, Ablaze has a clear source of inspiration beyond the person at its centre. Appearing on-screen, Tiriki begins with two discoveries that put him on the path to making the movie: finding a suitcase filled with Bill's belongings, which included photographs of Indigenous boys in traditional paint peering at a film camera; and learning that the National Film & Sound Archive was in possession of footage of unknown origin that it believed to be linked to Bill. Accordingly, Ablaze is as much a detective story as it is a tribute, with Tiriki puzzling together the pieces of his grandfather's tale. Structuring the film in such a way is a savvy decision; even viewers coming to Bill with zero prior knowledge will want to sleuth along to solve the feature's multiple mysteries. Connecting the dots starts easily, after Tiriki spies the boys in Bill's photos in the NFSA's nine-minute reel — footage from which it's an enormous treat to see in Ablaze. From there, though, the what and why behind the material takes longer to tease out. So too does exactly why Reg Saunders and Doug Nicholls — the first Aboriginal officer in the Australian Army and the famed Aussie rules footballer-turned-pastor, respectively — appear in Bill's silent footage. Also an opera singer, Tiriki guides Ablaze's viewers through the answers, while delivering a biographical documentary-style exploration of Bill's existence along the way — from being born in 1906 at the Cummeragunja Aboriginal Reserve, on the Murray River in New South Wales, through to his passing in 1968 following the successful 1967 referendum on counting Indigenous Australians as part of the population, for which he spearheaded the campaign. Read our full review. HATCHING If you had only ever watched five horror movies in your life, odds are that one would've covered being careful what you wish for, and another would've focused on not messing with nature. It's equally likely that growing up being hell, motherhood being even more nightmarish and grappling with the terrors of the human body would've popped up as well. These all rank among the genre's favourite concepts, alongside haunted houses, murderous forces, demonic influences and the undead — and, making her feature filmmaking debut with the savvily sinister-meets-satirical blend that is Hatching, Finnish writer/director Hanna Bergholm knows this. She's also innately aware that something unique, distinctive and unnerving can still spring from stitching together well-used notions and now-familiar parts, which, on- and off-screen, is her bold and memorable body-horror, twisted fairy tale and dark coming-of-age thriller in an eggshell. Hatching begins by unpacking a fallacy as fractured as Humpty Dumpty after the nursery-rhyme character's fall — and that still keeps being lapped up anyway. In suburban Finland, among homes so identical that the song 'Little Boxes' instantly pops into your head, 12-year-old gymnast Tinja (debutant Siiri Solalinna), her younger brother Matias (fellow first-timer Oiva Ollila), and their mother (Sophia Heikkilä, Dual) and father Jani Volanen, Dogs Don't Wear Pants) are living their best lives. More than that, as the soft lensing and music that helps open the movie establishes, they're also beaming that picture of pink, white and pastel-hued domestic perfection to the world. Tinja's unnamed mum is a vlogger, and these scenes are being captured for her cloyingly named blog Lovely Everyday Life. Naturally, showing that this family of four's daily existence is anything but enchanting is one of Bergholm's first aims. The initial crack comes from outside, crashing through the window to ruin a posed shot alight with fake smiles and, of course, being filmed with a selfie stick. Soon, broken glass, vases and lamps are strewn throughout a lounge room so immaculately arranged that it looks straight out of a supermarket-shelf home-and-garden magazine — and the crowning glory, the chandelier, has descended from a luminous pièce de résistance to a shattered mess. A garden-variety crow is the culprit, which Tinja carefully captures. She hands it to her mother, thinking that they'll then release it outside. But her mum, placid but seething that anything could disrupt her manufactured picture of bliss, ignores that idea with a cruel snap and instructions to dispose of the animal in the organic waste. Watching the source of her own life snuff out a bird's because it temporarily disturbed the faux, performative idyll is understandably a formative moment for Tinja, and one of several early splinters. The girl is clearly nowhere near as enthused about gymnastics as her mum is about having a star gymnast for a daughter, even before Tinja is forced to train until her palms are torn and bloody. She's also unsettled when she sees her mother kissing handyman Tero (Reino Nordin, Deadwind), then justifies having a "special friend" because he satisfies her in ways Tinja's dutiful dad doesn't. So when Tinja finds the crow's egg in a nest outside, she's quick to take it into her care — both because of and despite her mum. She nurtures it tenderly, placing it inside a teddy bear for safe keeping. She gains her own little universe to dote over. Then the egg keeps growing, and a human-sized chick emerges. Read our full review. INTERCEPTOR Four decades back, Interceptor would've happily sat on a crowded video-store shelf alongside a wealth of other mindless, machismo-fuelled action thrillers. It would've been the epitome of one of the genre's straight-to-VHS flicks, in fact. Don't just call it a throwback, though; instead of testosterone oozing from every actor within sight, except perhaps a token wife worrying at home, this nuclear attack movie from Australian author Matthew Reilly focuses on a woman making waves in a male-dominated world. That's firmly a 2022 move, reflecting today's gender politics. So too is the fact that said protagonist, US Army Captain JJ Collins (Elsa Pataky, Tidelands), has just been reassigned after putting in a sexual harassment complaint against one of her past superiors. Don't go thinking that Interceptor doesn't tick every other box its 80s counterparts did, however. It couldn't lean harder on all of the cliches that've ever been involved with world-in-peril, military-driven movies, and with action fare at its most inane in general. A global success for his airport novels, writer Reilly doesn't just turn screenwriter here — with assistance from Collateral, Tomorrow, When the War Began and Obi-Wan Kenobi's Stuart Beattie — but also jumps behind the lens for the first time. Alas, his directorial instincts prove as flat and by-the-numbers as Interceptor's wanly boilerplate plot, as well as its clunky-as-clunky dialogue. And, that storyline really couldn't be more formulaic. In her new post on a remote platform in the Pacific Ocean, Collins soon finds herself under attack by terrorists led by the grating Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey, Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan). Her sea-surrounded station is one of two sites, alongside Alaska's Fort Greely, that can intercept a nuclear warhead launch on the US. Naturally, Kessel and his men have already taken out the other one, and have also pilfered nukes from the Russians in their possession. Cue a run-of-the-mill single-setting good-versus-evil face-off — at best — that sees the cartoonishly sinister Kessel try to shoot, blast and fight his way into the platform's control room, while the devoted and dutiful Collins does everything she can to keep him out. Cue monotonous standoffs, frays and arguments that aren't enlivened for a second by the routine cinematography, and certainly not by Interceptor's oh-so-serious tone. It's only when Chris Hemsworth (Men in Black: International) shows up in an extended cameo that's given far too much attention that the film shows even the faintest traces of a sense of humour. That said, winking at and nudging the audience about Pataky's real-life husband is as far as any comedy or self-awareness goes; no, Interceptor isn't so bad and cheesy that it's entertaining, either. At the beginning of her English-language career, before her appearances in four Fast and Furious franchise flicks from Fast & Furious 5 onwards, Pataky featured in Snakes on a Plane. Terrorists on an Army Sea Platform isn't as catchy a title, and aping his star's earlier comedy definitely isn't the vibe that Reilly is going for — but when you're making something this derivative, that level of silliness would've been a better option. No one adds a highlight to their resumes with this bland affair, although Pataky shows that she deserves a better star vehicle. Around her, the Australian-shot film fills out its supporting cast with mostly local faces, including Aaron Glenane (Home and Away), Zoe Carides (Pieces of Her), Colin Friels (Total Control) and Rhys Muldoon (New Gold Mountain), none of whom manage to stand out for the right reasons. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on February 3, February 10, February 17 and February 24; and March 3, March 10, March 17, March 24 and March 31; April 7, April 14, April 21 and April 28; and May 5, May 12 and May 19. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Belfast, Here Out West, Jackass Forever, Benedetta, Drive My Car, Death on the Nile, C'mon C'mon, Flee, Uncharted, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Cyrano, Hive, Studio 666, The Batman, Blind Ambition, Bergman Island, Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, The Souvenir: Part II, Dog, Anonymous Club, X, River, Nowhere Special, RRR, Morbius, The Duke, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore, Ambulance, Memoria, The Lost City, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Happening, The Good Boss, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, The Northman, Ithaka, After Yang, Downton Abbey: A New Era, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, Petite Maman, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Firestarter, Operation Mincemeat, To Chiara, This Much I Know to Be True and The Innocents.
Leading stylist and Dyson Global Ambassador, Peter Thomsen has been working out of his luxury salon Chelsea Haircutters for over 25 years. Located on the stunning South Coast of NSW, Chelsea Haircutters is an ideal salon to book into when you have a fancy event to attend south of Sydney. Thomsen specialises in blonde and balayage, so you can trust him with any of your complex colouring needs. But it's not just colouring that Thomsen is known for. If you want a style service that'll turn heads at a special event, Thomsen will ensure you leave the salon with a gorgeous look created with the help of innovative Dyson tools.
Attention all coffee-seekers: you may have just found the new brew — or brews — you've been searching for. Beloved Melbourne-based Padre Coffee has finally arrived in Sydney, bringing naturally-processed Colombian blends to its first ever NSW setup at Paddington's Five Ways. After growing a cult-like following at its flagships in Melbourne and Noosa, it's time to discover what all the hype is about. Padre on Glenmore Road features a storefront for the brand's coffee blends and home-brewing equipment, as well as a spacious espresso bar and cafe boasting a range of freshly-baked treats to accompany your coffee. Sample the pastries and bread supplied by Staple Bread & Necessities, cookies from Cut Lunch Deli and the famous Portuguese tarts from Clovelly's Tuga Pastries. "We're absolutely thrilled to share the Padre Coffee vision and brand with Sydney coffee lovers," said the NSW head of Padre Coffee, Ben White. "Our blends have garnered a strong following with online buyers across the city's eastern suburbs and CBD, so we're looking forward to now having a dedicated space for our coffee drinkers to enjoy their daily cup." The store, located not far from the The Royal Hotel and Tequila Mockingbird, is serving up limited edition flavours to celebrate its launch, including adventurous and fruity caffeinated sips such as cherry, raspberry, strawberry and rose. You'll want to get sipping on these rare brews before they sell out completely. You'll find Padre Coffee's Sydney outpost at 241A-241B Glenmore Road in Paddington — grab your special brew from 7am to 3pm Monday to Sunday.
When Palace Verona opened its doors 27 years ago, Nicole Kidman did the honours. In 2024, it'll turn off its projectors and shut up shop. The arthouse cinema chain has announced that its Oxford Street picture palace will close in January, when the company's lease on the site finishes. The building that the theatre is in is then set to be redeveloped. One big-screen spot may be bidding farewell, but another will then say hello: Palace Moore Park. Sydney movie lovers won't have to wait long to swap Paddington for Entertainment Quarter, with Palace's latest addition slated to open in February. So, think of this as a relocation — or a reboot, if you prefer. Entertainment Quarter already has Hoyts onsite, but Palace's venue will be solely devoted to arthouse and international cinema, rather than blockbusters. "As we bid farewell to Palace Verona, we want to express our sincere appreciation to all of our patrons who have shared in the magic of cinema within its iconic walls. The passion and enthusiasm you have shown over the years have truly made Palace Verona a cherished community landmark," said Palace Cinemas CEO Benjamin Zeccola. "We are committed to preserving the arthouse ethos that Palace Verona is renowned for and having that live on at Palace Moore Park," Zeccola continued. "Moviegoers can expect an enhanced experience with an expanded range of films, more immersive events and, of course, our unwavering commitment to excellent hospitality". The Verona building will fall under new management once Palace departs. Over at EQ, the chain names parking and public transport options among the new drawcards — and dining options as well. Find Palace Verona at 17 Oxford Street, Paddington until January 2024, and Palace Moore Park at Entertainment Quarter from February 2024 — with exact closing and opening dates yet to be revealed.
That blank space in your calendar that you were hoping to fill with Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour? It's now taken care of. Australian Swifties, yes, your wildest dreams have finally come true. It definitely won't be a cruel summer for fans of the global music star Down Under, after the singer-songwriter announced five Aussie shows for February — although you'll have to be in Melbourne or Sydney to head along. Swift will play two gigs at the MCG in Melbourne across Friday, February 16–Saturday, February 17, then head north to hit the stage across three dates at Sydney's Accor Stadium from Friday, February 23–Sunday, February 25. At all shows, she'll also have company: Sabrina Carpenter in support. [caption id="attachment_906253" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The Eras Tour kicked off in March in the US, where it's still playing. As well as revealing Aussie dates, Swift locked in international stops in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil in 2023 — and in Japan, Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Poland and Australia until August 2024. The tour sees the Swift work through her entire career so far, playing tracks from each of her studio albums in a three-hour, 44-song, ten-act spectacular. 'Fearless', 'Enchanted', 'We Are Never Getting Back Together', 'Shake It Off', 'Bad Blood', 'Look What You Made Me Do', 'You Need to Calm Down' — expect them all to get a run, plus tunes from albums Folklore, Evermore and Midnights as well. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) This'll be Swift's first tour Down Under since 2018, when she brought her Reputation shows to not only Sydney and Melbourne, but Brisbane and Perth, too. In the US, it's been breaking ticketing and venue records — expect tickets to get snapped up quickly Down Under as well. [caption id="attachment_906254" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR AUSTRALIAN DATES 2024: Friday, February 16–Saturday, February 17 — Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Friday, February 23–Sunday, February 25 — Accor Stadium, Sydney Taylor Swift will bring The Eras Tour to Australia in February 2024. Tickets for the Melbourne shows go on sale at 10am AEST on Friday, June 30, with the Sydney shows on sale at 2pm AEST on Friday, June 30. The American Express VIP Package pre-sale runs for 48 hours from Monday, June 26 — from 10am in Sydney and 2pm in Melbourne — and the Frontier Members pre-sale runs 24 hours from Wednesday, June 28, again from 10am in Sydney and 2pm in Melbourne, or until all pre-sale tickets have been snapped up in both instances. Head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons.
Vancouver takes care of their own, even those without four walls to call home. A particularly high-five-worthy charity in Vancouver built pop-up shelters on benches, inviting homeless citizens to find shelter for the night. London is shuffling awkwardly across the Atlantic. Teaming up with Spring Advertising for a heartfelt and genuinely useful campaign, nonprofit RainCity Housing installed modified public benches to open eyes and raise awareness of local homelessness while actually providing homeless people a slightly improved temporary sleeping shelter. After London and Montreal's atrocious 'anti-homeless spikes' sparked furious debate and removals, Vancouver was successfully reminding the globe that it doesn't take much to offer a helping hand. RainCity, a nonprofit providing assistance to Vancouver's homeless population, designed two types of modified benches targeting citizens without shelter. The first boasted a convertible backrest which functions as an overhanging cover (with the address of RainCity Housing listed to encourage homeless people to "find a home here"). The second was more of an advertising campaign, but heartfelt nonetheless — during the day, the bench sports text reading "THIS IS A BENCH" and after sunset the text glows in the dark and changes to read "THIS IS A BEDROOM." Although this isn't a new ad campaign (in fact, the benches were installed last year), it didn't get much press amidst the London/Montreal spikes uproar. But seriously, somewhat useful covered benches win over 'anti-homeless' design any day. Via Gawker and Bustle. Images by Spring Advertising/RainCity.
Yoda? Cartoon characters? Pamela Anderson emerging in slo-mo from the surf, flicking her hair to the Baywatch theme? Such are the visions that come to mind when viewing the high-speed photographs of violently shaking dogs, shot by Carli Davidson for her new book, Shake. With plenty more flabby skin and saliva at their disposal, our furry friends put human jowlers utterly to shame. Davidson appears to be a bit of a badass known for her wildlife photography, and according to her bio, was "raised on a secret volcano island by cheetahs". (Her biopic is recommended viewing). She first began photographing animals while working at the Oregon Zoo. The shake project was inspired by her pet dog Norbert (a name which I choose to interpret as an Angry Beavers reference), whose drool Davidson is apparently obliged to scrub from the walls of her home with some frequency. In Shake, she shares 130 high-speed photos of 61 dogs from a range of pedigrees, including a Chinese Crested, that exquisite breed famed for its tendency to win the World's Ugliest Dog competition each year. Different textures of fur coat and jowl surface area contribute to the extremity of 'shake', floppy ears and eyelids flying in opposing directions with a majesty comparable to that of hawks swooping above the Far Northern tundra. One can only imagine the sheer volume of drool lopped onto Davidson's bystanding studio assistants, who by the end must have resembled the victims of some terrible slug fight. The resulting portraits truly inspire — buy them singly as prints, ideal for your stylish home or super tasteful office wall. If that's just not sufficient, order the book on Amazon to be reminded of just how cute and demented doggies really are. The video below, created in conjunction with Variable, is an instant mood-lifter, as all kinds of puppies rattle and roll to an appropriately sentimental soundtrack. Via Colossal.
The spooky season may still be underway, but the festivities will turn Christmassy before you know it. Even if it shocks the system, early gift shopping never hurts anybody. It's a good thing the good people at Cambridge Markets have organised artisanal events all over Sydney until Christmas week. The season kicks off in the south with the Cronulla Christmas Market, which will take over Don Lucas Reserve from Saturday, November 16 to Sunday, November 17, from 10am–4pm. The following weekend (Saturday, November 23), across town in Rhodes Foreshore Park, will be the Rhodes Christmas Festival from 10am–4pm. Later that week, in the western suburbs, head to Centenary Square after work on Thursday, November 28, for the Parramatta Christmas Festival (from 3.30–7.30pm). Heading into December, the Royal Randwick Racecourse will host a Christmas festival from 1.30 to 7.30pm on Friday, December 6. If you can't make it to Randwick, check out the Ryde Christmas Market at Anderson Park instead on Sunday, December 8, from 10am–4pm. On Saturday, December 14, Burwood Park will host the Burwood Christmas Market from 12pm–9pm, which will also feature live music and a fireworks show. On the home run to Christmas, you really should have your gift shopping done by now. However, you've still got some opportunities on Saturday, December 21. In Sydney's south, the Green Square Christmas Market will run from 10am–4pm, while further west, you'll find the Wentworth Point Twilight Christmas Market from 6pm–10pm. Looking at this hefty list, you've got more than enough opportunities to get your Christmas fix. Whether it's gift shopping, a family day out or a wholesome date with your S/O, get your calendars and tote bags ready — it's market time. Cambridge Christmas Markets are coming to various locations all over Sydney. For more information on dates and times, visit the Cambridge Markets website.
