It's one of Sydney's favourite Italian eateries, and it's giving everyone a pizza-filled treat. Over at their Broadway store, Salt Meats Cheese isn't just serving up tasty bites — it's holding $20 all-you-can-eat pizza nights every Monday evening from 5pm. "Does this look like someone who's had all they can eat?" isn't something you'll be saying when you devour as many slices as your stomach can handle, so calm your inner Homer Simpson. The only catch is that you'll have to buy a drink as well, but you can choose from both boozy and non-alcoholic options. If you go for the former, you'll find seven cocktails on offer, as well as sparkling, rose, red and white wines, beer and cider, and spirits and liquors. As for the 'za lineup, the venue's pizza bar boasts nine varieties, plus a calzone. Don't have an afternoon snack beforehand, obviously.
Vivid Sydney kicks off this week, and while you're planning which talks to see, figuring out where to catch a glimpse of the lights and checking which gigs still have tickets going, you're probably figuring out a strategic drinking and dining plan too. The bulk of the light installations will again be set up around Circular Quay, which, with the addition of the Gateway dining precinct, has a much richer food situation this year with Chat Thai, Popina, Messina and an actually decent food court. And just to ensure you don't go hungry, a market dedicated entirely to desserts will also run for three nights of the festival. Setting up shop in the Overseas Passenger Terminal, the Milk 'n' Sugar market will be on-hand for revellers craving something sweet for the first weekend of Vivid. Running from 6–11pm on May 26, 27 and 28, the market will be hocking Brooklyn Boy Bagels' cinnamon scrolls, deep-fried Oreo bites from Kayter Co, Nutie's gluten-free doughnuts, Nutella s'mores, kurtosh ice cream cones and more. You should probably skip dinner. As well as coinciding with Vivid, the market will also run alongside the Mr Black Espresso Martini Festival, which is also happening in the Overseas Passenger Terminal this weekend. Plan your movements right and you could fit it all in on one day.
No doubt you have a couple of Donna Hay cookbooks in your cupboard. After all, she is an Aussie food icon. From baked treats and cakes to salads, soups and home-style feasts, she's known not only for her recipes but also her impeccable plating. Now, the much-loved cook is hosting a series of virtual cooking classes, so you can become a culinary whiz in your own kitchen. Yep, it's not often you get to cook with Donna Hay and, soon enough, you'll be plating up like a Masterchef contestant. Best of all, it's free. To make it happen, Hay has partnered up with renowned New Zealand winemakers Cloudy Bay, because it wouldn't be a dinner party without vino. Known for its well-crafted wine, particularly its sauvignon blanc, Cloudy Bay is synonymous with the Marlborough wine region. Happening on Thursday, August 20 and Thursday, August 27, the two 1.5-hour cook-along sessions will see you whipping up two courses — a grazing platter and a main — and pairing both with a Cloudy Bay vino. In the first masterclass, the focus will be on pairing a fresh, vibrant sauvignon blanc with each dish. In the second, it'll be all about cool-climate pinot noir. Overall, with the help of Donna Hay and Cloudy Bay, you'll pick up some serious shortcuts to at-home entertaining. You can register for free here. Once you've signed up, you'll get an email with a link to join via Zoom, plus access to online recipe cards access and where to purchase the two Cloudy Bay wines — and have them delivered to your door. The Shortcuts to Entertaining with Donna Hay sessions kick off at 6.30pm on Thursday, August 20 and Thursday, August 27. To sign up, head here, then order yourself bottles of Cloudy Bay from this website.
When was the last time that you picked up a pen, sat down in front of a piece of paper and wrote someone a letter? When was the last time you picked up a pen and wrote something other than a reminder note, shopping list or a scribbled signature, for that matter? Handwriting is no longer a daily part of many people's lives, and nor is corresponding with others via mail — but both are in the spotlight at Dead Letter Club. Founded in Melbourne and now making its way around the country, Dead Letter Club is reviving the art of simply writing letters, although it's doing so with a twist. It's also a creative writing night, where people grab some stationery, choose a pen name and start scrawling missives. The letters are then sent via secret post — that is, swapped with other attendees, with everyone paired up with a mystery pen pal — creating a back-and-forth of handwritten correspondence throughout the evening. On the club's website, creator Melanie Knight describes it as "a chance to turn the tides on consumerism. Rather than consume more, we can make something". Dead Letter Club also presents itself an antidote to today's texting, twittering, emoji-sending, like-clicking forms of communication, instead requiring someone to spend time and energy to carefully compose a long-form piece of correspondence to someone else. Celebrating its first birthday at Melbourne's Noisy Ritual Urban Winery on Wednesday, October 10, Dead Letter Club often takes place in boozy establishments — so if you need some inspiration, the liquid type is available to purchase. Hundreds of writing prompt cards are also on hand, should you simply need an idea to get you started. The club comes to Sydney on Wednesday, October 17 thanks to a session at Daisy's Milk Bar, with fellow nights following in Wollongong and Canberra as part of an east coast tour. A session also occurred in Brisbane in September — and the club welcomes enquiries from folks eager to start up regular events in their city or town. Image: Dead Letters Club.
Bottomless brunches seem to be taking over Sydney these days. We got a rooftop bloody mary buffet at the East Village Hotel last month and Belles Hot Chicken just launched a weekend brunch of fried chicken and waffles, not to mention the bottomless rose at SoCal and all these fine options. Now, Glebe's much-loved Middle Eastern restaurant Thievery is giving it a go. It'll start offering weekly bottomless brunch banquets this Saturday, April 21 from noon till 3pm. Big communal breakfasts and lunches are an integral part of Middle Eastern culture and the restaurant's executive chef Julian Cincotta (winner of the 2016 Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year award) has curated a menu of his favourite regional dishes. Think modern options like yellow fin tuna with a samke harra (that is, spicy fish) emulsion, Lebanese fried chicken, hummus with burnt butter and baba ghanoush, alongside more traditional dishes like raw beef kibbeh and grilled haloumi with honey and za'atar. The banquet menu alone costs $34 per person, with bottomless booze also up for grabs for an additional $35. This gets you 90 minutes of Lebanese sangria and bellinis. The non-alcoholic drinks package sounds pretty great, too — for $18, you'll get sour cherry iced tea, ginger beer and punches in either apple, rose and mulberry, or pineapple, sage and chocolate bitters. All told it's a bit pricey for brunch, but there's no doubt the food will be top notch. Bookings are recommended, so head over here to nab a table.
Already known for its bottomless vegan pizza and pasta feasts, Italian restaurant chain Salt Meats Cheese has been upping its cruelty-free food game at a monthly special event. Called Soul Meets Cheers, it serves up an entirely plant-based menu, featuring vegan versions of Italian classics. For the feast's March outing — taking place at all Sydney venues from 5pm on Tuesday, March 9 — it'll be focusing on bites to eat inspired by Sicily. Think arancini with braised shiitake and fable ragu, pizza with grilled eggplant and roasted pine nuts, and cannoli with pistachio and vegan chocolate ganache. And yes, that's just a few of the dishes on offer. Your $49 ticket also includes a glass of vegan wine or beer upon arrival.
It's always a gamble when a legend returns to the stage¦ Have they still got 'it'? Can they walk across the stage ok on their new knees? What if they just want to bore us with some new obscure "experimental" album? I don't think you have anything to worry about with ol' Faithfull. She's survived half a century of the music industry, a relationship with Mick Jagger, and a 150-pill overdose in a Sydney hotel back in the '60s; and thus the years have simply added to her steadfast presence, the nicotine has deepened her legendary wail, the lines on her face tell as many stories as her music. To prove it she's playing her debut solo performance at Sydney Opera House as part of Adventures 2010 alongside an all-star bill of artists [both dead and alive] including nutty American film director John Waters, nouvelle British band Antony and The Johnsons and the inexhaustible Andy Warhol. Performing with an eight-piece band, Faithfull will deliver goodies like Broken English and Sister Morphine, as well as tracks from her new album Easy Come, Easy Go. Ok, so maybe she is plugging a new album, but how can you go wrong with tracks written by Nick Cave, Morrissey, Dolly Parton, and Duke Ellington? https://youtube.com/watch?v=rkR-amVd9es
It has been a couple of years since The Jungle Collective first started taking over Australian warehouses and slinging plenty of plants, all thanks to its huge sales in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. These leafy excuses to fill your home with greenery always have a bit of a celebratory vibe, and they just keep coming, with the outfit's next New South Wales outing — a Springtime Splendour sale — happening across the weekend of Saturday, September 14 and Sunday, September 15. Gorgeous green babies are the main attraction — and more than 170 varieties of them, too. You'll pick up everything from fiddle leafs and monsteras to giant birds of paradise and rubber trees, as well as oh-so-many ferns and hanging plants. You'll also be able to shop for designer pots, get expert advice from the horticulturalists onsite and even nab a $5 discount if you wear a flower crown. It's all happening at Precinct 75, at 75 Mary Street, St Peters, with sessions held at 9am, 10.30am, 12pm and 2pm on Saturday, plus 10am and 12pm on Sunday.
Like the clothing we wear, the jewellery we adorn our bodies with can be another way we choose to portray ourselves to the world. Often overlooked in today's contemporary art scene, the practice of jewellery making is making a comeback in .M Contemporary's newest exhibition, Intimately Connected. Ten of the world's best jewellers take centre stage in this exhibition, which dips deep into their innovative and often experimental craftsmanship, conceptual development and contemporary design skills. In their hands, jewellery is no longer just something we throw on at the beginning of the day but transforms into a type of wearable art. What makes jewellery such an interesting medium for these artists is that it creates an intimate conversation with the body. Founder and director of .M Contemporary Michelle Paterson says, "Jewellery art can draw attention to sexuality, enhance beauty, signify wealth and status, and project power … It can also have an emotional meaning." The range of colours, scale, texture and sculptural form in these works is quite unlike any adornment you're likely to have seen before; a reinvention of 'jewellery' for the 21st century.
Over the years, the Mary's empire has expanded from the original dimly lit Newtown establishment to a hospitality group spanning a variety of locations. Alongside a longstanding residency in The Lansdowne that's set to come to an end soon and a short stint in Melbourne, the burger-slinging crew now operates out of Castlereigh Street in the CBD and Circular Quay, where you'll find the restaurant above concert venue Mary's Underground. The latest addition to the Mary's family is a new outpost further west — northwest to be exact — in the Hills District's leafy Castle Hill. The latest Mary's is located in the old residence of another burger loving-restaurant, Plan B, which closed earlier this year. In fact, 250 Old Northern Road has a storied burger-based history, with In-N-Out-inspired chain Down N' Out calling the Hills shopfront home before closing after a long legal battle with the US burger chain. Head south down Old Northern Road past Castle Hill mainstays and local meeting points Castle Towers and Hillside Hotel and you'll find the restaurant, equipped with all of the fan-favourite menu items from the inner-city locations. The Mary's burger is here of course, alongside the crunchy golden fried chicken, spicy chicken burger, whole cauliflower, mash with gravy and a heap of vegan options. The Mary's team is still ramping things up at the new location, so you can expect more details in the future, but for now, any northwest Sydneysiders can head down and try the renowned burgers for themselves (make sure to get a side of Mary's sauce to dip your chips into). [caption id="attachment_745925" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To[/caption] Mary's Castle Hill is located at Shop 7, 250 Old Northern Road, Castle Hill. It's open 4pm–midnight Wednesday–Sunday, midday–midnight Saturdays and midday–10pm Sundays.
If you're looking for a weekend dose of laughter, take a trip up past the Coke sign to Kings Cross' new comedy club, which is opening on Friday, November 20 with a star-studded lineup. Located on the third level of the Kings Cross Hotel, the Kings Cross Comedy Club is the latest offering from the team behind Happy Endings Comedy Club. This new venue will be showcasing the best stand-up comedy Sydney has to offer every Friday and Saturday night from 8pm. Kicking things off will be the club's opening night comedy gala featuring the one-and-only Akmal as well as a slew of other local comedians including Steve Philp, Simon Kennedy, Julia Wilson, Lizzy Hoo and Stephanie Broadbridge. The venue will provide a new stage for talented local comedians to perform and a boost to Kings Cross, as the area slowly builds back its nightlife after the fallout from the lockout laws. Tickets for the opening night gala and following nights' shows are on sale now for just $30. [caption id="attachment_790225" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lizzy Hoo[/caption]
It’s difficult to write anything about Adelaide six-piece Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! without engaging in a lengthy discussion about the non-existent history of “monolithic tech-pop”, but since I only have 200 words I’m going to avoid musing over the band’s self-conceived genre. What’s important is what they sound like, and that’s a mix of keyed-up pop, angular guitars and dreamy synths fused with a shot of trip-hop feminine charm and a whole heap of vigorous energy. You only have to look at their name and you immediately feel sluggish in comparison. And with the help of fresh management and UK producer Gareth Parton (impresario of fellow ebulliently-christened bands The Go! Team and Holy Fuck) they’ve refined this eclectic sound into something that’s actually quite orderly. Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! so far have a slew of high-rotation singles under their belts including “Little Cowboys”, “Bad Hombres” and “War Coward”, and their debut studio album Sea Priest has them touted as the next big thing. Still animated but slightly polished, see them at GoodGod while you can still do so for a tenner.
Award-hoarding Cairns rock quartet The Medics will headline a special one-off gig this Saturday night to celebrate the musical chops of contemporary Aboriginal artists. 'Redfern Station' will take place in the ambitious multi-arts beast that is Carriageworks, bringing three of Australia's most talented acts to a thriving suburb that has long been an urban meeting place for Aboriginal Australians from all over the country. For Triple J Unearthed winners The Medics it will be their first Sydney performance since the release of their debut album Foundations, which landed their photogenic faces a major feature in Rolling Stone as well as a hugely successful tour that wound up at a wee shindig known as Splendour in the Grass. On Saturday they'll be accompanied by Microwave Jenny before the pop/folk/love duo heads off to Woodford and Peats Ridge. Emerging singer songwriter Jess Beck will round out the triple-threat gig with an energetic blend of sultry jazz and no-frills roots, then you will go home and think about how Redfern is exponentially cooler than all other suburbs. https://youtube.com/watch?v=f1gRMj6R0XQ
Whoever said an encyclopaedic knowledge of a cartoon about a dysfunctional yellow family would never come in handy was a real narc. So, for its latest edition on Sunday, July 26, Isolation Trivia is pulling the Comic Book Guy out of every Simpsons fanatic. If you don't know squat about Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie — and their escapades over the long-running animated series' first nine seasons in particular — then consider yourself warned. This virtual trivia event is definitely for fans. You should at least know the name of Lionel Hutz's law practice, and the monikers of Lisa and Bart's hockey teams coached by Apu and Chief Wiggum. It'll also help if you know who the two other Sideshows were besides Bob and Mel, and the identity of Lisa's first hook-up. These are elementary questions, and their answers should be written into your brain like it's a chalkboard. Play along from home from 6.25pm — and, if you've ever been to a Simpsons trivia night in-person, you'll understand these can get pretty intense, with some competitors near crazed with cartoon intelligence. So be prepared for the moment you stare at the leaderboard, hypnotised by self-doubt, and repeatedly, self-pityingly mutter to yourself, "I'm not so S-M-R-T". Isolation Trivia's The Simpsons trivia night takes place from 6.25pm at Sunday, July 26.
Here is something that could either be truly amazing or amazingly bad — twelve ukulele players juxtaposing madcap antics against comically budget special effects. The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra is actually a bit of both. Trading on Wellington’s reputation as being a cross between Middle Earth and the Middle of Nowhere, and the fact that the unpretentious uke is currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity within hipster circles, the orchestra employs that sincere brand of irony perfected by Flight of the Conchords (not very surprising fact: Bret McKenzie is actually a member of the band). But WIUO wouldn’t have had four best-selling EPs if they were just a bunch of average musicians strumming along to lyrics about hilariously mundane sexual encounters. They can actually play their instruments very well, and it’s this mix of quintessentially Kiwi self-effacement and undeniable skill that makes them so charming. Their last Australian tour sold out early, so get in quick — Brett McKenzie’s presence remains uncertain, but fantastic ukulele solos, heavenly harmonies and chaotic banter are 100% guaranteed.
A scroll through your social media feeds can often leave you feeling like you're the only one not on holidays. While you're doing the same old nine-to-five slog, there are your peers inconsiderately boasting about all of the worldly arts and culture (and food) they're consuming. But, as it happens, you don't need to fork out the big bucks for a plane ticket to see some of the world's most important artworks. Come October, the Art Gallery of NSW will launch its next major exhibition Masters of Modern Art from the Hermitage. It'll see 65 artworks from some of the early 20th century's most revered artists — think Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso and Gauguin, plus their celebrated Russian contemporaries Malevich and Kandinsky — drawn extensively from St Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum. This landmark exhibition focuses on a revolutionary era in art history when these now legendary artists "freed themselves from tradition" and began to imagine art in previously untold vibrant, innovative and abstract ways. The collection acts a self-contained timeline tracking this defining period, with highlights including Monet's Poppy Field (1890), Picasso's Table in a Café (1912) and Kandinsky's Landscape near Dünaberg (1913). The exhibition also delves into the lives of visionary Russian art collectors Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov — more than two-thirds of the exhibition has been drawn from their art collections. Realising the potential of the French modern masters, from the beginning of the 20th century, both Shchukin and Morozov acquired many of today's most acclaimed artworks. The Masters of Modern Art from the Hermitage is half of the 2018/19 Sydney International Art Series, with the Museum of Contemporary Art's David Goldblatt making up the other half. Master of Modern Art from the Hermitage will run from Saturday, October 13, 2018 to Sunday, March 3, 2019. You can purchase tickets now from the Art Gallery of NSW website. We also have double passes to the exhibition to give away. To enter, see below. [competition]687134[/competition] Images: Paul Cézanne 'Fruit' 1879-1880. Courtesy of The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. Claude Monet France 1840–1926 'Poppy field' 1890/91. Courtesy of The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Pavel Demidov and Konstantin Sinyavsky; Henri Matisse 'Game of bowls' 1908. Courtesy of The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Vladimir Terebenin and H Matisse/Copyright Agency; Wassily Kandinsky 'Landscape: Dünaberg near Murnau' 1913. Courtesy The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg and Vladimir Terebenin.
UPDATE, September 1, 2023: Aftersun is available to stream via Binge, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. The simplest things in life can be the most revealing, whether it's a question asked of a father by a child, an exercise routine obeyed almost mindlessly or a man stopping to smoke someone else's old cigarette while wandering through a holiday town alone at night. The astonishing feature debut by Scottish writer/director Charlotte Wells, Aftersun is about the simple things. Following the about-to-turn-31 Calum (Paul Mescal, The Lost Daughter) and his daughter Sophie (debutant Frankie Corio) on vacation in Turkey in the late 90s, it includes all of the above simple things, plus more. It tracks, then, that this coming-of-age story on three levels — of an 11-year-old flirting with adolescence, a dad struggling with his place in the world, and an adult woman with her own wife and family grappling with a life-changing experience from her childhood — is always a movie of deep, devastating and revealing complexity. Earning the internet's Normal People-starring boyfriend a Best Actor Oscar nomination, and deservedly so, Aftersun is a reflective, ruminative portrait of heartbreak. It's a quest to find meaning in sorrow and pain, too, and in processing the past. Wells has crafted a chronicle of interrogating, contextualising, reframing and dwelling in memories; an examination of leaving and belonging; and an unpacking of the complicated truths that a kid can't see about a parent until they're old enough to be that parent. Breaking up Calum and Sophie's sun-dappled coastal holiday with the older Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall, Vox Lux) watching camcorder footage from the trip, sifting through her recollections and dancing it out under a nightclub's strobing lights in her imagination, this is also a stunning realisation that we'll always read everything we can into a loved one's actions with the benefit of hindsight, but all we ever truly have is the sensation that lingers in our hearts and heads. That aforementioned question arrives early in Aftersun: "when you were 11, what did you think you'd be doing now?" Sophie asks. A query that's been uttered many times to many people, Wells does indeed mean to get Calum taking stock, remembering his youthful hopes and dreams, and seeing the chasm between what he once wanted and where adulthood has brought him. She also wants viewers sharing the train of thought with him, in a movie that doesn't just feel personal in every second — the filmmaker has called it "emotionally autobiographical" — but gets its audience feeling that it is personal to them. That's a remarkable skill, making a piece of fiction drawn partly and loosely from someone's facts feel as vivid to you as if you'd lived it yourself. And, for 90s kids like Sophie, it doesn't just spring from the meticulous period detail in the sets, wardrobe choices, and 'Macarena', 'Losing My Religion' and 'Tubthumping' on the soundtrack. Consider Calum's quietly, subtly shaken response to Sophie's innocent inquiry — the unsettled look on his face momentarily, owning the brief but loaded pause, before he remembers that he needs a dad's reaction — Exhibit A among the evidence that Mescal is doing career-best work. The actor still only has a handful of screen credits to his name, scoring his Academy Award nod in just his third movie role. He's never been anything less than phenomenal in anything he's been in. Earthy and charming, gentle and fragile, stoic and raw, so wounded inside and so reluctant to share it, and sporting a vulnerable gaze and a cast over one wrist, Mescal is simply heartwrenching in Aftersun, however, as it keeps diving into Sophie's remembrances of her oft-smoking, always supportive, tai chi-practising, playfully bantering, tenderly doting but also silently depressed dad. Understanding why the adult Sophie is scouring VHS tapes and her mind's eye for far more than mere nostalgia involves doing what everyone on a resort getaway does: hanging out. Aftersun spends much of its time in the simple holiday moments, including by the pool, at dinner, singing karaoke, day tripping, and in Sophie and Calum's room — and lets these ordinary, everyday occurrences, and the details that flow from them, confess everything they can. With a blue hue, the film pieces together the pair's history along the way, with Sophie living in Glasgow with her mum, Calum based in London but hardly settled or happy, and this vacation a rare chance for the two to enjoy quality time alone. It also hears the instances where he's mistaken for her older brother and, not unrelated, sees her yearning to be liked by the older kids staying at the same hotel as they drink, banter, party and represent a step closer to her dad's existence. Mescal gets a tilt at Hollywood's night of nights for his efforts, but Corio is just as extraordinary — perhaps more so given that it's her first acting role. Watching the duo together is a marvel and, befitting the wistful sensation that washes through the feature about its central voyage, a rarity. Aftersun is sensual and dreamy in its structure and texture, elaborately constructed to look and feel that way, and anchored by two sensationally naturalistic performances and one sublimely authentic rapport. Everything about the picture ripples with a lived-in air: Mescal and Corio alone and combined alike, the emotions so tremendously conveyed in their portrayals, the genuine rather than fetishised 90s minutiae, Catatonia's 'Road Rage' and All Saints' 'Never Ever' echoing among the pitch-perfect music choices, and those flashes of hazy lose-yourself-to-dance reverie that include the grownup Sophie as well as her vision of Calum. Sophie, Calum and the inescapable aching that haunts both make an unforgettable trio, but Aftersun adds more names to that list, Wells chief among them. One of her great feats in penning and helming a movie that itself is a great feat is ensuring it resembles a flickering memory, complete with making it look and play that way — aided by cinematographer Gregory Oke (Raf) and editor Blair McClendon (The Assistant) — with its faded, glitching videotape aesthetic. Her sense of pace, feel and emotional storytelling, and her ability to build layers everywhere, is as engrained as Mescal and Corio's easy vibe. Her way with all the details revealed in all those small things, and with music drops that say everything (the use of David Bowie and Queen's 'Under Pressure' is majestic and dazzling) is as well. There's nothing tiny about the talents on show here, or the story shared, or one of the most resonant, intelligent and shattering final shots any film has ever managed. "Wish we could've stayed for longer," Sophie says before that. When Calum replies "me too", he's speaking for all of us.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. THE LOST CITY Sometimes, they do still make 'em like they used to: action-adventure rom-coms in this case. Drive a DeLorean back to 1984, to the year before Robert Zemeckis made DeLoreans one of the most famous types of movie cars ever, and the director's Romancing the Stone did huge box-office business — and it's that hit that The Lost City keenly tries to emulate. This new Sandra Bullock- and Channing Tatum-starring romp doesn't hide that aim for a second, and even uses the same broad overall setup. Once again, a lonely romance novelist is swept up in a chaotic adventure involving treasure, a jungle-hopping jaunt and a stint of kidnapping, aka exactly what she writes about in her best-selling books. The one big change: the writer is held hostage, rather than her sister. But if you've seen Romancing the Stone, you know what you're in for. Movies that blandly and generically recreate/riff on/rip off others will never be gleaming cinematic jewels; the good news is that The Lost City is neither dull nor dispiritingly derivative. Cinema has literally been there and done this before, but directors Aaron and Adam Nee (Band of Robbers) are gleefully aware of that fact and don't even pretend to pretend otherwise. Rather, they wink, nod, serve up a knowing tribute to the 80s fare they're following, and repeatedly make it as blatant as can be that everything they're doing is by design. Their tone is light, bouncy and breezy. Their cast, which also spans Daniel Radcliffe and a delightfully scene-stealing Brad Pitt, is always on that wavelength. Indeed, swap out the vibe or The Lost City's four biggest on-screen names and the film would fall apart, especially without Bullock and Tatum's charisma and chemistry. With them all, it remains by the numbers but also terrifically likeable. As penned by the Nees, Oren Uziel (Mortal Kombat) and Dana Fox (Cruella) — based on a story by Baywatch director Seth Gordon — The Lost City's plot is ridiculously easy to spot. Also, it's often flat-out ridiculous. Anyone who has ever seen any kind of flick along the same lines, such as Jungle Cruise most recently, will quickly see that Loretta Sage (Bullock, The Unforgivable), this movie's protagonist, could've penned it herself. Once she finds herself living this type of narrative, that truth isn't lost on her, either. First, though, she's five years into a grief-stricken reclusive spell, and is only out in the world promoting her new release because her publisher Beth (Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The United States vs Billie Holiday) forces her to. She's also far from happy at being stuck once again with the man who has been sharing her limelight over the years, Fabio-style model Alan (Tatum, Dog), who has graced her book's covers and had women falling over themselves to lust-read their pages. Loretta is hardly thrilled about the whole spectacle that becomes her latest Q&A as a result, and that makes her a distracted easy mark for billionaire Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe, Guns Akimbo) afterwards. He's noticed her new work, spotted similarities to the ancient riches he's chasing IRL, and gets his underlings to swoop in and snatch her up. His plan: leaning on Loretta's past as a serious historian to help him find his holy grail on a remote Atlantic island. She's given zero choice, but once the puppy dog-like Alan notices she's missing, he calls in expert assistance from devilishly suave and competent mercenary Jack Trainer (Pitt, Ad Astra). Of course, it doesn't take long for Loretta and Alan to be fleeing as an odd-couple duo, attempting to find the treasure, and endeavouring to avoid Abigail and his minions — and stay alive, obviously. Read our full review. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE Imagine living in a universe where Michelle Yeoh isn't the wuxia superstar she is. No, no one should want to dwell in that reality. Now, envisage a world where everyone has hot dogs for fingers, including the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon icon. Next, picture another where Ratatouille is real, but with raccoons. Then, conjure up a sparse realm where life only exists in sentient rocks. An alternative to this onslaught of pondering: watching Everything Everywhere All At Once, which throws all of the above at the screen and a helluva lot more. Yes, its title is marvellously appropriate. Written and directed by the Daniels, aka Swiss Army Man's Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, this multiverse-hopping wonder is a funhouse of a film that just keeps spinning through wild and wacky ideas. Instead of asking "what if Daniel Radcliffe was a farting corpse that could be used as a jet ski?" as their also-surreal debut flick did, the pair now muses on Yeoh, her place in the universe, and everyone else's along with her. Although Yeoh doesn't play herself in Everything Everywhere All At Once, she is seen as herself; keep an eye out for red-carpet footage from her Crazy Rich Asians days. Such glitz and glamour isn't the norm for middle-aged Chinese American woman Evelyn Wang, her laundromat-owning character in the movie's main timeline, but it might've been if life had turned out differently. That's such a familiar train of thought — a resigned sigh we've all emitted, even if only when alone — and the Daniels use it as their foundation. This isn't a movie that stays static, however, or wants to. Both dizzying and dazzling in its ambitions, the way it brings those bold aims to fruition, the tender emotions it plays with and the sheer spectacle it flings around, Everything Everywhere All At Once is a magnificent dildo-slinging, glitter cannon-shooting, endlessly bobbing and weaving whirlwind. Everything Everywhere All At Once is the movie version of a matryoshka set, too. While Russian Doll nods that way as well, the possibilities are clearly endless when exploring stacked worlds. Multiverses are Hollywood's current big thing — the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Extended Universe, the Sony Spider-Man Universe and Star Trek have them, and Rick and Morty adores them — but the concept here is equally chaotic and clever. It starts with Evelyn, her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom's Short Round and The Goonies' Data) and a hectic time. Evelyn's dad (James Hong, Turning Red) is visiting from China, the Wangs' daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) brings her girlfriend Becky (Tallie Medel, The Carnivores) home, and IRS inspector Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis, Halloween Kills) is conducting a punishing audit. Then Evelyn learns she's the only one who can save, well, everything, everywhere and everyone. There's a great gag in that revelation, playing smartly yet savagely with perspective — because Everything Everywhere All At Once is all about how we choose to see things. Imagine trudging over to your local tax department, trolley full of receipts in hand and possible financial ruin in front of you, only to be told mid soul-crushing bureaucratic babble that it all means nothing since the very fate of the universe is at stake. But, at the same time, imagine realising that it's the simplest things that mean the most when space, time, existence and every emotion possible is all on the line. Although that isn't how a different version of Waymond puts it to Evelyn, it's what sparkles through as she's swiftly initiated into a battle against dimension-jumping villain Jobu Tapaki, discovers that she can access multiple other iterations of herself by eating chapsticks and purposefully slicing herself with paper cuts, and gets sucked into a reality-warping kaleidoscope. Read our full review. HAPPENING It's hard to pick which is more horrifying in Happening: the graphic scenes where 23-year-old literature student Anne Duchesne (Anamaria Vartolomei, How to Be a Good Wife) takes the only steps she can to try to regain control of her life, or the times she's repeatedly told by others, typically men, to accept a fate that only ever awaits her gender. Both hit like a punch, by design. Both are wrenching, heart and gut alike, and neither are surprising for a second. Also leaving a mark: that few care that Anne's future is now threatened in this 2021 Venice Film Festival Golden Lion-winner, because that's simply a consequence of having sex for women in France in 1963, the movie's setting. There's another truth that lingers over this adaptation of author Annie Ernaux's 2001 memoir of the same name, which uses her own experiences at the same age, time and in the same situation: that in parts of the world where pro-life perspectives are entrenched in law or regaining prominence, Happening's scenario isn't a relic of the past. Late in the movie, Anne describes her circumstances as "that illness that turns French women into housewives". It's a blunt turn of phrase, but it's accurate. It also speaks to how writer/director Audrey Diwan (Losing It) and co-scribe Marcia Romano (Bye Bye Morons) approach the film with the clearest of eyes, declining to indulge the idea that forcing unwanted motherhood upon young women is a gift or simply a duty, and likewise refusing to flinch from showing the reality when the personal freedom to choose is stripped away. This is a feature made with the fullest of hearts, too, compassion evident in every boxed-in Academy ratio frame that rarely leaves Anne's face. It spies the appalling options before her, and sees the society that's okay with stealing her choices. And, it stares deeply at both the pain and determination that've understandably taken up residence in Anne's gaze. The second of Ernaux's works to hit screens of late after the also candid and moving Simple Passion, Happening begins with hope, with Anne and her Angoulême college dormmates Hélène (Luàna Bajrami, The Hill Where Lionesses Roar) and Brigitte (Louise Orry-Diquéro, Occidental) getting ready for a dance. They're filled with the excitement that comes with believing anything could happen — there's fun to be had, men to meet and lives to be changed — but, once there, it's obvious that these kinds of nights always follow the same pattern. Their university's resident mean girls glare on in judgement when Anne even talks to a guy, but she doesn't let that stop her. She isn't one to weather their bullying, gossip and slut-shaming, including once she discovers she's expecting three weeks after a casual fling. The only thing that terrifies the ambitious and bright working-class student: losing the ability to live the life that she's been working towards. The alternative is highly illegal, so much so that securing help from medical professionals, friends and family is overwhelmingly difficult. Delivering the surprising pregnancy news, Anne's family doctor (Fabrizio Rongione, Azor) is sympathetic to the stark scenario facing his patient, knowing the stigma that'll come her way for being an unwed single mother, and that her dreams of teaching will be derailed. Still, given that prison is the punishment for illicit terminations, he shuts down any notion of lending a hand. Even chatting about abortion hypothetically with Hélène and Brigitte before they know she's with child earns the same dismissive response. The baby's father (Julien Frison, Lover for a Day), a visiting student, just wants the situation handled, and asking a flirtatious classmate (Kacey Mottet Klein, Farewell to the Night) for assistance just ends with him hitting on Anne; she's already pregnant so he figures she'll be up for it and there'll be no consequences. Read our full review. THE GOOD BOSS Despite being nominated for Best Actor for Being the Ricardos, Javier Bardem had zero chance of nabbing a shiny trophy at the 2022 Oscars. The movie he deserves his next nod for instead: savagely sharp workplace satire The Good Boss, which is home to a tour-de-force of a performance from the Spanish actor. Already an Academy Award-recipient for his powerhouse effort in No Country for Old Men — and a prior contender for Before Night Falls and Biutiful, too — Bardem does what he long has, playing a character who uses a set facade to mask his real self. Here, he's a seemingly kindly factory owner who makes a big fuss about treating his employees like family, but happily lets that ruse slip if they want more money, or have problems at home that disrupt their work, or happen to be an attractive intern. He still sports a smile though, naturally. In his latest Goya Award-winning part — his 12th to be nominated, too — Bardem becomes the outwardly friendly, inwardly slippery Básculas Blanco. Given the darkness that lingers in his self-serving, self-confident, self-satisfied true nature, the character's name is patently tongue-in-cheek. He presides over a company that makes professional-grade scales, which he inherited from his father, and tells his staff "don't treat me like a boss". But filmmakers who put the word 'good' in their movie's monikers rarely mean it literally, and writer/director Fernando León de Aranoa (who reteams with his lead after 2002's Mondays in the Sun and 2017's Loving Pablo) is one of them. As portrayed with quietly compelling magnetism by Bardem, The Good Boss' ostensibly respectable CEO finds his perfectly calibrated public persona cracking slowly, surely and devilishly, all thanks to the weight of his own ruthlessness. Awards aren't just coming Bardem's way off-screen for this exceptional turn; they're baked into the movie's plot as well. When The Good Boss begins, Blanco is determined to win a prestigious business prize — but he can't be called desperate, because appearing anything other than commanding, magnanimous and prosperous isn't in the grey-haired, sleekly attired manager's wheelhouse. Still, everyone around him knows how insistent he is about emerging victorious, including his clothing boutique-owning wife Adela (Sonia Almarcha, The Consequences). Their dutiful but hardly passionate marriage says plenty about Blanco, how he operates, and how careful he is about maintaining the illusion he wants the world to see. Indeed, when pretty young Liliana (Almudena Amor, The Grandmother) starts in his marketing department for a month-long stint, she instantly earns his attention, while he still outwardly flaunts committed family-man vibes. Liliana's arrival isn't without complications either professionally and personally. But in a film that skewers nine-to-five life and relationships alike, that's one of several troubles that upsets the company's balance. Just as Blanco's business is set to be inspected during the prize's judging process, his orderly world is pushed askew. There's the just-retrenched José (Óscar de la Fuente, The Cover), who won't accept his sacking, has set up outside the worksite's gate with a loudspeaker shouting out his woes and even has his school-aged children in tow. Then, there's underling and childhood friend Miralles (Manolo Solo, Official Competition), whose marital struggles are impacting day-to-day operations. And, trusted employee Fortuna (Celso Bugallo, The Paramedic) calls upon Blanco's sway for help with a domestic situation of his own. 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 January 1, January 6, January 13, January 20 and January 27; February 3, February 10, February 17 and February 24; and March 3, March 10, March 17, March 24 and March 31; and April 7. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci, The King's Man, Red Rocket, Scream, The 355, Gold, King Richard, Limbo, Spencer, Nightmare Alley, Belle, Parallel Mothers, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Belfast, Here Out West, Jackass Forever, Benedetta, Drive My Car, Death on the Nile, C'mon C'mon, Flee, Uncharted, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Cyrano, Hive, Studio 666, The Batman, Blind Ambition, Bergman Island, Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, The Souvenir: Part II, Dog, Anonymous Club, X, River, Nowhere Special, RRR, Morbius, The Duke and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore, Ambulance and Memoria.
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. BODIES BODIES BODIES The internet couldn't have stacked Bodies Bodies Bodies better if it tried, not that that's how the slasher-whodunnit-comedy came about. Pete Davidson (The Suicide Squad) waves a machete around, and his big dick energy, while literally boasting about how he looks like he fucks. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Oscar-nominee Maria Bakalova plays the cautious outsider among rich-kid college grads, who plan to ride out a big storm with drinks and drugs (and drama) in one of their parents' mansions. The Hunger Games and The Hate U Give alum Amandla Stenberg leads the show as the gang's black sheep, turning up unannounced to zero fanfare from her supposed besties, while the rest of the cast spans Shiva Baby's Rachel Sennott, Generation's Chase Sui Wonders and Industry's Myha'la Herrold, plus Pushing Daisies and The Hobbit favourite Lee Pace as a two-decades-older interloper. And the Agatha Christie-but-Gen Z screenplay? It's drawn from a spec script by Kristen Roupenian, the writer of 2017 viral New Yorker short story Cat Person. All of the above is a lot. Bodies Bodies Bodies is a lot — 100-percent on purpose. It's a puzzle about a party game, as savage a hangout film as they come, and a satire about Gen Z, for starters. It carves into toxic friendships, ignored class clashes, self-obsessed obliviousness, passive aggression and playing the victim. It skewers today's always-online world and the fact that everyone has a podcast — and lets psychological warfare and paranoia simmer, fester and explode. Want more? It serves up another reminder after The Resort, Palm Springs and co that kicking back isn't always cocktails and carefree days. It's an eat-the-rich affair alongside Squid Game and The White Lotus. Swirling that all together like its characters' self-medicating diets, this wildly entertaining horror flick is a phenomenal calling card for debut screenwriter Sarah DeLappe and Dutch filmmaker Halina Reijn (Instinct), too — and it's hilarious, ridiculous, brutal and satisfying. Forgetting how it ends is also utterly impossible. The palatial compound where Bodies Bodies Bodies unfurls belongs to David's (Davidson) family, but it's hurricane-party central when the film begins. That said, no one — not David, his actor girlfriend Emma (Wonders), the no-nonsense Jordan (Herrold) or needy podcaster Alice (Sennott), and definitely not Greg (Pace), the latter's swipe-right older boyfriend of barely weeks — expects Sophie (Stenberg) to show as they're swigging tequila poolside. She hasn't responded to the group chat, despite claiming otherwise when she arrives. She certainly hasn't told them, not even her childhood ride-or-die David, that she's bringing her new girlfriend Bee (Bakalova) along. And Sophie hasn't prepared Bee for their attitudes, all entitlement, years of taken-for-granted comfort and just as much mouldering baggage, as conveyed in bickering that's barely disguised as banter. When the weather turns bad as forecast, a game is soon afoot inside the sprawling abode. Sharing the movie's title, the fake murder-mystery lark is this crew's go-to — but, even with a hefty supply of glow sticks (handy in the inevitable power outage), it doesn't mix too well with booze, coke and Xanax. The essentials: pieces of paper, one crossed with a X; everyone picking a scrap, with whoever gets the marked sliver deemed the perpetrator; and switching off the lights while said killer offs their victim, which happens just by touching them. Then, it's time to guess who the culprit is. That's when the mood plummets quickly, because accusing your friends of being faux murderers by publicly checking off all their shady traits will do that. It gets worse, of course, when those bodies bodies bodies soon become literal and everyone's a suspect. Read our full review. MOONAGE DAYDREAM Ground control to major masterpiece: Moonage Daydream, Brett Morgen's kaleidoscopic collage-style documentary about the one and only David Bowie, really makes the grade. Its protein pills? A dazzling dream of archival materials, each piece as essential and energising as the next, woven into an electrifying experience that eclipses the standard music doco format. Its helmet? The soothing-yet-mischievous tones of Ziggy Stardust/Aladdin Sane/The Thin White Duke/Jareth the Goblin King himself, the only protective presence a film about Bowie could and should ever need and want. The songs that bop through viewers heads? An immense playlist covering the obvious — early hit 'Space Oddity', the hooky glam-rock titular track, Berlin-penned anthem 'Heroes', the seductive 80s sounds of 'Let's Dance' and the Pet Shop Boys-remixed 90s industrial gem 'Hallo Spaceboy', to name a few — as well as deeper cuts. The end result? Floating through a cinematic reverie in a most spectacular way. When Bowie came to fame in the 60s, then kept reinventing himself from the 70s until his gone-too-soon death in 2016, the stars did look very different — he did, constantly. How do you capture that persistent shapeshifting, gender-bending, personal and creative experimentation, and all-round boundary-pushing in a single feature? How do you distill a chameleonic icon and musical pioneer into any one piece of art, even a movie that cherishes each of its 135 minutes? In the first film officially sanctioned by Bowie's family and estate, Morgen knows what everyone that's fallen under the legend's spell knows: that the man born David Jones, who'd be 75 as this doco hits screens if he was still alive, can, must and always has spoken for himself. The task, then, is the same as the director had with the also-excellent Cobain: Montage of Heck and Jane Goodall-focused Jane: getting to the essence of his subject and conveying what made him such a wonder by using the figure himself as a template. Nothing about Bowie earns an easy description. Nothing about Bowie, other than his stardom, brilliance and impact, sat or even stood still for too long. Driven by themes and moods rather than a linear birth-to-death chronology, Moonage Daydream leaps forward with that same drive to ch-ch-change, the same yearning to keep playing and unpacking, and the same quest for artistry as well. Taking its aesthetic approach from its centre of attention means peppering in psychedelic pops, bursts of colour, neon hues, and mirrored and tiled images — because it really means making a movie that washes over all who behold its dance, magic, dance. That's the reaction that Bowie always sparked, enchanting and entrancing for more than half a century. In successfully aping that feat, Morgen's film is as immersive as an art installation. Exhibition David Bowie Is has already toured the world, including a 2015 stint Down Under in Melbourne; Moonage Daydream sits partway between that and a Bowie concert. This gift of sound and vision is as glorious as that gig-meets-art concept sounds — and yes, live footage beams and gleams throughout the documentary. Among the snippets of interviews, smattering of music videos, melange of clips from cinema touchstones that reverberate on Bowie's wavelength in one way or another, and scenes from his own acting career on-screen and onstage, how could it not? During his five years, fittingly, spent making Moonage Daydream, Morgen had access to the original concert masters, from which he spliced together his own mixes using alternative angles. Zooming back to the androgynous space-alien Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars tour is exhilarating, including when the feature's eponymous song explodes. Jumps to the 90s, to the Outside and Earthling tours, resonate with awe of a more grounded but no less vibrant kind. The Serious Moonlight segments, hailing from the 80s and all about pale suits and glistening blonde hair, see Bowie relaxing into entertainer mode — and, amid discussions about his wariness about making upbeat tunes, mastering that like everything else. Read our full review. TICKET TO PARADISE Here we go again indeed: with the George Clooney- and Julia Roberts-starring Ticket to Paradise, a heavy been-there-done-that air sweeps through, thick with the Queensland-standing-in-for-Bali breeze. The film's big-name stars have bounced off each other in Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve and Money Monster before now. Director Ol Parker has already sent multiple groups of famous faces to far-flung places — far-flung from the UK or the US, that is — as the writer of the Best Exotic Marigold flicks and helmer of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Enough destination wedding rom-coms exist that one of the undersung better ones, with Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder, is even called Destination Wedding. And, there's plenty of romantic comedies about trying to foil nuptials, too, with My Best Friend's Wedding and Runaway Bride on Roberts' resume since the 90s. Hurriedly throw all of the above into a suitcase — because your twentysomething daughter has suddenly announced she's marrying a seaweed farmer she just met in Indonesia, if you're Clooney and Roberts' long-divorced couple here — and that's firmly Ticket to Paradise. As The Lost City already was earlier in 2022, it too is a star-driven throwback, endeavouring to make the kind of easy, glossy, screwball banter-filled popcorn fare that doesn't reach screens with frequency lately. It isn't as entertaining as that flick, and it certainly isn't winking, nodding and having fun with its formula; sticking dispiritingly to the basics is all that's on Parker's itinerary with his first-timer co-scribe Daniel Pipski. But alongside picturesque vistas, Ticket to Paradise shares something crucial with The Lost City: it gets a whole lot of mileage out of its stars' charisma. A quarter-century back, David (Clooney, The Midnight Sky) and Georgia (Roberts, Gaslit) were the instantly besotted couple impulsively tying the knot (if Ticket to Paradise is successful enough to spawn more movies, a prequel about the pair's younger years will likely be on the list). Alas, when this film begins, they can't stand to be anywhere near each other — room, city or state — after splitting two decades back. With their only child Lily (Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick) graduating from college, they're forced to play faux nice for a few hours, but squabble over the armrest, then get publicly competitive about who loves their daughter more. This wouldn't be a rom-com led by Clooney and Roberts if schoolyard teasing logic didn't apply, though: they fight because sparks still fly deep down. And they keep verbally sparring when Lily announces a month later that she's met Bali local Gede (Maxime Bouttier, Unknown) on a getaway before she's supposed to put her law degree to its intended use, and that she'll be hitched within days. If another template that Ticket to Paradise happily follows is to be believed, parents don't respond well to their kids plunging into matrimony, especially without notice. David and Georgia are no different, desperately wanting to stop Lily from repeating their own mistakes and willing to zip halfway around the world to do so — hence the feature's airfare moniker. They attempt to unite over sabotaging the wedding, but old habits die hard amid tussling with biting dolphins, stealing rings and putting up with Paul (Lucas Bravo, Emily in Paris), Georgia's younger, deeply infatuated boyfriend. Amid drunken beer pong matches and daggy dances to 90s tracks, plus getting stuck in the Balinese jungle overnight as well, older feelings die harder still, of course — and a ticket to surprises or fresh material, this clearly isn't. Read our full review. CLEAN "It's a shock to the system. It's a change to the everyday, regular routine. It's where the unhappy gene comes out — and it's a sign of the times today." That's the gloriously candid and empathetic Sandra Pankhurst on trauma, a topic she has literally made her business. Later in Clean, the documentary that tells her tale, she describes herself as a "busy nose and a voyeur"; however, that's not what saw her set up Melbourne's Specialised Trauma Cleaning. For three decades now, her company has assisted with "all the shitty jobs that no one really wants to do," as she characterises it: crime-scene cleanups, including after homicides, suicides and overdoses; deceased estates, such as bodies found some time after their passing; and homes in squalor, to name a few examples. As she explains in the film, Pankhurst is eager to provide such cleaning services because everyone deserves that help — and because we're all just a couple of unfortunate turns away from needing it. The 2008 movie Sunshine Cleaning starring Amy Adams (Dear Evan Hansen) and Emily Blunt (Jungle Cruise) fictionalised the trauma-cleaning realm; if that's your touchstone at the outset of Clean, prepare for far less gloss, for starters. Prepare for much more than a look at a fascinating but largely ignored industry, too, because filmmaker Lachlan Mcleod (Big in Japan) is as rightly interested in Pankhurst as he is in her line of work. Everything she says hangs in the air with meaning, even as it all bounces lightly from her lips ("life can be very fragile", "every dog has its day, and a mongrel has two" and "life dishes you out a good story and then life dishes you out a shit one" are some such utterances). Everything feels matter of fact and yet also immensely caring through her eyes, regardless of the situation that her Frankston-headquartered employees are attending to. Sometimes, STC does confront harrowing and grimy messes that could be ripped straight out of a crime drama, but ensuring that the families don't have to swab up themselves after a gory incident is a point of pride. Sometimes, it aids people with disability or illness by playing housekeeper when they can't, or sorts through a lifetime of possessions when someone has turned to hoarding. There's no judgement directed anyone's way, not by Pankhurst or the crew of committed cleaners who've formed a family-like bond under her watch. It takes a particular sort of person to do this gig, everyone notes, and the group is as sensitive and considerate as their boss because most have experienced their own hardships. They can also see what she sees: "everyone's got trauma; it's not the demographic, it's the circumstance". Pankhurst's company and tale isn't new to the public eye, thanks to Sarah Krasnostein's award-winning 2018 book The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay and Disaster — and both there and here, the role she has played and the fortitude she has displayed while sifting through her own personal traumas earns merited attention. Mcleod keeps his focus on STC for the film's first third, aided by Pankhurst's frank insights, but the many layers to the business, its workers and its clients are paralleled in her own multifaceted story. Clean takes her lead, though; never within its frames does Pankhurst offer up a simple assessment of herself, other than saying she'd liked to be remembered "as a kind human being — nothing more, nothing less". As a transgender woman who was adopted at birth, grew up in an abusive household, married and had a family, performed as a drag queen, undertook sex work, survived rape and drugs, transitioned, and became one of Australia's first female funeral directors, nothing about her can be deduced to a few mere words. 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 June 2, June 9, June 16, June 23 and June 30; and July 7, July 14, July 21 and July 28; August 4, August 11, August 18 and August 25; and September 1 and September 8. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as 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, 6 Festivals, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Crimes of the Future, Bosch & Rockit, Fire of Love, Beast, Blaze, Hit the Road, Three Thousand Years of Longing, Orphan: First Kill, The Quiet Girl and Flux Gourmet.
It's official — Curtis Stone is bringing a slice of L.A. to Sydney with a sweet one-day pop-up of The Pie Room by Gwen. The acclaimed celebrity chef has teamed up with Cadbury Australia on a new vanilla key lime pie block, and will be hosting a day-long dessert-centred event to celebrate. Setting up in Alexandria's MECCA Cafe, the pop-up will offer free samples of the decadent new creation on Friday, May 24. Head in from 1pm to snap up your freebie, as well as a chance not only to try The Pie Room's much-celebrated key lime pie that inspired the block, but you also might even run into the Michelin-acclaimed chef himself. "I was introduced to key limes in the United States. I love their sweet and tangy taste," said Stone. "When I started making and selling my key lime pie recipe at my bakery, The Pie Room by Gwen in L.A., it quickly became a customer favourite." And it's this beloved recipe that's inspired this zesty new collaboration, which sees a smooth vanilla and lime-flavoured creme coating a chocolate biscuit piece and covered in Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate. If you can't swing by or are unable to secure yourself a bar — or slice — you won't have to wait too long before you can enjoy the new creation. The chocolate blocks will be available for purchase at Coles stores nationwide from Wednesday, May 29, priced from $6 a pop. You'll find The Pie Room by Gwen's one-day pop-up open from 1pm at MECCA Coffee, 26 Bourke Road, Alexandria, and you can secure your spot to ensure you don't miss out at the event's reservation link.
The first stage of The Royal, the long-running Bondi pub, has reopened, with punters able to quench their thirst yet again with daiquiris, espresso martinis and many take-home wines from the attached bottle-o. However, it's the pub's eatery we've all been waiting patiently for — and with Merivale steering the ship, we knew it wasn't going to be a half-hearted effort. And you'll be happy to know that, come early December, chefs Mike Eggert (Mr Liquor's Dirty Italian Disco, Pinbone) and Khan Danis (Rockpool) will be heading up the kitchen of the Totti's, a casual Mediterranean-style eatery serving up pasta aplenty, woodfired breads and classic Italian cocktails. The food is set to be a more mature version of that served at Dirty Disco — the six-month pop-up at The Tennyson Hotel, and the first collab between Eggert and Merivale — with the menu aimed at convivial sharing. Cooked-to-order flatbreads will come straight from the woodfired oven to the table, to rip and tear alongside small plates of charcuterie, Italian cheeses and antipasti. Pasta, a focus at Dirty Disco, will also be central to the food offering here, with Eggert telling us to expect dishes like rigatoni with milk-braised pork belly, yabbi linguine and twists on classics, such as lamb bolognese. A Josper oven (part grill, part oven) will fire most of the proteins, including fish, house-made sausages and schnitzels charred to perfection, and sides including a radicchio and burrata salad and grilled eggplant. And remember that polenta, corn and chervil side that stole our stomachs at Dirty Disco? We can confirm it'll be making a comeback, too. Another aspect of the eatery similar to Dirty Disco is the drinks. While there's no walk-in fridge — you'll have to head over to The Tennyson's latest pop-up for that — the pub's in-house bottle shop allows the eatery to have an extensive wine list, with house wines, naturals, biodynamics and higher-end varieties, all available by the carafe. Hop fans will be taken care of with a long list of local beers and Mediterranean classics, such as negronis, and peach bellinis, will please the cocktail devotees. The 185-seater restaurant and courtyard might seem mammoth, but Eggert maintains that it will still feel like your local. "It's a big version of a small trattoria", says Eggert. "We want people to come in and be able to have a great bottle of wine with a steak, and still be in their clothes from the beach." The skylight and big alfresco area will take inspiration from a taverna on the Mediterranean sea, with huge olive trees taking centre stage to really set the scene. With further menu details still to be announced, the talent behind it all has thus far convinced us that come summertime, it's going to be our new favourite Bondi hangout. Totti's is slated to launch inside The Royal, 283 Bondi Road, Bondi, this December.
Gone are the days when a wine tasting meant travelling all the way to the Hunter Valley — or the Barossa. Cellar doors have evolved into urban creatures, found in inner city neighbourhoods, like Moore Park and Chippendale. Now, Sydney is set to become home to the world's first cellar door at sea. Taylor's Wines, who hail from South Australia's Clare Valley, will be setting sail on Sydney Harbour this summer. For just one weekend, you'll have the chance to climb aboard a dedicated barge and spend an hour sipping and swirling. All tastings will take place in a glass-walled room, ensuring the views are relentlessly watery and panoramic. Plus, there'll be just 12 people in each session. Your $60 ticket includes canapés curated by Will Stewart and Steve Flood (a.k.a. The Gourmet Pommies), as well as water taxi rides to and from Man O'War Steps at The Sydney Opera House. Cellar Door at Sea will take place between Friday, December 7 and Sunday, December 9, from 11am–9pm each day. Images: Will Salkeld.
Three nights of showstopping performances and plant-based eats will descend on the Red Rattler Theatre as part of Sydney WorldPride this February. Following a sold-out premiere, Don't Cha Wish You Yum Cha? is returning for a set of five packed events, serving up live music, drag and dance from queer Asian creatives from across the country. Each scheduled performance will feature a different set of artists, with the likes of Aysha Buffer, Daddy Charles and Kim Schotte being joined by fire artist Silvy, dancers Onyx and Asap Merc, and live musicians BVT and AnSo as just a few of the names across the program. You can explore which artists are performing on which night via Humantix. While you're soaking in the performances, you'll also be treated to a plant-based yum cha feast. On the lineup of tasty treats: mushroom and water chestnut shumai, steamed cheong fun, broccoli in crispy garlic oil, fried rice and, of course, mango crepes. There will also be seasonal fruit-, flower- and herb-infused iced tea to enjoy alongside Red Rattler's usual selection of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Tickets for Don't Cha Wish You Yum Cha? are $80 or can be purchased in groups of four for $300.
Heads up, Mother's Day is just around the corner. (It's happening on Sunday, May 10, in case you temporarily forgot.) You can frantically message your siblings later, there's pressie planning afoot, and we've found quite the showstopper for your dear ol' mumsie this year thanks to Gelato Messina. Never one to miss an opportunity to experiment with new ways to inhale sweets, Messina has been cooking up quite the delicate novelty dessert for Mum: a Italian-inspired box of chocolates. These brownie point-winners launched in 2015 — and have been selling out every year since — are sure to bring it home again this year, just a little differently to usual. While these chocolate bon bons have been filled with gelato for the past four Mother's Days, this year, they're all chocolate (single origin Ecuadorian chocolate, no less) — so they can be shipped to mums across Australia. And, this time round, they come with a stunning bouquet of flowers from Floraly, too. Each box comes with nine handmade chocolate bon bons in five flavours — gianduja, milk choc chew, coffee and dulce, pistachio praline and honey caramel — and a bunch of farm-fresh flowers in an illustrated gift box and a personalised card. The bouquet does require a little bit of constructing, but the flowers come with an easy step-by-step guide as well as care instructions. The Mother's Day boxes are going for $79 a pop and can be shipped across Australia, with the gifts set to arrive between Thursday, May 7 and Saturday, May 9. Gelato Messina's Mother's Day Bon Bons and Bouquets are available to order online now for delivery across Australia.
One of Asia's buzziest bars is landing in Sydney for one night only this October. Tokyo Confidential, the high-rise cocktail and caviar temple that stormed into Asia's 50 Best Bars 51–100 longlist less than a year after it opened in 2023, is bringing its glam house-party energy and sophisticated cocktails to Prefecture 48's pop-up Suntory Bar on Tuesday, October 28. Heading the takeover is the venue's Co-Founder, Holly Graham, whose warm hospitality and cheeky East London swagger have made her one of the global drinks industry's most respected figures — the drinks writer turned bartender is a fixture on the Bar World 100 list of the most influential bar personalities on the planet. [caption id="attachment_1026973" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mille Tang[/caption] At Suntory Bar, Graham will be shaking up a selection of inventive highballs and TC signatures that capture her bar's playful philosophy of pull up, 'fess up. Highlights include the Hokkaido High, a long serve of Suntory Toki Whisky, awamori, corn tea and mango, the espresso martini-inspired Mugi Boogie, featuring Haku Vodka, mugi shochu, coffee and soy caramel and TC's standout Glizztini, an umami-laden mix of Roku Gin, mugi shochu, tomato, mezcal, onion brine and MSG. You can pair your serve with a snack from the menu of contemporary Japanese-inspired bites, including fried oysters with citrus mayo and ikura and a fish sando with a herb salad, tartare sauce and tobiko. It's all part of Suntory Bar, a three-month residency taking over Prefecture 48's sleek cocktail den Whisky Thief. The immersive experience celebrates the legacy brand's stable of premium Japanese spirits, international whiskeys and more across two floors of the CBD venue, in an elegant setting that channels a modern Japanese garden. Walk-ins are available for the Tokyo Confidential takeover, but bookings are highly recommended — don't miss your chance to catch one of the biggest names in the global bar world shaking things up in Sydney. [caption id="attachment_1026974" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mille Tang[/caption] Top image: Thomas Shagin.
Twenty years after releasing their ninth and most celebrated record, The Soft Bulletin, Oklahoma rock legends The Flaming Lips are heading back Down Under. They're coming to Melbourne and Sydney to play the highly acclaimed album in full, as well as some of their greatest hits. Taking over the Sydney Opera House and Hamer Hall (the latter as part of Melbourne International Arts Festival), The Flaming Lips will bring their signature technicolour shows to life across four nights. Expect elaborate costumes, confetti cannons and even neon unicorns to fill the stages as the seven-piece band performs hits such as 'Waitin' for a Superman', 'Race for the Prize' and 'A Spoonful Weighs a Ton'. Released in 1999, The Soft Bulletin is widely accepted as the band's greatest album, named by NME as the Album of the Year and by Pitchfork as a 'masterpiece' and the third best album of the 90s. As well as playing this seminal album in full, The Flaming Lips will also perform some of their other greatest hits, including 'Do You Realize??' and 'Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1'. [caption id="attachment_724481" align="alignnone" width="1920"] George Salisbury[/caption] The Flaming Lips — The Soft Bulletin 20th Anniversary will take place at the Sydney Opera House on September 30 and October 1, and at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne on October 3 and 4. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday, June 7, with pre-sale starting at 9am on Wednesday, June 5. To sign-up head to the SOH or Melbourne International Arts Festival website. Top image: George Salisbury.
In April, we farewelled Merivale's American-themed Manly eatery Papi Chulo. Now, in its place, we're set to welcome the hospitality group's second Queen Chow when it opens next week. Papi Chulo shut up shop on April 29, and the East Esplanade space has since undergone a small refurbishment. Group tables are now topped with lazy susans, tanks filled with live seafood great guests at the door and deep greens and dark timbers echo the hues of Queen Chow's sister restaurant in Newtown. What has remained, is the restaurant's stunning view out across the sparkling Sydney Harbour. In the kitchen, executive chef Patrick Friesen and dumpling master Eric Koh use Australian ingredients to recreate dishes served up at neighbourhood Chinese restaurants. Oysters — served from an impressive zinc-clad oyster bar — come topped with finger lime, Australian pipis are wok-fried with XO, and Moreton Bay bugs are doused in butter and black pepper. You'll also found Chinese-Australian staples such as sticky honey prawns, Mongolian lamb and deep-fried ice cream. Koh's famed dumplings are also a highlight of the menu, with a lineup of steamed or fried scallop and prawn siu mai, pork xiao long bao, prawn har gau and more. Alongside the food menu, Merivale's group sommelier Frank Moreau has pulled together another impressive wine list, with over 200 wines from across Australia and the world. Queen Chow's reopening is part of Manly Wharf's $9 million dollar makeover, and the restaurant will soon by joined by Rockpool Dining Group's Fratelli Fresh and Sake Restaurants, which are set to open later this year on the Wharf's second storey. Find Queen Chow Manly at Manly Wharf, 22-23 East Esplanade, Manly from Monday, July 9.
Bliss is the new play on right now at Downstairs Belvoir. It's not, as I actually thought, a theatrical re-imagining of the awesome 1985 Australian movie classic Bliss based on Peter Carey's novel. That was the one where Barry Otto was stuck in a surreal suburban nightmare full of Freudian fish birthing and rampant incest. This is totally different. It's a new play from Quebec about a check-out chick stuck in a surreal supermarket nightmare full of Freudian frog birthing and rampant incest.The play is an examination into the cult of celebrity and consumerism. It's full of bizarre twists that are kind of hard to get your head around. The team make the best of what they've been given — with uniformly solid acting and some clever lighting and sound ideas — but the play sort of buckles under the weight of its own ambition.Krew Boylan is the show's standout. She plays Celine Dion, a check-out chick and "a woman on the brink of despair".Photo: Brett Boardman
The team at Newtown restaurant Hartsyard has come up with a cracking way to help blast away those Saturday morning hangovers — and it involves generous feasts and bottomless beer. It has launched a new series of Saturday long lunches, which promise to go down a treat during these next few weeks, kicking into gear from September 7 and running until the end of the month. Chef-owners Jarrod Walsh and Dot Lee will be whipping up a $60 set menu up for grabs at midday and 2.30pm each week. The feast will include hearty lunchtime classics such as steak sandwiches with beer sauce and beer grain bread and bowls of fried cheese with grated parmesan and hot mustard cream. For $25 on top of the set menu (which'll set you back $85 in total) you can spend your Saturday drinking unlimited Newtowner, too, thanks to the folks at Young Henrys. You can your reserve your spot at the boozy Saturday lunch at midday and 2.30pm, via the website. Images: Steven Woodburn and Alex Mayes
As suggested by the title, To the Sea, this is an exhibition exuding the belief that the journey is more gratifying than the destination. Artists and partners Narelle Autio and Trent Parke travelled 90,000km around Australia over a period of approximately ten years. The result divulges distant horizons, endless unsealed roads and wild, uncultivated scenery. To the Sea is the by-product of two independently acclaimed series: Parke’s haunting Minutes to Midnight and Autio’s lush Watercolours. It is the quieter underside to their meandering journey, less populated and more intuitive. Weaving together two different perspectives, the exhibition presents a unique meditation on Australia’s stunning desert and semi-desert scenery. In tapping into the dark undergrowth of the outback, Parke produces heavily contrasted black-and-white images. For example, Headlights in the Bush illuminates a tangle of broken branches in the foreground, while a silhouetted hill fringed with shrubbery looms behind. Similarly, his strikingly large untitled (bones) is taken at night, depicting an explosion of skeletal fragments strewn across scraggy bushland. There is a brooding and mysterious quality to these low-level landscapes, a feeling of impending danger balanced by intrigue. Parke’s epic 64-page I. The Road Trip is akin to a storyboard, capturing minute detail and momentary quirks. Subtle scenes that would normally be glossed over are magnified. Aa cluster of turtles swim amid a mass of sparkling reflections; their shadows, the clouds, and the reeds are all printed on the tranquil water. Throughout this montage of memories, there are also blank pages, alluding to a narrative that dips in and out of focus. Autio's attention is also on the country’s sparse interior. Many of her works are reminiscent of travel snapshots taken from a car window. Her creative mastery of this fast-paced style of image-making reveals a striking painterly texture. Like an impressionist painting, there is a horizontal velocity to the deep red of the Simpson Desert. Distant trees appear as short, sharp jabs, whilst trees in the foreground crumble, flicker and duplicate. In depicting landscapes in this way, she infuses the journey with a warmth, energy and imagination that makes it almost tangible, communicating the notion that she is trekking terrain that is both physical and emotional. Some of her other works can be figured as moments of clarity, such as a detailed image of an orphaned and malnourished joey with storm clouds brewing overhead. There is a prevalent feeling of intimacy imbued in To the Sea, as you share a glimpse of Autio and Parke's personal travel experiences and flesh out their contrasts and similarities. At the same time, it encapsulates a sense of continental vastness, literally casting light on a sublime and enigmatic Australian outback.
An absolute monster of a lineup and a special treat for anyone who missed out on Laneway tickets, with three of 2013's hottest hip hop acts set to tear the roof off the Enmore. Earl Sweatshirt came into the spotlight as part of the Odd Future crew but missed much of the group's huge first year of tours and releases, and no one knew quite why — was he in prison? At boarding school in Samoa? At a military academy? Whatever it was, Earl has been making up for lost time with his debut album, Doris, both a critical and commercial smash hit, and featuring on countless end-of-year lists. Danny Brown also had a big year with the release of his third album, Old, a throwback album that wears its love for old-school hip hop proudly on its sleeve. Brown's first successes as a musician came from very 'now' styles and sound like trap and electronica, but with this album Brown says he wanted to return to a sample-based, 'classic' sound that borrows most from J Dilla and Wu-Tang. The result somehow sounds both fiercely new and groundbreaking as well as immediately familiar. Run the Jewels is a new name, but the two names behind it are anything but. El-P and Killer Mike joined forces in 2013 after featuring on each other's albums the year before, and they somehow found the perfect balance between Mike's aggressive Southern flow and El-P's tense, hyper delivery. There have been lots of high-profile collaboration albums in hip hop, but it's been a long time since anything was released that is this cohesive and this wholly developed. And as anyone who saw El-P at Laneway this year will know, he's a tireless, frenetic live performer who never lets the intensity drop even for a moment. https://youtube.com/watch?v=anRkutaPS9w
Guys, it's okay. The fruitless days of trying to teach yourself all the moves to 'Single Ladies' in your bathroom mirror are over. Goodgod have announced not one but two follow-ups to their unbelievably sold out, first ever beginners' dance class, dedicated to angel-among-mortals and Queen of the World Beyonce. Get ready for some serious hair flicks and endorphin-release over one of two hour-long Queen Bey-inspired classes lead by instructor extraordinaire Amrita Tennant (maybe take both if you're a true Survivor). Personally, I'm tempted break out my gold power suit and top hat in the hope that this routine will make the cut. (I just hope they have a wind machine this time.) If the promise of learning to dance like an actual queen isn't enough, there'll be drinks, projections (hopefully of Beyonce's face/body/general aura) and cocktail jugs to win. Invite your friends, or don't, and prepare yourself for the colossal levels of jealousy and respect from them next time you're out and bust out these bootylicious moves. Take your pick of the post-work 6:30pm session or the partystarting 8:30pm session, just put a ring on one of them. These spots are going to sell out fast.
Art is difficult to talk about and even more difficult to unconditionally support – but not so for Gene and Brian Sherman. Gene, the former director of Sherman Galleries, and husband Brian are synonymous with cultural patronage, and Words, Etc. at the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation is simply the next link in the chain.Thus far, the bi-monthly-ish events, focusing on the written or spoken word, have been the site for a guest lecture on the significance of Australian literature from academic Nicholas Jose, and the launch of Anne Summers’ The Lost Mother: A Story of Art and Love.This month, Andrew Cameron, Deputy Chair of the Biennale of Sydney, will launch Contemporary Art + Philanthropy: Private Foundations — Asia-Pacific Focus, a new publication which contains contributions from Gene Sherman, Nicholas Jose, Elaine W. Ng, Carrillo Gantner and Britta Erickson, addressing the role and impact of private philanthropy in the contemporary art sector.Image: Permanent installation at SCAF, designed by Chris Bosse (LAVA). Photo by Melody Willis.
Louis Nowra’s 1993 play Radiance has become something of an Australian Indigenous classic in its short life, although it was not written specifically as an Indigenous play. When Rhoda Roberts, Rachel Maza and Lydia Miller originally commissioned Nowra with their own money, their main intention was to create a work with good, interesting characters — and Nowra delivered. The play returns to Belvoir until February 8 under the direction of Leah Purcell, who also performs alongside Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell. Radiance follows the reconciliation of three estranged sisters who reunite in Northern Queensland for their mother’s funeral. The funeral is poorly attended as it turns out their mum was a piece of work, but as their stories unfold we learn that she was also entertaining, warm and a great lover of men. Mae (Sebbens) has remained at home caring for their mother as she degenerated into an ever more cantankerous grouch, insulting everyone she passed. A group of local teenagers have taken to throwing stones at the house and calling her a witch. Cressy (Purcell) has been trotting the globe as a successful opera singer, while the youngest, Nona (Tapsell), has been steadily working her way through a long list of boyfriends. The clash of their different versions of the past and the gradual revelations of truth provide the cathartic drama in Nowra’s two-act play. The three-woman ensemble is excellent, but in some of the opening scenes it seems that the sum of the cast is less than its parts. There’s no doubt that Sebbens is an exceptional performer, as we’ve seen in A Hoax and The Sapphires, but here as the long-suffering, cranky Mae (in the first scene in particular) she is lost. Her hostility towards her two sisters is less dramatic than excruciatingly awkward, and the dynamic between the three is stilted and odd. While Purcell is a rock solid anchor in this production, perhaps directing from the inside has the drawback that the three-hander scenes are somewhat at sea – the blocking unwieldy and the rhythm rushed. In comparison, the two-hander scenes fire much better and Purcell proves herself as one of the greats of the Australian stage. Tapsell’s rendition of a Madama Butterfly aria using a comprehensive list of Italian cuisine is hilarious. As the cast settles in to the first few scenes, this production will no doubt cement Radiance’s place as a seminal piece of Australian theatre.
Sydney's annual Chinese New Year festival is the largest outside of Asia, with 1.4-million people estimated to take part in the celebrations. While Tuesday, February 5 is officially the first day of the new year, festivities will run all the way to February 10 — and the schedule for the next few days is packed. Whether it's spent gawking at installations made from 1000 pig lanterns, doing free tai chi on the Opera House steps or eating mango pancakes, this weekend is a great opportunity to celebrate Sydney's rich cultural diversity and help ring in the Year of the Pig.
Stanley Kubrick is renowned for pioneering the use of found classical music in his films. There’s perhaps no Kubrick scene more memorable than Alex being bound with a straightjacket and specula as Ludwig van plays to scenes of concentration camp ultra-violence in A Clockwork Orange, and if there’s one thing in The Shining more harrowing than Jack Nicholson’s eyebrows it’s the haunting score. But no Kubrick film is more lauded for its dramatic marriage of sight and sound than 2001: A Space Odyssey. Ligeti’s spectral "Requiem" plays to a mysterious black monolith and Strauss’ 1986 "Also Sprach Zarathusa" strains to the fabrication of a hominid’s first weapon, while the soundless moments paint the chilling void of the infinite beyond clearer than any music could. At this year's Sydney Festival the soundtrack of Kubrick’s sci-fi masterpiece will be played live by the Sydney Symphony and Sydney Philharmonic Choirs as the film plays on a gargantuan screen. You’ll have trouble looking away even without any surgical lid-clamps. Read our list of the 12 best things to see at the Sydney Festival in 2013.
The luminous Helen Mirren once again takes centre stage at the Young at Heart Film Festival. In 2010, Dame Mirren dazzled as Tolstoy's wife in The Last Station, and this year she delves into more sinister territory in Rowan Joffe's stylish adaptation of Graham Greene's Brighton Rock. But cinema's beloved queen will have to fight for the spotlight as this year's festival programme proves its most impressive yet. Festival-goers will delight in the chance to revisit old favourites like The Graduate, The Pink Panther and a focus on John Huston and Humphrey Bogart, which boasts screenings of timeless classics The Maltese Falcon and The African Queen. Australia's Bruce Beresford (Mao’s Last Dancer) will also be honoured, with The Fringe Dwellers and Breaker Morant both returning to the silver screen. Up and coming Australian filmmaker Belinda Chayko will be taking part in a Q&A screening of her beautifully realised tale Lou. The film stars British veteran John Hurt (who is also in Brighton Rock) as well a remarkable debut performance from Lily Bell-Tindley in the titular role as a questioning 11-year-old who strikes a deep bond with her estranged grandfather. Rounding out this marvellous lineup is the vibrantly retro, must-see Aussie legend Red Dog (see it now or wait until August!), Robert Duvall's cantankerous funereal fable Get Low and a short film competition. Plus, fresh from the French Film Festival are two sure favourites: Catherine Deneuve's comedy Potiche and the wondrous underwater documentary Oceans. So ok, the Young at Heart Film Festival might technically be for seniors (taking place during NSW Seniors Week), but with such brilliant films screening — not to mention many events include free drinks — this is definitely a case where you should learn from your elders, and make a beeline for the Dendy Opera Quays.
Take a vinyl junkie through their collection and they’ll probably be able to tell you the backstory behind each purchase. And while there’s nothing quite so memorable as reaching into a dusty box of sonic junk and coming up with a long-lost gem, sometimes it’s nice to know the odds of striking gold are in your favour. That’s what Eastside FM's bi-annual Black Gold Vinyl Fairs are all about. Sure there are over 8000 records to dig through, but for the avid vinyl collector it’s a black plastic paradise. Each record has been hand picked by meticulous music collectors and local DJs including The Vinyl Junkie, Fuse Records, Alex Dimitriades, DJ Nick Toth, Good Groove and a whole slew of newbie vendors. There’s jazz, there’s disco, there’s funk, reggae and blues, and once your hands are sufficiently laden you can ponder how to get your loot home over a beer (free with entry) on the airy rooftop courtyard.
In 2008 an email went out to a group of friends circulating some of the best new music found over a two-week period. Twelve emails and about 50 bands later sender Jason Grishkoff launched this here blog from somewhere in San Francisco, and then this here user-friendly website that now reaps over three million page views per month. These days Indie Shuffle has no less than 10 writers scouring the web for the most exciting new tracks, two of which are regulated to traipsing through the musical landscape of Australia. There their travels have been punctuated extra satisfyingly by jangly melodies from Palms, dream-pop hooks from Australian Music Prize nominees Made in Japan, the reverb-heavy tunes of City Riots and dance floor-cramming stuff from Olympic Ayres and Jubilants DJs. The latest development is that Grishkoff et al. have rounded up all those artists for a big old party at FBi Social. Tickets are $15 on the door, which works out at a somewhat loco $3 per act. You’d be mad to miss it.
There has been much literature written about the moral dilemma of being a bystander, but one of the most powerful is undoubtedly Franz Kafka's 1914 short story In the Penal Colony. Kafka's original story concerns three men — The Officer, The Visitor and The Condemned — one island, and one elaborate torture and execution device. Immediately it is evident that this dilemma is on a scale far more severe than quietly witnessing someone about to drop their meatball sub all over the pavement, and indeed the story is harrowing in its exploration of the point at which The Visitor's failure to intervene becomes immoral. This is the story that cult composer Philip Glass set to music in 2000. But Glass, often labelled as a 'minimalist' for his unique brand of classical music with hypnotically repetitive structures, hasn't met the challenge of interpreting Kafka's story with melodramatic crescendos evocative of impending bloodshed; instead, it is the almost claustrophobic intimacy of the music that makes his score so intense, featuring just one string quartet plus a double bass for added sobriety. The first Glass opera ever to be performed in Sydney, In the Penal Colony is definitely not your average night in the box.
Last week it was Thom Yorke giving other people’s songs a spin over in the sweaty Danceteria of Goodgod, and now the Australian Chamber Orchestra will be giving some Radiohead a go on the beer-stained stage of The Standard. Tacking “Underground” onto the end of their name as part of their transformation into what Time Out New York has recognised as one “badass classical band”, the ACO will flex their artistic muscles performing a set-list that stretches from Radiohead, David Bowie and REM to Paganini, Bach and Vivaldi. The musical metamorphosis will be overseen by founder, curator and front-woman Satu Vanska, who will be demonstrating her own prowess on the strings of the $2 million Stradivarius violin she was gifted last year. Surf cinematographer and visual artist Jon Frank has assembled an audio-visual installation to be projected onto The Standard’s walls before the gig. It might not imbue this space with the majestic cathedral-like ambience of the Opera House Concert Hall, but should be pretty enthralling in its own right.
On the Surface of Things is an exploration of layers, inviting you to delve under silk, screen and shroud. Nine Sydney-based artists have come together in this exhibition, curated by Isobel Parker Philip. Pooling their artistic sensibilities, they indulge in surface and texture, chasing everyday moments of unusual beauty. From Eloise Rapp’s harmonic and flowing draperies to Bianca Chang’s clean little cuts, meticulously carved out of paper, there is a delicacy of touch that pervades the exhibition. These are possibly two of the most different works on display, yet they are united by the subtlety of their design. Traversing the senses, Jacob Ring’s photography series evokes a range of different moods. Some of his works are sublime dreamscapes awash with hazy hues, whilst others showcase a fascination with contrasting textures, such as the hard glow of neon on lush satin. His soft manipulation of light is not overstated, allowing rays of colour to gently bounce off silky fabrics. There is a classic and filmic quality to his romantic image, Shroud ii, featuring an elegantly masked bouquet of flowers. The veiling of the dark buds carries a sense of old-world mystique, speaking more directly to themes of concealment and secrecy. Justine Varga also engages with these notions; her Moving Out presents an enigmatic piece of wrapped furniture, displaced and crystallised with memory. Isobel Parker Philip describes the ‘whispering’ quality of Varga’s photography. And true, there is a fullness to the seemingly stark minimalism of her careful compositions that is slow to unfold. The intimate scale entices you in, and with time, there is a blossoming of detail and perspective. A perfect example of this is the gossamer layer of Glad Wrap draped over her still life with fruit — a sort of ghostly membrane covering the fruit skin that encases the flesh. These subtle tiers of perception make for a rewarding experience. Another memorable series is the blunt blades of Deb Mansfield’s photo-tapestries, yoking together hardware and domesticity. Sarah Mosca’s Untitled (part 1 & 2) perhaps errs more on the side of ‘screen’ than ‘shroud’. Of her twin pieces depicting the dramatic mountain scenery of her childhood, one is overlaid with a lurid pink Perspex lens. She retains the personal narrative of one and obstructs it in the other. Thus, the doubling is a study of distance and proximity, representing the fogging over of memory, or perhaps the relinquishing of it. Often we are too quick to pin down photography as unimaginatively mechanical with its piercing factual accuracy. However, this exhibition offers up new ways to consider photography. There is an optical elusiveness that recurs throughout as each artist demonstrates a unique way of harnessing light and shadow. The process of viewing is one of peeling off layers, as appearances and boundaries are constantly shifting. It would seem that the value lies not in uncovering the core but in journeying through the shrouds. Image: Jacob Ring.
Birthdays, promotions, securing a second date — on any given week in Sydney, there's plenty to celebrate, even the end of the week itself. But with so much cause for celebration — warranted or not — it's hard to know where to go, and more distressingly, for your wallet to keep up. Luckily Merivale has our backs this June with its Bottoms Up special offering 49 percent off all booze at 37 of its venues between 5–7pm. Having essentially turned every day into a special occasion, we caught up with the hospitality giant to help you decide where to indulge without emptying your wallet, every day of the week. MONDAY PICK-ME-UP AT FELIX Often making it through Monday can seem like a feat in itself. But rather than dealing with the reality of a full week ahead, escape to Paris — or one of the closest ways you'll get to it on a Monday night. No airfare needed, Felix's Prix Fixe menu featuring two courses for $50 and three courses for $60 between 5.30–6.30pm — means you can ease into the week à la Parisian. And given that it's Monday and you should treat yourself, head to the restaurant's bar first to take to the wine list with gusto, knowing that every drop under $200 is 49% off. Curated by master sommelier Franck Moreau, the list features some fine European drops including the crisp 2015 Domaine Dirler-Cadé Alsace riesling ($8.16 by the glass, down from $16), the complex 2013 Domaine Elodie Balme Rasteau southern Rhône Grenache blend ($11.22 by the glass, down from $22) and for something lighter, a 1997 Beaujolais Gamay ($18.87 by the glass, down from $37 and poured with Coravin) — which may sound steep for a glass of wine, but if you think about it, that wine was made when you were still watching Cheez TV. After a glass or two, sit down in the restaurant for the twice-baked gruyère souffle and rich Valrhona chocolate and hazelnut tart — a perfect pick-me-up for a chilly Monday night. TUESDAY WORK WIN CELEBRATION AT EL LOCO It's hard to imagine a better way to celebrate a win at work than with margaritas under $10. Well, actually throw in $5 glasses of Chandon, and you've done yourself one better. This June, you could shout your whole team a round of celebratory $7.65 margaritas and $5 sparkling, and your wallet would still come out unscathed. With wall-to-wall colour, good tunes and a sweet outdoor area, El Loco at the Slip Inn is the definition of festive, and the perfect place for a cheeky mid-week celebration. Add a platter of tacos (3 for $21), a couple quesadillas ($10 each) and the supreme nachos ($22) to share, and your Mexican fiesta is complete. WEDNESDAY HUMP DAY DRINKS AT MS.G'S Once you've conquered hump day, it's really only a hop, skip and a jump to the weekend. So, kick-off the start of the end of the week at Ms.G's. A den of iniquity in the best way, this Potts Point eatery and bar doesn't take itself too seriously and is all about having a good time — the perfect place to be when your booze budget is going the extra mile. Start your night in the bar with something fruity, sweet and a little surprising, like the Don't Lychee Me with gin, lychee, lime, rose, plum sake and pops of lychee pearls ($8.16, down from $16). If you prefer your drinks to have a bit more punch, order the Mr Miyagi with gin, sake, peach liqueur and a lemon twist ($9.18, down from $18). And if you need a bit of a feed with your drinks, opt for a serving of cheeseburger spring rolls ($6 each), Chiang Mai gyoza with spicy pork filling ($16) and burrata in "strange flavour style" with sesame sauce, chilli oil, spinach and peanuts ($22). THURSDAY PRE-GIG BEVS AND SNACKS AT QUEENS HOTEL Before any gig, you need a couple of brews and a quick bite to eat. But it doesn't need to just be a pit stop before the main event. If you've got a gig at the Enmore, the Queens Hotel will be an impressive supporting act. Having already shelled out for tickets, you're likely to want to keep things pretty low key (see: cheap), but that doesn't mean you need to go straight for the house drop. During June between 5–7pm, a glass of the 2015 Ciello Bianco Catarratto from Italy will set you back just $6.12, while a James Squire 150 Lashes is only going to cost you $4.33. Even if you up the ante and grab a glass of Veuve for $10.20 or the Chow Sour with gin, green apple, rhubarb, mint and aquafaba ($9.18, down from $18), you'll still have plenty left over for snacks — authentic Chinese food served in a pub setting. Don't go past the duck spring rolls ($12), crab crackers ($6) and the steamed dim sum platter if you're sharing with friends ($32). FRIDAY DATE NIGHT AT PALMER & CO. Palmer & Co. gives you the opportunity to take your date back in time to the era of bootleggers and sly grog. And when you throw the 49 percent-off happy hour in the mix, you'll (almost) feel like you're actually in the prohibition era with those prices. Tucked underground, the bar exudes the sumptuous glamour and devilish secrecy of the 1920s. But the character and intrigue of this place don't stop at the decor, it extends to flapper dresses and dapper ensembles donned by the staff — and not to mention plenty of grog to go around. Set the scene by ordering your date a Liquid Desires cocktail with gin, pear eau de vie, green chartreuse, ylang-ylang and thyme ($11.73, down from $23) or send a clear message with a Prelude to a Kiss, with tequila, Aperol, grapefruit and rosemary cordial, citrus, egg white and gilded lime ($10.71, down from $21). And if you prefer your booze served neat, now's the perfect time to move a few rungs up the shelf or add a couple of years to your favourite drop. SATURDAY HANGS WITH OUT-OF-TOWNERS AT BERT'S BAR Looking for a place that will knock the socks off your visiting mates? Bert's Bar at The Newport is the kind of venue that encapsulates what you struggle to put into words when explaining what makes Sydney so great. In this case, the bar lets the views do the talking for you. At Bert's, you can expect a decadent dining experience that showcases Australian seafood at its best. Pre-dinner, look to the sizeable cocktail menu and 750-strong wine list — the 49 percent off all drinks offer means you can really give your mates a memorable experience. To toast the occasion, start with a round of Moët & Chandon rosé Champagne, then splurge on a bottle of the real deal, like the 2005 Brokenwood 'ILR' reserve semillon from the Hunter for under $90 (down from $175) and the 1999 Yalumba 'The Signature' cabernet which will set you back $96.90 (instead of the regular $190 price tag) between 5–7pm. SUNDAY LATE LUNCH KICK-ONS AT THE PADDINGTON It can be difficult to find a casual venue that's also nice enough to take your parents for lunch. The Paddington ticks that box. A smart setting with a warm, vibrant atmosphere, The Paddington is a step above your average local pub. Specialising in rotisserie-cooked meats, your best bet is to share a whole roast chook with gravy, fries and salad ($44), and a rotisserie beef rump cap with Jerusalem artichokes and lightly pickled mushrooms ($42). Add a side of winter leaves with walnuts, goats cheese and roasted beetroot ($24) and some fried polenta ($11), and you're set. Let your Sunday lunch roll into Sunday early evening drinks at The Paddington's bar, and take advantage of the June 49 percent off drink deal. On tap, you'll find the likes of Kosciusko Pale Ale, Little Creatures and Furphy, and the wine list extends well beyond one of each varietal. Here, you can get a carafe of 2014 Argentinian Malbec for $18.36 (down from $36) or a bottle of Burgundy Chablis for $45.90 (down from $90). Rather than letting your rents pick up the bill (for the 100,000th time in your life), take the opportunity to step up and shout the drinks. Regardless the day of the week or the occasion, take the opportunity to celebrate this June in a manner befitting. Head for 49 percent-off drinks at select Merivale venues every day from 5–7pm.
Sydney's getting another alcohol-fuelled brunch, and this one has a dress code — of leotards, lycra, spandex, leg warmers, and anything glittery, sparkly, shiny and neon. While you're channelling a thoroughly 80s vibe, teased hair won't go astray. Perhaps it'll even make you more aerodynamic on the roller rink. On Saturday, August 31, it's time to dress up in all of the above and strap on a pair of roller skates. You can't dance around a Roller Disco Brunch without them. The rink will pop up on the Cruise Bar rooftop, meaning you'll get to bust some moves while taking in views of Sydney Harbour. When you're not busting out your smooth retro moves to plenty of the era's hits — yes, Cyndi Lauper songs will be given a spin by the DJ — you'll be tucking into bottomless mimosas and pizza slices. There will be three 90-minute brunch sessions: at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. These will set you back $75.23 and include your food, booze and skate hire. If you just want to get your skate on, there'll be three more sessions — at 5pm, 7pm and 9pm — that just include a turn on the skates. These tickets are $39.55 each. Peachy keen, jelly bean? You can buy tickets now. UPDATE: MAY 28, 2019 — This article previously stated that the Roller Disco Brunch would be held on June 22, 2019. This has now been changed to August 31, and the above has been edited to reflect the new date.
When you've just given Australia the culinary experience we didn't know we needed — that'd be a luxe 11-course KFC degustation that definitely doesn't just involve slowly eating a big bucket of the Colonel's finest — what comes next? At Sydney fine-diner Nel, it's time for a bit of truth, beauty, freedom and love. Renowned for its creatively themed multi-course spreads before going fancy with chicky chicky fry fry (see also: its Christmas and Disney offerings), the restaurant is next taking its cues from Moulin Rouge! The Musical. The film-to-theatre production is about to dance its way into Sydney, kicking off at the end of May. So, if you're wondering what's inspired Nel's decadent feast, now you know. Designed as a pre-show option, it'll be available for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays in June and July. And yes, it's your spectacular spectacular reason to both see the musical and treat yo'self to a lavish meal. The world-first collaboration sees chef Nelly Robinson whip up a selection of dishes dripping with French nostalgia (no, not literally), including one dubbed 'Beauty', which is a savoury crème brulee. Or, there's also the 'Truth' steak tartare for a quintessential Parisian culinary option. Other dishes span Nel's take on pain au chocolat, beef bourguignon tarts, duck, French onion soup, beetroot with popcorn and opera cakes. If you're ready to for your tastebuds to say "come what may", bookings are available now, with multiple sessions each Saturday and Sunday starting (at 11.30am, 11.45am, 12pm and 12.15pm). That'll set you back $145 per person, with four matching wines also available for an extra $75 each. Tickets to Moulin Rouge! The Musical aren't included in that price — and yes, this is definitely a treat yo'self kind of weekend lunch.
If sparkling wine puts some extra fizz into your life, then you'll want to drink your way through this Sydney event. Across Friday, May 26–Saturday, May 27, the Bubbles Festival is coming to town to celebrate the most effervescent boozy beverages there are. You'll sip, you'll chat, and you'll meet the folks who make and distribute the tipples in question as well. You'll also eat canapes — no one wants to down champagne, prosecco and other sparkling drinks on an empty stomach — while you're sampling and tasting across two hours. At least ten different wines will be on offer, and your $94 ticket also includes a champagne tasting glass to take home with you. The venue: the Royal Automobile Club of Australia on Macquarie Street. You can take your pick of three sessions: from 6–8pm on Friday, and at either 12–2pm or 3–5pm on Saturday. If you're feeling like really treating your sparkling-loving self, you can pay an extra $65 for a VIP ticket, which gets you access to a special cuvée tasting before the regular doors open — and two tasting glasses, rather than one.
The Inner West Council's 2019 EDGE program, which is aimed at celebrating local communities and talent, is kicking off this month, with a one-day festival of art, culture and nature. On Saturday, March 30, locals are encouraged to explore this intersection between urban spaces, known as the GreenWay, through an afternoon of interactive installations, performances and tours. The immersive arts experience includes seven sensory 'eco-zones' based around the Lilyfield Road Pedestrian Bridge, all focused on the environment. Expect outdoor sculptures, art installations, local makers, live music and artist performances. The festivities will kick off with a plane-themed party in a vintage aeroplane. Meanwhile, Aboriginal elders and environmentalists will give tours on everything from sustainable design to microalgae species, a sunset lantern parade will usher in Earth Hour and there'll be an anti-gravity finale performance by physical theatre company Legs on the Wall. Apart from the arts program, you'll find food trucks and a pop-up bar, with complimentary botanical mocktails getting passed around. BYO picnics are also encouraged, so you'll have plenty of ways to stay fueled throughout the night. EDGE GreenWay will take place between 3–9pm on Saturday, March 30. For more information on the EDGE Greenway program and to check out the full list of upcoming festivals, visit the website.
In its entire concept, Sydney Opera House's All About Women has always pushed girls, ladies and women to the front. So, the fact that the 2023 version of its key feminist festival will feature riot grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill couldn't be more perfect. That in-conversation event is just the beginning of the event's program, however, with the complete bill also going big on high-profile guests — such as child actor-turned-I'm Glad My Mom Died author Jennette McCurdy and human rights barrister Jennifer Robinson. Former iCarly star McCurdy will chat through her experiences, including growing up in the spotlight, finding her independence and the events that led to her New York Times best-selling memoir, in an Australian-exclusive conversation. After successfully representing Amber Heard in Johnny Depp's UK libel case, Robinson will feature in a panel called 'The War on Women', about fighting for both rights and lives, alongside Egyptian American journalist Mona Eltahawy, Pakistani author and journalist Fatima Bhutto, and Mununjali Yugambeh and South Sea Islander Professor Chelsea Watego. Running from Saturday, March 11—Monday, March 13, All About Women's 2023 festival marks its 11th, and sees the event held across three days for the first time ever — growing again after it only just expanded to two days in 2022, in fact. And, in another significant change for this year, the event's lineup is guided by four festival co-curators. Doing the honours: author, podcast presenter and gender equality advocate Jamila Rizvi; Gamilaroi academic and Tell Me Again author Dr Amy Thunig; feminist social commentator, novelist and writer Jane Caro AM; and Sydney Opera House's Head of Talks and Ideas Chip Rolley. Their full program includes 25 events featuring 60-plus international and Australian artists, thinkers, and storytellers, starting with an evening of storytelling, poetry, dance and music for the fest's Opening Night Gala, hosted by Clare Bowditch and featuring actor Eryn Jean Norvill (The Picture of Dorian Gray), "mother of African contemporary dance" Germaine Acogny, Iranian Australian singer and instrumentalist Gelareh Pour, and Fatima Bhutto. And, it also spans Cult Classic author Sloane Crosley chatting about modern dating with journalist Maddison Connaughton — and a romance and reality TV-focused discussion between Bachelorette Brooke Blurton, Just The Gist podcaster Rosie Waterland, and Gamilaroi and Torres Strait Islander writer and actor Nakkiah Lui. In a session about neurodivergence in women and gender-diverse people, 2021 Australian of the Year Grace Tame, Heartbreak High's Chloe Hayden, and research psychologist and activist Dr Jac den Houting will talk with Thunig — and a panel examining trying to achieve justice in sexual abuse claims, and the trauma the process can bring, will feature sexual assault law reform advocate Saxon Mullins, criminal lawyer Katrina Marson, Yorta Yorta woman and survivor advocate Amanda Morgan, and lawyer and author Bri Lee. Or, attendees can look forward to Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies scholar Kylie Moore-Gilbert hosting a session on the women-led revolution in Iran, as joined by Pour, scholar and poet Dr Saba Vasefi, and author and journalist Shokoofeh Azar; plus a panel about the body positivity movement's struggles to be genuinely inclusive, featuring Wadjanbarra Yidinji, Jirrbal and African-American former model Sasha Kutabah Sarago, body love activist and podcaster April Hélène-Horton aka The Bodzilla, fashion editor and queer rights activist Deni Todorovič, disability rights campaigner Elly Desmarchelier, and comedian and broadcaster Tanya Hennessy. The list goes on, covering Clementine Ford exploring the history of demonising single women, a session on women's activism through a First Nations lens, diving into starting a family in a modern world, unpacking gendered emotions, and turning Eltahawy's FEMINIST GIANT newsletter into a panel. The Girlboss movement, making tough decisions, the shame often imposed on women and girls, leading movements, a Bikini Kill gig: they all get their time in focus, too. Just like in 2022, the festival will host its sessions in-person for Sydneysiders, and will also live-stream to viewers both around Australia and worldwide — which is ace news if you live outside of the Harbour City. [caption id="attachment_875442" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Debi Del Grande[/caption] Top image: Jacquie Manning.
Something delightful is happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are starting to reopen — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney and Brisbane (and, until the newly reinstated stay-at-home orders, Melbourne as well). 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 over the past three months, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, 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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn3sK4WiviA ON THE ROCKS Not once, not twice, but three times now, Sofia Coppola has given the Bill Murray-loving world exactly what it wants. One of the great comedic talents of the past half-century, the Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day star is also a greatly charismatic talent — and, understandably, viewers want to spend more time in his inimitable company. So, Lost in Translation and 2015 Netflix special A Very Murray Christmas made that happen. Now On the Rocks does as well. These are films and specials predicated upon the very idea of palling around with Murray or the character he's playing, and this one hits that mark as perfectly as its predecessors. Murray steps into the shoes of a debonair playboy art dealer who is determined to help his New York-dwelling adult daughter discover if her husband is being unfaithful, his pairing with Rashida Jones is both joyous and lived-in, and Coppola once again strips bare her own life experiences, fictionalises them, and creates something both thoughtful and moving. On the Rocks' premise really isn't far removed from Lost in Translation. The film's female protagonist is a decade older this time, her romantic troubles are complicated by both marriage and children, and another bustling city provides the backdrop, but the basic idea remains mostly the same. With Murray as the lively Felix and Jones as his overstressed offspring Laura, the movie takes them hopping around NYC as they endeavour to ascertain if the latter's workaholic other half, Dean (Marlon Wayans), is cosying up to his attractive young colleague (Jessica Henwick) while Laura is raising their two young daughters. In the process, Felix and Laura chat about anything and everything, covering topics both important and trivial. They eat and drink, and do so in luxe spaces while Felix naturally captivates everyone in his orbit and turns everything into an adventure. Over the course of their investigative escapade, Felix helps Laura work through her struggles, too — although here, their own complicated relationship is actually one of them. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVb6EdKDBfU THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 Combine A Few Good Men's setting with The West Wing's faith in democratic ideals, and that's where The Trial of the Chicago 7 lands. Yes, they're all products of writer, TV series creator and director Aaron Sorkin — and while Sorkin's work can veer from exceptional (see: The Social Network) to frustrating (see: The Newsroom), his second stint as a filmmaker after 2017's Molly's Game makes the very most of his usual traits. Given the true tale he's telling — a story of vocal dissent against unpopular government actions and latter's retaliation, spanning protests and violence on the streets involving both activists and police — that's hardly surprising. That Sorkin has amassed a typically top-notch cast to sling his words helps considerably, including Bridge of Spies Oscar-winner Mark Rylance, The Theory of Everything Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne and Watchmen Emmy-winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, plus everyone from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Keaton to Sacha Baron Cohen and Succession's Jeremy Strong. In the summer of 1968, as the Democratic Party assembled in Chicago for its national convention to confirm the party's nominee for the presidential election, several activist groups decided to make their displeasure known. There was much to rally against: the Vietnam War was raging and American soldiers were dying, both Martin Luther King Jr and Robert F Kennedy had been assassinated in separate incidents months earlier, and civil unrest was mounting across the country. The Trial of the Chicago 7 first introduces six figures making plans for the day, then cuts to the commencement of legal proceedings for eight defendants, all charged by the US federal government the next year. The complicated case that results is catnip for Sorkin, who unleashes his trademark flourishes on not only passionate speeches, but also infuriating courtroom incidents and the festering disagreement between codefendants, as well as in recreating the fateful protests. There's nothing unexpected about the way the filmmaker handles this story visually, narratively or thematically, but the end result proves an example of applying the right approach to the right tale. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nf--afqelY ANTEBELLUM Watching the sprawling, roving and weaving single-take shot that opens Antebellum, it helps to know what the movie's title actually means. The term refers to a time before a war, and is typically used in relation to the American Civil War — but in the film's eye-catching introduction, it certainly seems as if that historical conflict is raging away. On a southern plantation, Confederate soldiers under the leadership of Captain Jasper (Jack Huston) terrorise the property's enslaved Black workers with brutality and cruelty. Attempted runaway Eden (Janelle Monáe) is one of them, and subject not just to beatings, brandings and forced labour, but also raped regularly by the general (Eric Lange) who has claimed her as his own. She's planning another escape; however, thoroughly unexpectedly given the surroundings, a mobile phone suddenly rings. Now Monáe's character is called Veronica Henley, she's a well-known activist and author, and everything about her life (including the conference in New Orleans she attends) is firmly set in the 21st century. Obviously, how Monáe's dual roles intertwine is best discovered by watching — as is the involvement of Jena Malone's (Too Old to Die Young) Elizabeth, the plantation's resident belle as well as a modern-day caller for Veronica — but Antebellum proves far less powerful and clever than it thinks it is. While first-time writer-directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz blatantly try to follow in Jordan Peele's footsteps, using horror to explore race relations in America both in the present day and in the country's history, their efforts rely so heavily on one big twist that the movie resembles M Night Shyamalan's lesser works more than Get Out, Us or TV series Lovecraft Country. In endeavouring to unpack systemic racism, there's a smart idea at the heart the feature. Visually, Antebellum's always-lurid, often-violent imagery isn't easily forgotten, and the film also boasts a masterly performance by Moonlight and Hidden Figures star Monáe. And yet, connecting all those pieces together feels more like an exercise in making a provocative genre film than actually saying something meaningful about engrained prejudice in the US — a topic that, sadly, continues to remain timely, but is treated here as stock-standard horror fodder. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0FnJDhY9-0 THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO Watching Jimmie Fails in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, it never feels like you're viewing the work of a feature debutant. Played with the weight of the world not just carried on his shoulders, but oozing through in every quiet glance and gaze, his is a deeply nuanced and naturalistic performance — although given that the film is based on his own story, and he's starring as a fictionalised version of himself, perhaps that's to be expected. The on-screen Jimmie has been sleeping on his best friend Montgomery's (Lovecraft Country's Jonathan Majors) floor in the titular city's Bayview-Hunters Point neighbourhood. That's his latest stop, after years spent squatting with his dad (Rob Morgan), sleeping in cars and living in group homes. All Jimmie wants is his own house, and a specific one at that: a multi-storey abode in the Fillmore District that he grew up in, at least for a few years; that he contends his grandfather built in the 1940s; and that is now inhabited by an older white couple who aren't taking care of the property to Jimmie's standards. On paper, The Last Black Man in San Francisco's narrative sounds straightforward; however, as helmed by Fails' friend and Sundance-winning director Joe Talbot, this is an entrancing, almost fable-like film. It doesn't ever merely rally against gentrification in a simplistic manner, but paints a complex portrait of San Francisco as it now stands, of the city's scattered Black community and how they've been affected by its transformation, and of the shift away from artists and eccentrics in favour of bulldozers, technology and so-called progress. This is a movie about mourning for a past lost as well as reckoning with the future that's sprung in its place, and the evident love of details on display — in the house that Jimmie is so attached to, but also in his and Montgomery's daily bus trips, walks and skateboard rides throughout the hilly locale they call home — couldn't be more crucial in that regard. Sometimes, the film leans more on mood than story, but that approach fits when you're not only surveying and lamenting a place and a modern world that's losing its character, but turning that process into a piece of cinematic poetry. Indeed, there's a tender, heartfelt feel to The Last Black Man in San Francisco that, combined with its stellar cinematography, never feels less than authentic and moving in every frame. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh-oOnZ2Di0 SPUTNIK When Ridley Scott's Alien let a chest-bursting extra-terrestrial loose among a spaceship's crew, and John Carpenter's The Thing remake set a violent critter loose amongst an Antarctic research station, they didn't just create two of the best science fiction films ever made — they also inspired a wealth of imitators. And, at first, it seems that Russian sci-fi thriller Sputnik is one of them. Here, two Cold War-era cosmonauts see something strange during an orbital mission. Then, upon returning to earth, it appears that sole survivor Konstantin Veshnyakov (Pyotr Fyodorov, The Blackout) isn't the only creature inhabiting his body. It's 1983 and, as anyone who was watched the also 80s-set Chernobyl knows, the USSR isn't keen on big scandals. Accordingly, Colonel Semiradov (Fedor Bondarchuk, also one of the film's producers) is determined to keep Veshnyakov locked up in a secret south Kazakhstan facility until he can work out how to control the alien, enlisting boundary-pushing psychiatrist Tatyana Klimova (Oksana Akinshina, The Bourne Supremacy) to help. While watching Sputnik and thinking of similar flicks from years gone by go hand-in-hand, first-time feature director Egor Abramenko does more than simply nod to his influences. There's a grimness and a weightiness to this film that's all its own, even as it toys with familiar components — a specificity to the characters, and specifically to Veshnyakov and Klimova's efforts to navigate Soviet Russia's heavy-handed to control, too. And, when it comes to sustaining a mood of tension and suspense, evoking a forbidding sense of its time and place, and coming face to face with the slithering alien, Sputnik excels. Sparse in its look, firm in its tone and led by an impressive Akinshina, it never plays like a carbon-copy B-movie, either. There's an art to ensuring that even the most recognisable genre elements can feel fresh, entertaining and engaging — and suitably unnerving, which this narrative clearly calls for — and that ends up being the case here. Sputnik is screening in select cinemas in Sydney. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23 and July 30; August 6, August 13, August 20 and August 27; and September 3, September 10, September 17 and September 24. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Personal History of David Copperfield, Waves, The King of Staten Island, Babyteeth, Deerskin, Peninsula, Tenet, Les Misérables, The New Mutants, Bill & Ted Face the Music, The Translators, An American Pickle and The High Note. Top image: The Trial of the Chicago 7 via Niko Tavernise/Netflix © 2020
UPDATE: MARCH 18, 2020 — Organisers have announced that all remaining sessions of the 2020 Alliance Francaise French Film Festival have been cancelled from Thursday, March 19 — hopefully to be rescheduled at a later date, but with further details to be decided down the line. The decision comes "following the Australian Government's additional restrictions on non-essential social gatherings". Ticket holders will receive a full refund. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. In one of the films screening at this year's Alliance Française French Film Festival, Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin (The Artist) takes his obsession with a deerskin jacket to quite the extreme. In another of movies on the 2020 program, Eva Green (Penny Dreadful) rockets into space, playing a single mother who's also the only woman in the European Space Agency's astronaut training program. And, in yet another flick showing at the fest, voodoo, a secret literary society and a Haitian teen all combine. In other words: no matter what kind of French film you're looking for, you'll likely find it on the event's 31st lineup. If you're eager to catch the three aforementioned movies, then put Deerskin, Proxima and Zombi Child on your must-see list. There's more where they came from, of course, with the 2020 festival screening 49 new and classic French flicks when it tours the country from March 10. It all begins with Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano's The Extraordinary, which dramatises the real-life efforts of Frenchman Stéphane Benhamou — who runs his own Parisian shelter for autistic youth who aren't cared for by the system otherwise. And, when the fest comes to a close, it'll do so with comedy The Bare Necessities. In the Cannes-premiering title, a radio show agony aunt in a small village is completely unaware that her adult sons have been calling in with their own problems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIsEZ2tTavU Other highlights: Xavier Dolan's Matthias & Maxime, which stars the acclaimed Mommy filmmaker as one of two friends forced to confront their feelings for each other; Oscar-nominee Les Misérables, about clashes between cops, teens and gangs in Montfermeil; and the 1968-set How to Be a Good Wife, which sees Juliette Binoche run a housekeeping school that prepares teenagers to become housewives. Or, French film lovers can catch Farewell to the Night, where The Truth's Catherine Deneuve is forced to deal with her grandson's radicalisation; Invisibles, a comedy abut an illegal women's shelter; and rom-com Room 212, the latest movie by Sorry Angel's Christophe Honoré. For those particularly interested in How to Be a Good Wife, this year's fest is putting on special bushfire-relief sessions in all capital cities that'll donate 100 percent of the ticket sales to the Australian Red Cross Bushfire Appeal and Rural and Remote Mental Health — so you see a movie and support a good cause. The same will be the case with In the Name of the Land, a drama about French farmers. Elsewhere, French and Russia trade nuclear threats in submarine thriller The Wolf's Call, a secret manuscript sparks a twisty whodunnit in The Translators, and life in 90s Afghanistan gets animated in book-to-screen adaptation The Swallows of Kabul. Because TV is increasingly finding a place on the film festival circuit, small-screen fans can also feast their eyes on the first three episodes of French series Vernon Subutex, which stars Romain Duris as an ex-record store owner trying to work out what to do next with his life. The Alliance Française French Film Festival tours Australia from March 10, screening at Sydney's Chauvel Cinema, Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Palace Central and Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace from March 10–April 8; Melbourne's Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Kino Cinemas and The Astor Theatre from March 11–April 8; Perth's Palace Raine Square, Cinema Paradiso, Luna on SX, Windsor Cinema and Camelot Outdoor Cinema from March 11–April 8; and Brisbane's Palace Barracks and Palace James Street from March 18–April 14. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the AFFFF website.
