Jack Kerouac’s seminal novel on the Beat Generation of the 1950s was once labelled ‘the unfilmable story’, so for director Walter Salles simply getting it on screen was a feat worthy of credit. Salles obviously has a thing for classic road stories, too, having previously helmed the critically acclaimed Motorcycle Diaries (2004). And while On The Road isn’t quite as polished, it nonetheless delivers a tantalising blend of sex, drugs, friendship and disillusioned yearning. On The Road tells the story of Sal Paradise, an aspiring young writer based on Kerouac’s own early experiences after he arrived in New York and struggled to discover a unique ‘voice’. Sal meets Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund from Tron) and is immediately drawn to the handsome and charming ex-con’s carefree lifestyle. Together with Sal’s young wife Marylou (Kristen Stewart), they embark on a road trip across America, criss-crossing from state to state by any means possible, including stolen cars. Kerouac’s appealing but rambling prose works better in its written form, but Salles has done an admirable job in translating its freedom, frenzy and spirit to the big screen. The cast (which also boasts Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams, Steven Buscemi and Viggo Mortensen) puts in a collection of fine performances, most notably Hedlund’s charismatic turn as Sal, and the glorious cinematography taunts you to kick the car into gear and explore your own horizon. The team behind the much-anticipated event Downtown Drive-In has announced Carriageworks in Sydney’s Eveleigh, just three kilometres from the Sydney CBD, as the location for its three-night season, which will run from November 29 to December 1, 2012. A seldom-used section of the 120-year-old heritage listed building will form the perfect backdrop for the Back Roads USA season of films. The films to be screened include On The Road, Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Vanishing Point. Downtown Drive-In will also feature a custom menu with individual items designed by The Dip, Sydney’s favourite American-style diner, playfully paying tribute to the films and shared Americana settings and atmosphere. Major sponsor Audi will supply a range of luxury cars for the ultimate drive-in experience. The cars will also feature razor-sharp sound from audio partner Bang & Olufsen. Entry into Downtown Drive-In will cost $50 for vehicles of up to four people. Walk-in deck chair seating is also available near the screen, at $25 per person. For more information on the film schedule, drive-in experience and participating partners, visit www.downtowndrive.in
The idea behind The Lume was always a stunner, giving Australia its first permanent digital-only art gallery. When the Melbourne venue started welcoming in patrons in 2021, it lived up to its immersive, multi-sensory promise, initially with a spectacular Van Gogh exhibition that let visitors feel like they were walking right into the artist's work, and then with the French impressionism-focused Monet & Friends Alive. The latest showcase set to grace the site's agenda has those past shows beat, however, heroing First Nations art and music. On display from Friday, June 23, Connection features more than 110 Indigenous visual and musical artists in a dazzling fashion. At this Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre gallery, the art gracing its walls towers over patrons, with the space filled with large-scale digital pieces. And Connection is full thanks to more than 550 works — digitals and originals alike. Earning some love: art by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Tommy Watson, Anna Pitjara, Lin Onus, Sarrita King, Kate Constantine, Wayne Qulliam, Clifford, Gabriella and Michelle Possum Nungurrayi, and many more, in a walk-through exhibition that presents its pieces through the themes of land, water and sky Country. Their work is scored a soundtrack by Yothu Yindi, Archie Roach, Emily Wurramara, Gurrumul, Alice Skye, Baker Boy and others, plus composers such as William Barton. Grande Experiences, the company behind The Lume and its touring exhibitions — Van Gogh Alive made its way around Australia, plus Monet in Paris from June — says that Connection boasts the largest representation of First Peoples art and culture ever assembled. It spans over 3000 square metres, and its remit is just as sizeable: highlighting pieces by past and present artists, and surveying the entire country and Torres Strait. Shining a spotlight on emerging talents while showing their work alongside their inspirations is another key mission. If it sounds familiar, that's because a smaller version premiered at the National Museum of Australia in 2022, with Grande Experiences joining forces with the Canberra gallery. Connection also benefits from an advisory panel featuring Constantine, Quilliam, King, Aboriginal art specialist Adam Knight, the National Museum's lead Indigenous curator and academic Margo Ngawa Neale, arts executive Rhoda Roberts AO, and designer and film producer Alison Page. Updated: Thursday, October 12.
Inner west stalwart The Duke of Enmore has been sitting empty since COVID-19 began, but the team behind The Oxford Tavern and The Taphouse has this month breathed new life into the old dog. It's not the first time the 1870-built pub has undergone a revamp in recent years, however, with the Enmore Road venue reopening under James Wirth and Michael Delany in late 2018. This time, though, Thorpe Hospitality Group has reopened The Duke with vegan pub eats, Big Buck Hunter and picklebacks aplenty. The new-look Duke has undergone a full refurb with a Australiana-meets-American dive bar vibe. For starters, the pokies are no more. Instead, there's a new hangout area, complete with a pool table and the aforementioned arcade favourite. The team's resident horticulturist has also spruced up the beer garden and the main bar has been fully redone, now boasting a two-tonne polished-concrete bar top with spotted gum cladding. But that comforting, daggy pub feel hasn't gone anywhere. "We're very conscious of keeping the venue's charm — we like our venues to have some character and The Duke still has that dive-y, gritty vibe to it," Group Director James Thorpe told Concrete Playground. In the kitchen, the group's Executive Chef Adam Cremona (who helped launch Newtown's bygone Miss Peaches) is serving up good-quality, well-priced pub food. Loaded waffle fries, mac 'n' cheese nuggets, nachos and spag bol sit alongside all the pub classics, with the majority sitting around the $20 mark. There's a big focus on burgers, too, with the pub's signature smash burger already positioned to be a crowd-pleaser. A ten-item vegan menu is also on the docket and made in a separate prep kitchen to boot. There's a vegan version of that smash burger on it, along with a Nashville-style 'chicken' burger, deep-fried buffalo cauliflower served with vegan ranch and eggplant schnitties and parmis. There's also a section on the menu called 'only for the brave'. "This shit is very hot," says Thorpe. You have to sign a disclaimer to order any of these dishes — and eat with gloves on. For a bit of fun, opt for the Russian roulette hot wings, one of which will be injected with reaper hot sauce. Your fur-baby will also be looked after here, with the two-item menu including the pup burger (beef patty, sweet potato bun, grated carrot and shredded kale) and the pup tartare (kangaroo mince topped with a raw egg). Joining the team as front of house is Sabrina Medcalf (ex-manager at Frankie's), who has created a reasonably priced cocktail list that blends signatures with classics like margaritas, whisky sours and daiquiris. For house specialties, try the Doomed to Consume (Jack Daniels, cherry syrup and house lemonade) or the Sucker Punch (bourbon, rum, dark ale syrup, fresh orange and lime juices). "We also have a big focus on sustainability, trying to reduce wastage and share prep items between the kitchen and bar," says Thorpe. "Chef is a bit of a fermentation guy, so we also have ginger beer and kombucha bubbling away." You can taste that ginger beer in the House Favourite cocktail (Jameson, ginger beer, lime, bitters) and that kombucha in the Horn Juice (spirit of your choice, damiana syrup, kombucha). Elsewhere on the drinks menu, wines will be mostly natural numbers (and start at just $8 per glass) and beers will all be from independently owned breweries — a specific Thorpe Hospitality Group commitment. That's not to say you won't find a smashable lager on tap — the group's own Oxford Brewing Racket is on offer just for this purpose. "The Duke is also known for its pickleback, and we'll offer the classic shot of Jameson but with three-to-four different house brines to choose from," says Thorpe. You can expect a focus on live music here as well — and, once the Enmore Theatre finally reopens its doors, The Duke will be first in line to host after-parties for the gigs. Find The Duke of Enmore at 148 Enmore Road, Enmore. It's open 12pm–12am Monday–Tuesday, 12pm–2am Wednesday–Saturday and 11am–10pm Sunday.
Prepare to party like it's 1945 when newcomer Bopp & Tone arrives on Carrington Street next month. The latest, and first CBD venture, from hospitality group Applejack (Della Hyde, The Butler, Endeavour Tap Rooms), the bar and eatery takes both name and inspiration from the founders' grandfathers — Keith 'Bopp' Evans and Anthony 'Tone' Adams — revisiting the era of optimism and opulence enjoyed by post-WWII Australia. Without the food rationing, we hope. Inside, award-winning design firm Luchetti Krelle (ACME, Matinee Coffee) has helped to create a welcoming space that nods stylishly to the past, combining marble, warm timber and old-world elements with a vibrant collection of greenery, as we've come to expect from most Applejack venues. From the kitchen comes a contemporary Australian menu, prepared by Head Chef Sa Va'afusuaga (The Botanist), with influences from across the Mediterranean. The woodfired grill and charcoal oven get a thorough workout, and are used to deliver dishes heroing free-range spatchcock and chargrilled whole calamari from the Hawkesbury River. Va'afusuaga has also included a bistecca alla Fiorentine steak on his food lineup — a bold move, considering Bistecca, around the corner, is a restaurant dedicated to the Tuscan dish. The cocktail offering works to the same Oz-Mediterranean brief, featuring classics reimagined with Aussie ingredients — including a martini made with tomato — while the wine list champions sustainably produced drops from both overseas and closer to home. Find Bopp & Tone at 60 Carrington Street, Sydney, from mid-November. Venue images are renders.
Walk any street of Balmain and you're sure to be met by adorable puppies, always pamper-fresh and ready for a pat. As dogs are somewhat of a inner west-lifestyle must-have, so too is a trusted groomer. Head to Darling Street to find Dogue — a distinctly luxe puppy pampering palace. It offers grooming services plus signature spa treatments like mud baths and massages and aromatherapy salt mineral bath, so the crew knows how to treat pets like royalty. The store also offers puppy training and daycare facilities, plus an array of pet-related accessories — think collars, bedding and more toys than your puppy pal could ever need.
Winter is coming, as Game of Thrones has been telling us for years — but the show's final season is coming first. Before the weather turns cold again in the southern hemisphere, fans of the epic HBO series will be able to discover how the popular series wraps up, so mark your calendars accordingly. After leaving everyone hanging for the entirety of 2018, HBO has announced that Game of Thrones' eighth and final season will hit the small screen on April 14, 2019, US time — so Monday, April 15 in Australia — nearly two years after season seven premiered in July 2017. If you're eager to get your fix of the series' staples — that is, battles, bloodshed, betrayal, bare chests, family bickering, Jon Snow knowing nothing (including about his long-lost aunt) and plenty of dragons — then you can start counting down the days: there are 90 to go. HBO revealed the launch date this morning at the end of slightly creepy new teaser, featuring Jon Snow and Sansa and Arya Stark in the crypts of Winterfell. They're faced with the talking statues of Lyanna, Catelyn and Ned Stark, and look set to battle White Walkers, but you can watch it all below. You can check out the other season eight teasers here. Of course, we all know that this isn't really the end of the world created by author George RR Martin — and no, we're not talking about the now seven-year wait for his next book in the literary franchise, The Winds of Winter. A prequel TV series to Game of Thrones is in the works, set thousands of years before the events we've all be watching since 2011, with Naomi Watts set to star. Come next year, you'll also be able to tour original GoT filming locations in Northern Ireland. https://youtu.be/wA38GCX4Tb0
If, mid-way through a piece of raw lasagne, you've ever wondered what makes About Life's food so tasty, yet still somehow good for you, you can stop guessing. The wholefoods cafe and supermarket mini-empire — which now has seven stores in Sydney and one in Melbourne — has released a recipe book, titled A Whole New Way to Eat. That's right, nutritionist Vladia Cobrdova — who's responsible for developing About Life's recipes — is throwing a few secrets your way. All in all, there are 135 recipes, covering familiar offerings from the wholefoods institution's cafes and self-serve meal aisles. They're all relatively simple and don't employ heaps of obscure ingredients, meaning they're recipes you're actually likely to make. Coconut turmeric quinoa porridge? That's on page 12. Umeboshi black bean spaghetti salad with sesame toasted broccoli? You'll find that on page 86. A giant lamington with raspberry Kakadu jam? It's in there too (and we've got the recipes for those last two below). There are brekkies, lunches, dinners, salads, soups, sides, drinks and desserts galore. A Whole New Way To Eat will be launched at a series of free events, to be held at various About Life stories during the first couple of weeks of March with Vladia Cobrdova. She'll be chatting, demonstrating and, most importantly, handing out samples. Catch her at in Melbourne on March 7 and at the Crows Nest store in Sydney on March 11. As difficult as it is to believe, About Life started out in Sydney in 1996 as a little juice bar, with just a handful of groceries for sale. Now, with eight stores around the country and somewhat of a cult following, they're expanding into at-home territory, which, as a grocer, makes a lot of sense. A Whole New Way To Eat is published by Murdoch Books and will be available for $39.99. We've managed to nab two of the recipes from the book below to get you started. UMEBOSHI BLACK BEAN SPAGHETTI SALAD WITH SESAME TOASTED BROCCOLI Umeboshi is a paste is made from fermented plums, which gives this recipe a salty yet still plummy taste. It's vegan, gluten- and dairy-free, and will take about 30-40 minutes to prepare. 200 grams broccoli, cut into small florets 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon sesame seeds 200g black bean spaghetti (or brown rice noodles) 150g snow peas, trimmed and halved lengthways 250g green beans, trimmed and cut in half Umeboshi dressing 60ml (¼ cup) sesame oil 1½ tablespoons mirin (rice wine) 2 tablespoons umeboshi paste ¼ cup finely grated fresh ginger 75g (½ cup) sesame seeds 1 tablespoon tamari Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spread the broccoli on a baking tray, add the sesame oil and sesame seeds and toss to combine. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly roasted but still crunchy. Meanwhile, bring two litres (eight cups) of water to the boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook for 6-8 minutes until tender. Add the snow peas and green beans for the last minute of cooking to blanch. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl with 60ml (¼ cup) of water. Transfer the spaghetti, snow peas and green beans to a serving bowl. Pour in the dressing and toss until well coated. Top with the crunchy broccoli florets and serve. GIANT LAMINGTON WITH RASPBERRY KAKADU JAM This cake-like lamington is gluten-free and vego, and is topped with jam made with native Kakadu plum powder. You'll probably have to go to About Life to buy some — but if you can't get any, you can use the zest of an orange. 6 eggs 11 g (⅓ cup) honey 80ml (⅓ cup) melted coconut oil 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 65g (½ cup) coconut flour ½ teaspoon baking powder 100g (1 cup) almond meal 35g (½ cup) shredded coconut Kakadu jam 170g raspberries, fresh or frozen and defrosted 50g (¼ cup) coconut sugar 1 tablespoon Kakadu plum powder, or use the zest of 1 orange 45g (¼ cup) chia seeds 2 tablespoons coconut water Cacao frosting 40g (¼ cup) coconut oil 55g (½ cup) cacao powder 60ml (¼ cup) coconut cream Preheat the oven to 160°C. Lightly grease a 30cm x 12cm x 10cm loaf tin and line it with baking paper, leaving the sides overhanging. Use an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to whisk the eggs and honey for five minutes or until well combined. Add the coconut oil and vanilla bean paste and whisk for another 2-3 minutes until well combined. Combine the coconut flour, baking powder and almond meal in a separate bowl. Gently fold into the egg mixture until just combined, then spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin. Meanwhile, to make the jam, combine the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes or until set. To make cacao frosting, put the coconut oil in a frying pan with 60ml (¼ cup) of water and cook over low heat until the oil melts. Add the cacao powder and coconut cream and stir for two minutes or until combined. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Transfer the cake to a serving plate. Spread with jam and drizzle with the frosting. Scatter with shredded coconut. Images and recipes from A Whole New Way To Eat by Vladia Cobrdova (Murdoch Books RRP $39.99) photography by Rob Palmer.
Let's face it, you can't buy a whole lot for one buck in 2019. But today, consider that little dollar coin your best friend. Fast food giant McDonald's is celebrating National Cheeseburger Day — yes, that's today, September 18 — by treating the whole country to $1 burgs. Across all Aussie stores, from 5am until stock runs out, McDonald's is dropping the price of its classic cheeseburgers to just $1 a pop — for beef, bun, onion, pickles, ketchup, cheese and all. To claim your cheap burger, you'll first need to download the MyMacca's app via the Apple Store or Google Play. Then, log on, check the My Rewards section and boom — Ronald's your uncle. https://www.instagram.com/p/B2h6vl0DgSN/ Unfortunately, there's a limit of one $1 cheeseburger per customer, which probably isn't enough to make a meal of. But we're sure there are a few other Macca's menu items that might tempt your tastebuds while you're there. And, if you fancy a cheap cheeseburger tour of your city, today's the day to do it. Neil Perry's Burger Project is slinging $5 Cape Grim cheeseburgers at select Sydney and Melbourne stores, Merrywell Burger Bar at Crown Melbourne is offering 100 lucky punters free customised 'Chooseburgers', and at Bentleigh's Good Times Milk Bar, there are $5 burgs up for grabs between 11am and 4pm. McDonald's $1 cheeseburger are available from 5am on Wednesday, September 18 until sold out via the MyMacca's app.
Back in July, Surry Hills favourite Harry's celebrated its return with a $10 burger and cocktail special. Luckily for us, it has decided to make the deal a permanent fixture. You can now enjoy Harry's fan favourite burgers as well as its range of cocktails for just $10, seven days a week. Each day you'll be able to choose between wagyu beef, fried chicken and eggplant schnitzel burgers, with a weekly secret burger option available on Wednesdays. When it comes to cocktails, you have the option of three classics: margarita, Aperol spritz and negroni. The $10 burgers and cocktails come as part of Harry's brand new menu. Lead by Head Chef Gustavo Silveira Melo and Executive Chef Tom Walton, the new lineup also includes taquitos: a popular Mexican street snack of hand-rolled, fried tacos. Barbacoa beef, ancho chicken and chipotle adobo sweet potato taquitos are all available to enjoy alongside traditional pescado, mojo rojo cauliflower and al pastor pork tacos. Mainstays of the Harry's menu like its fish and chips and scotch fillet steak are here to stay, but the potential burger–taco combination is the star of the show. "Burgers and tacos are in our DNA," Chef Gustavo said of the new menu items. "I grew up in Brazil snacking on taquitos and I lived in and out of Mexican restaurants and street food places. I always paired tacos and taquitos with a beer or a margarita." The taquitos are available for three for $9 making them the perfect shared snack or starter before tucking into a burger. If you're not already full from this new selection of mains, the menu also offers a decadent sundae with peanut dulce de leche, vanilla ice cream, violet crumble and a waffle cone for dessert. Harry's is open 11.30am–10.30pm Sunday–Thursday and 11.30am–11.30pm Friday–Saturday at 40/44 Wentworth Avenue, Surry Hills. Top image: Exterior photo by Nikki To.
Something delightful is happening at Sydney's cinemas. After months spent empty, with projectors silent and the smell of popcorn fading, indoor picture palaces have been given the green light to reopen — effective Monday, October 11. During this year's lengthy COVID-19 lockdown, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made this year, 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 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 picked the 12 best flicks that you can now head to. CANDYMAN Who can take tomorrow and dip it in a dream? 'The Candy Man' can, or so the suitably sugary earworm of a song has crooned since 1971. What scratches at the past, carves open its nightmares and sends them slicing into the present? That'd be the latest Candyman film, a powerful work of clear passion and palpable anger that's crafted with tense, needling thrills and exquisite vision. Echoing Sammy Davis Jr's version of the tune that virtually shares its name across its opening frames, this new dalliance with the titular hook-handed villain both revives the slasher franchise that gave 90s and 00s teen sleepovers an extra tremor — if you didn't stare into the mirror and utter the movie's moniker five times, were you really at a slumber party? — and wrestles vehemently and determinedly with the historic horrors that've long befallen Black Americans. It'll come as zero surprise that Jordan Peele produces and co-penned the screenplay with writer/director Nia DaCosta (Little Woods) and writer/producer Win Rosenfeld (The Twilight Zone). Candyman slides so silkily into Peele's thematic oeuvre alongside Get Out and Us, plus Peele-produced TV series Hunters and Lovecraft Country, that his fingerprints are inescapable. But it's rising star DaCosta who delivers a strikingly alluring, piercingly savage and instantly memorable picture. Alongside bloody altercations and lashings of body horror, razor blade-spiked candy makes multiple appearances, and her film is equally as sharp and enticing. In a preface that expands the Candyman mythology — and savvily shows how the movie has everyday realities firmly on its mind — that contaminated confectionery is thrust to the fore. In 1977, in the Cabrini-Green housing estate where the series has always loitered, Sherman Fields (Michael Hargrove, Chicago PD) is suspected of handing out the laced lollies to neighbourhood kids. Sent to do laundry in the basement, pre-teen Billy (Rodney L Jones III, Fargo) soon comes face-to-face with the man everyone fears; however, after the boy screams and the police arrive, he witnesses something even more frightening. Jumping to the present (albeit absent any signs of the pandemic given Candyman was initially slated to release in mid-2020), Cabrini-Green is now Chicago's current poster child for gentrification. It's where artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen) and curator Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris, WandaVision) have just bought an expansive apartment, in fact. They're unaware of the area's background, until Brianna's brother Troy (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Generation) and his partner Grady (Kyle Kaminsky, DriverX) start filling them in on the legend that's long been whispered across the local streets — and, struggling to come up with ideas for a new show, Anthony quickly clasps onto all things Candyman for his next big project. Read our full review. NITRAM It's terrifying to contemplate something so gut-wrenchingly abominable as the bodies-in-barrels murders, which director Justin Kurzel and screenwriter Shaun Grant depicted in 2011's Snowtown, and to face the fact that people rather than evil were behind them. Nitram courts and provokes the same response. Exploring the events preceding the Port Arthur massacre, where 35 people were murdered and 23 others wounded in Tasmania in 1996, it focuses on something equally as ghastly, and similarly refuses to see the perpetrator as just a monster or a Hollywood horror movie-style foe. It too is difficult, distressing, disquieting and disturbing, understandably. In their third collaboration — with 2019's bold and blazing True History of the Kelly Gang in the middle — Kurzel and Grant create another tricky masterpiece, in fact. And, the fact that Nitram is about a person is one key reason for its brilliance. The film's core off-screen duo don't excuse their protagonist. They don't to justify the unjustifiable, explain it, exploit it, or provide neat answers to a near-unfathomable crime. Rather, they're exactingly careful in depicting the lone gunman responsible for Australia's worst single-shooter mass killing, right down to refusing to name him. (The movie's title comes from his moniker backwards, and it's all he's ever called on-screen.) Nitram does depict its eponymous figure's mental health issues and medication, and his status as an outcast, but not as reasons for what's to come. It shows his complicated relationships, mentions his struggles as a boy and sees how he's teased as an adult, yet never deems these motives. All such things can be part of someone's life, or not, and that person can commit heinous deeds, or not — and this tremendous feature doesn't ever even dream of seeing that as a straightforward cause-and-effect equation. In his fifth stint behind the lens — 2015's blistering Macbeth and 2016's abysmal Assassin's Creed are also on his resume — Kurzel does adopt a hazy aesthetic, though. The film isn't dreamy, instead resembling anxious memories worn and frayed from too much time looping in someone's mind. Its imagery is boxed in within a constricted frame, heightening that sensation; however, cinematographer Germain McMicking (Acute Misfortune) shoots Nitram (Caleb Landry Jones, The Outpost) as if he's roving around the space to test the boundaries. The character does just that narrative-wise. He earns his wearied mother's (Judy Davis, Mystery Road) constant exasperation, and almost everyone else's dismay. His father (Anthony LaPaglia, Below) expresses more warmth, but is just as affected. After knocking on her door attempting to start a lawn-mowing business, eccentric lottery heiress Helen (Essie Davis, Babyteeth) shows Nitram kindness and showers him with gifts, but even with her he's still pushing limits. When she sees him shooting at an old car with an air rifle in her sprawling backyard, she forbids it. It's her sternest moment. She also asks him not to lunge at the steering wheel as she's driving and, as turbulent as ever, Nitram keeps doing it. Jones' work here is fragile but weighty, volatile but lived-in, boisterous but anguished, and petulant but intimidating. It's all these things at once and, even with other menacing roles in his on-screen past, it's phenomenal. Every second of his performance, and of Nitram, is a challenge to the views of masculinity that've become as baked into Australia as the ochre-hued soil, too. And, every moment is meticulously crafted to unsettle, to challenge, and to confront the reality that something this abhorrent happened at the hands of one person. Read our full review. PIG Nicolas Cage plays a truffle hunter. That's it, that's the pitch. When securing funding, those six words should've been enough to ensure that Pig made it to cinemas. Or, perhaps another high-concept summary helped. Maybe debut feature writer/director Michael Sarnoski went with these seven words: Nicolas Cage tracks down his stolen pet. Here's a final possibility that could've done the trick, too: Nicolas Cage does a moodier John Wick with a pig. Whichever logline hit the spot, or even if none did, Pig isn't merely the movie these descriptions intimate. It's better. It's weightier. It's exceptional. It always snuffles out its own trail, it takes joy in subverting almost every expectation and savouring the moment, and it constantly unearths surprises. Cage has spent much of his recent on-screen time fighting things — ninja aliens in the terrible Jiu Jitsu and possessed animatronics in the average Willy's Wonderland, for example — in movies that were clearly only made because that was the case. But, when he's at his absolute best, he plays characters whose biggest demons are internal. Here, he broods and soul-searches as a man willing to do whatever it takes to find his beloved porcine pal, punish everyone involved in her kidnapping and come to terms with his longstanding, spirit-crushing woes. Cage's over-the-top turns are entertaining to watch, but this is a measured gem of a portrayal, and a versatile, touching, deeply empathetic and haunting one that's up there with his finest ever. Sarnoski keeps things sparse when Pig begins; for the poetically shot film and its determined protagonist, less is always more. Rob Feld (Cage) lives a stripped-back existence in a cabin in the woods, with just his cherished truffle pig for company — plus occasional visits from Amir (Alex Wolff, Hereditary), the restaurant supplier who buys the highly sought-after wares Rob and his swine forage for on their walks through the trees. He's taken this life by choice, after the kind of heartbreak that stops him from listening to tapes of the woman he loved. He's found the solace he can in the quiet, the isolation and the unconditional bond with the animal he dotes on. (He's tampered down the full strength of his pain in the process, obviously.) But then, because bad things can happen in cabins in the woods even beyond horror flicks, Rob's pig is abducted in the dark of the night. Now, he's a man on a mission. He has a glare and a stare, too. As the swine's distressed squeals echo in his head, Rob stalks towards Portland to get her back. He has an idea of where to look and who to chase, but he needs Amir to chauffeur him around the city — and Pig is at its finest when its two main characters are together, unpacking what it means to navigate tragedy, fear, loss, regret, uncertainty, an uncaring world and a complicated industry, all in Rob and Amir's own ways. Read our full review. NINE DAYS Androids may dream of electric sheep, or they may not, but that isn't the only metaphysical question that cinema likes to contemplate. Do souls yearn and strive for — and fret and stress over — their chance to shuffle onto this mortal coil? That's the query that Pixar's Soul pondered so thoughtfully and enchantingly, and it's one that Nine Days, which actually predates its animated counterpart but is only reaching Australian cinemas now, masterfully explores as well. "You are being considered for the amazing opportunity of life," a bespectacled, suspender-wearing, serious-faced Will (Winston Duke, Us) tells the candidates hoping to soon live and breathe. They're far more enthusiastic about the process than he is, although he values their prospective existence much more than they can fathom in their wide-eyed eagerness and excitement. Will has seen what can happen next, because it's his job not only to select the best souls to embark upon this thing called life, but to monitor their progress in all the days, months and years afterwards. He's observed the success stories; however, he's also witnessed the heartbreaks as well. In this stirring and fittingly soulful debut feature from writer/director Edson Oda — a movie that won the dramatic screenwriting award at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, and that's memorably and evocatively about the texture, experiences, feelings and enigmas that comprise every soul, and every life — Will surveys his next troupe of contenders fresh from viewing the unhappy end that met one of his previous favourites. He's already adrift from existence as we know it, and from almost everyone else who resides in the picture's ethereal yet also earthy pre-life realm, but he's now burdened with a renewed sense of solemnity. His colleague Kyo (Benedict Wong, The Personal History of David Copperfield) tries to get him to see the lighter side — the more human side — of the path his next chosen candidate will take. He emphasises the ebbs and flows that Will, who has become more rigid in his thinking and feelings the longer he's in the role, now fervently discounts. But among a roster of new applicants that includes Kane (Bill Skarsgård, IT Chapter Two), Alex (Tony Hale, Veep), Mike (David Rysdahl, Dead Pigs) and Maria (Arianna Ortiz, Rattlesnake), all of which are given nine days to demonstrate why they should be born next, it's actually the calm, passionate and inquisitive Emma (Zazie Beetz, Atlanta) that challenges the way Will perceives his work and what it means to be alive. Read our full review. SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS Social media can get you anywhere, or so the story behind Marvel's latest movie and the actor playing its eponymous character demonstrates. Back in 2014, Simu Liu tweeted at the comic book company-turned-filmmaking powerhouse, asking "how about an Asian American hero?". In 2018, after Black Panther's success, he tweeted again — querying "are we gonna talk or what?" with the #ShangChi hashtag. Now, the Kim's Convenience star leads the Marvel Cinematic Universe's 25th feature, and the first to focus on a hero of Asian descent in its 13-year run to-date. He's the face of the franchise's latest step forward, both in terms of inclusion and representation, and in keeping the MCU's ongoing narrative forever hurtling onwards. Liu anchors a film about history and destiny, too — one that's about breaking free from the past and committing to the future — and he heartily embraces the occasion. As directed and co-written by Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy, Short Term 12), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings itself flits between offering up a lively picture that strives to carve out its own space in the series, and simply serving up more of the usual Marvel template but in enticing packaging, however. Liu first graces the screen as Shaun, a San Francisco valet who's happy parking cars with his best pal Katy (Awkwafina, Breaking News in Yuba County), even though they both know they could follow other paths. While the film shows Katy's family decrying her lack of ambition, Shaun has a keener awareness of what he isn't doing — because he's really Shang-Chi, the son of centuries-old warlord Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung, The Grandmaster), who leads the shadowy Ten Rings criminal organisation and wears the mystical bracelets it's named after. Shang-Chi also has the otherworldly Jiang Li (Fala Chen, The Undoing), the former guardian of an enchanted village filled with dutiful warriors and mythical creatures, for a mother. But when she died when he was a child, his life changed. After the grief-stricken Wenwu obsessively trained him to become an assassin and see vengeance, Shang-Chi fled for the US, where he's lived since. Then, initially via a postcard from his Macau-based, underground fight club-running sister Xu Xialing (debutant Meng'er Zhang), and then thanks a violent visit from his dad's henchmen, he's forced into a family reunion that puts the fate of the universe at stake. Read our full review. THE NIGHT HOUSE The history of cinema is haunted by oh-so-many movies about oh-so-many ghost-riddled abodes, and the often-troubled and bereaved folks dwelling within them. The first clever move The Night House makes is recognising it's floating into busy spectral waters, then ensuring its tension stems from its living, breathing protagonist as much as the frights and fears she's forced to face. The film's second stellar step: casting Rebecca Hall (Godzilla vs Kong) as that central figure. An always-welcome addition to anything she's in — see also: Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, Christine and Tales From the Loop in just the past few years — she plays her tormented part here with brooding sorrow, reluctant vulnerability and a sharp, smart edge. She knows that grappling with loss involves being jolted in many different directions, and being subjected to bumps and jumps of the emotional kind, and that it's never easy to surrender to. Indeed, many of The Night House's surprises come from Hall as Beth, a schoolteacher whose life has been turned upside down by her husband Owen's (Evan Jonigkeit, The Empty Man) unexpected suicide. Clearly normally a no-nonsense type whether she's guiding pupils, dealing with their parents or navigating her personal life, she probes and questions everything that comes her way. As a result, her reactions — including just to herself — are constantly complex, thorny and compelling. Also among The Night House's savvy moves: understanding that grief really does change everything. Not only has Beth's life lost one of its brightest lights, but everything Owen once illuminated now keeps being cloaked in shadows he's not there to extinguish. Since his passing, she's cycled through the familiar stages of mourning. When she returns to work to her colleagues' astonishment, including her close friend Claire's (Sarah Goldberg, Barry), Beth shocks her co-workers by discussing Owen's suicide note, admitting her home now seems different and obsessing over how much she really knew her husband. That last written missive ties back into one of her past traumas, as well as her own dealings with the end that awaits us all. When she's alone at night, she's not sure that she can trust what she sees and hears, or tell whether she's awake or dreaming. Filling her time by sorting through Owen's things, she's also unsure what to make of the eerie sketches and books about the occult that sit among his possessions. And, Beth's thrown even further askew when she finds photos of brunette women that could be her doppelgängers; plans for a home just like hers, but mirrored; and a cascade of tidbits that cast her memories of her marriage into disarray. The Night House has a strong sense of terror about the the fact that life doesn't extended forever, and it's a movie made with meticulous horror style as well as smarts. When it comes to plot twists, though, director David Bruckner (The Ritual) and screenwriting duo Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski (Super Dark Times) are less careful about becoming prey to indulgence. Read our full review. SHIVA BABY "What are you up to?". It's a familiar question and, when asked by a friend, it's a considerate and good-natured query that shows their genuine interest. But when it's posed by the wrong person, it comes loaded with expectations and inherent judgement — like the type you might find at a gathering of family members and life-long family pals who've turned their gaze in your direction because you're at the age where interrogating every inch of your existence has become their preferred form of sport. In Shiva Baby, this question comes in multiple ways and is asked multiple times. Attending a shiva, the wake-like mourning ritual observed in the Jewish faith, college senior Danielle (Rachel Sennott, Call Your Mother) is on the receiving end of this barrage. Stuck in a house full of enquiring minds, she feels every needling probe thrust her way by relatives and friends of relatives, all asking about her life, future, job, studies and romantic status, and even her weight. She's trapped in an everyday, immensely relatable situation, of course, but one that's never anything other than awkward — and first-time filmmaker Emma Seligman ensures that her audience feels every second of Danielle's discomfort. (Roving and floating camerawork that gets viewers seeing the chaos from Danielle's perspective, and a score that ramps up the unease — its strings rattling nerves just as effectively as every incident and altercation at the shiva — are some of the director's immersive and well-executed flourishes.) Danielle doesn't quite know how to answer the onslaught, partly because she doesn't want to and feels as if she shouldn't have to. She's right, obviously. Hours earlier — with the film's blackly comic dramas occurring over a single day — she was happily astride the older, richer Max (Danny Deferrari, Private Life) in a lavish Manhattan apartment. That's how Shiva Baby opens, and he gifts her an expensive bangle afterwards, as well as cash as payment. To her parents and relatives, she refers to her job as "babysitting". The film never intimates that Danielle is ashamed of doing sex work, and refreshingly so, but it gives the impression that she'd prefer not to have a conversation about it with all the busybodies already poking their noses in her direction. Accordingly, she doesn't explain that she missed the funeral because she was having sex. When she arrives at the shiva with her parents Debbie (Polly Draper, Billions) and Joel (Fred Melamed, WandaVision), she has to ask which distant relative died more than once. A recent NYU graduate in her mid-20s, Seligman writes and stages this whole scenario with the specificity of someone who knows the claustrophobia, tension, horrors and social distress these gatherings can inspire, and the cringing that happens deep inside every time. She also knows that there's never just one complication, or even just a couple, as occurs here when Max, his wife Kim (Dianna Agron, Glee) and their baby daughter show up at the shiva, as well does Maya (Molly Gordon, The Broken Hearts Gallery), Danielle's ex-girlfriend from high-school. Read our full review. A FIRE INSIDE Some colours only exist in nature, as much as paints, dyes and pixels attempt to pretend otherwise. The raging reds, blazing oranges and burning yellows seen in A Fire Inside's bushfire footage are some such hues — and, away from the safety of a cinema screen, no one should ever want to spy these specific searing tones. They're haunting enough as it is to look at in a movie. Taking up entire frames of on-the-ground footage shot during the summer of 2019–20, they're scorching in their brightness and intensity. This documentary about the national natural disaster just two years ago, when swathes of Australia burned for months, deploys those apocalyptic colours and the imagery containing them sparingly, notably; however, even when they only flicker briefly, those shades aren't easily forgotten. After everything the pandemic has delivered since the beginning of 2020, just as the 'Black Summer' bushfires were cooling, that chapter of history might seem far longer ago than just a couple of years. A Fire Inside is also an act of remembrance, though. Directors Justin Krook (Machine, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead) and Luke Mazzaferro (a producer on Girls Can't Surf and The Meddler) firmly look backwards, pushing these events back to the top of viewers' memories. That said, they also survey the situation since, as the rebuilding effort has been complicated and elongated by COVID-19 —ensuring that what could've merely been a record of a catastrophe becomes a portrait of both survival and resilience. Unsurprisingly, interviews drive this Australian doco, focusing on the afflicted and the volunteers. Folks in each group chat about their experiences, and the lines between them frequently blur. Firefighter Nathan Barnden provides the first and clearest instance; the film's key early subject, he saved seven strangers and retained his own life in an inferno on the very first night that the fires reached New South Wales' far south coast, but also lost his cousin and uncle to the blazes the same evening. Barnden claims Krook and Mazzaferro's attention for multiple reasons, including his initial youthful eagerness to pick up a hose — following his father, who had done the same — as well as his candour about his distress in the months and now years afterwards. Often overlooked in tales of such events, that kind of emotion sears itself onto the screen with unshakeable power, too. That's evident in RFS captain Brendan O'Connor's story as well, after he saved his community alongside his crew, but suffered in his personal life. While Krook and Mazzaferro don't loiter on the same kinds of details over and over again, whether they're talking to food bank staff, backpackers helping with re-fencing damaged farms or locals who saw everything they belonged succumb to the flames, the duelling sensations of both endurance and loss remain throughout their doco. The mood: careful, caring, sensitive and poignant. This is a movie that conjures up every sentiment expected, but also one that earns every reaction. Heartbreak and hope seesaw, and recognising that back-and-forth ride is one of the film's canny touches. Read our full review. THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS If you stare at something long enough, you don't just see the obvious. You notice everything, from the details that fail to immediately catch your attention to the way things can change instantly right in front of your eyes. The Killing of Two Lovers is all about this idea, and on two fronts. It puts a fractured marriage before its lens, ensuring its struggles and troubles can't be ignored. It also takes its time to peer at its protagonist, the separated-and-unhappy-about-it David (Clayne Crawford, Rectify), and at all that his new life now entails. In a sparse small town — with the film shot in Kanosh, Utah — its central figure attempts to adjust to living with his ailing widower father (Bruce Graham, Forty Years From Yesterday). His wife Niki (Sepideh Moafi, The L Word: Generation Q) remains in their home with their four children, as they've agreed while they take a break to work through their problems. David isn't coping, though, a fact that's apparent long before his teenage daughter Jess (Avery Pizzuto, We Fall Down) gets angry because she thinks he isn't fighting hard enough to save their family. He's trying, but as Crawford conveys in a brooding but nervy performance — and as writer/director/editor Robert Machoian (When She Runs) and cinematographer Oscar Ignacio Jiménez (Immanence) can't stop looking at in lengthy and patient takes — he can't quite adapt to the idea of losing everything he knows. There's an element of Scenes From a Marriage at play here, although The Killing of Two Lovers pre-dates the new remake — and so much of the feeling in this gorgeously shot movie comes from its imagery. When it's hard to look away from such rich and enticing visuals, it's impossible not to spot and soak in everything they depict. Each frame is postcard-perfect, not that those pieces of cardboard ever capture such everyday sights, but wide vistas and the snowy mountains hovering in the background are just the beginning. With its long takes, The Killing of Two Lovers forces its audience to glean the naturalistic lighting that never casts David and Niki's hometown in either a warm glow or grim glower. Repeated images of David alone, especially in his car, also leave a firm impression of a man moving and solo. And, presenting most of its frames in the 4:3 aspect ratio, the film also possesses an astonishing and telling sense of space. Nothing is bluntly boxed in here, but everyone is trying to roam within the claustrophobic patch of turf they've scratched out. And, within the feature's square-shaped visuals springs an added fountain of intimacy that cuts to the heart of such close relationships, such as when David and the kids all pile into his truck, or during one of David and Niki's car-bound dates. Read our full review. ROSA'S WEDDING The idea that a middle-aged woman might put her own interests first shouldn't be worthy of a movie. It should just be a given, as it is with men. But that still isn't the world we live in, so films like Rosa's Wedding keep offering cinematic slices of empowerment — here, in a feel-good, crowd-pleasing, but still smart and enjoyable way. This Spanish two-time Goya Award-winner gets savvy and playful with its title, too. Writer/director Icíar Bollaín (Yuli) and her coscribes Alicia Luna (Viva la vida) and Lina Badenes (also one of the feature's producers) know that mentioning matrimony usually brings a certain kind of rom-com to mind, because countless other flicks have gone down that path. And, there is indeed a ceremony in Rosa's Wedding. An extended family descends upon a scenic spot, relatives fuss and stress, and almost anything that can go wrong does, all in classic wedding movie style. The difference: 45-year-old Rosa (Candela Peña, Kiki, Love to Love), a constantly put-upon seamstress who is taken advantage of at her film industry job, always asked to watch her brother Armando's (Sergi López, Perfumes) young kids, tasked with keeping her widowed dad Antonio (Ramón Barea, Everybody Knows) company, and expected to always be at her daughter Lidia's (Paula Usero, Love in Difficult Times) beck and call, has decided to move back to the coastal town Benicassim that she grew up in to start her own dressmaking business. Also, to cement her commitment to her new future, she's also going to marry herself. When they receive her wedding invite, Rosa's nearest and dearest are shocked and surprised to learn that she'll be walking down the aisle, but no one registers that she'll be the sole focus of the ceremony. Given how reliant they are on Rosa to run their errands and keep their messy lives in order — Armando is on the verge of divorce, Lidia has two newborns and an unhappy life in Manchester, and Rosa's sister Violeta (Nathalie Posa, Julieta) is an interpreter with a penchant for a drink — they couldn't fathom that she might be unhappy with the status quo anyway. Rosa's Wedding isn't subtle about how women of a certain age are thrust into set roles, even by those closest to them. It isn't big on nuance as it watches its titular figure claim her life back, either. But it's always spirited and astute regardless, not to mention likeable and engaging. And, there's also zero point in holding back when it comes to celebrating women breaking outdated and oppressive boundaries. Also, there's understatement in Peña's wonderful performance. It takes strength and courage for Rosa to first realise how miserable she is, then pledge to make a change, and finally to follow through. As shot in warm, naturalistic tones against its picturesque but never glossy backdrop, Rosa's new future isn't always assured, either, especially when everyone turns up for her big day and brings their baggage with them, and the misunderstandings and chaos only multiplies. THE ROSE MAKER The scent of popcorn lingers in the air, and long-standing venues tend to have a particular aroma, but cinema isn't generally an olfactory medium. Smell-O-Vision pops up every now and then, using scratch-and-sniff cards to emit particular tangs tied to specific films; however, any whiffs tickling your nose while you're watching a movie usually have nothing to do what's on-screen. One of the joys of The Rose Maker is that it makes its audience feel like they're smelling the rows and bouquets of roses they're seeing, even though they obviously can't. Filmmaker Pierre Pinaud (On Air) arranges many of his frames with colourful blossoms, with his array of woody perennials in a rainbow's worth of hues basically becoming flower porn. The more these vibrant sights appear, the more your brain fills in the gaps — but that isn't this kind-hearted comedy's only source of charm. Based on the flicks releasing in Australian cinemas of late, the current state of French cinema is sweet, both scent- and sentiment-wise. Let's call it the fragrant French film universe: the realm in which The Rose Maker, which focuses on growing standout roses, and Perfumes, about a perfume-industry veteran with a particularly fine-tuned sense of smell, can co-exist. The two recent movies don't overlap in their narratives (although a pivotal plot point in the former could easily see one character step right into the latter), but as well as flowers and and scents, they do also share an underlying warmth, an interest in how the senses can bring people together platonically and professionally, and a blend of sincerity and insight layered over otherwise formulaic storylines. In The Rose Maker, Eve Vernet (Catherine Frot, The Midwife) has devoted her life to creating glorious new rose hybrids — and, ideally for her reputation and her business' bank balance, winning awards for them as well. Her dad did the same, and she's carried on the family trade in the 15 years since his death, even though it's becoming increasingly harder in the face of big, slick outfits that have hundreds of workers, spit out new varieties with frequency and don't care about the longevity of their creations. Indeed, when she's beaten at a prestigious annual rose contest by Lamarzelle (Vincent Dedienne, A Good Man), the owner of one such competitor, Eve fears for her future. Vernet Roses is already struggling financially and can't afford workers, and sales are down. Then her long-standing assistant Véra (Olivia Côte, Antoinette in the Cévennes) comes up with the idea of obtaining help through a rehabilitation program, which sees ex-thief Fred (Manel Foulgoc, Poètes), 50-year-old Samir (Fatsah Bouyahmed, Invisibles) and the highly strung Nadège (Marie Petiot, Hippocrate) begin to learn the rose game. Eve is initially skeptical, but more than roses start blossoming as she enlists her new offsiders' assistance with creating a particular hybrid to win next year's prize. There isn't much in the way of narrative surprises here, but the screenplay co-written by Pinaud, fellow filmmaker Philippe Le Guay (Normandy Nude) and three other scribes smartly uses its familiar plot to interrogate the tiers of French society. And, not only the always-excellent Frot but also relative newcomer Foulgoc turn in textured and moving performances. RESPECT When Respect first breaks out its titular track, it's the original Otis Redding version that echoes in the background. The song plays in the Franklin household as Aretha (Jennifer Hudson, Cats) and her family listen, and the scene bubbles with anticipation for the thing everyone watching knows will come. Shortly afterwards, the Queen of Soul tinkers at the piano in the deep of night, her excitement buoyant after hearing her first big hit 'I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)' on the radio. Her sisters Erma (Saycon Sengbloh, Scandal) and Carolyn (Hailey Kilgore, Amazing Stories) join in, and they're all soon rearranging Redding's tune into the single that cements Aretha's status as a music superstar. For the entire film up to this point, viewers have also heard the Franklins, including patriarch and preacher CL (Forest Whitaker, City of Lies), refer to Aretha using a nickname. "Ree" they call her again and again, and soon "ree, ree, ree" is exactly what Erma and Carolyn sing on backing vocals. It's a neat and also exuberant moment. Respect quickly segues to Aretha and her sisters crooning 'Respect' at Madison Square Garden to a rapturous crowd, but watching the track come together has already proven electric. Something can be orderly and expected and potent and rousing all at once, as this movie happily demonstrates regarding its namesake — but for most of its 2.5-hour running time, Respect is content to careen between inescapably formulaic and occasionally powerful. Respect begins with young Aretha (lively debutant Skye Dakota Turner) being roused from sleep by her father to sing at one of his well-attended house parties. It's 1952, and to an audience that includes Dinah Washington, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, she breaks out a rendition of the latter's 'My Baby Likes to Be-Bop' — and "she's 10 but her voice is going on 30" is the shared reaction. This obviously isn't the last time that Aretha unleashes her astonishing voice in Respect, and that everyone in earshot reacts accordingly. When she's accosted by an unnamed man in her bedroom afterwards, it isn't the last time the film veers between highs and lows, either. First-time feature director Liesl Tommy and screenwriter Tracey Scott Wilson (Fosse/Verdon) repeat that pattern, embracing it as comfortably as their key figure croons any song she chooses. But where their subject transcends every ditty she trills, Respect can't be said to do the same. Even viewers unaware of the ups and downs of Aretha's life will still know where each second of the movie is headed. The choice to end with 2016 footage of the real-life singer piping '(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman' is a classic biopic touch, of course, but it's preceded by far more predictable choices again and again. Hudson shines, and Aretha's music obviously does the same — and yet, although this film has ample respect for the woman at its centre, it also approaches the act of bringing her life to the screen like it's simply taking care of business. Read our full review. Sydney cinephiles are currently being spoiled for choice — and while we've outlined the 12 best options above, there are plenty more flicks now gracing the city's silver screens. Also opening in Sydney cinemas on Monday, October 11 — and also only available to watch in cinemas — are Old, Ride the Eagle, Joe Bell, Don't Breathe 2, Time Is Up and Flashback. And, a number of movies that've been fast-tracked to digital in recent months are also hitting the big screen in Sydney now that cinemas have reopened. So, you can also head out to see Black Widow, Jungle Cruise, Free Guy, The Suicide Squad, Annette, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Reminiscence and Summer of Soul Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). Plus, after showing on Sydney's silver screens for a mere two days before lockdown, In the Heights has returned to cinemas as well.
After several years fuelling revellers at Goodgod (and then the Hudson Ballroom), the Belly Bao folks have set up their own digs. Officially opening in Newtown this Wednesday, September 13, the eatery will be bringing you the baos and baogers you know and love, as well as some tasty new creations, including bao noodles. And, yes, the Gaytime bao is back, but this time, it's out of the closet as a permanent, public menu item. Belly Bao's head chef Sylvia Tran and her partner Kieren are super excited. That said, it took a year or so to find the right location — the 50-seater space at 184 King Street only came up when N2 Extreme Gelato vacated the premises. "We've wanted our own shop for a while and we thought Newtown would be the perfect place," says Sylvia. "It's open and fun — it's really what we're about." With a bigger kitchen up her sleeve, Sylvia has expanded the menu. Whereas, at Goodgod/Hudson Ballroom, there was just one baoger offered each night, four options are now available all the time: The Baoger (Angus beef patty, cheese, cos lettuce, onion, pickled radish, Baoger sauce), as well as one with eggplant, chicken and chopped cheese. A baoger, in case you're unfamiliar with it, is a Western hamburger, but served Asian-style, with bao as bread. As always, every piece of Belly Bao's dough is made from scratch, by hand. On top of that, bao noodles are making a Sydney debut. "They're made with exactly the same recipe as bao, but rolled out, shaped into noodle form and boiled," says Sylvia. "We're serving them with house-made satay chill oil and either braised pork or, for vegans, sautéed shiitake mushrooms, topped with coriander, chives and spring onion." And that won't be the only dish catering to Newtown's growing vegan crowd. There's also a five-spice king mushroom bao with onion-soy jam, tofu goreng with satay, pickled cucumber and garlic and, for dessert, pandan baonuts with whipped pandan coconut cream. When Belly Bao's liquor license arrives in a month or two, you'll be matching your eats with Asian beverages that aren't common in Sydney. These include beers and mixes, such as Hennessy Cognac with green tea, which is a staple in karaoke joints. There'll also be a handpicked selection of Aussie craft beers and wines. Sylvia and Kieren designed the eatery's interior with the help of Kieren's sister, Petta Chua, who, conveniently, works for Vogue. Think warm browns, oranges and greens. There's an L-shaped bar, a banquette for large gatherings and round tables for twos and threes, surrounded by old-school Chinese restaurant chairs, newly upholstered. Keep an eye out for the Mahjong table and the dreamy, tropical-inspired feature wall by local artist Simon Wheeldon. Belly Bao is now open at 184 King Street, Newtown. It's open Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 11.30am till 10pm and Friday and Saturday, 11.30am till late. For more info, visit bellybao.com.
In the historic fishing town of Patonga, located along the Hawkesbury River and Broken Bay, you'll find the recently renovated Boathouse Hotel. The Boathouse Group's eighth venue, it now offers all-day dining, seaside views and a large outdoor deck overlooking the water It's the first Central Coast venue for the Boathouse Group, which originated in Palm Beach back in 2008. The stunning new interior is similar to the group's other beachside venues and resembles the inside of a luxury yacht, while the large outdoor deck offers prime seating for the warmer months. The menu spans breakfast through dinner with a focus on quality produce and fresh fare. For brekkie, there are healthy options like the granola ($17), bircher muesli ($17) and green bowl (avocado, kale, broccoli, seed loaf and cashews, topped with a poached egg — $21), along with more decadent eats like the croissant french toast ($21) and sausage sangas with manchego, caramelised onions and chilli ($16). For lunch and dinner, classic pub grub, including parmas ($24), pork ribs ($39) and burgers ($26), sit alongside more refined fare — think snapper ceviche with cucumber and sesame ($23) or yellowfin tuna pasta with capers and herbs ($31). A takeaway shop turns out finger food like fish and chips, too. The classic cocktail list continues the beachside vibes, with a frozen watermelon margarita, cucumber cooler and pomegranate mojito all making the list at $18 a piece. Other drink specialties include a rare magnum offering and 17-strong beer list. Non-alcoholic options range from cold press juices and smoothies to tonics and kombucha. As of January, the hotel's accommodation will also reopen and include one-to-three bedroom guest rooms, each with waterfront balcony views. Located a 90-minute drive from Sydney, or 30-minute ferry trip from Palm Beach, it's the perfect spot to build a weekend getaway around. If you do, here are a few more Central Coast spots to check out while you're there. The Boathouse Hotel Patonga is now open at 6/8 Patonga Drive, Patonga. Open Monday through Tuesday from 7am–4pm and Wednesday through Sunday from 7am–10pm.
If there was ever a snack deserving of its own festival, it's surely that most moreish of morsels, the chicken nugget. The craft beer legends at 4 Pines clearly agree, as the brewery's HQ in the Northern Beaches suburb of Brookvale is hosting a free-entry celebration of the humble nuggie in all its glorious forms on Saturday, May 25. From midday onwards, fans of bite-sized chook can get their fill courtesy of a nugget-inspired menu, including nugget tacos, nugget gyros, Impossible plant-based nuggets and nugget-fried chicken burgers. There will also be a dedicated hot sauce station so festivalgoers can pimp their feed with their choice of five spice-laden dips, including the infamous Reaper Dripper. In fact, hot sauce will play the nugget's trusty sidekick throughout the day, as TikTok-famous foodie Issac Eatsalot teams up with the chilli heads at That Hot Sauce Shop to put a nugget-shaped spin on the popular YouTube show The Hot Ones. With dishes creeping up the Scoville scale from tingling to torturous, expect to see Eatsalot sobbing "what do you mean?" (à la Jennifer Lawrence) as he tests his mettle against five scorching dishes, each more fiery than the last. Reckon you could handle the heat? Prove it by heading to the That Hot Sauce Shop's pop-up stall, where an array of mouth-melting condiments will be available for purchase. Daring diners can also throw caution (and their tastebuds) to the wind with a game of Nugget Roulette, letting fate decide whether they chow down on a classic flavour or fall fowl (pun intended) of a chilli-spiked spice bomb. And because everyone knows it's impossible to stop at just one nugget, the fest's open-entry eating contest will challenge Sydney's hungriest nug lovers to scoff as many as they can in just ten minutes. The victor will receive a $200 4 Pines voucher, not to mention eternal glory. Entrants must pre-register to compete via the 4 Pines website. The day's festivities will be set to a pumping soundtrack with rolling DJ sets and live performances from 8pm by Sydney funk-rock trio and Triple J Unearthed artists Cosmix.
Sydneysiders venturing outdoors today could find the whole breathing thing a little less fun than usual — as you may have noticed, it's getting smoky out there. As the result of bushfires burning across both New South Wales and Queensland, a layer of smoke has made its way across the city and is expected to stick around for at least the next 24 hours. Needless to say, it's affecting air quality, with the NSW Government Department of Planning, Industry and Environment's air quality monitor giving a "poor" air quality forecast for Tuesday, November 12. The inner city, Randwick, Earlwood, Rozelle, Parramatta and Rouse Hill are among the regions affected — so, a big chunk of the city. Southwest Sydney — including Campbelltown, Liverpool and Camden — is also affected. This is largely do to particles in the air. Also in NSW, Newcastle and the Lower Hunter is listed as "hazardous", while Wollongong and the Illawarra — where lots of schools have today closed — is currently marked as "poor". NSW BUSHFIRE UPDATE 11/11/19: Smoke from bushfires continues to affect large parts of NSW. People with existing lung and heart conditions like asthma, emphysema and angina should avoid outdoor activity and follow your disease management plan. #NSWFires pic.twitter.com/gHGJITAWJa — NSW Health (@NSWHealth) November 11, 2019 With air quality levels dropping yesterday, NSW Health has issued a smoke health alert for Sydney and the Hunter. The government body suggests that everyone cut back on strenuous outdoor activities, as well as going outside in general — if you can. Those with chronic respiratory or heart conditions are especially advised to avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors where possible. It's also recommended that you carry your inhaler, follow your Asthma Action Plan, and keep your other medication with you for all breathing-related conditions. If you start experiencing symptoms, even if you're otherwise fit and healthy, seek medical advice. For those staying indoors, NSW Health also suggests turning your air conditioner on — if you have one — and using it on recirculate mode to keep the particles from outside out. With Sydney firmly in the grip of warm end-of-year weather, and temperatures expected to reach 37 otoday, residents are also advised to be wary of the heat, as well as its combination with the hazy air. Drinking plenty of fluids, taking cool showers to keep your temperature down, soaking your feet in water and draping a wet cloth around your neck are also recommended. Smoke from fires in northern NSW is starting to settle in parts of the state including Sydney. People are advised to only call 000 for fires, not smoke. If you need more info on fire danger in your area, call the Bush Fire Information Line on 1800 679 737. #nswrfs #nswfires pic.twitter.com/U9CjiZpvWk — NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) November 11, 2019 With a catastrophic fire danger level declared across the Sydney, the Hunter and the Illawarra and Shoalhaven areas for today — and with the NSW Rural Fire Service continuing to battle numerous blazes across the state — this situation isn't likely to change quickly, even with a cool change set to come in this evening. It should go without saying, but as part of the State of Fire Emergency, the lighting of all types of outdoor fires is banned. At 9am, the service confirmed there are 57 current bushfires burning in NSW, and 28 of them are uncontained. You can keep an eye on the fires burning across the state at the NSW Rural Fire Service website. For more tips on staying safe during smoky conditions, head to the NSW Health website. Image: NSW Rural Fire Service.
Natalia Savvides' The Light Box is a creation story that matches the wit and charm of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It's nice to have mythological options. Why not start with the unhappy union between woman and toucan? Creationists, if you can have your fun with Adam and Eve, playwrights can have theirs too. The fable is exotic and whimsical with turns down violent and desperate paths. The piece defies synopsis but, in short, a young woman called Ethel (Hannah Barlow) wets herself in a psych ward, American Annie (Stephanie King) cannot control her discursiveness, a magnetic toucan (Dean Mason) seduces Lesley and a man made of Spoons (Tom Christophersen) fails in his job as a psychiatrist. There are also stuffed birds and blood. Director James Dalton and set designer Dylan Tonkin have wrangled the shallow space at 107 Projects on Redfern Street into a menagerie in the round, with a curtain of white birds demarcating the space. Benjamin Brockman's lighting design further defines the landscape of the tale: the four corners of the psych ward, the diagonal deck of the cruise liner, the cafe where Ethel inflicts desert spoon retribution on Annie for talking too much. The play is a creation story as romance, similar to the beautiful animation within Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Origin of Love. With romantic love comes passion and attending violence, but in The Light Box, the climactic moments expire into the ether, with characters remarking that their transgressions are never as satisfying as they had expected. This is an esoteric kind of catharsis, a meditation on boredom and silence as much as love and violence. Incontinent Ethel is the silent opposite of cacophonous Annie and their contrast is accurately realised by Hannah Barlow and Stephanie King respectively. For all the hypnotic poetry here, Savvides can write good comedy. The first scene between Ethel and Spoons is very funny, not least because of the naive boldness of Spoons' outfit. Tonkin has crafted a wondrous thing, a white jacket spraying desert spoons from the sleeves and collar. Of all the utensils, the desert spoon is clearly the funniest one to have dangling from your face. This world of tropical birds, steel drums and mating calls holds together within its own logic and Dalton's direction has the poetry rolling forward throughout. A couple of clunky transitions midway interrupt the flow, but when dealing with spoon suits and life-sized rubber toucan garb, this is perhaps unavoidable. The cast is uniformly great, with special mention due to Tom Christophersen for his agile transformation between characters. His snap from plum-in-mouth English gentleman Cyril to an Australian beneath that veneer is beguiling. He charges through some perilously poetic lines about "tearing at the world" by delivering them as a powerful affront to his wife, avoiding a reflective mode. The Light Box is a thrilling invitation to dream along in someone else's imagination. This is the world as conceived by a toucan — lush, idiosyncratic and violent. Image by Gez Xavier Mansfield.
The spice genies at Belles Hot Chicken know a thing or two about bringing the heat, but even by the fast-casual dining chain's usual scorching standards, this latest offer is an especially hot deal. Until the end of July, all online bookings made via the Belles Hot Chicken website can claim 50 percent of the bill back in the form of a voucher, to be redeemed on a future visit. "Tighter purse strings shouldn't stop people from indulging with their friends and family," Belles Hot Chicken's Director Joss Jenner-Leuthart said, adding: "We're doing our bit to bring people back together." To further sweeten the deal — quite literally — Belles has also released a limited-edition winter special featuring hot honey chicken. This sticky, spicy flavour bomb is a nod to the sweet-heat hot honey trend that has seen the condiment's popularity surge across the United States, where you can find it spiking everything from affogatos and espresso martinis at Starbucks' upmarket Reserve venues to tubs of Van Leeuwen ice cream. The hot honey chicken sandwich features an Australian-made riff on the American-style sauce — Quinby's chilli honey, which steeps habaneros in wildflower honey farmed on the outskirts of Sydney — drizzled over Belles crispy fried tenders and layered with pickles and ranch dressing in a fluffy milk bun. You can try this delicious stack for yourself at Belles locations until July 31.
It's bright, bouncy, witty and fun, but Bob's Burgers isn't a show to just watch casually while you're doing other things. Unless you give it your full attention, you might miss the details — every line of the hit animated sitcom's delightful food-themed songs, and each one of its culinary puns, too. Both help tell the story as much as the ordinary dialogue. Take the latest trailer for The Bob's Burgers Movie, for instance. It serves up another sneak peek at TV's favourite burger-slinging family on their first-ever cinematic jaunt, following the last trailer drop back in January. And, in a moment that has happened in every single small-screen episode or thereabouts, the chalkboard inside the Belcher family's burg joint sports a glorious and fitting gag. On the menu and in the movie, everything is stuck between a broc and a chard place. Set to hit cinemas in May, The Bob's Burgers Movie sees Bob Belcher (H Jon Benjamin, Archer) and his nearest and dearest facing two big dilemmas: financial troubles, and also a ruptured water main that causes a huge sinkhole right in front of the store. But that isn't all that the film promises to dish up, with a mystery that only Belcher kids Tina (Dan Mintz, Veep), Gene (Eugene Mirman, Archer) and Louise (Kristen Schaal, What We Do in the Shadows) can solve also part of the fun. This flick has been a long time coming — and not just because the series it springs from has been on the air for a whopping 12 seasons now. The Bob's Burgers Movie was originally due to reach the big screen back in mid-2020, but the pandemic got in the way. Think of it as the movie version of IRL supermarket shortages. Thankfully, 2022 is here, and The Bob's Burgers Movie is a real thing that we'll all get to feast our eyeballs on soon — before winter hits, in fact. And if your appetite for a movie-length musical comedy-mystery-adventure flick about the Belchers wasn't already ravenous, it will be after watching the latest trailer. Also, The Bob's Burgers Movie does something that no other episode of the show has been able to do so far. That'd be offer a solution to the feeling that every fan has felt more than once: not wanting this colourful, hilarious and engaging animated meal to end when you're binging through it in 20-minute episode blocks. Check out the new trailer for The Bob's Burgers Movie below: The Bob's Burgers Movie will open in cinemas Down Under on May 26, 2022. Images: Courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
If you weren't able to make it to BABS' Either/Or pop-up in August, we've got good news for you. The Sydney-based restaurant event collective is bringing back another multisensory culinary experience one last time for 2022. The upcoming pop-up will return to Marrickville – following its inaugural experience at Valentina's – but this time, Mud Australia Studio will be the location of choice. 70 guests will be hosted a mouth-watering feast by a team of female professionals in the field such as chef Victoria Rose (Jane, Surry Hills), chef Ellie Hayes O'Brien (BABS), winemaker Sarah Feehan (Parley Wine) and floor manager and wine guru Bec Shave (BABS). [caption id="attachment_862567" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Haydon Fanning[/caption] The 12-course menu will feature goods from Goodwood Bakeshop, The Grifter Brewing Co., Poor Toms and Whole Beast Butchery. A dessert trolley will follow, which will showcase the stunning and sweet creations of Rosie Meehan (Added Sugar), Gabriella Gintowt (Valentina's, Marrickville) and Heather Moon (Ele by Federico & Karl, The Star). Keep in mind that spots are limited, so head on over to the BABS event page to secure your place. Top image: Haydon Fanning
Every Thursday between November 30, 2023–January 11, 2024, the Ritz Cinema will become the dreamiest place in Sydney. Across a seven-week period, the picture palace is paying tribute to the filmography of Sofia Coppola — melancholic sisters, cake-eating monarchs and Los Angeles teens breaking into celebrity houses all included. It all kicks off exactly where the second-generation filmmaker's feature directorial career began, aka with The Virgin Suicides and its ethereal score by Air. From there, viewers will play tourist in Tokyo with the Oscar-winning Lost in Translation, head to 18th century France with Marie Antoinette and laze around an LA hotel with Venice Golden Lion recipient Somewhere. The real-life tale of The Bling Ring and the civil war drama of The Beguiled also get a run — and wrapping up the lineup is Coppola's brand-new Priscilla. Showcasing Coppola's films also means showcasing a fantastic array of performances — including Kirsten Dunst in three of Coppola's flicks, Bill Murray singing karaoke and befriending Scarlett Johansson, and everyone from Nicole Kidman to Colin Farrell proving a treat. Screenings start at 7pm each week.
CBD dancefloor citadel Goodgood Small Club have announced Taiwanese street food aficionados Belly Bao as the next residents to take up their canteen space. Started by head chef Sylvia Tran in December 2013 as a market stall in Paddington and Glebe Markets, Belly Bao is geared up to take things four-walled for the very first time, opening for business on Wednesday, January 7. Following the hot dog lovin' team at Andrew Levins' original eatery The Dip and the Caribbean jerk chickeners of the most residency, Jonkanoo Jerk House, Belly Bao is set to follow the canteen-like stylings of its predecessors — but with more love for the Bao. A grassroots Taiwanese street food staple, a 'Gua Bao' is a handcrafted, taco-shaped steamed bun folded around braised pork belly, pickled mustard greens, crushed peanuts and coriander. But every GG canteen staple needs some creative interpretations, and Tran's restaurateur family background and years of eating her way through Asia have made some slight adjustments to tradition. Belly Bao have six-signature savoury Baos with fillings such as roast pork belly crackling, soft shell crab and Panko-crumbed chicken breast in mind, served with sweet potato fries and Asian slaw. Yep, perfect for noshing between epic dance sessions. Second round, there's more South East Asian tastiness where that came from. Belly Bao will also be serving up street food staple BBC Fried Chicken — served crunchy, sticky or spicy in wings, half or whole chicken. Sweet tooths have something to look forward to as well, with Belly Bao's own special creation: Baoana and Strawbelly Bao (brioche-like golden fried Baos, filled with ice cream, topped with condensed milk and fruit). With Tran and Belly Bao celebrating their very first permanent kitchen, and Goodgod raising a cocktail to its newfound housemates, 2015's looking pretty tasty for the CBD basement bar. Belly Bao opens Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at Goodgod Small Club, 53 – 55 Liverpool Street, Chinatown. Opening hours are Wednesday - Thursday 5 – 10pm, Saturday 6 – 10pm. To book a table email bookings@bellybao.com.au. Image credit: Fiona Vuong
If humans could affect a change in climate with their presence, Sylvie Guillem would be the first amongst us to possess such a trait. Sydney dance fans now have a chance to witness her pressure-dropping artistry for a brief visit when Guillem brings a trio of balletic compositions, 6000 Miles Away, to the Drama Theatre this March. French-born Guillem has honed her skills and artistry for over 30 years, performing early in her career with the Paris Opera Ballet and The Royal Ballet and garnering a bounty of accolades that include chivalric orders in both France and the United Kingdom. There is certainly something of St George and Joan of Arc about Guillem, not only in the discipline, intelligence and power she brings to her performances but also in her environmental activism. Guillem sits on the arts and media advisory board for Sea Shepherd and requests that the organisation be granted a stall to promote its activities at her performances. Guillem may be the star of 6000 Miles Away, but she is joined by formidable companions. Two of the pieces — Rearray and Bye — feature Guillem and are choreographed by international greats William Forsythe and Mats Ek respectively, while a third piece, choreographer Jiří Kylián's 27'52", features three dancers, including Australian Benjamin Stuart-Carberry. For Sydney audiences that have not witnessed Guillem's earlier works (Sacred Monsters in 2008 and Push in 2009), 6000 Miles Away is an opportune experience of an artist in command of her field. https://youtube.com/watch?v=IlJW-2xVc8w
While Friday night drinks are a pretty top choice, sometimes a little libation earlier in the week is called for. Thankfully, Barangaroo's West Hotel Sydney is giving you plenty of reasons to switch up your plans to Thursdays instead — whether it's after-work drinks, a catch-up with mates or a date. Every Thursday up until Easter, the hotel's in-house bar Solander will be moving the party outside for something they're calling Jungle Bar. Head out to the openair atrium, decked out with green foliage and festoon lights, where you can tuck into some snacks straight off the barbecue — think charred king prawns, lamb chops and kangaroo sliders — for six bucks each. Plus, the pop-up bar will be slinging four specialty spritzes. For $14, choose from the aptly named Herbal, Lavender or Berry spritz or opt for the bar's namesake Solander spritz. And, if you're looking to bust out some dance moves, there'll be a DJ spinning tunes from 4pm till late. [caption id="attachment_725950" align="alignnone" width="1920"] West Hotel Sydney, Curio Collection by Hilton[/caption]
Huge Moves — the vibe-heavy natural wine event in Sydney — is celebrating the big 1-0 this June, and you're invited to join the party. Huge Moves 10 will be the biggest edition of the event to date, taking over all three levels of Martin Place hospitality hub The International for an afternoon of sipping, snacking and tunes on Saturday, June 7. Curated by Joel Amos of Sydney wine distributor DRNKS, this massive cellar door-style event will bring together over 40 winemakers pouring more than 150 natural and minimal-intervention wines. You'll be able to try a selection of wines from near and far, including drops by Giorgio De Maria Fun Wines, Lo-Fi Wines, Mallaluka, Pride of Lunatics, Wines of Lebanon and heaps more. Your sips will be backdropped by both impressive city views and sets by DJs Veda and Adi Toohey. There'll be something different to explore on each of the three levels, too. Redfern fave ATTENZIONE! will be taking over The Wine Bar, serving up a selection of its snackable, wine-friendly bites. Meanwhile, The Grill will host more of a sit-down affair with the debut of Quick-Fire Lunch, a thoughtful two-course dining journey with matched wines that'll have you in and out in just 45 minutes. And while the wines will stop pouring at 5.30pm, the party shifts upstairs to Panorama Bar half an hour later for throwback sets by DJ Levins and Captain Franco, who'll be spinning well into the evening.
Lunar New Year is just around the corner. It's one of the biggest celebrations in the Asia-Pacific region and The Fullerton Hotel Sydney is helping to bring the festivities to the Harbour City with limited edition Lunar New Year menus and a celebratory lion dance. It's not an exaggeration to say that Lunar New Year is a food-centric holiday. You can get in on the spirit of the occasion by sampling the specials that'll be on the menu at The Place, The Fullerton Sydney's in-house restaurant, between Monday, January 27 and Sunday, February 8. There'll be festive favourites including XO pipis, Eight Treasure dim sum baskets and a prosperity salad called Lo Hei, a quintessential Lunar New Year dish in Singapore and Malaysia. The Lunar New Year also ushers in a new zodiac sign and what better way to celebrate than with a playful nod to tradition? The Fullerton Sydney's Lunar New Year Afternoon Tea offers a delightful array of pastries that blend classic flavours with innovative twists. Indulge in a yuzu gummy snake, a whimsical treat that pairs a distinctly Asian citrus with the nostalgic joy of a childhood favourite, and enjoy a collection of inventive pastries, including delicate verrines with refreshing rambutan and coconut, and light choux pastries infused with citrus, and crunchy peanut tarts. If you're wondering where the savoury morsels are, fret not — the Fullerton's afternoon tea includes dishes that pay homage to flavours originating from all over Asia, including chilli crab, Peking duck wraps, BBQ pork mini sandwiches and century duck egg custard. The special afternoon tea is available daily between 12–4pm, from January 27 until March 2 from $78 per person. No Lunar New Year celebration is complete without the percussive delights of a lion dance. The dance is a cultural ritual of Lunar New Year celebrations and believed to bring in good fortunes and joy to all for a prosperous and auspicious year. Promising to usher in the new lunar year with a roar, The Fullerton Sydney's lion dance is an unmissable, one-day-only celebration taking place on Friday, January 31 between 1–2.30pm. Make a reservation to experience the culinary delights of Lunar New Year and the Year of the Snake at The Fullerton Hotel Sydney.
A beloved Redfern Street hideout for half a decade, Ron's Upstairs turned its fairy lights off for the last time back in May. Ron's called the space home for five years. When one door closes, however, another opens, and in place of Ron's is Fontana, a new Italian diner above Itacate. The vibrant new venue arrived just two months after the closure of Ron's, bringing the warm hospitality of its predecessors. Gone are the playful plastic vines and colourful wallpaper, while the red carpet and parquetry flooring from Ron's remains. New leather-clad booths are complimented by warm mahogany tones and just the right level of mood lighting. And, most importantly, the charm and homeliness of the space's previous occupant are still here in spades. Fontana is the latest opening from Daniel Johnston, Harry Levy and Ivery Wawn, who have all worked together across Don Peppino's, Wilmer and Alfios. In the two years since Don Peppino's has closed, the trio has been busy. Johnston and Wawn have been honing their craft at Alberto's and Cafe Paci respectively. Levy opened Porcine above P&V Paddington with Nick Hill and Matt Fitzgerald. Johnston is in charge of the kitchen, creating an Italian-focused menu full of recognisable and nostalgic flavours. While Fontana's menu is ever-changing, expect to choose from a selection of share plates, a few choice pasta dishes and a couple of mains. Possible highlights include warm crunchy bread rolls with a layer of baked balsamic vinegar (it's best ordered with the ricotta della casa); or the creamy fettuccini verde. The panne frito is another standout — fried bread complimented with a schmear of tomato paste and an anchovy. An array of specials also pop up each day, and as is tradition, gnocchi is added to the menu on Thursdays. Accompanying Johnston's food is the drinks menu that has been led by Wawn. There are a handful of classic cocktails and a range of interesting and eclectic wines showcasing organic and biodynamic farming principles. Fontana is located at 133a Redfern Street, Redfern. It's open from 5.30pm Wednesday–Friday and from midday Saturday.
How do you take something great and make it even better? Add goats. That probably doesn't apply in every situation, but it certainly seems to with HBO comedy Barry and its long-awaited third season — at least if the just-dropped new trailer is anything to go by. All killer, no filler: when it comes to this Bill Hader-starring gem, that notion firmly applies. The premise is pure TV gold, following an assassin who'd rather be an actor, but finds it hard to cut ties with his murderous gig. Making it even better is the pitch-perfect casting of former Saturday Night Live great Hader, of course, who has never been better than he is playing the eponymous hitman here. The setup: when Hader's Barry Berkman heads from Cleveland to Los Angeles for his job, he discovers a previously unknown passion for acting after he stumbles into a class held by veteran thespian Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler, The French Dispatch). The catch? Barry kills people for money, and that isn't a line of work that you can leave easily, especially when you become caught in the Chechen mafia's violent and deadly dramas. As SNL fans will already know, Hader is an on-screen treasure. He's truly something else in this part-comedy, part-tragedy series. Barry's struggle mightn't seem that relatable on paper, but it proves exactly that with Hader in the role. Also excellent is Winkler, expectedly. And, similarly great is Bill & Ted Face the Music's Anthony Carrigan as Chechen gangster Noho Hank — who befriends Barry, isn't that skilled at the whole crime business and quickly becomes one of the most memorable characters to ever grace a TV series. It's no wonder that fans have been hanging out for the third season of this Emmy-winner, which finally arrives in April — on Monday, April 25 in Australia via Binge, in fact — after a three-year gap since season two. Based on both the initial teaser trailer and this new sneak peek, Barry's quest to go on the straight and narrow — and pursue acting — is still as chaotic as ever. In fact, this season will focus on the other factors, including his own psyche, that saw Barry become a killer to begin with. Another big part of the new episodes, according to HBO: fellow characters trying to make the right choices. Also returning are Stephen Root (The Tragedy of Macbeth) as Barry's former handler Monroe, who is in hiding; Sarah Goldberg (The Night House) as Barry's girlfriend Sarah, who is also an actor; D'Arcy Carden (The Good Place) as a fellow acting student; and Sarah Burns (Werewolves Within) as Detective Mae Dunn. And Hader isn't just phenomenally excellent on-screen in Barry — he also co-created it, has directed a heap of episodes, and also co-wrote others. Check out the full trailer for Barry season three below: Barry's third season will start streaming via Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand from Monday, April 25. Images: Peter Iovino and Merrick Morton/HBO.
Sydney is getting itself a high-tech, cultural-savvy facelift. The City of Sydney has a vision for the future of the city, and while devastatingly that future does not appear to include robot butlers or hover boards, what it does promise is an infrastructural makeover to reflect the growing recognition that Sydney is now a global cultural hub. Under the umbrella Sydney 2030, the council is working on a raft of policies to make that vision a reality. In a political culture that continues to disappoint and defy expectations through its perennial short-sightedness, the bold and far-reaching planning initiative is a breath of carbon-reduced air. Under this umbrella, the City of Sydney is focusing on creating a city that better accommodates Sydney's ever-growing population by tackling global warming head-on, building bigger and better cultural venues and introducing structural changes to facilitate economic and cultural growth. Despite their ambitious scope, the goals of Sydney 2030 appear to be totally within our grasp. What's more, the council is calling for you to submit your ideas for their cultural policy right now, so it's the perfect time to be thinking about what else could help make our urban lives even better. Here are just 10 City of Sydney projects confirmed or floated so far that look set to create a greener, more prosperous and more globally connected future. 1. Trigeneration The City of Sydney, unlike their state and federal counterparts, are refusing to pass the buck on tackling greenhouse emissions. Instead they've undertaken the most ambitious greenhouse gas reduction target in Australia, hoping to cut emissions by 70 percent by 2030 (based on 2006 levels). To make this possible, the City of Sydney has invested in some pretty awesome new green technology. Most notable has been trigeneration, a process twice as energy efficient as coal-powered stations, which generates electricity by using household waste converted into natural gas. It seems we ain't that far behind science fiction anymore. 2. Late-Night Childcare A research paper by the City of Sydney has made a surprising and potentially game-changing discovery. What is stopping Sydneysiders from their late 20s up until their mid-40s from going to the theatre? The answer: children. This startlingly simple discovery has provided the reasoning behind the proposed introduction of late-night childcare. With extended hours at the City of Sydney's four childcare centres, Sydneysiders will no longer have to forfeit their love of the theatre and our city's booming nightlife for their parental responsibilities. 3. Green Square's Library of the Future Even the humble library is getting a space-age twist under the City of Sydney's new policy. Last year, architects from around the world were invited to enter their own design for a new library and plaza for the Green Square Town Centre. The winning design by local boy Stewart Hollenstein is particularly ingenious as it positions the building slightly below ground, allowing the library to flow into the open spaces of Green Square and creating an incredible indoor/outdoor hybrid. Not simply a place to borrow textbooks, the Green Square Library has been envisaged as a centre for community activity with everything from an amphitheatre to a storytelling garden and water play zone to be a part of the expansive and innovative design. 4. Pop-Up Pissoirs It may not sound that glamourous, but pop-up pissoirs, or 'high-tech toilets', may play a huge role in revitalising Sydney's nightlife. These funky, self-cleaning thunderboxes completely disappear during the day and can then, via the push of a button, be hydraulically 'popped-up' at night. The incredible usefulness of these funny little contraptions is hard to overstate, with the introduction of portable loos last summer diverting an estimated 5000 litres of pee that otherwise would have covered our streets. These pop-up pissoirs look likely to transform the city into a significantly cleaner, more family-friendly and just all-round nicer place to live and party. 5. Eora Journey Sydney's makeover is not simply about modernising and reinventing but also about paying acknowledgement to its Indigenous past. The Eora Journey, an Indigenous cultural walk from Redfern to the harbour, plans to do exactly this. The walk will take travellers on a tour through some of the city's most significant Indigenous sites, with everything from murals to plaques and bushtucker. With the first of the murals already complete (a gloriously minimalist mural in Caroline Street, Redfern entitled Welcome to Redfern), the Eora Journey looks set to be an enchanting tour of Sydney's Indigenous culture and history. 6. A New Main-Stage Lyric Theatre Bigger seems to be better for the City of Sydney, who are hoping to transform Sydney into a global artistic hotspot, in the vein of Vienna or even New York. Carriageworks is getting a renovation, the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall is having its acoustics redone and Sydney is about to get itself a collection of exciting new theatres. While these projects are still in their infancy, one proposed development that has the theatre-folk a-tremblin' is a 2000-seat main-stage lyric theatre set to be built in Barangaroo. Sydney may soon become the Broadway of down under if the City of Sydney has its way. 7. Ultimo Goods Line How do you turn an abandoned stretch of industrial railway into something worthwhile? Transform it into a New York-inspired elevated park of course. This multimillion-dollar project will see the disused goods line from Ultimo to Haymarket become a lush park and walkway, built four metres above street level. The Ultimo Goods Line is set to include community gardens, street art and ping pong tables. Linking in with nearby UTS, it will spice up this infamously drab harbourside area. 8. Light Rail I don't think you can call yourself a Sydney local unless you whine on a daily basis about the city's abhorrent excuse for public transport and the dire state of CBD traffic. The City of Sydney are responding to our complaints through a hefty investment in Sydney's light rail system. Not only could light rail cut the need for city bus services but will, we hope, allow for the council to block off all traffic between Bathurst and Hunter Street such that George Street could be repurposed as a user-friendly boulevard. With a new station already under construction in Dulwich Hill and extensions planned for the light rail line from Central Station to Circular Quay, the dream of a city free from significant congestion may be possible come 2030. 9. Prince Alfred Park Pool It's overdue, overpriced and an overwhelming hassle for the City of Sydney, but the revamped Prince Alfred Park Pool has finally reached the last stages of construction. While the outdoor facility was once seen as an embarrassing eyesore for the residents of Surry Hills, there ain't much that a $30 million renovation can't fix. Picture a nostalgically beautiful yet deceptively high-tech complex complete with a 50-metre pool powered by innovative green technology, oversized umbrellas, a huge play area and a new cafe and you have yourself the city's newest outdoor attraction. 10. Harbour Bay Leafy Pathways The City of Sydney's proposal to build more tree-lined pathways around the harbour area is not simply an aesthetic choice (though who doesn't like leafy paths?) but represents the defining feature of the Sustainable Sydney policy: making the city more liveable. More paths equals more walkers and cyclists, greater community safety, a move away from diesel-guzzling congestion and a greater commitment to local fauna and flora in the city area. Simple it may be, but it just might make our fair city that little bit more inviting to wander around in.
Ten years after initially opening its doors, Sydney's White Rabbit Gallery is celebrating its first decade of operation in the most appropriate style. Across a massive four-month exhibition, the Chippendale venue will take a deep dive into its past, highlighting important pieces that have graced its halls and walls — and stepping through the best contemporary Chinese art from the period in the process. When Then launches on September 11, it'll have three aims: to take art lovers through a chronological survey of the gallery's ten-year existence; to capture the excitement that renowned art collector, philanthropist and owner Judith Neilson felt about when she started exploring China's artistic output in artists' studios in Beijing and Shanghai; and to let patrons rediscover astonishing works in a new light. More than 60 pieces will be on display, reaching right back to White Rabbit's debut exhibitions in 2009 and 2010. In addition to old favourites, Then will also showcase a selection of works that have never been shown before. Standouts span Wang Zhiyuan's Object of Desire, which comments on the commodification of love by pairing a giant pair of pink fibreglass underpants with flashing lights and a soundtrack of 1930s Shanghai songs; as well as Chen Wenling's similarly satirical observation on China's emerging wealthy class, this time in the form of a porcine red car with an 11-metre gold tongue. There's also I Love Beijing Tiananmen by Dai Hua, which reaches more than six metres across a digital-printed scroll, juxtaposing the likes of DVD and ice cream vendors, animals, graffiti artists, and superheroes such as Batman and Superman, with a naked emperor surrounded by imperial processions. [caption id="attachment_733668" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Bu Hua, Beauty 3, 2008, pigmented inkjet print, 100 cm diameter.[/caption] Attendees can also further forward to spying Jiao Xingtao's commentary-laden sculptures, and the statement they make about the increasingly disposable nature of modern life, plus Chen Fei's flesh-coloured blob critters and their insides filled with jewellery and cosmetics. Bu Hua's cigarette-smoking schoolgirl, Bingyi's Six Accounts of a Floating Life and Jin Nv's installation of starched children's clothing also feature, as does a theatrette program of Chinese video art. Overall, the lengthy list of pieces includes works by Chang Xugong, He Yunchang, Xu Bing, Li Shan, Song Yongping, He Jia, Tamen, Gao Xiaowu, Zhang Hai'er, Huang Yan, Zhu Jinshi, Chen Wei, Chen Yanyin and Xu Zhen as well. Then runs from September 11, 2019 to January 26, 2020 at White Rabbit Gallery, 30 Balfour St, Chippendale. Top images: Chen Yanyin. 1949 Young Pioneers of Communist China. 2010. bronze, paint. / White Rabbit Gallery.
The Ezra team is back with an exciting new opening just one door down on Kellett Street. Raja will swing its doors open on Tuesday, July 18 with a menu of flavour-packed eats that go above and beyond what many Sydneysiders have come to expect when visiting an Indian restaurant. Former Firedoor chef Ahana Dutt leads the kitchen, bringing over the acclaimed steakhouse's passion for produce-driven cooking. Raja works closely with a serious list of dynamite local producers including The Gourmet Goat Lady, Newcastle Greens, Martins Seafood, Crooked Veg and CopperTree Farms in creating a menu that compliments the best seasonal ingredients. "I've realised that the way I cook now is very much influenced by Firedoor," says Dutt. "I think at its core it's a restaurant that celebrates produce, and the fire just brings out the best of the best produce, if that makes sense." Dutt has teamed up with Ezra and Raja co-owners Nick and Kirk Mathews-Bowden to conceptualise this celebration of some of the tastiest dishes you've probably never tried. There's galho, a northeast Indian rice soup that shares more similarities to Chinese cooking than your typical Indian affair; albacore 'toast' featuring pathrado, a bread generally found on the Konkani coast that Dutt perfected while working in Mumbai for three years; and goat riblets, which are perfectly paired with the Raja Cutter cocktail. "I'm Indian and I feel a lot of pride in being about to showcase that food," continues Dutt. "I think there is a lot of food that goes underrepresented — not just here, but even in India, because it is such a big country it's just not actually possible to know everything." The cocktails have been curated with help from PS40's Michael Chiem, who Dutt previously linked up with during a Firedoor Takeover Tuesday at the CBD cocktail bar. The Raja crew and Chiem have crafted a cocktail list that continues the throughline of Indian spices from the food — with creations like the aforementioned Cutter or a jackfruit old fashioned. "Raja will tell a story through chic interiors, fresh and light ingredients, elegant cocktails, natural wines, a killer soundtrack and genuine hospitality," said the Mathews-Bowdens. Find Raja at 1A Kellett Street, Potts Point — open 5.30pm–late Tuesday–Thursday, plus 12–3pm and 5.40pm–late Friday–Sunday. Images: Nikki To.
When you're taking your pet pooch to the park at the end of October, you want your four-legged friend to look as frightening as possible. Halloween is for all creatures, big and small, after all. While puppers are generally pretty adorable — and not in any way scary — that will all change when it dons a terrifying spider or pumpkin (maybe not so much) costume courtesy of Big W's new range of Halloween-themed petwear. This way, your dachshund can go trick-or-treating as a dangerous dinosaur, your jack russell terrier can run around the backyard in a witchie tee or your shih tzu can snooze in a ghoulish sweater. They're all super-affordable, too, with costumes starting from $8 and bandanas from $4. A heap of hair-raising costumes are currently available (including various sizes and colours) for pets and the full Halloween range also includes costumes for humans (big and small) and decorations, such as pumpkins, gravestones, buckets and skulls aplenty. While Big W has dubbed the line its 'petwear', so far it's all for dogs. That said, if you can somehow manage to get your cat into a vest or sweater, then you might just be able to get them into a dinosaur suit. [caption id="attachment_785479" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Leo the Cavoodle[/caption] Big W's Halloween petwear is currently available to purchase online, with contactless home delivery and pick up available.
Our humble harbour city is putting in a play for international dumpling glory, as it gears up to host one very impressive Guinness World Record attempt: a bid for the title of the World's Largest Yum Cha Meal. At 11am on Tuesday, February 5, 1000 keen Sydneysiders will descend on Darling Harbour's Tumbalong Park to eat their way into the history books. They'll be aiming to dethrone southern rival and current title-holder Melbourne, which hosted its record-breaking 750-person yum cha feast back in 2013. For Sydney's event to be in with a shot of smashing that earlier effort, participants will be served four dumplings each and need to polish off at least two. A whopping 4000 dumplings will be whipped up, to feed 100 tables full of dumpling aficionados, with dipping sauces available, too. If you're still hungry after your four dumplings (we suspect you might be), you can head around the corner to Sydney's new dumpling and beer 'stadium'. [caption id="attachment_625905" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kimberley Low.[/caption] Fittingly, the record-attempt, which is hosted by City of Sydney, WSFM and My Kitchen Rules, will be taking place during Sydney's Lunar New Year celebrations. The local festivities run from February 1–10 and include everything from a night market in The Rocks to a culinary celebration at the Sydney Fish Market. If you'd like the chance to be involved in a record-smashing yum cha feast (and to score a free dumpling lunch), you'll need to register via the WSFM website before 3pm on Monday, February 4. The Guinness World Record attempt will take place at 11am on Tuesday, February 5 at Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour. You can register for the event here. Images: Kimberley Low.
Hailing from Manly, 4 Pines Beer is at home by the water. That's why, this winter, the much-loved brew is crossing Sydney Harbour to pop up at Cruise Bar in Circular Quay, for two very special dinners. While gazing out at glittering water views from The Rooftop, you'll be tucking into four tasty courses, matched with four different 4 Pines brews. You'll begin with a fruity yet smooth Pacific Ale, accompanied by oyster shots and scallops, served as canapés. Next up is a light, crispy Summer Ale — the perfect fit for Korean stuffed squid with squid ink sriracha puree, elk, dandelion and radish. Then, you'll be sipping on a bright, ruby-red American-style Pale Ale while feasting on chicken ballotine with heirloom carrots, mandarin puree, parsnip puree and carrot top gremolata. If chicken's not your style, opt for beer-braised wagyu brisket with sesame celeriac puree, potatoes korokke and XO brussel sprouts paired with an American Amber Ale — a hop-driven explosion of currant, pear and malt. Last but certainly not least, dessert comes in the form of devilish stout chocolate mousse with pretzel peanut butter crumb and raspberry coulis, served alongside Honey Imperial Stout. There are only 40 spots available for each dinner, so if you want a seat at the table, move quickly. Four Courses with 4 Pines will take place on Wednesday, July 17 and Wednesday, July 31. To make a booking, head this way.
Like much of Sydney, during lockdown, RSPCA NSW's shelters closed to the public and, instead, the animal-rescue centres launched a completely online adoption process. Thankfully, that didn't stop us from helping find forever homes for its many animals, with a whopping 2680 adopted during the two months. From June 15, centres across the state reopened to the public — and there are still plenty of furry and feathered creatures out there waiting to find a home. While more of us are still working from home and practising social distancing (and increasingly wanting a four-legged friend as a comforting companion), the RSPCA is encouraging Australians to foster or adopt. So, if you've been thinking about adding a pet to your fam (and have considered it thoroughly), now might just be the time. "Thank you to everyone who has continued to support us, it has been heart-warming to see the community turn to animal companionship during these challenging times," RSPCA NSW CEO Steve Coleman said in a statement. "We hope this support will continue as we re-open our doors to the public to adopt animals in our care." https://www.instagram.com/p/CBclOEbHQz6/ Across NSW, there are hundreds of animals that need a new home full of love and pats. There's more to pet adoption and foster care than overdosing on cuteness, of course, with making the commitment to care for an animal is serious business. For further information, read RSPCA's FAQs. Before you head to a shelter, check its updated opening hours and COVID-19 processes, as centres still have capacity limits and social distancing and hygiene measures in place. For details about adopting animals, head to the RSPCA NSW website. CORRECTION: JUNE 23, 2020 — This article previously stated that the number of animals adopted during lockdown was almost equal to the total number adopted in the whole of 2019. This is incorrect. More than 13,000 animals were adopted during the last financial year.
If you don't spend the festive season floating around Darling Harbour in a Christmas-themed pedal boat while surrounded by buoyant Christmas baubles, then is it really the merriest time of the year? In Sydney, clearly not — because Cockle Bay's old-school pedal boats are making a comeback this summer, complete with a seasonal makeover. In the words of the festive song from Love Actually that you'll now have stuck in your head, Christmas will indeed be all around you when you take to the water in one of these floating vessels from Thursday, November 26. Sure, many of us have enjoyed a first date on a pedal boat, holding hands and having conversations about the weather (actually, if movies are to be believed, most of us fall into that category), but you can now you can relive the experience while getting festive. Until Sunday, January 30, the leg-powered vehicles can be hired from the Cockle Bay Marina for $35 a pop, which'll get you a whole 30 minutes on the water. If you think half-an-hour in the blistering Sydney sun sounds like a recipe for sunburn, you'd be right but, thankfully, the boats come equipped with a shade to keep you cool. The boats will be hitting the bay from 12–8pm on weekdays and 10am–8pm on weekends until Sunday, December 19, before extending their hours until 10am–8pm for the rest of the season. And, they seat two adults, so you can plan a date or bring a mate. If you have little ones in tow, you can also bring two kids along — but the four-person capacity still only covers a maximum of two adults. You do have to wear a life jacket while cruising on Darling Harbour, and you can book online in advance. Getting pedalling on the water isn't the only Christmassy thing you can do in Darling Harbour this festive season, either, thanks to a Christmas festival filled with free live tunes and DJs across the weekends of December 11–12 and 18–19, the return of the Christmas bauble at the Convention Centre Forecourt, and 12 days of free Christmas yoga. Or, while it isn't specifically festive, you can also wander through rainbow arches at Tumbalong Park thanks to ENESS' Sky Castle. Cockle Bay Wharf Pedal Boats return to Darling Harbour from Thursday, November 26–Sunday, January 30. For more information or to book, head to the Darling Harbour website.
Moseying along George Street can involve many things. Rushing to get the train at Town Hall, weaving in and out of QVB or The Galeries, trying to avoid throngs of people doing the same thing — they're all on the list. But on Friday, December 3, the stretch between Market and Park streets will host a huge three-course lunch, serving 600 people right there on the pavement. The literally sprawling al fresco midday meal is fittingly called George Street Long Lunch, with Chat Thai's Palisa Anderson, Kitchen by Mike's Mike McEnearney, Glass Brasserie's Luke Mangan and Continental Delicatessen's Michael Nicolian all whipping up dishes. It'll also come with a soundtrack, thanks to George Ellis Orchestra featuring Josh Pyke, as well as the Hot Potato Band. If you're wondering why Sydneysiders are being asked to sit down for lunch in the middle of the city street, it's part of a day-long series of dining pop-ups around town that's been dubbed Sydney's Open for Lunch. Aiming to give the city's hospitality sector a boost, the overarching event is all about long-table lunches, other dining and drinking activations, and just spending a day out of the house as Sydney recovers from this year's lengthy lockdown. While the George Street lunch is one of the event's big drawcards, Sydney's Open for Lunch will span across the city — through the CBD, Chinatown, Barangaroo and Parramatta. At the latter, a Parramatta Long Lunch will take place at Parramatta Square, catering for 400 people. There, Ruse Bar and Brasserie, Ciccia Bella and Lilymu will serve up a three-course meal, while Winston Surfshirt, Milan Ring and Nardean will keep diners entertained. [caption id="attachment_807542" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kitti Gould[/caption] Other events include South Eveleigh's own pop-up, complete with a menu curated by Kylie Kwong; her new eatery, Lucky Kwong, is located in the precinct. Re's Matt Whiley will be on cocktail duty, and you can expect to pair hokkien noodles and five-spiced tofu salad with tipples made with surplus whole fruit, gin, whole mango, ancho chilli and more. The event runs from 10am–10pm, and there'll also be a dance floor — with a mirror ball, and The Original Roman vs Boogie Fingers, Levins vs Joyride, Ayabatonye, Deepa and Tyson Koh on the decks. In the YCK Laneways precinct around York, Clarence and Kent streets in the CBD, the Prince of York will host a 125-seat lunch on Barrack Street — serving up modern-Australian fare with Japanese influences — while plenty of bars will do their own midday spread. Since I Left You will have a three-course option called A Taste of Kent Street, with each course provided by a nearby restaurant, while Esteban is doing a Mexican-inspired feast. And, the likes of Sammy Junior, Spawn Point, Stitch Bar, The Swinging Cat, The Lobo, Uncle Ming's, Grandma's Bar and Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe will all host live music. While there's clearly a middle-of-the-day focus in Sydney's Open for Lunch's moniker, the festivities in South Eveleigh and YCK Laneways will both run right through until the evening. Sydney's Open for Lunch is part of the New South Wales Government's CBDs Revitalisation Program, with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet advising that the event will signal "to the world that Sydney is open for business and that our world-renowned lifestyle is returning." "We know the last few months have been tough; this event is a chance to revive the spirit of our city by bringing people together to enjoy some of our most talented chefs and performers," the Premier continued. Sydney's Open for Lunch will take place across Sydney on Friday, December 3. For further details, head to the event's website — and to buy tickets, head to Ticketek. Top image: Destination NSW.
It's the time of the year when the days begin to shorten, the evenings get cooler and your stomach starts grumbling for comfort food. But, while that'll remain true for the next few months, only one particular day will bring free tacos. Tex-Mex giant Taco Bell has been steadily opening stores around the country since 2017, with a new Sydney store in Green Square launching on Tuesday, May 4 — and it's doing a big giveaway nationwide on the same day. If you're a big fan of Mexican-inspired food and you live in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, chances are you've already started to make your way through the brand's extensive menu. If you haven't tried its Crunchy Taco Supreme, though, this is your chance. Or, if you have and you just like freebies, count yourself in as well. Either way, on Tuesday, May 4 , you can pick one up at any Taco Bell location nationwide without paying a cent. There is a catch, though. This free taco day, as Taco Bell is calling it, is themed around the moon — because the chain has decided to name the half-moon the 'taco moon'. So, to get your freebie, you need to mention 'taco moon' or say 'I saw the taco moon' when you get to the counter. Yes, it's a gimmick, but if you've already spent this week obsessing over all things lunar due to the 'pink' supermoon, you'll be in the right mental space for it. Also, there's a limit of one free taco per person, so you won't be able to stuff your stomach full of them. What's a Crunchy Taco Supreme? A crunchy taco, as the name suggests, as filled with seasoned beef, sour cream, fresh lettuce, tomato and cheese — or black beans for vegetarians. If you happen to be one of the first 20 people through the door at each store, you'll also score a taco moon party kit — which includes merchandise. And if you're wondering where to head, Taco Bell has stores in Albion Park, Ballina, Blacktown and Jesmond in New South Wales — plus the about-to-launch Green Square, which'll be the closest venue to the Sydney CBD. In Victoria, the chain is located in Altona North, Hawthorn, Roxburgh Park and South Yarra. For Queenslanders, you'll be going to Annerley, Beenleigh, Cairns, Cleveland, Currajong, East Ipswich, Keperra, Logan Central, Morayfield, North Lakes, Robina and Southport. Taco Bell is offering free Crunchy Taco Supremes to every customer who mentions 'taco moon' on Tuesday, May 4. To find your nearest store, head to the chain's website.
Sure, a good date idea never goes a miss. And we've got you covered from excellent date restaurants to date ideas that are more than just dinner and a movie. But what about those dates for when you want to spend some time with the other most important person in your life: your best mate. Friend dates are the perfect way to revel in that special kind of love shared between you and your ride-or-die bestie. How often do you get to celebrate the Thelma to your Louise? The Abbi to your Ilana or Miranda to your Carrie? Not often enough, we'd say. There's plenty of time for romance — weddings, engagements, anniversaries, next week — so, this week, we think you should spend date night honouring your best mate. And to help you plan the perfect friend date, we've partnered with the folks at Jacob's Creek to bring you five BYO spots to blow your bestie's socks off. No need to go ham; just pick up a bottle of the winery's award-winning Le Petit Rosé and head to one of these Sydney eateries for a great meal and great chats with an even greater friend. IL BARETTO, SURRY HILLS Let's face it; the only thing potentially better than love and friendship is carbs. Head to Bourke Street stalwart Il Baretto, and you can enjoy endless carbs in the form of homemade pasta — some of the best in Sydney — as well as hard-to-top Italian classics, like antipasto, carpaccio and tiramisu. Be sure to try the signature pappardelle with duck ragu. It's rich, sumptuous and pairs perfectly with the crisp and refreshing Le Petit Rosé which you can bring along for a small $2 corkage fee. Once you're both suitably stuffed, make tracks to Messina and finish the evening with a stroll through Surry Hills, gelato in hand. SPICE ALLEY, CHIPPENDALE For a hot and spicy date, quite literally, take your bestie to Spice Alley in Chippendale. The bright and lively alleyway boasts a ton of top-notch Asian culinary delights: from authentic Singapore-style dishes to Hong Kong comfort food and traditional Thai street eats. Whatever Asian fare you're craving, you'll find it here. And not only will you be spoiled for choice, but you'll also be spoiled with no corkage fee. So, enjoy that pink drink, sans exorbitant markup. Keen for a post-dinner treat? Take a stroll to nearby Koi Dessert Bar for an almost-too-pretty-to-eat dessert. CHINESE NOODLE RESTAURANT, HAYMARKET You know it, we know it — it's hard to beat a dumpling feed at 'grapes on the roof' (AKA Chinese Noodle Restaurant). Plus, if you guys first met in uni (perhaps while studying at UTS or Sydney Uni) heading to this classic spot will surely strike up memories of the good ol' days. Reminisce over these tasty doughy parcels, which are handmade from scratch and clock in at a ridiculously cheap $8.80 for 12. Situated smack-bang in the middle of Haymarket, the no-frills dumpling house is the perfect place to hit up with a mate and eat till you pop. The best part? Corkage is free. So get set for one helluva cheap and cheerful night out with your bestie. EAT FUH, MARRICKVILLE Marrickville is renowned for its stellar Vietnamese food. The streets are packed with pork roll shops, fruit and veg markets and, of course, pho hotspots. A good stop to get a noodle soup with your BYO rosé is Eat Fuh. Here, the bowl comes packed full of herbs and the broth pulls no punches when it comes to flavour. Order a soup for you and your mate — extra meatballs are a must — then start your slurping routine: one sip of rosé, one scoop of pho, repeat. If you've got room, take a walk to Gelato Franco and cap off the night with a cooler, different kind of scoop. BYO PICNIC Of course, you can avoid the date night palaver entirely and instead pack yourselves a picnic to enjoy at one of Sydney's BYO-friendly lookouts. Sunset, vino, good chat and charcuterie is a pretty winning combination. Given the warmer weather, we suggest packing your togs so you can have a dip with your bestie beforehand. Our pick of the bunch has to be Parsley Bay. Tucked away in Vaucluse, the quaint park has incredible views, calm (shark-free) waters and a lush bushwalk if you're feeling sprightly. But, really, you could picnic in your own backyard — as long as you've got your buddy and a bottle of something special, you're all set. Call your bestie, grab a bottle of Jacob's Creek Le Petit Rosé and make plans for mate date night this week.
DOC is more than a familiar name to most Melbourne Italophiles. Having launched its first restaurant on Carlton's Drummond Street back in 2007, the group has since spawned a whole collection of delicatessens, espresso bars, and pizza and mozzarella bars across the city and even on the Mornington Peninsula. But, come the end of this month, DOC is sure to have won over a few locals, too, as it makes its Sydney debut with a new restaurant in the heart of Surry Hills. The Campbell Street outpost will be built on the group's love for timeless Italian simplicity, heroing classic pizzas with crisp bases and restrained, but high-quality toppings. You'll spy plenty of top-notch imported Italian ingredients, showcased across iterations like the pizza ai porcini — wild mushrooms, truffle oil, mozzarella and pecorino — and the pizza san daniele topped with tomato, buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto. And no one's about to get bored, with two new specials set to grace the menu each week. [caption id="attachment_697676" align="alignnone" width="1920"] DOC Carlton by Josie Withers/Visit Victoria[/caption] DOC's Italian-made buffalo mozzarella is the star of its antipasto offering, though pasta fiends will likely be tempted by the group's much-loved lasagne, available here in both classic and gluten-free vegetarian format. It'll all be backed by a considered mix of local and Italian vino, including some natural wines and a prosecco made by third-generation winery Cester Camillo in Treviso, Italy. And, if this one's anything like its siblings, we're sure an abundance of spritz and hearty 'ciao' greetings are also on the cards. Not only is DOC's new Sydney home just a stone's throw away from that of fellow Melbourne import Chin Chin, it'll soon be around the corner from the first Aussie outpost of the USA's Ace Hotel, which is slated to open next year. DOC Sydney is set to open at 78 Campbell Street, Surry Hills, from late February. It'll open for lunch Thursday to Sunday and for dinner nightly.
Do you find yourself wondering what this existence is all about? How we came to be? What it means to live a short life in an expansive universe? Well, wonder no more, you curious beings. Professor Brian Cox is bringing his dazzlingly brilliant mind and science expertise Down Under with Horizons: A Space Odyssey, the live stage show that explores those very questions. ICYMI, Cox is a world-record holding (highest ticket sales for a science show) physicist, TV host and best-selling author. And this spring, the talent is fusing his planetary passions with showstopping production values for an entertaining, educational and thought-provoking journey through the cosmos. On Thursday, October 13, Cox will hit the stage at the ICC Sydney. Staggering visuals travelling through faraway galaxies, supermassive black holes and alien worlds will backdrop an inquisitive celebration of human life, philosophy and art. Expect deep questions, expert knowledge and Cox's optimistic eye examining the existentialism in all of us. To nab your tickets to the intergalactic stage show in Sydney, head to the website. Or, if you're further north, nab tickets to Cox's show at Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Wednesday, October 12.
The winter chill is starting to set in across Sydney, which means it's time to bust out your warmest winter woolies once again. Happily enough, to coincide with the start of winter, a heap of private igloos are popping up across the city so you can get your winter escape without even having to leave the big smoke. You'll soon find pop-up winter wonderlands across Sydney as Surry Hills' The Winery and Darling Harbour's Cargo Bar are set to bring back their popular igloos from June. Head to The Winery between Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, September 26, and you can chill out in your wintry bubble with up to seven of your mates. For $50 per person, you'll get a hearty winter set menu for you and your buddies to share featuring olives, Sydney rock oysters, ricotta and pine nut ravioli, The Winery's sausage rolls, baked camembert and a triple chocolate brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Want to take things up a notch? You can add on two hours of unlimited booze for an additional $39 a head. To book, just head over to The Winery's website. [caption id="attachment_773890" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Winery[/caption] If you're keen to kick back in a waterfront igloo, head to Cargo Bar instead. Here, 90 minutes inside a fairy light-lit dome will cost you $59 a head — and includes four tasty dishes and endless drinks, with a choice of beer or wine, and the option to add an espresso martini into the mix for $10. For food, you'll be feasting on mac and cheese balls, birria tacos, buffalo wings and margherita pizza. Hit up the Cargo Bar website to book a spot between Thursday, June 17 and Sunday, September 26. The phenomenon of pop-up winter igloos has been growing in recent years, with igloos currently also occupying Pier One, as well as a bunch of venues down in Melbourne. Private igloos are available to hire at The Winery from Saturday, June 8 and Cargo Bar from Thursday, June 17.
Just about everyone loves a picture-perfect sunrise. Now you can admire one for a little longer, perhaps while standing in your own kitchen, as Nutella has released a limited-edition collection of labels featuring the most breathtaking sunrises across Australia and New Zealand. From Kangaroo Island to Sydney Harbour, dreaming about somewhere you'd rather be just got easier. At the same time, Nutella has also crafted a handful of Aussie and New Zealand-inspired breakfast recipes, pairing some of our most cherished local ingredients with chocolate-hazelnut goodness. Think macadamia banana bread, Anzac breakfast tarts, and orange and kiwi fruit pikelets. To celebrate these feel-good labels and recipes, Nutella is hosting the Café Nutella Pop-Up for one day only. Taking over Caffe Gigi in Circular Quay on Saturday, May 17, Nutella fans will undoubtedly go nutty as day breaks, with a taste of these special creations best had right by one of the locations featured on the new jars. Those who make the trip and dine in will receive a tasting paddle of three different Nutella-inspired bites, while takeaway visitors will be gifted a grab-and-go snack. While walk-ins are available, booking ahead of time is recommended if you're keen to soak up the event with a table — at sunrise or otherwise.
Next time you walk into Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, you can be forgiven for starting to sing Disney songs in your head. Already fond of hosting everything from dining experiences to silent discos beneath its water-filled — but glass-walled — spaces, the venue is embracing a well-known piece of advice: yes darlings, it is better down where it's wetter, especially when you're holding The Little Mermaid-themed cocktail parties. While the Mouse House's beloved animated movie will have popped into your brain right now, of course, Sea Life's shindigs are actually taking their cues from the OG version of the story, aka Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale. On the lineup: three fairytale-inspired cocktails, which you'll be drinking below the surface, as well as a live performance of a modernised take on Andersen's The Little Mermaid. The event kicks off today, Thursday, February 3, and settles in for an eight-week season of nostalgia-dripping sipping and peering at cute aquatic creatures (almost) under the sea. If you're keener than a mermaid who dreams of becoming a human, you can head along every Thursday–Saturday for 90-minute sessions, either from 6–7.30pm or 8.30–10pm each night. Your $55–65 ticket includes one themed cocktail upon arrival; however you can purchase more — plus beer, wine and snacks — if you're eager to keep wetting your whistle while in such gloriously watery surroundings. The event comes to Sydney after past runs in London, Miami and Chicago — and it's likely to have big "we have no troubles, life is the bubbles" energy. It's obviously a great time to enjoy childhood favourites right now, too, given that Sydney just scored a Hello Kitty street festival as well. The Little Mermaid cocktail experience runs from Thursday, February 3 at Sea Life Aquarium, 1–5 Wheat Road, Sydney, with tickets available online.
Everything looks better on as big a screen as possible — and if you've always thought that about your streaming-queue favourites and you live in Sydney, you're now in luck. No, you don't need to upsize your television. Instead, you can head to a streaming cinema, sink into recliners and watch whatever takes your fancy from whichever streaming platform you like. Australia's first venue of its type, and only popping up for a month at 6/6–14 Oxford Street in Darlinghurst, the Nebula Streaming Cinema is indeed exactly what it sounds like. It features a 150-inch screen, upon which you can watch your pick of shows and movies from Netflix, Stan, Prime Video, Shudder, Disney+, Apple TV+, Binge, Paramount+ and the hefty list of other streamers — all while tucking into unlimited popcorn, drinks and snacks. None of the above will cost you a cent, either, other than one key thing: your subscription to those streaming services. But, if you're keen to watch Stranger Things, The Boys, Severance or Ms Marvel on a bigger screen than you've got at home, we're betting you're already signed up to the requisite platform. This is a boutique picture-palace experience, though, with room for just you and three pals. Wondering what's behind it? Nebula, which slings portable entertainment products, is promoting its Cosmos Laser 4K projector. Wondering how it works, too? The projector has a built-in Chromecast, which is how you'll access the relevant apps to log in to your choice of streaming services. To give the streaming cinema a whirl, you'll need to nab a booking for a two-hour slot — which also includes on-demand waiter service, bringing those snacks to you so you don't have to get up. At the moment, only times across the cinema's first two weeks have been made available, with extra sessions popping up on a weekly basis. The Nebula Streaming Cinema runs until Saturday, August 6 at 6/6–14 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney. For more information and bookings, head to the Nebula website.
Pleasures Playhouse took over an abandoned Chinatown cinema back in September, bringing a pop-up concert venue to Sydney for six weeks. Hosting a variety of gigs, parties and film screenings, the venue was a hit — so much so that after closing earlier this month there was a wave of support to make it a permanent fixture in Haymarket. While the venue hasn't been able to confirm it'll be sticking around long term, it has just announced another six weeks of parties running until the end of the year. Pulled together by Sydney party starter Kat Dopper of Heaps Gay, Pleasure Playhouse will continue its far-reaching program of events throughout the next couple of months. It'll be kicking off next week on Wednesday, November 23 with Hannah Reilly and Jonny Hawkins' night of speeches I'd Like to Say a Few Words which will feature appearances from the likes of Froomes, Jane Caro and Nina Oyama. From there, Heaps Gay will be hosting a relaunch party on Saturday, November 26, Sydney collectives like Leak Your Own Nudes, Superficial and AM//PM will be throwing parties and the Send Noods Cinema will be returning among a whole range of different events. You can check out everything that's been announced so far over at Pleasures Playhouse's Instagram, with the venue promising that there are more announcements to come. [caption id="attachment_871129" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna Hay[/caption] Adding to the excitement, the multi-disciplinary space has also announced that it will be open until 3am for this run of shows, meaning late-night dance parties are sure to feature heavily in the programming. In October, Pleasures Playhouse received support to stay open from across the Sydney cultural landscape. "What an incredible venue and vibe you created, Pleasure People. Thank you. You brought so many overlapping communities together and embraced so many different kinds of creativity," former City of Sydney Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Scully said on Instagram. Sydney band Baby Beef mirrored the support saying: "Playing here was a beautiful mix of sexy, historical, safe and haunting. A unique experience and important new part of Sydney's nightlife." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pleasures Playhouse (@pleasuresplayhouse.xo) Pleasures Playhouse is located at the Harbour City Cinema, 12/6 Harbour Street, Sydney. Head to the venue's Instagram to stay up to date on all of the shows that have been announced.
UPDATE, September 21, 2022: Red Rocket is available to stream via Prime Video, Binge, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. It might sound crazy, but it ain't no lie: Red Rocket's *NSYNC needle drops, the cost of which likely almost eclipsed the rest of the film's budget, provide a sensational mix of movie music moments in an all-round sensational picture. A portrait of an ex-porn star's knotty homecoming to the oil-and-gas hub that is Texas City, the feature only actually includes one song by the Justin Timberlake-fronted late-90s/early-00s boyband, but it makes the most of it. That tune is 'Bye Bye Bye', and it's a doozy. With its instantly recognisable blend of synth and violins, it first kicks in as the film itself does, and as the bruised face of Mikey Saber (Simon Rex, Scary Movie 3, 4 and 5) peers out of a bus window en route from Los Angeles. Its lyrics — "I'm doing this tonight, you're probably gonna start a fight, I know this can't be right" — couldn't fit the situation better. The infectiously catchy vibe couldn't be more perfect as well, and nor could the contrast that all those upbeat sounds have always had with the track's words. As he demonstrates with every film, Red Rocket writer/director/editor Sean Baker is one of the best and shrewdest filmmakers working today — one of the most perceptive helmers taking slice-of-life looks at American existence on the margins, too. His latest movie joins Starlet, Tangerine and The Florida Project on a resume that just keeps impressing, but there's an edge here born of open recognition that Mikey is no one's hero. He's a narcissist, sociopath and self-aggrandiser who knows how to talk his way into anything, claim success from anyone else's wins and blame the world for all his own woes. He's someone that everyone in his orbit can't take no more and wants to see out that door, as if *NSYNC's now-22-year-old lyrics were specifically penned about him. He's also a charismatic charmer who draws people in like a whirlwind. He's the beat and the words of 'Bye Bye Bye' come to life, in fact, even if the song wasn't originally in Red Rocket's script. Mikey's return after decades away isn't greeted with smiles or cheers; his estranged wife Lexi (Bree Elrod, Shutter Island), also his ex on-screen partner, is horrified when he arrives on her doorstep unannounced with $22 to his name. It takes him mere minutes to convince her and her mother Lil (Brenda Deiss) to let him crash on their couch, though — and just days to work his way back into Lexi's bed. The begrudging inevitability of their reunion echoes as firmly as Red Rocket's chosen anthem, and both keep repeating throughout the film. Unable to get a job despite his glee when explaining the big gap in his resume ("Google me," he exclaims, revealing his porn past to prospective employers), he's reluctantly given back his old weed-dealing gig by local dealer Leondra (Judy Hill), who clearly isn't thrilled. The two new connections Mikey makes — with a neighbour and a 17-year-old doughnut store cashier — also smack of the same feeling. Both relationships leave as much of an imprint upon Mikey's life as anything can — although, no matter what he contends about every bad turn he's endured, all the chaos plaguing his every waking moment is his own doing. With Lonnie (Ethan Darbone), he gets an adoring sidekick who thinks he can do no wrong and, most importantly, a driver to taxi him around town. With Strawberry (Suzanna Son, chief among the film's many first-timers), he hopes to turn his lust into a way back into the adult film industry, grooming her to make her own thrusts into porn. Both naive and aware of Mikey's brimming bullshit, Strawberry isn't quite as taken in with his promises as he imagines her to be, however. Still, she might quote "it ain't no lie, bye bye bye" about him, but she's also willing enough to go along for the ride. Played with spark and ambition by Son, Strawberry also sings 'Bye Bye Bye' herself, delivering a post-coital keyboard rendition — because, in soundtracking uninhibited jaunts into careening lives, Red Rocket, like Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, enlists new versions of decades-old pop hits by former Mouseketeers. The film's stripped-down take speaks volumes about the movie it's in, too, because Baker's feature is as much about the sweet melodies we sing to ourselves about ourselves as it is about the clash between an alluring mood and the stark truth. Mikey has the spin down pat — in porn, he's proudest about winning awards for being pleasured orally, and doesn't waver when it's pointed out that he's not really doing anything by being on the receiving end — but Red Rocket exposes the reality behind his incessant chatter and swagger. Writing with three-time collaborator Chris Bergoch, Baker peppers the film's screenplay with devastatingly telling lines and comedic inclusions alike. When Mikey insists that "the universe is on my side", it smashes both targets. But even as Baker weaves in broader commentary about the US today — Red Rocket is set in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election, with snippets of campaign speeches heard and parallels between two different self-assured grifters easily spied — his smartest move is saying hi, hi, hi to Rex. It's a loaded choice, given the latter's own porn history as a solo player in the early 90s. Rex was then an MTV VJ, so he's also used to talking the glossy talk. Acting followed, plus rapping under the moniker Dirt Nasty, but it's safe to say that his career didn't pan out as planned until Red Rocket drew upon that history to cast him as its magnetic middle-aged dirtbag. Rex is so awards-worthily commanding — so seductive and sleazy in tandem, all while playing a livewire of a thorny character with so little self-awareness — that it's plain to see why the film was scripted with him in mind. Baker fills other key parts with non-professionals, as he has a history of doing, and there's zero weak links in what proves a riotous character study of an entrancing yet toxic and deluded hustler, and also a freewheeling snapshot of small industrial town lives that's fuelled by authenticity on several levels. It's little wonder, then, that cinematographer Drew Daniels (Waves) lenses the picture like it's caught between magic hour-hued fantasies and scrappy social realism. That's Baker's favourite aesthetic, and straddling juxtapositions is baked into his latest movie everywhere it can be. Perhaps that's why Red Rocket also feels like exactly what Baker was destined to do after the similarly phenomenal The Florida Project, but also firmly its own glorious journey. That ain't no lie, either.
If you are anything like me, you have left your Christmas shopping to the last possible minute. That’s ok though! The folks at Queen St Mall are putting on a long weekend of live music in the Mall for any and all shoppers and festive revellers. Some of Brisbane’s best emerging and established musicians are putting on a series of shows for the pre-Christmas weekend, with the bill featuring the likes of Tyrone Noonan, Annie Drake, StormChasers, Asa Broomhall and Cheap Fakes (plus heaps more!) So, maybe the last minute shopping rush won’t be that bad this year if you are venturing into the CBD this weekend. There is plenty to see and do, just make sure you remember to get the pressies in the end!
If catching a flick in style is your thing, get ready to plan a night out at Restaurant Hubert. The subterranean CBD restaurant and theatre is bringing back its hit Magnum & Movies series for 2021, entertaining Sydneysiders with film, food and plenty of wine (in magnums, of course). It'll all take place on various nights from March 29–June 28 in Hubert's Theatre Royale, to really ramp up the film-meets-dinner vibe. Each evening will feature plenty of popcorn, a set menu dinner and magnums of wine, which will be passed around throughout the night. While past events have had an Italian theme, this year's group of films is a little more varied. Kicking the series off is a screening of The Intouchables on March 29, followed by Midnight in Paris on April 6. You'll then travel to The Grand Budapest Hotel on April 26, and spend some time with The Dude when The Big Lebowski screens on May 31. And, you'll also have the chance to drink wine, eat dessert and load up on popcorn during Pulp Fiction. Tickets don't come cheap at $145 per head — but that price includes everything (food, wine, film and popcorn). And, it's the kind of decadent weeknight affair you don't get to enjoy every day. [caption id="attachment_661174" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Images: Daniel Boud.[/caption]
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=loGLiMU5fuI TENET Christopher Nolan has never made a Bond film. He certainly didn't helm The Matrix franchise, either. But pick and twist aspects of each, including narrative tropes, sci-fi trickery and special effects wizardry, and the writer/director's latest slick, bold, mind-bending action-thriller Tenet is the end product. Spy flick elements are evident from the outset, thanks to a tense, taut, supremely well-executed opening attack on the jam-packed Kiev Opera House. When a gun fires during the chaos, but the bullet returns to the weapon rather than shooting out from it, Tenet's nods to late 90s and early 00s sci-fi are apparent, too. Soon afterwards, a scientist (Clémence Poésy) talks the film's CIA operative protagonist (BlacKkKlansman's John David Washington) through some of the nuts and bolts of the shadowy situation he finds himself in, explaining that inverted objects being sent back through time from the future, that a war is coming, and detailing the reverse trajectory of the bullet — and the Protagonist, as he's literally called, exclaims a Keanu-esque "whoa!" that's particularly memorable. Armed with the relevant background — tidbits the film wants viewers to pay close attention to as well — the Protagonist must hop around the world to stop life as everyone knows it from ending. He has suave handler Neil (Robert Pattinson) for company, but if Tenet's premise sounds a tad vague and convoluted, well, that's the movie's wavelength. As obsessed with time, space, existence and consciousness as much of Nolan's work, the cerebral feature doesn't get any less tangled or labyrinthine, or try to. It boasts the kind of plot that is actually quite straightforward, yet is told in an overly complicated fashion to keep viewers puzzling. Nolan likes messing with audiences' heads, so this shouldn't come as a surprise; however he jumps even beyond Inception's leaps, The Prestige's magic tricks and Interstellar's temporal dilations. As a result, as entertaining and downright spectacular as it is when it's at its action-packed best, there's also a sense that Tenet is bounding forward in some ways, while also needlessly looping back on itself in others. It's stirring, but also laborious. It's designed to overwhelm viewers in an inventive head trip, yet it makes the audience feel like they're working. It's intricate and exacting, and also messy and repetitive. It's a Nolan film through and through, in other words — usually to a mesmerising degree, but too indulgently as well. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIsEZ2tTavU&t=6s LES MISÉRABLES Almost 160 years since Victor Hugo immortalised the Montfermeil commune in Les Misérables, first-time feature writer and director Ladj Ly heads there to tell a different story. Or, to be exact, his Cannes prize-winning, Oscar-nominated crime-thriller that's also called Les Misérables stops by the spot to explore comparable themes in contemporary France — and to interrogate the reality of life in the Les Bosquets housing estates in one of the capital's banlieues. The latter and their communities have featured in the likes of 1995's La Haine and 2014's Girlhood before, two hands-down French movie masterpieces, but the approach here is especially inspired. Drawing parallels with a globally known, much-adapted, long-popular classic to shine a spotlight on modern-day class and cultural clashes is smart and savvy and, in the hands of a filmmaker from the area who is already known for making documentaries about the area, results in an especially compelling and confronting piece of cinema with revolution at its heart. Every neighbourhood bubbles with stories. So, focusing on Les Bosquets, Ly relays as many tales as he can. With propulsive and fittingly restless energy, his film flits between the locale's cops, kids and gangs — with troubles between all three groups reaching boiling point over the course of two summery and eventful days. The catalysts: familiar prejudices, long-held beefs, a stolen lion, a wrongful shooting and some controversial drone footage. The fallout: considerable. Unrelentingly terse and unafraid to filter real-world unrest through every frame, this Les Misérables is not always subtle; however, given the complicated terrain that it traverses, it needn't be. As a portrait of social tensions drawn from real-life situations, this is a movie of explosive emotional and visceral power even when it's clearly lacking in nuance. As an examination of how one event can escalate, detonate and spark a chain of chaos, and, Hugo-style, how insurrectionary acts come about, it hits hard. This definitely isn't a musical, but Ly's gripping, evocatively shot, deftly choreographed and impressively acted feature is still a rousing cinematic song of angry Parisians. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtCmpNdsA44 THE EIGHT HUNDRED The first Chinese film shot entirely on IMAX cameras, The Eight Hundred delivers exactly what that status demands. That'd be an impressively staged and shot spectacle, and plenty of it. Indeed, this big-budget dramatisation of the October 1937 Sihang Warehouse standoff during the Second Sino-Japanese War (which also formed part of the Second World War) is filled with fights, frays, combat and bloody confrontations to an almost relentless extent. Of course, that's the war movie formula, with the genre routinely endeavouring to steep viewers so deeply in the minutiae of the action that they feel both the mass and the personal toll. In The Eight Hundred's case, that means spending the bulk of its lengthy 147-minute duration with the 400-plus soldiers from the 524th Regiment of the National Revolutionary Army's 88th Division, who hold their ground for four days as the Imperial Japanese Army closes in on and wages an assault on the building — with the latter already overpowering Chinese forces at large during the Battle of Shanghai, and the former now representing China's last stand in the city. Complicating matters tactically, at least for the Japanese, is the warehouse's location. Adjacent to Suzhou Creek, and therefore across from Shanghai's International Settlement, the structure is in full view of the neutral zone. For writer/director Guan Hu (Mr Six), however, that gives the film an extra opportunity to dazzle visually. On one side of the waterway sits carnage; on the other, luxury, shining lights and streets filled with well-dressed onlookers all beckon. Yes, The Eight Hundred is that blunt. Yes, it takes every opportunity to be as blatant as possible on as many levels as possible, too. This is a feature that uses a white horse galloping through the mayhem as one of its overt metaphors, after all, and deploys 'Londonderry Air', aka 'Danny Boy', as its emotive song of choice. Also among its sizeable list of heavy-handed touches: repeatedly making the case for sacrifice and bloodshed in the name of China's glory and greater good, visibly adoring solider point-of-view shots, and offering little in the way of depth amongst its heaving roster of characters. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas, check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23, July 30, August 6, August 13 and August 20 — and our full reviews of The Personal History of David Copperfield, Waves, The King of Staten Island, Babyteeth, Deerskin and Peninsula.
Time to start pooling your funds with your music-lovin' mates, beloved Sydney music venue Oxford Art Factory is up for sale. Listed on Real Commercial with a new ten year lease, OAF's joining Goodgod Small Club as a Sydney venue about to change hands — but not close. Reported by Stoney Roads, the new tenant could extend further "options until 2035", so it's clear the venue's looking to stay alive and well. Having kicked goals in Sydney's music scene since 2007 and with a fitout worth about $2.7 million, OAF's a pretty sought after spot. Here's hoping a forward-thinking mind (or minds) snaps Darlinghurst's go-to music venue up — there's been over 1500 page visits since the space was listed. The sale isn't exactly the doom and gloom situation of Kings Cross closures all over the joint, but it's nevertheless going to be a new chapter for the bar. Via Stoney Roads. Image: Oxford Art Factory/Facebook. Oxford Art Factory is one of Sydney's best bars with free live music. Let's hope it stays that way.
Spring is just around the corner and, with it, comes the perfect opportunity for a weekend escape. But, there's the age-old problem of where to go on an extended sojourn. Luckily, Canberra is putting its best foot forward come spring with its annual month-long flower extravaganza, Floriade. And, as part of the huge spring festival, the sprawling flower display will be transformed into an illuminated after-dark wonderland for NightFest. Kicking off on Thursday, October 3, just before the Labour Day long weekend and running for four nights, NightFest is Floriade's after-dark celebration — and one of Canberra's biggest events. By day, explore Floriade (which is open each day until 5.30pm) and the best of Canberra's breweries, restaurants and galleries. Then, as the sun goes down, those who dare to dabble in Floriade's dark side can head to Commonwealth Park for NightFest. There, you'll find roving performers, music, interactive displays and one million glowing blooms from 6.30–10.30pm. Pick up some dinner from a food stall and dine among the flowers then catch live tunes on Stage 88 on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Rounding off the festivities on Sunday, October 6 will be a night of sidesplitting gags at Comedy NightFest.
