When staring at a new page, a blank screen or an empty plate, what inspires us to take that first step into the unknown? Is it the wish to emulate the greats or is it a wish to add to the canon or is it simply a matter of sustenance? The Greeks gave a name to the thing that pushes you into the dark. It was the muse, an elusive source of creation that was part divination, part nature but was the driving power behind mankind's greatest creations. Modern day muses take many forms and the Sydney Film Festival is looking to explore six of them. Creative Drive is a collection of six movies designed to engage and produced to inspire - with some of the movie industry's biggest names going back to their roots to discover what inspired those who have inspired them. In A Letter to Elia, Martin Scorsese looks at the director behind On The Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire, controversial Hollywood filmmaker Elia Kazan. The documentary, El Bulli: Cooking In Progress goes behind the scenes of El Bulli, the Spanish restaurant which is the most exclusive and the best in the world. The Mill and the Cross exmaines Pieter Bruegel's 1564 masterpiece, The Procession to Calvary, and some of the stories behind it - the SFF points out that it may be the closest a feature film has ever come to being a painting. How to enter If you wish to uncover genius approaches, dissect the masters' processes or simply enjoy an engaging film, Concrete Playground has a double pass to each of the 6 films. To go in the running, simply subscribe to our newsletter and tell us which one of the six films you'd like to see by email at hello@concreteplayground.com.au. Entries close on Wednesday, June 25 at 5pm. https://youtube.com/watch?v=qzbbYinuTWc
Don't hold back: one of the biggest acts in electronic music for the past three decades is returning to Australia. Superstar DJs The Chemical Brothers have a new album about to drop in September, and have just announced three Down Under dates for February and March 2024 to unleash their latest round of block rockin' beats live. And, as their massive Coachella sets demonstrated earlier in 2023, they're certain to put on one helluva show. The Chemical Brothers have locked in three Aussie shows, starting their next visit in Brisbane before hitting Sydney, and then doing their only Victorian gig of this tour at A Day on the Green in Geelong. Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons will play Riverstage with Anna Lunoe and James Holroyd in support, and Sydney Showground and Mt Duneed Estate with the pair as well as The Presets doing a DJ set. It isn't just their astonishing Coachella set that proves The Chemical Brothers are a must-see live act. Every tour — including their last stint Down Under back in 2019 — always matches a spectacle of mindbending visuals to the duo's iconic tunes. For this one, the setup will include tracks from their tenth studio album For That Beautiful Feeling, which drops on Friday, September 8. Accordingly, expect recent singles 'No Reason', 'Live Again' (featuring Halo Maud) and 'Skipping Like a Stone' (reteaming The Chemical Brothers with Beck after 2016's 'Wide Open') — and also a wealth of songs from a back catalogue that spans back to 1989. No, it wouldn't be a Chemical Brothers gig without 'Hey Boy, Hey Girl', 'Block Rockin' Beats' and 'Galvanise' getting a whirl. The pair's current setlist also includes everything from 'Go', 'Swoon' and 'Star Guitar' to 'Setting Sun', 'Chemical Beats' and 'Escape Velocity'. Holroyd joining Rowlands and Simons on the tour is always a given, as The Chemical Brothers' long-standing opening DJ. THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2024: Tuesday, February 27 — Riverstage , Brisbane with Anna Lunoe and James Holroyd Thursday, February 29 — Sydney Showground, Sydney with The Presets (DJ Set), Anna Lunoe and James Holroyd Saturday, March 2 — Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong at A Day on the Green with The Presets (DJ Set), Anna Lunoe and James Holroyd The Chemical Brothers are touring Australia in February and March 2024, with pre-sale tickets available from 2pm AEST on Wednesday, September 6 and general sales from 1pm AEST on Friday, September 8. Head to the tour website and A Day on the Green website for further details.
Make sure you get your proper Sunday morning sleep in, because today you'll be dominating one, or many of the 13 bouldering courses at Nomad, a new bouldering gym that's popped up in Annandale. Home to the largest bouldering arch in the Southern Hemisphere, Nomad has 980 square metres of wall surface for you to climb all over. The somewhat terrifying difference between bouldering and normal rock climbing is that you'll be doing this activity without a harness. After you've finished working up a sweat, wind down with an arvo session at Wayward Brewing just around the corner. Check out who may be dishing out eats this weekend, cosy up on the vintage couches surrounded by friendly people and enjoy some Sunday live music from 4pm to 7pm.
New York glam-disco pioneers Scissor Sisters are back on Australian soil this September, with shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in support of their comeback album Magic Hour. With them no doubt playing seminal hits like 'Laura', 'Filthy/Gorgeous' and 'I Don't Feel Like Dancing', Scissor Sisters will kick off in Brisbane on September 25, their first show here since their disastrous set at the Pyramid Rock Festival. Plugging Magic Hour, produced by Calvin Harris and said by male lead Jake Shears to be a "sweet melange of beat-driven future-pop", the tour will end in lights and lycra-clad style at the Sydney Opera House. Third album Night Work might not have been much of a success, but with tracks like 'Only the Horses' and 'Let's Have a Kiki', these dapper darlings will surely pull their fans back in for what is sure to be an unforgettable show. https://youtube.com/watch?v=4H5I6y1Qvz0
First, Spilt Milk gave music lovers and festival fans in Canberra, Ballarat and southeast Queensland the news they'd been hoping for: in November and December this year, the beloved music, art and food fest will finally return. Now, the event has unleashed unleashed its impressive lineup, aka exactly who you'll be dancing to. Leading the charge: Flume, Stormzy and The Wombats. Homegrown hitmaker Flume nabs one of the headliner slots fresh from playing Coachella, while UK grime pioneer Stormzy adds Spilt Milk to his upcoming — and rescheduled — Down Under tour. The latter also proves true of British indie rockers The Wombats, who keep proving a hit on our shores — with 15 slots in Triple J's Hottest 100 over the years to prove it. Also on the bill: Ninajirachi, FISHER, G Flip,Genesis Owusu, Mallrat, Spacey Jane, A.GIRL and PEACH PRC, among others — and, from the art lineup, a heap of talent from long-running Spilt Milk partners Studio A. Also, because this fest is also about food, there'll be bites to eat from Alongside, Firepop, Black Bear BBQ, 1800 Lasagne and more. Originally only held in Canberra, then expanding to Ballarat, and now heading to the Gold Coast as well, the fest will hit up its ACT home on Saturday, November 26 at Exhibition Park, then regional Victoria on Saturday, December 3 at Victoria Park, before wrapping things up on Sunday, December 4 at Doug Jennings Park in the Sunshine State. The multi-city one-dayer has cemented its spot as a must-attend event for a heap of reasons — and tickets have sold out in under 30 minutes every year, including in a record nine minutes one year. So, expect this to be one of the most anticipated returns of 2022. SPILT MILK 2022 DATES: Saturday, November 26 — Exhibition Park, Canberra Saturday, December 3 — Victoria Park, Ballarat Sunday, December 4 — Doug Jennings Park, Gold Coast SPILT MILK 2022 LINEUP: A.GIRL Beddy Rays Billy Xane Fisher Flume G Flip Genesis Owusu Hayden James King Stingray Kobie Dee Latifa Tee Little Fritter Mallrat Mansionair Ninajarachi PEACH PRC Spacey Jane Stand Atlantic Stormzy Telenova The Wombats Toro Y Moi (Canberra only) YNG Martyr Young Franco 1300 Also in Canberra: Brittany De Marco and Kaylee Harmer Jack Burton and Clique Miroji Sesame Girl Shaka J Tekido Waxlily Also in Ballarat: Coastal Jam DJs Gangz Lashes Mason Flint Sweat Dreams DJs Also on the Gold Coast: Friends of Friends Jynx House DJs Saint Lane Siala WIIGZ Food: Firepop Black Bear Bbq Birdman Burger Head 1800 Lasagne and more Art by Studio A: Emily Crockford Greg Sindel Katrina Brennan Jaycee Kim Meagan Pelham Thom Roberts Spilt Milk will hit Canberra, Ballarat and the Gold Coast in November and December 2022. Pre-sale tickets go on sale from Tuesday, May 3 and general sales from Thursday, May 5. Head to the festival website for more info and to register for pre-sales. Images: Jordan Munns and Billy Zammit.
In recent years, there's been an interesting shift in the way Australians approach leisure and travel. There was a time when an ideal weekend involved throwing back espresso martinis, racking up a $200 Uber bill, and waking up with a vague recollection of last night's bad decisions. Now? Our collective vibe (and level of disposable income) has changed. People are drinking less, going out less, and prioritising feeling good on Monday morning over how late they can stay out. In 2024, Forbes reported a study that found Gen Z, in particular, are drinking 12.8 fewer alcoholic drinks a month compared to before COVID-19. This coincides with the increasing popularity of run clubs, bath houses, #GutHealth and holistic wellness both online and IRL. But it's not just about cutting back on booze, it's about chasing something that actually makes you feel good. Enter the rise of micro wellness escapes: short, intentional trips that are designed to leave you recharged instead of wrecked. Instead of saving for one big, long-haul, blowout trip, more and more people are leaning into weekends spent off-grid, ice baths instead of beach clubs, and yoga in the hinterland rather than sunrise shots in Bali. If that sounds like your kind of reset, here are five wellness retreats worth checking out. Eden Health Retreat Currumbin Valley QLD If you've ever wished you could disappear off the grid for a few days, Eden Health Retreat makes that dream a reality. Tucked away in Queensland's Currumbin Valley, it's a place where your phone gets zero reception, the Wi-Fi doesn't exist, and your only connection is with nature, your body, and that book you finally have time to read. This isn't the kind of place you go to lie by the pool with a cocktail. The days here are structured but flexible, with daily classes or workshops ranging from yoga, Pilates and sound healing to rainforest meditations, cold plunges and sauna. You can book in for massages or sweat it out in the state-of-the-art gym, and still have time for long walks through the forest tracks that wrap around the retreat. The food is nutritionally balanced, seasonal, and designed by their team of award-winning chefs and nutritionists. They provide three totally gluten-free meals per day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) served in the beautiful dining room overlooking the valley. They even have a custom-built demonstration kitchen where you can learn how to cook for yourself. You won't go hungry, and you'll leave with a new standard for what healthy eating can taste like. Eden is immersive. It's a chance to disappear from real life, breathe deeply, and actually hear yourself think again. If you're in need of a full system reset, this is your best bet. Book Eden Health Retreat Gaia Retreat & Spa Brooklet NSW Not everyone wants a retreat where they have to ditch their vices entirely. Gaia, set in Byron Bay's lush hinterland, caters to that. Here, you can have your organic, locally sourced meals and grounding meditations, but you can also enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. You can go full wellness mode, or you can simply read a book on the balcony, get a massage, and forget reality. Gaia's experience is built around balance. There are daily yoga classes, as well as opt-in opt-out spa treatments and holistic wellness therapies like art therapy, astrology, kinesiology and energetic healing. But you can pick and choose your own pace, jumping into everything, or doing absolutely nothing and just floating through the weekend. Food here is a highlight. Fresh, organic produce from the onsite gardens and local farmers is served across three daily meals by Gaia's award-winning chefs. Yes, there's a wine list. And no, you don't need to feel bad about indulging. It's part of the wellness equation. Gaia offers you space to relax without rules. Whether you're escaping the city, celebrating something, or just need a reset, this is luxury wellness without the rigidity. Book Gaia Retreat The Brooklet Brooklet NSW Some places make a point of saying, "We're not a retreat," and The Brooklet is one of them. Nestled in Byron Bay's rolling hills, it's set on 125-acres with 6 luxury Villas for those who want a break from life without the structure of a traditional wellness retreat. Instead of a rigid schedule, you get a stunning space where you can take things at your own pace. It's self-guided, self-paced, and all about reconnecting with nature. There's an infinity mineral pool overlooking the hills, a sauna, hot tub, tennis court, private yoga sessions and spaces designed purely for chilling out: think warm timber tones, neutral palettes, and interiors that instantly make you feel calm. It's like staying at a ridiculously aesthetic countryside Airbnb, but one that also happens to be built for wellness. If you choose a retreat package, your stay will include three meals per day and a non-alcoholic beverage package. Or you can head to nearby cafes and farm-to-table eateries. The space also includes a communal kitchen, where guests can make their own pizzas and eat at the huge family-style communal table. The Brooklet is for those who don't want to be told what to do with their downtime. Just beautiful space, plenty of nature, and all the facilities you need to tune back in. Book The Brooklet Elysia Wellness Retreat Pokolbin NSW If you're after a full-body-and-mind transformation, Elysia is the place. Located in the Hunter Valley in NSW, it's a wellness retreat in the most literal sense of the title. Structured, intentional, and designed to help you completely reset your mind and body with long term habits. Elysia offers three to seven day packages. Each stay includes guided fitness, mindfulness and wellness sessions, ranging from group yoga and tai chi to educational seminars, spa therapies, and one-on-one health consultations. There's a schedule to follow, but it's flexible and designed to empower you with tools to take home. The food is designed to detox, nourish and energise, but it's never boring. Clean, wholesome meals are served communally to encourage mindful eating, and you're given a break from red meat, alcohol, caffeine, sugar and saturated fat. It's a retreat that feeds your body and your social spirit. Elysia is perfect if you're looking for a retreat that's equal parts educational and experiential. Book Elysia Wellness Retreat Billabong Retreat Maraylya NSW Only 45 minutes from Sydney, Billabong Retreat is one of the most accessible wellness getaways around, designed for those who want to unplug without going too far. It's less about luxury and more about getting back to basics, with a philosophy around reconnection with nature, mindfulness, and slowing down. Everything here is simple but thoughtful. Treehouse-style cabins overlook a serene billabong and there's a general sense of "let's just breathe for a minute" energy about the place. The daily program centres around yoga, meditation and mindfulness, with classes that suit all levels. You can book extra spa treatments, take a dip in the mineral pool, or simply sit with a cup of tea and look out over the trees. The food is like a warm, plant-based hug. Each stay includes all food, drinks and snacks, which are all locally sourced and served in a communal buffet style that encourages genuine connection. It's healthy, hearty and made with love. Book Billabong Retreat In 2025, wellness retreats are no longer for the ultra-spiritual or ultra-rich. Now, they're for anyone who just wants to feel better. As the world speeds up, the real luxury is being able to check out of the chaos and check in with yourself.
If you've ever sat down to play Mario Kart on any of the various devices that the beloved game has popped up on over the years — Google Maps, mobile phones and reality also included — then you've likely learned two things. Firstly, rainbow roads are truly something else. Secondly, you can never have too much Mario in your life. The folks at Universal Studios clearly agree on the second point, as everyone should, and they gave us an IRL Nintendo-themed amusement park in 2022 to prove it. Open for the past year, the globe's first Super Nintendo World is part of Universal Studios in Osaka, and it looks glorious — thanks to life-sized recreations of both Bowser's Castle (complete with spiked fences and heavy iron doors) and Peach's Castle, plus Mario Kart rides as well. [caption id="attachment_804547" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nintendo and Universal Studios[/caption] Super Nintendo World was never going to be an Osaka exclusive, though. The Japanese theme park isn't losing its latest attraction, but more were always planned for Universal Studios in Hollywood, Orlando and Singapore. And, come 2023, you'll definitely be able to live out your IRL Mario Kart dreams in Tinseltown, because that's when and where the next Super Nintendo World is opening. Exactly what Universal Studios Hollywood's version will include hasn't yet been confirmed, and neither has an exact opening date — but if a trip to the US is on your agenda next year, it now has a new stop. In a press release announcing the 2023 launch, Universal Studios advised that the new Super Nintendo World will be "a visual spectacle of vibrant colours and architectural ingenuity located within a newly expanded area of the theme park, featuring a groundbreaking ride and interactive areas, to be enjoyed by the whole family", although that's obviously still quite vague. Unsurprisingly, themed shopping and dining will be a big part of the experience, of course. #SuperNintendoWorld is opening in 2023 at Universal Studios Hollywood! Level up with exclusive merch at the Feature Presentation store, opening soon. pic.twitter.com/4qh0bDACGN — Universal Studios Hollywood (@UniStudios) March 10, 2022 If you'd like to try to glean some clues from Osaka's Super Nintendo World, it lets you enter via a warp pipe — naturally — and there's simply no mistaking its Nintendo-themed space for anywhere else. And, Osaka's Mario Kart fix comes courtesy of Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge, where patrons race through familiar Mario Kart courses that've been brought to life. Yes, as you steer your way along the track, you're surrounded by characters such as Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach. You can also throw shells to take out your opponents, because it wouldn't be Mario Kart without them. If you're wondering how it all works, it's a blend of physical sets, augmented reality, projection mapping and screen projection, all designed to make you feel like you're really in the game. Also a highlight in Osaka: Yoshi's Adventure, which lets you climb on Yoshi's back; the world's first Mario cafe, as kitted out with a red and green colour scheme; and wearable wrist bands, called Power Up Bands, which connect to a special app and allow patrons to interact with the site using their arms, hands and bodies (and enable you to collect coins just like Mario does in the Super Mario games). Fingers crossed that they all make the leap to Hollywood, too. Super Nintendo World will open at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2023. For more information, keep an eye on the theme park's website. Top image: Nintendo and Universal Studios.
The history of street photography is generating more interest than ever, now that street style blogs influence high-end brands, everyone has a spy camera (read: iPhone), and documentaries like Bill Cunningham: New York have charmed DSLRs into the hands of the populace. But what about when it wasn't just about fashion but about documenting a moment in cultural history? A new look at the origins of the movement, Everybody Street, gathers a group of seminal New York-based street photographers to examine the method and motivation behind this most candid and telling style of documenting the human race. Nowadays the rising generation of street photographers in New York, including Le 21-eme, I'm Koo and An Unknown Quantity keep busy chasing down Soho's trendsetters. Everybody Street, on the other hand, asks veteran photographers Bruce Davidson, Elliott Erwitt, Jill Freedman, Bruce Gilden, Joel Meyerowitz, Rebecca Lepkoff, Mary Ellen Mark, Jeff Mermelstein, Clayton Patterson, Ricky Powell, Jamel Shabazz, Martha Cooper, Jeff Mermelstein, Max Kozloff and Luc Sante all about how they managed to transgress social boundaries to capture iconic images of their milieu. Jamel Shabazz alone is a phenomenal force in the street photography scene, whose chronicling of the '80s hip hop style movement can be seen in the influential monographs Back in the Days and A Time Before Crack. Shabazz — a former corrections officer with a photographer father — used street photography to perform a type of social work: mainly capturing images of African Americans, he helped to spread pride and self-confidence among young men and women who were at risk of getting mixed up in crack culture. By reminding them they were worth being photographed and admired, and taking the opportunity to talk with them about their lives and share his experiences as a corrections officer, Shabazz hoped to steer people away from drugs and crime. In Everybody Street, documentarian Cheryl Dunn honours Shabazz's story and those of other snap-happy New York street-crawlers who dared to step in and chronicle what was happening every day on the street, and make a difference along the way. https://youtube.com/watch?v=NdeR9lhIngM
Imagine for a moment if Peter Parker hadn't been such a nice kid. Imagine if that shy orphan teenager, ignored by girls and bullied by guys, suddenly found himself possessed of spider-like abilities but instead of deciding to help mankind he chose to exact revenge upon all who'd spurned him. Put another way, what if Peter Parker had found his uncle's shotgun instead of the ability to cast a web and then some dumb jock had thrown one too many milkshakes into his face? Chronicle, by first-time director Josh Trank, shows us how things might have turned out. It tells the story of three teenagers suddenly gifted telekinetic powers following their chance encounter with a mysterious subterranean glowing crystal (you know, a tale as old as time). The whole affair is conveniently captured on film thanks to the decision by Andrew (Dane DeHaan) to begin chronicling (wink) his entire life, thereby placing this film as the latest entry in the burgeoning 'found footage' genre (think Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield). While at first Chronicle may seem like just another superhero origins story, it quickly becomes something much more thanks to the angry and troubled loner twist. Abused by his drunken father and ignored or bullied by his classmates, the newfound superpower ironically offers Andrew normalcy until — as his cousin ominously portends — hubris ultimately takes hold and vengeance begins to trump acceptance. From that moment on there's an eerie Akira-meets-Columbine feel to the whole thing; an unsettling yet familiar study of what can happen when angry, troubled youths find themselves in possession of something devastating and lethal. https://youtube.com/watch?v=L0moMB9qjMc
If January 26 finds you looking for a thoughtful way to reflect on the impact of the arrival of the First Fleet and Australia's colonisation of its First Nations people, you should join the folks from Sydney Festival the evening prior. For the fifth year in a row, the festival will be running a vigil at Barangaroo Reserve. Unlike previous years, the 2023 iteration will span 40 minutes from 8.30pm, in place of the overnight ceremony that's taken place in years gone by. [caption id="attachment_884051" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] This year, the event is titled Vigil: Awaken and will celebrate the reawakening of the spirit of Me-Mel (formerly Goat Island). The island is currently in the process of being transferred to Aboriginal ownership and management. Across the 40 minutes, the ceremony will reflect on the deep cultural significance of the island, and celebrate its return through ceremonial smoke, flares, music, light, performance and narration. The event is free and registration is not required this year. Images: Victor Frankowski
Gather your spoons and prepare to start throwing them at a screen: The Disaster Artist is nearly here. A behind-the-scenes recreation of the making of Tommy Wiseau's The Room, it's shaping up to be the best movie ever made about the worst movie ever made. Oh hi, instant cult classic (and Mark, Greg, Claudette and doggy). Based on the non-fiction book of the same name by the original flick's star Greg Sestero, and directed, produced and starring James Franco as Wiseau, the film takes almost every actor you can think of (Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Alison Brie, Zac Efron, Hannibal Buress, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith, Megan Mullally, Josh Hutcherson and Jackie Weaver, for starters) on a tour of Wiseau's now infamous late-night favourite — and, in quite the change from The Room, it's garnering a massive amount of buzz and critical love. After premiering as a work in progress at this year's SXSW, it just screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, and will hit Australian cinemas on November 30. A first teaser was first released back in July, absolutely perfecting the shooting of one of The Room's many, many memorable moments, with a full trailer now providing an even bigger glimpse into Franco's take on Wiseau's world. The awkward dialogue, the odd game of catch, Wiseau's greasy locks, a sex scene that defies human anatomy, "you're tearing me apart, Lisa!!!" — they're all there, in the expected so-bad-it's-hilarious fashion. Wiseau himself has given the whole thing his 99.9 percent approval, and pops up in the movie, of course. And if you need more convincing or you've never hurled a spoon in your life, we'll let Franco's version of Wiseau say everything else that needs to be said about The Room — and why you should be interested in The Disaster Artist. "So there's this guy Johnny. A true American hero — to be played by me. He has it all. Good looks, many friends. And also maybe Johnny is vampire. We'll see." Check out the new trailer below — and the original teaser too, because more The Disaster Artist is only a good thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMKX2tE5Luk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIXYaCWc2EM
Usually you don't find good coffee in shopping arcades. But that's not true in The Strand Arcade, where Marrickville's Coffee Alchemy operates its pocket-sized Gumption coffee bar. Like its roastery-cafe, this one delivers quality coffee, sans the fuss (that is to day, any food). So let the coffee speak for itself and order up — try the signature house blend, Hairy Chest. If you like it, you can even buy a bag to take home. It's standing room only inside, with tall counters outside in the arcade providing seats, should you loll about for longer — and with hours to match the arcade's shopping times, it's open till 5pm on weekdays and 6pm on Thursdays.
You've been hanging out patiently for beer garden season and, at last, the wait is over. Waterloo haunt The George is getting into the swing of things early, kicking off weekly al fresco Sunday sessions in its cacti-filled garden from Sunday, October 27. The Taco King (Toby Wilson) will be firing up the spit, throwing on some pig and offering loaded pork taco plates for $25 a pop. Nab a spot in the outdoor area and tuck in, while enjoying the day's DJ tunes and a swag of great beer specials. What's more, on October 27, acclaimed Momento Mori winemaker Dane Johns is also coming to the party, with a pop-up bar stocked full of old, new and rare drops. If you're into your Aussie natural wines, you won't want to miss this. Future outings are also set to feature guest chefs, a rotation of beer specials and vinous treats from wine-pouring mates at onsite bottle-shop Drnks. Pig on a Spit Sundays run from 2–10pm. Images: Kimberley Low
Sorry, supermarket desserts. When Gelato Messina serves up one of its special treats, no one's hitting the local ice cream aisle. 2023's limited-edition wares have included everything from red velvet gelato, cake and fudge mixes to a mango gelato spin on Iced Vovos — plus a Neapolitan version of its super-fancy Viennetta, too — and are now gifting folks with a sweet tooth a tub of gianduia gelato topped with hazelnut rocher crack. If your ultimate chocolate is round, covered in gold wrapping and has a crunchy hazelnut centre — yes, we're talking about Ferrero Rocher — then we expect that you'll be keen for this Messina special, dubbed the Get Cracking hot tub. Clearly taking its cues from the famed Italian chocolate, the tubs feature layers of gianduia (chocolate-hazelnut) gelato, cone crunch and hazelnut mousse. Then, on top: that hazelnut rocher crack. The end result mightn't look exactly like the chocolates that you know and love, just in a scoopable form, but it's an ode all the same. Available as part of Messina's 'Hot Tub' series, the Get Cracking gelato can only be ordered online on Monday, August 7, in one-litre tubs. You can then go into your chosen Messina store to pick up your tub between Friday, August 11–Sunday, August 13. A note re ordering: because Messina's specials always attract plenty of gelato lovers, the chain now staggers its on-sale times depending on the state — and, in Sydney, also the part of town you're in. Accordingly, pre-orders commence in Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory at 9am, then hit Victoria at 9.15am, before spreading its New South Wales stores over three slots between 9.30–10am. Gelato Messina's Get Cracking hot tub will be available to order on Monday, August 7, for pick up between Friday, August 11–Sunday, August 13 — head to the Messina website for further details.
Visiting New York City sits on plenty of bucket lists, and there are more than a few reasons why that's the case. But if you've always wanted to head to the Big Apple, wear designer outfits, get paid to write about your love life and, between cocktails and dates, hang out outside your apartment — sitting on the stoop with your significant other, whether you're making up or breaking up — then you obviously have Sex and the City to thank. Running from 1998–2004 (forget the terrible 2008 and 2010 movies), the hit HBO series made Manolo Blahniks a must-wear, turned cosmopolitans into the drink of choice for sips with the gang, and gave tutus their moment outside of ballet. It also showered Carrie Bradshaw's apartment stoop with ample attention, including in big, life-changing moments. Unsurprisingly, the filming location has become a tourist attraction over the last quarter-century. Always wanted to make the trip to follow in Sarah Jessica Parker's footsteps, but haven't yet had the chance? With Sex and the City spinoff And Just Like That... arriving for its second season this month — after first debuting in 2021 — Binge is bringing a replica of that famous apartment stoop to Melbourne. And if this sounds familiar, that's because it did the same a couple of years back in Sydney. This time, the 2.2-metre-wide, 4.8-metre-high stoop is popping up at the David Jones Dome at Melbourne's Chadstone Shopping Centre for three days, between Thursday, June 8–Saturday, June 10, ready to fill your Instagram feed. Just like when the Friends couch toured Australia, the Squid Game Red Light, Green Light doll towered over Sydney Harbour and a statue of Borat made an appearance at Bondi Beach — and when the Iron Throne did the rounds, and all of the other film- and TV-themed pop-ups over the years — this is all about three things: indulging one of your pop-culture obsessions, taking snaps and promotion ahead of And Just Like That...'s season two return on Thursday, June 22. It also marks 25 years since Sex and the City began. And no, as you're taking photos of yourself living out your Carrie Bradshaw stoop dreams — Manolo Blahniks optional — you won't find any Peloton fitness equipment in sight. Find the replica Sex and the City and And Just Like That... apartment stoop at the David Jones Dome at Melbourne's Chadstone Shopping Centre from 11am–3pm and 5–9pm on Thursday, June 8–Friday, June 9 — and 11am–3pm on Saturday, June 10. Images: Chris Pavlich Photography.
Push your adrenal gland into overdrive at Parramatta's Labyrinth Escape Room, where all of the experiences are decidedly intense — in the best possible way. Obsessed with Narcos and love to imagine what the lifestyle of a cartel leader is really like? Labyrinth has capitalised on the popularity of the Netflix mega-series by creating its own 'real-life' version of the show where you can immerse yourself in the show's themes without actually being in harm's way. If that's a little too intense for you, the escape room's latest experience, Excluded, sees you and your mates held hostage by a sinister neighbour who wants in on the action (similar to the movie Game Night). You can also opt to get locked inside the confines of an asylum with a convicted murderer on the loose, or choose to uncover a well-kept (and ghoulish) secret of a cursed circus. Whichever option you decide, groups can book rooms for 2–8 people until 10.15pm daily, with the price marked at $40–45 per person.
"I hope it scares the shit out of you!" declared both Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe at the Sydney premiere of The Mummy, confirming that this was indeed to be a darker, more adult take on the successful movie franchise – a horror film harking back to the heady days of Val Lewton and the 1930s Gothic monster flicks that helped put Universal Studios on the map. Only...The Mummy is also peppered with comedic moments, meaning it's really better described as a horror comedy in the vein of Shaun of the Dead or Cabin in the Woods. However, its leading man Nick Morton (Cruise) is also a special forces recon soldier whose opening scene sees him dropping hellfire missiles on Iraqi insurgents. So really it's a horror comedy action film. Also, right after that opening scene we meet Cruise's on again off again love interest and globe-trotting archaeologist Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis). Horror comedy action romance? Of course this all happens after we've already seen the Universal icon transform into the 'Dark Universe' logo, establishing The Mummy as the studio's opening salvo in the expansive, world-building game heretofore occupied by Marvel and DC. That makes this a horror comedy action romance franchise-founder. Ugh. No wonder it all gets a little lost in the details. In short, The Mummy is a movie guilty of overreach. Whether by studio interference or filmmaker miscalculation, it tries to achieve an impossible number of simultaneous feats, peppering you with character cameos (Crowe plays Dr Henry Jekyll and the other guy as well) and breadcrumbs for future franchise instalments (Bride of Frankenstein is next in line, followed by The Invisible Man, Dracula, The Wolfman and all the other Gothic-era classics). All this, while also trying to tell a story of its own. That it feels like it happens in that order of priority is perhaps the movie's biggest problem, because on its own the actual mummy stuff is pretty darn solid. In the title role we find this time a female mummy, Ahmanet, portrayed by the wonderful Sofia Boutella (Star Trek Beyond). After her assured reign over Egypt is suddenly wrenched from her by the birth of a baby brother, Ahmanet forms a pact with Set, the God of Death and embarks upon a killing spree before being entombed alive and erased from history. Erased, that is, until Cruise and his sidekick Chris (a clumsy, unnecessary turn by New Girl's Jake Johnson) stumble upon the sarcophagus and awaken the beast from her twenty centuries of stony sleep. From that moment on, The Mummy is a film with an identity crisis. Its mummy affairs are entertaining, action-packed and even occasionally scary, particularly through the employment of zombie henchmen reanimated by Ahmanet after she's sucked out their life force. The comedy doesn't really fit with Cruise's performance, and he has zero chemistry with Wallis, but at least the film delivers engaging set-pieces – more so than, say, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2. Unfortunately, the Dark Universe stuff proves far more problematic. So much is mentioned yet left unexplored, and not in a way that can simply be excused as foreshadowing. As the Marvel superhero movies have repeatedly demonstrated, a single 10 second shot at the end of a film's credit sequence can capably tease all that is to come in future films without detracting from the story being told in the present. Left to its own devices, The Mummy might well have soared as a classic monster movie from a bygone era. Instead, it's a confused jumble of scenes and characters that undermine and trip each other up at every possible turn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzorZUuZqEI
Gaming and esports are coming to Melbourne in a big way. Come early 2020, the Emporium precinct will welcome Fortress, a 2700-square-metre centre devoted to computer, video, console and tabletop gaming. When it launches, it'll become the largest venue of its type both in the country and in the southern hemisphere. If you're eager to mash buttons with your mates somewhere other than your lounge room, you'll be able to do so in this sprawling two-level spot — which'll feature more than 160 gaming PCs, several suites dedicated to consoles, an entire lounge for online gaming, four streamer pods, and an area just for role-playing and board games. If you take your favourite pastime a bit more seriously, you'll also be in the right place. As well as an esports arena with grandstand seating for 200 people, Fortress will include an esports bootcamp room, a training space, and broadcast and production facilities. At least five big screens will grace the venue's walls, playing live tournaments and international playoffs. Elsewhere, function rooms with their own computer setups will be available to hire for private events and parties — and there'll be a merchandise store onsite as well. When it comes to kicking back after a few games, the esports area will boast its own bar, while the basement will be home to a 400-square-metre tavern that'll serve both drinks and food. Whether you're a Super Smash Bros lover or a Counter Strike fiend, Fortress Melbourne aims to appeal to everyone, catering for casual gamers, competitive gamers and esports diehards, as well as families and after-work crowds. A collaboration with US-based Allied Esports, which runs venues such as Las Vegas' HyperX Esports Arena, the Melbourne facility marks the first in a planned chain of similar spots across Australia over the next few years — although no date has been given as yet for the rollout around the rest of the country. Fortress Melbourne will open at Emporium Melbourne, 287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, sometime early in 2020. We'll update you with a launch date when one is announced.
Only a hop, skip and a jump from favourites Grandma's, The Baxter Inn and Grasshopper, Assembly is a spanking new option on the city's map of small bars. Plus, it's from the gent responsible for Pocket Bar, so you know you're getting a good deal. Admittedly, Assembly is tucked away in a bit of a strange spot - namely Regent Place, a shopping hub with the feel of a shopping centre. Entrance to the bar involves sidestepping an escalator, so entering a dimly lit bar feels like an awkward adjustment. That said, the Assembly team have done their best to counter this and ensure the bar itself is a departure from its surrounds. Outside the bar proper sits a picnic spot, or garden if you will. Tables on astroturf are surrounded by a picket fence, tapping into the greenery installation on the centre's wall. This makes for a playful lunching atmosphere in the concrete centre, or a surreal spot to sit and drink at night. The bar itself is far from sparkling tiles and polished steel - it has the atmosphere of an adult's treehouse. Dividers built from wooden pallets, milkcrate tables, bunker-style lights, slightly creepy mannequins and one of the cleverest dumb waiters we've ever seen, made from the repurposed mechanism of a garage door. The drinks from mixologist/general manager Ben Taouss are almost as intelligent, and most definitely as playful. My pick (and one of my favourites anywhere) was the Lavender Hill Cappuccino ($17), a martini with Pop Rocks and an apple foam. There's also the Rasp'n'Co ($16), a 'vodka raspberry' with white chocolate or, for more serious drinkers, the Brooklyn ($18), a prohibition-style concoction of rye whisky, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur, a dash of Amer Picon and a cherry on top. Some of our favourites, however, also came from the Ambassadors List, dedicated to some of Sydney's spirit brands' ambassadors. We love the Citroen Sour ($18), with half a passionfruit and a dash of orange bitter, plus the Earl Negroni ($18), Hendricks, Campari and Antica formula with orange marmalade, served up in a teacup. If you'd prefer, there's a shifting range of fairly standard beers and a moderate wine list also on offer. Food isn't overly complicated but hits the spot. The winning dish is unquestionably the Sticky Ribs ($18). Though these don't quite represent ribs as we would imagine them and the broccolini is a little underrepresented, the meat melts like butter. Make sure you pick up a side of Fries ($8) - though the melted cheese and truffle sauce isn't ideal, they do well to mop up the ribs' smoky sauce. If you'd rather mix and match, try the Hotdogs ($9-$10). Our pick was the Chili Pork, with toffee onions and chimichurri that packed a punch, though the Pork and Fennel, with the addition of daikon and wasabi, was an intriguing mix. Assembly isn't perhaps what you'd except from the 'small bars' hype, but we like it nonetheless. A little fancier than Grandma's and a little more playful than Baxter Inn, we want to see how the assemblage of this bar develops into the future. [nggallery id=168]
If you're a fan of 90s horror getting a new lease on life, we know what you're doing this winter Down Under: watching the latest instalment in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise. Although a TV series ran for one season in 2021, it's been almost 20 years since the last film in the series hit screens — and, as both the initial trailer and the just-dropped fresh look at the newest movie shows, familiar faces are back, and spouting familiar lines of dialogue as well. A slasher premise. A script by Dawson's Creek creator Kevin Williamson. A cast member of Party of Five being terrorised. That setup worked well twice three decades back, first with Scream and then with I Know What You Did Last Summer. Indeed, when they each initially released, sequels followed in both instances. Here's the latest part of the trend: both franchises have made or are making 2020s-era returns after jumps to the small screen, in flicks sharing the same name as the original movies in each saga and featuring OG cast members. First came 2022's Scream. Next arrives 2025's I Know What You Did Last Summer. Once again, Jennifer Love Hewitt (9-1-1) follows in Neve Campbell's (The Lincoln Lawyer) footsteps — and as Scream did, I Know What You Did Last Summer picks up with a mix of recognisable and new talents. As the sneak peeks for cinema's return to Southport illustrate, Freddie Prinze Jr (The Girl in the Pool) is also present again. Being stalked for their past misdeeds this time: Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks), Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio), Jonah Hauer-King (The Tattooist of Auschwitz), Tyriq Withers (Me) and Sarah Pidgeon (The Friend). On the big screen on Thursday, July 17, 2025 Down Under, the results will play out — aka a group of friends getting involved in a car accident where someone dies, they cover it up and vow not to tell anyone, but that secret and a vengeance-seeking killer haunts them a year later. The new film layers in the fact that this has all happened in the past, with the quintet in focus needing help from two survivors of the Southport Massacre of 1997. Enter Hewitt and Prinze Jr, as part of a cast that also includes Billy Campbell (Mr & Mrs Smith), Gabbriette Bechtel (Idiotka) and Austin Nichols (The Six Triple Eight). Starting as a 1973 novel, which Williamson adapted into the first 1997 film, I Know What You Did Last Summer initially spawned two sequels: 1998's I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and 2006's I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer. Then came that shortlived television effort. On the franchise's return to the big screen, Do Revenge filmmaker Jennifer Kaytin Robinson directs — and continues her connection with the OG I Know What You Did Last Summer cast, given that Sarah Michelle Gellar (Dexter: Original Sin) featured in that 2022 movie. Check out the trailer for I Know What You Did Last Summer below: I Know What You Did Last Summer releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Strap on your helmet and saddle up, because ARTcycle Tours are all about diving into different neighbourhoods. As you wind through street art scenery, these events are designed to open up new pockets of grassroots culture. In the way of guides, Alex Wisser will be sharing his knowledge of the inner-west on a ride dotted with talks from gallerists and artists. And Jason Wing will take you through the inner-south, mapping out the Indigenous significance of the area. You can also take a peek into creative spaces with the open studio trails around Leichhardt and Marrickville — LOST and MOST. So crank up the pedal power and get involved. This event is one of our top ten picks of Art Month. Check out the other nine here.
They're taking the hobbits to Amazon — and, later this year, fans of Lord of the Rings will be able to see the end result. You should already have Friday, September 2, 2022 marked in your diary, as the premiere date for Amazon Prime Video's new LOTR show was announced last year. But if you've been wondering exactly what you'll be watching, the streaming platform has just provided a few new details. While the series has just been referred to as The Lord of the Rings since it was first announced it back in 2017 — including when it was given the official go-ahead in mid-2018 and confirmed that it wouldn't just remake Peter Jackson's movies, and also when a few other concrete details regarding what it's about were revealed, its full title is officially The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. And if you're wondering why, Amazon has dropped a title release video (yes, we now live in a world where there are trailers for announcing what a show will be called) which includes some of JRR Tolkien's most famous lines. If you're a big LOTR fan — on the page and thanks to the films — you should be familiar with Tolkien's Ring Verse, which outlines who was intended to receive the rings of power. Elven-kings, dwarf-lords, mortal men and the Dark Lord all get a mention, and you can hear the key lines in the video below: "This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to JRR Tolkien's other classics. The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth's Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men," said showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay, announcing the news. "Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring – but before there was one, there were many… and we're excited to share the epic story of them all." In a series that'll make ample use of New Zealand's scenic landscape in its first season — and so greenery abounds, naturally, as the first image from the show illustrates — The Rings of Power will spend time in Middle-earth's Second Age as Payne and McKay explained, bringing that era from the LOTR realm to the screen for the very first time. According to show's official synopsis, it'll follow "the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history," with the action set thousands of years before the novels and movies we've all read and watched. The series will also "take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness." If you're a little rusty on your LOTR lore, the Second Age lasted for 3441 years, and saw the initial rise and fall of Sauron, as well as a spate of wars over the coveted rings. Elves feature prominently, and there's plenty to cover, even if Tolkien's works didn't spend that much time on the period — largely outlining the main events in an appendix to the popular trilogy. Naturally, you can expect Sauron to feature in the new show, and to give its main figures some trouble. "Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth," the official synopsis continues. "From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone," it also advises. In terms of stars, The Rings of Power will feature an unsurprisingly large cast — and some impressive talent behind the scenes. Among the actors traversing Middle-earth are Tom Budge (Judy & Punch), Morfydd Clark (Saint Maud), Ismael Cruz Córdova (The Undoing), Joseph Mawle (Game of Thrones), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (The Accountant), Maxim Baldry (Years and Years), Peter Mullan (Westworld), Benjamin Walker (The Underground Railroad) and comedian Lenny Henry. And, the series is being overseen by showrunners and executive producers JD Payne and Patrick McKay, while filmmaker JA Bayona (A Monster Calls, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) directs the first two episodes. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be available to stream via Amazon Prime Video from Friday, September 2, 2022.
Renowned all-day King Street eatery and wine bar Odd Culture is adding a Sydney favourite to its already eclectic menu — bottomless brunch. As with most of the things you'll find at Odd Culture, the Newtown bar is doing brunch a little differently. Instead of your standard selection of free-flowing house wine and beers, the Odd Culture bottomless brunch features two hours of natural wines from Jumping Juice. A range of wines from this minimal-intervention producer has been selected to partner with the brunch spread, including a fun and fizzy pét-nat which will be used to make mimosas paired with freshly squeezed orange juice. As for the food, it depends on when you sit down. The bottomless is available from 7am Friday, Saturday and Sunday each week. From 7am–midday, patrons will be served the brunch-specific menu, including seasonal fruit, a choice of porridge, a bacon butty with tonkatsu sauce, ocean trout with potato waffles, creme fraiche and eggs, and buttermilk pancakes topped with miso caramel and banana. From midday, guests will be served the lunch menu. This sharing-based feast will feature the likes of koji-roasted chicken, chicken-fat congee, green beans, eggs and a leafy green salad. Au (Pet) Naturel will set each diner back $85, but there are a few luxe extras you can add on if you're feeling particularly lavish. Start your meal with an Odd Culture bloody mary or brown butter espresso martini for an extra $22, or add a half-dozen or dozen oysters to the spread ($42–84). Images: Kitti Gould
It's that time again, gelato fiends: time to kick off 2024 with Messina's first decadent special for the year, and time to start thinking about Valentine's Day as well. The cult-favourite dessert brand is taking care of both will one brand-new OTT creation: a hot tub version of its Mr Messina flavour. If you haven't tried this coveted scoop as a regular Messina gelato variety as yet, it features fior di latte gelato with baked cheesecake smashed in, as well as pretzel fudge and a pretzel crust. Now, think that but as one of Messina's hot tubs, aka the chain's extra-special, always limited-edition, online-order-only treats. No, the word 'hot' doesn't reflect the required temperature. Indeed, in this case, the tub comes with layers of fior di latte gelato, pretzel fudge and pretzel clusters, plus baked cheesecake and cheesecake mousse, all to be eaten cold. On top: red chocolate crack and piped vanilla chantilly. While the dessert is timed for the supposedly most romantic day of the year, who you share it and your Messina love with is up to you. Grab a spoon with your significant other, go all in for Galentine's Day instead, or treat yo'self to multiple days of red-topped gelato — the choice is obviously yours. Tubs cost $45 each, and you'll need to place your order online on Wednesday, January 24. Because Messina's specials always prove popular, the brand staggers its on-sale times. So, folks in Queensland, the ACT and Western Australia are able to purchase at 12pm AEDT / 11am AEST / 9am AWST — and Victorians at 12.15pm AEDT. New South Wales customers are split across three times depending on the store (with tubs from Bondi, Circular Quay, Miranda, Randwick and Surry Hills on sale at 12.30pm AEDT; Darlinghurst, Brighton Le Sands, Manly, Parramatta, Tramsheds and Marrickville at 12.45pm AEDT; and Darling Square, Newtown, Norwest, Rosebery and Penrith at 1pm AEDT). Wherever you live, you can then pick up the Mr Messina hot tubs between Monday, February 12–Wednesday, February 14. Fans of Messina will know that the gelato brand is quite fond of making these kinds of indulgent — and supremely tasty — specials, after previously serving up everything from mango Iced Vovo tubs and the Neapolitan Messinetta (aka its take on the Viennetta) to a hazelnut-heavy tub topped with rocher crack and honey joy sticky scrolls. Gelato Messina's Mr Messina hot tub will be available to order from on Wednesday, January 24 from 12pm AEDT, with times varying per state and store — head to the Messina website for more information.
Look up at night and you'll see them: tiny, shimmering, human constellations, creeping their way up, over and down the Harbour Bridge like caterpillars of light. This is The Vivid Climb, and for the next few weeks, you're invited to be a part of it. Operating since 1998, BridgeClimb Sydney has seen over 3 million people traverse the bridge's southern half. Standing 134m tall and running 1,149m in total, the bridge has a silhouette that perhaps only Uluru and the Opera House can rival as the internationally recognised symbol for Australia. It can be driven on, walked across, flown over and sailed beneath; however, the truly memorable experience is reserved for the climbers. Under normal conditions, a Bridge Climb is already an extraordinary and rewarding activity, even for lifetime residents of Sydney. Short of flying in over the harbour, there's no other opportunity to see the city in all 360 degrees from such a centrally elevated point. By day, it is – predictably – a sparkling showcase of the Emerald City's crowning glory, but by night, as the blue waters blacken beneath the autumn sky, the harbour's foreshore comes alive with the lights of the annual Vivid Festival, and the view from up top is, quite simply, unsurpassed. There's also something special thrown in this year: a sensory cherry on top of the steel cake that pays special tribute to the Bridge's most charming sobriquet. Since its opening in 1932, the Sydney Harbour Bridge has gone by many names — the Coathanger, the Iron Lung, the House of Flying Traffic Jams — yet its importance as a roadway and its iconic value have earned it one other enduring and beloved moniker: 'The Heart of the City'. Now, as part of VIVID, you can perch yourself at its peak, afix a heart-rate monitor to your pinky and project your heart beat to the city with an aural and visual experience directed entirely by your bloodflow. Who's the audience? Everyone. Truly. The Bridge Climb is an experience open to a far wider demographic than you might expect. Neither age nor disabilities are considered meaningful hindrances for anyone wishing to partake, and its combination of pre-climb training, extensive safety measures, reassuring guides and imperceptibly small inclines makes it more than palatable for even those uncomfortable with heights. In truth, probably the most pressing concern for many would simply be passing the breathalyser exam at the start of the tour. As the saying goes: if you drink and climb, you're a bloody idiot. Or a backpacker.
UPDATE Wednesday, June 23: Due to the latest outbreak of COVID-19, Bondi Festival has been postponed until Tuesday, June 29. You can find the latest information at the Bondi Festival website and stay up to date with the developing COVID-19 situation in Sydney, as well as current restrictions, at NSW Health. Usually, when winter rolls around, Bondi becomes a hub of ferris wheel rides, art shows, live music, history walks and fringe events for the annual Winter Magic and Bondi Feast events. Last year, because of COVID-19, those events were combined to create a mega-festival of art, food and soaring through the sky dubbed Bondi Festival — and the fest is returning again in 2021. Setting up once more will be Bondi Vista, a ferris wheel that'll send you soaring 22 metres above the sand. From Tuesday, June 29–Sunday, July 11, you can go for a spin and feast your eyes on 360-degree views. On one side, you'll be gazing at wild waves, endless horizon and open sky. On the other, look out for glimpses of the city skyline. If you prefer to spin in circles on the ground, you can do just that at an ice-skating rink. Between rides on both circular attractions, you can check out an extravaganza of circus, burlesque, comedy and theatre, with shows popping up throughout the suburb. Walking tours and events for families will also be on the bill, and all in a COVID-safe way, of course. So far, only the basic details have been announced, with the full program due to release in May. But, you can start pencilling some frosty beachside action into your calendar anyway.
There may or may not be a new mixtape from the Avalanches. This past weekend, the Australian band tweeted this mysterious message to fans, with a link to a mix titled 'A Sleepy Bedtime Mix for Young Ones'. The link is hosted by new mixtape site, Pinchy & Friends, created by Tom Kuntz, who directed the video for the Avalanches' 'Frontier Psychiatrist'. Reps from Modular, the Avalanches' label, claim to have no knowledge of a mixtape. The Avalanches have gonna a little MIA as of late; a "taking a break" message appears on their site, and the band has thanked fans for their patience via Facebook. The mysterious mixtape is posted under the name of Charles Bukowski's character Henry Chinaski, and is currently available for free download here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=eS3AZ12xf6s
Gillian Adams services the high-end pampering needs of the lower north shore with its unique aquamedic pool, steam room, treatment rooms, restaurant, and cutting-edge hair and beauty salon. The spa's classic facial — which includes a tailored skin consultation and a series of rejuvenating treatments — will set you back $160. At the other end of the spectrum, a truly luxe L'Escape Voyage package features a pool, steam and vichy shower session, aromatherapy massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, scalp ritual, blow wave and gourmet lunch, all spread out over more than seven hours ($880). Or, you can simply mix and match your way to total relaxation, choosing from a broad selection of bathing rituals, massages, body treatments and more.
2030 will mark 28 years since one of the best zombie movies ever made first hit screens: 28 Days Later from filmmaker Danny Boyle (Yesterday). Before that milestone arrives, however, it's likely that you'll be watching a new flick from Boyle in the same franchise. It'll still be called 28 Years Later — and it's officially in the works. 28 Days Later has already spawned one follow-up thanks to 2007's 28 Weeks Later, but Boyle didn't direct it. Screenwriter Alex Garland, who also penned Sunshine for Boyle, then hopped behind the camera himself with Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men and TV series Devs, also wasn't involved with 28 Weeks Later. But they're both back for the third film in the series, which might become the middle chapter. Not only is a new movie locked in, but it's being talked about as the start of a new trilogy. As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, Garland is writing 28 Years Later, Boyle is helming, and they're looking for studios or streamers to jump onboard. It's expected that Boyle will only direct the initial new picture, while Garland will pen the entire trio. There's no word yet if any of the OG film's stars will return, with 28 Days Later among the movies that helped bring Oppenheimer star, newly minted Golden Globe-winner and likely Oscar-recipient Cillian Murphy to fame. He played Jim, a bicycle courier who wakes up from a coma in a deserted hospital 28 days after a pandemic of the rage virus changed the world forever — and from Boyle and Garland to audiences everywhere, who wouldn't want him to reprise the role? Marking Boyle and Garland's first proper collaboration after Boyle adapted Garland's best-selling novel The Beach for the big screen two years earlier, 28 Days Later still ranks among the best work on either's resume — and on Murphy's as well, even if it didn't win him any of Hollywood's top shiny trophies. Set in the aftermath of the accidental release of a highly contagious virus, the film's images of a desolated London instantly became iconic, but this is a top-notch movie on every level. That includes its performances, with then-unknowns Murphy and Naomie Harris (the Bond franchise's current Moneypenny) finding the balance between demonstrating their characters' fierce survival instincts and their inherent vulnerability. If you wondering why 28 Months Later hasn't been made, it was talked about for years, but the time has now passed unless the new trilogy includes a flick set between 28 Weeks Later and 28 Years Later. [caption id="attachment_910048" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Oppenheimer[/caption] 28 Years Later and any following sequels don't yet have a release date — we'll update you when more details are announced. Via The Hollywood Reporter.
If all a horror movie needed was a killer concept, then Lights Out would sit at the top of the spooky cinematic heap. At its core is an idea that's equally obvious, ingenious and universal: the unsettling feeling that springs in children and adults alike when a flick of a switch plunges a room into darkness. In fact, when Swedish filmmaker David F. Sandberg first toyed with the notion in his two-and-a-half-minute short film of the same name, it became a viral sensation, catching the eye of horror producer James Wan in the process. Three years later, Sandberg has fleshed out the attention-grabbing effort into his feature film debut. In Lights Out, stressing about whatever sinister presence just might lurk in the shadows isn't simply a sign of anxiety or an overactive imagination, as Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) and her ten year old brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) come to realise in the wake of a family tragedy. Initially, Martin isn't overly concerned when his grief-stricken mother, Sophie (Maria Bello), starts speaking to someone who isn't there. But then he spies a ghostly figure that only appears when his lamp turns off. When he flees his dimly lit home to stay in Rebecca's apartment, she starts seeing the apparition too. It's enough to make them jump, run and scream repeatedly, in a movie that knows how to make the most of its unnerving moments. Indeed, although writer Eric Heisserer seems fairly content to keep playing in formulaic territory after penning the recent remakes of both A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Thing, Sandberg perfects the ominous look, uneasy mood and expert sense of timing that a film about things going bump in the dark requires. More specifically, Sandberg's spot-on directorial choices include a focus on the obvious but essential: if you're going to call a film Lights Out, you have to master the many flickers and silhouettes that tend to come with luminous bulbs and the like. From the glow of exterior lighting shining down on an eerie-looking warehouse in the film's opening shot, to the contrast of every high- and low-wattage source of brightness you can think of against gloomy interior surroundings, the movie becomes a striking exercise in setting a specific tone through lighting and cinematography. As a result, what it lacks in narrative surprises, it makes up for in successful scares and inventive imagery. Thankfully, the small but spirited cast follows suit, even though they're largely saddled with cookie-cutter horror roles. No time is wasted on jostling for laughs or taking things too seriously, with the 81-minute feature proving an example of economical yet mostly effective filmmaking. Accordingly, even as Palmer's heroine makes more than a few predictable choices, and Bello's frazzled parent does the same, they're both pitched at just the right, relatable level.
It's easier than you think to find pockets of nature in Singapore's concrete jungle. Take a walk off the beaten path and discover some lesser-known places to get lost in Singapore's greenery. Whether you hop on a bike or venture out on foot, exploring Singapore's expansive outdoors doesn't have to cost you. We've teamed up with Singapore Tourism to showcase some of the Lion City's top outdoor trails and activities — all for free. Coast-to-Coast Trail The name gives it away, but this 36-kilometre track stretches across the whole island of Singapore, from the Jurong Lake Gardens in the west to Rower's Bay Park in the north. The trail passes through 10 major checkpoints and takes about 11 hours to complete on foot, or three hours by bike. For this reason, it's recommended that you get an early start or divide up the trip across two days, so you can finish up in time for the sunset at Rower's Bay Park. Start off at the 90-hectare Jurong Lake Gardens, which boasts a Chinese and Japanese Garden, a freshwater swamp with various wildlife, water-sport facilities, an outdoor lap pool, a skate park with a bouldering wall, and a children's water playground. You can pick up a rental bike at the GoCycling outlet here, before returning it at Punggol Jetty towards the end of the trip. From Jurong Lake Gardens, you can trek on to Bukit Batok Nature Park and Hindhede Drive to reach Adam Road. Grab some much-needed fuel at the nearby Adam Road Food Centre and take a breather at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Rested and ready? The journey continues past Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West, Luxus Hills Park and Sengkang Riverside Park. Make a pit-stop here to explore the man-made floating wetland, the elevated bridge across the river and over 20 species of fruit trees throughout the park — but you'll have to refrain from picking any fruit. You'll get to enjoy the views across the Jewel Bridge, Adventure Bridge and Kelong Bridge as you pass through Punggol Waterway Park, before you reach Coney Island Park and your final destination, Rower's Bay Park. Celebrate your achievement with spectacular sunset views from the waterside boardwalk or pavilion. [caption id="attachment_977504" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Danny Santos[/caption] East Coast Park With attractions like a water-sports centre, skatepark, yoga studio and beachfront bar, East Coast Park is a hub of activity for all ages. The seafront park and beach is spread across almost 15 kilometres, so you can enjoy a leisurely two-hour stroll or 30-minute cycle along the water. If you choose the latter, pick up a bike at GoCycling or Coastline Leisure. The dedicated bike lanes and flat terrain make cycling around the park a breeze. If you're feeling adventurous, you can bike to Marina Bay or head in the opposite direction, where you'll pass through the Jurassic Mile and end up at Changi Airport. If you've got tots in tow, there's no shortage of fun to keep them entertained. Kids can clamber up Singapore's tallest playground at Coastal PlayGrove; try windsurfing, stand-up paddleboarding or laser sailing at the Aloha Seasports Centre (which opportunely has a beach bar for accompanying adults); or practise their tricks at one of Singapore's largest skateparks. You've also got plenty of options when all that action inevitably rouses your appetite. Grab some local cuisine at the East Coast Lagoon Food Village, enjoy a chilli crab at popular chains JUMBO Seafood and Long Beach Seafood, keep it simple with healthy cafe food at East Coast Commune, or tuck into some Italian fare at Fico. Rail Corridor This 24-kilometre track stretching from Tanjong Pajar in the south to Kranji in the north was formerly a railroad bearing trains to and from Malaysia. Since being revitalised in 2021, it has become a popular hiking trail that takes explorers through expanses of greenery, across restored bridges and alongside native flora and fauna. The trail is divided into North, Central and South sections, if you'd prefer to split up the journey. Due to its significance to local wildlife, parts of the Rail Corridor are not lit at night, so be sure to time your visit to end by sunset — the whole walk can be completed in less than six hours. In the central portion of the trek lies Bukit Timah Railway Station. The refurbished train station and staff quarters date back to 1932, and now house a gallery and café. As you continue further north, you'll come across the Bukit Timah Truss Bridge, before passing by the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve — home to the city's largest peak. For striking views, take some time out to admire the quarries at Rifle Range National Park, Bukit Batok Nature Park and Dairy Farm Nature Park. Conveniently located about halfway through the Rail Corridor, the Rail Mall includes numerous eateries, so you can snag a much-needed feed and put your feet up before venturing on to the northern stretch. Book your Singapore holiday now with Flight Centre. Top images: Lim Wei Xiang, Marklin Ang. All images courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.
The School for Wives tells the story of Arnolde (John Adam), an egoist who buys a four-year-old girl and has her brought up in a sheltered convent in the hope of breeding a perfectly submissive wife. It turns out she has her own mind (or hormones) and falls for another man (Meyne Wyatt). Director Lee Lewis has set her slapstick version of Molière's 1662 comedy in the 1920s. It has been translated by Justin Fleming and has been touring many corners of Australia since June this year. The adaptation is an entertaining piece of frippery. Harriet Dyer playing Agnes stands out as a comic champion, and supporting characters Alan (Andrew Johnston) and Georgette (Alexandra Aldrich), the house help, are also a tight comic duo. Adam's performance as Arnolde is really the powerhouse of the show, driving the story with indefatigable energy and commitment. Mark Jones, providing an eclectic mix of music to accompany the shenanigans, shows off some impressive skills and gives a generous performance. Designer Marg Horwell has come up with a scrappy, unfinished, and dysfunctional set, presumably as a joke. The joke goes a bit far though and the result is simply a ridiculous set, where a piece of enormous scaffolding which is used only twice takes up half the stage. The moveable white panels similarly clutter the space and block audience views for no reason. Bell Shakespeare's thing is to bring Shakespeare and other classics to as many Australians as possible. It's a noble and worthy mission. The only problem with that project, in this particular instance, is that Lewis and Fleming seem to have taken accessibility to mean simple. There is no need to explain away everything for the audience, no matter who they are. Excellent theatre can also be completely baffling. Watching this show is similar to abiding that uncle at Christmas lunch explaining each of his manifold terrible jokes. Lee Lewis has likened Molière to Ricky Gervais elsewhere, and the cringe level in The School for Wives is certainly high. I have a hunch though, that part of the cringe in this production is the good old cultural cringe we Australians are so friendly with when it comes to classics. The translation into Australian vernacular reads as shy rather than sharp. That said, there’s nothing wrong with a piece of pure entertainment, and let's face it, the dance finale is fabulous. Tireless winking and nudging aside, it's an amusing night at the Opera House.
It's pretty difficult to make a bad film with Paris as your backdrop, but it's nigh on impossible when that backdrop is Paris in the 1920s and the city is brimming with creative royalty like Hemingway and Picasso. Throw Woody Allen into the mix and you're pretty much guaranteed a witty, artfully shot piece of cinematic brilliance. Allen's latest, Midnight in Paris, offers a snapshot of the world's most adored city in its glory days, where avant-garde intersected with the everyday at the height of the Modernist movement. After opening the Cannes film festival in May, this blend of history and fantasy is finally being brought to Australian screens. The film's protagonist, Gil, is played by Owen Wilson, potentially an unlikely candidate for a Woody Allen film since findinga place in mainstream films since his Wes Anderson years. But like your typical Allen protagonist, Gil is utterly dissatisfied with his charmed life. His successful career in Hollywood, his trip to Paris and the beautiful woman on his arm, Inez (played by Rachel McAdams), all offer little pleasure to this jaded writer, yearning to produce a novel to match the literary works of masters gone by. One Parisian night, Gil's fantasy is indulged when he is picked up by a vintage car conveniently doubling as a time machine. The film follows Gil's adventures in the intellectual treasure trove that was Paris in the Roaring Twenties, rubbing shoulders with the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, T. S. Eliot and Salvador Dali. Midnight in Paris will take you on a journey into the Paris of the past - one we all wish we could visit - with cinematography to show off the City of Light as it stands today. To win one of ten single passes to see Midnight in Paris, just make sure you are subscribed to Concrete Playground then email your name and postal address through to hello@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=dL95WR4Jzhc
If you've ever dreamed of whiling away your days in an ultra-luxurious pad, then prepare to come down with a huge case of house envy. The winners of the 2018 Houses Awards have been announced and they're seriously impressive, as they are every year. Taking out the prize for House of the Year is the Cabbage Tree House in Sydney's Bayview. A win for the team at Peter Stutchbury Architecture, it's set into the hillside in the city's northern beaches, and was described by the jury as "authentically and poetically embracing its landscape setting." The dwelling also picked up a second award, for best new house over 200m². Spreading the architectural love around, abodes in Brisbane and Melbourne picked up various gongs as well, alongside other Sydney spots. Brunswick's Nightingale, by Breathe Architecture, emerged victorious in the sustainability category; Highgate Hill's Terrarium House by John Ellway was a joint winner in the house alteration and addition under 200m² field, with Bronte's Hole in the Roof House by Rachel Neeson and Stephen Neille; and Bolt Hole by Panov Scott Architects was anointed the best house in a heritage context. Check out the full list of House Award winners, below.AUSTRALIAN HOUSE OF THE YEAR – Cabbage Tree House by Peter Stutchbury Architecture (Bayview, NSW) NEW HOUSE UNDER 200m² – Springhill House by Lovell Burton Architecture (Springhill, VIC) NEW HOUSE OVER 200m² – Cabbage Tree House by Peter Stutchbury Architecture (Bayview, NSW) HOUSE ALTERATION AND ADDITION UNDER 200m² – Hole in the Roof House by Rachel Neeson and Stephen Neille (Bronte, NSW) and Terrarium House by John Ellway (Highgate Hill, QLD) HOUSE ALTERATION AND ADDITION OVER 200m² – Morningside Residence by Kieron Gait Architects (Morningside, QLD) APARTMENT OR UNIT – Boneca Apartment by Brad Swartz Architects (Rushcutters Bay, NSW) GARDEN OR LANDSCAPE – Coastal Garden House by Neeson Murcut Architects with 360 Degrees (Bronte, NSW) SUSTAINABILITY – Nightingale 1 by Breathe Architecture (Brunswick, VIC) HOUSE IN A HERITAGE CONTEXT – Bolt Hole by Panov Scott Architects (Woollahra, NSW) EMERGING ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE – Brad Swartz Architects and Zuzana & Nicholas
Sean Penn’s one of those guys who definitely has nicknames for his biceps. Best bet: ‘Humanitarian’ / ‘Crisis’. In his latest film, The Gunman, the two biggest guns are to be found either side of his almost unceasingly topless torso. For a man of 54 he’s definitely sporting an impressive rig, but - as a man of 54, that rig is weirdly distracting and afforded unfathomable screen time. The film itself is unfortunately less impressive, a ‘political thriller' that’s neither. Beginning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we meet Penn in the role of Jimmy Terrier, a hitman masquerading as a private security contractor for a construction company. When said company has him assassinate the Congolese Mining Minister, Terrier is forced to disappear, leaving behind him not just an imperilled country but also the love of his life, Annie (Italian actress Jasmine Trinca). Fast forward eight years and Annie has shacked up with Terrier’s old boss Felix (Javier Bardem), the company has expanded into a giant multinational and Terrier finds himself on the receiving end of an assassination attempt. If you’ve already had a guess at who’s behind the plot, you’re right. With a setup that offered genuine promise, The Gunman sadly proves predictable to the point of soporific. Directed by Pierre Morel, it combines the ultra violence of his most successful film Taken with a plot about as dull as his woeful follow-up, From Paris with Love. The performances offer little to celebrate, either, with Penn rarely lifting above ‘disinterested’ and Bardem channeling the camp pantomime he displayed in The Counselor. Idris Elba and Ray Winstone both cameo in roles that might actually have provided substance had they been given more than a few minutes each, leaving Trinca as the lone source of enjoyment to be found. She extracts every bit of emotion and performance from a character who had little to work with in terms of script. The Gunman is ultimately an action film without substance: too violent to be taken seriously, but too serious to be any fun.
If more good music and more delicious food are among your New Year's resolutions — which is completely understandable — then the CBD's Restaurant Hubert is ready to give you a helping hand. Nightly from Monday–Saturday throughout January, the French eatery will be serving up a four-course dinner, soundtracked by live jazz. Yes, its Jazz January program is back for another year. The curated lineup will bring you jazz of all kinds, with musicians hitting up the venue's stage each evening to keep you entertained while you eat. As for the menu, Restaurant Hubert is renowned for its French fare. For $88, you'll tuck into a shared menu featuring four courses — but, if you're not that hungry, you can still go a la carte and pick from the restaurant's regular offerings. Reservations are required, and Jazz January runs from 5pm till close each evening. [caption id="attachment_673758" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Cole Bennetts[/caption] Top image: Daniel Boud.
Back in 2021, Telstra did everyone who has ever forgotten their mobile phone when leaving the house a solid — and anyone who has been caught with a flat phone battery, lost their device, simply doesn't have one or has been stuck in an emergency as well — by making most calls free at its 15,000 payphones around the country. But what if you have your phone, or another internet-capable device, but have run out of data, your budget doesn't stretch to cove online access or, again, it's an emergency? From today, Thursday, August 25, the telecommunications company is starting to make wifi free at its public phones, too. The free wifi starts immediately at around 3000 payphone booths around Australia, and will eventually roll out across the entire nationwide network. And while it might sound like an extra convenience for most, helping people who are isolated or vulnerable is one of the move's key aims. For those who have a device, or access to one, but no data, hopping online will simply involve finding a payphone branded 'free Telstra wifi', then connecting to the 'free Telstra wifi' network in your device settings. Once you've connected the first time, your device will automatically connect to free wifi at other Telstra payphones, too, so you shouldn't need to go through the above process each time. Given that our mobile phones are basically pocket computers, Telstra's free wifi helps make what's become an essential utility — the internet — accessible to everyone. A map of payphones with free wifi is available online, and Telstra is prioritising rolling out the service to communities affected by the recent floods and summer bushfires. The plan is to have free wifi available from the entire network over the next few years. For more information about free wifi from Telstra's payphone, head to the company's website. Images: Sarah Tee.
What do you do when a global pandemic cancels Melbourne's annual film festival? If you're the folks at MIFF, you move the show online. Like Sydney Film Festival, this year's Melbourne International Film Festival is going virtual. So if you usually spend most of August watching new movies from around the world, you can still look forward to doing just that. Running at the same time the physical festival would've — so, between Thursday, August 6–Sunday, August 23 — this socially distant fest has been dubbed MIFF 68 1/2. 2020 should mark the event's 69th year, but it's keeping that label for next year's in-person fest. Still, cinephiles across Australia will still be able to get a MIFF experience, complete with a ticketed program. On the bill: new flicks, fresh discoveries from emerging filmmakers, and a range of Australian, international, documentary and animation shorts. MIFF's regular Shorts Awards will also be given out. The lineup won't be announced until July 14 (again, MIFF is sticking to its usual timetable), so you'll have to wait to see what you'll be feasting your eyes on — although, given film fests have been cancelled around the world since mid-March, you can probably expect to see a healthy selection of titles from earlier festivals that did still take place, such as Sundance and Berlinale. MIFF 68 1/2 is being made possible thanks to the most significant philanthropic gift the festival has ever received from a private donor, all to ensure the fest still goes on this year — and it'll use streaming platform Shift 72 to screen its program. [caption id="attachment_769569" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Zan Wimberley.[/caption] The full program launch and ticket sales for MIFF 68 1/2 begin on July 14. Top image: Tony Zara / Dean Walliss.
Taking inspiration from events in the past 12 months such as the (mainly UK-based) media scandals and the digital frenzy that surrounded the Kony12 campaign, the 2012 Sydney Writers' Festival will get us all thinking, talking (and maybe even writing) about the shifting boundaries between what’s public and what's private. Featuring profound and relevant discussions on current topics like gay marriage and media in a digital age, the 15th SWF will include writing workshops, readings from prizewinning authors, poets and biographers - as well as politicians, judges and even a CIA interrogator. The Festival will be hosting a few international heavyweights too. Libyan novelist Hisham Matar, who was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for In the Country of Men, will be opening the Festival. He will be talking about his writing and the harrowing events of his past (his father was kidnapped by Gaddafi’s regime in the ‘90s and is still missing). Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Virgin Suicides, Jeffrey Eugenides, is making first trip down under for the Festival, and Jeanette Winterson, author of Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, will be here to read from her memoir Why be Happy When You Could Be Normal?. Kick-ass writers from the UK and US, including Heather Brooke, who broke the story about the British parliamentary expenses scandal, and Stella Rimington, former head of MI5, are just two from a long list of influential writers who have tackled topics as wide-reaching as the troubled history of Ireland, Vladimir Putin’s hold over Russia and western capitalism versus China’s booming economy. There’s a kids programme too. Jeff Kinney, the creator of the successful children’s series Diary of a Wimpy Kid, will be speaking at Sydney Opera House among other readings and workshops. Closer to home, Australian expat Kathy Lette will be at the festival talking about raising an autistic child, and Aboriginal writer Anita Heiss and politician Bob Katter will be sharing their views on our nation. The Festival will be taking place from May 14 to 20 across venues such as Sydney Opera House, Walsh Bay, Sydney Town Hall and the Recital Hall. And the best part? More than half of the events are completely free. Some events are ticketed, some are not. Go to www.swf.org.au for details of all the writers attending and how to purchase tickets.
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.
With paedophilia now the throwaway punchline of every joke involving Catholic priests, Alex Gibney's Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God is a sobering reminder of the personal impacts of child sex abuse within an interminably sacrosanct organisation. Gibney has a way with scandal, having previously explored the USA's policy on torture in Taxi to the Dark Side and big business cover-ups in Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. His assured, forthright documentary style is at its best in Mea Maxima Culpa, following both personal accounts of victims and the much larger problem at work. Much of the film's focus rests on a group of vulnerable young boys under the care of Father Lawrence Murphy at a school for the deaf in Milwaukee in the '60s. Deliberately using their disability and disconnectedness from their families, Murphy regularly molested the boys in secrecy. One victim describes Murphy as a "ravenous wolf", often singling out children whose parents could not sign, thus minimising any chance of speaking out. It would take decades before they were able to. Father Murphy, who died in 1998 defended his actions with the sickening reasoning of nobly taking their sins upon himself to disrupt their "rampant homosexuality". Though eventually removed from the school, Murphy was largely protected by the church, which prompts the film to investigate this as not a distressing one-off incident, but as a widespread, hushed-up problem. According to Vatican correspondent Marco Politi, the first documentation dates back 1700 years ago, although the state refuses to make their archives public. Interviews with victims, lawyers, progressive clergymen and journalists mixed with archival footage supports Gibney's thesis of a conspiratorial protection offered by the Vatican — to the perpetrators, rather than the victims. The lucidity and openness of the subjects are only slightly let down by a few unnecessary re-enactments early on in the film. The defiant interviews with the men who have dedicated their adult lives to take their uncomfortable truths not just to their local archdiocese but all the way to the Vatican is what will stay with you. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God is an incredibly gripping report of a papacy that remains largely above the law. With the recent election of Pope Francis, it couldn't have come at a better time. https://youtube.com/watch?v=lLZDLp7lx28
Talented pooches have been barking their way to big-screen stardom since the birth of the medium, and Cannes Film Festival even gives out awards for ace pupper performances. In Australia for a few years now, we also celebrate the intersection of canines and cinema — via our very own dog-themed movie showcase. At the Top Dog Film Festival, doggos and puppers cement their status as humanity's favourite film stars in a touring program of pooch-centric shorts. For a couple of hours, dogs will leap across screens in a curated selection of heartwarming flicks about humanity's best friend. Over the last few years, the lineup has included films about dog-powered sports, dogs in space, dogs hiking through the desert, senior dogs and more — with this year's bill highlighting dolphin-spotting dogs, animal actors and mountain pups. The festival hits Sydney's Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace on Sunday, August 13 and Ritz Cinemas in Randwick on Sunday, August 20 as part of its 2023 run, and rushing after tickets the way your best four-legged friend rushes after a frisbee is recommended. Given how much we all love watching dog videos online, not to mention attending pupper-centric shindigs in general, this event is always popular. You'd be barking mad to miss it, obviously.
Sydney CBD's Spice Temple has released an affordable new lunch menu that lives up to the venue's name. On offer from 12–3pm every Wednesday–Friday, the daytime menu features seven different bowls of noodles each going for a very reasonable $15 — or $18 if you want to add on a cheeky lunchtime Tsingtao or glass of red or white wine. If you like spice, go for the fiery belt noodles, which see thick 'n' chewy noods topped with a pork and fermented chilli sauce that packs a serious punch, or Exec Chef Andy Evans' take on dan dan noodles: a soupy and saucy version of the classic Sichuan dish. Those whose spice tolerance is a little lower would be better served with the golden chicken soup, the crispy chow mein or the egg noodles served with Spice Temple's signature white cut chicken breast. The noodle serves are generous, but if you're super hungry, you can also order snacks such as the fried chicken wings ($18), lamb and cumin pancake ($22) and har gow (four for $16). Images: Nikki To
You already know that drops by way of Central Otago, Marlborough and Hawke's Bay deliver the goods, but when was the last time you sought some vino from beyond the big three New Zealand wine regions? Believe it or not, Gisborne is actually the country's third largest plonk-producing region — perhaps that's because Kiwis have a profound love for the cheap and cheerful east coast native, Lindauer. Elsewhere, the winterless north is home to some of the country's first grape plantations, North Canterbury sets the scene for 90 vineyards and over 20 cellar doors, and a cluster of pioneering vineyards sit less than 30-minutes from Auckland's CBD. [caption id="attachment_782157" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Milton Vineyard.[/caption] GISBORNE You've likely sampled the goods of premier east coast wine region Hawke's Bay, but how about vino from 200 kilometres up the road in Gisborne? Like its east coast neighbour, the high and hot sunshine hours and fertile soil make Gizzy the ideal location for growing and making world-class wine. It's the country's third largest wine-producing region and is best known for bottling aromatic chardonnay, gewurztraminer, viognier, pinot gris and malbec. Big name bubbly label Lindauer was born here, but a visit to the region might also see you swirling drops from Milton, the country's first organic and biodynamic wine estate. Award-winning producer Matawhero Wines can also be found up the road and the single-vineyard wines of the family-owned Bushmere Estate. Wine (and RTD) lovers can even party between the vines at the largest music festival in the country, Rhythm and Vines. [caption id="attachment_721838" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Matakana Estate.[/caption] MATAKANA Wine lovers visiting New Zealand's biggest city are truly spoilt for choice. A cluster of award-winning and family-owned vineyards sit less than an hour's drive from the CBD. Dotted among the hillsides and bays of northern Auckland, Matakana has a warm climate that produces elegant reds — there are 28 varieties planted in the region, which makes it one of the most diverse wine growing areas in New Zealand. Here you'll find French-inspired creations and an elaborate 'if you build it, they will come' sculpture park. Heron's Flight is the only vineyard in New Zealand to specialise solely in Italian grapes, including sangiovese and dolcetto. Matakana Estate has been around since the boutique wine region first sprung to light more than 30 years ago, and Runner Duck Estate is a vineyard specialising in small quantities of French-inspired syrah, Bordeaux blends, pinot gris and rosé. [caption id="attachment_669900" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Marsden Estate.[/caption] NORTHLAND The winterless north is where the country's first grapes were planted over 200 years ago. The wine region spans nearly 300 kilometres from Karikari in the north to Mangawhai in the south, with its subtropical climate creating full-bodied and rich wines. It's here you'll discover tropical chardonnays, vibrant viogniers, merlot blends and peppery pinotages. If you have an afternoon to wile away, Marsden Estate is found a short trip from Kerikeri airport. At the winery you can enjoy an educational wine tasting before settling on your preferred varietal. Afterwards, take a stroll around the subtropical vineyard gardens with another glass of vino. Once off the car ferry en route to Russell, make a short detour for Paroa Bay Winery, a property set against the rolling hills and overlooking its namesake watery cove. The boutique vineyard has a big focus on sustainability, using techniques of dry-grown vines across chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, syrah, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, malbec and merlot. Go for a tasting flight and stay for the Mediterranean and European-inspired menu at the onsite restaurant. [caption id="attachment_782115" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Westbrook.[/caption] WEST AUCKLAND West Auckland is host to a range of first-rate wine producers — some of which have been pumping out the goods for more than 100 years. A short drive from the CBD in and around Kumeu Valley is where the historic grape-growing region lies and where most of the vineyards were founded by families of Dalmatian (Croatian) origin. In just one day you can hop between cellar door tastings, private wine tours and full pairing degustations. Best known for chardonnay and pinot noir, the region is also ushering in a new era of wine production with aromatic grapes like the Spanish albarino. Pioneering winemaker Babich Wines has been operating out of Henderson Valley since 1916, Coopers Creek is a family-owned winery in Huapai with a reputation for producing classic regional wines, and The Hunting Lodge is an 80-acre estate featuring a lawn bar and cuisine from celebrated chef Des Harris. Elsewhere, you can't beat the output of boutique Waikoukou Valley producer Westbrook, the chardonnay of the Brajkovich family's Kumeu River, and the personal wine tours of Soljans Estate. [caption id="attachment_782156" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Black Estate.[/caption] NORTH CANTERBURY Just outside of the South Island's largest city is a destination renowned for its wine and food. The North Canterbury wine region is home to some 90 vineyards and over 20 cellar doors where you can sample interesting and expressive wines. Drops range from chardonnay and riesling to the lesser-known varietals like albarino and saint laurent — the 'wild cousin' of pinot noir. Waipara family-run vineyard Black Estate is famous for its organic and biodynamic wines, and its restaurant is often considered one of the best winery offerings in New Zealand. Elsewhere, Terrace Edge is an award-winning organic vineyard and olive grove on the Waipara River, pioneering winery Pegasus Bay offers drinkable riesling and pinot noir, and Greystone Wines dishes up a menu of organic and foraged produce. Also worth noting is Theo Coles' The Hermit Ram label which produces unfiltered and unrefined natural wine out of Omihi. Top image: Black Estate.
After playing more than his fair share of stoners, Seth Rogen co-writes and lends his voice to a film that was probably thought up in a pot-toking, munchies-craving state. What if our food was sentient, aware of everything around it, and had feelings, thoughts, hopes and dreams? What if each edible item interacted with others, and their exchanges mimicked humanity's issues with sex, religion, race and class? That's the world Sausage Party brings to the cinema, from its opening sing-a-long to its climatic display of a very different kind of food porn. As far as Rogen and co-writers Evan Goldberg, Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir are concerned, talking grocery products just want to get laid. Otherwise, they're generally happy conforming to cultural stereotypes and being kept in their place via a placating ideology. Turns out food isn't so different from the people who eat it. In case it's not clear, this film is for adults only, with directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan — best known for helming Madagascar 3 and episodes of Thomas & Friends, respectively — operating in much ruder, cruder territory than they're used to. A sausage by the name of Frank (Rogen) serves as the film's protagonist, whose primary goal in life is to consummate his relationship with his hot dog bun girlfriend Brenda (Kristen Wiig). As the Fourth of July approaches, they're both eager to leave the Shopwell's store they call home and move into the utopia of The Great Beyond. But things change after a jar of Honey Mustard (Danny McBride) returns from the supposed paradise outside, screaming that everything they thought they knew is a lie. Working his way around a shop also inhabited by a Jewish bagel (Edward Norton), an Arabic flatbread (David Krumholtz), an affectionate taco (Salma Hayek) and more, Frank sets out to discover the truth — all while an obnoxious, juiced-up douche (Nick Kroll) stalks the aisles. In waxing philosophical about the nature of belief systems, Sausage Party's premise proves surprisingly smart and thoughtful, with its characters forced to face the fact that their ultimate fate involves being eaten by the humans they consider gods. Unfortunately, the anti-Pixar flick also feels decidedly over-stuffed, bogged down by everything from endless food puns and hit-and-miss gags propped up by Scorsese-level swearing, to an over-reliance on bodily functions, drug use and pop-culture references to generate a laugh. Thankfully, a stacked cast of Rogen's male regulars, including Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd and James Franco, helps keep Sausage Party bouncing merrily along. Everyone's clearly having fun spouting their inappropriate dialogue, even if their glee isn't always contagious. In that way, the film quickly becomes the movie equivalent of a tripped-out dinner party, one that boasts plenty of quality ingredients, but can't quite deliver a satisfying meal.
Another year, another version of Batman. The Dark Knight doesn't get a new famous face quite that often, but you can be forgiven for thinking that it feels that way. Following in the footsteps of Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck, Robert Pattinson is now the latest actor to don the recognisable cape and mask — all thanks to upcoming superhero flick The Batman. No one really needs a plot synopsis for flicks about the Gotham City-dwelling character, because yes, we've all seen multiple versions of Batman over the years. This one is meant to stand completely apart from the most recent Affleck-starring DC Extended Universe version of the character, though. So, basically, what DC Films and Warner Bros Pictures did with Joker in 2019 — serving up a grimmer, grittier iteration of the infamous figure that has absolutely nothing to do with the rightfully hated Jared Leto version — they're endeavouring to do for Batman now. Also following the same playbook: enlisting a top-notch star in the lead role. Remember, it was only last that Joaquin Phoenix won an Oscar for playing the clown prince of crime. As well as Pattison as the titular character and his alter-ego Bruce Wayne, The Batman stars Zoe Kravitz (Big Little Lies) as Catwoman, Paul Dano (Escape at Dannemora) as the Riddler, Colin Farrell (Voyagers) as the Penguin, Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) as Commissioner Gordon and Andy Serkis (Long Shot) as Alfred Pennyworth. Plenty of these figures have popped on screens large and small multiple times, too — but Farrell's version of the Penguin certainly stands out in the film's just-dropped (and suitably dark, brooding and violent) full trailer. Originally slated to release this year, The Batman is one of the many movies that've been delayed due to the pandemic. And yes, you have gleaned a sneak peek before, with the movie dropping its first teaser trailer more than a year ago. Pattinson did just star in the Christopher Nolan-helmed Tenet in 2020, so perhaps it makes sense for him to play a character that Nolan helped bring back to cinemas 16 years ago. This time around, however, Cloverfield, Let Me In, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes filmmaker Matt Reeves is in the director's chair. Check out the full trailer for The Batman below: The Batman is currently due to release in Australian cinemas on March 3, 2022. Images: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/ ™ & © DC Comics.
Art fans may be intrigued by the sound of You Promised Me, You Said a Lie to Me, an international exhibition soon to be opening at Anna Schwartz Sydney. Curated by Melbourne's Alexie Glass-Kantor, the diverse collection of paintings, sculptures and installations takes its title from an eighth-century Irish ballad and echoes its themes of love, loss and impermanence. Ambitiously showcasing a collection of the hottest, most covetable artworks currently making waves internationally, the exhibition includes the films and video works of Ireland's Jesse Jones, the cross-medium creations of France's Laurent Grasso, 52 individual paintings by Singaporean artist Heman Chong and a new work commissioned specially for the exhibition by Australian artist Susan Jacobs. Aside from the works themselves, the show should provide an insight into Glass-Kantor’s current take on both the international and Australian scene — with implications for those eager to anticipate the tone she will set as the new executive director of Sydney's Artspace come November. Image: Laurent Grasso, Visibility is a Trap
Reading-list inspiration, sorted: even if you've devoured plenty of books by the authors on the 2025 Sydney Writers' Festival program, there's still much more to discover and explore. Whether you're keen to start leafing through pages now or plan to finish the fest with a stacked pile of new material by your bed, get excited — more than 200 events are on the lineup, featuring 40-plus international guests and over 100 Australian talents, and showcasing 34 authors among that group that are releasing new books this year. Sydney Writers' Festival's latest roster isn't just great news for Harbour City literary fans. When it runs from Monday, May 19–Tuesday, May 27, it'll also livestream some sessions around the country, so joining in isn't only about being there in-person in Sydney. Either way, there's something on the program for all reading tastes, fans of a wealth of genres, and attendees looking to hear from beloved scribes and discover their next favourites alike. Taking over Carriageworks, Sydney Town Hall, State Library of New South Wales and other venues around the city, SWF 2025 is also budget-friendly with more than 50 events costing nothing to attend — and 30 of those free sessions are at Carriageworks alone. What opens with Torres Strait Islander writer and activist Thomas Mayo, Yuwaalaraay writer and performer Nardi Simpson, plus poet Lemn Sissay and Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit writer Jeanette Winterson, all responding to the theme 'in this together'? This festival. What closes with Anna Funder examining writing in artificial intelligence-heavy times? This fest again. What includes 2024 Booker Prize-winner Samantha Harvey, Brooklyn author Colm Tóibín and Australian Big Little Lies wordsmith Liane Moriarty as well? Yes, this program. Harvey will chat about the International Space Station-set Orbital, while Tóibín has Long Island, the sequel to Brooklyn, to dig into. Also the creative force behind Nine Perfect Strangers and Apples Never Fall on the page, Moriarty will discuss everyday life stories becoming smash hits with David Nicholls, as well as careers and having a literary family with her sisters Jaclyn and Nicola. Plus, Winterson isn't just part of opening night, but will celebrate 40 years since her debut novel and also explore the impact of AI. Similarly on the SWF 2025 bill: Torrey Peters, the first openly trans woman nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction; Ian Rankin speaking about the 25th instalment in the Inspector Rebus series; plus everyone from The Ministry of Time's Kaliane Bradley and The Safekeep's Yael van der Wouden through to Vanishing World's Sayaka Murata and After You'd Gone and Hamnet's Maggie O'Farrell. You've likely seen actor Harriet Walter in Succession, Silo and Ted Lasso — and This Is Going to Hurt, Killing Eve and Rocketman in the past few years as well — and now you can add this fest to that list, where she'll be unpacking Shakespeare's female characters. Other highlights span Entitlement's Rumaan Alam, Discriminations' AC Grayling on cancel culture, stepping into the world of espionage stories and getting a hankering for pastries — the latter with Flour and Stone's Nadine Ingram, Beatrix Bakes' Natalie Paull and Lune's Kate Reid. The return of the Great Debate is a starry event, featuring Annabel Crabb, David Marr, Nicholson, Matilda Boseley, Justine Rogers, Jennifer Wong and Yumi Stynes. And from there, other topics on the SWF lineup also include the situations in Gaza and Ukraine, sleep, First Nations storytelling, life in exile, queer culture, dwindling workers' rights, Robodebt and Miles Franklin. [caption id="attachment_994843" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Reynaldo Rivera[/caption] Sydney Writers' Festival images: Jacquie Manning.
To anyone who's ever seen a boy band struggle to croon over the screams of an enraptured crowd, the energy from the adolescent girls losing their minds would seem enough to solve the looming global energy crisis. Is it clean? Not always. But there are 60 years worth of gig footage — from The Beatles to One Direction — that classifies this energy as renewable. Belvoir's latest show, Fangirls, is a musical that peeks into the poster-plastered bedroom and love-heart-emblazoned diary of teen girl fandom. It's a celebration of the time in your life when you're convinced the haircuts of a pop group may well bring civilisation to its knees. It's witty and fun, sure. But writer, lyricist and performer Yve Blake also probes an insidious double standard: "When boys cry at the footy, that's the love of the game. When girls cry at a Justin Bieber concert, that's pathetic." Through protagonist Edna, a city girl conspiring to confess her undying love to True Connection frontman Harry, Fangirls also examines the sorts of messages sold to young women as well as the power of the modern fan. In the age of the internet, pubescent devotees are a coveted market, but they are also the new talent scouts, organising online to confer godhood on anybody playing acoustic guitar in their bedroom, rhyming 'your face' with 'gotta get out of this place'. Fangirls is boppy and sugary in spades. But it also asks you to spare a thought for those crying, screaming and full of joy in the front row. They're going through a hugely transformative time. And, they may be the ones keeping your lights on in years to come. Fangirls is a Belvoir St Theatre co-production with Queensland Theatre, Brisbane Festival in association with Australian Theatre for Young People. It is showing from October 12–November 10. For tickets, head here.
If the Biennale's photographic offerings haven't quite quenched your thirst, have a look into Head On Photo Festival, starting with this black-and-white series by influential American photographer Mary Ellen Mark. Spying into the rituals of different cultures, micro-communities and quirky individuals, her work is imbued with both humour and sadness. Mark's global roaming photography typically depicts people living on the margins of society. From the outskirts of Los Angeles to the back streets of Redfern, these searing images are poignant reminders of the vast gulf between prosperity and poverty. Hosted by Stills Gallery, this is Mark’s Australian debut. However, the collection includes a few Sydney-based photographs, dating back to the 1980s. One work portrays a boxer stamped with prison tattoos with a hardened-looking manager hovering behind. It’s a rare glimpse into a working-class scene teeming with booze, blokes and boxing. Another photograph is closer to a studio sitting, revealing an almost identical pair of Greek bridesmaids solemnly positioned side-by-side. With fluffy perms and gaudy gowns, they are a comical vision of '80s excess. It seems Mark is mapping Australia’s growing multiculturalism. In most of these photographs, the intent gaze of the camera is met by the unflinching gaze of the subject. Mark also turns her lens toward a variety of US locales. Here we have another spread of battlers. For instance, there’s The Damm Family in their Car, depicting a Los Angeles tribe huddled together in a self-conscious tableaux. The staging is more transparent in this image, the downward perspective intensifying their isolation and vulnerability. There’s also a young South Carolina girl standing in a paddle pool, cigarette in hand. Exhaling smoke towards the camera, she looks like a pageant queen with a bit of rough sass. With her smudged make-up and shiny swimwear, there is an air of premature sexuality. It is portraits such as these that verge on the bizarre, exposing a social underbelly that presents itself otherwise. Behind the closed doors of suburbia, Mark captures a host of eccentric characters. Some of which are quite amusing and life-affirming. For example, there’s the joyous image of senior citizens in flapper dresses caught mid-Samba at a club in Miami. Further afield, there are a number of portraits revolving around an Indian circus troupe, featuring contortionists and animal tamers, on and off duty. It seems that for Mark, eye contact is the reservoir of emotional affect. The penetrating gaze held by these subjects often seems to reveal information beyond the image itself. Importantly, the level perspective between camera and subject creates an egalitarian relationship that prevents the series from tipping into cliched sympathies.
