Since launching around the country back in 2013, the British Film Festival keeps standing out for three reasons. Yes, it ranks among Australia's most obvious cultural film fests; however, it's also a star-studded affair, and a popular one. If you're keen not only for a slice of Old Blighty, but to watch well-known talents do what they do best, then prepare to spend a few weeks staring at the big screen. 2018's lineup keeps hitting those same marks. Why mess with a good thing? Running in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra until November 14, this year's program includes Kiera Knightley's latest star turn, a four-film tribute to Michael Caine that'll blow the bloody doors off, and Star Wars' Daisy Ridley in a playful take on Hamlet — plus these, our five must-see picks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfWIfwKJ7vA ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE Anna and the Apocalypse is a zombie movie. It's a high-school comedy. It's a Christmas flick. And, it's also a musical. Just when you thought you'd seen every take on the undead available, this all-singing genre mash-up pops up to prove you wrong. A crowd-pleaser at overseas festivals, it's based on the BAFTA-winning short Zombie Musical — and, story-wise, follows the eponymous Anna (Ella Hunt) as she reacts to the rather inconvenient fact that her Scottish hometown of Little Haven is now filled with the shuffling masses hankering for brains. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qItW6evHbE8 YARDIE After coming to fame with to The Wire, Idris Elba is no stranger to sprawling crime dramas that chart the next generation's involvement in the drug trade. With Yardie, however, he's stepping behind the camera rather than appearing in front of it. The actor's feature directorial debut hops between Jamaica and London, and between the 70s and 80s, at it charts the path of Denis. As a boy (Antwayne Eccleston), he watches his brother get gunned down on the streets of Kingston. As a young man (Aml Ameen), he finds himself selling cocaine in the UK and seeking revenge. The result is a film with vibrant style, that knows what it wants to be and knows when it's hitting familiar beats. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj5h1kKjVYc PETERLOO Whenever Mike Leigh has a new film, it's reason enough to rush to the cinema. The great director has seven Oscar nominations to his name for the likes of Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky and Another Year, and tends to alternate between character-based and historical-leaning dramas. With his latest, Peterloo, he's operating in the latter camp, examining a momentous event in Britain's past. The feature is named after and explores a massacre in Manchester in 1819, when 700 working folks were injured — and 15 killed — during a peaceful pro-democracy gathering. Yes, it sounds more than a little relevant today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE5xbDTkzQQ STAN & OLLIE To the world, they were Laurel and Hardy — one lean and English, the other rotund and American, and both funnier and more famous when they were hitting the stage and screen together. Starring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly, Stan & Ollie delves into the story behind the fame, when the comedians were approaching the end of their career. The film arrives in Australia fresh from premiering at the London Film Festival, and closes out BFF with the promise of laughs, love and excellent performances. Indeed, when it comes to spot-on casting, it's already a winner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8YiltlZGB0 THE HAPPY PRINCE Another blast from the past in the BFF program, another look at a well-known figure past their heyday, and another well-known actor making their filmmaking debut, too. With the dreamily tragic The Happy Prince, Rupert Everett steps into Oscar Wilde's shoes — and it's a role that he was born to bring to the screen. Writing and directing as well, Everett approaches Wilde's dying days in a rundown Parisian hotel room with both passion and sorrow, two traits that the poet and write knew well. It's a hardly a happy portrait, despite the name, which riffs on one of Wilde's works. That said, interweaving flashbacks to fonder times and co-starring Colin Firth, it does Wilde justice. The 2018 British Film Festival tours Australia until November 14, screening at Sydney's Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Palace Central and Chauvel Cinemas from October 23 to November 14; Melbourne's Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay and The Astor Theatre from October 25 to November 14; Brisbane's Palace Barracks and Palace Centro from October 24 to November 14; and Perth's Cinema Paradiso, Raine Square Cinemas, Luna on SX and Windsor Cinema from October 25 to November 14. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the festival website.
Sydney's Ensemble Apex orchestra is back for a night of classical music without pretension. Its talented young musicians will take over the Powerhouse Museum on Tuesday, August 30 — and the $30 tickets ($10 if you're a student) come with a beer. The ensemble is known for performing outside of traditional concert halls. Last year, it put on a show at Sydney's Town Hall. This time around, the group will perform within the Powerhouse's Apollo 11 exhibition, underneath that giant floating sculpture of the moon. The full-scale orchestra will perform composer Dmitri Shostakovich's 'String Quartet No.8', Giovanni Sollima's 'Violoncelles, vibrez!', Aaron Coplan's 'Concerto for Clarinet' and Joseph Haydn's 'Symphony No.60'. Expect high energy rhythms from Shostakovich, electronic melodies from Sollima and jazz vibes from Copland. Alongside the music, you can enjoy a Young Henrys beer or cider, free at the bar (until sold out). Doors open at 7pm with music starting at 8pm.
UPDATE, November 02, 2020: Your Name is available to stream via Netflix, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Most mornings, when her younger sister comes to wake her up, Mitsuha (voiced by Mone Kamishiraishi) is fondling her own chest. It becomes an ongoing joke between the siblings, but there's more than awkward teenage self-exploration at play. Most mornings, you see, her body is actually inhabited by someone else. Mitsuha is a high school student from the quiet town of Itomori, and when she asks the universe for a more exciting life, that's actually what she gets. Swapping bodies with the city-dwelling Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki), she's soon working his shifts in an Italian restaurant, while he's fumbling through her classes and forgetting to make breakfast. It's a premise straight out of a body-swap movie — think Freaky Friday, Dating the Enemy and The Change-Up, to name a few. Mitsuha and Taki change bodies on alternating days, but they can't remember each other's names. To navigate the chaos of suddenly becoming someone else, they communicate via notes left in their phones, gradually settling into a routine. Alas, just as they start to feel comfortable switching into each other's skin, learning from their escapades and forming a growing connection, fate once again intervenes. In his fifth feature Makoto Shinkai (The Garden of Words, Children Who Chase Lost Voices) dives head-first into the offbeat yet insightful adventure that comes with literally putting his protagonists in someone else's place. However, taking inspiration from the traditional Japanese tale Torikaebaya Monogatari, Your Name proves more than just a quirky comedy. Starting with a meteor shower accompanied by narration about "that day when the stars came falling, like a dream…a shared dream," Shinkai flirts with everything from star-crossed romance to impending disaster, as well as notions of identity, gender, the ever-changing reality of life, and the difficulty of reconciling many everyday contrasts. It's telling that Shinkai highlights the dream-like nature of the material from the outset. An ethereal air infiltrates each scene, while the gorgeous, glistening animation makes every moment feel both hyper-realistic and like a fond memory. Indeed, the script's numerous charms are matched by endless visual delights. Full of montages and catchy pop songs, the film plays out in a recognisable world – particularly for anyone who has ever visited Tokyo. Yet it feels just as magical as it would were Mitsuha and Taki being spirited away to another realm. That's one of the reasons that the M word keeps being thrown around: 'Miyazaki', that is. Thanks to the film's phenomenal popularity in Japan, Shinkai has been dubbed the spiritual successor to the Studio Ghibli great — and while that's high praise, it also fails to capture just what makes the film such a treat. Part teen rom-com, part sci-fi contemplation of weighty concepts, the anarchy and confusion of life has rarely felt so vivid, honest or enchanting.
From piecing together messages or wondrous discoveries hidden among the stars, to using the constellations as a guiding force for navigation, or simply sitting back and admiring the view, stargazing has proven to be an enduring hobby. To honour this, Vivid Sydney is taking to the skies with the return of its stunning annual drone shows, in partnership with the Australian Traffic Network. Across six nights from Sunday, May 28, you'll be able to look up and witness over 1000 drones lighting up the night sky to create the biggest drone show the Southern Hemisphere has seen to date. Written in the Stars will take audiences on a visual exploration of space, delving into the natural world of our solar system by featuring awe-inspiring landscapes from the Sun through to Jupiter — along with some unexpected stops and visitors. A rework of Gustav Holst's 'The Planets' by Peewee Ferris will soundtrack the shows, available via the Cinewav app (which you can download here), to heighten the experiential journey. And you'll be able to marvel at these sights for free. Catch the recurring light shows from 9.10pm from your vantage point of Circular Quay or The Rocks. This event will only light up Sydney Harbour for six nights throughout the duration of Vivid Sydney 2023. Written in the Stars is running from 9.10pm on Sunday, May 28 and Wednesday, May 31 then June 4th, 7th, 12th and 14th. For more information, visit the website.
See the sky set alight this New Years Eve from Sydney's newest terrace bar, The Butler. Pott Point's latest arrival is putting on a lavish, seven-course banquet to welcome 2015 in style. Tipped to guarantee ticketholders an impressive selection of French flavours with an unexpected Caribbean twist, this intimate soiree offers sweet city views and an equally impressive feast to match. At $200pp, entry to this sky-high tropical hideout comes at a bit of a cost. But with whispers of French champagne on arrival and best-seat-in-the-house views of the fireworks, this is one NYE party to entice partygoers after a more sit-down yet lively affair.
There are some definite perks to owning your own house. Firstly, there are no pesky landlords all up in your business. If you don't want to mow the lawn, don't do it! More power to you and your slovenly lifestyle choice. If you want to hang a painting, just do it! No one's going to get mad at you for chipping the wall paint and if they do, they're clearly an uncultured pedant. Now, Concrete Playground is offering you the opportunity to take this to the extreme — spruce up that blank white wall with a mural by artist Brad Robson. But firstly, who even is this guy? Brad Robson is a Sydney-based artist and illustrator responsible for some pretty amazing murals. He's a former owner of Kaleidoscope Gallery, his work is all over the walls of the SBS World Movies offices and Hive Bar, and his bustling abstract expressionism has been exhibited all over both Sydney and New York. He has a street style that would fit in seamlessly with the iconic laneways of New York, Melbourne or Berlin, but instead he's bringing his talents to Concrete Playground readers for a second time. Our last competition winner got this a vibrant cityscape, and although the artwork has to be monochrome this time around, check out what Robson can do with just black and white. To be in the running, you must live in either the inner city or inner-western suburbs of Sydney and — because we don't want you to get evicted — this has to be a property you're allowed to mess with. The mural will be of a subject of Robson's choosing, and he'd prefer to start on a plain white wall. If you tick all these boxes, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter, then email win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address. We'll notify the winner via email.
In news that is both pretty exciting and slightly unnerving, Sydney is set to get a slice of summertime four months early next week. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, temperatures will reach a high of 28 degrees Celsius on Monday, August 26 — a temperature that is nine degrees warmer than the average high for this time of year. The weather will remain unseasonably warm in the mid-twenties for the rest of the week, with the mercury breaking 26 degrees on Tuesday, August 27 and Wednesday, August 28, before dipping to the low-twenties towards the end of next week. A number of Sydney weather records have already been broken in 2024, with March ranking as the warmest in a century and this winter on track to be one of the hottest ever. As well as being warm, 2024 was also wet, with one April shower dumping more than month's rain on the Harbour City in just 24 hours. [caption id="attachment_791800" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The rooftop at Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel[/caption] While extreme weather is an obvious cause for concern, it would be a shame not to make the most of this winter sun while it lasts. You can soak up some rays on a bracing coastal walk or break out the swimmers for a dip in one of Sydney's ocean pools. And don't forget about Sydney's wealth of beer gardens and rooftop bars, including the CBD's newest at the just-opened The Bristol. The City of Sydney has also just slashed the number of alcohol-free public spaces by almost half from 428 alcohol-prohibited zones to only 238, meaning there are many more parks where you can assemble the squad for a few BYO sundowners.
True-crime stories have saturated all forms of media of late. If you're not listening to podcasts on the topic, you're watching Zac Efron play Ted Bundy, exploring the intersection of fact and fiction in Mindhunter or poring over a TV series about Serial's Adnan Syed. But despite the seemingly never-ending list of new additions to the genre, we're betting you haven't yet witnessed anything quite like Joe Exotic's story, which is the subject of Netflix's new Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness docuseries — and, now, an upcoming drama series as well. Clearly, Joe Exotic isn't the name that the show's mullet-wearing focal point was born with. But given Joe's love of big cats, line of work and over-sized personality, he obviously decided that the moniker fit. Between 1999–2016, he created and ran The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma, which was home to hundreds of tigers, lions and other large felines. Joe also took his tiger show on the road and, because he just adored tigers so much, he literally sang about them as well. His first country music album was called I Saw a Tiger, because of course it was. He found time to run for Governor of the state and, in 2016, President of the US. He's fond of guns and just as fond of marrying more than one person at once. Oh, and the zookeeper tried to hire a hitman to get one of his rivals — Big Cat Rescue animal sanctuary's CEO Carole Baskin — killed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acTdxsoa428 Lions, tigers, eccentricity, polygamy and murder-for-hire, oh my! That's the jaw-dropping tale that Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness — and yes, it's so strange that it can only be true. It's no wonder that Netflix has turned it into a series, which is now available to stream. And, as Deadline reports, it's no wonder that a new TV drama is set to recreate these events as well. Based on the podcast Joe Exotic — the latest season of ongoing series Over My Dead Body, which is created by the podcast studio behind Dirty John, Homecoming and Dr Death — the new drama will chart Exotic's long and complicated battle with Baskin. If you've already binged your way through Tiger King, you'll know there's much more to both sides of the story, and to both of their backgrounds, including suspicions about the death of Carole's second husband. While few details have been released about the Joe Exotic limited drama series as yet, which'll only run for one batch of episodes, it will boast a big star. Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters and Yesterday's Kate McKinnon will be playing Baskin — and yes, that means she'll be saying "hey all you cool cats and kittens" more than once, as well as dressing head to toe in tiger print. The TV drama version of Joe Exotic doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is available to stream now on Netflix. Via Deadline. Top image: Netflix.
If ice cream is a gift from the gods, then free ice cream is pure divinity. And that would make the Ben & Jerry's team martyrs, because this Sunday, July 16 they're giving out tubs of their ice cream, gratis. Think of it as a donation to your enjoyment on Earth. If you want to get in on this higher experience, Ben & Jerry's will be stationed at holy sites in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. This is where they'll be: Sydney: Queen's Victoria Building forecourt (next to the statue) from 11am – 1pm, then Manly Wharf from 3–6pm. Melbourne: The entry to Luna Park, St Kilda from 12–4pm. Brisbane: 168 Grey Street, South Brisbane from 1–3pm. All up, they've got 20,000 tubs to give away, including cult favourites like salted caramel, the caramel core Karamel Sutra and Chubby Hubby, which has fudge-covered pretzels and peanut butter swirls. The giveaway will celebrate International Ice Cream Day and the brand's new partnership with food delivery service Foodora. It's a great week for cheapskates, as Lord of the Fries is also giving out no-charge chips on Thursday in Sydney and Melbourne, and Brisbane's new Lucky Egg West End is doing free fried chicken burgers on Saturday and Sunday. The Ben & Jerry's Big Tub Giveaway will take place on Sunday, July 16 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. For more info, visit their Facebook page.
Since Samson & Delilah arrived in 2009, earned the Cannes Film Festival's prestigious Caméra d'Or for Best First Feature and proved an instant great of Australian cinema, every project from filmmaker Warwick Thornton has been a must-see. He got spooky with ghost-story anthology The Darkside, pondered the nation's relationship with the Southern Cross in documentary We Don't Need a Map and explored the country's race relations in blistering historical drama Sweet Country. Then, he co-directed the second season of the Mystery Road TV series, turned the camera on himself in meditative small-screen doco The Beach and was also behind vampires-in-the-outback show Firebite. Thornton is an Aussie icon. With his latest project, he has also joined forces with a fellow Aussie icon: Cate Blanchett. The Oscar-winning actor is following up her award-nominated role in Tár earlier in 2023 with Thornton's new film The New Boy — and playing a renegade nun in 1940s Australia, no less. As the just-dropped trailer shows, The New Boy heads to a remote monastery with a mission for Indigenous children, where Sister Eileen (Blanchett) is in charge. In a sneak peek filled with golden hues and bubbling with a thoughtful mood, her faith is tested when the titular child (newcomer Aswan Reid), a nine-year-old orphan, arrives and has his own experience with religion, which clashes with the mission's take on Christianity. Thornton writes and directs The New Boy, as he did with with Samson and Delilah and We Don't Need a Map. He also does triple duty as his own cinematographer, as he also has with the bulk of his filmography. And, on-screen, Deborah Mailman (Total Control) and Wayne Blair (Seriously Red) feature alongside Blanchett and Reid. Unsurprisingly given its helmer, star and the former's Cannes history, The New Boy premiered at the prestigious French film festival in May, and enjoys its first Aussie screening as the opening-night film at the Sydney Film Festival. After that, audiences Australia-wide will be able to check out the dream pairing of Thornton and Blanchett — and the movie debut of Reid — when The New Boy hits cinemas in general release on Thursday, July 6. Check out the trailer for The New Boy below: The New Boy opens in Australian cinemas on July 6.
It's back, it's big and it's heading around Australia in February 2023: St Jerome's Laneway Festival and its impressive lineup, that is. Returning for the first time since 2020 — since celebrating 15 years since Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio first decided to fill a Melbourne alleyway with tunes — the beloved fest boasts a phenomenal list of talent taking to its stages for its huge and eagerly awaited comeback tour. Here are three names to get you started: HAIM, Joji and Phoebe Bridgers. Laneway has been teasing its 2023 return since early 2021, then locked in dates and venues — and come Sunday, February 5, 2023, it'll hit up Sydney Showground. Also on the bill: Finneas, Fontaines DC, Fred again..., Girl in Red, slowthai and Turnstile, as well as 100 Gecs, Chaos in the CBD, Knucks and Mallrat. Yes, the lineup goes on from there. Clearly, there's a whole heap of reasons to be excited — from HAIM's first Australian tour since 2017 (and definitely the first since Alana killed it on the big screen in Licorice Pizza) to Bridgers' return after a huge few years, just to name a couple. Also on the list: just Laneway being back and livening up late summer in general. General ticket sales start at 9am on Thursday, September 29 via the festival's website. ST JEROME'S LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2023 LINEUP: Haim Joii Phoebe Bridgers Finneas Fontaines DC Fred again... Girl in Red slowthai Turnstile 100 Gecs Chaos in the CBD Knucks Mallrat Ross From Friends The Beths Yard Act Adam Newling The Backseat Lovers Harvey Sutherland Jacoténe Jamesjamesjames Logic1000 Sycco Tasman Keith The Lazy Eyes Top image: BCS Imaging.
The crew at Beyond Cinema are at again, bringing yet another of their immersive, movie-themed experiences to both Sydney and Melbourne. In the same vein as previous hits like that Mad Hatter-esque Botanic Gardens tea party and last year's Moulin Rouge! cabaret-style sing-along, it's set to be an indulgent, multi-sensory affair — this time dedicated to the Hugh Jackman-led smash-hit musical The Greatest Showman. While we know the event's happening this July at a couple of secret Sydney and Melbourne locations, most other details are been kept under wraps for now, in true Beyond Cinema form. But if past events are anything to go by, you can bank on a wildly imaginative evening, that blurs the lines between cinema and reality while giving those vocal chords a serious workout. This one promises to have you singing along to all the films award-winning hits, while witnessing impressive moves from acrobats, aerialists and more — just like PT Barnum would've orchestrated in the late 1800s. Circus-inspired dress-ups are, of course, encouraged, so you'd best start rewatching the flick for some costume ideas and song practice. [caption id="attachment_711479" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Beyond Cinema's Great Gatsby event.[/caption] Beyond Cinema's The Greatest Showman event will at a yet-to-be-revealed Sydney location on Saturday, July 13 and Melbourne spot on Saturday, July 27. You can sign up for more details at here.
Since mid-August, residents of Sydney's Local Government Areas of concern haven't just been under stricter lockdown restrictions than folks across the rest of the city — they've also been under a nighttime curfew that's limited movement even further between the hours of 9pm–5am. But from tonight, Wednesday, September 15, that'll no longer be the case, with New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian announcing that the curfew will be ditched. "Pleasingly, after receiving advice from both police and [NSW] Health, given we've hit the 80-percent milestone across the state, we're able to lift the curfew in those areas of concern from tonight," said the Premier, who made her second appearance at NSW's daily COVID-19 press conferences this week (after announcing last week that she'd only be fronting up when there was significant news). "This is a whole-of-government decision based on a number of factors, but I want to send this strong message: we can't move on anything else just now. We need everybody to hold the line. Please make sure that if you live in those Local Government Areas of concern that you stick to every other rule that's in place," the Premier continued. Accordingly, people who live in the Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta and Strathfield LGAs, as well as 12 suburbs in the Penrith, can now leave their homes at any time — as long as they're abiding by the other lockdown rules. That includes the two-hour rule around outdoor recreation, the strict five-kilometre rule when it comes to venturing away from your home, and all of the other stay-at-home conditions around what is and isn't permitted under lockdown. NSW recorded 1,259 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Two new cases were acquired overseas, and 36 previously reported cases have been excluded following further investigation. pic.twitter.com/BADIDtqn2Z — NSW Health (@NSWHealth) September 15, 2021 The news came as Berejiklian announced 1259 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24-hour reporting period, and also revealed that aforementioned 80-percent milestone — with 80 percent of eligible NSW residents having received a single dose of a coronavirus vaccine. That mark is notable as it means the government can reasonably expect the state to get to the 80-percent double jabbed threshold, because if someone has had one dose of the vax then they're likely to get the second dose. At the 70-percent fully vaxxed mark, NSW's roadmap to easing restrictions will kick in, with more rules then relaxing again when 80 percent of eligible people in NSW have been fully jabbed. Asked why other restrictions aren't yet loosening in hotspot LGAs as yet, the Premier said that "the best advice we have is that it's too early and too risky to do anything further today. But as a token of our appreciation for reaching the 80-percent milestone, given feedback from police, who suggest that compliance is improving in many areas where perhaps previously it was not, plus the health advice about mental health challenges and the risks of not providing people a little bit of relief, all of that was balanced up and has been balanced up over some time. We review those restrictions, we review what we're imposing on the community matched against the data every single day and it's just not feasible at this time ahead of any further health advice to move on anything else." As always, Sydneysiders are also asked to continue to frequently check NSW Health's long list of locations and venues that positive coronavirus cases have visited. If you've been to anywhere listed on the specific dates and times, you'll need to get tested immediately and follow NSW Health's self-isolation instructions. In terms of symptoms, you should be looking out for coughs, fever, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, or loss of smell or taste — and getting tested at a clinic if you have any. The curfew in Sydney's 12 LGAs of concern will lift from tonight, Wednesday, September 15. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website. Top image: Stilgherrian via Flickr.
In 2011, in this very country and galaxy, a pop culture favourite gained a singing, stripping burlesque parody. It's the mash-up that was bound to happen. Who hasn't looked at George Lucas' space opera, its sprawling drama and ample spectacle, and wondered what a steamier, funnier version with more visible butt cheeks would look like? Russall S. Beattie clearly did, and had a good feeling that other people would give it a shot. The Empire Strips Back was the end result. It became a hit around Australia, then took itself overseas to much acclaim. Now it's returning home for a 2019 tour — once again showing local audiences that lightsabers aren't the hottest thing in the Star Wars galaxy. The saucy show promises "seriously sexy stormtroopers, a dangerously seductive Boba Fett, some tantalising Twi'leks, a delightfully lukewarm Taun Taun, a lady-like Skywalker [and] the droids you are looking for", according to its website. Apparently Yoda doesn't get the sexed-up treatment, but there is plenty of song, dance, acrobatics and — because it's burlesque — the removal of clothing. A dancing Chewie and Han is just the beginning of this cheeky take on Star Wars cosplay. Given that it's got an upbeat soundtrack, the costumes are extremely detailed and the show throws out lots of references to George Lucas' original plot, it's not surprising that local audiences — presumably the same ones that pack out Star Wars parties and large-scale screenings with a live orchestra — have latched onto the production. Heading to the Enmore on Friday, February 15 and Saturday, February 16, The Empire Strips Back sits alongside Dame of Thrones in Beattie's pop culture parody stable — so if you've already seen one of your fantastical screen obsessions get the burlesque treatment, then you know what you're in for. If you're super keen, you can also nab a Wookieerotica magazine online: a 116-page, 70s-style men's mag, just casually featuring all of your favourite jedis, siths, ewoks and other Star Wars characters. Either way, it could be a great introduction to burlesque or Star Wars, depending on which way you're coming at it. Images: Jon Bauer, Leslie Liu and Josh Groom.
A 90s-set musical directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. A crime thriller starring Gal Gadot, Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds. Amy Poehler's latest stint behind the camera. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence teaming up in the newest film from The Big Short's Adam McKay. They're just some of the big new movies heading our way in 2021 — and they're all coming to Netflix, with the streaming platform revealing its slate of features for the year. Miranda's tick, tick…BOOM! will mark his filmmaking debut as a director, while Johnson plays an FBI profiler forced to team up with rival crims played by Gadot and Reynolds in Red Notice. As for Poehler, she's directing (and co-starring in) Moxie, about a 16-year-old fed up with the sexist attitudes at her high school. And the collaboration between DiCaprio, Lawrence and McKay — and Jonah Hill, Timothée Chalamet, Cate Blanchett and Meryl Streep, too — happens in Don't Look Up, about two astronomers trying to warn humanity that a comet is about to wipe out the earth. [caption id="attachment_796892" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Moxie. Colleen Hayes/NETFLIX © 2020[/caption] They're just some of the films on Netflix's lineup for 2021 — and if you can't wait to check them out, the streaming service has released a sneak peek that rounds up a heap of its other titles for the year, too. Thunder Force sees Octavia Spencer and Melissa McCarthy play superheroes; western Harder They Fall features everyone from Idris Elba and Lovecraft Country's Jonathan Majors to Watchmen's Regina King and Atlanta's Zazie Beetz; and Escape From Spiderhead plunges Chris Hemsworth into a futuristic tale about experiments on inmates using emotion-altering drugs. Or, there's a remake of The Guilty, this time starring Jake Gyllenhaal; the third and final films in both the Kissing Booth and To All the Boys trilogies; The Power of the Dog, the latest movie from filmmaker Jane Campion; and Robin Robin, the newest release from Aardman Animation, featuring the voices of Gillian Anderson and Richard E Grant. Some flicks, like the Zendaya-starring romantic drama Malcolm & Marie, already have release dates. Plenty of others don't as yet, including zombie movie Army of the Dead, starring Dave Bautista; Blonde, a fictional portrait of Marilyn Monroe featuring Knives Out's Ana de Armas as the real-life figure; Halle Berry's directorial debut Bruised, about an ex-MMA fighter; and thriller O2, which starts with a woman waking up in a medical cryogenics unit that's no larger than a box. Either way, though, Netflix has announced that it'll be releasing at least one new movie a week for the entire year. More than a few of these titles might hit cinemas, too. The Vanessa Kirby-starring Pieces of a Woman already has in Australia, while The White Tiger, an adaptation of the Man Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name, will release on the big screen in January — as will fellow page-to-screen affair The Dig. And, some were originally supposed to screen in theatres, but have made the jump to streaming due to the pandemic, such as The Woman in the Window with Amy Adams. Whether Netflix's 2021 movies get a cinema run or not, they'll obviously pop up on the platform. So, expect a hefty list of star-studded flicks sitting in your streaming queue throughout the year — and making sure that you're still well-acquainted with your couch. Check out Netflix's trailer for its 2021 films below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9t86v_JMG0&feature=youtu.be New movies will hit Netflix every week throughout 2021 — head to the streaming platform for its current catalogue.
While seeing fruit mince pies in your local shopping centre in October feels downright disturbing, there's one Christmas treat that no one ever minds arriving early: Four Pillars annual Christmas Gin. The latest iteration of the Healesville distillery's seasonal sip is coming in strong, set to hit shelves on Saturday, October 31. It's the delicious result of a yearly tradition that sees a bunch of Christmas puddings handmade with distiller Cameron Mackenzie's mother's recipe — the 1968 Australian Women's Weekly recipe, in fact — distilled with various festive botanicals to create a sought-after tipple that pretty much screams December 25. The flavours of an Aussie Christmas are captured in notes of cinnamon, star anise, juniper, coriander and angelica. The Christmas gin is then blended with some earlier gin that's been carefully ageing in 80-year-old muscat barrels. It's all finished with a hit of Rutherglen muscat for a bit of added richness and complexity. [caption id="attachment_785822" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The last five years of Four Pillars Christmas gin.[/caption] Each year, a new unique label is chosen to wrap up this Christmas creation, setting out to evoke that same festive spirit. The 2020's bottle design is the work of Melbourne-born artist Lucy Dyson, who has created a whimsical collage of a traditional Christmas day celebration happening in a surreal Aussie landscape of giant flowers and floating puddings. The distillers recommend you sip the limited-edition gin neat, mix it with ginger ale or whip up a Colada Punch with the festive gin, coconut water, sparkling wine and pineapple and lime juice. Or you can just splash a bit of it on your own Christmas pudding. If you want to nab a bottle, have your fingers poised over the 'buy' button when they go on sale online on October 31. Alternatively, you can stop by the Four Pillars HQ in Healesville, Victoria (if restrictions allow, of course) or the new Surry Hills shop. Bottles are $100 a pop and would make stellar Chrissy pressies, if you're already thinking about that. Four Pillars Christmas Gin is available to buy online, from the Healesville distillery and Surry Hills shop from Saturday, October 31. But you'd best be quick — there's only a limited amount of bottles.
Kendrick Lamar kicked off his four-city Australian DAMN. album tour on Tuesday, with a standout show in Perth. On top of the tour, which is also heading to Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, the acclaimed hip hop artist is also headlining a sold-out Splendour in the Grass later this month. If that wasn't enough Lamar-goodness for Aussie punters, the Pulitzer Prize-winning artist has just announced that he's bringing his coveted DAMN. Pop-Up stores down under, too. Damn. The first pop-up is happening in Melbourne right now, running from 11am to 7pm today and tomorrow on Brunswick Street. Sydney will get its chance to nab some of Lamar's limited-edition merch later this month on July 24 and 25. While details of what exactly will be stocked at the stores are extremely vague, the rapper's pop-up has already appeared in Europe and across the US, stocking vinyls, tees, caps and hoodies. You can take a look inside his NYC pop-up here. The rapper has also made surprise appearances at many of the pop-ups, so if you're keen to grab a closer-than-row-z sighting of Lamar we suggest heading along. If you are thinking of heading along, however, take this as a warning: there will be long lines. DAMN. Pop Up is open in Melbourne at Doomsday, 195A Brunswick Street, Fitzroy on Friday, July 13 and Saturday, July 14 from 11am–7pm. Sydney's pop-up will be located at Above The Clouds, 205 Oxford Street, Sydney on Tuesday, July 24 and Wednesday, July 25 from 11am–7pm. Kendrick Lamar is playing in Melbourne on July 13 and 14 and in Sydney on July 24 and 25. via Triple J
It was 1947 when Arthur Miller first went after the American Dream with a blowtorch. With one flop under his belt, All My Sons was his last, desperate roll of the dice. This month, Sydney Theatre Company reminds us why Miller went on to become one of America's premier playwrights. In true Miller style, All My Sons probes at the cracks of family relationships as flawed characters scramble to protect their secrets. Two years after the Second World War, the Keller family wait for the return of their missing son, Larry. But as years pass and hopes dwindle, dirty truths begin to seep out of the hole he has left in their lives. Directed by STC's Kip Williams, with John Howard and Robyn Nevin crossing swords as Joe and Kate Keller, All My Sons is a modern tragedy that brutally skewers its characters and continues to ask the questions America can't seem to find an answer to. Image: Zan Wimberley.
When October rolls around each year, the two-kilometre Bondi–Tamarama coastal walk usually becomes home to a huge free outdoor sculpture exhibition, with the always busy Sculpture by the Sea placing its latest works along the shoreline. But in 2020, that didn't happen. In fact, it won't happen at all this year. Sculpture by the Sea organisers have advised that the popular event won't next unveil its artworks until the beginning of 2021 — at the earliest. Going ahead depends upon receiving an exemption from NSW Health, which hasn't been received so far, hence the delay. Still eager to head to the beach and stare at a giant artwork? Sculpture by the Sea has unveiled something in 2020: a large sculpture placed on the end of the south Bondi headland that's designed to be a beacon of hope in this challenging year. Created by Prague based-Slovakian artist Milan Kuzica, it's called Green Life. It reaches ten metres into the sky and yes, it shares that titular colour. As Kuzica describes it, it looks like "the first shoots of a new plant" — but a giant one. Kuzica also explains the sculpture's relevance to today, noting that "there is an urgency. In a world plagued by a viral pandemic, we are reminded that our future is possible only if we live our lives in harmony with nature". You can check out Green Life at Marks Park until Monday, December 7. Images: Gareth Carr.
When July 2021 came and went, it marked two years since Stranger Things last graced our streaming queues. That's two years of wondering what's become of Hawkins' beloved police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour, Black Widow) — and where everyone else we've all come to know and love in the hit Netflix series has washed up, too. Sorry fans, you'll have to keep pondering for the rest of this year as well, as the streaming platform has officially announced that its 80s-set sci-fi series won't be returning till 2022. Fancy a sneak peek in the interim? In revealing that Stranger Things will finally make a comeback next year, Netflix has also dropped a new glimpse at what's in store. The platform has done so a few times already since the beginning of 2020, providing an initial clip back at the beginning of last year — which now seems like a lifetime ago — and a couple more teasers in May 2021. But hey, when you're hanging out for anything and everything related to the show's fourth season, each trailer and teaser drop is exciting. From that first 2020 teaser, we already know what happened after season three's big cliffhanger and Russian-set post-script — when Hopper, the mind flayer, the Russian lab below Starcourt Mall and that pesky gate to the Upside Down all had a run-in. And, we know that Hawkins Laboratory is going to feature again moving forward, with the last two clips focusing on Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, Godzilla vs Kong) and Dr Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine, Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal). The new sneak peek combines both new and old footage, so parts of it will look familiar — and parts of it tease what's to come. There's little narrative detail provided, but that usually comes with the territory anyway. You already know you'd prefer to discover Stranger Things' secrets by binging your way through it as soon as new episodes become available to stream. Of course, it's worth remembering that when Netflix announced the show's renewal for a fourth season back in 2019, it did so with the catchphrase "we're not in Hawkins anymore". Naturally, we'll have to wait to see what that really means for its cast of characters — including not only Hopper and Eleven, the latter of which was last seen leaving town with Joyce (Winona Ryder, The Plot Against America), Will (Noah Schnapp, Hubie Halloween) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton, The New Mutants), but also for Mike (Finn Wolfhard, The Goldfinch), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo, The Angry Birds Movie 2), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin, Concrete Cowboy), Max (Sadie Sink, The Last Castle), Steve (Joe Keery, Spree) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer, Things Seen & Heard). Check out the new Stranger Things season four sneak peek below: Stranger Things season four will be able to stream via Netflix sometime in 2022 — we'll update you with an exact date when one is announced.
It's the beloved series that's been on the air for more than a decade, and finally made the leap Down Under this year. That'd be RuPaul's Drag Race, which first premiered in the US in 2009, wholeheartedly embraced its mission to unearth the next drag superstars, and debuted its Australian and New Zealand version earlier in 2021. And, in spectacularly great news for fans of local drag talent — and of the show's namesake — RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under is coming back for a second Aussie and NZ season in 2022. The original US series aired its thirteenth season this year, so this is a program with proven longevity. It has also spun off international iterations before, including in the UK — where it's also hosted by RuPaul — plus in Thailand, Holland, Chile and Canada. So, revving up the engines for another spin Down Under shouldn't come as a big surprise. And yes, RuPaul will be back on hosting duties again. After Kita Mean took out this year's first season of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under, exactly who'll be donning eye-catching outfits, navigating dramas and vying for glory next year hasn't been revealed — because casting is now open until Tuesday, October 5. Obviously, exactly when the second season will air on Stan in Australia and TVNZ OnDemand in New Zealand in 2022 hasn't been announced yet either. Neither has the lineup of celebrity guests, after 2021 saw Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue and Taika Waititi all pop up. Fans already know the format, which features fashion challenges, workroom dramas and lip sync battles aplenty. If you're still a newcomer to all things Drag Race, you'll watch the next batch of Australian and NZ competitors work through a series of contests to emerge victorious, and join the likes of Mean and US contenders Jinkx Monsoon, Sasha Velour and Sharon Needles in being crowned the series' winner. Check out RuPaul's announcement video for Drag Race Down Under season two below: RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under will return for a second season in 2022 on Stan and TVNZ. Top image: RuPaul's Drag Race.
Since 2010, Sydney has been home to the Korean Film Festival in Australia. While 2025's main fest hits the Harbour City in August, you can also join in at Parramatta's Riverside Theatres across Friday, September 26–Saturday, September 27. One pivotal difference between the regular festival and the regional KOFFIA Touring Program: head to the latter and everything that you see from its four-title lineup is free. Catch About Family, a dramedy about a chef discovering that he might have grandchildren — and The Noisy Mansion focusing on a tenant and her neighbours trying to discover why their building is plagued by strange sounds. Parramatta audiences can also watch Forbidden Fairytale, about a children's book author who starts ghostwriting online erotica. Plus, Hear Me: Our Summer is one of the highlights, with the romantic drama co-starring former Iz*One member Kim Minju, remaking Taiwan's Hear Me and seeing a love story blossom via Korean Sign Language.
Home may mean different things to different people but, in Monsoon, Vietnam doesn't mean home to Kit (Henry Golding). He was born there, in the aftermath of the war. He spent his earliest years in the Asian nation, with his parents caught up in the aftermath of the conflict. But when he was still a child, his family left for a refugee camp in Hong Kong and then moved permanently to London. Now, as an adult who has lived the bulk of his existence far away, he returns for the first time to bring back his mother's and father's ashes. He's instantly thrown off balance upon his arrival, whether he's driving through moped-filled streets or walking around crowded markets. Little of what he remembers is the same — his old house and his neighbourhood stomping grounds, particularly — and he doesn't recall as much as his childhood best friend Lee (David Tran), who stayed behind, would clearly like. Of what he does recollect, some crucial details clash with Lee's versions, too. As Kit roves around Saigon and then Hanoi — his place of birth and his parents' original home, respectively — he's searching for a connection. He'll make one, but not in the way he expects. Monsoon tells a noticeably slight tale, but Cambodian-born Chinese British writer/director Hong Khaou (Lilting) is keenly and overwhelmingly aware that a sense of belonging doesn't simply come with one's birth certificate. Kit wants to feel like he's where he's supposed to be. He wants to appreciate his homeland, and its significance to his mum and dad, as effortlessly as he appreciates his online dates. But it takes time, immersion and a true willingness to feel an affinity to the place he's supposed to call home. It takes falling in love with one of those online dates, American ex-pat Lewis (Parker Sawyers), too, and hearing about the object of his affection's complicated relationship with Vietnam as the son of a soldier who fought for the US during the war. Khaou is a minimalistic filmmaker, in a sense. He delves into straightforward scenarios, and knows that he needn't layer them with too many external complicating factors. In other words, he's cognisant that merely examining how a person copes — even in a very commonplace situation — can deliver several lifetimes worth of complexity without a wealth of other narrative roadblocks or setbacks. Here, that means tagging along as Kit flits around Saigon, sorts through his awkward baggage with Lee, and makes a pilgrimage to Hanoi in search of the perfect resting place for his parents. It also means watching as he befriends local art curator Linh (Molly Harris) and follows her home to join her relatives as they make lotus tea, and soaking in the neon-lit bar hues and misty seaside cafe views on Kit's dates with Lewis. Monsoon revels in these moments, and in what they reveal about its protagonist, all while showing how Kit himself recognises that he's changing and connecting with each experience and realisation. As a result, both Khaou and Monsoon ask a significant amount of Golding — more than his previous charisma-driven roles in Crazy Rich Asians, A Simple Favour and Last Christmas have combined. Viewers of those three films already know that he can radiate charm like few other actors currently appearing on-screen. Indeed, because he served up such a magnetic presence in that trio of flicks, it's easy to forget that he only has seven movies to his name to-date (six of which hail from the past three years, in fact). But Monsoon requires Golding's soulful best; at every moment, he's tasked with conveying the potent thoughts and jumbled emotions swelling inside Kit, and with doing so largely without dialogue. It's a quietly powerful performance, and it's one that the movie steadfastly needs. Actually, it's one that Monsoon depends upon. All of the film's key players are superb — including second-time actor Tran (Farewell, Berlin Wall), the also charismatic Sawyers (who played a young Barack Obama in Southside with You) and Harris (Artemis Fowl) as the pragmatic Linh — but Golding is its emotionally saturating core. While it might be light on talk, making its chatter count whenever it flows either freely or nervously, Monsoon is big on atmosphere. Alongside Khaou's delicately pared-back approach and Golding's tenderly gripping performance, that's one of the film's strongest assets. Even if you've never roamed far beyond the spot where you entered this world, everyone can relate to feeling like an outsider somewhere where they think they shouldn't — and Monsoon nails and expresses that sensation again and again. That's how Khaou and cinematographer Benjamin Kracun (Beats) approach the movie in their naturalistic visuals, too. Whether staring down at the daily hustle and bustle, or dwarfing Golding via his surroundings, it views Vietnam as someone might view a childhood memory that's slipping from their mind. Accordingly, Monsoon feels comfortable and intimate and eye-opening and new all at once, like it's seeing a familiar sight properly for the first time. Of course, that's Kit's journey, as it is for anyone embarking upon a homecoming that feels foreign — and it proves immensely affecting viewing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETK0fOKwJNQ
If you're a fan of greasy, cheesy, American-style burgers, we have good news: the Down N' Out team has found a new (temporary) home in Marrickville. Launching on Thursday, May 7, the new Down N' Out pop-up is a parked up food truck at the end of Barclay Street and it's serving up its usual suspects: hamburgers, a southern-fried chicken burger, bunless burgs, hot wings, jalapeño poppers and tiger fries. So if you're an inner west local and have been craving a taste of Cali, look no further. Each week a new special will be available, too — expect a burger that sounds as heart attack-inducing as it does heavenly. Coming up is one loaded with southern fried chicken, mac 'n' cheese and garlic bread aioli. The team will be flippin' and fryin' burgers in Marrickville every Wednesday to Sunday, from 12–3pm and 5–9pm for takeaway, with delivery available via Menulog. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_6zy_cp6zP/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Down N' Out started out as a pop-up back in 2016, before setting up permanent digs in the CBD. Then, its In-N-Out-inspired burgers became available in Ryde, Bankstown and Crows Nest, followed by The Hills despite the team's ongoing lawsuit with the OG Californian chain. Down N' Out even asked its punters for help on a cheeky name change. Now, only the CBD joint and the food truck are operating under Hashtag Burgers. The Down N' Out food truck is located at 1/17 Barclay Street, Marrickville until Sunday, July 19 and is open every Wednesday to Sunday, between 12–3pm and 5–9pm for pick up. Delivery available via Menulog.
Carnivores, rejoice. Sweethearts Rooftop Barbecue is serving up a finger licking feast of meaty creations this New Year's Eve to satisfy even the hungriest of partyers. For two hours, the team at Sweethearts will be sizzling and smoking their way towards the New Year; with a huge barbecued feast soundtracked by DJs spinning all your go-to 2014 tracks all night long. Topped off with a four hour drinking package featuring everything from bubbly to beer, you'll be sure to start 2015 on the right foot (or valiantly attempt to). Offering openair summer vibes and all-the-meat-you-can-eat, this is one New Year's Eve hootenanny that upgrades the ol' backyard snags on the barbie set-up.
If you watched Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's vampire sharehouse mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows back in 2014, then instantly found yourself yearning for more, that's understandable. Smart, silly and hilarious, the undead flick is one of the decade's best comedies. Thanks to two TV spinoffs, that dream has come true, letting viewers keep spending time in the movie's supernatural world — and that's not going to end any time soon. Last year, the New Zealand-made Wellington Paranormal made it to screens, following the movie's cops (Mike Minogue and Karen O'Leary) as they keep investigating the supernatural. It proved a hit, unsurprisingly, and has a second season in the works. This year, an American television version of What We Do in the Shadows also started airing, following a group of vampire flatmates living in Staten Island. Featuring Toast of London's Matt Berry, Four Lions' Kayvan Novak, British stand-up comedian Natasia Demetriou, The Magicians' Harvey Guillen, The Office's Mark Proksch and Lady Bird's Beanie Feldstein, it follows the same basic concept as the original movie, just with memorable new characters. And now it has been renewed for a second season as well. Created and co-written by Clement, and executive produced by the Flight of the Conchords star with Thor: Ragnarok's Waititi, the US take on What We Do in the Shadows was first hinted at back in 2017, and then confirmed in May 2018. While the duo don't star in the new-look series, Berry, Novak and company have been doing them proud as the next batch of ravenous — and comic — vamps. Novak plays the gang's self-appointed leader, 'Nandor The Relentless', who dates back to the Ottoman Empire days and is somewhat stuck in his ways. As for Berry's mischievous British dandy Laszlo and Demetriou's seductive Nadja, they're like a blood-sucking Bonnie and Clyde (but much funnier). Guillén plays Nandor's familiar, who'd do anything to join the undead, while Proksch's Colin is an 'energy vampire'. And Feldstein's Jenna is a college student with a new craving. If you haven't caught the series yet, here's one of the first season's trailers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWUiU3t5udM Can't wait to sink your fangs into more? The first season is still on the air at present, and the second season will continue the story — charting Nandor, Laszlo, Nadja and the group's undead antics in the New York borough. It wasn't easy being a centuries-old bloodsucker in Wellington in the movie, and it's just as tough (and amusing) on the other side of the world. What We Do in the Shadows' first season is currently airing on Foxtel's Showcase channel weekly at 8.30pm on Tuesdays. Expect the second season in 2020. Via Variety.
UPDATE: May 24, 2020: Child's Play is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube and iTunes. Black Mirror, meet 80s cinema's favourite flame-haired, knife-wielding plaything. That's Child's Play circa 2019 straight out of its gleaming box. Chucky has never gone away, with the last flick in the initial seven-film franchise hitting home entertainment just two years ago. An eight-part series called Chucky is headed to TV screens next year, too, from the original movie's Don Mancini. But updating the carnage-inflicting toy for today's incessantly-online, internet-of-things environment was always going to happen, jettisoning the notion of a doll possessed by a serial killer for something considerably more high-tech. It's a premise rich with possibilities — dissecting humanity's growing subservience to technology, our fear of artificial intelligence, the reality that all-powerful companies may not have customers' best interests at heart, and showing how increasingly aggressive times can create a dangerous and deadly loop of vicious behaviour. Sadly, although the new Child's Play doesn't shy away from its many timely ideas, it doesn't do anything more than push them through a horror assembly line. A standard slasher flick made from well-worn parts remains just that, even when it has been given a famous name, plenty of topical talking points and a slick visual makeover. In fact, the fact that this do-over tries so hard to pair its murderous robotic figurine with timely observations, while also happily sticking to a bland, broad, surprise-free playbook, is its most grating trait. Perhaps it's simply peddling another piece of social commentary: that movie studios, like toy corporations, can release whatever generic fare they like as long as they make it appear shiny enough, and consumers just have to stomach the resulting havoc and dreck. Whether you're buying the latest gadget or heading to the cinema, that's the cost of making a purchase today. Single mother Karen Barclay (Aubrey Plaza) doesn't actually hand over any hard-earned cash for a walking, talking Buddi doll (which speaks with the voice of Mark Hamill). Instead, the department store employee convinces her boss to let her take one of the returned, malfunctioning toys home as a gift for her hearing-impaired son Andy's (Gabriel Bateman) birthday. Almost a teenager, the boy is hardly overjoyed about his present. Still, he's lonely and in a new city, the computerised plaything clearly adores him like it is programmed to, and it also helps him befriend a couple of neighbourhood kids (Ty Consiglio and Beatrice Kitsos). That said, that something is astray is clear from the moment that Andy's plastic buddy decides its own name is Chucky. As the movie's opening scene shows, a disgruntled sweatshop worker has removed the figurine's appropriate language and anti-violence filters in an act of employee-level corporate vengeance. So while Chucky might seem like little more than an eccentric and clingy android BFF to Andy, the smart doll is willing to do whatever it takes to keep their friendship alive — including slaughter anyone who gets in the way. If first-time feature director Lars Klevberg and debut screenwriter Tyler Burton Smith are trying to pre-empt criticism by having their mechanical villain love something so much that it turns into a toxic fan, slaying everything in its path irrationally and indiscriminately, that's one of their big swings and misses. It's better reading into their other big theme, and one that Chucky demonstrates again and again in trying to resolve Andy's woes with a knife: being careful what you wish for. For material so rife with potential, Child's Play remains content to make the easiest and most apparent statements in routine and uninspired ways. It's also happy to follow cookie-cutter characters, throw in the expected deaths and just generally follow the operating manual. And while there's undeniable pleasure in hearing Parks and Recreation alumni Plaza say the name 'Andy' repeatedly, she headlines an entirely wasted cast. Playing a cop whose mother lives in the same building as Karen and Andy, Atlanta's Brian Tyree Henry falls into the same category. So do Hamill's creepy but never overly menacing vocals. When Chucky keeps killing over and over again with a single-minded focus, Child's Play begins to resemble another tech-heavy, needlessly rebooted, never-say-die franchise: the Terminator. It's not that these sagas don't know when to end; rather, they keep kicking on without justifying why. The same can be said for recent instalments in other long-running series, such as X-Men and Men in Black. But, simultaneously glossy and formulaic where its predecessors were gleefully makeshift and off-kilter, Child's Play couldn't try harder to stress that it's a new beginning. It is, and yet starting over again isn't always a good thing. Credit where credit is due, however. Who dies, and when, never comes as a shock, but this horror flick does value a great bit of gore. While the bloodshed takes time to splatter across the screen, when it comes, it's memorable. If only Klevberg and Smith had expended the same energy and inventiveness on the rest of the film as they do on Chucky's growing pile of bodies. Their one other playful attempt arrives via the movie's blackly comic tone, endeavouring to ape The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and even using clips of the 80s slasher sequel to teach the picture's homicidal robot how to stab, slice and snatch people's faces off. If you're thinking the obvious, though, you're right — whether it's reimagining its source material, adhering to topical and filmmaking trends, or nodding to other genre fare, Child's Play follows poorly in everyone's footsteps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeHNLikDiVw
Surfers of Melbourne — all 300,000 of you — don't go anywhere. Come Easter, the first waves will be rolling through Australia's very first surf park. And, no, you won't have to drive all the way out to Torquay or the Peninsula. Instead, Urbnsurf Melbourne will be located on a huge site in Tullamarine, just near the airport. Plans for the park first surfaced way back in 2016, and Urbnsurf has today announced that the park has installed its wave generator. That means it will be pumping out surf by April, with a view to be open to the public by spring this year. At the moment, the site is still a hole in the ground — but when it opens, the two-hectare lagoon will power up to 1000 waves per hour, day and night. And you'll get a choice of waves. Want to ride nothing but perfectly-formed right-handers for an hour? Or would you prefer a random selection, like what you'd experience in the ocean? You'll be able to take your pick. According to Urbnsurf founder Andrew Ross, "every wave has six different take-off spots", which equates to 3600 surfable positions every hour. The waves are created by Wavegarden technology, which was developed by a Spanish engineering firm of the same name. So how does it work? Basically, the waves come from an 85-metre pier that runs down the centre of the lagoon (which you can see in the image below). A series of pistons located on the pier then push the water to the left, then to the right, to create the waves. Ross likens the movement to "moving your hand back and forward like a shark's tail". [caption id="attachment_707250" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Urbnsurf lagoon under construction.[/caption] If you're worried about the amount of energy needed to drive such an operation, take comfort in the fact that Urbnsurf aims to run on 100 percent renewables within the first 12 months of opening. From the get-go, the rest of the facility's built environment — which includes a beach club, loads of eateries and a retail space — will be partially solar powered (with the rest sourced from renewable sources), and water will be sourced from storm water stores near the airport before being treated and filtered. Once the lagoon is filled, the team will then enter a testing period — if you're a keen surfer, you can sign up to give it a test drive before the park opens to the public in spring this year. The ability to create waves means that the park will be built for both pros who are looking for steep, barrelling waves and novices looking for a safe place to get their start in the surf. "Becoming a great surfer is all about getting waves under your feet," says Ross. "But, in Melbourne, the nearest waves are over an hour away. Unless you set up your life so you can get down there regularly, it's difficult to progress as a surfer, without dedicating decades of your life to it." At Urbnsurf, Ross predicts, most novices will stand on their board within an hour and ride across the green face within two. And not only will you get guaranteed waves — you won't be fighting for them. The park holds 84 riders per hour. And, should you get seriously hooked, you'll be able to enter amateur competitions, maybe with (or against) your mates. When completed, it will be the fourth commercial wave park in the world, and the first in Australia. But not for long. Urbnsurf has already has plans for a Sydney park approved, and it's also lodging a development application for a site in Perth. Another park has also been proposed for regional Queensland. https://vimeo.com/256710737 Urbnsurf is due to open in spring 2019 near Melbourne Airport. You can sign up to test out the surf park before it opens on the website. Top image: Wavegarden San Sebastian, by Ed Sloane. All images courtesy Urbnsurf.
Bangarra's latest work, lore, celebrates the passing-down of knowledge from one generation to the next. For 25 years, Bangarra has created dance works to enlighten audiences about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures survive today. As its title suggests, lore is no different in providing a stage for ancient spirituality to meet the 21st century. lore is a double bill, and making the rounds to Canberra, Wollongong, Brisbane and Melbourne, following a successful premiere at the Opera House on June 11. Seasoned choreographer Frances Rings' Sheoak is followed by I.B.I.S, by Deborah Brown and Waangenga Blanco, in their choreographic debut. Both Sheoak and I.B.I.S. transport the viewer to sacred places, whether at the roots of an all-giving Grandmother tree or surveying the beauty of the Torres Strait. Bangarra never shies away from social commentary; the works address everything from climate change to racial inequality. Yet in the staunch declarations of identity onstage, there is a constant look to the future, with hope.
Feeling a little anxious about saying farewell to Brooklyn Nine-Nine? Since it was announced earlier this year that the beloved sitcom would end after its next (and eighth) season, that's been an understandable reaction. Long-running shows become a comforting part of our routines, giving us something to look forward to with each new episode — and in the case of this supremely warm-hearted comedy, giving us all plenty of feel-good laughs as well. If you think that you're dreading B99 coming to an end, you might still want to spare a thought for Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio). If the show comes to a conclusion and sees him spend less time with Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), he obviously won't cope well. That's the angle the just-released full trailer for the series' final season takes, in fact. "No more stakeouts, or drinks after a long shift, or midnight calls when you've had a breakthrough in a case," Boyle laments — while wearing a big fluffy coat for some reason. Heart and laughs: that's been a noice, toit and cool cool cool formula for Brooklyn Nine-Nine over the years. "Title of your sex tape" jokes, Die Hard nods and Halloween heists have all worked well, too. Cross your fingers that's all in the pipeline during the last batch of ten episodes as well, which will start streaming on SBS On Demand and airing on SBS in Australia come Friday, August 13. Definitely on the bill: other districts' versions of Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker) and Scully (Joel McKinnon Miller), Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) accidentally sending intimate pics, Peralta and Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) trying to handle parenthood, Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) on edibles and Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) popping his pecs. And, to answer an obvious question, it wouldn't be a last ride for Brooklyn's fictional 99th police precinct without Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti) making a final appearance. Check out the full trailer for Brooklyn Nine-Nine's final season below: The first two episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's eighth and final season will be able to stream via SBS On Demand (and to view on SBS) on Friday, August 13, with new episodes dropping weekly afterwards.
With 2014's Maleficent, Disney turned Sleeping Beauty into a dark fantasy, filled with magical forests, twisted fairies, and complicated battles between good and evil. When sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil hits cinemas this October, the Mouse House will do the same all over again — but the film's wicked delights won't just be confined to the big screen. In the huge entertainment company's latest collaboration with The Grounds of Alexandria (following The Nutcracker, Mary Poppins Returns and Aladdin-themed pop-ups), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is taking over the Huntley Street spot until Sunday, November 3. This time around, the cafe's already-gorgeous garden is getting a misty, brooding and enchanting makeover, complete with black roses, gnarled branches, plenty of greenery, a smattering of feathers and an entry archway as striking as Angelina Jolie's eyebrows. The menu is also scoring a new short-term addition for the occasion — a dish The Grounds is calling 'The Dark Fairy'. Glazed milk chocolate mousse and passionfruit jelly on a bed of chocolate charcoal sable is topped with vanilla buttercream to create quite the decadent treat. It comes with edible glitter, rocks and horns, too, and costs $9. 'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' at The Grounds is open from 7am–9pm daily until Sunday, November 3.
On the lookout for a dope new denim jacket? Or do you want to be rid of that weird-looking lamp taking up space in the living room? Then, by golly, you're in luck. The Garage Sale Trail works with local council partners Australia-wide to get as many trash-and-treasure troves happening on the same day as possible. More than 10,000 garages are expected to open their doors to bargain hunters, selling two million items, when the event returns for its eight time — and it's first two-day, weekend-long stint — on October 21 and 22. Aside from the retro goodies up for grabs, the Trail is all about sustainability. Instead of ending up in landfill, unwanted clutter becomes a fantastic find. So get that tight pair of sunnies for peanuts and help the environment at the same time. The Garage Sale Trail began humbly in Bondi in 2010 and is growing bigger every year. There'll be a right slew of sales happening all around Sydney, so keep your eyes on the event website — or register online to make a quick buck from your old junk and hang out with the friendly folks in your hood.
In his third motion picture as writer/director/star, comedian Chris Rock is the funniest he’s been in years. But then again, that’s not saying much. While comedy fiends will always remember Rock for his fearless, foul mouthed stand-up routines, his movie career — particularly in recent times — has smacked of safer choices. Madagascar and Grown-Ups are hardly the best outlets for one of the greatest living comedians to work his magic — which is a big part of why Top Five feels like such a pleasant surprise. A smart, self-effacing send-up of the entertainment industry, the film, like most of Rock’s best material, feels at least partly autobiographical. Rock plays Andre Allen, a comedian turned Hollywood superstar and recovering alcoholic, best known for his role in the million-dollar Hammy the Bear franchise. Unfortunately, Allen’s funny bone has been blunted since going sober, and his first attempt at a ‘serious’ film — playing Haitian slave revolutionary Dutty Boukman — is shaping up to be a box-office bomb. Even more out of control is his upcoming televised wedding, to Kardashian-esque reality star Erica Long (Gabrielle Union). Enter Chelsea Brown (Rosario Dawson), a sardonic, whip-smart writer for the New York Times, who’s been assigned to profile Allen over the course of a single day. Although initially suspicious of Brown and the Times, whose resident film critic has made a career out of tearing his movies to shreds, Allen soon finds himself opening up to the writer, as the pair begin to trade stories while walking around NYC. In a lot of ways, Top Five feels like the work of an artist finally free to speak in his own voice. From Allen laying out his theory about the racist undertones of Planet of the Apes to debating his agent (Kevin Hart) about whether a black man can get fired for using the N-word, the writing here feels like vintage Rock: free-flowing, profane and absolutely hilarious. He also manages to insert two of the most gleefully obscene on-screen sex acts this side of Nymphomaniac. Without going into details, let’s just say you’ll never be able to look at a bottle of chilli sauce the same way again. Dawson makes for a worthy comic counterpart, the playfully antagonistic chemistry between her and her director/co-star helping keep the film on track. Beyond this central pairing, Rock stacks the deck with a ton of famous faces, from Tracy Morgan to DMX. The highlight, though, is at Allen’s ribald bachelor party, where he receives marital advice from Jerry Seinfeld, Whoopi Goldberg and Adam Sandler. Frankly, the site of a balding Seinfeld making it rain is worth the price of admission alone. If we have any complaint of Top Five, it would be a lack of internal structure; in a lot of ways the film feels more like a collection of scenes than it does a cohesive whole. Still, when they’re all this damn funny, it’s sort of difficult to object. Where Rock’s career goes from here is anyone’s guess. Regardless, it’s nice to have this reminder of just how good he can be.
The rocky outcrop of Montague Island (AKA Barunguba), nine kilometres off the coast of Narooma, is a stunning location for friends to kick back and reconnect. Since its construction in 1881, the Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage has been carefully restored with all the comfortable mod-cons and now accommodates up to 12 guests. Your booking here includes boat transfers plus a guided tour of the historic lighthouse and short island walking loop — at its widest, the island measures 1.4 kilometres long and 525 metres across. Keep your eyes peeled for families of little penguins who come to shore to breed, fur seals sunning themselves on the rocks in winter and whales and dolphins surfacing over nearby waves during spring. The surrounding waters are part of a nature reserve, meaning they're ideal for snorkelling, scuba diving and kayaking adventures, which can be organised through local tour operators. Want to explore more of this region? Check out our road tripper's guide to the far south coast. Top image: Destination NSW
With many a wedding comedy coming out in recent years, there's a certain formula that one has come to expect: bride/groom's well-meaning friends bungle the pre-wedding bachelorette/bachelor party with too much booze/drugs/sex with strangers, and comic antics ensue. What you get instead with Bachelorette is a group of bitchy, not at all well-meaning friends, who do everything they can to ruin the possibility of their friend having the dream wedding she'd planned. Kirsten Dunst leads the pack of 'B-Faces' (the apt name the girls gave themselves in school) as Regan, followed by a tyepcast Isla Fisher as the 'slutty drunk' Katie, and Lizzy Caplan as Gena, the girl who takes drugs to escape her past. The three are invited to be bridesmaids at the wedding of their less pretty friend from school (Rebel Wilson, who seems to be relishing these roles that Hollywood's throwing her), and they spend the night before causing mayhem while lost in their own depressingly self-centered lives. No characters, other than the couple who are getting married, are sympathetic in this movie, and while there are the odd laughs, Bachelorette is far less a comedy and more of a nightmare scenario of what the nasty group of girls from highschool really gets up to. If you want the darker version of Bridesmaids and The Hangover, this is it.
The annual reason to not entirely obliterate yourself on New Year's Eve, Field Day, has announced announced one of its most all-round thumbs-up inducing lineups yet, with one big name at the top: Tyler, The Creator. The chart-topping American rapper will be heading to Australia for the first time since releasing his highly lauded album IGOR. He'll be joined on stage by fellow American and trap master RL Grime, gold masked German DJ duo Claptone, British rapper Skepta, dancefloor starters Disclosure and electro duo Snakehips, among one heck of a killer lineup. Local legends aren't scarce this year, either, with the likes of Hatchie, Pnau, Hayden James and more locked in for NYD sets. Returning to The Domain on New Year's Day, January 1, 2020, Field Day proves once again that some lineups are worth skipping the last NYE UDL for. [caption id="attachment_735766" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tyler, The Creator by Sam Rock[/caption] Enough chatskies, here's that lineup you're after. FIELD DAY 2020 LINEUP Tyler, The Creator Antony & Cleopatra Chris Lake Claptone Dena Amy Disclosure Dom Dolla Eves Karydas Glades Green Velvet Gunna Hatchie Hayden James IAMDDB Jauz Lastlings Nyxen Pnau RL Grime Running Touch Skepta Snakehips The Japanese House Tokimonsta Ybn Cordae Field Day returns to The Domain on January 1, 2020. Tickets on sale at midday on Tuesday, August 27 via Field Day's website. Image: Field Day/AP Photography.
Worlds have collided and a few of your favourite chocolate and booze brands have come together in snack-friendly harmony. Renowned chocolate maker Haigh's has rallied three top Aussie gin distilleries to create one of the year's dream collaborations — a series of boozy chocolates. Fusing smooth Haigh's chocolate with artisanal spirits and boasting a careful marriage of botanicals, the limited-edition trio is known simply as The Collaboration. Not just a celebration of local produce and Aussie craftsmanship, it also makes for one pretty swanky gift, packaged in a handmade navy and copper embossed box, and complete with tasting notes. On the lineup, you'll find a dark chocolate creation crafted with Archie Rose's Signature Dry Gin, studded with pieces of macadamia and sandalwood nut, and infused with peppermint gum and mountain pepper leaf. Then, there's a milk chocolate number enveloping a white chocolate ganache centre, which pairs the bitter orange aperitif and 78° classic gin from Adelaide Hills Distillery with real honey and peach. And flying the flag for Victoria is a milk chocolate fudge treat made on Melbourne Gin Company's Melbourne dry gin and finished with an extra sprinkle of juniper. The gift box comes packed with four of each chocolate variety (so 12 in total) and tasting notes for $49.90, or you can buy them by the individual piece. Stay tuned also for details of an exclusive virtual chocolate and gin tasting flight, presented by Haigh's Chocolates Product Manager Ben Kolly, along with guests from each gin distillery. We'll let you know more about that closer to the date. The Collaboration chocolates are available now to buy individually, or as part of a $49.90 gift box. Find them online and in Haigh's stores.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are back in business — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7eZEZHRrVg PENGUIN BLOOM Nature is healing in Penguin Bloom, but not in the way that 2020's most famous meme has taught us all to expect. This Australian drama tells the story of Sam Bloom (Naomi Watts, The Loudest Voice), a nurse who becomes paralysed from the waist down due to a tragic accident during a Thailand vacation. Then, while adjusting to being in a wheelchair upon her return home, she finds solace in the company of an also-injured magpie chick. Her three young sons Noah (Griffin Murray-Johnston), Rueben (Felix Cameron) and Oli (Abe Clifford-Bar) name the bird Penguin. They're keen to look after it until it recovers, something they're unable to do with their mother. But the strongest bond between human and magpie forms between Sam and Penguin, albeit reluctantly at first. Traumatised by her experience, pushing her husband Cameron (Andrew Lincoln, The Walking Dead) away, subjected to her mother Jan's (Jacki Weaver, Never Too Late) fussing, and struggling with the changes from her old life — so much so that she's barely able to look at photos from the past — Sam is angry, upset and unhappy. She's hurt, and not just physically. As enjoying the presence of and caring for a pet is known to do, however, she finds hope, purpose and perspective via her new feathered friend. Describing Penguin Bloom's plot is bound to make anyone think that it's a piece of fiction conjured up by a screenwriter, but the Glendyn Ivin (Last Ride)-directed movie is based on real-life events — with scribes Harry Cripps (The Dry) and Shaun Grant (True History of the Kelly Gang) adapting the book by Cameron Bloom and Bradley Trevor Greive. Still, overcoming that manufactured, formulaic, sentimental feeling is the movie's chief obstacle, and one that it can't completely manage. In her first homegrown role since 2013's Adore, Watts puts in a film-lifting effort. The several exceptionally trained birds by her side all do too, vying with their high-profile co-star for the feature's best performance. And the rapport between human and magpie is as touching as it should be, ensuring that you don't need to have sat in Sam's exact seat or seen the world through the picture's wheelchair-height cinematography to understand the impact that Penguin has on her emotional and mental wellbeing. But, as most Australian films that that focus on a human-animal connection have been (with 2014's Healing a rare exception), Penguin Bloom is firmly a family-friendly affair. Movies that are suitable for all ages should genuinely earn that term, engaging adults as much as children; here, though, chasing that feat involves sticking to a noticeably easy, straightforward and simplistic template even when the film does strike a chord. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Fr1M2fjY0&t=26s ONLY THE ANIMALS Murder-mystery Only the Animals starts with a killer opening image, featuring a live goat being worn like a backpack. The animal is slung over the shoulders of a cyclist as he rides through the streets of the Côte d'Ivoire city of Abidjan, and the unique picture that results instantly grabs attention — for viewers, even if it doesn't appear to interest anyone in the vicinity on-screen. This involving French-language thriller doesn't explain its attention-grabbing sight straight up, though. Instead, it jumps over to the Causse Mejean limestone plateau in southern France, where snow blankets the UNESCO World Heritage-listed site and — unrelated to the weather — a number of locals are icily unhappy. Indeed, farmer Michel (Denis Ménochet, Custody), his insurance agent wife Alice (Laure Calamy, Call My Agent!) and Joseph (Damien Bonnard, Dunkirk), one of her clients, are all far from content before word arrives of a shock death in the area. Doing house calls is part of Alice's job in the small, close-knit community, and it sees her embarking upon an affair with the awkward Joseph, who has shut himself off from everything beyond his property after his mother's passing a year prior. The surly Michel barely seems bothered about his marriage, spending all his time in the office attached to his cattle-feeding shed ostensibly working on the farm's accounts. When the grim news spreads, it has implications for all three. Adapting the novel Seules Les Bêtes by Colin Niel, writer/director Dominik Moll (News from Planet Mars) and his frequent co-screenwriter Gilles Marchand switch between Only the Animals' characters and relay the details from their perspectives. First, Alice's take on the situation graces the screen. Next, it's Joseph's turn. Waitress Marion (Nadia Tereszkiewicz, The Dancer) earns the third chapter, which charts her hot-and-heavy rendezvous with Evelyne (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Let the Sunshine In), the woman who'll turn up dead — while the final and longest segment belongs to Armand (debutant Guy Roger 'Bibisse' N'Drin), without the goat, as he tries to catfish his way to riches, success and the girl of his dreams. A whodunnit, Only the Animals tasks its audience members with sleuthing their way through its fractured tale, all to discover who is responsible for Evelyne's demise and why. Thanks to its multiple parts, it also gets viewers guessing about events that initially appear unrelated, and how they'll end up linking into the broader story. But the suitably cool-hued film is filled with other questions, too, ruminating on the primal nature of love and pondering the ways in which pursuing it — or chasing a mere moment, however fleeting, with someone else — can lead down immensely complicated paths. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5xoxzO9bRQ&feature=youtu.be DAWN RAID When Danny 'Brotha D' Leaosavai'i and Andy Murnane set up their own record label in the late 90s, they took its title from a bleak chapter in New Zealand's history. During the 70s and 80s, early-morning round ups were deployed by the government to locate and detain Pacific Islanders who had overstayed their visas — a racially motivated tactic that left a strong imprint in South Auckland, where Leaosavai'i and Murnane grew up. Accordingly, by using Dawn Raid as moniker for a venture that supported Polynesian artists, the duo were reclaiming and repurposing a problematic term. Their clothing line, also under the same name, was filled with slogan-heavy apparel that did the same thing with other words. And, as their business empire grew quickly to also encompass stores, bars and even a barber shop, the pair employed the same irreverent, enthusiastic, passionate but carefree approach at every turn. The local impact was considerable, launching careers, giving aspiring musicians a pathway and inspiring hope throughout the local community as well. But, as the new documentary that's also called Dawn Raid makes clear, Leaosavai'i and Murnane's entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude sent them on a complicated rollercoaster ride. Their rise was meteoric; their struggles, when they came, were just as significant. Filmmaker Oscar Kightley details Dawn Raid's tale, paying tribute to the label's influence and the artists that it brought to the public's attention as well — including hip hop group Deceptikonz; its members Savage, Mareko and Devolo, who have each pursued solo careers; singer Aaradhna; and R&B duo Adeaze. The filmmaker may have already been well-acquainted with Leaosavai'i and Murnane after the pair oversaw the soundtrack to Kightley's big 2006 hit Sione's Wedding, but he still takes a warts-and-all approach to their ups and downs. It'd be impossible to do justice to their story otherwise and, as the movie's main interviewees, Leaosavai'i and Murnane are just as frank and willing to discuss both the good and the bad. They need to be, of course; it's their experiences after meeting in business school, overcoming troubled childhoods, lucking into some of their success and making as many fortunate choices as mistakes that makes the documentary particularly compelling. Indeed, Kightley doesn't need to amass much more than talking heads, archival footage and music videos to unfurl Dawn Raid's history, or to keep viewers interested. Still, he not only skilfully weaves together this engaging and comprehensive chronicle, but also knows when to give particular incidents from the company's past — like Savage's surprise viral hit when his single 'Swing' was used in the movie Knocked Up — the spotlight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_T0F36YEi0&list=PLB5pxwdW-CtP4EVTJe_bHhQ-iBR8mBeBS THE MARKSMAN If film stars are ever able to digitise their likenesses, then let CGI versions of themselves do the acting for them, Liam Neeson could end up with an even longer list of forgettable action flicks on his resume. That idea for that kind of technology stems from the 2013 movie The Congress, which didn't feature Neeson — but, perusing much of his recent output, you can be forgiven for wondering if letting a computer insert him into however many Taken ripoffs that Hollywood seems to need would be any different. For now, Neeson keeps performing the usual way. And, he keeps making movies that call upon his particular set of fist-throwing, villain-dispensing skills more than the talents that saw him receive an Oscar nomination for Schindler's List. The good news with The Marksman is that it's an improvement on 2020's Honest Thief; however, it's also yet another thoroughly by-the-numbers movie that only seems to exist so that it can star Neeson. This time around, he plays a retired marine-turned-Arizona rancher who lives near the Mexico border, has spent his time since his wife died reporting illegal crossings, and earns a drug cartel's bloodthirsty interest after he helps the fleeing Rosa (Teresa Ruiz, Narcos: Mexico) and her 11-year-old son Miguel (feature debutant Jacob Perez). Neeson's character, Jim, isn't the type to let murderous thugs hunt down a boy — or to trust that they won't still get to Miguel in police custody, even with his own stepdaughter Sarah (Katheryn Winnick, Vikings) on the force. So, in an inversion of the role that cemented Neeson as a 21st-century action star, Jim takes the kid on the run in an effort to deliver him safely to relatives in Chicago, all while both assassins and the cops try to hunt them down. Unsurprisingly, The Marksman trades in routine action scenes, but it thankfully does so in an unflashy way. It's far less subtle about its patriotic imagery; when Jim is told that the bank is selling off his house, the cringeworthy scene sees him deliver a speech about serving his country and working hard all of his life while grimacing sternly and wearing an American flag slung over his shoulder. It's the type of dialogue you might expect Clint Eastwood deliver and, in case you weren't thinking about him during the film, writer/director Robert Lorenz even has Jim and Miguel watch a clip from the actor's 1968 western Hang 'Em High. The filmmaker has a history with Eastwood, actually, directing him in 2012's Trouble with the Curve and working on a long list of Eastwood-helmed movies. Lorenz doesn't have ties to John Wick, but that doesn't stop him borrowing a little from that franchise as well — and stranding Neeson in a passable-enough but always derivative movie several times over in the process. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23 and July 30; August 6, August 13, August 20 and August 27; September 3, September 10, September 17 and September 24; October 1, October 8, October 15, October 22 and October 29; and November 5, November 12, November 19 and November 26; and December 3, December 10, December 17, December 26; and January 1, January 7 and January 14. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Craft: Legacy, Radioactive, Brazen Hussies, Freaky, Mank, Monsoon, Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie's Dead Aunt), American Utopia, Possessor, Misbehaviour, Happiest Season, The Prom, Sound of Metal, The Witches, The Midnight Sky, The Furnace, Wonder Woman 1984, Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles, Nomadland, Pieces of a Woman, The Dry, Promising Young Woman, Summerland, Ammonite, The Dig and The White Tiger.
This May, Darling Quarter is teaming up with Two Good Co — a social enterprise that supports, empowers and employs women who have experienced homelessness, domestic abuse and complex trauma — to present Change The Course, a long lunch that aims to have a lasting impact. The event will welcome 120 foodies to enjoy dishes by some of Australia's best chefs in this feel-good highlight of American Express delicious. Month Out. The three-course menu includes dishes by Maggie Beer, Mike McEnearney and Alanna Sapwell-Stone, prepared by Two Good Co and Darling Quarter retailers, and selected from Two Good Co's cookbook Change The Course. There'll also be matched organic and biodynamic wines from Mudgee's Lowe Family Wine Co, while teetotallers can quaff zero-alc wine alternatives by NON. The day will also feature roving entertainers and plenty of photo ops, as well as a panel discussion exploring the power of food and social enterprises. The ticket price also incudes a copy of Two Good Co's Change The Course cookbook, and will also help provide a meal for a person in refuge.
A world-weary aunt cautions her young niece on the power and misuse of her currently profligate shows of affection. A young man letting off steam on a tropical Darwin night holds his best friend's life in his hands. A nobleman's polite courtship of a maiden is upset when a bold ruffian swings through the doors and sweeps her into his arms. A quiet and round-shouldered Russian soldier discovers a world of obsessive fantasy after experiencing his first, accidental moment of intimacy with a woman. Each of these is a short story with the title of The Kiss, written by Guy de Maupassant in 1882, Kate Chopin in 1894, Anton Chekov in 1887 or Peter Goldsworthy in 1999. With its sweet, flirtatious and emotionally charged connotations, the kiss is a subject that can pull a theatre audience close for hours, and Belvoir's The Kiss does for more than two. Director Susanna Dowling has preserved the pieces' original prose, which the performers recite verbatim as they take on its characters (sometimes, with intended farce, more than one in each scene) or stand back as detached narrators. The approach allows the poetry and distinct styles of the four writers to be observed, making this a celebration of authorial idiosyncrasy and bringing a spark that helps sustain the performance. If anything, the reading is a little too flat, with none of the flights of irony or licences with subtext that so distinguish I Only Came to Use the Phone, a concurrent production using the same rare tack. It's also not an ideal curation; you're looking for meaning in the divergences of these texts and their interpretations, but three of the four bear a similar tone and setting (late 19th-century parlour comedy), while Goldsworthy's is wildly different (modern rural Australian drama). Still, the four actors (Catherine Davies, Rita Kalnejais, Yalin Ozucelik and Steve Rodgers) put in strong performances imbibed with their own charms, and although you do start to feel its two-plus hours of narration, this is consistently fun to watch.
This Friday and Saturday Volumes, one of Sydney's most diverse and exciting music festivals, takes over multiple venues around Oxford Street. After killing it with their debut last year, the event — touted (by us) as a mini South by Southwest-style festival — will this year span two days, showcasing some of Australia's premier artists, bands, DJs and, importantly, live music venues. As well as being a feat in event organisation, there's a lot to get your ears around — so Concrete Playground spoke to Volumes organiser James Spink to get the low down on what to expect from the festival, and how we should tackle the two-day event. THE LINEUP IS FULL OF UP-AND-COMERS 2016 will be Volumes' sophomore year, after launching in 2015 with a lineup that included the likes of Methyl Ethel, You Beauty, Shining Bird and Jack Ladder & the Dreamlanders. It's no coincidence that these bands have gone on to do great things in the last 12 months – Volumes prides itself in being able to hunt down some of Australia's next up-and-comers. "Volumes is meticulously curated — many hours are spent enjoying listening to music and going to shows and pondering what bands we'd love to see play together," says Spink. "This is easily the most enjoyable part of the event. The lineup is not defined by genre or style, but instead we aim to create a program that moves and flows in a particular way and creates a certain mood. Most acts are booked with a specific idea for a slot or stage to create a certain vibe and direction for that space and time." IT'S UNLIKE ANY OTHER FESTIVAL IN SYDNEY Following the same multi-venue format as last year, Volumes team will again jam some of Sydney's most exciting emerging artists into the city's premier music venues — but this time it will run over two days instead of just one. Oxford Art Factory, Brighton Up Bar and The Cliff Dive will once again participate, joined this year by The Burdekin. "With Volumes we wanted to create an experience-based concept that challenged an audience's expectation or perception of a live music event," says Spink. "Basically we're just working to create that 'wooaahh!' experience for the audience. Something that they'll remember and talk about until next year." "We've added a ton of new musical elements and visual experiences that I can't divulge too much of, or it may adversely effect that aforementioned 'wooaahh!' reaction at the event." Spink does however confirm that there'll be collaborations between artists: artistically, musically and merch-wise. Rollas Jeans have collaborated with some of the acts on the 2016 Volumes bill to create a range of extremely limited edition pieces. IT'S BEEN PROGRAMMED TO FIT WITH THE LOCKOUTS Volumes has never known a lockout-free Sydney, so, when planning the festival, Spink has taken into account how the lockout laws will effect the punter's experience. "We have created certain parts of the event with the lockouts in the back of the mind — like having dual headline slots across the event, with an earlier headliner around 7pm and then shifting the direction towards another headline act later in the evening." But despite the effect the lockouts have had on Sydney's live music industry, Spink is optimistic about the future for the Sydney arts and culture scene. "The Volumes 2016 lineup is testament to so many amazing new artists coming out of Sydney in the last two years," he says. "You only need to look at venues like Brighton Up Bar, Oxford Art Factory and Oxford Circus — all hosting amazing sold out shows each week — to know that there is still a great music scene in Sydney. I feel like the current positive momentum is leading towards some changes soon. Fingers crossed with the review of the laws due very soon we may just see some good things in the not too distant future." SO WHO SHOULD WE MAKE A BEELINE TO SEE? With such a diverse lineup, we wanted to get the hot tip on who we should lock into our Volumes 2016 timetable. Spink gave us a (kind of huge) list that consisted of California Girls, Christopher Port, Habits, Mall Grab, Nicholas Allbrook, Mossy, Orb, SilentJay & Jace XL, Xanga, Koi Child, 30/70 and Donny Benet. That's not the complete list of gigs, but we're going to trust a guy who makes his living discovering the best new bands in Sydney. Volumes 2016 takes place on Friday, August 26 and Saturday, August 27 at various venues in Darlinghurst. For more info and to buy tickets, go to volumes2016.com.
Your mates have been listening to your 'big idea' for months. It's that passion project you dream all day about or that side hustle that's yet to get off the ground. And yet, somehow, another year has rolled past and you're still waiting for the time to feel 'just right'. Spoiler alert: the timing will never be perfect. Starting your own business can feel daunting and dazzling all at the same time. While you'll find yourself in the driver's seat, calling the shots and running the show, it's not all fame and control. With power comes chasing unpaid invoices, juggling timelines and hoping you're charging enough to cover the bills. So, to see your idea become a (profitable) reality, you have to be prepared. To help with the financial stuff, we've teamed up with Westpac, in celebration of its Presto Smart payment solution, to track down some Australian business owners — and ask for some advice. Read on to learn the biggest business dos and don'ts from three Australian hospo entrepreneurs: head chef and owner of LP's Quality Meats Luke Powell; Lyndon Kubis, co-owner of Melbourne's Milton Wine Shop; and William Edwards, founder of Sydney distillery Archie Rose (which also happens to be one of Westpac's Businesses of the Tomorrow). [caption id="attachment_511979" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Archie Rose by Nikki To.[/caption] DO: INVEST IN PEOPLE TO HELP BUILD YOUR BUSINESS As cheesy as it sounds, people are the backbone of every great business. Seriously. A great barista will keep coffee lovers coming back and a talented sales rep will build a thriving network of distributors and partners. They're the face of your brand and the people you'll be working alongside through thick and thin. Even during your first years of operation, as you're still working out how to be profitable as a business, you should consider ways to invest and give back to your team. This is especially true for Archie Rose's William Edwards. "You may not have the resources to give out big salaries or awesome job perks, but your people are literally the number one asset you'll have," he explains. "They will drive the business to places you would have never thought to go, or could not have gone on your own — so treat them with respect, empower them to lead the areas they are responsible for and acknowledge the contribution they make." [caption id="attachment_664743" align="alignnone" width="1920"] LPs Quality Meats via Destination NSW.[/caption] DO: DIVERSIFY YOUR OFFERING You've heard it plenty: "don't put all your eggs in one basket". When kicking off a business, this little phrase is essential. You want to build an offering that is resilient and, most importantly, sustainable. If your heart is set on selling handmade rings, you should consider broadening your focus. Release other accessory ranges; collaborate on a line of monogrammed notebooks. The key is to find multiple ways of generating income, rather than investing everything into one product or service. Powell is a master of this. The meats made at LP's are also supplied to other restaurants across Sydney, which opened up a whole new revenue stream for the business. "We have diversified our business by making smallgoods for other restaurants, cafes and venues," Powell reveals. "We were making them just for ourselves then other people started asking for them. We got a license as a meat processing plant and can now make and sell to anyone." [caption id="attachment_697656" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bella Brutta by Kitti Gould.[/caption] DO: TAKE THE LEAP BEFORE YOU'RE READY Still waiting to hit 'publish' on your website? To announce your business on social media? Are you still endlessly searching for the perfect space to house your new operation? Edwards' advice? Just go for it. "I've met so many people with so many good ideas and the talent to make them a reality, but they never did anything because it wasn't the perfect time," Edwards explains. "I'm not saying don't prepare for what you're about to undertake, but there will never be 'a perfect time' — at the end of the day, you just need to start." The business you launch isn't set in stone. While you want to have the practical stuff like budgets and point of sale technology sorted out, your concept, branding and offering will evolve over time. Just take the first step, and the rest will begin to fall into place. [caption id="attachment_724984" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Luke Power of LPs Quality Meats by Kitti Gould.[/caption] DON'T: FOLLOW TRENDS AND FORGET TO CRAFT YOUR OWN VISION Remember those jeans you bought in 2002? Yep, the ultra low-rise ones with raw hems that dragged along the floor. Everyone had a pair. And now? It's all skinny jeans and retro flares. Trends come and go, but a truly unique idea sticks. That's why it's key to use innovation as the foundation of your business. "Restaurant trends are constantly changing, but we do try and stay away from them as they are usually not enduring," says Powell. "We try to be as creative as possible while staying true to our brand to keep it fun and fresh for our staff and customers." His biggest tip for fellow entrepreneurs? "Don't do something because it's trendy. Make sure you are doing it because you love it, and play the long game." [caption id="attachment_724988" align="alignnone" width="1920"] William Edwards of Archie Rose by Trent van der Jagt.[/caption] DON'T: AIM TO GET EVERYTHING RIGHT FROM DAY ONE Starting a business means making tough calls and hoping you're on the right track. There are going to be plenty of bumps along the way, and striving for perfection isn't going to make the journey any easier. Edwards has some sage words of wisdom on the topic. "One thing I would do differently is to not try to set up everything perfectly for the long term on day one. [For example,] I purchased two 40-foot containers of 750ml bottles for the US market on day one in order to get a better cost per unit...those bottles are still sitting in storage." So what would he do differently? "In some instances, you're better off just perfecting what you need in the short term, and then getting a better understanding of what you're going to need in the long term as you actually operate and grow." [caption id="attachment_712428" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Milton Wine Shop.[/caption] DO: KEEP ON TOP OF YOUR CASHFLOW It goes without saying that money is essential to get any business off the ground (and keep it there once it's opened). But when you're caught up in brainstorming, building, hiring staff and making sure everything just keeps moving every day, it can be hard to stay on top of the cash coming in and going out. Lyndon Kubis, who opened Melbourne's Milton Wine Shop with his business partners back in 2014, knows that, when starting a business in hospitality, income doesn't necessarily come before expenses — or vice versa. So, he says, when trying to turn a profit in the long run, it's important to remember that "money in the bank account belongs to a lot of people" — not just you. Utilising new tech can help, too. On a day-to-day level, Kubis uses Presto Smart at point of sale to track and process cashflow. Powell uses Westpac's tools at LP's, too, saying the information it provides has been "insightful and useful" for growing the business. DON'T: BE AFRAID TO SHARE YOUR IDEAS WITH THE WORLD When you've invested so much of yourself in your business, it's then a huge leap of faith to announce it to the public. But don't let your apprehensions prevent you from creating buzz for your business. Powell wishes he'd taken the jump much earlier. "I held back on letting people know in case the build was delayed," Powell reveals. "It then took a long time to build momentum." So, start talking about your idea. Show your mates and their mates what you're working on. And in the words of the LP's founder: "get it out there and start building hype." Now that you have the dos and don'ts to get you started, it's time to make the jump. And when it comes time to set up your payment technology, look to Westpac's Presto Smart terminal. It's made for speedy payments, busting queues, removing keying errors and seamlessly connecting to a range of Point of Sales systems, including Kounta, to help you keep track of cashflow. Please note that the above information is intended to be general in nature and should not be relied upon for personal financial use. Request more info and speak to Westpac here. Top images: Luke Powell by Kitti Gould, followed by William Edwards by Trent van der Jagt.
"Things are mental at the moment." "I'm totally slammed." "Where has this month gone?" Sound familiar? At this time of the year, work schedules can get pretty crazy. With the end of financial year, the start of a new one and everything in-between, it probably means you're starting earlier, finishing later and answering emails whenever they hit your inbox — even if it's 11pm and you're in bed. So, no doubt, you're clocking a lot of hours of screen time. A huge problem with that is that screens emit a blue light that strains our eyes and makes our brains think it's daytime — even when it's midnight and you're about to go to bed. With your brain still running around in circles, chances are, you won't be able to switch off and drift into the deep sleep that you need to be chipper and productive the next day. But there's no need to throw in the towel (or throw out your phone) completely. Oscar Wylee offers lenses that filter out this blue light, which you can add to your glasses whether they're prescription or not. Think of it as an easy way to set yourself up for a restful sleep and a super productive day ahead. And that's just one way you can increase your productivity. Once you've got those eyes sorted, you can get into these stress-busting hacks that will help you make the most our of each work day and get stuff ticked off your to-do list. USE AN APP TO SORT OUT YOUR TO-DO LIST Almost missed that 2pm meeting? Keep forgetting to pay that overdue gas bill? Constantly double-booked on Saturday nights? There's a lot to keep on top of. From birthdays to boxing classes, we're swimming in a sea of emails, alarms, missed phone calls and unanswered messages. But there are several ways to make your life easier. Enter project management apps. They're the lifesaving, schedule-sorting saviours that keep your to-do list in check at the office and at home. These handy apps act as a virtual assistant, reminding you of all the stuff you've already forgotten about. Simply type whatever you need to do, add a due date and let the app do the rest. Talk about taking the stress out of adulting. Ready to get started? Check out Asana, Trello, Airtable or Wunderlist to get your to-do list sorted. INVEST IN THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT TO GET THE JOB DONE Eight hours of staring at a screen is, well, about as fun as it sounds. Hunched shoulders and headaches are usually how it ends. But there is a way to combat that 3pm fuzz, even if you just can't leave your desk for that highly necessary walk. Look to glasses that filter out blue light, like Oscar Wylee's blue light filter lenses. These bad boys help block the harmful rays of blue light that can lead to eye strain and disrupted sleep pattern. Using clear lenses, these glasses are perfect for digital desk dwellers who spend long hours on their computer or smartphone. Plus, blocking blue light will help you sleep better. Our brains associate blue light with daytime, so these lenses make winding down after a big day a breeze. BLOCK OUT YOUR CALENDAR SO NO ONE INTERRUPTS YOUR FLOW Meetings can chew up so much of time at the office. So treat your desk time like all those back-to-backs you've been in, and book it in like an appointment. Better yet, add a daily appointment in the cal for your lunch break. It's time to take control of your calendar. Set aside 15 minutes at the beginning of your week to block out 'no meetings' hours each day. Consider what project deadlines are looming and prioritise your time towards these tasks accordingly. Make sure to lock in time for yourself, too, such as lunch dates and midday workout classes. Establishing boundaries will help others better respect your time, which in turn, will help you get through the day's tasks they're nagging you about anyway. [caption id="attachment_728617" align="alignnone" width="1920"] April, @coffeewithme.[/caption] TAKE YOUR LUNCH BREAK AWAY FROM YOUR DESK We've all been there. You're swamped with reports to write and emails to respond to. Then Word crashes, your laptop freezes and all your hard work disappears into the digital abyss. Sure, you've now got your Oscar Wylee blue light filter lenses on to combat the strain on your eyes, but you need to combat the strain on your brain, too. As counterproductive as it might seem, taking a break away from your desk can be the best move. When we're flustered and overwhelmed, getting out and into the fresh air does wonders to clear the mind. Even just 20 minutes sitting in a nearby park or walking to a local cafe will do the trick. Soak up that vitamin D, take a brisk walk and try to avoid scrolling through your phone while doing so. You'll return feeling refreshed and, most likely, in a better mood, making the recovery of that hard work not so daunting. SWITCH OFF YOUR EMAIL AND PHONE NOTIFICATIONS Staying on task can be tough. The buzz of a phone and ping of our emails can be enough to pull us way off course. These might seem like tiny distractions, but their powers are mighty. There are plenty of findings out there linking mobile phones and depression, but also those distractions end up putting you in a state of multitasking. What's so wrong with that? Well, it slows your productivity right down. So, kick the habit of jumping between tasks once and for all. By turning off those pesky notifications that lure you back to your inbox, you'll be much better placed to smash through your to-do list. Plus, you can batch your time to respond to emails in one go, rather than drip-feeding responses throughout the day. Prime yourself for your productivity kick. Head to Oscar Wylee to pick your frames and speak to its team about adding a blue light filter to your lenses. You and your less-strained eyeballs can thank us later.
UPDATE, March 3, 2021: Jojo Rabbit is available to stream via Disney+, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. It's an idea so sharply amusing, so devilishly designed to make a statement and so likely to enrage its target if he were still alive, it's easy to see why Taika Waititi embraced it. In Jojo Rabbit, the New Zealand writer/director/actor — the son of a Maori father, with Russian-Jewish and Irish heritage also in his family — plays an imaginary, egotistical, endlessly preening, thoroughly over-the-top version of Hitler. That's a loaded concept from the get-go. Obviously, Waititi has fun with the task. He serves up a campy caricature of the Third Reich leader, which is exactly what his chosen scenario calls for. But while his self-described "anti-hate satire" has the best of intentions, parodying hatred-driven extremism and championing kindness using Nazi Germany as a backdrop, the purposefully offbeat movie doesn't always find the right tonal balance. It makes fun broadly and proudly to make an important point, and it's firmly a black comedy, but it's not as precise as it needs to be given its subject matter. Waititi's gleefully exaggerated Führer appears to ten-year-old Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) quite often, which the boy is rather pleased about. Not that he had much choice in the matter, but Jojo is a devoted member of the Hitler Youth who is eager to serve his country — and rid it of those he's been indoctrinated to fear and loathe — in the dying days of the Second World War. Alas, at mandatory, feverish training camps, he is just teased by bigger kids. That's where his 'rabbit' nickname springs from, after he refuses to slaughter a bunny to prove his allegiance to the Fatherland. Still, he's devout about his beliefs, despite his kindly mother Rosie's (Scarlett Johansson) gentle push towards more tolerant attitudes. Rosie practises what she preaches, empathising with those resisting the Nazis and hiding Jewish teenager Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) in the family's attic. Based on Christine Leunens' book Caging Skies, Jojo Rabbit pinballs its eponymous character between various influences as he comes to terms with Elsa's presence. It's a standard coming-of-age scenario, opening a youth's eyes to the reality of the world as he matures, and bearing witness as he grapples with conflicting notions to forge his own identity — something that Waititi has previously tackled in both Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Here, of course, Jojo is a child Nazi suddenly nudged to look past his engrained prejudices as a forbidden friendship blooms, although he still interrogates Elsa about grossly inaccurate supposed Jewish traits and tricks first. Around him, Hitler's views on the subject, and on Jojo's new housemate, are as disapproving as you'd expect. The Hitler Youth bullies show Jojo what it's like to be on the receiving end of cruelty, though, even if the group's adult leaders — Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson and Game of Thrones' Alfie Allen — aren't exactly strict, stern and seething with hostility. Splashed across the screen in a bright, breezy manner — and stylistically aping Wes Anderson, particularly Moonrise Kingdom, at times — much of Jojo Rabbit's comedy works in the moment. That's true of Waititi's performance, and also applies to the film's opening juxtaposition: in its first frames, the feature cycles through archival footage of slavish crowds cheering Hitler as The Beatles' 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' plays in German. And yet, though dripping with equal parts sincerity and silliness, Jojo Rabbit doesn't completely add up to the resounding combination of laughs, heart and barbs that Waititi clearly hopes. It boasts all of the above, but there's also a sense of not just cheekiness but clumsiness. While enthusiastically aiming for overstatement, some of the movie's scenes play like thin sketches, too. It also awkwardly and accidentally straddles the line between showing a goofy brand of empathy to everyone in a grim situation and humanising the regime behind some of the 20th century's worst atrocities. Waititi's irreverent, irrepressible sense of humour is usually a delight (see: his aforementioned films, plus What We Do in the Shadows and Thor Ragnarok), but Jojo Rabbit is at its best when it actually dials back the gags, mockery and pointed current-day parallels, and instead hones in on its central trio in less overt moments. Within such circumstances, first-timer Davis, rising star McKenzie (Leave No Trace, True History of the Kelly Gang) and a tender Johansson all impress. In varying combinations — never all together — they share a parade of thoughtful scenes that leave an imprint, especially when veering into more serious, considered, and even melancholy and dark territory. In an ambitious picture from start to finish, the three actors find the right groove, even if the movie itself doesn't always successfully do the same. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL4McUzXfFI
Probably the only art exhibition in Sydney which comes with free ear plugs, Marco Fusinato's The Color of the Sky Has Melted collects the best of the always challenging Fusinato's recent work. The ear plugs are a good idea for the central work, the striking interactive installation Aetheric Plexus (2009), a somewhat ominous-looking industrial work which suddenly blasts those who dare to walk in its crosshairs with a brain-melting flash of intense light and deafening 105 decibels of white noise. Also a noted drone noise guitarist who was collaborated with Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore, Fusinato's interest in the extreme possibilities of music and the blurry line between extreme music and noise continues in the ongoing series Mass Black Implosion (2007-). These works see Fusinato take a score and draw lines from individual notes like light beams shooting off into the distance, making the scores look like some chaotic, mathematical diagrams. There's more noise in Free 1998-2004 (2012), a video series compiled over a number of years where Fusinato proves himself possibly the worst guitar shop customer of all time, turning up at unsuspecting stores and launching into high-volume noise assaults on the store guitars. This is guerilla art at once playful and wildly unpredictable, the stunt often ending with him being ejected from the store. Free is also a useful introduction to Fusinato's distinctive guitar style, which is more akin to attacking the instrument then playing it in any conventional way. Like much of what he does, it sees the artist refusing to accept passive engagement with his work and making the audience part of the art rather than passive receptacles. Elsewhere there's a striking photo print of a rioter with a rock poised reading for action, all the more disturbing for its lack of context, and a huge screenprint which is a reworking of a protest sign made by an Eastern European art collective in the 1970s. Although the collection covers a number of mediums, it is very much cohesive, tied together by an unremitting palette of black, white, and gray, an interest in revolutionary movements, and a furious intent to smash the barriers of what sound and image can do. This is one of the most intriguing and in-your-face collections of art in Sydney at the moment. It's also almost certainly the loudest. Image: Marco Fusinato, The Color of the Sky Has Melted, 2012.
Sometimes it can be hard to decide if you're in a beer or whisky mood. Well, say no more — we bring you Ardbeer, the hybrid tipple of your dreams (particularly if you're a fan of a boilermaker). Yes, for the first time in world history, a brewer has added Ardbeg whisky to beer. Handcrafted by the folks at Akasha Brewing Co. in Five Dock, the drop blends flavourful brown ale with a good dose of Ardbeg smokiness. And you can be among the first to taste test this beautiful creation at Websters Bar in Newtown on the first weekend in November — but there'll only be one keg available so you'll need to move quick. The launch is happening as part of The Ardbeg Smokehouse, a series of events taking over various Sydney venues during October and November and focusing on all things smoke. In between sampling Ardbeer, you can feast on burgers with Dr Pepper and smoky Ardbeg barbecue sauce or hot dogs with house-made smoky Ardbeg ketchup. You can also treat yourself to some top-notch Ardbeg cocktails. On the list, you'll find a smoky whisky sour, a smoky espresso martini and a potent take on the old fashioned. If you're more of a hardcore whisky connoisseur, you should definitely go for the flight. Settle in for a flavourful journey through three of Ardbeg's finest creations and test your smoky limits. Ardbeg will take over Websters Bar on Saturday, November 3, from 12–6pm and Sunday, November 4, from 12–5pm. To make a booking, contact Websters Bar on info@webstersbar.com.au
A shot-by-shot remake is an infinitely worthy cinematic venture, as recently proven by James Franco and Seth Rogen's tender tribute to Kimye, 'Bound 3'. But even this was not as raw, nor as pure as it could have been, had it been a truly zero-budget affair in the noble tradition of 'Badder Romance' and Be Kind Rewind. But now The Redux Project offers you the chance to appear in ultra lo-fi remakes of scenes from iconic Australian favourites like Muriel's Wedding and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. All in the name of humorously critiquing the world of modern cinema. Who's behind this idea? Performance Space in association with Sydney Festival and Carriageworks present the project masterminded by the UK's Richard DeDomenici, an old hand at the budget remake, having produced Reduxes the world over, starring whichever enthusiastic locals applied. The artist is seeking volunteers now to appear in movie scenes for The Redux Project: Mega Aussie Redux, the results of which will be edited and screened at Carriageworks along with the original films that inspired them. Which films are we talking? Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, The Matrix, Priscilla and Muriel will all be getting the royal (/peasant) treatment. I myself am absolutely volunteering, in the hope of bestriding the 438 bus, swaddled in 15 metres of aluminium foil a la Priscilla. The shoots will take place in the first week of January 2014 (Monday 6th – Sunday 12th), at locations across inner-city Sydney. If you would like to volunteer, shoot an email to redux@performancespace.com.au with the subject ‘REDUX: Count me in’. Let them know if there is a particular shoot you would like to be part of, and send a photo to assist with casting. Image from DeDomenici's Dawn of The Dead: Redux (shot in Westmoreland Shopping Centre, England).
In a bid to combat wastefulness and encourage sustainability, the Picnic Markets are encouraging people to gather their pre-loved goodies and sell them in Sydney's newest flea market. Particularly targeting inner-city apartment dwellers without the ability to host a garage sale of their own, the markets give your the space of your picnic blanket from which to spruik your wares. Also aimed at local budding artists and entrepreneurs, the markets will be sparkling with creative talent. People are encouraged to sell everything from clothes and books to artworks, handmade jewellery and knick-knacks — if it's on a blanket, it's for sale. Take the opportunity to make some money or pick up a bargain before Christmas.
When the eighth season of Game of Thrones finished its run a few months back, bringing the highly popular series to a conclusion, everyone knew that it wasn't really the end. The world created by George RR Martin will live on in his books, whenever the author finally publishes the long-awaited next instalment of his A Song of Ice and Fire series. And, because HBO likes both ratings and advertising dollars, it will keep the GoT-related TV shows going as well. Like residents of Westeros hoping that summer (or at least autumn) will last for ever, the US network isn't ready to let go of its highly successful commodity. For years, there's been plenty of chatter about what it'll do next, with HBO first announcing that it was considering five different prequel ideas, then green-lighting one to pilot stage, and then pondering adapting Martin's House Targaryen-focused Fire & Blood for the small screen. Now, the channel has finally decided what GoT fans will be watching next. Sorry, everyone who was keen to explore Westeros thousands of years before the events we all just agonised over for this entire decade. That series — which was set to star Naomi Watts, Miranda Richardson and John Simm — has officially been scrapped. While that's disappointing news, HBO has softened the below with some flame-breathing scaly creatures and the family that adores them, ordering ten episodes of the Fire & Blood-based House of the Dragon. If you thought the Targaryens were chaotic already, we're guessing that delving into their history — and their love of using dragons to wage wars and claim power — is only going to cement that idea. We all know what happened to the last surviving members of the family in GoT, aka Daenerys, her brother Viserys and her boyfriend/nephew Jon Snow; however, House of the Dragon, like Fire & Blood, jumps back 300 years earlier. Published in November 2018 and coming in at a whopping 738 pages, the first volume in Fire & Blood's planned two-book series starts with Aegon I Targaryen's conquest of the Seven Kingdoms — and then works through the family's history from there. He created the Iron Throne, so you'll probably get to see one returning favourite. And you don't have to be the Three-Eyed Raven to know that this tale involves plenty of GoT's staples: fighting, battles for supremacy and bloodshed. If you're wondering when you'll be able to feast your peepers on House of the Dragon, or who'll be starring in it, those crucial details haven't been revealed just yet. But, as well as announcing that House of the Dragon is definitely happening, HBO has unveiled the key folks behind the scenes, with Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal acting as the series' showrunners. Sapochnik has a hefty GoT history, winning an Emmy and a Directors Guild Award for directing 'Battle of The Bastards', helming season eight's 'The Long Night', and doing the same on four other episodes. As for Condal, he co-created and oversaw recent sci-fi series Colony, and co-wrote the screenplay for the 2018 film Rampage.
The folks at The Soda Factory are capitalising on their regular Thursday doo-wop lineup and diner-style menu for Independence Day. Since opening early last year, they've been serving up fun 'n' fizzy cocktails, smash-hit Dollar Dawgs and sweet-but-suitable-for-a-weeknight sounds to barhoppers (or stayers, in this case) in mid-century armchairs. The day before the day Americans celebrate cutting off ties with the Brits (hint: the Fourth of July is the Friday, this event's on the Thursday), they're changing up their menu to include deliciously artery-challenging American-style fare: Philly cheesesteaks, pepperoni pizza fries, and cheese and bacon potato skins. To complete the '50s diner vibe, Soda Factory darlings Dick Smithers and the Doo Wops will provide appropriately rockabilly tunes alongside new Thursday regulars Black Diamond Hearts.
