One of my fondest theatre memories in Sydney is of Allsopp & Henderson’s The Jinglists at the Old Fitz in winter with a laksa, beer, and show deal they had going on back then. It was hilarious and sad and an absolute bargain. Its creators, Warwick Allsopp and Tamlyn Henderson, have come up with another pearler in Pork Stiletto, but sadly there's no more laksa. The Old Fitz is the best pub in Sydney and houses some of the city's best theatre, but the new food is not up to scratch. This doesn't have much to do with the show of course, but if Sydney is going to maintain a healthy independent theatre culture, it needs places like the Old Fitz to provide a whole evening, not just a show. This requires laksa. Or some other excellent food. To the play. Sex is a funny topic generally, but what's really funny is sex with trees, toasters, and crustaceans. Pork Stiletto follows postgraduate psychologist Emma (Louisa Mignone) and her colleague Damon (Tamlyn Henderson) as they conduct unauthorised field research on the topic of paraphilia — the broad term for sexual practices that deviate from the garden variety. I wondered if some of the terms were made up, like Gary Larson's fictional 'anatidaephobia' (the fear that somewhere, somehow a duck is watching you) or Wallace and Gromit's 'anoraknophobia'. It turns out that autonepiophilia is a bona fide fetish, and Briallen Clarke makes an alarmingly good transition from adult lady to adult baby. Warwick Allsopp's characterisation of a gentleman mechanophile is heartbreaking when he sees that his beloved toaster responds more to visitor Damon than him. Before you get too disturbed, I should point out that the show is hilarious and there’s a whodunnit plot running alongside the tutorial in paraphilia. The design elements also contribute to a rollicking night in the theatre, with some pretty saucy sound design from James Collins and scary thriller lighting from Jack Preston.
Lewis Hamilton has called F1 "the most-authentic racing film you will ever experience in a cinema". "Audiences around the globe are going to feel like they're on the track and in the driver's seat," the superstar driver — who is one of the film's producers — has also advised. Director Joseph Kosinski, who knows a thing or two about making immersive high-octane movies thanks to 2022 smash Top Gun: Maverick, has talked about his determination "to make it authentic" and to represent the sport "in the absolute best way we could", including via collaborating with Hamilton and other Formula 1 insiders. F1 shot on real Formula 1 race weekends. Stars Brad Pitt (Wolfs) and Damson Idris (Snowfall) do their own driving, too. The world will discover how the end result turns out in cinemas Down Under from Thursday, June 26, 2025 — but if you'd like a taste of the flick's commitment to authenticity and immersion in advance, Apple's new haptic trailer will do the trick. Across the past few months, F1 has dropped multiple trailers, but its latest sneak peek is different — because it isn't just about watching. If you have an iPhone, Apple wants you to feel this glimpse at the film. It means that literally. That's where the haptics come in, with your iPhone vibrating as engines rev and roar throughout the trailer. Why Apple? Because, although F1 definitely has a date with cinemas and has been made for the big screen, the technology company's Apple Original Films is behind it. Accordingly, eventually it'll join Apple TV+'s catalogue — but long after it speeds into cinemas. This Formula 1 racing thriller tasks Pitt with feeling the need for speed as a former driver who returns to the track. Fictional team APXGP is at its centre, with Pitt as Sonny Hayes and Idris as his colleague Joshua Pearce — and reaching the sport's heights is their aim. Also featuring on-screen: Kerry Condon (Skeleton Crew) and Javier Bardem (Dune: Part Two), giving the movie a recent Oscar-nominee (for The Banshees of Inisherin), plus another winner (for No Country for Old Men) alongside Pitt. Tobias Menzies (Manhunt), Sarah Niles (Fallen), Kim Bodnia (Nefarious) and Samson Kayo (House of the Dragon) co-star as well. Hamilton's involvement comes courtesy of his Dawn Apollo Films production company. The feature is also being badged as a collaboration with the Formula 1 community, spanning its teams, drivers and promoters. Check out the regular trailers for F1 below — and hit up Apple's website via an iPhone for the haptic trailer. F1 releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, June 26, 2025. Check out the haptic trailer via Apple — and read what Joseph Kosinski and Lewis Hamilton told us about the film.
As with most DC universe superhero stories, Wonder Woman isn't aiming for lofty heights. Which is probably a good thing, because it hits right in the middle. We saw the superheroine appear briefly in Batman vs. Superman, where she was far and away the best part of the film. Now, in her origin movie, we get to see where she came from. Wonder Woman, Diana Prince, or Princess Diana of Themyscira (Gal Gadot), is raised on the secret island of Themyscira, home of the Amazons. When American soldier Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) washes up on their island, Diana defies her mother Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) by freeing him, before setting out to help humanity escape from, what she infers must be, the wicked influence of Ares the God of War (the Amazons are supposedly tasked with protecting humanity from Ares, although they seem to mostly just chill on their island). Diana and Steve sail to London in a dinghy, and travel to the front of World War I to find the wellspring of evil and end the war. Rollicking adventures soon ensue. As a narrative, Wonder Woman leaves plenty to be desired; a standard hero's quest but without elegance or depth. Words like 'love' and 'innocent lives' and 'protect humanity' are thrown around until they lose all meaning – although apparently, German soldiers do not count as humanity since the film sees them slaughtered in droves. The horrific trench warfare of WW1 is once again co-opted as gritty texture in an otherwise textureless film. Director Patty Jenkins manages to tick all the boxes of the worn out genre: fast-paced fight scenes, goodies versus baddies, a smattering of humour and a dramatic final showdown. If you're into caped crusaders, Wonder Woman is still probably worth your time. It's also good to see a superhero film with a strong female cohort – Gadot in front of camera, Jenkins behind, an island full of Amazonian warriors, and Elena Anaya playing the wicked Doctor Poison. And yet it's still basically impossible to call Wonder Woman a feminist film. For all the buzz about female empowerment, the movie falls prey to the same tired, sexist tropes that define all male-dominated movie franchises. We're talking blatant objectification, lack of agency, and outdated stereotypes. Diana is superhuman, with a whip that compels truthfulness and magic wrist guards that deflect bullets. She speaks over a hundred languages and has literally been raised from birth on an island surrounded by fierce fighting women. And yet everywhere she goes, she's greeted with comments about how smokin' hot she is. Can you imagine anyone doing that to Batman? Steve Trevor helps her off a boat and steers her through the streets of London with a possessive hand on her arm. He bosses her around. The men in her ragtag gang see her destroy a church and flip over a tank, but they don't quite believe she knows what she's talking about when it comes to strategy. They simply refuse to let her infiltrate the gala seething with German high command. At the end of the day, the woman is saddled with the same old shit – just as a protagonist and not a one-dimensional narrative device. At the end of the day, if you're just looking for another superhero flick, Wonder Woman should suit you just fine. But if you were hoping to see something revolutionary in terms of the representation of women, prepare to be bitterly disappointed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q8fG0TtVAY
Last year, Sydney's first dedicated esports and gaming bar opened in Ashfield. Now, an all-female gaming festival is heading Down Under for the first time this June. Taking over Chatswood's Concourse during Vivid Sydney, the Girl Gamer Esports Festival celebrates women in the gaming industry with live tournaments, cosplay competitions and gaming zones, to name a few. Running across Sunday, June 9 and Monday, June 10, it's an event for both full-on gamers and those just curious as to what the gaming world is all about. At the centre of the festival is the live tournament, which will see players battle it out on stage, competing in the likes of Counter-Strike, Super Smash Bros, and Overwatch. Apart from the tournament, festivalgoers can also listen to speakers and discussion panels headed up by some of the industry's leading women. As it's running in conjunction with Vivid, you can expect the lighting and design set-up to be on point, too. The Concourse will be transformed into a colourful space inspired by video game worlds. Girl Gamer is a global festival, so it'll move on to Seoul, Madrid and Sao Paulo after making its Aussie debut. Tickets are set at an incredibly reasonable $20 — and that includes entry for both days. Girl Gamer runs from 10am–7pm.
The high dolphin population is a huge drawcard for visitors to Port Stephens, and there are plenty of companies offering the opportunity to see these majestic creatures in their natural habitat. But this experience takes things to the next level by letting you jump in the ocean and splash around with them. Dolphin Swim Australia has offered this up close and personal experience — the only one of its kind in NSW — since 2010. The four-hour tour takes place on a 52-foot catamaran and sets off from Nelson Bay's d'Albora Marina at 5am (if ever there were a reason to get up before sunrise, this is it). When the crew comes across a pod, six guests at a time will don masks and snorkels and be attached to a rope strung between to the bows of the catamaran. As the boat moves through the water, the dolphins will glide alongside the group, occasionally darting in between people. They respond positively to sound, so you're encouraged to sing out to get them to show off a little. The species most commonly seen is the patterned common dolphin, though you may also get to see common bottlenose dolphins. Images: Destination NSW
Where else but Sydney Film Festival could host the world premiere of The Pool? The documentary hails from Ian Darling, the Australian director behind The Final Quarter, and sports another supremely Sydney-centric focus: Bondi Icebergs. Think of a pool in the Harbour City, and this frequently photographed place for a dip likely springs to mind. So, Darling has spent a year charting its ins and outs to create this cinematic portrait, which will debut at SFF in 2024. The Pool is one of 17 titles that've been announced by the festival team ahead of dropping the event's full 71st-annual program in early May. Movie lovers will be watching the hundreds of flicks that make the final cut to kick off winter, from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16 — and including The Pool on its lineup likely marks the first time that anyone wished that the film fest took place in summer instead. When you're not exploring a Sydney icon at a Sydney icon — because both Bondi Icebergs and SFF are that pivotal to the New South Wales capital — you can watch your way through a carefully curated roster of flicks overseen by long-running Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley. As announced back in January, 2024's event will also boast the world's largest cash prize for Indigenous filmmaking, aka the new $35,000 First Nations Award. One title that'll be competing for the gong in its inaugural year is The Mountain, the directorial debut of New Zealand actor Rachel House, with the Heartbreak High and Hunt for the Wilderpeople star following three kids who set off on an adventure (yes, their destination is right there in the title). Also on the bill so far: horror classic Hellraiser, but not as audiences know it. The movie remains unchanged, but this is a Hear My Eyes screening, which means that it comes with a brand-new live score. Hieroglyphic Being aka Jamal Moss is doing all-new tunes, while visual artist Robin Fox will add a live laser performance — and the event hits Sydney after also being a part of Melbourne's RISING Festival. Suspended Time, the latest from French director Olivier Assayas (Irma Vep), is another big highlight. The drama is about a filmmaker and his brother in COVID-19 lockdown in their childhood home, is drawn from Assayas' own experiences and, although actors play the characters, features the director reading narration that's based on his own diary. Or, there's documentary The Contestant, about an IRL person on a Japanese television show who wasn't aware that his months spent naked in a room were being broadcast. From there, cinephiles can also start looking forward to Frederick Wiseman's (City Hall) Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros, which brings his observational gaze to three-Michelin-star French restaurant; COPA '71, about the 1971 Women's World Cup; Green Border, with Mr Jones' Agnieszka Holland honing in on the refugee experience on the Belarus–Poland border; and In Vitro, an Aussie sci-fi thriller about a couple doing biotech experiments. Keen to see a restaurant-set dramedy starring Rooney Mara (Women Talking) and directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios (A Cop Movie). La Cocina has you covered. Interested in the newest film out of Bhutan by Pawo Choyning Dorji, whose Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom was nominated for an Oscar? That's where The Monk and the Gun comes in. If you're eager for a movie from Norway that features conversations about getting intimate — and dreams about David Bowie — then Sex is the answer. And, for those who've ever wondered about the hippos in Pablo Escobar's illegally imported private zoo, check out Pepe. For now, the list wraps up with Hungarian culture-war satire Explanation for Everything, Korean family drama House of the Seasons and the Kenya-set The Battle for Laikipia — plus The Rye Horn, which is about a midwife and won Best Film at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. "This first look at the 2024 program delves into the profound and the peculiar, from remarkable true stories to works of fiction and ingenious hybrid films that land somewhere in between," said Moodley. "This selection, though diverse in setting and scope, reveals some common themes: resilience foremost amongst them. These films offer a taste of a Festival program rich with discovery and insight, poised to captivate and inspire." Sydney Film Festival 2024 takes place from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16 at various cinemas and venues around Sydney. For more information, head to the festival's website — and check back here on Wednesday, May 8 for the full 2024 lineup.
Redfern Surf Club is celebrating its fifth birthday with a two-week festival of music, arts and beverages. Surfapolooza will pop up across four nights at the neighbourhood bar, bringing a massive lineup of free gigs to Redfern. Kicking off the celebration on Saturday, August 5 is an official after-party for the Behind the Boosh photography exhibition that's going down at M2 Gallery. Fans of The Mighty Boosh can expect a DJ set from the show's Dave Brown, who is in Sydney for the exhibition, alongside supports Diva Cups and Turbo vs Sui on the decks. The following weekend sees three nights of live music arriving back to back to back. On Friday, August 11, self-proclaimed "femme-soul-punk" rockers DOWNGIRL will be joined by powerhouse duo The Blamers and Antenna, the new project of Shogun from Royal Headache, for a night of fuzzy guitars. [caption id="attachment_911750" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Diva Cups[/caption] On Saturday, August 12, the Surf Club will host a free night of local country, folk and indie-rock featuring sets from one of the country's best live acts, Caitlin Harnett and the Pony Boys, alongside Lady Lyon and Charlie Finn. Rounding out the festivities is Spirit of House's Afternoon Dance on Sunday, August 13. This is the only gig on the roster where you'll have to pay to get in, with tickets available for $10. Musical tastemakers Fallen Disco & Soul of Sydney DJs, Phil Toke and Adrian Benedek will be running through their catalogue of disco and house tracks so that you can finish your weekend on a high with a joyous boogie. Each free gig will also be raising money for the Women's and Girls' Emergency Centre via a gold coin donation.
This week Art/Work has a chat with Jai Pyne, frontman of local Sydney band, The Paper Scissors. I won't bother with the talk up because I am sure you already know them, and if you don't - you should! - they have already reached Mecca in guest programming Rage, so there. Come with us as Jai takes us for a wander through his day and round his 'hood. Most days you'll find me in my kitchen. I cook as much as I can, it gets me away from the computer. There are so many virtual things in life that it's nice to get real things and combine them and eat them, for real. When I am not there I am behind my computer doing work on stuff for the band. In my day job I teach people how to make coffee, I'm a Barista trainer. I work for The Golden Cobra, which sounds like a martial arts school, but is actually a coffee roaster. I spent a long time working as a barista, but starting work at 7am very much conflicts with playing music. I'm also working at a restaurant in Surry Hills a few days a week, it's called El Capo. It's all Latin American style street food. At the moment I am working on some new songs with The Paper Scissors. In Loving Memory was made over the course of 18 months, so after purging that we have started working on new music. If money wasn't an issue I'd make more music, I'd have a better kitchen and I'd buy more clothes. Being a musician in Sydney is fun. I was tempted to say it was hard, which it is, but it's also pretty amazing. I've met lots of great people in the last 6 or so years through music, some of them I now count as my best friends, I've seen some of them succeed wildly, I've seen some of them have babies, buy houses, I play basketball with some of them, I have man dates with them, I have played music with them. Plus just being fortunate enough to be a musician is a very amazing thing, I've been able to travel, play to people that are having the time of their life because of your music, I've heard my music being blasted out of speakers, on the radio… all good things. I wish that there were more people with heaps of money that would open venues in Sydney, but hey, money is an issue. My neighbourhood is great. I live of the South end of King Street in Newtown. I've been here for 4 years. I think Newtown has its crap bits, lots of shit Thai restaurants, shit cafes, but I still love this end of town. There are heaps of cool little shops and random oddities, I love the Fiji Market - spices, coconuts, any random ingredient you need, and Pete's Musicians Market is always good for a browse. It's hard to find a good coffee but Addison Road and thus Alchemy is nearby which is some of the best coffee in Sydney. I like the fact that Newtown is at the edge of the inner city, so you can go to Marrickville, or Dulwich Hill or other spots that are a bit more removed from the upwardly-mobile-elite in the inner city and you get to see real people that have lived there for ever and will sell you olives or Portuguese custard tarts, or charcoal chicken or obscure Spanish beers. My favourite spot in Sydney is by the water. I grew up in Sydney and have lived everywhere from here to Bondi to Balmain, my parents and I moved almost yearly when I was a kid. I really like the cliffs at Coogee, the south end, I just like feeling like you are at the end of the earth although you are in a massive city. https://youtube.com/watch?v=H5EqYCBq0E4
Not a whole heap of regular folk can say they love flying. The crying babies, the contortions you perform to try and get comfy, the inevitable sore neck. But, there's something that makes it all a little better: the bar cart. The flight attendant finally rolls that booze-filled trolley to your aisle and you get to pick between a tiny white wine or a tiny red wine. Ah, the life. We're all missing travel at the moment, which, apart from the obvious, we can tell by how quickly Aussies snapped up the Qantas pjs when they went on sale. And to help ease some of that yearning, Qantas is selling 1000 bar carts. Yes, its bar carts. And they come stocked full of those mini bottles of booze, too. The bar carts are from the now-retired Boeing 747 fleet, which have gone to live in the Californian desert, and come in two sizes: a full cart or half. They will set you back a pretty penny, but you do get a lot of booze. The full cart is $1474.70 — or 256,000 points, if that is something you have — and includes 80 187-millilitre bottles of white wine, 80 of red wine, two sleeves of Tim Tams, two full bottles of champagne, four amenity kits, two first-class blankets and four sets of those coveted pjs, plus some smoked almonds and savoury biscuits. The half cart is quite literally half a cart and half of the contents, but not quite half of the price ($947.70). You can also buy the mini bottles individually for $2.99 a bottle. The carts can be delivered to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth metro postcodes. Yes, you could definitely just go and buy cheap wine and pretend you're on a plane — but, would it be as fun? No. So, get your mates to chip in and plan a night of low-altitude revelry. Qantas' bar carts are on sale until Friday, October 9 or until sold out. Snag yours over here.
A music documentary with a glossy sheen and a warm heart, 20 Feet From Stardom tells the stories of some of popular music's most accomplished backup singers, including those who have shared the stage with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. While names like Darlene Love, Lynn Maybry and Merry Clayton may be almost completely unknown, classic soul, pop and girl group songs from 'Walk On The Wild Side' to 'Da Doo Ron Ron' and 'Gimme Shelter' would have been infinitely lesser without them. Possessed with the ability to perform vocal pyrotechnics which would blitz most Idol contestants, many of these backup singers yearn for their own moment in the spotlight, but as Springsteen observes "that walk to the front (of stage) is a difficult one". Though their ambitions of breaking out of the shadows of stardom were often frustrated by the whims of a notoriously fickle industry, the selfless contributions they made were immense and their stories are rarely less than compelling. Though primarily an upbeat affair, Morgan Neville's film is unafraid of tackling more emotionally complex terrain as he covers the backstory of Phil Spector's monstrous exploitation of backing singers and the politics around Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Sweet Home Alabama', which featured African-American backing singer Merry Clayton contributing to a track intended as a rebuttal to Neil Young's anti-racist 'Southern Man'. There's also a note of lament for the perceived declining importance of backup singers, as technology evolves to make their prodigious vocal talents a luxury when Auto-Tune and studio wizardry can produce the same result. As well as collating priceless archival footage performances of the film's stars with the likes of The Talking Heads, Paul Simon and Elton John, the documentary has corralled some of its subjects together for some perfectly shot performances of some of their greatest works. Although it has been decades since their prime in some cases, their voices are as sweet as ever, and when they join forces to belt out the evergreen 'Lean On Me', the results are simply spine-chilling. Neville's ambitions of pushing these overlooked but hugely talented musicians into the full blare of the spotlight is beautifully realised. https://youtube.com/watch?v=tWyUJcA8Zfo
If you're looking for a purveyor of good reads on the north shore, swing by Lindfield Bookshop. Located on the Pacific Highway, and just a stone's throw from Lindfield Station, this local beauty is an oasis of fiction, nonfiction and friendly people. Looking for a book that isn't in store? Ask and it'll be ordered in pronto. There's also a space committed to children's books, so if you've been thinking of rereading the Harry Potter series, you can track it down here. A steady stream of lunches, dinners and evening talks gives you plenty of chances to meet your favourite authors, too.
On March 14, Cyberdyne presented an exhibit at the 2011 Cybernics International Forum. The invention: HAL, an exoskeleton robot suit powered by electric motors that enhances physical strength and allows users to defy typical human capabilities. Creepy or cool? A little bit of both, I'd say. At first glance, it's perplexing to think that someone can slip on this suit and instantly inherit superhuman strength. The likes of Iron Man are revered in comic books and robots are cool in sci-fi movies, but to give humans that power in real life is both scary and a bit weird. Between these robot suits and the latest thought-controlled cars, the distinction between man and machine is starting to get blurred. But if you look deeper, HAL was designed to do more than just transform humans into cyborgs. Creators of HAL had a high-tech advance in industrial work in mind. The contraptions, that come in many forms, from a full-body suit to a "lite" single arm version, were initially aimed at helping factory workers who had to lift heavy objects on a daily basis. HAL would prevent joint pain and stress on the body, especially for older workers and those with limited joint function, and also aid people with reduced mobility. In addition, in light of the many recent natural disasters, developers have been thinking that robot assistance may have a future with the military, with firefighters or other rescue personnel. A group of firefighters with the ability to lift rubble on their own after an earthquake seems too good to be true, but with HAL it is a very real possibility. Yes, it is still somewhat creepy that a human being can now strap on a suit and basically turn into a cyborg. But if it can help save lives, then it's pretty damn cool. [via FastCompany]
You don't need a fairy godmother to enjoy Sydney's latest pop-up. You don't need to arrive via a carriage that used to be a pumpkin, either. But, when you're having a bite to eat at The Grounds of Alexandria between now and Sunday, January 3, 2021, you will be able to wander through lit-up laneways that look like they've just stepped out of a fairytale — and tuck into a pumpkin carriage sponge cake. In previous years, the Sydney spot has given itself Nutcracker, Mary Poppins Returns, Aladdin, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Frozen II-themed makeovers. To see out 2020, it's embracing all things Cinderella. While those past pop-ups have all tied in with new Disney cinema releases, this one is celebrating 70 years since the animated version of Cinderella first hit the big screen — if you're wondering why the venue suddenly wants you to have a magical ball. Head by to mosey through floral arches, beneath fairy lights and chandeliers, and past pumpkins and carriages — and to look out for glass slippers. A couple of gowns are on display as well, as is classic artwork from the film. Reservations are available for both the cafe and the potting shed, and you can feast on two special treats. As well as 'The Pumpkin Carriage', which is made with cream cheese frosting, orange curd and buttercream, then topped with orange blossom mousse, you can also sip a vanilla, lychee and lemon juice-flavoured 'Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo'. Fancy getting in on the fun, but can't make it along? You can order 'The Pumpkin Carriage' for pick-up and delivery, too.
If you are anything like me, you have left your Christmas shopping to the last possible minute. That’s ok though! The folks at Queen St Mall are putting on a long weekend of live music in the Mall for any and all shoppers and festive revellers. Some of Brisbane’s best emerging and established musicians are putting on a series of shows for the pre-Christmas weekend, with the bill featuring the likes of Tyrone Noonan, Annie Drake, StormChasers, Asa Broomhall and Cheap Fakes (plus heaps more!) So, maybe the last minute shopping rush won’t be that bad this year if you are venturing into the CBD this weekend. There is plenty to see and do, just make sure you remember to get the pressies in the end!
If you're someone who loves coffee and the odd cocktail or two, chances are you're a fan of the espresso martini. After all, they're a great way to kick off a night out. But not paying for them? Tell us we're dreaming. To make that dream a reality, we've partnered with top-notch Aussie coffee liqueur label Mr Black, so you — and your mates — can get your boozy caffeine fix without spending a cent. Who's dreaming now? Born out of the belief that good coffee should be had at any time of day, Mr Black's cold brew liqueur sure gets a party started. So, should you win this prize, you'll be going on a caffeinated bar crawl around Sydney. And, after months of at-home happy hours, we bet you're keen to hit the town. To top it off, you'll be sipping away at some of the top watering holes in Sydney. You can either wrangle the whole crew for one big boozy night, or visit the bars on seperate occasions with just your nearest and dearest. You'll be heading to a bunch of CBD bars such as the lauded PS40, 70s porn-chic Double Deuce Lounge, Circular Quay's Grain, recently opened Cedric's coffee bar, NYC-style speakeasy Employees Only, dive bar Ramblin' Rascal Tavern and the award-winning Maybe Sammy. Then, you'll be stopping in to Australiana-centric pub The Unicorn, 30s-inspired cocktail and cabaret bar Dulcie's and Redfern's fun-loving Misfits. There are ten bars all up — and you'll get $100 to spend at each. If you can't be bothered to do the maths, that's a whopping $1000 worth of coffee-fuelled cocktails. So, make like early 2000s P!nk and get the party started by entering below. [caption id="attachment_730456" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Double Deuce Lounge, Kimberley Low[/caption] To enter, see details below. [competition]774726[/competition]
Aussie music sensation and multiple ARIA-award-winning artist Jessica Mauboy is set to grace the stage at the upcoming FIFA Fan Festival™ for one night only: Friday, July 21 at 8pm, at Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour. This is a free event for fans of soccer, sports and fantastic music. The Australian Idol alum has cemented her status as one of the nation's most beloved entertainers. She has released six Top 10 albums and 16 Top 20 singles and her music has garnered over 200 million streams worldwide. Recognised for her exceptional talent, Mauboy has been honoured with two ARIA Awards, 21 Platinum accreditations, and nine Gold accreditations. She made history as the first Indigenous Australian artist to debut at number one on the ARIA Album Chart. She's been praised for her stellar performances in The Sapphires, Bran Nue Dae, and as a coach on The Voice Australia. Plus, she has earned accolades such as the AACTA Award, APRA Award, Australian of the Year Award, MTV Europe Music Award, and MTV Australia Music Award — phew. Jessica is performing as part of the FIFA Women's World Cup Fan Festival™, entry to the festival is free but live music acts (especially Jessica's) are expected to be very popular so be sure to get in on time to catch her performance. The FIFA Women's World Cup Fan Festival™ takes place from Thursday, July 20 till Sunday, August 20 at Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour. Check out the website for the full schedule of events.
There are thousands upon thousands of street signs all over New York City, but have they ever had rap lyrics on them? They have now. Street artist and graphic designer Jason Shelowitz, better known as Jay Shells, has combined his love of hip hop music and his brilliant sign-making skills to create the ongoing project titled 'Rap Quotes'. Shells creates "official-looking" red street signs with famous rap lyrics and puts them all over the streets of New York. From a distance the signs might look quite normal, but don't be mistaken by their official look; there are definitely rap lyrics printed on them. Shells has strategically placed the 30-plus signs at specific locations and street corners throughout the city, in the exact places by which the lyrics were inspired. For example, the lyrics "'Cause I want to be on 106 and Park pushing a Benz" by Kanye West were affixed onto a street pole on 106 and Park. According to Hip Hop Wired, Shells' first sign was inspired by the late rapper Big L. Now Shells' signs feature lyrics from Kanye West, Jeru the Damaja, Jay-Z, KRS-One, Heavy D, Big Daddy Kane, Nas, Jim Jones and others. https://youtube.com/watch?v=54yahfgbqQE Website ANIMAL posted a video of one of their team members following Shells around virtually every street corner in the city as he carried out his very site-specific project. In the video, Shells says he values people's inevitable interaction with the project. "The [signs] we put up this morning might already be gone. It depends what happy-go-lucky hip hop fan walks by one and scratches their head," he says. "I don't care if people take them. I would take them. I'm sure they're going to get taken. That's the good part about documenting it. They can live on that way." Via PSFK.
Buy the iPhone/iPad edition here for $5.40, or buy the softcover edition here for $14.95. Well folks, it’s that time of year again, when the rising mercury sends us outdoors en masse, pumping our concrete playground with an energy of revelry and renewal. The spirit of summer is a celebration of what it means to be alive. We rediscover our joie de vivre with sandy toes, burnished skin, BBQs by the beach, and one too many margaritas. But with so much going on at this time of year it’s hard to know where to begin, and what is supposed to be some well-deserved chill time can become a full-blown panic attack. So, what do you do when overwhelmed with options? Welcome to the inaugural Concrete Playground Summer Guide, a comprehensive shortlist of the best this city has to offer over the next three months, from rooftop bars to beaches to picnic spots to outdoor dining and much more. With two different formats — iPad/iPhone and softcover book — of the Summer Guide on offer, you’ll never be without access to the best of everything, because the year’s too long and summer’s too short to waste time on the mediocre. Now slap on your invisible zinc and get out there, blue skies wait for no one (and don’t we know it). Summer, we salute you. Preview The Summer Guide
Fancy learning the secrets of the cheese business from an award-winning cheesemaker, all while taste-testing a selection of his best creations? That's the kind of goodness in store for you when The Artisan Cheese Room hosts a special tasting night with celebrated cheese guy Kym Masters. Masters is the mind behind Section 28 Artisan Cheeses in the Adelaide Hills, which recently took out a couple of big titles at the 2018 Australian Grand Dairy Awards. And on Thursday, April 5, you'll have the chance to pick his brain as he shares his stories of cheesemaking in Australia. Of course, you'll have a chance to taste his goods too. Buy a $45 ticket and you'll be treated to five of Section 28's handmade cheeses — each matched carefully to a different beer, wine, cider or sake — while Masters explains how they're created and how best to match them.
The iconic Sydney Fish Market is still gearing up for its grand reopening, but we know more and more about what to expect as every day goes by. The latest reveal? The market will be adding new guest tours to its offering come January, before the first cultural festival arrives with a celebration for the Lunar New Year. Visitors to the new Sydney Fish Market will have four new ways to explore it with a guide. The Behind the Scenes Tour will take you into the market's inner workings and see the famous auction in action, the Sydney Fish Market Discovery Tour will take you from wharf to newly renovated auction floor, the Tastes of the Sydney Fish Market tour will get you sampling the goods — and the Sunsets on the Wharf Tour focuses on the fishing aspect, and follows the fish from wharf to auction with drinks and canapès to finish by the water. Less than a month after opening, Sydney Fish Market will go all-out for the Lunar New Year, with celebrations and special offers to be found in every section of the market from Monday, February 16 to Sunday, February 22. Welcoming the Year of the Horse, Sydney Fish Market will be hosting cultural celebrations, including traditional lion dancers, while market retailers will be serving special LNY dishes like whole steamed fish, noodles, dumplings and other treats from Sydney's leading seafood chefs. Up in the Sydney Seafood School, there'll be guest appearances from Junda Khoo (Ho Jiak), Nat Thaipun (Vue de monde), Luke Bourke (Felons Seafood), and Somer Sivrioglu (Anason) alongside an expanded program of hands-on classes and specialty workshops for chefs of all experience levels. And as a part of the opening week celebrations, coinciding with LNY, the market will host a twilight Community Day on Friday, February 20, with free hosted tours, family-friendly activities, and more to be announced in the coming weeks. The Sydney Fish Market can be found on the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Bank Street, Pyrmont. For more information, visit the website.
One of Asia's buzziest bars is landing in Sydney for one night only this October. Tokyo Confidential, the high-rise cocktail and caviar temple that stormed into Asia's 50 Best Bars 51–100 longlist less than a year after it opened in 2023, is bringing its glam house-party energy and sophisticated cocktails to Prefecture 48's pop-up Suntory Bar on Tuesday, October 28. Heading the takeover is the venue's Co-Founder, Holly Graham, whose warm hospitality and cheeky East London swagger have made her one of the global drinks industry's most respected figures — the drinks writer turned bartender is a fixture on the Bar World 100 list of the most influential bar personalities on the planet. [caption id="attachment_1026973" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mille Tang[/caption] At Suntory Bar, Graham will be shaking up a selection of inventive highballs and TC signatures that capture her bar's playful philosophy of pull up, 'fess up. Highlights include the Hokkaido High, a long serve of Suntory Toki Whisky, awamori, corn tea and mango, the espresso martini-inspired Mugi Boogie, featuring Haku Vodka, mugi shochu, coffee and soy caramel and TC's standout Glizztini, an umami-laden mix of Roku Gin, mugi shochu, tomato, mezcal, onion brine and MSG. You can pair your serve with a snack from the menu of contemporary Japanese-inspired bites, including fried oysters with citrus mayo and ikura and a fish sando with a herb salad, tartare sauce and tobiko. It's all part of Suntory Bar, a three-month residency taking over Prefecture 48's sleek cocktail den Whisky Thief. The immersive experience celebrates the legacy brand's stable of premium Japanese spirits, international whiskeys and more across two floors of the CBD venue, in an elegant setting that channels a modern Japanese garden. Walk-ins are available for the Tokyo Confidential takeover, but bookings are highly recommended — don't miss your chance to catch one of the biggest names in the global bar world shaking things up in Sydney. [caption id="attachment_1026974" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mille Tang[/caption] Top image: Thomas Shagin.
Head to mainstay Waterloo pub The George this weekend and you'll find that things are a little different. Well, you might not notice at first. There are still locals sitting around the bar in high-vis vests knocking back pints of Resch's and VB. The courtyard is still filled with cacti. And there's still a well worn pool table. But, sitting next to VB longnecks ($15) in the fridge, you'll see bottles of skin-contact wines and pét-nats, and beers from local breweries Young Henrys and Grifter are also available on tap. The cacti in the courtyard have been joined by a glowing al pastor fountain, and a pond filled with eels, and the adjoining kitchen is turning out tacos and tostadas instead of American-style barbecue. And where the pool table once sat — it's been moved to the front bar — is a fully stocked wine shop courtesy of natural wine retailer Drnks. The new-look George successfully combines the old and the new — joining the rapid gentrification of the surrounding suburbs — and it's all thanks to its new owners, who aren't new to epic revamps. Co-owners James Wirth and Michael Delany previously bought and made over The Norfolk, The Flinders, The Carrington and The Oxford Tavern, before selling them all in 2016. Most recently, they overhauled the The Duke on Enmore Road. The George, on the other hand, had never been renovated. "I had my eye on [The George] for over a decade — I always liked the kind of ugly look of it, it's almost like a Commonwealth Bank from the outside" says Wirth. "It's a rare pub because it was built in the 60s, unlike the typical 1800s or 1920s era you see in Sydney." To keep some of the pub's history in-tact, the team focused on reupholstering and repurposing the pub's original features — including vintage wood panelling found in the basement, which now adorns the walls. For this venue, Wirth and Delany got chef Toby Wilson (Bad Hombres, Ghostboy Cantina) and Drnks founder Joel Amos on board as co-owners, too. Amos heads up the aforementioned bottle shop — which is stocked with everything from a salty white peach beer from NZ's Garage Project to coveted magnums of wine by Gabrio Bini — and the pub's fun and funky drinks list. For food, Wilson has created a new concept, Taco King. At the centre of the food offering is the al pastor — an actual al pastor, not a fountain — a Mexican specialty that's based on the Lebanese immigrant version of shawarma spit-grilled meat. The pork coming off the al pastor is served atop tortillas — painstakingly hand-pressed one by one — with onion and salsa. Other specialties include spicy kingfish ceviche tostada ($7.5), quesadillas with chorizo ($9) and thick churros ($8) served with dulce de leche. We're hoping to see eel tacos pop up on the menu sometime soon, too. To go with the food, is a cocktail list with a distinctly South American edge. There's the Mexican French Martini ($18) made with tequila, the Brazilian-style caipirinha ($16) and the michelada ($14), made with Mexican beer, clamato (clam and tomato) juice and lime. While not strictly South American, you'll find Reverse Cowboys ($7 each) on the menu, too — shots of Baileys and Agavero tequila served in mini glass cowboy boots. The new-look George is only throwing open its doors for the first time today, Friday, April 5, but we think it might just become your new favourite watering hole. Find The George at 760 Elizabeth Street, Waterloo. It's open from 11am–11pm Monday to Thursday, 11am–3am Friday–Saturday and 11am–10pm on Sunday. Images: Kimberley Low.
The last time that Lady Gaga appeared on the big screen, she nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her troubles (and a shiny trophy for Best Original Song, too). Three years after A Star Is Born, she's heading back into cinemas in House of Gucci — and while no one should be speculating about accolades sight unseen, this true-crime fashion drama sure does scream potential awards contender. Haute couture. Murder. Disco tunes and Studio 54. Throw in one of the biggest names in fashion — and a tale that's filled with both glam and grim strands, too — and that's this Ridley Scott (The Last Duel)-directed film. Ranking highly among the most anticipated movies set to hit the big screen across the rest of 2021, it steps inside the Gucci family fashion dynasty, charting its successes and shocking moments over the course of three tumultuous decades. If you've read the book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed, which this new movie is based on, then you'll know the details. If you've seen news coverage about or can remember the events that rocked the Italian family back in 1995, you will as well. The focus: Maurizio Gucci, grandson of company founder Guccio Gucci, and the head of the fashion house throughout the 80s and early 90s — until he was assassinated by a hitman in 1995. Adam Driver slips on Maurizio's unsurprisingly stylish shoes, in what's proving a big year for him in cinemas (he also starred in The Last Duel, as well as in Annette a few months ago). As for Lady Gaga, she plays Maurizio's wife Patrizia. And, as the just-dropped new trailer shows — following on from a first sneak peek mid-year — her character isn't holding back. Obviously, there's quite the story to unpack here, and Scott seems to be going big on striking threads, 70s and 80s tunes and vibes, indulgence and luxury dripping through in every frame, and also an unavoidable air of melodrama. To help, the film's star-studded cast also includes Jared Leto (The Little Things) sporting plenty of prosthetics and makeup, as well as Al Pacino (The Irishman), Jeremy Irons (Love, Weddings and Other Disasters) and Salma Hayek (The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard). As both trailers reminds us, that's a whole lot of Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated talent in one flick. Check out the latest House of Gucci trailer below: House of Gucci will release in Australian cinemas on December 26. Image: 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The gifting season has kicked off with a bang, which means it's time to get your pressies sorted. For any readers in your life, you needn't look any further than Kinokuniya—one of the biggest bookstores in town. This paradise of paperbacks and heaven of hardcovers carries more books than an aimless Christmas shopper can know what to do with. That's where we come in. We've teamed up with Kinokuniya to curate the top titles of the year, and who'd love to unwrap them this Christmas. For the Human Encyclopedia — Why Are We Like This? by Zoe Kean Many of life's biggest and smallest questions can be answered by a good non-fiction book. Why Are We Like This? by science journalist Zoe Kean aims to answer some burning questions: what can snorkelling at Shark Bay teach us about humanity? Will the secrets of our sex lives be uncovered by stick insects? What do whale societies reveal about kindness? And why did we evolve to spend a third of our life asleep? If the answer is found in evolution, Kean and the experts she's met along the way will find it. Why Are We Like This? is available online and in-store for $32.99. For the Daydreamers — The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami Nothing can make a quiet summer day breeze by like a good fiction book with a rich world to get immersed in. This acclaimed book from cult novelist Haruki Murakami is just that—a love story, a quest, and an ode to books and the libraries that house them. When a young man's girlfriend goes missing, he sets his heart on finding the imaginary city her true self calls home. But when he finally reaches the strange walled city, her new life in a dream library includes no memories of their life together. As the lines between fiction and reality blur, he must decide what he's willing to lose. The City and Its Uncertain Walls is available online and in-store for $49.99. For the Inspiration Seekers — The Art of Memory Collecting by Martina Calvi As far as book-adjacent hobbies go, one of the great classics is the art of scrapbooking. Like any creative expression, there's no wrong or right way to do it, but it's hard to know where to start. The Art of Memory Collecting sees memory collecting expert Martina Calvi offer 15 projects to make use of pictures, keepsakes and memories in a meaningful way. These projects include scrapbooking journals, framed memory wall art, memory boxes, holiday journals, tiny trinket tins, pressed floral bookmarks, memory magnets and much more. The Art of Memory Collecting is available online and in-store for $24.99. For Little Legends — Off to the Nursery: A Celebration of Gardening, Plants and Seasons by Alice Oehr For anyone with kiddos in their life, it's worth remembering that those little ones will be at home over the summer break and in need of entertainment. This book ticks off gifting and activities in one go. Off to the Nursery: A Celebration of Gardening, Plants and Seasons is the perfect starter guide for any little legends keen to lend a hand in the garden. Be it growing greens, encouraging helpful garden guests like worms and bees, how to tend to plants and more, there are practical tips and vivid illustrations to bring the ideas to life throughout this book by award-winning artist Alice Oehr. Off to the Nursery: A Celebration of Gardening, Plants and Seasons is available online and in-store for $24.99. For the Amateur Chefs — Tony Tan's Asian Cooking Class by Tony Tan If you know a kitchen whiz, or even someone looking to level up their home entertaining skills this summer, this is the literary gift for them. Tony Tan's Asian Cooking Class combines 150 recipes from renowned chef Tony Tan, who has been cooking, eating, writing about and teaching Asian cuisine for decades. This book, which looks as good as the food (if prepared correctly) tastes, shares Tan's contemporary and adventurous takes on evergreen dishes from Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and beyond. Not only is this Kinokuniya's Cookbook of the Year for 2024, it's currently 20% off. Tony Tan's Asian Cooking Class is available online and in-store for $59.99. For the Horizon Chasers — Swimming Sydney: A Tale of 52 Swims by Chris Baker The simple act of going for a swim is relaxing, healthy and just flat-out Australian. This book is the result of Chris Baker taking weekly swims across Sydney over the course of a year and reflecting on friendship, history, family and how swimming can help us better understand ourselves. From Palm Beach to Mount Druitt and ocean swell to bushland lakes, it's a love letter to swimming throughout Sydney. It's a perfect gift for any water baby, avid explorer and lover of storytelling. Swimming Sydney: A Tale of 52 Swims is available online and in-store for $32.99. For Comic Book Lovers — Fool Night Vol. 1 by Kasumi Yasada When words on a page just don't cut it for your friends and family anymore, comic books might fill the void. They're one of the most dynamic storytelling formats and there are plenty of great picks to choose from. One such title is the first volume of Fool Night by Kasumi Yasada. In this dystopian distant future, Earth is dying and oxygen is a precious resource. For the desperate and noble, the experimental procedure of 'transfloration' transforms the human body into flora—and comes with a hefty paycheque. For the financially desperate, this dangerous procedure is the only option left to provide for their loved ones. Fool Night Vol. 1 is available online and in-store for $22.99. For the Trinket Collector — Seishin Self-Watering Cultivation Kits Any bookstore is only as good as its trinket collection because you need to pick up a few things on your way out. One of the top options available at Kinokuniya is the adorable Seishin self-watering cultivation kit. The animal-shaped planter is designed for the animal to 'drink' the water placed in front of it and automatically redirect it to the plant on its back, making it perfect for any low-maintenance herbs and small greens to bring some life to an indoor space. Head in-store to see the full range, available from $15.95. For more gifts you can find at Kinokuniya, look no further than the 2024 gift guide.
So many movies, so little time. That's film festival life, including across Sydney over the past 12 days. The 2023 Sydney Film Festival showcased hundreds of movies in cinemas across the city — and, if you weren't able to fit all your viewing into its main run, you now have four extra days to head along. As it usually does, SFF is hosting a Back by Popular Demand program in the days after the fest's official close. In 2023, those bonus screenings will hit Dendy Newtown and Palace Norton Street between Monday, June 19–Thursday, June 22. No, you're not done spending your nights in darkened rooms just yet. There's 13 films to pick from and, as the name makes plain, they're all flicks that've been proving a hit with crowds so far. That includes straight-from-Cannes titles May December, starring Natalie Portman (Thor: Love and Thunder) and Julianne Moore (Sharper); Perfect Days, with German filmmaker Wim Wenders (Submergence) heading to Japan; and Anatomy of a Fall, a drama about an author (Sandra Hüller, Toni Erdmann) accused of her husband's murder, which just won French director Justine Triet (Sibyl) the Palme d'Or. Also on the list: whistleblower docudrama Reality, starring Euphoria and The White Lotus' Sydney Sweeney; the obviously film-loving I Like Movies; environmentalist tale How to Blow Up a Pipeline; and kaijus via Shin Ultraman, which springs from the creators of Shin Godzilla and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Or, there's Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, a documentary about an Estonian log-cabin sauna; fellow doco A Storm Foretold, focusing on Donald Trump's former adviser Roger Stone; and Beyond Utopia, about a family of five trying to escape from North Korea. Plus, Scrapper won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema Dramatic), Riceboy Sleeps follows a Korean single mother and her son as they start a new life in Canada in the 90s, and Sunflower spins a coming-of-age tale in the Melbourne suburbs. Some films have multiple sessions, while others are returning for just one — but, either way, your time at SFF for this year definitely isn't over yet.
Kelly Reichardt's Night Moves is a work of moral and technical greys. A measured, minimalistic environmental thriller about a small group of activists planning to blow up a dam, it's a tale that creeps along with low, silent tension, propelled by the work of its three primary actors and the morally ambiguous actions of the characters that they play. What it lacks, however, is a sustainable sense of momentum. Without it, the film struggles to stay afloat. Reichardt's eco-warriors aren't the most original of characters, but she's able to get away with it thanks to the calibre of her cast. There's paranoid loner Josh (Jesse Eisenberg, jumpier than usual), rebellious trust-fund kid Dena (a dressed-down Dakota Fanning) and burnt-out ex-marine Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard, disaffected and acerbic). Together they hatch an act of environmental terrorism as a means of upsetting the consumerist status quo. As in her previous films Meek's Cutoff and Wendy and Lucy, Reichardt's directorial approach is one of dispassionate observation. The camera follows the anarchist trio without any undue flair or sense of judgement. As such, the suspense becomes increasingly interwoven with questions of audience culpability. Viewers will go back and forth as to whether the group's actions are in any way justifiable. But after observing every step of the mission's meticulous preparation, it's difficult not to feel invested in its success. In one sequence, for example, Dena must try to convince a supplier to sell her 500 pounds of ammonium nitrate fertiliser without providing proper identification. It's a simple scene, entirely dialogue driven. And yet it's as riveting as watching a time-bomb tick backwards down to zero. Where Night Moves begins to falter is in its handling of the fallout from the attack. It's not a spoiler to say that things don't go the way the group expects, and soon cracks in their solidarity begin to appear. There's tension to be mined here, in the fear and mistrust, but Reichardt seems unable to really exploit it. The narrative and visual minimalism, initially such an asset, eventually leaves the audience feeling numb. By the time the movie stumbles to its unconvincing conclusion, the atmosphere has entirely disappeared. https://youtube.com/watch?v=s7-VqKLYZks
It has been a busy year for Russian incompetence, on-screen at least. After Chernobyl so blisteringly explored 1986's devastating nuclear reactor explosion and its widespread fallout, Kursk jumps forward to 2000's submarine disaster, where 118 sailors lost their lives during the sinking of a nuclear-powered vessel. The arrival of both the HBO mini-series and now this film in such short succession is a clear sign of the times — as Russia's influence, especially of the covert kind, continues to loom over world affairs, interrogating the country's high-profile misfortunes is hardly an unexpected trend. Today's filmmakers can't force certain parties in power to take Russian election meddling seriously, but they can examine how the world's largest nation by area has dealt with its own catastrophes. Kursk, like Chernobyl, doesn't provide a flattering portrait. In August 2000, as part of the first major Russian naval exercise since the fall of the Soviet Union, Oscar-class K-141 submarine Kursk descended into the ocean's depths. Although it was merely participating in training, it carried live combat weapons, including practice torpedoes — and when one exploded onboard, it set off a chain reaction that would strand the vessel at the bottom of the Barents Sea. Those who survived the initial blast were stuck waiting. First, they waited for Russian authorities to realise what had happened, which took hours. Then, as water seeped in, and supplies and oxygen dwindled, they bided their time as repeated rescue efforts floundered. Ever-protective of their military technology, and just as determined to assert that they could take care of the problem themselves, the Russian Navy even refused international assistance, making the trapped men wait longer still. That's how Thomas Vinterberg tells the tale of the Kursk, with the Danish filmmaker teaming up with Saving Private Ryan screenwriter Robert Rodat to adapt Robert Moore's non-fiction book A Time to Die. For the sake of heightened drama, some facts and timelines have been massaged, however the overall premise — that a Russian submarine sank, the country was poorly equipped to handle it and people paid with their lives — remains. So too does the notion of a nation more concerned with perception than its population; one in which citizens are expected to prove their unflinching patriotism by paying the ultimate price, but where the government won't dare risk its reputation to save them in return. Understandably, this damning truth lingers over every moment of Kursk, making an already sombre story even more so. Indeed, it's as evident on-screen as the grey colour scheme, the oppressive pressure felt in the movie's submarine scenes, and the use of different aspect ratios to send an emotional message. While he's working with a budget far beyond anything he might've dreamed of, or wanted, back when he co-founded the fiercely independent Dogme 95 cinema movement with Lars von Trier, Vinterberg is in comfortable thematic territory. Boasting a resume littered with moral quandaries, including the recent The Hunt and Far from the Madding Crowd, the writer-director has always been a keen observer of folks in a bind. That's what captain-lieutenant Mikhail Averin (Matthias Schoenaerts) and his men find themselves in, to put it mildly, as the clock ticks down and the end we all know is coming inches closer. Meanwhile, Mikhail's wife Tanya (Léa Seydoux) fights for both action and answers back above sea level, numerous admirals (Max von Sydow and Peter Simonischek, primarily) either toe or flout the government line, and offers of British help by Commodore David Russell (Colin Firth) keep falling on stubborn ears. Kursk doesn't spend enough time with any one person to be called a character study, and its broad scope necessitates more than a few shortcuts and cliches. When the movie opens with the sound of gasping breaths, only to show Mikhail timing how long his pre-teen son Misha (Artemiy Spiridonov) can stay underwater in the bathtub, it's an obvious move, for example. Still, in serving up an overview of the disaster's affected parties, and cycling between them as they endeavour to weather the horrific situation, Vinterberg's film is never less than compelling and heartbreaking. While his cast helps considerably, especially Schoenaerts and Seydoux, the director paints a powerful picture of tragedy, courage and (on the part of the Russian officials) sheer arrogance. This is a story of sailors scrambling to wade through life-or-death terror, of their loved ones refusing to kowtow to the authorities, and of the conflict bubbling beneath the rescue attempts — and it's as moving and gripping as the real-life scenario and the men lost to it demands.
Joining the slew of up-and-coming restaurants finding their footing in Barangaroo is the Efendy group's recently revamped venue Baharat. Previously home to Tombik, the outpost has relaunched as a cocktail bar, casual eatery and spice shop all in one. Taking its name from the Turkish word for 'spice', the Baharat is inspired by the street bars of Taksim Square and the spice markets of Istanbul. The suburb's newest bar and eatery is headed by renowned chef Somer Sivrioğlu, backed by an all-star team of Turkey's top bartenders and chefs. The standout lineup includes the likes of Emre Bilgin (ex-Geyik) as Baharat's appointed bar manager, and Berk Abdullahoglu (ex-Kaia) as the assistant bar manager, alongside a flavour-filled menu curated by Arman Uz, the Efendy group's Executive Chef. Venture to the 50-seat venue and you'll be greeted with a warm and casual atmosphere, reminiscent of a Taksim-style bar. Your welcome will either be accompanied by Turkish psychedelic rock music from the 70s or live music from a regular program of gigs. For those opting for a relaxed, snacking atmosphere, the new addition of the outdoor seating will encourage you to soak in primo people watching while sipping on your drink of choice and tucking into delightful Turkish eats. As for the space, Jordan Design Studio have refreshed the area with a timber and brass fit-out paired with warmer tones. You may even notice that the kitchen's setup is quite similar to that of a spice bazaar in Turkey, with jars of spices lining the shelves and drying and curing meats along the benches. Baharat's dining menu boasts authentic dishes that will bring the flavours of Istanbul to your table. You can expect to find Turkish street food classics on the menu like the pide and lahmacun — variations of flatbreads topped with options including vegetables, minced meat, herbs and spices. You'll also discover a range of sides to accompany your order with dips, salads and customary pickle plates aplenty. And if you find yourself in a rush or are not able to dine in, all these options will be available for takeaway. "We look forward to welcoming guests and showcasing the incredible offering we have pulled together...We believe that every spice has a story, and we are dedicated to sharing those stories with our customers, imparting knowledge and promoting cultural understanding!", explains Somer Sivrioğlu. "Our mission is to share the rich history and culture of Turkish spices through our unique blend of beverage and food experiences." Glance over the cocktail list and you'll even find that the inspiration behind Baharat's particular cocktail selection is drawn from its own Spice Bazaar, with traditional spices infused into the drinks list. You'll spot a Turkish twist on classics, like the pickled shalgam Bloody Mary, a barrel-spiced negroni or the sumac and black salt margaritas. The drinks program extends to Turkish beer (like the Efes Fatboy) and wine (like drops from the Sevilen winery known for its sauvignon blanc). Baharat is open from 12pm til late Monday to Friday and 4pm til late on Saturdays — you'll find the bar and restaurant at Tower One, 100 Barangaroo Ave in Barangaroo. They only accept walk-ins. Images: Steve Woodburn.
ISEA2013 and Vivid Sydney have come and gone, swooping down on Sydney to peck at its soul and reveal a seething mass of fun lurking underneath its shiny surface. One of the most remarkable exhibitions that opened up as part of the ISEA2013/ Vivid collaboration was Ryoji Ikeda's test pattern [no 5]. Installed in one of the cavernous bays at Carriageworks, this stunning, large-scale installation has been conjured up by the Japan-born, Paris-based artist. It consists of five projectors set side-by-side on the ceiling, which beam raw data taken from pop culture into an intense series of barcode-like patterns onto a white floor. If my grandparents experienced test pattern [no 5], they would probably panic. They'd think they were the victims of a failed alien abduction plan and had gotten stuck in a teleportation device. But for digital natives, this feels like returning to the womb. The work creates a brain itch, and then scratches it to sooth and comfort you. It presents one of those rare occasions where you can be totally immersed in an environment and Instagram it at the same time. There are various stages involved in experiencing this work. The first is from the sidelines, where your adrenalin spikes as you encounter the 60m by 10m plane of black and white flickers laid out in front of you, accompanied by a deafening soundtrack of intense blips, beeps and drones. The limits of sight and sound are tested. From here it looks like a hologram, like you're looking into an alternate reality where colour and depth have been abandoned in favour of monochromic flatness. The second stage of the experience involves removing your shoes to approach the white floor, and entering into the void. You become submerged in it and you look around to make sure nobody else is freaking out about how physical the light feels. You stand still, scoping out the new terrain as if visiting a foreign planet where you need to adjust to its gravitational laws. You have become an anomalous node inside a digital network. The third and most profound experience comes from moving within it. This is where the trippiest optical and physical sensations occur. It feels like walking through flattened space-time, through history reduced to its digitally primitive state. Movement feels awkward at first as forwards and backwards, near and far become one and the same. But in time, you become connected with the patterns as they roll over you, like when learning to surf, where you stop being afraid to drown and just roll with the waves. The exhibition is open 10am-6pm. Image: Ryoji Ikeda, test pattern [nº3], audiovisual installation, 2010 © Ryoji Ikeda.
It's festival time in Sydney's inner west; however Summer Hill's latest excuse to listen to live tunes, drink craft brews and eat plenty of food stands out. From 11am–6pm on Saturday, December 14, the Hose Down Festival will serve up all of the above as part of a benefit gig — and it'll donate all of the proceeds to the folks currently fighting New South Wales' catastrophic bushfires. Volunteers at the NSW Rural Fire Service and NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) will be the beneficiaries, with the family-friendly event giving the community a chance to support those doing crucial work. So, as well as a day of summery entertainment, your $25 ticket will make a difference to efforts to combat the widespread natural disaster. Taking place at the historic Mungo Scott building at the Flour Mill of Summer Hill, Hose Down will feature music by Andy Golledge, Australia, The Morrisons, Monkey Spanner and Tenderfoot, as well as Easy Street, Honeydrip and more. Food-wise, Brickfields Bakery, Inbocca, Moulin Café and Whip Van Sprinkle will have everything from sandwiches and cakes to coffee and ice cream covered. And, to quench your thirst, Willie the Boatman and Capital Brewing Co will be donating brews to help raise funds. You'll still have to buy your beers, but your booze money will go to a good cause, too.
Made up of mathematicians, programmers, architects, animators and engineers, Tokyo-based art collective Teamlab has made quite a splash on the world stage. Their famed Borderless Digital Art Museum — which launched in Odaiba, Japan, in June 2018 — pulls perpetual queues and became the most visited single-artist museum in the world just 12 months in. But even if you haven't managed to wrangle a trip to Tokyo, you'll still have the chance to get swept up in some Teamlab magic, as the artist assembly brings its new exhibition Reversible Rotation to town for the Melbourne International Arts Festival. Taking over Melbourne CBD's Tolarno Galleries from October 5 to November 2, the boundary-pushing installation features four imaginative digital screen works, designed to make you reconsider the concept of space and the relationship between humans and nature. Here's what you'll see if you head along: [caption id="attachment_744769" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Teamlab, Waves of Light (2018) by Kate Shanasy[/caption] WAVES OF LIGHT (2018) One for all the water babies out there, Waves Of Light is a continuous loop work, created in 3D then turned into an artwork that exists in what Teamlab calls "ultrasubjective space". It captures the movement of waves through continuously shifting water, the vision carefully constructed after calculating the behaviour and interactions of hundreds of thousands of water particles. The result is an immersive viewing experience, designed, as most of Teamlab's work is, to break down the boundaries between humans and nature. The shimmering artwork reflects on premodern Japanese paintings and their common use of line series to depict a sense of life in oceans and rivers. [caption id="attachment_744772" align="alignnone" width="1920"] From left to right: Teamlab, Reversible Rotation — Cold Light (2019) and Reversible Rotation — Black in White (2019) by Kate Shanasy[/caption] REVERSIBLE ROTATION — COLD LIGHT (2019) AND REVERSIBLE ROTATION — BLACK IN WHITE (2019) Both of these captivating 2019 works are again made using 3D reconstructions that are then worked into 'flat' artworks. At the heart of each is a piece of Japanese 'sho' or calligraphy, drawn in space rather than on a flat surface to create what's known as "spacial calligraphy". The 3D imaging captures each brush stroke's power, depth and speed, then the final artwork appears in constant rotation. But be prepared for some trippy viewing — the sho can look as if it's rotating in different directions. Experience it through the moody scrawl of Reversible Rotation — Black in White, and again slightly differently for the more recent piece, Reversible Rotation — Cold Light. The latter is showing for the first time ever at this exhibition. [caption id="attachment_744773" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Teamlab, Enso — Cold Light (2018) by Kate Shanasy[/caption] ENSO — COLD LIGHT (2019) Enso – Cold Light sees Teamlab getting crafty with spacial calligraphy once again, this time paying homage to 'enso', the Zen practice of drawing a circle using just a single brush stroke. This particular stroke is suspended in space, though audiences will get to see it captured from various viewpoints, as they're displayed in rotation on-screen. Thought to represent enlightenment, truth, the entirety of the universe, and equality, the enso is also left open to interpretation, capturing the heart and mind of each viewer in a slightly different way. Catch Reversible Rotation at Tolarno Galleries, Level 4, 104 Exhibition Street, Melbourne until Saturday, November 2. It's showing as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival. Images: Kate Shanasy
Picture this: the silly season is over and you're back into the daily grind. You could already use a break, but your next trip away is a distant dream. Until someone gifts you a sweet little getaway for two to a coastal paradise. Thanks to Popcar — a premium car sharing service that lets you enjoy the benefits of owning a car without all the hassle — you could win a three-day trip to Byron Bay, complete with free access to a Popcar so you can make the most of your holiday. Before you know it, you and your best friend, partner or maybe your deserving Mum, could be cruising the streets of Byron. Should you get your mitts on this prize, you'll be flying with Jetstar and spending two nights at Beach Hotel, the four-star accommodation right in the centre of town. And, as you'll have a car, you can go from swims at the beach to exploring the hinterland and watching the sunset with ease. This year's bushfire season is particularly dangerous. Before you head on an out-of-town adventure, check the RFS NSW and NSW National Parks websites and heed any alerts and warnings. To enter, see details below. [competition]754211[/competition] Top image: Hugh Stewart via Destination NSW.
Stormwater drains do not immediately spring to mind as the most likely of subjects for a photography exhibition. Dank, dark and deliberately hidden from view, the humble drain is generally seen as a necessity of modern life but one that should be left in the deep underground recesses beneath our feet. Sydney artist Oliver Hopes begs to differ. After a boyhood adventure gone awry left Hopes stranded in the blackness of one of Sydney's innumerable stormwater drains, surrounded on all sides by an army of swarming cockroaches, his "most hated of animals", Hopes developed a permanent fascination with this unseen world of underground mazes. "I had a bunch of mates that would go and explore stormwater drains, and I don't know how they got the idea," Hopes told us. "We built a flaming torch out of a stick and torn T-shirt and kerosene ... and that was the first time I went down the drain." It certainly wasn't his last. These days, the artist finds himself lost in Sydney's drain system as often he can. Unlike this first encounter, which was inspired more by a sense of boyhood adventure than artistic expression, Hopes now always makes sure he has his digital camera with him and his latest exhibition is on display as part of the Head On photo festival at the Robin Gibson Gallery. Yet Hopes' art is no accident; it's the work of a man who knows how to find incredible beauty in the most unexpected of locations. The images are a cinematic delight, bathed in an evocative contrast of light and dark. If it weren't for the subtle details of the drains — the water stains and faded graffiti — the photographs could easily be mistaken for location shots from a Godfather film. Despite the grandiosity of the images, Hopes' process is amazingly DIY. Having experimented with elaborate camera set-ups, studio lights and plenty of work in the editing studio, Hopes found that often the most effective approach was also the most simple. Just a digital camera and then "it's basically me and what I see down there." "Most of them have a pretty natural cinematic quality, that special something that needs very little manipulation," Hopes said. "They are pretty powerful spaces naturally, which is what inspires me more to keep going. They are just so amazing and different and powerful." Thankfully for us, these atmospheric chiaroscuros hide some of the less appetising aspects of drains — though Hopes describes seeing everything from bats to rats to eels to cats. "You name it, it's down there," he says. Check out some of our favourite drains from Hopes' amazing collection of photographs below. Images courtesy of Robin Gibson Gallery and © Oliver Hopes.
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.
Who knew so many people around the world over the age of five (and their parents) would be singing along to a tune sampling “Baa Baa Black Sheep?” Even if you happened to be living under a rock during the when "Somebody That I Used to Know" first surfaced, you would still most likely know the song, which seems to have been playing through some kind of tree root radio system. Now that it’s safely embedded in our brains, you can see ol’ Wally live. Although it’s unclear whether or not Kimbra and Wally will be getting their birthday suits painted on stage or having five people with grim expressions to strum his guitar, what is clear is that Bertie Blackman and PVT will be the supporting acts. This will be his first and (apparently) only Aussie tour since Gotye hit it big time. He seems pretty excited to be playing for local audiences again, saying "the band is sounding hot and I'm so into some of the new visuals that have been made, it's exciting!" Yes, it’s time to get excited people.
The unique bond between twins is compassionately realised in Armagan Ballantyne’s debut feature The Strength of Water. Set in the Hokianga, a beautiful, remote region of far north New Zealand, the film is a Maori story of family, loss, love and acceptance. When Tai (Isaac Barber), a troubled stranger trudges into town, the tiny rural community is indelibly affected by his presence. Precocious fraternal twins Kimi (Hato Paparoa) and Melody (Melanie Mayall-Nahi) are wrested apart from each other in the physical world, yet set about renegotiating their bond across a spiritual plane. This is a contemplative, ambitious and at times lovely film. Ballantyne and acclaimed New Zealand playwright Briar Grace-Smith movingly display Maori funeral rites as well as conveying family life with a light, humorous touch, while all is captured in its stunning setting by Academy Award winning cinematographer Bogumil Godfrejow. And yet the luscious surrounds and brooding themes can’t quite rescue The Strength of Water from sagging under the weight of inexperience. Not only is this film a debut feature for Ballantyne and Grace-Smith, but also for all of the main characters. Paparoa and Mayall-Nahi do a fine job as bickering siblings, but the film lays heavy themes on such little shoulders. Similarly Barber and his love interest Tirea (Pare Paseka) can’t carry off much of the dialogue, giving the film a halted effect. 
There is however much to take from The Strength of Water. As an insightful glimpse at Maori culture and the mysterious ties of twins, the film resonates with warmth and dedication. The film may not reach the heights of Whale Rider, but Ballantyne, Grace-Smith and producer Fiona Copland nonetheless represent an exciting new Kiwi collaboration. https://youtube.com/watch?v=1-n748hplH0
If the end times were coming, and the antichrist as well, how would an angel and a demon on earth cope? That's the question that fantasy authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman explored in 1990 novel Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, winning awards and plenty of fans as a result. Now, what'd happen if Michael Sheen (Quiz) was that heavenly figure and David Tennant (Doctor Who) his demonic counterpart? That's exactly what the Good Omens streaming series dived into when it initially arrived back in 2019. Four years later, the Prime Video show is finally returning for season two. With Sheen back as Aziraphale and Tennant as Crowley, that key casting remains intact. Jon Hamm (Confess, Fletch) also returns as Gabriel, this time showing up at Aziraphale's bookshop with zero memory of who he is — sparking the show's new mystery. Cue hiding the archangel from all interested parties — below and above — and, as is Good Omens' custom, getting Aziraphale and Crowley leaning on each other. Cue jumping from before The Beginning through to modern times as well, including stops in the biblical and Victorian eras, and the Blitz in 1940s England. As the trailer for season two shows, divine chaos ensues, even though Aziraphale and Crowley thwarted the apocalypse in season one. How it all turns out, other than amusingly, will be revealed when the series hits streaming again on Friday, July 28. Also back for a second go-around are Doon Mackichan (Toast of Tinseltown) as archangel Michael, plus Gloria Obianyo (Dune) as archangel Uriel, while Miranda Richardson (Rams), Maggie Service (Life) and Nina Sosanya (His Dark Materials) return as well — but in different parts. They're all joined by series newcomers Liz Carr (This Is Going to Hurt), Quelin Sepulveda (The Man Who Fell to Earth) and Shelley Conn (Bridgerton), the latter as Beelzebub. And Neil Gaiman is back as executive producer and co-showrunner, helping guide a season that now expands past its source material. Check out the trailer for Good Omens season two below: Good Omens returns for season two from Friday, July 28 via Prime Video.
Is there a better name for a reggae festival than Jammin, which instantly gets the sounds of Bob Marley stuck in your head? Probably not. And at 2024's Jammin, the event is living up to that moniker by featuring Julian Marley, one of the Jamaican icon's sons, on its lineup. His set list is known to feature his dad's songs — 'Jamming' among them. Marley will take to the stage in Sydney when the festival plays Parramatta Park for two days across Saturday, February 3–Sunday, February 4. He has plenty of big-name reggae company, starting with Sean Paul, UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Shaggy — yes, Mr Boombastic himself. From there, the roster of talent includes Stefflon Don, Fiji, Oxlade, J Boog, Third World and Common Kings, as well as Maoli, Spawnbreezie, The Green, Pia Mia, Latasha Lee, Josh Wawa, Eli Mac and Sione Toki. Plus, Sons of Zion, Sammy J, Nesian Mystik, House of Shem, 1814 and Three Houses Down are hopping across the ditch from New Zealand's reggae scene. In Sydney, Sean Paul and UB40 featuring Al Campbell headline the Saturday, while Shaggy does the honours on Sunday. Top image: Bieniecki Piotr via Wikimedia Commons.
Stay tuned. More info on its way.
Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan) is a man with such a proficient ability to inject even the most banal of situations with toe-curling awkwardness that it borders on being a talent. A much-loved character that fans have followed over a range of TV series, specials, radio plays and his I, Partridge autobiography, this latest instalment (and the first big-screen outing for the character) is an unusually high-concept affair which makes the most of its delicious conceit. Having schemed desperately (but unsuccessfully) for his old TV hosting job, Partridge is still clinging onto his local celebrity status, revelling in the soul-crushingly inane show where he tackle questions such as "What's the worst kind of monger? Fish, Rumour, Iron or War?". When the station is taken over by a corporation intent on rebranding the backwater North Norfolk Digital as a vibrant youth station, he barely survives the cull. The upheaval sees the ageing Pat (Colm Meaney) axed, a decision he responds to by returning to a station party with a gun and taking the staff hostage. By dumb luck, Alan finds himself outside the station as the siege begins, and as the only one Pat trusts, he finds himself pushed into being the go-between between Pat and the police tasked with ending the siege. Simultaneously fearful and puffed up with importance, he soon starts to think that being the face of the siege (or "siege face" in his words) could be just the tonic his forever ailing career needs. Among those trapped at the station are the hapless Sidekick Simon (the hilarious Tim Key) and Angela (Monica Dolan), a co-worker so socially inept and desperate that she seems a plausible love interest for Alan. It also wouldn't be a Partridge show without Alan's long-suffering assistant Lynn (Felicity Montagu), who is on hand to massage Alan's fragile ego and generally be bossed around and underappreciated. It's interesting to see how the character of Partridge has softened over the years. Initially a misanthropic buffoon with the soul of a parking station, Partridge now seems completely eccentric and devoid of self-awareness but an essentially sympathetic figure who you actually cheer for as he finds himself in way over his head. The lighter tone hasn't led to a lack of laughs though — whether singing along to Roachford, back-announcing his soft rock favourites with baffling non-sequiturs, losing his trousers while managing to lock himself out of the under-siege building or completely misjudging every single conversation he enters, the painfully funny Partridge remains exhibit A in the argument for Coogan's status as a comic genius. While the pitch-perfect slice-of-life series Mid-Morning Matters with Alan Partridge remains the high water mark of the now sprawling Partridge oeuvre, Alpha Papa is a beautifully written and performed work, likely to delight both long-term fans and introduce a broader audience to one of British comedy's most inspired creations. https://youtube.com/watch?v=qywG2-FC6x0
For some, life without boundaries is mortifyingly restricting - those (hypothetical) lines that blur between imagined, created and real can really freak you out if you're not careful. You might not call Fleur Elise Noble 'careful' but somehow, she manages to skirt around imagined, created and real with incredible fluidity and sanity. It's tempting to call 2 Dimensional Life of Her an ensemble piece (for all the lead drawn characters that come to life in it) but this family-friendly performance is art from Noble's imagination only. Using real-time 2D and 3D tricks (puppetry, animation and inventive brilliance), Noble plucks the characters out of her mind and interacts with them on stage. But who controls all the action in 2 Dimensional Life of Her? And who can deny the existence of these characters from Nobles imagination? As part of Sydney Festival's 'About an Hour' program, you'll only have a limited amount of time to find the boundaries… https://youtube.com/watch?v=1WO9EXwog2I
Greta Gerwig dances out her angst to David Bowie. Annette Bening learns the difference between Black Flag and Talking Heads. Throw in Elle Fanning reading Judy Blume, and 20th Century Women is filled with fantastic actresses not only interacting with cultural touchstones, but playing characters trying to make sense of their life through art. Inspired by writer-director Mike Mills' own formative years, you could say that that's what he's doing too. A tale of a 15-year-old boy coming of age surrounded by influential females, Mills has called the movie a love letter to the women that raised him. We'll call it a soulful window into three ladies coping with the paths walked, rather than the ones not taken. The year is 1979, the place is Santa Barbara, and that teenage boy in the centre, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann), doesn't think he needs help growing up — but his single mother Dorothea (Bening) disagrees. Worried about the lack of male guidance in his life, and unable to get him to bond with their handyman lodger (Billy Crudup), she enlists fellow tenant Abbie (Gerwig) and Jamie's best pal Julie (Fanning) to shape the boy's blossoming persona. What follows is less a straightforward narrative and more a series of episodes as several months pass. Jamie embraces his skateboard-riding rebellious side, follows Abbie into punk as she deals with her own maternal issues, and grapples with his crush on the more sexually experienced Julie. This isn't the first movie that the music video director and graphic designer turned feature filmmaker has fashioned from his own experiences. His previous effort, Beginners, won Christopher Plummer an Oscar for a part inspired by Mills' father. 20th Century Women oozes a similar lived-in insight. While the drama depicted mightn't appear to be anything special, his characters and the way they face their situations most definitely are. Mills' Academy Award-nominated screenplay overflows with such authenticity, sensitivity and genuine emotion that it seems like Dorothea, Abbie and company have simply walked out of his memories and onto the screen. Of course, there's another factor at play here: when you want to make a film about remarkable women, you need a remarkable cast. 20th Century Women's lineup is phenomenal — and not just because Gerwig gets another Bowie moment after Frances Ha. She's more assured here than in her work with Noah Baumbach, but still astutely reflects the uncertainty that comes with trying to make your way in the world. But as good as Gerwig, Fanning, Crudup and newcomer Zumann may be, they all stand in the shadow of Bening. Make no mistake: the movie belongs to her as much as it does Mills. That's not to say that 20th Century Women doesn't look and feel every inch like a Mills movie. Switching between narrators, offering up postcard-like summaries of the past, favouring artful montages, and demonstrating an affectionate eye for messy detail, the film couldn't have been made by anybody else. But it also wouldn't work as perfectly with anyone other than Bening. She owns Dorothea's past disappointments, yet ensures she still embraces whatever the future brings — and takes her cues from Mills' mother to the point that she even wears her jewellery. Bening clearly loves her character, as does her director and the entire cast of characters. As, indeed, will you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDa48CnquLU
With all the time we're staring at our laptop screens and flicking through the TV, I think we can safely conclude that we live in a data driven age. One artist who has been continuously pushing the limits when it comes to questioning our existence in this 'whelm' of information has been Ryoji Ikeda. After the audio-visual assault of his last Carriageworks show, test pattern [no. 5], Ikeda makes his grand return to Australian shores with his new head-spinning work, superposition. superposition is an all-encompassing performance stretching across the barriers of sound, language, physical phenomena, mathematics and human behaviour. Inspired by the mechanics of quantum theory, Ikeda breaks down reality into electronic data. Glitched-samples of bleeps spliced with footage of real-time content feeds are displayed in synchronisation over a wall of video screens, while live performers feature as the 'operator' of the installation. If test pattern [no. 5] was anything to go by, Ikeda's superposition will be just as hypnotic: a telling reminder of technology's evolution to become a ubiquitous part of our lives. Image: Ryoji Ikeda, superposition (Kazuo Fukunaga, courtesy the artist and Kyoto Experiment). https://youtube.com/watch?v=0ivkmVDg4D0
Over the course of the past year that wasn't, things like scheduling have more or less gone out the window. After all, how far ahead can you plan if things could change, quite literally, at any minute? If nothing else, the past year has probably taught us all how to be spontaneous — but spontaneously having people over at your place (restrictions permitting, of course) doesn't mean that you should neglect your duties as host. That's where we come in. We've teamed up with Yumi's to put together a list of six easy things to whip up for last-minute — or even unexpected — guests. [caption id="attachment_817506" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Benjamin Brunner (Unsplash)[/caption] TOMATO, BOCCONCINI AND BASIL BITES The low effort to high payoff ratio of these treats makes them an easy crowd-pleaser. It's not hard to imagine why the tried-and-true combo of plump, sweet tomato, creamy cheese and fresh, zingy basil has become a grazing platter staple — not only are the flavours a perfect match, but these morsels are a cinch to put together, and also incredibly versatile. Whether you stack them as fresh bite-sized stacks, turn them into a salad, or put them on a pizza, these tricolour treats will be sure to put a smile on your guests' faces. FALAFELS These veggie favourites will please even the pickiest eaters. And thankfully, it couldn't be more easy to impress your guests with them, thanks to Yumi's range of excellent pre-cooked falafels. They come in a classic and sesame variety, and also in resealable bags — meaning you can even keep some for yourself after your guests leave. Give them a quick zap in the microwave for half a minute, and serve them with liberal amounts of Yumi's classic silky hommus or addictive garlic dip to take your platter to the next level. [caption id="attachment_817512" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brett Jordan (Unsplash)[/caption] MINI QUICHES Mixing up your platter with hot and cold options automatically takes your hosting levels up a notch (at least in the eyes of your guests). And less than ten minutes of prep using pantry staples is all it takes to impress when you plate up these mini quiches. They're filling, tasty and versatile — try mixing it up with different types of cheese or veggies. [caption id="attachment_817513" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Martin Alargent (Pexels)[/caption] FIGS AND CHEESE We may not be able to travel right now, but the dreamy combination of figs and goat cheese will at least transport your tastebuds to the Mediterranean. The sweet, plump and honeyed notes of the fruit are the perfect foil to cut through cheese with stronger flavours — goat's cheese is a great pairing (especially drizzled with a bit of honey), but other cheeses, like a sharp stilton or a creamy brie, work just as well. It's an easy combo to assemble, too — cut the figs in half and serve them up with your choice of cheese. If you want to take it to another level, popping the fruit under the grill can bring out more of the flavour. DIPS, CRUDITES AND CRACKERS Whether you're serving them before dinner or they're accompanying casual wine time, dips are perhaps the ultimate no-brainer for entertaining at home (or solo snacking, we hasten to add). Yumi's has long been a favourite for its creative range of dips that are packed with real ingredients — from a creamy avo and sea salt dip to the mildly sweet roasted beetroot, there are combinations to suit any palate. Chop up some veggies or spread out some crackers for dipping and you've got yourself a winning platter. Feeling fancy? You can even make your own crackers — these rosemary ones go with just about anything. [caption id="attachment_817519" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Matt Seymour (Unsplash)[/caption] MINI SAUSAGE ROLLS The humble sausage roll is another platter pick that seems like you've gone to more trouble than you actually have. Sure, you can get fancy with it and make your own filling, but if you're pressed for time, you can bring pre-made sausages to the party, wrap them up in puff pastry, portion them out and bang them in the oven. Add a couple of sides for dipping — we love the contrast of a sweet chutney — and you're set. For more entertaining inspiration, check out the full range of Yumi's falafels, veggie bites and dips.
Heads up, Mother's Day is just around the corner. (It's happening on Sunday, May 10, in case you temporarily forgot.) You can frantically message your siblings later, there's pressie planning afoot, and we've found quite the showstopper for your dear ol' mumsie this year thanks to Gelato Messina. Never one to miss an opportunity to experiment with new ways to inhale sweets, Messina has been cooking up quite the delicate novelty dessert for Mum: a Italian-inspired box of chocolates. These brownie point-winners launched in 2015 — and have been selling out every year since — are sure to bring it home again this year, just a little differently to usual. While these chocolate bon bons have been filled with gelato for the past four Mother's Days, this year, they're all chocolate (single origin Ecuadorian chocolate, no less) — so they can be shipped to mums across Australia. And, this time round, they come with a stunning bouquet of flowers from Floraly, too. Each box comes with nine handmade chocolate bon bons in five flavours — gianduja, milk choc chew, coffee and dulce, pistachio praline and honey caramel — and a bunch of farm-fresh flowers in an illustrated gift box and a personalised card. The bouquet does require a little bit of constructing, but the flowers come with an easy step-by-step guide as well as care instructions. The Mother's Day boxes are going for $79 a pop and can be shipped across Australia, with the gifts set to arrive between Thursday, May 7 and Saturday, May 9. Gelato Messina's Mother's Day Bon Bons and Bouquets are available to order online now for delivery across Australia.
It's that time of year when we all remember that Christmas shopping for the humans in your life can be a bit of a drag. But throw in some cute little furry friends and copious amounts of pup cuddles, and the whole thing's suddenly a lot more fun. So when the Super Furry Festive Market rocks into Surry Hills next Saturday, December 9, it promises to be the ultimate pre-Christmas pitstop for animal lovers and their four-legged mates. A Christmassy spin-off of the annual Super Furry Festival, the one-day event is set to take over Crown Street's Shannon Reserve with a dog-friendly program of activities, events and market stalls. You'll be able to stock up on gifts for the whole fur family, with treats from the likes of Paddo Pets, Missy & Me, Pods 4 Pets, FurFresh and Haus of Harley Dogwear, all in the one spot. Furry fashionistas can strut their stuff at one of two Christmas-themed doggy fashion shows, or you can book yourselves in for a snap with Santa. If you're currently petless, fear not — the event's out to raise awareness for animal adoption, so there'll be countless opportunities for pats and cuddles. You'll find a bunny snuggle tent, the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home's kissing booth, a kitty cuddle tent run by the folks at Maggie's Rescue, and even a dingo puppy playpen from the team at Sydney Fox Rescue. Plus, you can sign up to foster, donate or volunteer with any of the great organisations on the day. We'll take that over a crowded shopping centre.
Uniting Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio on the same feature-length film for the first time ever, Killers of the Flower Moon felt like a culmination before a frame had been shot, let alone seen. Scorsese and De Niro have worked together for five decades, with a wealth of highlights such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear and Casino to their names. Scorsese and DiCaprio have done the same for two, starting with Gangs of New York. Marty and Bob have known each other since they were 16, too, and it was the latter who told the former about Leo 20-plus years back after De Niro and DiCaprio made This Boy's Life together. Finally, then, one of cinema's golden triangles has connected all of its sides, apart from De Niro and DiCaprio playing themselves in Scorsese's 2015 comedy short The Audition. Doing the linking: a tale of murder, greed and betrayal that tells of the atrocities committed against the Osage Nation a century ago, relaying a chapter of US history that's conveyed on-screen with all the gutwrenching horror and heartbreak that it demands. And, as this story unfurls, watching Killers of the Flower Moon feels like joining the dots in another way as well. Even if Scorsese hadn't enlisted his two favourite actors, plus phenomenal Certain Women star Lily Gladstone as the film's heart, soul and spirit — and also continued his frequent collaborations with editor Thelma Schoonmaker, now-late composer Robbie Robertson and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto — the 26th feature on his resume ties together much that's recurred throughout his filmography for more than half a century. Killers of the Flower Moon is a kind of gangster movie, as Goodfellas, Casino and The Irishman also are. It's unshakeably a crime flick, boxes that Mean Streets and The Departed also tick. Viewers can see the threads to the iconic filmmaker's past works about faith and spirituality, including The Last Temptation of Christ, Kundun and Silence. Greed and corruption have long featured across Scorsese's work, as seen in everything from Gangs of New York to The Wolf of Wall Street. This is a relationship drama as well, which brings The Age of Innocence to mind. As the movie makes plain almost immediately, and then repeatedly across its 206-minute running time, it's also more unsettling than Shutter Island. Ask Scorsese if Killers of the Flower Moon feels the same way to him, as Concrete Playground did, and he explains that piecing together threads that've been weaved throughout his career wasn't what overtly appealed to him. "I never thought of it that way," he notes. Instead, he advises that it was both the real-life stories and journalist David Grann's 2017 non-fiction novel Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI that steps through them that caught the filmmaker's interest. [caption id="attachment_923847" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Marion Curtis / StarPix for Apple[/caption] In Scorsese's instantly engrossing and deeply haunting film, those accounts of Indigenous Americans slain by white men chasing oil-fuelled wealth — and power and control, too — filter through the romance of World War I veteran Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio, Don't Look Up) and Osage Nation member Mollie Kyle (Gladstone, Reservation Dogs). The pair meet when he seeks a job from his cattle rancher uncle William King Hale (De Niro, Amsterdam) upon returning from combat. Sparks fly immediately and their love is real, but Hale's pushing of Ernest in Mollie's direction isn't driven by wanting his nephew to be happy and follow his feelings. And, as too much surrounding the self-proclaimed 'king of the Osage' Hale does, it has consequences with a body count. Scorsese shared his thoughts on making his latest masterpiece with Concrete Playground during an international press conference for Killers of the Flower Moon, where he also answered questions about the biggest challenge in bringing the film to the screen, casting Gladstone, teaming up De Niro and DiCaprio, and how he approaches faith in his work. Not covered: the Oscar-winning director's new Letterboxd account, but you can check that out for yourself, then watch your way through his movie picks — such as what he recommends pairs well with his features. ON HOW KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON CONNECTS WITH SCORSESE'S PAST WORK "I just was attracted to the material, but then really became attracted to it because when we were doing research and meeting all the Osage people out in Oklahoma, the Osage Nation, in Gray Horse. They gave us a big dinner, and people got up and spoke about their ancestors, their great-grandfathers and grandmothers, and uncles and aunts, and that sort of thing, who were affected by this, who were killed during that period — and the fact that they never said anything about it, the generation of today and their parents, they kept it quiet. And now this book came out by David Grann, and now a film's being made. So naturally they had some caution as to me directing the film because of the nature of the films I've made in the past, like the violence in Goodfellas, etcetera. But it took a few meetings, and it took some conversation, and just basically being open-hearted with each other and trusting each other, with Chief Standing Bear and myself, and some of the other members of the Osage community. When I discovered that most of it really hinged on this love story between Mollie and Ernest, that's when I locked in on the project for real, in a sense. I was going another way at first. But in going the other way, meaning from the outside in, from Bureau Investigation in, I found that it was too reminiscent of films that I'd made in the past. It would've been good, I think, but I'd already been there — but what really got me was that what if this trust is betrayed through love? That has to do in the marriage, has to do with these two people who really love each other, and the husband is very weak. I thought that was interesting. And I have a feeling that relates more to The Age of Innocence than to some of my other films." ON THE CHALLENGES OF MAKING KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON "I think the biggest challenge was balancing the narrative parts of the story with the emotional aspects. I think what I mean by 'the narrative parts', there are some plot points that had to be connected — and that is with the Bureau of Investigation coming in and trying to figure out who was doing what, and what Bill Hale eventually did, and what he eventually accomplished, and what he tried to accomplish, and how he tried to clean up his steps, clean up everyone around him by getting them killed or whatever. But the real core of the picture was between Mollie and Ernest. And so, the emotional core of the film really had to revolve around them because all the plot points could be easily, easily absorbed as long as they connected. If it was just done on a narrative plot, it would be good, I think. But in my mind it would've been more like films that I've seen like police procedurals, which I enjoy watching, but I don't know if I could make. So, the biggest challenge was balancing the emotional complexity of the relationship between Mollie and Ernest, knowing that the two of them were in love, basing this on information we got from the Osage people themselves, who were descendants of them. They pointed out to us: "don't forget — this isn't a matter of straight villains and victims; these people were all either best friends or in love, and yet all this happened." And so that was the biggest challenge: to keep balancing that." ON CASTING LILY GLADSTONE "Ellen Lewis, who does my casting, had worked with Rene Haynes. They had worked on a television series that had a lot of Native American actors in it [2017's Godless]. And so she put out the feelers there, Ellen, and ultimately saw Kelly Reichardt's film Certain Women. In that film, Lily has quite, quite a sequence in it. Before the COVID pandemic hit, we were really concerned about could we get somebody who could play Mollie effectively. And Ellen, whom I've worked with since Goodfellas, since 1989, she said to me, 'I think we might be okay'. And she showed me Certain Women, the film. I thought that Lily was marvellous in it. Then we got to meet, but we could only meet on Zoom because the pandemic was beginning. And from that one Zoom call, we had to wait another almost year before we could come back together again on another Zoom, get Leo on the Zoom, discuss Mollie, discuss all of that. But during that year we worked on Mollie's character. And the whole point being, of course, that their story, Mollie and Ernest, is sort of a metaphor for the entire picture, the entire world that we're depicting and this horrendous situation that occurred at that time. So what I found from Lily was perfect cinema face. I mean, she could be saying nothing, but you feel everything going on behind her eyes, and in the positioning of her face, the way she moves. But there's so much going on inside of her, and it's reflected in a very still way. She doesn't have to provoke it. She also is very strong on Native American views and activism, and helped us steer the project as best we could in the proper direction in terms of Native Americans and European Americans." ON FINALLY GETTING ROBERT DE NIRO AND LEONARDO DICAPRIO TO SHARE THE SCREEN IN A SCORSESE FEATURE "With them, the thing is that I've known Robert De Niro since we were 16 years old. So he knows where I come from, and he knows my old friends, and I know his. And we found that when we started working together on Mean Streets and particularly Taxi Driver, we found that we shared the same sensibilities, or similar interests — and also that he was a fearless kind of actor. And the key element, aside from being a genius actor, was that we trusted each other. I trusted him for many different reasons, beyond the creative issues because there were a lot of political issues, too, at that time: making films for studios, studios would take the film away from you, actors would come in and re-cut them. He would never do that. He would never insist on something if I didn't feel it was right. We had an understanding that all he needed from me was to really listen to him and sometimes show me what he wanted to try. And we got to trust each other very strongly on that. Years go by, we wound up making Raging Bull and The King of Comedy. And then it took a while again before we got to make another picture: Goodfellas. But then, we hadn't worked for 19 years before we worked on this film — before we worked on The Irishman, I should say. And he had introduced me to Leo DiCaprio 20 years ago. He said 'he's a very young actor, and he's very, very good'. And I got to know Leo, and we did Gangs of New York together. But on The Aviator, a film we did after, I found similarities, in a way. I don't say same style — a very different style — but he had the openness, and he had the trust. And he had a crazy fearlessness in the same way as De Niro. Despite the fact that we're 30 years difference, there is that trust and enjoyment working together. Really, there's a love there between the three of us. So, it also happened that suddenly they came together on this movie." ON SCORSESE'S APPROACH TO FAITH IN HIS FILMS "I think, first of all, it's not an immediate dismissal of other faiths. As much as my roots are in Roman Catholicism of the mid-20th century here in New York, I have my differences with that. But I also, in supporting my own faith, or trying to support my faith, I found it interesting to learn about other religions, other faiths, philosophy as much as possible, taking it seriously. I don't mean superstition. And yet, even in superstition, the very act of the ritual itself reflects faith. For example, if you take Roberto Rossellini's film Stromboli, there's a great sequence in it where they fish for the tuna — and before they fish for the tuna, they all say a prayer, and then there's the slaughter of the tuna. It reflects something that is a need for spirituality in having to survive as a human being. The lack of spirituality. They need spirituality going deep down into the roots, primeval roots, before you can even find the sustenance to continue to live, you see? And so, somehow that is a gift: to find the food. That's a gift from god. And so for me, that's always something that is to be respected. People feel that way about the world around them, and to be respectful of the world around them. It's more like a blessing of being alive despite all the problems. I find that with many different groups of people, and many different ways of thinking. For me, it comes down to respect and dignity for what other people believe. You may not believe that, but it comes down to that. I think a world that's like in this film, it's a world of corruption that has no roots in morality or spirituality. They [Hale and company] think they do. You can say 'well, they have religion', but that's not spirituality, you see, and so anything goes. The most important thing is winning. The most important this is getting as much money as you can, especially if some civilisation is on its way out anyway. 'As much as I love them,' Bill Hale says. 'I love them. They're great people, but they're gonna die off.' So, this is something that fascinates me and makes me think 'is that part of me, too?'. In other words, am I capable of that kind of behaviour? I'm not saying killing. I'm talking about complicity in it, by being quiet about it. So that's where all of it comes together. I think maybe that's why I was attracted to it." Killers of the Flower Moon opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 19. Read our review.
"We all play games in our lives, whether we admit it or not." Yaeli Ohana's introduction to this sequence of her work explains it as coming from a realisation that the strategies we learn in play as children come to shape how we approach adult challenges. Textual and numerical symbols from toys and puzzles are superimposed on abstractions in ways that remind the viewer of paint-by-numbers or literally portray a word-search; images of dice and toy soldiers overlay conflicted landscapes; small florals are like incredibly delicate textbook plates. All these 'games' refer to learning strategies and repetition and to the child's development of competitive and communicative strategies. The metaphors of repetition and negotiation within games, which in turn stand for situations in adult life, are evident in the series of works as a whole as well as individually. The style of the works layers motifs and symbols and colours over paintings in a way that shows how they have been built up and where the choices have been made. Colours and dimensions vary significantly, from playing cards to the large-scale War Games works, as do the effects of watercolours, gilt and oils and the illustrative or gestural ways in which they're applied. Walking around the room, you recognise that these superimpositions of the symbols of childhood play are not introducing new elements to our perspective, just reminding us that they formed a part of it all along.
In 2018, it was the book that everyone was talking about. In 2020, it was the TV adaptation that we all watched in one sitting. That'd be Normal People, with Irish author Sally Rooney enjoying a big couple of years thanks to her dramatic romance — even co-writing the screenplay for the television series. If you've been enjoying all this time spent singing Normal People's praises, but also wondering what's next for Rooney, it's time to rejoice — because 2021 has the answer. In great news for fans of not only of her most popular work, but of her 2017 debut Conversations with Friends as well, the writer will be releasing her third book later this year. Beautiful World, Where Are You is set to hit shelves on September 7, Rooney's UK publisher Faber has announced. Readers can expect another tale about complicated relationships, this time focusing on novelist Alice. She meets warehouse worker Felix, and asks him to travel to Rome with her — while her Dublin-based best friend Eileen is flirting with Simon, who she has known since she was a kid, to help get over a breakup. "Alice, Felix, Eileen and Simon are still young – but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they get together, they break apart," says the official synopsis for the book. "They have sex, they worry about sex, they worry about their friendships and the world they live in. Are they standing in the last lighted room before the darkness, bearing witness to something? Will they find a way to believe in a beautiful world?" it continues. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Faber Books (@faberbooks) That's just one of two new Rooney-related projects to put on your radar, too, with Conversations with Friends following in Normal People's footsteps and getting the TV treatment. It's being adapted as a 12-episode mini-series, with Normal People co-director Lenny Abrahamson and co-writer Alice Birch leading the charge behind the scenes. Just when it'll hit screens hasn't yet been revealed — but you can obviously rebinge Normal People while you're waiting for it to land. Beautiful World, Where Are You will be published on September 7, 2021. For further details, head to the book's website. Top image: Normal People.
