Perhaps it’s the simplicity of this practical, environmentally-friendly and rather smart looking pallet garden that’s so inspiring. It looks like something every urban dweller should be doing - it’s neat, space-saving, and an ideal solution for maintaining a herb, flower or veg garden in the city. Better looking than the average window box too. The new trend is popping up on balconies, aside garages and on roof tops. It’s such an achievable way to recycle unwanted crates or pallets that can be found at local supermarkets and factories, yet it looks so good - we only wish we’d thought of it ourselves. [Via Lost At E Minor]
Two years ago, Pappa Rich gave tastebuds across Australia the culinary hybrid they didn't know they were craving: a nasi lemak burger. They were originally sneakily trialled in Sydney stores in 2018, then rolled out for a limited time in 2019. Now, they're back. The burger takes the typical accompaniments in this Malaysian rice dish and sandwiches them all between two toasted burger buns. There are layers of crispy Malay fried chicken, spicy sambal, peanuts and anchovies, all topped with cucumber, lettuce and a fried egg. As a side? Expect Pappa Rich's deep-fried chicken skin, of course. You can also opt for chips if you prefer. The Malaysian hawker chain is returning the nasi lemak burger to its menu — at all of its 31 stores countrywide, but only for two months. If you're instantly hungry, you'll want to pop into one of Pappa Rich's outlets between Monday, March 29–Sunday, May 30. Or, if you just can't wait to sink your teeth into a burg, you can score one between Friday, March 26–Sunday, March 28, but only via Door Dash. The delivery service is selling 1000 nasi lemak burgers for just $1 across the three days, so you'll want to get in quickly. You'll also need to enter the code 'MALAYSIANBURGER' while you're ordering. Otherwise, if you're happy to grab a burger from next week onwards, you'll still have a couple of months to enjoy as many as your stomach demands. If you're in Sydney, you can nab one in Bankstown, North Ryde, Chatswood or on your lunch break at the express outlet in Ultimo; in Melbourne, pop by Chadstone, Southern Cross or QV; and Pappa Rich in Wintergarden, Garden City, Indooroopilly and Coorparoo Square will be selling them in Brisbane. Perth residents can head to Cockburn and Joondalup, while folks in Adelaide will want to make a trip to Gouger Street in the CBD. There are a heap more locations though, so check the website if you're looking for one closer to you. The nasi lemak burger will be available Monday, March 29–Sunday, May 30 at Pappa Rich locations across the country. There are also 1000 up for grabs for $1 via Door Dash between Friday, March 26–Sunday, March 28 by entering the code 'MALAYSIANBURGER' while you're ordering.
Any mention of Joanna Murray-Smith tends to elicit the same kind of wince as would David Williamson. Like Williamson, she's an expert at portraying the Australian bourgeoisie engaged in the national pastime of cringing. But this is a trap she steers well clear of in her latest offering, Switzerland; a fictional account of American author Patricia Highsmith's late in life retreat to the Swiss Alps. Sarah Peirse playing the straight-shooting curmudgeon makes old age look like a hoot. Peirse appeared last year in Murray-Smith's Fury playing a mild mannered, upper middle class intellectual mother. Here she shows off her acting chops by transforming into the nasty, charismatic Highsmith. We're introduced to Highsmith hiding away from her fame and literary adversaries in the US in a cosy, naturalistic interior designed by Michael Scott-Mitchell with a spiral staircase, fireplace and writing desk. Apart from an offensively kitsch Highsmith portrait hanging to the right of the fireplace, the space works well. The action begins when a timid junior assistant from her publishing house visits, ostensibly to persuade her to sign a contract for a final installment of The Talented Mr Ripley. The opening exchange between Eamon Farren playing Edward and Peirse shows off Murray-Smith's comic competence and received plenty of laughter on opening night. The witty repartee only loses its shine when we reach the tenth false exit in as many minutes. As entertaining as the play is, it's hard to see its relevance. Whereas Fury spoke to a specific tension between radicalism and racial vilification, Switzerland only gets as far as generalised chats about the universality of human evil and cliched psychoanalysis suggesting that Highsmith is protecting herself behind her racism. It's all fine, and Peirse and Farren's performances are even mighty fine, but I couldn't help feeling that if director Sarah Goodes had focused more on Highsmith's obsession with snails or her collection of guns, we might have been in for a more interesting night of theatre. For a character study of a woman obsessed with murder, Switzerland displays a conspicuous lack of danger.
Usually, when winter rolls around, Bondi becomes a hub of Ferris wheel rides, art shows, live music, history walks and fringe events for the annual Winter Magic and Bondi Feast events. In 2020, because of COVID-19, those events were combined to create a mega-festival of art, food and soaring through the sky dubbed Bondi Festival. This year, Bondi Festival is back with a full suite of exciting pop-ups and activations throughout the beachside suburb. Setting up once more will be Bondi Vista, a Ferris wheel that'll send you soaring 22 metres above the sand. From Friday, July 1 through until Sunday July 17, you can go for a spin and feast your eyes on 360-degree views. On one side, you'll be gazing at wild waves, endless horizon and open sky. On the other, look out for glimpses of the city skyline. If you prefer to spin in circles on the ground, you can do just that at an ice-skating rink. And, walking tours and events for families will also be on the bill. Between rides on both circular attractions, you can check out an extravaganza of comedy and theatre, with shows popping up throughout the suburb. There will be a comedy and theatre mash-up from Randa Sayed and a comedic theatre seance from magician Harry Milas in a hidden Bondi location. Artist Joel Bray will also be transforming the Bondi Bowlo for a pub trivia night blended with contemporary dance, and award-winning performer Bron Batten will be presenting a theatre piece based on modern romance called Onstage Dating. "Playful, immersive and tailor-made, this year's program takes over Bondi for three weeks of art and playful audience experiences," Bondi Festival Director Rachel Chant said. "Go ice-skating by the beach or commune with the dead in a mysterious location, date an artist live on stage or take in a panoramic view of the coastline on the Bondi Vista Ferris Wheel." Bondi Festival will run from Friday, July 1–Sunday July 17. Head to the festival's website to view all the details and the full program.
When a huge global pride festival is heading Down Under for the first time — making its debut in the southern hemisphere, in fact — how do you celebrate? For Sydney WorldPride, there's a dazzling list of options. The LGBTQIA+ fest will hit town from February 17–March 5 with 300-plus events, and it's dropping its full lineup on Wednesday, November 9. It's also setting up a giant rainbow sand sculpture to help kick off the fun. On that very day, to add something else stunning to the program launch — other than the program itself, that is — a giant Sydney WorldPride rainbow sand sculpture will grace the Bondi Pavilion forecourt. The festival team are making a big deal of the occasion because it deserves it, and because it'll also be 100 days until the event itself kicks off, with this sandy rainbow taking up residence just from sunrise to sunset on the Wednesday. Head on down and you won't miss it. Expect it to feature in your social feeds heavily, too. The sculpture will measure 2.4 metres in height and 4.5 metres in width, and is apparently the largest rainbow sculpture of its kind. Spectacular sights and Bondi Beach naturally go hand in hand, of course. The famed Sydney stretch of sand is also known to host extra eye-catching attractions — a statue of Borat and a Stranger Things rift have all graced the spot in the past. Also, Sydneysiders have had plenty of rainbows to enjoy recently, all celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community. Darlinghurst is famously home to a rainbow crossing — and in Surry Hills, the City of Sydney implemented a lengthy path in Prince Alfred Park decked out in the same multicoloured stripes. Also, Coogee also has its own cheerfully hued monument, turning part of the suburb's beachfront into a rainbow walkway. Sydney WorldPride's one-day-only rainbow sand sculpture is the first in a whole heap of rainbow art and installations coming to the Harbour City, and Greater Sydney as well, courtesy of around 45 free public artworks spanning everywhere from the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney to the Scenic Skyway in Katoomba. Before the full lineup is announced, the fest has already unveiled big-name events like the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade to Oxford Street, Kylie Minogue headlining the opening concert, plus MUNA and G Flip doing the same at the closing gig. Find the Sydney WorldPride at the Bondi Pavilion forecourt from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday, November 9. Sydney WorldPride will run from February 17–March 5, 2023. For more information, head to the event's website. Images: Destination NSW. Thinking about Sydney WorldPride's big opening gig, Live and Proud: Sydney WorldPride Opening Concert, too? General admission tickets have sold out, with only Sydney WorldPride's affordability option left — but you can still head along thanks to Concrete Playground Trips. The Sydney WorldPride package includes tickets to the Domain Dance Party and Live and Proud: Opening Concert, plus three nights at the PARKROYAL Darling Harbour Sydney.
No matter where you are in Australia, you've probably spent the majority of the year in your own state (if not the majority of the year in your own bedroom), with many states and territories keeping their borders firmly closed. But, the last of the interstate restrictions are starting to ease. With the exception of WA (which is currently open to only the ACT, Queensland and the NT and Tasmania, but is set to open to NSW and Victoria from December 8) and SA residents (who are still unable to visit Queensland), Australians can pretty much visit anywhere in the country without quarantining. To celebrate, Virgin Australia is selling over 60,000 fares to destinations around the country, starting from just $75 a pop. Hang on, Virgin? Yes. The same airline that, just months ago, entered voluntary administration. It has since been sold to US private investment firm Bain Capital, launched a comeback sale in early July and its voluntary administration officially ended on Tuesday, November 17. The 12-hour Happy Hour flight sale kicks off at 11am AEDT today, Thursday, December 3, and runs until 11pm tonight — or until sold out. In the sale, you'll find cheap flights on 25 routes to destinations across the country, with travel dates between December 5 and January 19, 2021. If you've been waiting to book Christmas flights home — or a summer getaway — now might be the time. Discounted flights are economy and include seat selection and checked baggage. Some of the routes on offer include Melbourne to Newcastle from $75, Sydney to Brisbane from $95, Adelaide to Sydney from $109 and Hobart to the Gold Coast from $169. [caption id="attachment_743607" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Whitsunday Beach by Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] The discounted flights are part of Virgin's relaunched weekly Happy Hour sale series, which will take place every Thursday for the foreseeable future. As we are still in the middle of a pandemic, flying is little different to normal. Virgin has introduced a range of safety measures, including hand sanitisation stations, contactless check-in and face masks provided to all passengers (but wearing them is not mandatory). Virgin is also waiving change fees and allowed unlimited booking changes between now and January 31, 2020. You can read more about its new flexible options over here. Virgin's Happy Hour sale runs from 11am–11pm AEDT on Thursday, December 3. Find out more about current interstate border restrictions over here.
Dixon Street is the beating heart of Chinatown. Take an obligatory photo at the peifang gates (located at either end of the street), grab a bag of famous Emperor's Puffs, and prise yourself from the attentions of enthusiastic restaurant hawkers. You can head there after dark to spot Heaven a vivid large-scale light installation and the Dixon Street Light Screens that hang above the street and gradually change from orange to red. At the stroke of midnight all the lights glow bright red. Image: North Sullivan, Destination NSW.
UPDATE: MARCH 17, 2020 — Splendour in the Grass has been postponed until Friday, October 23–Sunday, October 25, 2020. This one-off spring edition is 'an effort to ensure a safe Splendour in the Grass experience' in such 'unpredictable times' as well as in response to the Australian Government's ban on public gatherings in excess of 500 people. Many artists have confirmed they'll be playing over these new dates, including Flume, The Strokes and Tyler, The Creator. The below article has been updated to reflect this. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Throw those GoPros, bubble bottles and novelty gumboots in your rucksack, Splendour in the Grass is returning to North Byron Parklands for another year of festival merriment. Its 20th year, in fact. As usual, speculation has run wild in anticipation of the lineup announce — will Frank Ocean finally come to Australia? Will the recently reunited Rage Against the Machine be on the lineup? Will Flume be playing? — but the details for Splendour 2020 are finally here. And we're happy to report that some of the rumours were true. Flume — AKA Harley Edward Streten — himself will be Splendouring. He'll be heading back Down Under for his only Aussie show. Speaking of Splendour exclusives, Tyler, The Creator will also only be playing at the festival, performing hits off IGOR including the always-banging 'EARFQUAKE'. The Strokes will be heading to the festival to perform their first new album in seven years, The New Abnormal, and, while the Rage Against the Machine rumour isn't true, another recently reunited big-name band will be playing: Midnight Oil. The Aussie rockers have recently started recording music together for the first time in two decades. They're collaborating with First Nations artists for a new mini-album called The Makarrata Project, which they'll be performing at Splendour. There's also a big female contingent — that is kick-ass but still nowhere near as big as the pool of male performers — which includes Stella Donnelly, Thelma Plum, Jack River, Alice Ivy, Sampa The Great and George Alice (and more). The lineup seems to go on forever, including the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Denzel Curry, Violent Soho, the list goes on. Anyway, we know what you're here for. We'll cut to the chase. [caption id="attachment_735766" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tyler, The Creator by Sam Rock[/caption] SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2020 LINEUP Flume (only Aus show) The Strokes Tyler, The Creator (only Aus show) Yeah Yeah Yeahs Midnight Oil (The Makarrata Project) Glass Animals Denzel Curry Duke Dumont Live Violent Soho Mura Masa 100 Adrian Eagle Alex The Astronaut Alice Ivy Andy Golledge The Babe Rainbow perform The Velvet Underground's Loaded Bad//Dreems Baker Boy Banoffee Benee The Big Moon Brame & Hamo Bruno Major Charlie Collins Cry Club Cub Sport Dillon Francis DMA'S Dom Dolla Dro Carey & DJ Scorpion Fazerdaze G Flip George Alice Georgia Gerry Cinnamon Greentea Peng Grinspoon Grouplove Gryffin Hooligan Hefs Idles Illy Inhaler Jack Garratt Jack River Jarreau Vandal Joy Crookes JPEGMAFIA Julia Jacklin Julia Stone The Jungle Giants King Krule King Princess Kllo The Lazy Eyes Lex Deluxe Lillie Mae Lime Cordiale Mako Road Mall Grab Memphis LK Methyl Ethel Mickey Kojak Miiesha Mildlife Miss June Mo'Ju (fka Mojo Juju) Muna Northeast Party House Oliver Tree Petit Biscuit Pink Matter PUP Rolling Blackouts CF Ruel Sampa The Great Shaed Shannon & The Clams Sly Withers Sofi Tukker The Soul Movers Starcrawler Stella Donnelly Stevan Still Woozy Surfaces Thelma Plum Tierra Whack Tim Minchin Triple One Wallows Splendour will return to North Byron Parklands on Friday, October 23, Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25, 2020. Tickets go on sale Thursday, February 27 at 9am AEDT sharp. For more info, head to the official Splendour In The Grass site. Image: Bianca Holderness and Charlie Hardy
Broadbeach has never really had to work too hard to convince people to visit. The laidback vibes, excellent dining scene and ample swimming spots that give the suburb its name do most of the heavy lifting. But if you are a little harder to impress, the good people at Tourism and Events Queensland are rising to the challenge and cordially inviting you to plan a long weekend away to the Gold Coast for the annual Blues on Broadbeach festival that runs from Thursday, May 18 to Sunday, May 21. With 22 years of experience under its belt, the 2023 incarnation of Blues on Broadbeach will be the pay-off of a well oiled machine. And, while the organisers have had some time to fine-tune their ability to put on a stellar music festival that showcases authentic rhythm and blues music, this year's program could very well be their best yet. As well as a lineup of national and international artists performing across the precinct's multiple stages, streets and parks, the four-day-long fest will fold in a massive selection of restaurants, cafes and bars, and a host of accommodation options. Meaning you can stay right in the heart of the festival and enjoy live music at your actual doorstep. Kind of worried about blowing the budget? Fear not, because Blues on Broadbeach is one of Australia's largest free music festivals and it's generally non-ticketed, so you can just rock up and play it by ear (pardon both bad music-related puns). So, if you're heading in from interstate, set your Google alert to track flight prices and round up some mates. Otherwise, if Broadbeach is closer to home for you, take your time and pop in and out as you please. Either way, whether its your first pilgrimage to Blues on Broadbeach, or your 22nd, we're going to call it now and say it probably won't be your last. Blues on Broadbeach is on from Thursday, May 18 to Sunday, May 21, 2023. For further details, head to the website.
Acclaimed London and Miami bar Sexy Fish is sparing no expense in launching its new cocktail menu. The renowned international venue is taking to six continents (sorry Antarctica) to unveil its latest creations, enlisting the help of four host bars across the globe to join in. Luckily for us, one of those bars is right here in Sydney, with South Eveleigh's Re- the representative from Australia. The menu launch will take place on Monday, March 6, with Sexy Fish's two venues premiering the boundary-pushing displays of mixology alongside Cape Town's Cause Effect, EL BARON in Cartagena, Zest in Seoul, and Re-. Arriving from Matt Whiley and Maurice Terzini in 2021 with a focus on sustainability and an exciting drinks list, Re- will showcase 20 cocktail creations, including 16 alcoholic combos and four non-alcoholic variations. "Re- is thrilled to have been chosen as the Australian counterpart for the launch of Sexy Fish's new cocktail menu, Trinity," says Whiley. "We've loved working with Sexy Fish to create their Trinity menu Down Under, ensuring our sharp focus on local ingredients and sustainability continue to lead the way with drinks, preferencing innovation and taste while minimising waste." Highlights from the menu include a coconut and lemongrass cocktail featuring Absolut Elyx vodka and sake; a playful creation made with marshmallow-infused gin and fortified wines; and the Coffee and Toast, which combines brown butter-infused mezcal, coffee, caramel, Campari and manzanilla. "This is such an exciting project and the first time we have launched a brand-new menu across six continents on the same day with our full Sexy Fish menu and original glassware," Director of Bars at Caprice Holdings Xavier Landais said. "Incredibly, guests visiting our host bars will be able to enjoy the full Sexy Fish experience for one night only, whether they are in Australia, Colombia, South Africa or South Korea." Re- will open especially for this world-spanning cocktail showcase on the Monday, with no bookings available — walk-ins only. If you want to taste what Sexy Fish has been whipping up, just venture down to South Eveleigh early and nab a spot at the bar. You can try the new cocktail menu from Maimi and London's Sexy Fish at Re- for one night only on Monday, March 6.
Visit Alice Springs at any time of year and you'll find plenty to see and do in Australia's Red Centre, including making the trip to Uluru, marvelling at Bruce Munro's Field of Light, and checking out the Tjoritja gorges and Kings Canyon. Here's a spectacular reason to head by every April, including from now until Sunday, April 16 in 2023: Parrtjima — A Festival In Light. The region's luminous Indigenous arts festival is back for another year and, set against the 300-million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges, it looks stunning as always. This event celebrates First Nations arts, culture and storytelling, and just might be Australia's most luminous event — with installations in breathtaking surroundings leading the show alongside music, talks, films, workshops and more. [caption id="attachment_896332" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sisters at Watarru by Noreen Dixon, Grounded.[/caption] 2023's focus: 'Listening with Heart'. That's what this year's light-heavy installations, which were announced late in 2022, are focusing on. Parrtjima's theme is inspired by the artwork surrounding the Statement from the Heart, with that piece depicting Uluru-Ku Tjukurrpa, the Uluru story of connection, as created by a group of artists from Multijulu as led by Maruku artist Rene Kulitja. So, Kulitja has worked with other of artists for Parrtjima to turn the Statement from the Heart artwork into a large-scale immersive light and sound installation. Accordingly, Parrtjima attendees are currently getting plunged in the world of the Aṉangu people of the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands surrounding Uluru. This year's festival installations feature ancient songlines, plus Indigenous viewpoints on Country, as well as connecting to First Peoples' strong links with the land, water and sky. Two things that are also on the bill: two of the festival's regular annual attractions, aka a huge artwork that transforms a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the majestic ranges, showering it with light each night of the festival; and Grounded, the installation projected over the red dirt at tourism and conservation facility Alice Springs Desert Park. As for the music program, it is overflowing with First Nations talent, including Docker River Band, Eastern Reggae Band, Emily Wurramara, JK-47, KAIIT, Karnage and Paul Ah Chee. They're joined by Radical Son, Richard J Frankland, Discovering Leerpeen Mara, Rowdy Birds, The Andrew Gurruwiwi Band and The Merindas across the ten days — and with a range of dazzling backdrops. The talks lineup features actor Steven Oliver, marathon hero Charlie Maher, media identity Naomi Moran, scientist Corey Tutt, Olympian Nova Peris and more, such as musicians Richard Frankland, KAIIT and Paul Ah Chee — doing double duty on stage and having a chat. Movie-wise, attendees can look forward to Westwind: Djalu's Legacy, Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky, Araatika: Rise Up and The Australian Wars. And, the workshops schedule includes dance, art and pottery. Parrtjima – A Festival in Light runs until Sunday, April 16, 2023 around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. For more information, visit the festival website. Images: Parrtjima – A Festival in Light. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
In a Carriageworks exhibition that cuts right to the core of how the art world relates to the lives of most everyday people, Branch Nebula’s ARTWORK addresses issues of unemployment, observation and exclusion. Branch Nebula is an award-winning art collective known for interactive pieces that challenge what it is that constitutes a performance. ARTWORK follows this theme, by employing people who are looking for work — found through the classifieds and untrained in performance — in an effort to question who audiences accept as a performer. The workers will be paid to engage in physical tasks, interviews and other typical workplace routines with no preparation, in front of an audience. Branch Nebula admits the piece is intended to be risky, with performers free to raise issues of racism, sexism and class, and also expects their audience to experience a level of discomfort as they reflect on what it is to employ someone to be observed. At $35 a ticket, there's also the question of which people are able to engage with the art world and how. A must-see for those questioning the relevance and elitism of the art world — if you can afford it.
Celebrate the Year of the Snake with a prosperity-inducing feast at Song Bird – Neil Perry's recently launched three-level Chinese restaurant. Guided by head chef Mark Lee, a sprawling Chinese New Year banquet is being served up for lunch and dinner until February 10. Priced at $149pp, the menu features a curated 8-course feast spanning traditional ingredients said to bring good luck heading into the New Year. Of course, each dish will also showcase Song Bird's appreciation for high-end ingredients and tantalising flavours. For instance, raw bigeye tuna served with iceberg lettuce and Sichuan dressing reflects the colour red for good fortune. Then, crisp lobster and scallop money bag dumplings signify prosperity, while poached Sun Farms heritage chicken and tea eggs symbolise renewal or fertility. "Food plays a central role in Chinese New Year celebrations, and we've crafted a menu that honours tradition while offering a distinct Song Bird twist," says Perry. "It's the perfect way to ring in the new year with a feast of flavours and good fortune." Image credits: Petrina Tinslay
Mark your calendar: if you like free ice cream, as everyone should, then you have a date with a Ben & Jerry's store in April. Each year, the dessert brand chooses one day per year to give everyone a treat without paying a cent. In 2024, that day is Tuesday, April 16. If there's one thing this chain loves above all else, it's the obvious: ice cream in a huge array of ridiculously named flavours. It's the brand behind Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia, Phish Food and The Tonight Dough — and has been responsible for Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yoghurt, Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream and Schweddy Balls, too. But, to the delight of your sweet treat-loving tastebuds, on Free Cone Day it loves giving away free scoops just as much. The occasion is exactly what it sounds like: a day where your ice cream is on the house. It ran annually since 1979 until the pandemic, then took a break for obvious reasons — returning in 2023 for the first time since 2019, and now backing it up in 2024. Here's how it works: if you adore ice cream as much as Ben & Jerry's adores ice cream, then you just need to hit up your local participating store (which is most stores) between 12–8pm. You can choose whichever flavour you like, and you can also line up for a free cone as many times as you like within that eight-hour period. Free Cone Day is happening Australia-wide — worldwide, too, in more than 35 countries — at both Ben & Jerry's Scoop Stores and its Hoyts outlets. In New South Wales, that means hitting up Manly, Bondi Beach and Parramatta, plus some Hoyts cinemas.
There's no wrong way to visit a winery, whether you choose to participate in a boozy fun run within the grounds, cycle between a couple of wine-slinging spots, or simply stop by for a few hours, taste some tipples and make a few purchase. Or, you can stay for the night, which isn't a new concept — but one South Australian vineyard is letting folks sleep right next to the vines in a luxury pod. Wineries from Queensland to Victoria boast glamping facilities; however The Vineyard Retreat McLaren Vale now has an Escapod. As the name suggests, it's all about escaping from the hustle and bustle, which is definitely on the agenda in what's essentially a luxury detached cabin right in the heart of the vineyard. Measuring 72 square metres, the pre-fab structure includes an open-plan dining and lounge room, a king-sized bed, an open fire and two small external decks, plus a fully functioning kitchen, a separate bathroom and a storage room. On the mod cons front, it also has the requisite appliances, under-floor heating, reverse-cycle heating and cooling, and automated blinds — although you'll want to keep them open to enjoy the vineyard views. Furthermore, the pod can be connected to the main power or can go off the grid via a solar power battery, rainwater tanks and a wastewater treatment system. Built off-site then brought to the winery, the Escapod can also be moved again in the future if needed. It'll be available for bookings from September — and it's one of two pods destined for the McLaren Vale spot, although just when the second will arrive is yet to be determined. If the pod has you planning a boozy getaway, there's some other good news — more are planned. In total, Escapod is hoping to roll out 20 pods across South Australian sites across the next year. Find the first Escapod at The Vineyard Retreat McLaren Vale, 165 Whitings Road, Blewitt Springs. Visit the retreat website for further details. Via The Lead. Images: The Vineyard Retreat / Escapod.
In 2023, Queensland made history when it became the first Australian state to commit to pill-testing services not just ad hoc or at festivals, but on an ongoing and permanent basis. The Sunshine State's strategy is now being put into place, starting over 2024's Easter long weekend. Accordingly, festivalgoers at 2024's Rabbits Eat Lettuce will be able to use Queensland's first event-based pill testing service onsite. The aim, at fests and in general, is to ensure that Queenslanders heading for a night out and to big music events can check their illicit substances for dangerous ingredients — and do so for free, voluntarily and confidentially. The state-funded sites are being established as a harm-reduction strategy, to minimise overdoses and other adverse effects resulting from party drugs. Exactly where in southeast Queensland the permanent locations will pop up hasn't been revealed as yet, but there'll be two venues. As well as winning the tender for the initial pair of fixed-site spots, Queensland Injectors Health Network, The Loop Australia, and the Queensland Injectors Voice for Advocacy and Action will also provide at least one festival-based service this year. Harm Reduction Australia, which operates as Pill Testing Australia, will take care of several other pill-testing services at festivals in 2024 and 2025, capitalising upon its experience in Canberra at fests and at a fixed-site spot. Indeed, Queensland's move comes after trials in Canberra, which has included Groovin' the Moo in 2018 and 2019. The Australian Capital Territory also launched the country's first fixed testing site as part of a six-month trial. Drug checking has been used overseas since the 90s, but remains a controversial topic in Australia. Indeed, when Groovin the Moo conducted its first trial in 2018, calls to offer pill testing had been circulating for the prior two years, after a 15-year-old collapsed from an overdose at the fest's Maitland event in 2016. Rabbits Eat Lettuce, which takes place just outside of Warwick in Elbow Valley, experienced two deaths at its 2019 festival. "In 2021, there were 2231 drug-induced deaths in Australia — the equivalent of five deaths a day. That's 2231 deaths too many, and we know this number will continue to grow if we don't act now," said Queensland Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Service Shannon Fentiman. "I want to be clear that these services are all about harm minimisation; we don't want people ending up in our emergency departments — or worse, losing their life. They aim to make people aware of the dangers of taking illicit substances, influence behaviour and, ideally, reduce their use of substances," Fentiman continued. [caption id="attachment_809941" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dave Byrne[/caption] For more information about pill testing in Queensland, head to the Queensland Government website.
Spilling out from World Science Festival, Curiocity Brisbane (22 March–2 April, 2023) takes over the wider city of Brisbane. Art meets STEM in a landscape of experiences and installations designed to challenge and enlighten urban explorers. Use augmented reality to bring memory fragments to life, encounter kinetic art through an intense colour spectrum in a changing parabolic curve, interact with playful cybernetics and help teach AI in real time. Take a free curator tour to take a deeper dive into the meaning behind the artworks, which includes the interactive "sound sculptures" T.H.E.M (that's The Handmade Electric Machines, if you're curious — a collection of six sound and lighting mechanisms brought to life by musicians, artists and designers). The free Curious Conversations program offers discussions on topics such as the future of AI, our role in the natural world and First Nations artists' relationship with history, culture and traditional knowledge. [caption id="attachment_804118" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Curiocity 2021, Markus Ravik[/caption] But, Curiocity Brisbane isn't just for the daylight hours. Art installations will be scattered along the streets and South Bank, disrupting the reverie of the river city with thought-provoking displays and unexpected intrusions, both visual and auditory. Curiocity Brisbane pops up around Brisbane from Wednesday, March 22–Sunday, April 2, 2023.
He went from being the cute kid in Batman Begins to the most hated character in Western pop culture. Jack Gleeson, the actor who played King Joffrey Baratheon in Game of Thrones is coming to Australia next month as part of the national nerd-out that is the Supanova expo. Prepare your poisons — but seriously, please don't poison him — Joffrey lives again. Unfortunately (or very fortunately, depending on where you live) Gleeson will only be hitting up the Brisbane and Adelaide legs of the show. He will be filling the spot made available by Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell) as she had to withdraw from the expo to fulfil commitments for her role in The Hunger Games. Gleeson will also be joined by Peter Cullen, the voice actor who plays Transformers' Optimus Prime. This appearance will be made all the more interesting as, after 'leaving' Game of Thrones, Gleeson has actually quit acting completely. Though he's now focusing on his university studies instead, there's undoubtedly a lot to be said about the devastating consequences Joffrey's character has had on his career. Really — how can we see him as anything else but the evil boy king? His Q&A should prove for some really interesting insight into the mechanics of intense fandom. Those in Melbourne and Sydney will have to wait until April and June respectively. And, at that point, the expo will be making the rounds without Gleeson. Hardcore fans and haters will have to take this clip as some kind of small consolation: Supanova will be at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from November 28-30 and at the Adelaide Showgrounds November 22-23. For more information about the lineup or Sydney and Melbourne offerings, see the website.
Most of us have at least one baby-faced friend: that eternally youthful chum forever being asked for ID and almost certainly secreting an ageing portrait of themselves in a dusty attic somewhere. While they're always good for a laugh, it doesn't matter how much these child-adults (or 'chadults', as no-one will ever call them) appear younger than they are; we'd scarcely consider them capable of doubling for a high-school kid. Hollywood, on the other hand, seems to do it all the time. Stockard Channing was 34 when she played the 17-year-old Rizzo in Grease, Shirley Henderson was 35 whilst playing the 15-year-old Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter, and Luke Perry was 117 when he began playing Dylan on 90210. Even more implausible is the idea that actual teenagers might be duped by the pretence, yet that's precisely the thinking behind Jonah Hill's new movie, 21 Jump Street, based on the '80s TV series that famously launched Johnny Depp's career. Hill teams up with Channing Tatum to play police officers Schmidt and Jenko, two junior patrolmen sent undercover into a high school to dismantle a burgeoning drug ring. To the film's credit, it at least acknowledges the improbability of the premise, particularly in the case of the muscle-bound Tatum, to whom the sports coach says at one point, "Jesus when did you go through puberty? Like, at seven or something?" Tatum is definitely the big surprise in this movie, with his first foray into comedy potentially revealing the ideal market for which his talents are best suited. Whilst it mightn't seem like a huge stretch for the guy to be playing an attractive but vacuous himbo, his timing is pleasantly spot-on and his 'jock-out-of-water' subplot is so endearing it quickly becomes the more engaging and amusing of the two. Hill, unsurprisingly, continues to play Hill: a socially awkward, slightly overweight and well-intentioned nerd who, courtesy of a hidden talent and a touch of serendipity, is suddenly propelled into the cool crowd. It's all very familiar, Superbad territory; however, the pairing with Tatum works unexpectedly well in this case and a fast-tracked sequel feels almost inevitable. Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, whose last film was the magnificent Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street combines improv-heavy surrealism with high-octane action and some seriously offensive language to create a film quite unlike anything else you're likely to see this year. The Judd Apatow-esque dialogue is understandably hit and miss; however, there are easily enough laugh-aloud moments (as well as one particularly clever cameo) to make this film more than worth your while. https://youtube.com/watch?v=RLoKtb4c4W0
Maybe you love nothing more than telling simulated people what to do. Perhaps a fantasy universe is your favourite place to escape to when you're mashing buttons. More than a quarter-century back, virtual critters might've been your go-to pastime. The Sims, World of Warcraft and Neopets have all made an impact on the gaming world, and on audiences. All three are also scoring plenty of love at Game Worlds at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne. For five months between Thursday, September 18, 2025–Sunday, February 8, 2026, this video-game exhibition is shining a spotlight on 30 iconic titles — and making attendees feel like they're stepping inside some of them, too. Expect everything from original concept art and never-before-seen designs to rare objects at the Federation Square site's Gallery 4. Expect to get playing, rather than just peering, as well. [caption id="attachment_997872" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Electronic Arts[/caption] Although the full lineup of games featured hasn't been revealed as yet, they'll span from the 70s until now, and 20 of them will be playable. Demos, games from years gone by, trying to break speed records: they're all part of the setup, which will include international hits, new Australian releases and everything in-between. ACMI has staged major video-game showcases before. This is its third, in fact, following 2008's Game On and 2012's Game Masters. Since the latter, the venue has also hosted smaller gaming exhibitions, such as 2017's Code Breakers — where women in the industry were the focus — and 2024's Honk! Untitled Goose Exhibition. Earlier in 2025, it celebrated 25 years of The Sims across one nostalgic weekend. As it regularly does with its showcases, the gallery will pair Game Worlds with talks, film screenings and other events, family-friendly activities among them. [caption id="attachment_997868" align="alignnone" width="1920"] World of Neopia[/caption] Top images: Blizzard Entertainment.
There are moments, certain descriptions and attitudes in Emerald City that make it seem like a work of speculative fiction, paying dividends as it comes to pass decades later. Of course, it is not. The work, by David Williamson, does not reside in the future, and its business is not prediction. Rather, it is a brutal satire which sits undeniably in the time period it was conceived. Consequently, enjoyment is tempered by disappointment during this savaging of Sydney and its occupants, mainly because of how little it seems we’ve changed in the intervening years. Despite, or perhaps because of, how well the text has aged, Lewis has decided against changing the setting; a poppy and synth-laden sound design by Kelly Ryall, a patchy backdrop of Sydney Harbour painted by Ken Done and more than one deafening shirt combine to celebrate the play’s status as a child of the '80s. The characters, too, evoke the period, displaying bastardry and avarice of a calibre that places them firmly at the dawn of the ‘greed is good’ era. Possibly the best part about Emerald City is that there is absolutely no one to root for: not Colin (Mitchell Butel), a power-hungry screenwriter whose star is not so much fading as sputtering; not Kate (Lucy Bell), his wife, whose stringent morality stretches only as far as the front door; not Elaine (Jennifer Hagan), Colin’s producer, descending a bottomless ladder in order to work her way out of a dry patch; and not Mike (Ben Winspear), an up-and-comer who’s figured out that art is a numbers game and is intent on selling his soul in lieu of creativity and talent. By the time the play begins, redemption is out of the question for any of them, and all that’s left is to watch the hubris pendulum on the backswing. Curiously, it is Helen (Kelly Paterniti), Mike’s girlfriend, and Malcolm (Gareth Yuen), a merchant banker, who come off as the most honest of the bunch. The openness with which they pursue their particular objectives allows them to seem marginally less despicable than their duplicitous counterparts. The ensemble is tight and the pace is relentless in this latest production of Emerald City. Despite the new millennium, Williamson’s skewering of Sydneysiders continues to ring true. Judging by conversation overheard just outside the theatre, though — snippets of ‘new diet’, ‘quinoa’ and ‘kale’, outrageous schmoozings and career-based pissing contests disguised as polite conversation — one wonders, after all this time, whether many of Williamson’s targets even know they’ve been hit.
What's better than seeing an almost 150-year-old heritage-listed building given a new lease on life, and giving Sydneysiders new spots to eat and drink in the process? Seeing all of the above happen right beside the city's newest boutique hotel. Meet Porter House, the luxurious new precinct that's now open on Castlereagh Street. Featuring a hotel and five levels of dining, events and function options, the precinct is based around the Porter House building, which dates back to 1876. Originally commissioned by tobacco manufacturer Hugh Dixon, it was used as the Dixson & Sons tobacco factory and warehouse, then became a shopfront for WW Campbell & Co and leather merchant George Johnson & Sons. Now on offer in that space: a Euro-style delicatessen and wine bar, plus a modern brasserie. An additional bar is in the works, and the food-and-beverage part of the precinct also includes two levels of private dining spaces and function rooms. Then, next door, there's the expansive new luxury hotel. [caption id="attachment_870750" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption] At Henry's Bread and Wine, which operates seven days a week on the ground floor, an all-day lineup is on the menu. That includes tucking into wagyu pastrami reubens with sour onions and prawn milk buns — and also being able to pick between eating in and taking away for breakfast and lunch. Drinks-wise, expect to get sipping at a central bar surrounded by a four-metre wall of wine, mainly from Australia. Then, Dixson & Sons — which takes its name from the Dixson family, who originally built the site all those years back — sprawls across nearly 200 square metres on the first floor. Seating 90, it skews relaxed but elegant, with banquettes, tables for two and a bar spanning six metres perched in the middle. On Executive Chef Emrys Jones' (ex-Fish Butchery, No 5, Qualia) menu: a big focus on New South Wales produce, and on using every part of each ingredient, à la Josh Niland and Fish Butchery. As well as seafood, you can look forward to tasting your way through native flavours such as bush tomato, native thyme, lemon myrtle, dessert lime and macadamia dukkha. A sampling of dishes includes beef tartare with a house-made blend of soy, bonito and nori; vegan butternut pumpkin tart; a massive beef wellington for two; and, for dessert, the jelly 'n' ice cream sandwich with croissant, blackberries and cinnamon. [caption id="attachment_870747" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption] Finally, there's the 225-square-metre Spice Trader bar, which will take over the top level before summer, complete with glass panels across more than half the roof to make the most of the natural light. Drinks will come served from a 16-metre sage marble bar — and expect to knock back cocktails aplenty. Over at the $94-million Porter House Hotel — which is now open — you'll find 122 rooms and suites, a heated pool and a fitness centre. It sits across the first ten floors of a new 36-storey tower next door, with 131 residential apartments filling the other 26 levels. Linking the two buildings: a pair of new walkways featuring glass balustrades and rails, with showcasing the contrast between Porter House's heritage features and MGallery's modern design a key aim. Actually, that's the overall aesthetic in general, as seen in the hotel's interior decor. Think: leather and pressed tin touches, gold and brass fixtures, wooden flooring, soft pink and grey tones, warm lighting, curves and arches used heavily, and mismatching modern and vintage furniture. Yes, you might've just found your next staycation spot. That said, with Sydney also just gaining Australia's first Ace Hotel, and the Waldorf Astoria also opening its first-ever Australian hotel in Sydney in 2025, your list of places for a night away from home just keeps growing. The Porter House Precinct and Porter House Hotel are located at 203 Castlereagh Street, Sydney.
Immerse yourself in one of the biggest events on Sydney's cultural calendar with the return of Lakemba Nights. Held throughout the month of Ramadan, when people of the Muslim faith fast from dawn to dusk, this evening feast is your chance to gather around family, friends and the local community for delicious cuisine. Last year alone, 1.6 million people from across Australia made their way to Sydney for the festival. Taking over Haldon Street in Lakemba between Thursday, February 27 and Sunday, March 30 from 6pm to 2am, over 60 food stalls and food trucks serve up a tantalising array of cuisine from countries like Lebanon, India, Pakistan, Syria and Burma. This is your chance to explore fascinating new flavours, from sweet pastry desserts like knafeh to a succulent camel burger if you're feeling a little more adventurous. Just remember, this festival is a bustling affair, so planning your journey is a wise move. Limited parking is available, so make the most of the free shuttle buses starting at 6.30pm from Campsie and Roselands. There's also the option of catching public transport to the festival, meaning you won't have to worry about missing the fun. Whether breaking your fast or just soaking up the local community, Lakemba Nights is a jam-packed culinary experience not to be missed.
For four decades, The Shining has been responsible for many a nightmare — not only due to Stephen King's 1977 bestseller, which helped cement him as a horror maestro, but courtesy of Stanley Kubrick's unnerving and acclaimed 1980 film. If you've ever been spooked by twins, garish hexagonal hotel carpet designs, sprawling hedge mazes, elevators filled with blood, someone shouting "here's Johnny!" or just Jack Nicholson in general, you have this macabre masterpiece to thank. From parodies to homages to overt recreations, The Shining is also the unsettling gift that keeps giving. Everything from The Simpsons to Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Ready Player One has nodded the movie's way — as has documentary Room 237, which attempted to delve into its many secrets, meanings, theories and interpretations, too. But they've got nothing on the actual sequel to the eerie story. It picks up decades later, following the now-adult Danny Torrance as he tries to cope with the fallout from his supernatural gift. (Oh, and the memory of being terrorised by his axe-wielding dad as well.) In the just-released first trailer for Doctor Sleep — which is based on Stephen King's 2013 novel of the same name — all work and no play make Danny (Ewan McGregor) something something. He's perturbed, mainly, as he grapples with the trauma he experienced in The Shining. Then he meets a mysterious teenager (Kyliegh Curran) who also has the gift, and things get creepier than a ghastly woman peering out of a bath or the word 'redrum' written on a mirror. In a teaser filled with references to its predecessor, both of these appear. Rebecca Ferguson, Bruce Greenwood and Room's Jacob Tremblay also star, with The Haunting of Hill House's Mike Flanagan in the director's chair. While King was famously unhappy with Kubrick's take on The Shining — even writing the script for a three-part TV mini-series version in the 90s — here's hoping that he approves of Flanagan's vision. This is actually the filmmaker's second King adaptation, after Netflix flick Gerald's Game. Check out the Doctor Sleep trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFEVyTlTqYo Doctor Sleep releases in Australian cinemas on November 7, 2019.
The Powerhouse Museum's flagship design program, Sydney Design Week, will return this spring as a live event for the first time in three years, with a curated lineup of exhibitions, talks, film screenings and workshops on offer across its seven days. From Thursday, September 15 till Thursday, September 22, you and your crew can catch the finest in local and international design across the festival's incredible week-long program happening throughout Sydney. Events are set to take place at multiple venues across the city including the newly opened Ace Hotel, Powerhouse Ultimo, Western Sydney University and more. [caption id="attachment_865161" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Zan Wimberley[/caption] This year's festival theme, 'Making Now', aims to celebrate the designers, makers and thinkers who are defining culture and design in Sydney and across the globe at this very moment in time, asking the question: who is setting the scene for the future? The program is focused on exploring exciting collaborations and showcasing cross-pollination between rising creatives and renowned artists in a variety of design disciplines including industrial, interior, graphic, sound, scent and scenography from the world of theatre. Need help deciding which events to prioritise to the top of your hit list? Look no further than a keynote address courtesy of designer and co-founder of Doshi Levien, Nipa Doshi, and artist, author, educator and designer Bruce Mau. You can also get inspired at the Making Western Sydney Talks (which includes a guided architectural tour of Parramatta in its lineup) or a series of conversations taking place at the Ace Hotel. Want to get your hands dirty? Join a clay-making workshop led by Karen Black and a team of established and emerging Australian ceramicists at the Ace Hotel's cafe Good Chemistry. Then, marvel at the New Australian Design pop-up exhibition, curated by Emma Elizabeth at Powerhouse Ultimo. Keen to head along? Sydney Design Week will take place from Thursday, September 15 till Thursday, September 22. For more information and to peep for the full program of events, visit the website.
The Mouse House has brought some of its magic our way, with Disney: The Magic of Animation now on display at Melbourne's newly revamped Australian Centre for the Moving Image. Whether you've always been a fan of Mickey Mouse, can remember how it felt when you first watched Bambi, are able to sing all of Genie's lyrics in Aladdin or fell head over heels for Moana more recently, you'll find plenty worth looking at among ACMI's halls and walls. And in its doors, too — because walking beneath mouse ear-shaped openings to move from one area to the next is all part of the experience. Reopening on Saturday, October 30 and running through till Sunday, January 23 (after a lockdown-delayed season that originally launched on Thursday, May 13), Disney: The Magic of Animation is making its only Aussie stop at ACMI. The exhibition explores everything from 1928's Steamboat Willie — the first talkie to feature Mickey Mouse — through to this year's Raya and the Last Dragon. Obviously, a wealth of other titles get the nod between those two bookending flicks. Fantasia, Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp, The Jungle Book and The Lion King also feature, as do Mulan, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia. The big drawcard: art from the Mouse House's hefty back catalogue of titles, and heaps of it. More than 500 original artworks feature, spanning paintings, sketches, drawings and concept art. The entire lineup has been specially selected by the Walt Disney Animation Research Library, and will let you get a glimpse at just how the movie magic comes to life, how some of Disney's famous stories were developed, and which animation techniques brought them to the big screen. Get ready to peer at hand-drawn dalmatians (which is timely, given that Cruella released this year), stare closely at Mickey Mouse's evolution, examine Wreck-It Ralph models and pose next to Snow White. Wall-sized artworks pay tribute to a number of movies, too — The Little Mermaid piece is particularly eye-catching — and feeling like you're stepping into a Disney movie is an unsurprising side effect. The extended season will also feature screenings, including sing-along sessions of The Little Mermaid, Moana, Frozen and Frozen 2 — plus a viewing of Disney's upcoming release Encanto. Disney: The Magic of Animation is clearly designed to appeal to Mouse House fans of all ages. You, your parents, today's primary school kids — you've all grown up watching Disney flicks. So, while you're pondering tales as old as time, being ACMI's guest, contemplating the animated circle of life and definitely not letting your nostalgia go, prepare to be accompanied by aficionados both young and young at heart. Images: Phoebe Powell. Updated October 26.
If Shakespeare were alive today, what would he be doing? According to the Q Brothers, the creators of Funk It Up About Nothin', with his love of rhythm, rhyme and wordplay, he'd be a hip hop MC. And of all his works, perhaps Much Ado…, already riddled with ribaldry is the most fitting for some funking up. In this production from Chicago Shakespeare Company, Don Pedro and his boys Claudio and Benedick have just returned victorious from their latest hip hop battle, and love is in the air. With a cast of six plus a DJ on the decks, the performers rap their way through this hilarious and high-tempo adaptation. The performances on the single-set stage are buzzing with energy, and with several quick costume changes required, the cast aren't afraid to camp it up or milk a slapstick moment. Claudio's rejection of Hero at the altar and the entrance of Sheriff Dingleberry were particular highlights. Staying largely true to Shakespeare's plot, the lines have been transformed into a rap just over an hour long, complete with smut, innuendo, and parody — just the way the bard would have wanted it. The production is drawing quite a varied audience: young and old, theatre and hip hop fans alike and all of them leave smiling, which is no mean feat. After all, when was the last time you actually laughed at a Shakespearian comedy? https://youtube.com/watch?v=yB3_OLaA56w
When Stanbuli closed, many Sydneysiders waited with bated breath to learn what would take its place in its iconic Enmore Road digs behind the Marie-Louise salon facade. While a sense of cynicism would have been warranted with Sydney's track record of preserving beloved venues, you can officially breathe a sigh of relief with the Porteno crew maintaining its ownership of the building, opening a much-hyped Spanish tapas bar in the space. Named after the salon that occupied the building from the 50s through until the 90s, Bar Louise maintains the eye-catching pink and purple facade while giving the interior a makeover of warm yellow walls, rich wooden tones and fake leafy vines, all reminiscent of a southern Spain wine bar. "We just want to make it a fun place everyone can come and drink wine and eat great food — open seven days a week," Porteno Founder Elvis Abrahanowicz told Concrete Playground. The star of the drinks menu is sherry, with more than 15 varieties available by the glass ($12–32). The signature drop is an ideal start or end to your meal, accompanied by a cocktail, Estrella or minimal-intervention wine. The cocktails at Bar Louise include a coffee negroni ($22), manhattan on the rocks ($20) and Sangria de Maria Lousie ($15), while the wine list showcases tipples from Spain, Australia, Italy, Portugal, Argentina and France. Once you've ordered your opening glass of sherry, your attention will move to the food. The Pulpo a la Gallega octopus ($28) is an absolute highlight, served with potato, aioli and pimento chilli, but there's plenty here for vegetarians, pescatarians and meat-lovers to all discover. Kick things off with your choice of starters which range from gildas ($6) and paleta ibérico served with chips ($32) to mussel escabeche ($16). From there you can get a little heftier with your choices, with some of the exciting options available including charcoal-grilled eggplant and capsicum ($20), garlic and parsley mushrooms ($26), potato and prawn salad ($24), fried pork belly ($26) and thick-cut chorizo in a cider sauce ($26). The chorizo is made in-house, and a lot of the bar snacks are house-cured with the help of Continental Deli Co-Owner and Manager Michael 'Mikey' Nicolian. And, fans of Stanbuli, never fear — the former Head Chef Ibrahim Kasif is opening a manoush restaurant and wine bar with the renowned hospitality team behind NOMAD.
Thanks to the ever-growing array of streaming platforms vying for your eyeballs — and the always-expanding catalogues of films and TV shows hosted on each, too — picking what to watch when you're settling down on the couch is rarely a simple exercise. Before winter is over, Australians will have another option to choose from, with new streaming service Paramount+ launching on Wednesday, August 11. The platform will actually rebrand the existing 10 All Access streaming service, with parent company Viacom CBS Australia and New Zealand bringing it into line with the global Paramount+ subscription offering that launched in America in March this year. For an $8.99 per month subscription fee, viewers can expect to scroll through — and try to pick between – more than 20,000 episodes and movies. That'll include films and series from Showtime, CBS, BET Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon, as well as from Paramount Pictures, the Smithsonian Channel and Sony Pictures Television. If you're the kind of viewer that loves rewatching your favourite flicks, you'll be able to head to Paramount+ to stream movies from the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Godfather, Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones, Transformers, Jackass, Batman and Dark Knight Trilogy franchises. Austin Powers in Goldmember, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Grease and Good Will Hunting will also be available on the service. And, on the TV front, existing series such as The Good Fight, The Twilight Zone, Why Women Kill, Charmed and SpongeBob SquarePants will find a new home. Paramount+ is betting big on new television shows being a big drawcard, though, so you can expect to add a heap of titles to your must-watch list. The new series of Dexter is one of them — and so is the Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Old Guard)-starring TV adaptation of The Man Who Fell to Earth; The First Lady, which sees Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) play Michelle Obama; Anne Boleyn, with Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim) as the titular figure; and page-to-screen adaptation The Luminaries. New Australian dramas Five Bedrooms and Last King of The Cross are also destined for the platform, as are Melbourne-shot comedy Spreadsheet and coming-of-age feature film 6 Festivals. The list goes on, including spy drama Lioness, a TV adaptation of video game Halo and The Offer, a scripted drama about on the making of The Godfather. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eaw6mUV3c6o In the US, Paramount+ will also stream Paramount Pictures' big cinema releases — such as A Quiet Place Part II and Mission: Impossible 7 — between 30 and 45 days after they hit cinemas. Whether that'll also happen in Australia from August is yet to be revealed. Paramount+ will launch in Australia on Wednesday, August 11, rebranding the existing 10 All Access streaming platform, with subscriptions costing $8.99. For further information, head to the Paramount+ website.
Sweden has always been renowned for its ability to build and innovate. Vikings built incredible vessels to cross the North Sea, Ikea emerged as the home of furniture and now Swedish media company Meganews has built a print-on-demand magazine kiosk in Stockholm. So next time you find yourself walking through Sweden's capital and craving Time or Sweden's popular gossip magazine Se og Hör, you can just waltz up and receive a fresh addition. Filling less then 4 square metres, the kiosk currently stocks more then 200 assorted magazines and journals in pdf form. Publishers upload the latest issue to a remote server, meaning that purchasers can access the most current issue. All they need do is select the periodical they desire via touchscreen, pay by credit card and within two minutes a newsstand-quality colour version will be printed ready for fingers to flick through. The environmental benefits are significant. With issues printed on demand rather than printed and distributed en masse, it has the potential to save forests' worth of foliage. Other benefits of the machine include the lack of space it occupies, its ability to provide access where retail space is absent and (huzzah!) no creases or torn pages from casual shop browsers. Whilst currently only residing in Stockholm, it surely will not be long before cities across the world appreciate this innovation and become populated by the kiosks. In the meantime, feel free to fly to Sweden and give it a go. Via Gizmodo.
Watching a Sir David Attenborough documentary means being left with two strong feelings: wanting to see the world exactly the way that the iconic broadcaster does, and wishing to always hear his narration as you walk across the planet. Consider the BBC Earth Experience the closest thing to making both happen. It takes footage from Attenborough's Seven Worlds, One Planet series, turns it into a 360-degree walk-through audiovisual event, and has the natural historian and living treasure echo while you wander. The BBC Earth Experience debuted in London in March 2023, which is excellent news if a UK holiday has been on your agenda. Here's a better development: this spring, it's heading Down Under. Melbourne will become only the second city in the world to host this spectacular sight, kicking off on Friday, October 27 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in what'll be an Australian-exclusive season. The experience uses cutting-edge digital-projection technology to surround attendees in visuals from the earth's seven continents, with everything from fireflies in North America to cassowary fathers and their chicks in Australia on display. In London, the attraction sprawls across more than 1600 square metres, featuring spaces dedicated to the planet seen at microscopic scale, via drone footage and on the ocean floor, too, as part of a self-guided tour that also heroes starfish, elephant seals, snub-nosed monkeys, hamsters and more. If you've already watched Seven Worlds, One Planet, you won't just be greeted by material you've already seen, but larger. The scale of the event's imagery is hefty — epic, even — but BBC Earth Experience also includes extended scenes from the show, plus bespoke narration by Attenborough. The mission is truly to make the audience feel like they've stepped right into the footage, all thanks to multi-angle screens. And, it's designed to cater to existing Seven Worlds, One Planet fans and newcomers alike. [caption id="attachment_916095" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alex Board, BBC Natural History Unit.[/caption] In Melbourne, offering up an educational experience for young patrons is also a big aim. There'll be a classroom space onsite, plus resources curated for teachers. Given how long that Attenborough has been making nature documentaries, including with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, here's hoping that more of his work gets this kind of experience-focused treatment. Bringing Prehistoric Planet and its sequel series to life? Add that to the wish list. "Melbourne is the only city in Australia that will host the incredible BBC Earth Experience, which will attract thousands of visitors to enjoy everything on offer in our city while supporting jobs across the tourism and events sector," said Victorian Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos, announcing the event's stint Down Under. "This collaboration with Visit Victoria, BBC Studios and Moon Eye Productions will deliver a spectacular and educational experience unlike any other," added Live Nation Australia Vice President of Touring Luke Hede. "Sir David Attenborough is a global treasure, and the BBC Earth Experience marries his message about the challenges nature faces in today's world alongside the world's most incredible footage. Victorians and visitors to the state are in for a real treat." The BBC Earth Experience will open in Australia at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Wharf, Melbourne on Friday, October 27, 2023 — head to the event website for further details and tickets. BBC Earth Experience images: Philip Volkers / BBC.
If you firmly believe that you can never have too much Idris Elba, then you have most of the planet for company. Right now, the Hijack-watching world and streaming service Apple TV+ are also firmly in that camp. After the British actor's high-octane thriller series hit the small screen in 2023 and swiftly hooked viewers, the platform has announced that it will return for a second season. And yes, Elba will be back — although what'll be testing his negotiation skills this time is yet to be revealed. In its first season, Hijack featured the Beast, Three Thousand Years of Longing and Luther talent as Sam Nelson, a veteran negotiator who was on his way home to the UK from Dubai when terrorists took over the flight. Accordingly, it was up to the actor that everyone would like to see as 007 tries to try to get everyone to their destination safely, all in a series that took place in real time. Nelson's onboard tasks switched from relaxing in the air to trying to talk his captors down, let authorities on the ground know what was happening and minimising casualties. If you're not only thinking about Bond but also 24, that's the right wheelhouse. And yes, non-stop tension does go down smoother when Elba is looking calm and collected under pressure, a fact that helped make the series one of Apple TV+ most-popular dramas last year. Created by Criminal's George Kay and Jim Field Smith — with Kay also behind Lupin — Hijack's first season also boasted Elba as an executive producer, a role that he'll retain again when it returns for its second season. Field Smith will again be the show's lead director as well. "I was floored by the overwhelming audience response after season one. It's top secret what new situation unfolds for Sam Nelson but I can assure you we will bring the high-octane back!" said Elba, announcing the show's renewal. Alongside the show's storyline for its second season, when Hijack will return hasn't yet been announced, and neither have any co-stars that'll feature opposite the series' The Harder They Fall, Fast and Furious: Hobbs & Shaw, The Suicide Squad and Thor: Ragnarok alum leading man. Fingers crossed that whatever the scenario, and whoever else features on-screen, another quickly addictive nail-biter results, even if you'd expect that it won't focus on Idris Elba on a plane again. Check out the trailer for Hijack season one below: Hijack streams via Apple TV+ — and season two doesn't yet have a release date. Read our full review of season one.
While some bars are slowly opening in Sydney and Brisbane, many of us are still stirring and shaking our cocktails at home. To help brighten up our time inside — and our DIY cocktails — Adelaide Hills gin distillery Applewood has just released a new pink gin. Dubbed Coral, its name pulls inspiration from two sources. Firstly, the colour — the gin itself is pink, but the bottles have also been hand-sealed with one-of-a-kind pearlescent pink wax. Secondly, the gin has been inspired by the Great Barrier Reef and a portion of sales from the pretty-in-pink drink will go to a charity dedicated to the reef's restoration. The world's largest coral reef system has suffered regular mass coral bleaching, a phenomenon caused by climate change, which kills the reef's algae and starves the coral — but, thankfully, there are charities out there working to regrow and regenerate the damaged coral. Coral gin is made, in true Applewood fashion, using native Australian botanicals: salty karkalla (a succulent found on many Aussie beaches), spicy riberries and sweet strawberry gum. You can serve it as a G&T — garnished with pink peppercorns, if that's something you can get your hands on — or, you can whip up a Coral gin fizz. You'll find that recipe down the bottom. For now, only 800 bottles are available, but the gin is expected to stick around as part of the company's core range in the long term. Coral gin is on sale now for $70 via the Applewood Distillery website, with Australia-wide shipping available. [caption id="attachment_771056" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Coral gin fizz[/caption] CORAL GIN FIZZ 60 millilitres Coral gin 30 millilitres pineapple juice 30 millilitres cream Barspoon of molasses (about 1/2 a teaspoon) Three drops vanilla extract Three drops of Wonderfoam Soda Add all ingredients except soda with ice in a cocktail shaker and shake, then remove ice and shake again (called a dry shake). Double strain into a tall glass and let settle. Top with soda and ice.
Last month, Maurice Terzini's newest bar Bonnie's Food + Wine opened inside Bondi Beach Public Bar. Now, Sydney has scored yet another buzz-worthy venue-within-a-venue. This one sees the the team behind famed Newtown burger joint Mary's — Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham — trying their hand at another modern American favourite, launching Mary's Pizzeria within their Chippendale live music haunt, The Lansdowne Hotel. Opening Thursday, October 18, the mini-venue will take up an intimate 12-seat dining space, with room for a few extra perched by the kitchen, dishing up the sort of pizza that's destined to become your latest and greatest guilty pleasure. Matched, of course, with some natural wines or local craft brews. Here, the guys, along with Mary's Executive Chef Jimmy Garside, are riffing off their two favourite pizza styles: the New York slice and Detroit's square pizzas. They're rocking cheesy crusts and cheeky names, crafted with top-notch Aussie and Italian ingredients on 72-hour fermented dough. Expect the likes of the Hot Hot Heat, with 'nduja, buffalo mozzarella and Sicilian olives, or the square-style Smokey F***er, loaded with rosemary, smoked potato, roast garlic and a whole lotta cheese. "The interplay of childhood nostalgia mixed with current day disappointments has made us want to create a pizza menu we actually want to eat," explained Graham. Like its Newtown sibling, Mary's Pizzeria will also have its own line of merchandise, which will be available soon at the pizzeria. Mary's Pizzeria will open at The Lansdowne Hotel , 2–6 City Road, Chippendale, from Thursday, October 18. It's open from 4pm–2am Monday–Thursday and from noon–2am Friday–Sunday and bookings can be made by calling 0434 816 430.
Sydney's latest delivery service is sending 'hard-to-kill' indoor plants to doorsteps across the city — and in brightly coloured ceramic pots to boot. Plant Girl is run by inner west local Felicity Keep, who wanted to add a bit of quirk to your average flower delivery. Customers can mix-and-match any combo of plant, pot or fabric planter, with the goal of creating a highly styled, personalised delivery experience — with predominately easy-to-keep-alive plants on offer. At the moment, the plants available include peace lilies, snake plants, bird's nest ferns and rubber plants, all of which land in the 'low maintenance' and 'hard to kill' categories. That means you don't need to worry about your recipient's green thumb (or lack thereof). For more experienced gardeners, the fiddle-leaf fig is also up for grabs. [caption id="attachment_729087" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hipster Mum[/caption] As far as the packaging goes, pots range from metallic to turquoise and magenta, while the fabric planter bags include leopard print, floral and 80s-inspired. Based in Marrickville, the service delivers a ten-kilometre radius from the suburb, which includes all of the inner west and the CBD — plus a chunk of the eastern suburbs and a bit of North Sydney and the lower north shore, too. And, if you order before 11am, you can opt for same-day delivery. For now, deliveries are only available Monday through Friday, so don't leave it too last minute. PlantGirl is now offering same-day delivery across Sydney from Monday–Friday. Prices start at $39. To order, head to the website. Images: Hipster Mum
For the second time in as many movies, Lady Gaga is caught in a bad romance in House of Gucci. Yes, she's already sung the song to match. The pop diva doesn't belt out ballads or croon upbeat tunes in this true-crime drama, unlike in her Oscar-nominated role in A Star Is Born, but she does shimmy into a tale about love and revenge, horror and design, and wanting someone's everything as long as it's free. Eschewing the earthy naturalism of her last film performance and tapping into her famed on-stage theatricality instead, she's perfect for the part of Patrizia Reggiani, aka Lady Gucci, aka the daughter of a trucking entrepreneur who wed into one of the world's most prestigious fashion families, helped unstitch its hold on its couture empire, then went to prison for murder. She's exceptional because she goes big and lavish, and because she knows that's the type of feature she's meant to be in: a soapy spectacle about money and power that uses its depiction of excess as an interrogation technique. Complimenting Gaga for nailing the brief — for acing it so dazzlingly that she's sauntering down her own catwalk as most of her co-stars virtually watch from the floor — gives House of Gucci a tad too much credit, though. Ridley Scott's second film in mere months following The Last Duel, and his third in a row to examine wealth and influence after 2017's All the Money in the World, this fashion-world saga skews large, lush and luxe with each choice, too, but doesn't land every sashay with quite the outsized lustre of its crown jewel. If House of Gucci's veteran director was picking an outfit instead, he would've chosen a killer gown, then wavered on the accessories. Some of his other decisions gleam, as seen in the movie's knowingly maximalist and melodramatic air. Others prove fine, like its jukebox-style soundtrack of 70s and 80s bangers. A few moves are so cartoonish — Jared Leto's ridiculousness, and the Super Mario-style accents sported by almost everyone on-screen — that they play like cheap knockoffs. The story itself is a standout, however, as adapted from Sara Gay Forden's 2001 book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed. When Patrizia meets law student Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver, Annette) at a 70s-era party, mistakes him for a bartender, then realises who he is, it sparks a rollercoaster of a relationship — starting with Maurizio being disinherited by his father Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons, Love, Weddings and Other Disasters) for their marriage. Still, the newest Gucci knows what she wants: a place in the family's dynasty. She isn't the lone cause of the Guccis' unfolding, thanks to Rodolfo's brother Aldo (Al Pacino, Hunters), his penchant for watering down the brand and tax evasion, and his wannabe-designer son Paolo (Leto, The Little Things), but she's the Lady Macbeth pushing Maurizio to seize the company by any means. And, because the reason that House of Gucci even exists was written in news headlines over a quarter-century ago, she's behind Maurizio's killing in 1995. "I don't consider myself a particularly ethical person, but I'm fair," Patrizia offers partway into the movie, a moral code that still sees her order his hit after their divorce — helped by a TV psychic-turned-pal (Salma Hayek, Eternals), because that's the kind of tale this is. Interviewed in 2016, Patrizia called herself "the most Gucci of them all", an idea that Scott and his screenwriters Becky Johnston (Arthur Newman) and Roberto Bentivegna (short El otro lado) don't ever give Italian-lilted voice to, but still use as their basic pattern. In the sartorial realm, Gucci might stand for high-end indulgence, but House of Gucci sees both the allure and the cost of the brand reflected in Patrizia's status-hungry actions. Lust — for power, popularity, money, standing and sex all included — might be the soapiest vice of them all. Blunt, pulsating and pumping through the hot-blooded Patrizia's veins, it's House of Gucci's signature emotion, although the other deadly sins also get a whirl. No exaggerated account of life, love and the one percent's lavishness lacks in greed, pride, wrath, envy, gluttony and sloth as well, including this one, but there's nothing like unfettered desire to keep a narrative bubbling. Scott's film is positively ravenous for more, as its protagonist is at every turn. Nothing is too much for Patrizia in her quest to inhabit a life she once only fantasised about, and there's little that House of Gucci won't do to convey and embody that appetite. But all that glitters isn't always gold, or diamond-sharp, or even entertainingly gaudy, including for the picture itself. With Scott's regular cinematographer Dariusz Wolski on lensing duties, House of Gucci looks like a glitzy dream that slowly loses its glamour, and by design. Its largely Milan-set staging and obviously Gucci-heavy costuming expresses the same feeling — whether or not Paolo is urinating on silk scarves and Aldo is peddling fakes. But those pasta-sauce ad accents just play cheap and easy from the outset, and everything about Leto's prosthetic-laden, safari suit-wearing, hammed-up performance does the same. Both quickly overstay their welcomes, not that either is ever welcomed at all. Calling them knowing gags, purposefully camp flourishes or pointed parodies would be far too generous, even given the feature's gleeful soap-opera tone, overt eat-the-rich sentiments and clear awareness that it's a piece of true-crime pageantry. Thank the pop-culture gods for Gaga, then, as legions of her Little Monsters have for more than a decade. Another movie from the past year, the unshakeably misguided Joe Bell, had a character liberally sing her praises — but, surpassing even A Star Is Born, House of Gucci is her silver-screen powerhouse. Donning wiggle dresses, voluminous hair and a slinkily savage attitude, she's both lively and alive to everything happening in Patrizia's story and Scott's film alike. Whether posed opposite Driver's restrained turn as Maurizio or Pacino's also-big effort as Aldo, her presence improves her co-stars' work in every scene they share, too. Hers is an investment performance, with Scott entrusting almost everything that hits the mark in House of Gucci to his leading lady's go-for-it glow — and treating audiences to a bona fide movie-star show that Gaga couldn't wear better if it was sewn on.
Enjoying a glass of wine might come with plenty of medical benefits, but having a tipple isn't typically an exercise-heavy pastime. You sit. You drink. You get up, top up your beverage and repeat. You usually don't walk particularly far, let alone run. At a new series of wine-tasting fun runs about to take place around Australia, however, you'll put in the hard yards before you get the boozy rewards. The Grapest 5K run consists of two sections. First, you sprint, jog or set forth at whatever pace suits you best, making your way through scenic vineyard surroundings. Then, you walk another kilometre — yes, in addition to the first five, or ten if you're feeling extra energetic — while stopping at tasting stations along the way and sampling the good stuff. Don't worry, if you're not up to the first part and you're simply keen on wandering and sipping, that's an option (although it does defeat the idea of combining fitness with throwing back drinks). The first run takes place on February 11 at Balgownie Estate in Bendigo, with a second scheduled on March 4 at Coolangatta Estate in Shoalhaven, south of Woollongong. Further events are mooted in the Hunter Valley, Brisbane, Margaret River in Western Australia, Langhorne Creek in South Australia and Canberra throughout the rest of the year. For more information, visit the Grapest 5k run website.
It's the west's time to shine, and Chef Chase Kojima (Sokyo, Senpai Ramen) is ensuring that the area will become a culinary staple with the launch of Tokyo Samba. Bankstown locals have something new to get excited about, thanks to the announcement of this soon-to-come Japanese steakhouse with a Brazilian flare. Soon to be surrounded by the likes of AN Restaurant, which slings some of Sydney's best pho, and Lady Banks Rooftop, one of the city's best rooftop bars, Tokyo Samba will be setting up shop in the southwestern Sydney suburb this winter, with plans to open around late June or July. [caption id="attachment_827980" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lady Banks Rooftop, Bankstown. [/caption] Slated to open on the bustling West Terrace, the restaurant will open with a fusion-forward menu. The venue's focus is to provide a healthy alternative to the food-focused strip while highlighting a previously untapped cuisine. Expect fine cuts of steak, quality sashimi and ceviche among the newcomer's offerings. "I am super excited as this is my sweet spot in flavour, I've been planning a Japanese steakhouse for a long time and have been working with our owners (who choose to remain anonymous) for the past seven months," said Kojima. The area's demographic has been a major consideration while curating the menu, so the selection is halal-certified and the drinks list includes zero-alcohol wines and an array of mocktails. [caption id="attachment_911491" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bao buns from Bartega, Belmore.[/caption] This Western Sydney newcomer will further diversify Canterbury-Bankstown's dining options, which currently span from cult-favourite joints like El Jannah, Chebbo's Burgers and the OG Duo Duo locale to sophisticated spots like Bartega and hidden gems like Belmore Continental Bakery. "We have a lot of exciting new things coming as we roll out – I'm never shy with creativity — so watch this space," said Kojima. [caption id="attachment_577266" align="alignnone" width="1280"] The main dining room at Sokyo, Sydney. [/caption] Further details will follow in the coming months, so head to the restaurant's Instagram page for updates.
It might located right in the heart of North Sydney's buzzing city centre, but Green Moustache feels far from it. Instead, this fresh-faced bar and restaurant has embraced Mother Nature, and is filled with an abundance of greenery and plant life. It's a well-executed lushness that's not all too surprising given this is the latest venture from Andrew Utiger and Matt Erby — the minds behind fellow North Sydney foliage den, Treehouse. Sporting primo rooftop views, the pair's new light-filled venue is destined to be a bar of choice for Sydneysiders looking for a warm and lush hideaway this winter. A roll call of hospitality guns are managing the spot, including co-owner David Maisey (Treehouse, Merivale, The Palisade Hotel), who oversaw the menu, which will be executed by chef Peter Fitzsimmons (Chin Chin) and pastry chef Alfredo Jr Peralta (Nomad). Wines have been chosen by sommelier Julien Perrimond (Bambini Trust Restaurant and Wine Room) and bartender Aby Dedej (Ivy Pool Club) will be shaking, mixing and stirring a drinks list that packs a punch. The food menu runs from breakfast through dinner — six days a week. Mornings might mean the likes of haloumi-topped bruschetta with pesto or a loaded brekky bowl, while later visits promise caramelised sticky pork with shredded coconut and snake beans — or a pasta starring hand-picked blue swimmer crab, chilli and lemon. Those heading here in winter will find comfort in the scotch fillet paired with artichoke chips and duck fat-roasted potatoes.
Tired of stale old superhero stories with their predictable Hollywood plotlines? Wouldn't you rather watch a movie about a half-man, half-fish instead? If your answer to either one of those questions is yes, then it's time to dive into the program at KOFFIA, aka the Korean Film Festival in Australia. Merman comedies aside, the lineup at this year's festival is packed full of highlights. Held at Event Cinemas on George Street, genre fans can scream through exorcism flick The Priests, and be pushed to the edge of their seats by supernatural thriller The Wailing. We're also extremely keen for zombie apocalypse tale Train to Busan, which is only screening in Sydney. Viewers after something a little less on the gruesome side won't be disappointed either. This year's program boasts a number of Korean rom-coms, headlined by Cho Sung-kyu's disarming relationship farce Two Rooms, Two Nights. For the full KOFFIA program, go here.
Switch its modern-day Texas setting for the American frontier of several centuries ago, and its noble thieving heroes for gunslingers roaming the range, and there's no mistaking it: Hell or High Water is a western through and through. These days, every second film or thereabouts is deemed a contemporary take on the genre, from Mad Max: Fury Road to The Dressmaker. Director David Mackenzie doesn't take on the Old West lightly, however, and his sun-scorched drama proves to be the genuine article. Bullets fly, law and order collides, and the distinctively dusty US landscape looms large over morally murky exploits. It all harks back to times (and films) gone by, while also proving ever-so-relevant to today. Sons of Anarchy actor turned Sicario writer Taylor Sheridan cleverly steeps every recognisable western element in timely commentary on our have-versus-have not society. Brothers Toby (Chris Pine) and Tanner Howard (Ben Foster) fall into the latter category — but as the movie's title intimates, they're determined to make a change. Their primary opponent: the banking system. Specifically, a local financial establishment that happily gave their mother a reverse mortgage on the family farm, and now wants to swoop in and take it all away. So the siblings react Robin Hood-style, holding up the bank's various branches to raise the funds needed to retain control of the property. Of course, rangers Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) and Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham) are soon on the brothers' trail, one trying to hold on to the past by staving off retirement, the other grinning and bearing his colleague's old-school ways. In a film built dirt-up from the tiniest of details — a parade of sepia-tinted small towns here, a slow drawl masking unspoken pain there — paying close attention to the furrowed brows of Pine and Bridges is highly recommended. Like the film they inhabit, their characters are broken men moulded from familiar pieces. And yet the actors still manage to convey depths that trump the feeling that you've seen it all before. Watching them weather their respective battles — against systems trying to keep them in their places, against their internal demons, and against each other — is quietly revelatory. Though tasked with the least nuanced role of the three main players, Foster also ensures his ex-con character is more than simply a unhinged comic foil to his morally conflicted brother. To put it simply, it's stellar work from most involved. That applies to Mackenzie as well, who provides not only an evocative sense of the genre he's happily playing with, but balances Hell or High Water's solemn tone with his lightness of touch. The journeyman filmmaker continues to serve up new highlights such as his previous prison effort Starred Up, and now this. He's ably assisted by the fine work of cinematographer Giles Nuttgens, as well as by a soulful score from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.
UPDATE, May 7, 2021: Us is available to stream via Netflix, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. With his Oscar-winning directorial debut Get Out, Jordan Peele gave the world a powerful metaphor for everyday, engrained oppression. In the sunken place, the film's black characters are sent falling down an endless rabbit hole while their lives are controlled by wealthy white folks. African Americans are forced to watch from a cavernous expanse of darkness, all as someone else pulls their strings. Robbed of agency, they become passengers in their own journey, rather than drivers of their fate. The movie's brilliant blend of scares and social satire gives more flesh to the scenario, but the mechanics are straightforward: one race is sent plummeting; the other climbs higher through their subjugation. Peele's concept isn't a one-time idea, as his sophomore film shows. Us doesn't feel like Get Out redux for even a split second, but it does give another clever and chilling dimension to the notion of flailing versus prospering — and another example of who's doing both. This time, the writer-director puts class under his magnifying glass, while still training his gaze firmly at his country. It's not by accident that the movie's title can be read as U.S., aka the United States. That's not supposed to escape anyone's attention. Perhaps the greatest trick that Peele pulls, however, is slicing into the horror of just peering in the mirror and thoroughly detesting what's looking back. After a quick glimpse at an ad for 80s charity campaign Hands Across America, Us' 1986-set prologue sends a young girl (Madison Curry) into an actual house of mirrors. "Find yourself" the funhouse at the Santa Cruz beachside amusement park promises. She does, although not in the usual way — and as flashbacks remembered by the adult Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o) reveal, she's left forever shaken by the process. In the present day, Adelaide returns to the Californian spot with her husband Gabe (Winston Duke) and children Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex). She's wary and worried as her family pals around on the beach with their better-off friends, the Tylers (Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Cali Sheldon and Noelle Sheldon). Later, Adelaide tries to explain her visible unease to Gabe, confessing that she has always felt as if her other self was coming for her. With the arrival of the Wilsons' doppelgängers on their driveway that night, her words are proven accurate. Decked out in matching red jumpsuits, wearing lone tan gloves and clutching golden scissors, the sinister doubles call themselves 'the tethered' — and they're here to cut that name to ribbons. What begins as a tense, terrifically staged home invasion soon becomes much more, as Adelaide and her loved ones face off against their murderous counterparts. The terror that follows boasts more angles than the reflective maze that starts this unnerving story. It also contains more twists and turns than the abandoned and unused tunnels buried beneath the U.S., as pointedly referenced in the film's opening title card. Finally, it features more meticulously deployed pop culture references and nods than might be expected in a movie that remains so thoughtfully distinctive. Us is a creeper in multiple senses of the word. It's disquieting from the outset (even more so when it spends its opening credits staring at caged rabbits), but Peele knows how to let that unease fester and grow. While the 'master of suspense' label was bestowed decades ago, the comedian-turned-filmmaker is just as devastating at cultivating distress as Hitchcock or any other iconic horror or thriller director. He's similarly adept at using every tool in his arsenal. After giving It Follows such a disconcerting look, cinematographer Mike Gioulakis does so again here, especially while shooting in domestic spaces. Aided by a few choice song selections that range from NWA to the Beach Boys, Get Out composer Michael Abels conjures up another needling score designed to set viewers on edge. But it's the way that Us' agitated, anxious mood refuses to dissipate that marks the movie as something special. The narrative and its ideas are undeniably creepy and, even when some aspects initially seem a tad too obvious, the film resonates long after viewing. Us' tone, images and sounds reach further, however, truly and deeply creeping under the audience's skin. The simple sight of four shadowy figures looming over a house in the dark of night instantly demonstrates how effective Us is in a visual sense. Choreographed movements of the balletic, stilted and frantic kind do as well. They also highlight Us' other key element, because central to the malaise is Peele's cast. Their characters might battle themselves, but the actors never do the same, always making their dual roles feel like individual creations. If Daniel Kaluuya can earn an Academy Award nomination for Get Out, there's no reason that Nyong'o can't achieve the feat for her twin parts as both a fraught, complex victim and a calm, unrelenting aggressor. Her performance as Red, Adelaide's mirror image, is as delightfully disconcerting and affecting as the doppelgänger's gravelly, haunted voice. From Duke's transformation from goofy dad to non-verbal brute, to Joseph's expressiveness as both a too-cool teen and a psychopathic killer, to a particularly flighty then unhinged turn from Moss, Nyong'o is also in great company. Of course, that's one of the movie's mischievous tricks: as it delves into the divide between 'us' and 'them', it puts everyone in the same unsettling situation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bavqDA_3vIo
For the past 37 years, everyone that's wanted good neighbours to become good friends has wished they were living in one spot: Ramsay Street. Since 1985, the cul-de-sac in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough has been beamed into homes around Australia, and further abroad, unfurling the always melodramatic, often chaotic, sometimes downright wild antics of residents named Charlene, Harold and Madge and more. Some folks don't have to dream about living on the nation's most famous TV street, though. For a small portion of Aussies, feeling like you're on one of the country's big soap operas just comes with the address. Indeed, if you happen to reside on a Ramsay Street somewhere across the country, the shadow of Neighbours has been inescapable — and now that the long-running series has been cancelled after almost four decades, with its final episode set to air on Thursday, July 28, Ramsay Street inhabitants nationwide can celebrate with a free meal. To mark the last-ever instalment of Neighbours — which is set to see a hefty cast of well-known Aussie names return, including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Margot Robbie and more — Menulog is giving away free food to folks who really do live on a Ramsay Street somewhere in Australia. If you happen to be in love with someone called Scott, that's obviously a bonus. No, you don't need to have been through an amnesia spell or a shock return from the dead, or know someone who has. [caption id="attachment_844968" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Manon van Os[/caption] You don't need to have been held hostage, been through more than one tumultuous wedding, or managed a bikini store called Bounce — all things, among oh-so-many others, that happened to the one and only Jarrod 'Toadfish aka Toadie' Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney). And if you're wondering why we're bringing him up specifically, that's because he's the face of Menulog's Ramsay Street giveaway, fittingly. Here's how it works: if you have the right address — with or without the Toadie-style Hawaiian shirt — you can head to Menulog between Monday, July 25–Monday, August 1. That's where you'll find a $20 voucher code in the 'For You' section if you're eligible, which you need to redeem within those dates. Also, you have to spend more than $20 in your order. Hey #Neighbours fans 👋 We wanted to confirm when you'll be able to watch the finale in the UK & Australia. Both us here in Australia and our friends @NeighboursTV in the UK will be a spoiler free zone until everyone has had a chance to watch our incredible final episode. pic.twitter.com/fBQRmU10ST — Neighbours (@neighbours) July 4, 2022 Obviously, if you were wondering what to eat at 7.30pm on Thursday, when the final-ever Neighbours episode goes to air on 10 and 10 Peach, now you know. And if you need a dose of Neighbours nostalgia in the interim, you can also check out Toadie revisiting the famed roadway below: Menulog is giving away $20 vouchers between Monday, July 25–Monday, August 1 to folks who live on Ramsay Streets around Australia. If that's you, head to the Menulog app and the Menulog website.
Has anyone checked if the team over at Gelato Messina HQ is, in fact, sleeping? Not only has it been whipping up sell-out cookies pies — with new flavours almost every month — it's been dropping specials so frequently you'd think its mantra was a chorus by Snoop Dogg. We've had an Iced VoVo gelato, a super-fancy Viennetta and, now, a collab with long-time friends Hoy Pinoy. Messina has previously teamed up with with the Filipino barbecue and street food experts for Messina Eats events and they're both frequent stallholders at the always-popular Night Noodle Markets. Whether or not the markets will go ahead this spring — with many restrictions on gatherings still in place — is up in the air, but the two food experts are letting you recreate a small part of it at home this winter. They're releasing Messina X Hoy Pinoy dinner packs for $65, which come filled with a heap of sweet and savoury snacks. Inside, you'll find two sticky pork skewers, chicken adobo and sticky rice and popular Messina dessert Coco Phangan. The latter comes with coconut and pandan sticky rice, mango sherbet, salted coconut sauce and toasted coconut flakes, and looks like this: You will need to finish off each dish at home, but there's nothing more difficult than a little boiling, a little baking and a little creative plating. The packs are available to pre-order from 10am on Wednesday, August 12 to pick up from select Melbourne and Sydney stores between Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15. The packs are available from Newtown, Parramatta, Penrith, Rosebery, Tramsheds and Bondi in NSW — and from Richmond, Windsor, Fitzroy and East Brunswick (Deliveroo only) in Victoria. If you're in Melbourne, keep in mind you are only allowed to travel five kilometres from your home. Gelato Messina X Hoy Pinoy dinner packs will be available to pre-order from 10am on Wednesday, August 12, for pick up between Friday, August 14–Saturday, August 15 — keep an eye on the Messina website for further details.
Getting philosophical about existence can mean bobbing between two extremes. At one end, life means everything, so we need to make the absolute most of it. At the other, nothing at all matters. When genre-bending and mind-melting time-loop comedy-drama Russian Doll first hit Netflix in 2019, it served up a party full of mysteries — a repeating party overflowing with chaos and questions, to be precise — but it also delivered a few absolute truths, too. Fact one: it's possible to posit that life means everything and nothing at once, all by watching Natasha Lyonne relive the same day (and same 36th birthday party) over and over. Fact two: a show led by the Orange Is the New Black, Irresistible and The United States vs Billie Holiday star, and co-created by the actor with Parks and Recreation's Amy Poehler, plus Bachelorette and Sleeping with Other People filmmaker Leslye Headland, was always going be a must-see. Russian Doll's first season wasn't just one of the best TV shows of 2019, but one of the smartest, savviest and funniest, all while making the utmost of its Groundhog Day-meets-The Good Place setup. It tasked Lyonne's chain-smoking, acerbic and misanthropic New Yorker Nadia Vulvokov with cycling through the same date again and again, experiencing both gruesome and mundane deaths, and attempting to work out what this whole life business is all about. It was dark, heartfelt, amusing and innovative, as well as clever and compelling, especially in examining fate, logic, life's loops, wading through limbo, what counts in the time we have and if anyone can ever truly make a difference. (Also, it made the world appreciate how Lyonne pronounces "cockroach", something that never, ever gets old.) It took three years, but Russian Doll has finally returned for its seven-episode second season. The glorious news for sweet birthday babies who've gotta get up, gotta get out, gotta get home before the mornin' comes: it's smarter and weirder than its predecessor, and just as delightful. In the process, it achieves a tricky feat, because making more of a show that's already about duplicating the same events could've proven a lazy and easy rehash. Indeed, Russian Doll season two stresses another key fact: that taking a leap, twisting even further, and seeing life's ups and downs as a trip is always better than treading water. At the end of Russian Doll's first season, self-destructive video-game designer Nadia closed the live-die-repeat dilemma plaguing both her and mild-mannered fellow NYC-dweller Alan Zaveri (Charlie Barnett, You). The pair found a way to wind up "the one about the broken man and the lady with a death wish that got stuck in a loop," as Nadia describes, and the series came to such a glorious conclusion that no follow-up was really necessary. But in season two, death isn't the problem. Instead, time is. It was an issue before, given the duo couldn't move with it, only back through the same events — but now, via the New York subway's No 6 train, Nadia and Alan are speeding into the past to explore cause and effect, inherited struggles and intergenerational trauma. "Inexplicable things happening is my entire modus operandi," Nadia notes — with Lyonne as dynamite as ever in the wisecracking, angry-yet-tender, career-reshaping part — but it's also Alan's as well. They're now time prisoners, and their efforts to improve the present through the past leave sizeable ripples upon the pair themselves. There's no party as a catalyst, but there's still a birthday, with the narrative unfolding as Nadia's about to turn 40. Reaching that age has long been shorthand for reflection, crisis, taking stock of regrets and rethinking the future; however, it doesn't usually mean hopping to Berlin and Budapest from years gone by to learn not only how to stay alive, as the first season covered, but how to truly revel in every heartbeat regardless of whether it counts for something, nothing or everything. It's impossible to imagine how Russian Doll would work without Lyonne at its centre. Its mood, humour and look are so tied to the actor, who spits out sharp lines as naturally as breathing, wears the hell out of Nadia's overcoat and cascading crimson curls, and ensures that the flimsy chasm between being carefree and reckless is layered and relatable. Season two sees Lyonne also take over showrunning duties from Headland — and writing and directing three of its episodes, including its first and last instalments — so the fact that it dances so firmly as one with its leading lady is unsurprising as well as thrilling. Barnett's Alan doesn't get as much screentime as viewers would like as a result, but he's just as adept at making a splash in the time he has as he was in season one. (Add that to the show's list of truths across its entire run, clearly.) Sprawling and surreal, inventive and heartfelt, and somehow both skeptical and sentimental, Russian Doll is many things in season two, as it was in its debut airing. Now, it's also home to more of the always-welcome Chloë Sevigny (The Girl From Plainview) as Nadia's late mother Nora, the similarly returning Greta Lee (Sisters) as party-throwing pal Maxine, plus Schitt's Creek and Kevin Can F**k Himself star Annie Murphy and District 9's Sharlto Copley as series newcomers. Naturally, the twists that lead the latter two into the story are best discovered by watching, but they arise within a show that jumps backwards and keeps questioning that move simultaneously. That comes through stylistically — see: the visual cues taken from 70s cinema — and in snappy dialogue, profound themes and wily plot developments that muse on constant change versus hard-earned acceptance. Yes, Russian Doll is definitely back, entertainingly so, and serving up another wonderful on-screen matryoshka doll of life-pondering insights and time-twisting trickery for audiences to entrancingly unstack. And, it inspires its own IRL loop for beguiled viewers, too — because once you're done watching it, you'll want to cycle back and start all over again. Check out the full trailer for Russian Doll's second season below: The second season of Russian Doll is available to stream via Netflix. Read our review of the first season. Images: Netflix.
Big relaunches. Amusing takes on huge pop-culture hits. An interactive — and cocktail-fuelled — theatre experience that spreads across multiple rooms. A nod to Kate Bush, too, because it wouldn't be a fringe festival without it. Across Monday, September 1–Tuesday, September 30, all of the above are on the agenda at Sydney Fringe Festival. So is a free street party to get things started, and more than 460 events filling spaces around the Harbour City. When Darlinghurst's Eternity Playhouse hosts shows again for the first time in more than a year, it'll do so as part of the fest's 2025 Off Broadway Hub. That's where you'll find the well-timed Stranger Sings! The Musical Parody spoofing the Netflix hit through song, and getting Sydney laughing along with its 80s nods just a few months before the series starts unveiling its final season. Fittingly, Eternity Playhouse will also welcome Kate Bush Unmoored, which hails from the folks behind Radiohead Uncovered. In total, 2900 artists are involved in the 2025 lineup, which is taking over four precincts and ten festival hubs — the return of the Yagali First Nations Hub at the PACT Centre for Emerging Artists and the Queer Hub at Qtopia Sydney among them, plus the Dance Hub settling into Sydney Dance Company's Neilson Studio again and the Cabaret Hub moving to Marrickville Town Hall. Expect everything from Adam Nobilia reading from Australia's Least Wanted, his memoir about spending ten years working as a Special Education Teacher at Long Bay Jail, then, through to LA-based drag queens Lorelei and Annie Biotixx with their variety show Queen Out (Verb), a mix of drinks and live performance with Dorothy in Oz, and local and international talents unleashing new dance pieces. A fringe festival classic, the circus, will find a home at Fool's Paradise, a two-tent pop-up at the Entertainment Quarter. This destination has a program of its own, with acrobatic standouts like Elixir Revived from Head First Acrobats, burlesque entries like Something Wicked, R18+ comedy and even an adults-only bubble show. If you've been to a multisensory Broad Encounters experience before — so A Midnight Visit, Love Lust Lost or Maho Magic Bar, for example — you'll be excited about When Night Comes. This time, the Union Bond Store at 6–8 Atherden Street is your destination, and you'll be sipping tipples and watching theatre all at once. That aforementioned free shindig in the streets has a date with The Rocks at the beginning of the fest, complete with live tunes, while Bondi Pavilion is the place to champion contributions from artists living with disability, neurodivergent talents and creatives who are deaf. Plus, select shows from international fringe festivals, such as Shit Theatre: Or What's Left of Us and Twenty Million Thousand Leagues Under the Sea will get the star treatment at Touring Hub. Doomscrolling deep dive I Watched Someone Die on TikTok, spoken-word performance Takatāpui, Wright & Grainger's Orpheus and Helios, circus at The Entertainment Quarter, open access literature festival Parramatta's Lit!, gothic revenge drama Way Back When: they're on the program, too. Images: Sean Breadsell, Jeff Busby, Dream Syndicate, Jason Matz and Daniel Boud. For more information on Sydney Fringe Festival or to get tickets, visit the website.
No one likes leaving their pet at home when they go on holiday. No one loves moving interstate with them flying in the cargo hold, either. A solution might be on the way, however, with Virgin Australia announcing its intention to allow small dogs and cats in the cabins of its aircraft — as long as it gets the regulatory tick of approval to do so. At present, all pets except authorised service and assistance dogs can't join humans while they're soaring through the skies. Instead, they fly underneath amid the luggage. But everyone who shares their life with a pooch or mouser knows that they want to do everything that people can do. In fact, they think they're people. Here's one way they'll be able to, ideally within 12 months. If it is signed off by the aviation powers that be, this will be the first time that an airline in Australia has allowed pets in its cabins. There will be rules, of course, including the fact that only small dogs and cats will be permitted, that the option will only be available on selected domestic routes and that pets will have to stay in a Virgin Australia-approved pet carrier under the seat in front of you for the whole flight. There'll also be designated rows for folks travelling with pets — which mightn't suit your cat if it isn't fond of dogs, or vice versa. And, if you're dreaming of your pupper or feline sitting on your lap or walking around the cabin, that obviously won't be allowed either. On the ground before you hop on the plane, then once you disembark, your pet will need to stay in its carrier as well, other than at the relief areas that will be part of Virgin's terminals. There's no word yet which routes will soon allow four-legged friends for company, or how much bringing them onboard might cost — but there will be a fee. The current arrangement with service and assistance animals will continue, so they'll still be permitted to travel in the cabin without an extra cost. Virgin Australia also will still transport pets in the cargo hold. "We expect the pets in cabin concept will prove a popular offering and we look forward to working with Virgin Australia to make it a reality," said Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus. Tell your pet to pack their suitcase — and start asking them about their dream interstate holiday. Virgin Australia hopes to allow small dogs and cats in its cabins on select domestic flights within the next 12 months. We'll update you when more details are announced. For more information about Virgin Australia's current pet policies in the interim, head to the airline's website. Images: Alex Coppel.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. X When the Scream franchise posed the question it'll forever be known for, it skipped over a key word. Ghostface is clearly asking "do you like watching scary movies?", given the entire point of frightening flicks is seeing their thrills and chills, and being creeped out, entertained or both. We all know that's what the mask-wearing killer means, of course, but the act of viewing is such a crucial part of the horror-film equation that it's always worth overtly mentioning. Enter new slasher standout X, which splashes its buckets of viscera and gore across the screen with as much nodding and winking as the Scream pictures — without ever uttering that iconic phrase, though, and thankfully in a far less smug fashion than 2022's fifth instalment in that series — and firmly thrusts cinema's voyeuristic tendencies to the fore. That name, X, doesn't simply mark a spot; it isn't by accident that the film takes its moniker from the classification given to the most violent and pornographic movies made. This is a horror flick set amid a porn shoot, after all, and it heartily embraces the fact that people like to watch from the get-go. Swaggering producer Wayne (Martin Henderson, The Gloaming), aspiring starlet Maxine Minx (Mia Goth, Emma), old-pro fellow actors Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow, Pitch Perfect 3) and Jackson Hole (Scott Mescudi, Don't Look Up), and arty director RJ (Owen Campbell, The Miseducation of Cameron Post) and his girlfriend/sound recorder Lorraine (Jenna Ortega, doing triple horror duty in 2022 so far in Scream, Studio 666 and now this) are counting on that truth to catapult themselves to fame. Hailing from Houston and aroused at the idea of repeating Debbie Does Dallas' success, they're heading out on the road to quieter climes to make the skin flick they're staking their futures on, and they desperately hope there's an audience. X is set in the 70s, as both the home-entertainment pornography market and big-screen slashers were beginning to blossom. As a result, it's similarly well aware that sex and death are cinema's traditional taboos, and that they'll always be linked. That's art imitating life, because sex begets life and life begets death, but rare is the recent horror movie that stresses the connection so explicitly yet playfully. Making those links is Ti West, the writer/director responsible for several indie horror gems over the past decade or so — see: cult favourites The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers — and thrusting a smart, savage and salacious delight towards his viewers here. Yes, he could've gone with The Texas Porn-Shoot Massacre for the feature's title, but he isn't remaking the obvious seminal piece of genre inspiration. In this blood-splattered throwback, which looks like it could've been unearthed from its chosen decade in every frame (and was actually filmed in New Zealand rather than Texas), West pays homage to a time when flicks like this did pop up with frequency — while slyly commenting on what's changed to shift that scenario. He also explores the process of filmmaking, of putting both sex and death on-screen, and the conversation around both, all while his characters decamp to a quiet guesthouse on a remote property where they start making the film-within-the-film that is The Farmer's Daughter. Upon arrival, gun-toting, televangelist-watching, pitchfork-wielding owner Howard (Stephen Ure, Mortal Engines) is instantly unfriendly. Wayne hasn't told him why they're really there, but he's soon snooping around to see for himself. Also keen on watching the bumping 'n' grinding is Howard's ailing wife Pearl, who he warns his guests to stay away from, but is drawn to the flesh on show. Read our full review. RIVER Some actors possess voices that could narrate almost anything, and Willem Dafoe is one of them. Move over Morgan Freeman: when Dafoe speaks, his dulcet vocals echoing atop gorgeous imagery of the world's waterways as happens in River, being entranced by the sound is the only natural response. He's tasked with uttering quite the elegiac prose in this striking documentary, and he gives all that musing about tributaries and creeks — the planet's arteries, he calls them at one point — a particularly resonant and enthralling tone. Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom (Sherpa) knew he would, of course. She enlisted his talents on her last documentary, Mountain, as well. Both films pick one of the earth's crucial natural features, lens them in all their glory at multiple spots around the globe, and wax lyrical about their importance. Both make for quite the beguiling viewing experience. Thanks to writer Robert Macfarlane, Dafoe has been given much to opine in River — and what he's asked to say is obviously even more crucial than the fact that it's the Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Card Counter, The French Dispatch and Nightmare Alley star expressing it. The subject is right there in the title, but the film's aims are as big and broad as an ocean, covering the history of these snaking streams from the planet's creation up until today. "Humans have long loved rivers," Dafoe announces, which seems like a self-evident statement; however, not one to trade in generalisations without evidence, River then unpacks exactly what that means. It also uses that idea as a foundation, but paired with another, which Dafoe also gives voice to — this time as a question: "as we have learned to harness their power, have we also forgotten to revere them?". The answer is blatant, lapping away at the souls of everyone who lives in a river city and passes their central watercourse daily without giving it a second thought. Indeed, that plain-as-day response ripples with even more force to anyone who has been struck by the waterways' power when natural disasters strike, a fact that hits close to home after Australia's disastrously flooded summer across Queensland and New South Wales — timing that the movie isn't overtly trying to capitalise upon, given it first started doing the rounds of film festivals in 2021, and has had its March 2022 date with Aussie cinemas booked in for months. A documentary doesn't have to tell viewers something wholly new to evoke wonder, though. Conveying well-known truths in unforgettable and affecting ways has always been one of cinema's key skills, whether working in fact or fiction. River's sentiments won't come as a surprise, but it still feels like a fresh splash of water upon a parched face. Dafoe's narration and the film in general hone in on the importance of rivers to human civilisation since its very beginnings, starting with the unshakeable reality that rivers have made much in our evolution possible. Also just as pivotal: the devastation we've wrought in response since we learned to harness all that water for our own purposes, irrigate the land far and wide, and take an abundance of H2O for granted, which River doesn't ebb away from. The prose is flowery, but never overdone; its eager quest for potent poetry, or to be mentioned in the same breath as Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, always feels attuned to the awe it holds for its eponymous streams. It's also on par with Dafoe, Peedom and Macfarlane's work back in 2017 on Mountain, which was similarly hypnotic — and became the highest-grossing non-IMAX Australian documentary ever made, a claim to fame it still holds today. Read our full review. NOWHERE SPECIAL If the way that cinema depicts cancer was plotted out on a scale, Babyteeth and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl could easily demonstrate its extremes. One sees its protagonist as a person first and a patient last; the other uses terminal illness as a catalyst for other people's sorrows and struggles (the "dying girl" part of its moniker, right there at the end, is oh-so-telling about how it regards someone with cancer as little but an afterthought). Nowhere Special thankfully sits at the Babyteeth end of the spectrum. That said, its premise screams weepie, and being moved by its story happens easily. But there's an enormous difference between earning that response through an intimate and delicate story about a person's plight — and, here, their quest to provide for the person dearest to them after they're gone — and merely treating their life-and-death tussle as easy grist for the tear-jerking mill. Nowhere Special follows a 35-year-old single father in Belfast, John (James Norton, Little Women), who needs to find an adoptive family for his four-year-old boy (first-timer Daniel Lamont). His cancer has progressed, and now the doting dad and window cleaner's days are numbered, so he's determined to save his son Michael from more sorrow than his absence will naturally bring — in a situation that's pure emotion-courting fodder, but never manipulatively treated as such. Indeed, writer/director Uberto Pasolini opts for understatement and realism, including over overtly endeavouring to incite the kind of non-stop waterworks that most movies with this premise would eagerly turn on. The filmmaker's last feature, 2013's Still Life, was also just as beautifully measured and tender without mawkishness. Although the gap between his two latest pictures is sizeable time-wise, Pasolini hasn't lost his touch for making sensitive and affecting cinema. Suffering an illness that's turned fatal, and possessing little energy to get through everything that comes with being a single father, John's own fate isn't his primary concern. Nowhere Special takes time to dwell in the routine that marks its protagonist's remaining days — washing panes of glass, making the most of the time he has left with Michael, trying to secure his son new parents, feeling exhausted by all of it but still soldiering on while he can — which seems both mundane and extraordinary in tandem. The always-unspoken fact that life goes on even when it doesn't lingers throughout the film, as stark as a freshly cleaned, newly gleaming window, and contributes to the prevailing bittersweet mood. That's Nowhere Special's baseline. As it charts John's efforts to get Michael the best future he possibly can without himself in it, it soaks in the ups and downs of the pair's life together, recognising that it's both ordinary and remarkable — because all lives are. The search at hand is a difficult one, even when pursued with the best of intentions — by John and with the help of social worker Shona (Eileen O'Higgins, Misbehaviour). Unsurprisingly, finding the right people, or person, to entrust your child to forever is a heartbreaking job, and the weight of what John grapples with never fades from the film's emotional landscape. Features that treat ailing characters so considerately may be uncommon, and they are; however, pictures that willingly face the complicated questions, worries and fears that come with knowing your existence is about to end are rarer still. It might come as little surprise that Pasolini found his tale in reality, reportedly after reading a newspaper article about a man in the same circumstances as John, but how gracefully, attentively and still unflinchingly Nowhere Special fleshes out its story never fails to astonish. Read our full review. RRR The letters in RRR's title are short for Rise Roar Revolt. They could also stand for riveting, rollicking and relentless. They link in with the Indian action movie's three main forces, too — writer/director SS Rajamouli (Baahubali: The Beginning), plus stars NT Rama Rao Jr (Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava) and Ram Charan (Vinaya Vidheya Rama) — and could describe the sound of some of its standout moments. What noise echoes when a motorcycle is used in a bridge-jumping rescue plot, as aided by a horse and the Indian flag, amid a crashing train? Or when a truck full of wild animals is driven into a decadent British colonialist shindig and its caged menagerie unleashed? What racket resounds when a motorbike figures again, this time tossed around by hand (yes, really) to knock out those imperialists, and then an arrow is kicked through a tree into someone's head? Or, when the movie's two leads fight, shoot, leap over walls and get acrobatic, all while one is sat on the other's shoulders? RRR isn't subtle. Instead, it's big, bright, boisterous, boldly energetic, and brazenly unapologetic about how OTT and hyperactive it is. The 187-minute Tollywood action epic — complete with huge musical numbers, of course — is also a vastly captivating pleasure to watch. Narrative-wise, it follows the impact of the British Raj (aka England's rule over the subcontinent between 1858–1947), especially upon two men. In the 1920s, Bheem (Jr NTR, as Rao is known) is determined to rescue young fellow villager Malli (first-timer Twinkle Sharma), after she's forcibly taken by Governor Scott Buxton (Ray Stevenson, Vikings) and his wife Catherine (Alison Doody, Beaver Falls) for no reason but they're powerful and they can. Officer Raju (Charan) is tasked by the crown with making sure Bheem doesn't succeed in rescuing the girl, and also keeping India's population in their place because their oppressors couldn't be more prejudiced. There's more to both men's stories because there's so much more to RRR's story; to fill the movie's lengthy running time, Rajamouli hasn't skimped on plot. Indeed, there's such a wealth of things going on that the film is at once a kidnapping melodrama, a staunch missive against colonialism, a political drama, a rom-com and a culture-clash comedy — involving Bheem's affection for the sole kindly Brit, Jenny (Olivia Morris, Hotel Portofino) — and a war movie. It's a buddy comedy as well, starting when Bheem and Raja join forces for that aforementioned bridge rescue, yet don't realise they're on opposite sides in the battle over Malli. It's also as spectacular an action flick as has graced cinema screens, and as gleefully overblown. Plus, it's an infectiously mesmerising musical. One dazzling dance-off centrepiece doubles as a rebuff against British rule, racism and classism, in fact, and it's also nothing short of phenomenal to look at, too. Spectacle is emphatically the word for RRR — not quite from its scene-setting opening, where Malli is ripped from her family, but from the second that Raju shows how well he can handle himself. That involves taking on a hefty horde of protesters single-handedly with just a stick as a weapon, because extravagance and excess is baked into every second of the feature. Super-sized is another term that clearly fits, because little holds back even for a second. And a third word, if the film bumped up its moniker to the next letter in the alphabet? That'd be sincere. An enormous reason that everything that's larger than life about RRR — which is absolutely everything — works, even when it's also often silly and cheesy, is because it's so earnest about how determined it is to entertain. You don't use that amount of slow-motion shots if you don't know you're being corny at times, unashamedly so. Read our full review. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on November 4, November 11, November 18 and November 25; December 2, December 9, December 16 and December 26; January 1, January 6, January 13, January 20 and January 27; February 3, February 10, February 17 and February 24; and March 3, March 10 and March 17. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Eternals, The Many Saints of Newark, Julia, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Zola, Last Night in Soho, Blue Bayou, The Rescue, Titane, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Dune, Encanto, The Card Counter, The Lost Leonardo, The French Dispatch, Don't Look Up, Dear Evan Hansen, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Lost Daughter, The Scary of Sixty-First, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza, The Matrix Resurrections, The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Worst Person in the World, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci, The King's Man, Red Rocket, Scream, The 355, Gold, King Richard, Limbo, Spencer, Nightmare Alley, Belle, Parallel Mothers, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Belfast, Here Out West, Jackass Forever, Benedetta, Drive My Car, Death on the Nile, C'mon C'mon, Flee, Uncharted, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Cyrano, Hive, Studio 666, The Batman, Blind Ambition, Bergman Island, Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, The Souvenir: Part II, Dog and Anonymous Club.
To many people, the words ‘art exhibit’ recall hushed voices, polite chatter, and snooty, bespectacled gallery staff. Not so Startled Art’s first pop-up exhibit in Manly, where punters can expect a quirky kaleidoscope of artworks created by emerging Aussie artists amid a setting of Astroturf, pink flamingos, lollipops, and Post-It notes. Founded by Freshwater local Lena Peacock, Startled Art was born when this frustrated curator couldn’t find her dream job and decided to launch a curated site for buying and selling affordable art (a cool thousand is the ceiling for the most expensive pieces) solely from emerging Australian artists. Eschewing a traditional gallery space, the exhibit will be hosted in The Space, Manly, where A3-sized mixed-media, paintings, and interactive artworks will rub shoulders with Mojitos and Bloody Marys. Expect a kooky Mad Hatter-themed opening night — complete with live music — where loud, rambunctious chatter and surprises will be the norm.
The final piece of the puzzle for the food and drinks offering at 25 Martin Place — formerly known as the MLC Building — is Kazan Dining. Kazan invites diners to experience the art and theatre of Japanese cuisine. It's an appropriate theme, with the restaurant sitting within the unique circular space above the Theatre Royal, making it a perfect spot for a pre- or post-show meal. The slick, big-boned space is inspired by the staging for Japanese Noh, a classical performance style that combines dance and drama. On this type of stage, there is no curtain separating performer and audience, and this element is reflected in Kazan's open-plan space that features minimal barriers between chefs and diners. Design-wise, both the main dining room and the 10-seat private space feature seamless intermingling of the old and new, with the building's beautifully preserved heritage elements given new life thanks to a number of thoroughly contemporary touches. The contemporary feel also extends to Kazan's menu, which features a tight selection of sashimi as well as sushi (in both nigiri and maki roll form), robatayaki and share plates. There's also a considered dessert selection featuring a yuzu pavlova and the Kazan fondant served with coffee ice cream and miso caramel. There are subtly incorporated nods to Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian) cuisine in signature dishes like confit duck breast with mustard soy, light orange essence and sansho pepper, Saikyoyaki Glacier 51 Patagonian toothfish with corn purée and umeshu kumato tomato, and robata-grilled lamb cutlets with aji amarillo and cucumber yoghurt. All this culinary performance is overseen by head chef Shinya Nakano, an alum of grand Melbourne fine diners Kisume and Nobu. Kazan is open five days a week for lunch and dinner, with three-course set lunch ($55), four-course dinner banquet ($95) and two-course pre-theatre ($60) menus also available. Appears in: The Best Japanese Restaurants in Sydney
