In 1999–2001 TV series Spaced, one of Nick Frost's first-ever roles — also, before Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End, his initial screen collaboration with Simon Pegg (Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning) and Edgar Wright (Last Night in Soho) — he played a character who was obsessed with weapons and the military. A quarter of a century later, he's portraying someone that's training dragon fighters and forging armaments as a blacksmith. "I'm just trying to see now if there's a connection between Mike and Gobber," Frost jokes with Concrete Playground. "I mean, I think Mike would be a great Gobber. Maybe Berk is actually where Mike ended up. Maybe there was some awful apocalypse in Spaced that we never saw and he eventually became Gobber." If you'd like to embrace that theory about one of Spaced's key figures, you can. You heard it from Frost, after all. Regardless, the English talent is now one of the stars of How to Train Your Dragon in its latest iteration as a live-action film. British author Cressida Cowell started the all-ages-friendly Viking tale on the page in 2003, sparking a book saga that's spanned 12 novels. In 2010, filmmakers Chris Sanders (The Wild Robot) and Dean DeBlois (the OG Lilo & Stitch) brought her tales to cinemas in animation. The latter also wrote and directed 2014's How to Train Your Dragon 2 and 2019's How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, and now does the same on the newest big-screen visit to Berk. How to Train Your Dragon fans know the story, then, but they haven't seen it unfurled with actors literally stepping into the shoes of its isle setting's inhabitants. Before Mason Thames (Monster Summer) returns to the world of The Black Phone in that horror hit's sequel later in 2025, he's Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the reluctant fledgling dragon fighter who befriends one of the most-feared types of the winged creatures — not that you'd know it from Toothless' appearance and demeanour — and champions living in harmony with rather than waging war against them. Gerard Butler (Den of Thieves: Pantera) voiced Hiccup's chieftain father Stoick the Vast in the animated movies, and now reprises the part in How to Train Your Dragon's present leap. As first given voice by Craig Ferguson (The Hustler) in the previous pictures, Frost's Gobber is Stoick's friend and Hiccup's mentor, plus a source of support for a young man who is struggling with living up to his dad's expectations. The dragons themselves still required visual effects to animate into existence, with life-sized puppets used during shooting for the actors to work against. Everywhere that it can, however, How to Train Your Dragon circa 2025 is immersed in a tangible Viking-inspired realm. For Frost, as Gobber is charged with imparting dragon-battling skills not just to Hiccup but to other young warriors — the determined Astrid (Nico Parker, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy), plus a group of Berk's fellow next generation spanning Snotlout (Gabriel Howell, Nightsleeper), Fishlegs (Julian Dennison, Y2K), and twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut (Mickey 17's Bronwyn James and The Acolyte's Harry Trevaldwyn) — that meant ample days in the film's training-arena set. This part also saw him continue to build upon father figure-type roles that've been joining his resume of late. "It's because I'm getting old," he jests. A jovial "get stuffed!" is Frost's first comment when the passage of time since Spaced and Shaun of the Dead comes up. He's spent that quarter-century-plus since the former kicked off and more than 20 years since the later arrived cementing himself as a beloved actor with a diverse resume. On his filmography, The Boat That Rocked sits side by side with US-set alien comedy Paul — which Frost and Pegg wrote — and also with Attack the Block, voice work alongside Pegg again on The Adventures of Tintin, two Snow White and the Huntsman films, leading rom-com Cuban Fury, TV's Mr Sloane, wrestling flick Fighting with My Family, the Pegg co-starring Truth Seekers and loaning his tones to Skeleton Crew's SM 33. There's more, of course, such as Ice Age, The Boxtrolls and Trollhunters; 2024 horror efforts Krazy House, Get Away and Black Cab; and, in his latest significant news, playing Hagrid in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter series. Frost is responsible for decades of folks asking if their friends want a beer in quite the colourful way, repeating perhaps his best-known Shaun of the Dead line. With that film's Peter Serafinowicz (Wolf King) by his side as How to Train Your Dragon's Spitelout, he's currently in completely different terrain. What appealed to Frost about joining the franchise, and also juggling the family-friendly and definitely not child-appropriate sides of his resume, was equally a topic of conversation in our chat — alongside a range of other subjects, such as adding his own stamp on Gobber, his personal connection to using humour as a shield, that massive training arena, the importance of DeBlois returning as director and Frost never wanting to be an actor. On Taking on the Role of How to Train Your Dragon's Dragon-Fighter Trainer "First of all, it's a massive film. It's part of a really well-loved — I hate the phrase 'franchise', but that's what it is. And apart from maybe Snow White and the Huntsman and stuff like that, I hadn't really done anything perhaps this massive before. And I think being a filmmaker and a writer and an actor, it's like 'let's do this, let's try this — this is different, let's have a go'. I think part of me was aware that obviously Craig Ferguson was Gobber in the past. And people love what Craig did. And I was aware that I didn't want to ruin what he did — I was aware that there was a responsibility on me to make Gobber what people felt watching Craig's Gobber. And I think having a conversation with Dean before I got the job, he was like 'what do you want to do?' — I think once you realise that you have a certain amount of creative freedom, that's really attractive, I think, for me. And to collaborate, that's always a joy. And to know that you have a voice on set and you can say 'hey, is this all right? Can we try this?' or 'do you think this is funny', it's always a lovely compliment to be allowed to do that." On Bringing a New Guise to a Part That's Already Well-Established in the Animated Films "Honestly, I didn't, after the initial few days of getting the job and speaking to Dean, I just left it at the door and then came in completely without that. I didn't want to feel like that was on me for the whole thing, and that I couldn't try anything new or be different because it wasn't what had gone before. I just wanted to try and, as I say, respect what that was, but then let's move on and try to give a different kind of Gobber for a new generation of audiences — but also, I guess, leaving something of what Craig did so people who love the animated ones will enjoy it, too. I think, personally, if I'm going into this with the expectations of what people will think, I think you'd probably just be crushed. You just have to unburden yourself from all of that and just do what you think is right, do what Dean wants, and be respectful of that process and the process of the other actors in the film with you." On What Interests Frost About the Variety of Projects Across His Career, Including Both Family-Friendly Fare and Horror Films Aplenty of Late "I just don't see them as any different, really. It's still all work. I think I'm probably very lucky and grateful that I haven't been pigeonholed in 'oh, well he just does that'. I think that is possible and that does happen. And I'm very pleased that the people who cast things like Harry Potter and this don't think 'oh god, he was cutting someone's head off in a film that he wrote like two years ago. Is that going to be a problem?'. I love the fact that I can do both. I can get away with it all." On Portraying Someone Who Uses Humour as a Shield to Deal with an Uncertain World "I think that's me. That was me for a long time. I think where Gobber and I differ, he just uses it — I think if you live in a society like Berk and where the Vikings are from, I think probably the sense of humour is very dark, because essentially you could be taken and killed in at any moment, day or night. So I think using comedy and laughter as a shield is par for that kind of society. I think where it becomes not so useful is when you hide behind it and not work out what's behind that." [caption id="attachment_1009286" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tyler Curtis/ABImages[/caption] On Stepping Into Paternal-Type and Mentorship-Style Roles "I just think I'm a dad, I've got three children, so I just get it more. I guess when before I had children and if you're going to be a kind of father figure, you're just — as a lot of actors do — you're just imagining what it would be like. And you're drawing on your own father or your grandfather or stepfather. But once you have your own, I think as I act, I always try to get better. Every job I do, every role I play, I just want to be better and better and better. And I think an actor's ageing gives you that opportunity. Every time you do something else, you're slightly older. You've seen a tiny bit more. And what I think, what I'd say about this film, is I know people are saying potentially 'oh, he's quite paternal' — but I actually think Gobber's more maternal in this film. I think he's stepped in to be Hiccup's mum." On the Impact That Immersive Sets Have, Especially How to Train Your Dragon's Training Arena "That was the first thing we shot, and it was really nerve-wracking, because it's massive. It's honestly the size of a small soccer stadium. And there are 200 crew, and there are 500 extras and they're all dressed as dragons. And they all know you, they're looking at you, and you have to give them a little wave. And it's frightening. I think what 25 years in this has given me is you have to shrug that off, and it just becomes about my relationship with the camera and Dean and whoever I'm acting with, and Bill Pope [Unfrosted] the DoP. 'What can I give to you? How can I help you? Should we have a run through our lines?' And I think what helps is making something that massive that small, it helps me cope with it more emotionally, more effectively — because if I were to look around and think 'all these fucking people', it becomes unmanageable emotionally for me." On How Dean DeBlois Continuing as How to Train Your Dragon's Director From the Animated Films Assisted the Cast "Dean, he absolutely loves it. He loves How to Train Your Dragon. He loves Hiccup. He loves Stoick and Gobber and the gang. And he's just passionate about it, and I find being around someone who's so passionate about something, it's really attractive. It makes me love it, too. And I wanted Dean to like me. I wanted him to like Gobber. And I wanted him to, when you're working with someone like Dean, when he just comes up behind you and gives you a little pat, it's like 'oh dad, dad likes it', you know — 'he loves it'. It's nice to be around that kind of passion. It's conducive. It makes me want to be around it, too." On Frost's Journey Over the 25 Years Since Spaced and Two Decades Since Shaun of the Dead "It's not lost on me. It's amazing. I never wanted to be an actor. I never wanted to act. I never knew what I wanted to do. Even, I was like 30 when we did Shaun of the Dead, and that was the first film I ever did. So I just — and this is going to sound like, I don't want to say actor-y bullshit, but I'm just terribly grateful, I'm amazed, and I just love it. I'm so lucky that I found something that I — there's not one day I've ever been on a set in 25 years where I haven't loved it in some way, shape or form. And to get a chance to do that, and then to start getting bigger and bigger things, it feels like a dream to me, really. Like when I got How to Train Your Dragon and you realise the kind of people who have to say 'yes' before you get the role — that was terribly flattering for me that someone, somewhere, had to say 'yeah, he's the guy. We'll have him'. It's not lost on me how lucky I am every single day. I'm sitting here, someone brings me a coffee‚ it's like 'this is amazing'. It's amazing to me. And I love it. I love making films." How to Train Your Dragon opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
Someone else's dream job might just inspire your next dream vacation, after Tourism Australia's Beach Ambassador (how do we apply?) just announced a handy list of the top 20 Australian beaches for 2022. The enviable gig sees beach expert Brad Farmer AM survey the nation's sandy spots and draw upon his almost 40 years of writing about beaches — and this year, he's picked Misery Beach in Albany in Western Australia as his best. There's obviously a lot to consider when anointing one of the country's 11,761 beaches as the cream of the crop — and naming the next-best 19, too. If you were to do it, or even just to try to pick somewhere to hit up over summer, you might wonder which ones aren't too busy or seaweed-y, which have the whitest sand and bluest water, and where's best for beach cricket. But Farmer's 2022 list heroes "nature-based locations, many quirky spots within easy reach of cities, and also celebrates the significant cultural value of the coast to Australia's First Nations people," according to Tourism Australia's announcement. Home of the Menang Noongar First Nations peoples, Misery Beach sits 15 minutes south of Albany and five hours southeast of Perth, and is small — sitting in a bay spanning 200 metres. Farmer describes the picturesque place as coming "straight from the pages of a beachscape artist's sketchbook", and that it provides "a dramatic feast for the senses with the look and feel of a perfectly framed filmset". That includes "crystal clear, turquoise water, virgin white sand, bounded by spectacular granite outcrops," and "only a handful of beachcombers, swimmers or kayakers availing themselves of its sublime surrounds", plus "seals, dolphins and returning migratory whales, seeking its calm shelter". It wasn't always this scenic, however, as the location's moniker makes plain. Farmer explains that Australia's last active whaling station sat nearby until it closed in 1978, "and for decades, this shoreline was often awash with whale offal, staining the beach blood red". Now, thankfully, he says that Misery Beach "belies its grim name". [caption id="attachment_712446" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Loch Ard Gorge, Visit Victoria[/caption] Misery Beach claimed top position after Cabarita Beach in New South Wales did the honours in 2020, Nudey Beach on Fitzroy island in Far North Queensland did the same in 2018, and Cossies Beach in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, in the Indian Ocean, earned the title in 2017. Among the 2022 list's highest-ranked spots, Misery Beach is joined by Horseshoe Bay in South West Rocks in New South Wales' mid-north, which took second place; The Spit at the Gold Coast's northern end in third; four-place getter Flaherty's Beach, on South Australia's Yorke Peninsula; and Loch Ard Gorge, in Port Campbell in Victoria, in fifth. The full list of 20 beaches covers every Australian state and territory, including Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean Territories. Other notable inclusions span Lake Wabby on K'Gari (formerly named Fraser Island), Mots Beach at the mouth of the Snowy River, Murrays Beach in Jervis Bay Territory and Jellybean Pool in the Blue Mountains. So pack your togs, round up some mates and start ticking these off. We see many road trips in your future — not that anyone ever needs an excuse to head to the beach. [caption id="attachment_710496" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jellybean Pool, Lauren Vadnjal[/caption] THE TOP 20 BEST AUSTRALIAN BEACHES FOR 2022 1. Misery Beach, Albany (Western Australia) 2. Horseshoe Bay, South West Rocks (New South Wales) 3. The Spit, Gold Coast (Queensland) 4. Flaherty's Beach, Yorke Peninsula (South Australia) 5. Loch Ard Gorge, Port Campbell (Victoria) 6. The Neck, Bruny Island (Tasmania) 7. Blue Pearl Bay, Whitsundays (Queensland) 8. Depot Beach, South Coast (New South Wales) 9. Murrays Beach, Jervis Bay Territory (Australian Capital Territory/New South Wales) 10. Dundee Beach, Darwin (Northern Territory) 11. Dudley Beach, Newcastle (New South Wales) 12. Thompsons Beach, Cobram (Victoria) 13. Coogee Beach, Perth (Western Australia) 14. Mots Beach, Marlo (Victoria) 15. Alexandria Bay, Noosa (Queensland) 16. Emu Bay, Kangaroo Island (South Australia) 17. Lake Wabby, K'Gari (Fraser Island) (Queensland) 18. Congwong Beach, Sydney (New South Wales) 19. Jellybean Pool, Blue Mountains (New South Wales) 20. Ethel Beach, Christmas Island (Indian Ocean Territories) Top image: @merrwatson.
Your worst technological nightmares are returning to your streaming queue. No, we don't just mean forgetting your password, having trouble logging in, getting an error message that your account doesn't exist after you just used it yesterday or being stuck watching buffering instead of the program you're trying to see. First, Black Mirror's Twitter account broke a four-year silence. Next, Charlie Brooker's dystopian sci-fi hit has dropped a sneak peek at its next batch of technological nightmares — aka the first trailer for the show's long-awaited sixth season. This season is being teased as "the most unpredictable, unclassifiable and unexpected season yet", which is saying something given everything that Black Mirror has thrown at the screen in past seasons (and in choose-your-own-adventure-style movie Black Mirror: Bandersnatch). "I've always felt that Black Mirror should feature stories that are entirely distinct from one another, and keep surprising people — and myself — or else what's the point? It should be a series that can't be easily defined, and can keep reinventing itself," Brooker told Netflix about season six. "Partly as a challenge, and partly to keep things fresh for both me and the viewer, I began this season by deliberately upending some of my own core assumptions about what to expect. Consequently, this time, alongside some of the more familiar Black Mirror tropes we've also got a few new elements, including some I've previously sworn blind the show would never do, to stretch the parameters of what 'a Black Mirror episode' even is. The stories are all still tonally Black Mirror through-and-through — but with some crazy swings and more variety than ever before." Wondering when you might be staring at your own black mirror again to watch Black Mirror? The show will return to Netflix in June, ready to add some extra chill to winter Down Under — with an exact date yet to be announced. Cast-wise, the series makes a comeback with another stacked roster of familiar faces, including Zazie Beetz (Atlanta), Annie Murphy (Kevin Can F**k Himself), Paapa Essiedu (Men), Josh Hartnett (Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre), Himesh Patel (Station Eleven), Rob Delaney (The Power), Rory Culkin (Swarm), Salma Hayek Pinault (Magic Mike's Last Dance), Aaron Paul (Westworld), Kate Mara (Call Jane), Michael Cera (Life & Beth), Danny Ramirez (Stars at Noon), Clara Rugaard (I Am Mother), Auden Thornton (This Is Us) and Anjana Vasan (Killing Eve). How exactly will the series manage to be even more dispiriting than reality over the past few years? That's increasingly been one of its dilemmas — and noting that something IRL feels just like Black Mirror has become one of the cliches of our times — but this'll be the mind-bending effort's first round of episodes following the pandemic. No one has ever watched the Brooker-created series for a pick-me-up, though. Since first hitting the small screen in 2011, Black Mirror has spun warped visions of where technology may lead us — and, no matter what tale the show has told so far across its 22 instalments (including that interactive movie), the picture has usually been unnerving. So, imagine what the program will cook up after what we've all been living through since it last aired. Brooker has already riffed on COVID-19 in two Netflix specials, actually: Death to 2020 and Death to 2021, which offer satirical and star-studded wraps of both years with mixed success. For something completely different, he also jumped back into choose-your-own-adventure content with animated short Cat Burglar, which hit Netflix back in 2022, has viewers play through it as a thieving feline called Rowdy and gets you to answer trivia questions to advance the story. Check out the first trailer for Black Mirror's sixth season below: Black Mirror season six will stream via Netflix some time in June. We'll update you when an exact release date is announced. Images: Netflix.
Long-awaited prequels to huge fantasy franchises: everyone's doing them. Within less than a fortnight, HBO has stepped back into the Game of Thrones with House of the Dragon and now, weekly from Friday, September 2, Prime Video brings The Lord of the Rings back to the screen. Yes, it's a great time to be a fan of the biggest names in the genre, and of two of the most popular page-to-screen sagas ever printed then filmed. It's also quite the moment for anyone keen on mammoth power battles between good and evil, and the historical-looking but purely fanciful worlds in which they unfurl (and of oh-so-many expensive special effects as well). In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power's case, JRR Tolkien's stories make the move from Peter Jackson's six LoTR and The Hobbit cinema releases onto streaming, courtesy of the show's initial eight-episode first season. It's no less breathtaking to behold than the first three movies, however (the headache-inducing high frame rates used in the latter three flicks made New Zealand's stunning landscape look like any old ordinary hills, rocks and grass, and made for awful viewing). Is such astonishing spectacle enough to recapture the magic of Middle-earth? The answer is right there in every image. This debut batch of instalments reportedly cost US$465 million, and the visual splendour all that money has bought goes a long way. That said, sumptuous sights aren't the only drawcard that The Rings of Power boasts. Like knowing that House of the Dragon was coming, and winter as well, it's been impossible to avoid news about The Rings of Power. The series has been in the works for five years, and is already locked in for five seasons, all jumping back to Middle-earth's Second Age. That's a period of elves, men, dwarves and harfoots — precursors to hobbits — and of the lurking evil of Sauron, plus orcs, trolls and more. It's also when the titular jewellery is forged. On the page, it's largely been covered in an appendix to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books, taking this new series into previously unseen on-screen territory. And, as The Rings of Power focuses on, it's where Galadriel and Elrond's tales truly kicked in, with Morfydd Clark (Saint Maud) taking over from Cate Blanchett and Robert Aramayo (The King's Man) doing the same for Hugo Weaving, with their characters thousands of years younger. Showing how history repeats by repeating a past hit's scenario but setting it further back in history: everyone's doing that, too. The young Galadriel narrates The Rings of Power's explanatory introduction, setting the scene for the show's fight against Sauron — and slowly putting the pieces in place for the compilation of a fellowship to do so. She tells of the dark lord Morgoth and his defeat in wide-ranging wars. She notes that the elf Finrod (Will Fletcher, The Road Dance) was convinced that Sauron, Morgoth's apprentice, still lingered afterwards. And she advises that such a belief and the search to prove it right cost Finrod his life. He was Galadriel's brother, and now she has taken up his mission. Alas, a time of relative peace, as Middle-earth has been under since Morgoth was vanquished, isn't a prime time for Galadriel's quest. She's still scouring far and wide for Sauron, but High King Gil-galad of the Elves (Benjamin Walker, The Ice Road) wants to bathe her in glory for past victories instead. If that's the path she took, there wouldn't be much of a series — although it's not The Rings of Power's only narrative strand. Elrond, Galadriel's closet friend, has been tasked with seeking help from the dwarves of Khazad-dum to build a new forge, but Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur, A Confession) is wary. Fellow elf Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova, The Undoing) follows strange happenings in a human village, where he also warms to single mother Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi, Bombshell). And harfoot Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavanagh, True History of the Kelly Gang) and her fellow diminutive creatures get drawn into odd occurrences, too, after a ball of fire tumbles from the heavens. As overseen by showrunners and executive producers JD Payne and Patrick McKay, with filmmaker JA Bayona (A Monster Calls, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) directing the first two episodes, The Rings of Power spends its opening double instalments setting the scene and building its world. More subplots and characters are weaved in — including a bearded stranger (Daniel Weyman, The North Water) and the stargazing of Sadoc Burrows (Lenny Henry, The Sandman) among the harfoots, elf-prejudiced human Halbrand (Charlie Vickers, Palm Beach), plus Durin's relationship with his king father (Peter Mullan, The Underground Railroad) — and more will follow given the show's hefty cast. A sense of scale shimmers through at every moment, whether via all of the faces gracing the screen or the locations such as Elvish home Lindon, the dwarves' Khazad-dum or the Sundering Seas that they traverse. And it's that grandeur, unsurprisingly, that's one of The Rings of Power's biggest early strengths. While Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit fans will have had The Rings of Power on their must-watch list since it was first announced — it's the franchise's equivalent of second breakfast, after all — it doesn't just take that loyalty for granted. It isn't as content to blatantly tread in its predecessors' footsteps either (not as much as House of the Dragon, with the two destined to be forever compared), even if it's clear that it likely won't deviate too far either. The Rings of Power feels lived in from the outset, but also excited and eager, as if it too wants to roam far and wide rather than merely return to beloved confines. Among the dazzling spectacle, there's a sense of adventure and discovery about the series as well, leaving its audience as keen as a dwarf with a pick to keep digging into more. Tolkien's prose and the films that've sprung from it have always glistened with earnestness and sincerity, and favoured a poetic take on its noble-versus-wicked fray; that gleams again here, thankfully. Perhaps that's what makes The Rings of Power's familiar parts shine with possibility — and makes it seem like anything could follow, even when viewers already know that Sauron won't be toppled no matter how much determination pumps through Galadriel's veins. The first episode doesn't completely find its pace, but by the time the second wraps up, the show has established both an enticing starting point and a firm foundation to keep building upon. Proving epic in all the expected ways, and yet also thrilling via its own surprises: yes, that's powerful. Check out the trailer for The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power below: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power streams weekly via Prime Video from Friday, September 2. Images: Matt Grace / Ben Rothstein.
When Sydney's first Harry Potter-themed boozy brunches were announced, the city couldn't say "accio butterbeer" fast enough, with the first two stints selling out quickly. Due to massive muggle demand, a third round of feasts is now occurring on July 21 and 22 — across four sessions, spanning both brunch and dinner. Sydney Uni's MacLaurin Hall is the location that'll be turned into the Great Hall for the occasion, complete with an enchanted meal (Pixie Puffs, please), bottomless butterbeer (obviously), 'magic' potions (aka cocktails, we're assuming) and other wizard-themed beverages. There'll also be quidditch, a couple of sorting ceremonies and wand lessons — and Harry Potter characters mingling with attendees, if that's your idea of some perfect HP fun. Tickets are currently on sale, but they're not likely to stay that way for long, even though you'll need a bag full of galleons to head along. At $231 per head, you'd be hoping for a Yule Ball-type experience.
With Christmas Day, and the many traditions and festivities that come with it just over the horizon, it's almost time to rearrange the furniture and set aside some space for the beloved Christmas tree. The Christmas tree has origins which most often date back as far as the renaissance in Germany, however there are many contested theories of origins preceding this. Although the traditional christmas tree is generally considered to be an evergreen conifer, many alternative designs have been created throughout history. The first artificial tree was also introduced in Germany, in the 19th Century. It has a rich history and has long been viewed as one of the most important and globally widespread symbols of Christmas. Not only loved for its aesthetic value with a vast amount of decorations decking out its branches from top to toe, the Christmas tree also perpetuates the buildup towards Christmas throughout December, and of course it is also the cause of extreme excitement for kids as the host of Santa's treasured christmas presents. Since then a plethora of artificial trees have been created, meeting the different needs of various times. And of course one of the most pressing issues in the modern era is sustainability. Enter the eco-friendly christmas tree, One Two Tree. The One Two Tree's branches rotating around its central trunk, which lets you change the design each year. The wood comes from plantation pine in Queensland. This environmentally sustainable, reusable tree is an eco friendly way to enjoy your christmas with a modern twist, and a great way to test your creativity with its endless possibilities for presentation. Via Inhabitat.
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of cinemas worldwide, two questions arose: when will they be able to reopen and, with movie release dates instantly thrown into disarray, what will they show? Picture palaces are now welcoming movie buffs back through the doors in some portions of the world, including parts of Australia and in New Zealand, so that's the first query taken care of. Just what they're able to screen, however, is still the subject of constant manoeuvring. Many of the big films that were due to release in 2020 have been shifted to 2021, such as Fast and Furious 9, In the Heights, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Halloween Kills. Some have remained committed to reaching the silver screen this year, but have still moved their release date over and over, like Tenet. And some have decided to make the jump online — including after rescheduling in-cinema release plans a few times, as is the case with Disney's live-action Mulan remake. As announced this week, the new Mulan will head straight to streaming platform Disney+ in many areas of the world, including Australia and New Zealand. It'll hit the service on Friday, September 4, but it won't be a part of your regular subscription. Instead, you'll have to pay to view it on a video-on-demand or 'premier access' basis, at a cost that's yet to be announced for viewers Down Under. If you want a ballpark figure, though, the US price is $29.99. This isn't the first Disney project to make the move to digital this year, with Pixar's Onward doing the same after a very brief cinema run as the globe went into lockdowns in March. Terrible family-friendly fantasy Artemis Fowl bypassed theatres altogether, hitting Disney+ in early June, while the phenomenal recorded version of Hamilton debuted on the streamer in July. In Mulan's case, it'll mean that fans can not only watch the highly anticipated blockbuster at home, but also finally enjoy the latest screen iteration of the famed character. In Chinese history, the legend of Hua Mulan dates back to the sixth century. At the movies, the formidable female warrior first fought her way across the big screen in a 1927 silent film. Mulan has been no stranger to the page, stage or cinema over the past 92 years, but many folks know the tale thanks to Disney's 1998 animated musical. Now, as it has done with everything from Alice in Wonderland to The Jungle Book to Aladdin, the Mouse House has turned the story into its latest live-action remake. Once again, Mulan (played by Chinese American actor Liu Yifei) will evolve from dutiful daughter to kick-ass combatant, all to protect her family in a time of war. She's originally due to be married off to a husband chosen by a matchmaker, until the Emperor of China issues a decree stating that one man per household must serve the Imperial Army as it endeavours to fend off northern invaders. To save her ailing ex-soldier father from having to fight, Mulan disguises herself as a man, takes on the name Hua Jun and becomes an icon. Forget rousing tunes or a talking dragon voiced by Eddie Murphy. This time, the tale hits the screen without a singing and smart-talking sidekick, but with plenty of sword-swinging, arrow-flinging antics. In New Zealand director Niki Caro's (Whale Rider, The Zookeeper's Wife) hands, this version of the story goes heavy on the action and empowerment, as shown in the spectacularly choreographed scenes seen so far. As well as Liu (whose resume includes The Forbidden Kingdom and The Assassins), the new Mulan features Jet Li as the Chinese Emperor, Gong Li as a witch, Donnie Yen as the protagonist's mentor, Jason Scott Lee as a villainous army leader, and Yoson An (The Meg, Mortal Engines) as her fellow fighter and love interest. Check out the full trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK8FHdFluOQ Mulan will be able to view via Disney+ — on a 'premier access' video-on-demand basis from September 4, 2020. Image: © 2020 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
When Super Mario Kart first rolled onto Super Nintendo consoles back in 1992, it came with 20 inventive courses and endless hours of fun. Nearly three decades later, the game has become a beloved phenomenon — not just speeding through desert tracks and rainbow roads, but onto Google Maps and mobile phones, and also into reality. The hugely popular game's next stop? Theme parks. In the works since 2019, delayed due to the pandemic (like everything else), but finally opening its doors on March 18, Super Nintendo World is now a place that genuinely exists. And yes, you can enjoy a real-life Mario Kart experience as part of the first-ever Nintendo-themed theme park zone, which has joined Universal Studios in Osaka. There's no mistaking this space for anywhere else. Given that it features life-sized recreations of both Bowser's Castle — complete with spiked fences and heavy iron doors — and Peach's Castle, fans of the gaming brand will know exactly where they are. You also enter via a warp pipe, because of course you do. No other entryway would've done the park justice. For those keen to hop on Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge, you'll be racing through familiar Mario Kart courses that've been brought to life. And yes, as you steer your way along the track, you're surrounded by characters such as Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach. You can also throw shells to take out your opponents — because it wouldn't be Mario Kart without them. If you're wondering how it all works, it's a blend of physical sets, augmented reality, projection mapping and screen projection, all designed to make you feel like you're really in the game. As for Yoshi's Adventure, that lets you climb on Yoshi's back — and, as it sounds, it's very family-friendly. So, you hop on, then set off on an adventure. Specifically, you follow Captain Toad to find three coloured eggs, plus a golden egg as well. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン USJ (@universal_studios_japan) Across its multiple levels — fitting for a gaming-themed space — Osaka's Super Nintendo World also includes restaurants and shops. A certain highlight: the world's first Mario cafe, which launched ahead of the rest of the site. Here, patrons are surrounded by oversized Mario and Luigi hat sculptures, the whole space is kitted out with a red and green colour scheme, and Mario Kart-style checkered floors are a feature. As for snacks, there are Mario pancake sandwiches and cream sodas, plus other drinks available in 'super mushroom' souvenir bottles. The theme park also has wearable wrist bands, called Power Up Bands — which connect to a special app and allow patrons to interact with the site using their arms, hands and bodies. That mightn't sound all that exciting, but the bands enable you to collect coins just like Mario does in the Super Mario games. Like the red-capped plumber, you can also hit question blocks to reveal more coins. There are collectible items to gather, too, such as keys and character stamps, which you can only find after achieving various goals. The stamps also earn you even more coins, so you really will be basically playing Super Mario in real life. You do have to buy a Power Up Band separate to your entry ticket to enjoy that element of the park, though. While no one is venturing far at present — and Japan has just shut out international travellers from the Tokyo Olympics, so you're unlikely to be able to head to the country anytime soon — you can add Osaka's Super Nintendo World to your must-visit list once overseas travel does start returning to normal. You might also want to add ziplining into a life-sized version of Godzilla to the same list while you're dreaming about Japanese holidays. Universal Studios is also planning Super Nintendo Worlds for its other parks in Hollywood, Orlando and in Singapore, if you need to add more places to look forward to visiting sometime in the future. The latter was just announced last year, and is set to open by 2025. Super Nintendo World is now open at Universal Studios Osaka, 2 Chome-1-33 Sakurajima, Konohana Ward, Osaka, 554-0031, Japan. Top image: Nintendo and Universal Studios.
With life at its often unrelenting pace, many of us struggle to get through the day without at least one cup of coffee (okay, maybe five). And even though Melbourne seems to get most of the credit for Australia's stellar coffee making reputation, Sydney very much holds its own — you've just got to know where to look. Next time you need a caffeine hit, don't default to the nearest crumby cafe — there's a spot near you that has a brew of a better standard. To aid you in your search, we've teamed up with Shop Small supporters American Express to put together a list of our six favourite local Sydney cafes that consistently provide both quality caffeine and convenience. Plus, in a total win/win, these spots let you pay for your coffee with your American Express Card and reap the sweet rewards of being a Card Member — all while supporting local business. Save them to your Google Maps so you can easily hit them up on the go.
Mayday! Playwrights Festival is taking over TAP Gallery for a three-week program in May with a showcase of short-form theatre works written by a collection of Australia's premier contemporary writers. The essence of the festival is impulsive, instinctive and immediate. It has given Australian playwrights the opportunity to take their work from the page to the stage in a much shorter time frame than usual. The festival is a celebration of collaboration, with the works on show the product of responses to a call-out by festival directors Jeremy Waters and Augusta Supple demanding "Help! We have an empty space, can you help us fill it?" Answers abounded in the form of established and emerging playwrights, actors and directors, and the festival was created. The season features three different shows, with each show playing for four nights in its respective week. Week one (May 8-11) sees the works of award-winning playwright collective 7-ON brought to life in the provocative No Nudity, Weapons or Naked Flames, directed by Mayday! festival co-director Augusta Supple. The second week will bring a collection of monologues to the main stage in The Solitudes and introduce Australia to a host of beautifully crafted characters before Little Gods rounds out the festival with the intricately intertwined playwright and directing debut of AFI Award-winning actor Nicholas Hope. "The overwhelming interest and response to our Mayday! Festival is proof that our theatre community is brave, bold and ready," says Supple. So be one of the bold and answer the call of Mayday!.
Outbreak Day, the date that Cordyceps reached critical mass in The Last of Us — that'd be September 26 — has been and gone for 2024 in Australia. But as the occasion hit the US, HBO gave fans of the TV show based on the hugely popular gaming series a welcome gift. After dropping sneak peeks as images and in promos for the network's full upcoming slate over the past few months, the American cable TV network has unveiled a teaser trailer for the post-apocalyptic hit's second season. Prepare for a time jump. Prepare for a guitar. Prepare for hordes of infected. Prepare for a haunting feeling, too. How does life go on after not just the global devastation caused by the Cordyceps virus, but following the chaos that the first season of The Last of Us brought? Sometime in 2025, viewers will find out — but here's a glimpse now. In season two, it's been five years since the events of season one. And while there has been peace, it clearly isn't here to stay. Yes, Joel and Ellie are back — and, in their shoes, so are Pedro Pascal (The Wild Robot) and Bella Ramsey (Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget). This time around, the show's main duo have company from both familiar faces and a heap of newcomers. Rutina Wesley (Monster High) and Gabriel Luna (Fubar) return as Maria and Tommy, while Kaitlyn Dever (Good Grief), Isabela Merced (Alien: Romulus), Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction), Young Mazino (Beef), Ariela Barer (How to Blow Up a Pipeline), Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope), Spencer Lord (Family Law) and Danny Ramirez (Black Mirror) are the season's additions. The first teaser for season two gives fans a glimpse of plenty of the above new cast members, including Dever as Abby and Wright as Isaac. Also new: Catherine O'Hara (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) as a guest star. She starts the clip setting a timer and trying to get Joel to talk. His look in response says everything. The Last of Us made the leap from video games to TV in 2023, and was swiftly renewed after proving a massive smash instantly. The series gave HBO its most-watched debut season of a show ever — and its first episode was also the network's second-largest debut of all time. Locking in a second season was also hardly surprising because the 2013 game inspired a 2014 expansion pack and 2020 sequel. For first-timers to the franchise on consoles and as a TV series, The Last of Us kicked off 20 years after modern civilisation as we know it has been toppled by a parasitic fungal infection that turns the afflicted into shuffling hordes. Pascal plays Joel, who gets saddled with smuggling 14-year-old Ellie (his Game of Thrones co-star Ramsey) out of a strict quarantine zone to help possibly save humanity's last remnants. There wouldn't be a game, let alone a television version, if that was an easy task, of course — and if the pair didn't need to weather quite the brutal journey. As a television series, The Last of Us hails from co-creator, executive producer, writer and director Craig Mazin, who already brought a hellscape to HBO (and to everyone's must-watch list) thanks to the haunting and horrifying Chernobyl. He teams up here with Neil Druckmann from Naughty Dog, who also penned and directed The Last of Us games. Check out the new teaser trailer for The Last of Us season two below: The Last of Us season two doesn't yet have a release date, other than sometime in 2025. When it returns, it'll stream via Binge in Australia and on Neon in New Zealand. Read our review of the first season. Images: HBO.
Shaking off the New Buffalo moniker after two beautiful records and years of delighting live audiences, Sally Seltmann has emerged with the first record using her own name. There's no distance between the singer and her songs anymore and no stage name, just a gem of a pop record in Heart That's Pounding. Having written Feist's hit tune '1234' — a song that had enough legs to walk itself on over to Sesame Street — it seems time that Seltmann stood her ground as the confident and lovely musician that she is. There is, sure, an ethereality to the sounds of Heart That's Pounding — a constant wash of morning sunlight filtering through the songs — but they also have that pop radio classic sensibility to them, an aim apparently of Seltmann's. Her breathy vocals and playful melodic twists are a delight on the stereo but more so in person. Having just returned from a US tour, Seltmann will launch the record in Sydney on Friday with special guests Parades and Kyu. https://youtube.com/watch?v=O_EaHPsQOJ8
Sydney minimalist chill house trio Movement have fired a flare, significantly showing up on All The Radars in the last year. Following a hugely successful run of shows supporting Solange and Nicolas Jaar's Darkside with their self-titled EP, Jesse Ward, Lewis Wade and Sean Walker will embark on their own national headliner tour to herald their shiny new offering, Like Lust, out today via Modular and streaming below. The lads from Movement were kind enough to share their EP celebrations with Concrete Playground, fixing us up with a solid playlist of their go-to tracks right now to kickstart the listening party. We figure you've now got enough beats and smooth vocals to keep you going for the next hour or so, cheers dudes. 1. Earn — Childish Gambino (Violet Frosted Remix) "Somebody on YouTube has pitched shifted Childish Gambino's tracks — got a lot of hate for doing so — but we love it." https://youtube.com/watch?v=gQpMJwpOV9A 2. Kelela — Send Me Out "Quality production and songwriting." 3. Kwabs — Pray for Love "We really value the vocals." 4. Zoo Kid — Out Getting Ribs "Real track with a real sound." https://youtube.com/watch?v=L9wLrAtcd6Y 5. Nathan Adams & Black Coffee — Afraid of the Dark "The harmonies... we adore." https://youtube.com/watch?v=_OlIBzIir6k After that generous dose of influence, Movement's hugely anticipated new EP Like Lust is out today via Modular — and was seriously worth the wait. Just be sure to find a significant pair of cans to crank it with, this is some straight-up smooth production — recorded at home and optimized by Canadian producer and The Weeknd foil Illangelo. Four tracks of laidback chill house with some seriously silky vocals, Like Lust is full of wonderfully unexpected moments (most notably the face-melting guitar solo at the end of 'Ivory'). Take a listen below. CATCH MOVEMENT ON TOUR: 22 May - Shebeen, Melbourne - Tickets available via Shebeen. 23 May - Cats @ Rocket Bar, Adelaide 30 May - Spectrum, Sydney - Tickets available via Oztix. 5 June - Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane - Tickets available via Oztix. 6 June - Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
A few people have told me about Wim, you know those "you should toootally go see Wim" kind of comments you get from people. And this could be our chance to see them — for free at the Beach Road Hotel, Bondi. The one song on their MySpace, 'John', is a laidback number with lovely lead and heavily arranged backing vocals over a tune that makes you want to drink red wine and fall over dancing slowly, then pick up the pace towards the end and maybe flail your arms a bit. They are currently finishing off their debut record, which they made in Bob Clearmountain's studio (ah, let's see: Bruce Springsteen, Chic, Simple Minds, et al) in LA with Tony Buchen on the production boards. Joining them on the night will be Sticky Fingers from the inner west (not to be confused with the world's premier Rolling Stones tribute band), who take root in reggae and then go off in unexpected directions, which sometimes reach really lovely pop. Not quite sure how these two bands will go together, but it should be an interesting night.
Films about the holocaust will never be considered easy viewing. Revisiting one of the darkest chapters of human history is a confronting experience, as is facing the specific details of the atrocious deeds committed. Some movies try to temper their bleakness by honing in on unlikely heroism, like Schindler's List, or the comedy of tragedy, like Life is Beautiful, or offering a child’s view of events, like The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Hungarian filmmaker László Nemes does none of this. Son of Saul doesn’t just contemplate challenging material — it is designed to immerse viewers in the horrific ordeal that was life in a concentration camp. While charting the daily misery of Jewish prisoners might sound familiar, it's the inner workings of the Sonderkommando that are thrust into the spotlight here. Those unacquainted with the term may be startled to discover its meaning, referring to a unit of detainees that assisted the Nazis with the very worst aspects of their final solution. Sonderkommando workers escorted their fellow inmates into the gas chamber, then cleaned up the aftermath. Their compliance was coerced, unsurprisingly; by hastening the deaths of others, they avoided their own for a few months. In a film fictional in its specifics but inspired by actual testimonies in the book The Scrolls of Auschwitz, Saul Ausländer (Géza Röhrig) is one of many men caught in this unfortunate situation — but when he tries to help a boy that crosses his path, he stands out from the rest of the group. Over the course of a turbulent 24 hours in 1944, he attempts to find a rabbi to give the child a proper burial. As he's searching, endeavouring to evade the camp's guards in the process, other members of the Sonderkommando plot their own larger acts of rebellion. Though there's no doubting the powerful nature of this story, Nemes' stylistic choices prove just as potent as the predicament he explores. It is impossible not to notice the feature's boxed-in aesthetics and constrained atmosphere, nor its concerted efforts to ensure the audience feels as trapped and claustrophobic as the on-screen characters. The filmmaker shoots in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.375:1, and keeps the camera as close as possible to his protagonist. The parallels he's trying to cultivate might be obvious, but that doesn't lessen their intensity. For viewers and Saul alike, there is simply no escape. Nemes isn't the feature's only standout, however — and while the writer-director is forceful in his approach, his leading man offers an understated counterpart. In his first film role, and in a performance conveyed through mannerisms more than dialogue, Röhrig makes Saul's struggle seethe beyond its historical context. Striving to aid another, even in difficult circumstances; putting someone else's needs before our own; choosing empathy, not just endurance. Ultimately, aren't these the things that make us human?
Cast Kate Winslet and Idris Elba in a survivalist drama, and you'd expect tension, thrills and impressive performances to follow. Cast them in a romance, and you'd expect hearts to melt like snow. Unfortunately, if you throw the pair into a combination of the two, the results are as mixed as the blend of genres. The actors are great in The Mountain Between Us, of course, but there's no mistaking the feeling that they're stuck in a marginally classier Nicholas Sparks-style flick. While Charles Martin actually wrote the book that this survivalist romance is based on, all of Sparks' basic elements are present. The diversity that Elba's involvement represents isn't something the author behind The Notebook is known for, but characters meeting in unlikely circumstances, struggling through tough times, and finding love while overcoming obstacles are Sparks' bread and butter. With The Mountain Between Us sticking closely to that formula, you know where the movie is going from the moment you sit down in the cinema. As such, only one question remains: can Winslet and Elba make it all worth it? The duo play Alex, a photojournalist heading from an assignment to her own wedding, and Ben, a neurosurgeon due to usher a sick boy into his operating theatre the next day. When bad weather strands them in Idaho at the last minute, Alex introduces herself and her plan to Ben. They'll charter a plane, beat the oncoming storm and get to their Denver destination in no time — and that might've worked out just fine if their pilot (Beau Bridges) hadn't had a stroke over Utah's white-topped mountains, causing them to crash. Soon, they're in the icy middle of nowhere with no phone reception, little food and an unnamed dog as their only other company. Prior to shooting, The Mountain Between Us went through a number of casting changes, from Michael Fassbender and Charlie Hunnam to Margot Robbie and Rosamund Pike. Given the end product, you can't help but feel that they all dodged a bullet. That Winslet and Elba are the best things about the movie is evident from the outset. Screenwriters Chris Weitz and J. Mills Goodloe don't do nearly enough to make Alex and Ben seem like well-rounded characters, while director Hany Abu-Assad does little more than make them look attractive. Even so, the pair manage to bring some much-needed nuance to their paper-thin parts. Bland dialogue, routine backstories and cliched plot developments can't frost over their natural charms or rapport entirely. As much as the actors do with the material, however, they can't quite lift the film beyond standard sappy romance territory. That's primarily because the movie isn't trying to be anything different — although it's not eager to be seen as disposable fluff, either. Accordingly, Abu-Assad is saddled with a juggling act that he just can't manage to master, asked to both show the stressful, solemn side of his characters' plight, while offering up warmth and hope as his protagonists slowly discover their affection for each other. Ultimately, he doesn't come close to succeeding. Still, at least the scenery looks great, as shot by Australian cinematographer Mandy Walker of Lantana, Tracks and Hidden Figures fame. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jyzGKXBOxA
After bringing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire back to the big screen with a live orchestra soundtrack, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra is giving the fifth film in the franchise the same movie-and-music showcase. Across four sessions between Wednesday, April 10 and Saturday, April 13, the Sydney Opera House will come to life with the sights and sounds of the Ministry of Magic, 12 Grimmauld Place and the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, because JK Rowling's boy-who-lived and his pals are never far away from a theatre — or a concert hall. And tickets are now on sale. This time around, viewers can expect something a little different. While the event will run as usual, it's the score itself that'll stand out. After doing the honours on the first three HP flicks, veteran composer John Williams stood aside, with two-time Oscar nominee Patrick Doyle (Hamlet, Sense and Sensibility) in charge of the fourth, and Nicholas Hooper whipping up wondrous wizarding soundtracks for the final three.
From the opening (rather pointed) intertitles, this tagline is made abundantly clear. Debut feature film director Marc Webb and his two stars Joseph-Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel charmingly translate screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber's wonderfully comic tale of the 500-day lifespan of an infatuation. Webb an established music video director brings a definite musicality and cracking soundtrack to the film. He even has Gordon-Levitt celebrate his love in an hilarious dance sequence, reminiscent of by-gone musicals and Amy Adam's romp through Central Park in Enchanted (or even this flash-mob ad for T-Mobile). The musical fun continues even after (500) Days of Summer, with Webb reuniting with his stars to release the Bank Heist short, as well as a spoof on Sid & Nancy (an in-joke from the film). See both videos, as well as the trailer below. Great performances, witty repartee and crackling chemistry between the two leads makes for an entirely enjoyable cinematic experience. In keeping with its indie sensibility, the film is steeped in reflexivity, film and music references, as well as a definite nod to The Graduate. All the ironic banter, jumping around in time and winking at the camera could well grate on some nerves. However, those willing to bask in the warmth of a wonderfully fresh take on boy-meets-girl, (500) Days of Summer will fast become a film favourite.
"This is the captain…brace for impact". Of all the awful things you could hear while flying – crying babies, drunken tourists, Adam Sandler Movie Marathons – none come close to those seven simple words uttered by US Airways pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger on January 15, 2009. After hitting a flock of birds mere moments after takeoff that caused in a catastrophic and unprecedented dual engine failure, Sully and his co-pilot Jeff Skiles were forced to execute a note-perfect ditching of their aircraft on the Hudson River. Their heroics saved all 155 souls on board and turned Sully into an overnight sensation. Directed by Clint Eastwood, Sully is an examination of the man behind the so-called Miracle on the Hudson. As such, the film opts to focus almost entirely on the days that followed Sully's astounding water landing – including with the National Transportation Safety Board investigations and media frenzy it precipitated – rather than honing in on the crash itself. That's not to say Eastwood omits it entirely. The harrowing sequence, when it finally comes, is a gripping and well crafted as any seen in film. But by prolonging its delivery and focussing on the lesser known story, the veteran filmmaker delivers a far more engaging and balanced tale than the more conventional drama Sully might easily have become. In the title role, Tom Hanks brings understated grace and dignity , albeit in a performance far more clinical (even analytical) than we're used to. The style befits the protagonist, a man whose impossible levels of composure enabled him to do what had never been done before, and all with a calmness of voice that defies belief (if you've not heard the official cockpit recording, try to imagine saying "We may end up in the Hudson" with the same level of poise most people evince when ordering a pizza). Aaron Eckhart, meanwhile, puts in an endearing turn as Sully's faithful co-pilot, while a solid supporting cast including Laura Linney, Mike O'Malley, Anna Gunn and Jamey Sheridan ensure the script by Todd Komarnicki stays on the right side of schmaltz – no matter how close Eastwood veers towards its limits. There's no question that Sully is unashamedly sincere in its portrayal not just of the extraordinary pilots, but also their crew, the passengers, the air-traffic controllers and the selfless New Yorkers who raced to their rescue without a moment's hesitation. Thankfully, Eastwood is the master of underplayed tributes to everyday heroes, especially those who shy away from the very notion of their own valour. Few could be more humble, or deserving of such a treatment, than the man who gives this remarkable movie its name https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjKEXxO2KNE
Got a nerf gun? And not quite sure of an appropriate context to use it (without your friends/family members getting slightly annoyed)? Well, look no further, because Verge Festival at Sydney University is bringing Zedtown to, well, town. And what is Zedtown? It's a huge Humans vs Zombies game. Up to 200 peeps can play (so it’s twice the size of last year’s game). There are prizes, ammo dumps and even multiple endings. A chance to run around like a crazy person. The rules? Most players start out as a human and become a zombie after being tagged. Yup, just like in the playground, but without the cooties. Oh, and you can try to stop the zombies from tagging you by nerf gunning them. Perfect for the slightly aggressive type. But remember, you can only use nerf guns. Be careful you don’t get too caught up in it. Dress for the end of the world (open to interpretation) and bring your nerf blaster down to uni. Check out last year's efforts to get inspired. Earn your right to live! Registration will be held at the ACCESS office at Sydney University on Thursday, September 12, at 9am. No more than four registrations may be filled out per registrant. ACCESS holders must be present and carrying their card for the discount.
Here's a great way to program a film series: pick movies starring all the leading men that graced teenage bedroom walls in the 80s, 90s and 00s. That mightn't have been how Golden Age Cinema and Bar actually put its latest season together, but the resulting lineup is called Heartthrobs — and Leo, Brad, Heath, Keanu and River are all accounted for. Wherefore art thou Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet? Here, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and kicking off the season on Saturday, March 12. Come back two weeks later to swoon over a young Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise, then fall head over heels for Heath Ledger in Two Hands the following week. The Saturday, April 9 session truly is something special, even within this 100-percent ace selection of flicks — because the Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix-starring My Own Private Idaho, aka one of the best movies either has ever made, is on the bill. Then, wrapping things up is the 80s heartthrob fest that is The Outsiders on Saturday, April 23, with a stacked cast that includes Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Ralph Macchio and C Thomas Howell.
Lacking a little fizz in your life lately? Thankfully, a crew of local booze legends are teaming up to deliver a drinks festival with a serious amount of sparkle to see you safely through to summer. P&V Wine + Liquor Merchants and Mary's are joining forces with The Unicorn, taking over the pub on December 8, for the What A Fizzer tasting party dedicated to their favourite bubbly beverages. Head along to quaff your way through an expert curation of over 50 beers, wines and ciders — from Champagnes and small-batch local sparklings to pét-nats and wild-ferment brews. Tickets are an easy $50, which will score you tastings of everything on show, as well as a snack pack of Mary's goodness, starring a burger or fried chicken (with vegan options available). If you're looking to invest in some take-home fizz, you'll also find a pop-up P&V bottle store, stocked full of fizzy drops at discounted prices. The main event runs until 5pm, though the fun will continue well into the night, thanks to a special Unicorn x Mary's collaboration menu, secret cellar list and a swag of entertainment.
They've been getting everyone pumped about the mix of activewear, sportswear and streetwear for the past year, and they're about to do something they've never done before. Athleisure fans, we're talking about P.E. Nation — and they're hosting their first ever sample sale. Whether you're packing your own gym-going wardrobe or doing a solid for sporty loved ones, you'll find an extensive array of swim, activewear, accessories, sweaters and jackets at 37 Doody Street, Alexandria, between June 1 and 3. One-off samples plus past season styles in all sizes will be available, with the sale running from 10am to 7pm on Thursday, and 9am to 5pm on Friday and Saturday. Remember the age-old advice when it comes to sample sales: get in quick, because P.E. Nation's wares are only on offer while stock lasts. Given the following the label has amassed since General Pants Co. design director Pip Edwards and former senior Sass & Bide designer at Claire Tregoning joined forces, their functional, fashionable bits and pieces are bound to be popular. Throw on your favourite pieces for an energy boost, and hop along.
Sydney's longest-running live performance institution Enmore Theatre is set to reopen to the public on Monday, February 22, marking the first time the theatre has seen music on stage and patrons in seats in nearly a year. Before COVID-19 restrictions forced it to (temporarily) shutter in March last year, the beloved concert venue had been a home to music, comedy and cultural events for decades. Following the theatre's closure in early 2020, venue owners Century Venues decided to make the most of its time off and bring forward a planned restoration. The building, which was extensively renovated in the 20s and 30s, is one of the only Sydney theatres from the art deco movement in its original condition — and the restoration has respected this, while introducing some new-age additions. While honouring the century-old theatre's design, the restoration has included the reinstatement of side wing balconies and an original 24-metre art deco bomber light, a full restoration of the theatre's ceiling and the addition of two-and-a-half kilometres of LED strip lighting, which is designed to enhance live music experiences and can be synchronised with performances. To celebrate the reopening, Enmore Theatre is hosting the Sounds of Sydney Re-opening Night Gala. The gala will feature national favourites like Ian Moss and Murray Cook of The Wiggles, Sydney mainstays such as Red Riders and Alex the Astronaut, as well as exciting rising local acts Milan Ring, Andy Golledge and Caitlin Harnett & The Pony Boys. The lineup of musicians will be performing a mix of original tracks and covers of songs about Sydney. [caption id="attachment_800186" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Caitlin Harnett & the Pony Boys[/caption]
There's something oh-so-relaxing about staring at the sea, even if you're feasting your eyes on the water via the big screen. That's the concept behind the Ocean Film Festival Australia. You can't always spend all your time at the beach, by the river or in a pool — but you can spend an evening peering at the next best thing in a cinema. On select dates in February March, screening at either 6.30pm or 7pm depending on the venue, the festival will unleash a cinematic feast of water-focused wonders onto the silver screen at various venues around Sydney. Head to the Hayden Orpheum in Cremorne on Friday, February 24 and again from Wednesday, March 1–Thursday, March 2 — or to the Randwick Ritz Cinemas on Wednesday, March 8, and Event Cinemas George Street on Wednesday, March 15. [caption id="attachment_840734" align="alignnone" width="1920"] John Kowitz[/caption] Film-wise, viewers will spend time both above and below the ocean's surface thanks to a compilation of shorts from around the world. Expect to chase big waves, explore a range of sea life and get a hefty ocean rush, plus a heap of other sea adventures. The program is united by a love of the ocean, an appreciation of the creatures who dwell in its waters and a curiosity to explore the substance that comprises more than two-thirds of the earth. It's the next best thing to diving in, all without getting wet.
Baron Wolman was the first official photographer of Rolling Stone magazine, and shot roll after roll of rock 'n' roll legends during the late sixties and early seventies. He’s just launched a book called Every Picture Tells A Story: The Rolling Stone Years in conjunction with an exhibition of iconic shots at the Blender Gallery in Paddington. This means that until October 15, you can get close-up and intimate with Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, the Who, and even AC/DC. Blender’s the perfect space for Baron’s photographic record of rock’s golden age — the gallery prides itself on working with both local and international music photographers. Baron’s shots are not just of musos on stage, but also in repose or on the road at a time when stars were more accessible and less manufactured. The scores of photos are accompanied by candid commentary and first-hand reminiscences, providing an authentic account of the halcyon days of rock ‘n’ roll. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Baron’s images of legends from Miles Davis to Muddy Waters capture an energy that Rolling Stone magazine made accessible to music lovers everywhere. Go see this exhibition of inspiring and iconic photos taken at a time when pictures of musicians could be impromptu, not media-managed.
Fast and furious, wet and wild. No, it's not an ad for a summer roller-coaster ride; it's the frantic dash in a 12-metre-long painted boat known as the Dragon Boat Races. Dating back 2000 years, the race was traditionally held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month of the Chinese Calendar to encourage rains for prosperity — the dragon, the symbol of water, was the object of worship for the ancient Chinese. Today, it's a heart-thumping sport boasting crews of roughly 20 rowers. Grab a waterside seat and watch some of Sydney's best dragon boat teams battle it out in this highly competitive, thrilling sport.
Sydney Harbour cruises ain’t just for the wealthily betrothed and corporate schmoozers among us. Brand spanking new events crew and electronic music love-team UNDR ctrl have a big, loud boat party in store to rival those glass-walled floating function rooms and make the most of the Sydney Harbour sunset. Teaming up with local all-round legends FBi Radio and Vice’s “newest authority on electronic everything” Thump, the aquatic adventure has been dubbed Not Another Boat Party, to kick off the 'We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat' series of probably equally lengthily named forthcoming boat parties. Casting off from Aquarium Pier, Darling Harbour on Saturday March 22, this shipshape adventure will drag stacks of electronic equipment onto a floating party ranch for local bosses Basenji, wordlife, Kilter, softwar and Parkside DJs to crank it until they drop the anchor. See more of our ideas for squeezing the last few drops of summer fun out of March.
Purveyors of good tunes and fine themes Slow Blow are putting on a Halloween bash at Goodgod this year, so you can tell your other friends not to bother getting their own dwellings trashed. Decking out the groove den in all thinks dark and twisted and over-ordering on the simmering sounds, this horror fest will be headed up by interminable dance duo Softwar and harmonised with a select few of Goodgod’s besties. These include Roman Wafers from monthly Melbourne party night Bamboo Musik, DJs of Halloween-apropros monikers Dreamcatcher and Junglesnake and the exquisitely ghoulish Valerie Yum. Everyone’s invited as long they’re dressed to kill (or like their already dead), so be heavyhanded with the faux blood and consider starting Movember early: The theme is horror, but with a tasty Italian twist.
Excellent music should be accessible to everybody, and it's with this theory that OutsideIn makes a welcome entrance into Sydney's festival calendar. Saturday, November 10, will mark the debut of this boutique music event, taking place over three stages at the Factory Theatre. The bespoke lineup is a selection of some of the freshest electronic acts hailing from both Australia and overseas. Smoke DZA (USA), Oliver Tank, Shigeto (USA) and Melbourne's own euphoric chillwave producer Thrupence were just some of the exciting acts named in the first lineup, with further announcements giving us license to get all psyched up about LV (UK), Evenings (USA), Holy Balm, Cliques and thousands (well, almost) of other boogie-advocating acts. If you're not presently sweating all over your keyboard in excitement, here is a mix that Astral People bro Preacha put together to make that happen. Outsidein is the joint effort of Astral People and Yes Please, who are certified wizards at peddling the musical goods. More happy vibes will come courtesy of tasty food, refreshing drinks and a Goodgod-curated tropically luxurious outdoor stage. OutsideIn 2012 first announcement: Smoke DZA (USA) Oliver Tank HTRK (AUS/UK) Flume Shigeto (USA) Africa Hi-tech (AUS/UK) Jesse Boykins III (USA) Melo-X (USA) Collarbones Thrupence Polographia Dro Carey Second announcement: LV (UK) Evenings (USA) Holy Balm Fishing Bon Chat, Bon Rat Guerre Albatross Cliques Mike Who Lewi McKirdy Kato Preacha Astral DJs Tyson Koh Charlie Chux LA Fresh Pipemix Third annoucement: Michael Ozone Pelvis Levins Jimmy Sing Judgement Ariane Mary's Basement DJ Shags Future Classic DJs https://youtube.com/watch?v=yJvjVIVRRdw
The films of one of the most influential directors in motion picture history will be the subject of a special retrospective coming to Sydney this year. Curated by beloved film critic and former Sydney Film Festival director David Stratton, the Essential Kurosawa lineup will showcase ten iconic films from Japan's legendary Akira Kurosawa at the Art Gallery of NSW and Dendy Opera Quays, including several efforts that could contest the title of greatest film of all time. The retrospective — which is a collaboration between Sydney Film Festival, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne, and the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra — will span almost the full length of Kurosawa's incredible career, from his groundbreaking Rashomon (1950) to his sweeping feudal war epic Ran (1985). Further highlights include Seven Samurai (1954), The Hidden Fortress (1958), Yojimbo (1961) and Kagemusha (1980). A number of titles will screen on specially imported 35mm film prints courtesy of The Japan Foundation and Toho Co. "The best of Kurosawa's films possess a grandeur combined with a common touch," said Stratton in a statement accompanying the announcement. "No-one filmed action scenes like he did – his use of multiple cameras, long lenses and intricate editing combined to make these sequences unforgettable."
Tim Minchin's theatrical hit Matilda the Musical is finally heading our way, and will make its Australian premiere at the Sydney Lyric Theatre in August 2015. Having earned critical acclaim and popular adoration on the West End and Broadway, the show looks set to do the same here, with NSW Tourism already rubbing their hands together in gleeful anticipation of all the dollars to be gained from out-of-towner tickets. But Matilda comes with more cred than your usual musical extravaganza. The staggeringly successful show (just seven Olivier Awards and five Tonys, whatevs) was adapted from the original Roald Dahl novel by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Australia's own Minchin wrote the music and lyrics, bringing the requisite level of devilishly dark humour. As the Guardian put it, "You'd be a nitwit to miss [it]". Cast is yet to be announced, but no doubt a team will soon be scouring the country for some preciously talented youngsters to play Matilda, if they haven't started already. Those in the loop will probably already know that Minchin has now moved on to an adaptation of the 1993 classic Groundhog Day. The film's original writer Daniel Rubin is writing the "book" and Matthew Warchus, who directed Matilda's London and Broadway runs, will be working his magic again. If only Bill Murray could star. Via Sydney Morning Herald.. https://youtube.com/watch?v=2ZsmXBBKvTk
Sydney's barbecue barons are back at the ranch. Porteno has reopened after a fire damaged their Surry Hills restaurant in January. More than 40 firefighters flocked to put out a fire at the Cleveland Street barbecue joint on January 3, 2015. The SMH reported that 21 staff were in the building at the time the fire broke out, and all evacuated it unharmed. Duty Commander for City of Sydney Kernin Lambert said that about 80 percent of the restaurant was saved, but the fire was in the kitchen and was believed to be related to the kitchen exhaust. The Porteno lads didn't let this slow them down, cranking out the delicious goods at their Double Down Diner pop-up with Gelato Messina in Hyde Park for Sydney Festival, then heading over to Rushcutters Bay to open their Popteno pop-up for the last few months. Now they're back in action at the Surry Hills homestead from today. Find Porteno at 358 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills. Officially reopened from Tuesday, April 21. Image: Rima Sabina Aouf.
Mary’s of Newtown has been thinking about kebabs for a while. With mastery of the burger under its belt, the team has been wondering how it might fare in the realm of the mighty shish. And, as of this Thursday, the speculation will be turned into action when Mary’s first ever kebab stand opens — inside The Cliff Dive. That’s right, you’ll soon be complementing your Pacific Island-inspired cocktails and late night grooves with roast lamb and smoked chicken rolls As you’d expect, Mary’s, headed by Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham, won’t be delivering any old, ordinary take on the kebab. Instead, they’ll be vamping up classic recipes with fun, tasty twists. Promised delicious-ness includes smoked chicken with pickles, egg yolk and garlic sauce, and roast lamb neck with XO and pickled turnip tops. Vegetarians will be taken care of too. “We’ve always loved the idea of doing kebabs,” Smyth told Good Food. “We’re just really excited to be opening a kebab joint in a nightclub — the world needs more of them.” You can say that again. Wolfing down a late night kebab indoors while the party's still raging sure beats queueing in 3am cold and looming regret. Mary’s Cliff Dive kebab stand is open between 8pm and 2am every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It joins the club's current culinary specialty: South East Asian street food straight from the grill, including wild ginger beef and satay chicken skewers. Mary's already operates in two locations — at the original eatery, at 6 Mary St, Newtown; and its CBD store opened in December 2014, at 154 Castlereagh Street. Via Good Food.
Carriageworks is a hotbed for a diverse cultural program, and the latest event to transform the former Eveleigh Rail Yards is At First Sight, a brand-new music event curated by FBi Radio's Marty Doyle that provides a utopia for music-lovers. At First Sight is part record fair, part live gig, and all entertainment. The all-ages event offers a chance to flip through records from a variety of the city's best independent record stores, labels and private dealers, entirely for free. Maybe you will find a hidden treasure or something completely new and unexpected — just let the magic of the crates consume you. Then you can head inside for a live gig from noon and catch a collection of Australia's most captivating independent musicians including HTRK, who will be playing material fresh from the studio; psychedelic Sydneysiders The Laurels; Melbourne quintet Beaches; and garage pairing Super Wild Horses amongst many more, all for just $35. Independent record stores and live music venues have seen better days in Sydney, so At First Sight provides a perfect opportunity to get out and celebrate music. Whether you are want to find an old classic or fall in love with a band at first sight, or both, you can do it here. So why not enjoy some of the most exciting contemporary Australian bands and DJs before picking up a record or two to spin until the early hours of the morning. Thanks to Carriageworks, we have ten double passes to give away to At First Sight. To be in the running, subscribe to Concrete Playground (if you haven't already), then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address. Why do we have such an enduring love of vinyl? Read more from the artists of At First Sight.
This one's been a schlong time coming. Standing attention in all its morning glory, the giant obelisk in Hyde Park is now proudly sporting a bright pink condom. Erected this morning, the 18-metre tall pink dinger is one heaving ad campaign for HIV awareness — and an installation we've been hoping someone wood do to the obelisk for years. Not ones to dick around, the team behind the ACON’s 'I’M ON' campaign are raising awareness around HIV transmission — with the awesome aim to help end HIV spread in NSW by 2020. Rolled and installed by two cherry pickers, Sydney's giant jimmy hat will stick around for the next seven days. LOOK: Sydney's Obelisk in Hyde Park has been covered with a big pink condom this morning. A giant erection! pic.twitter.com/0t7iuNj5QH— SameSame.com.au (@samesame) November 6, 2014 ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill told SameSame that while HIV-preventing drugs are emerging into the market, condoms are the key to the fight against the disease spread. "The need for gay men to ‘stay safe’ by using condoms is at the core of NSW’s strategy for eliminating HIV transmission by the end of the decade,” he said. "We won’t be able to achieve this goal unless gay men use condoms when they’re having high-risk sex with casual partners, particularly in situations where a partner’s HIV status isn’t known — it's that simple." Via SameSame and Junkee.
Andrew Levins, lighthearted conversation and whiskey. What's not to like? Bulleit Speak Easy Series is about to launch in celebration of both the rye at hand and Sydney's independent small bar scene. Levin's, Sydney DJ and chef/owner of Goodgod Small Club's The Dip, will take to the decks at the Cornerhouse in Bondi on Sunday 25 November from 5pm to kick the speak easy series off. Bunk down for one of his famous sets or tune in to FBi Radio who will be broadcasting the evening's action. Rumour has it, Levin's might even shout a few rounds of Bulleit Whiskeys. The series' intention? "We're in an exciting time where young people in particular actually give a hoot about what's happening around them and there is a huge appetite for healthy debate and intelligent discourse at the moment. Maybe it's because we're not getting the inspiration from our leaders. People want to hear what independent thinkers have to say but also want to have their own voices heard." You'll also be able to catch Levins and engage a low-key public night at Mojo Record Bar on 29 November from 7pm.
Cocktails, tree-nut 'cheese' boards, and double caramel 'ice cream' sandwiches — there's never been a better time to be vegan. So make this Sunday arvo a boozy one and indulge in a delicious three-course vegan feed at organic restaurant COOH Alexandria. COOH is just round the corner from Sydney's Grounds of Alexandria, but is decidedly less hectic. As such, it's the perfect setting for a semi-upscale vegan degustation. This one includes a vegan 'cheese' board, a main, dessert and a cocktail for $79 per person. With Aussies Googling 'vegan' more than anyone in the world, our collective curiosity with veganism edges out even our progressive friends in Canada and New Zealand. If you can't commit to the whole vegan shebang (and, let's be honest, giving up haloumi isn't easy), join the growing crew of part-time vegans by hopping on the bandwagon just for this Sunday. Advance bookings are required — just contact Mandy at COOH on (02) 9002 1333 or via bookings@cooh.com.au.
There are a few great arts shows on local Sydney radio, Something Else and Arts Tuesday on Eastside, Talking Through Your Arts on 2SER and FBi's contribution to the genre and the Sydney arts scene is the Sunday show Canvas. Canvas normally gets a word in with visiting and local art celebrity, but during the Biennale they're taking their low-key art loving to their elevated FBI Social salon space in Kings Cross. For two nights in July running Canvas Presents will chat with artists live on stage while you sit back and contemplate art with a drink close to hand.
The title for this year's Google Exhibition, which is part of the Sydney Fringe Festival, seems particularly fitting. The artists selected to take part were required to type "distorted reproduction" into the Google search engine, at the same time, on the same day, and choose a site as the starting point for their piece. As our lives become more and more entangled with the online world, we may ourselves be experiencing an increasingly distorted reproduction of reality. The way we think, act, and interact with each other has changed dramatically over the last few years. So much so, in fact, that psychologists and scientists alike believe this is changing the way we think. There are even concerns that children spending a significant time online may be affecting the normal development of their brains. A few years ago the people at Hardware Gallery were questioning, how do you make art? They decided to google it, and so the Google Exhibition was born. As you enter the exhibition, you are struck by the sheer calibre of the works, all of which are not only wonderfully produced but exude a deep personal expressiveness. Perhaps the unique conceptual starting point, choosing a website which resonates in some way, is the cause. Several of the artists chose the same sites, and four main themes dominate: how our memories distort past events; how the insectiside Tebufenozide interferes with the growth, development and reproduction of the codling moth; how images can be distorted with technology; and a psychology test where participants copied a drawing of an owl, which was passed to the next participant and so on, until the drawing had mutated into a cat. Naturally many of the pieces were fairly abstract, such as Kate Deacock's Optical Blur, which was inspired by a series of conical diagrams describing the effects of light on vision. It is a series of red squares, with darker red circles within. The paintings, of increasing size, hang in a row and are quite striking. One of the most moving works was the series of paintings by Deborah Keogh, which refer to a study on memory distortion. The paintings are of her mother, who died when she was young and of whom the artist remembers her clothes and habits, but not her face. Hence the three paintings of women wearing different dresses in each, all headless. Several of the artists produced series of works, as opposed to just one piece. I wonder if this is itself an indication of how the internet is affecting our concentration and ability to focus on one thing, instead tending to think about multiple ideas within a short space of time. By far the most interesting aspect to this exhibition is how it poses the personal against the virtual, which becomes apparent as you read each artist's blurb describing the development of their idea. Also the adage 'nothing exists in a vacuum', oft quoted in relation to the creative arts, has perhaps never been truer than today with the world wide web offering us instant access to any number of artistic references. It is a shame that there isn't a PC in the room to look up the websites chosen. But if you have smartphone, you should definitely type in the web address listed with each piece and have a look at the source of inspiration. To add extra depth to your experience, you might like to do a Google search for 'distorted reproduction' yourself before you go and have a look at the results. See our list of the 10 best things to see and do at the Sydney Fringe.
The Black Lung Theatre and Whaling Firm have endeared themselves to us with bonkers performances of the likes of And They Called Him Mr Glamour. To save their brand of surreal self-analysis from going around in circles, in 2008 they stepped out of their familiar inner-Melbourne world — and into Timor Leste. Working with East Timorese creatives Galaxy and Liurai Fo'er, they've emerged with Doku Rai (You, dead man, I don't believe you), the first international theatre production to be created in East Timor. (Specifically, extraordinarily, in an abandoned colonial hotel on a remote island off Dili. In the distance, Balibo was being filmed.) Going off reviews of its first Darwin Festival and Melbourne performances in 2012, the show breaks the mould of how we think about cross-cultural theatre. It opens with a set from garage rock band Galaxy, stars of Timor Leste, for starters. The story then follows a man who is struck with a killing curse (doku) but continues to rise from the grave. On top of that is a layer of playfulness, meta, multimedia, and more pop musical interludes. Australia hasn't always been kind to the tiny nation that is one of our closest neighbours, so that the kooks at Black Lung can go there and have a mind-meld with locals is an exciting thing. Directed by Thomas M Wright, the production will tour Australia in 2013, then it's on to Europe. Doku Rai is on from 25-28 September. Carriageworks and Concrete Playground would like to invite 20 readers and their friends to a special event on Friday, 27 September. As well as two tickets to the 8pm performance, you'll enjoy complimentary pre-show drinks from sponsors Johnny Q, DWS, Optimiste and Asahi with the director and producer of the show, followed by a post-show talk. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
Sydney label Strummer is having a pop-up sale at the moment. If you are a fan of the label’s folksy daywear, get yourself down to the Grand Social in Darlinghurst. Sale items include seriously reduced current season stock, past season stock and accessories, as well as one off samples for women and men.
$1000 seems to be a default arts unit in the Sydney arts world. The local chapter of the Awesome Foundation hands it out monthly in a no strings attached grant to help make Sydney “more awesome.” Mish Grigor is getting in on their act with Winner!, a Firstdraft show which is a kind of behind-the-scenes documentary and critique of art prizes all rolled into a single, live exhibition. Events spread from Wednesday to Saturday will show the considerations and machinations in the art award process, from pitch, to debate, to final showdown. Wednesday night, five artists will pitch their work with words in a kind of art slam. On Saturday you can hear the judges deliberate live in the gallery, before rounding up the three art finalists for a final spoken-art battle. Grigor has already prised open all sorts of interesting art spaces as part of the Imperial Panda Festival, Post and Tiny Stadiums. Join her again as she prises open a more mercantile aspect of the artistic process.
In 2005 Rian Johnson reinvented film noir with the critically acclaimed, cryptic high school tale Brick. Then earlier this year a high school drama teacher, Chris White, translated Johnson's teenage detective story for the stage. Moreover, White and his students at J.L Mann High School in Greenville, South Carolina received the seal of approval from the filmmaker himself. Now it's Sydney's turn. Macquarie University's DRAMAC society is tackling the stage-adaptation of the now cult neo-noir, and White is even flying out for the second week of performances. The play will run 15-17th then 21st-24th October. For frequent updates, see the production's Facebook page. If Brick, Tug and King Pin mean nothing to you, then there's still time to track down the DVD before making your way to the stage play. https://youtube.com/watch?v=3cVzHeJ0Z3I
The importance of identity is once again the leitmotif in Doug Liman's (The Bourne Identity) new political thriller. Based on the scandalous true story of CIA agent Valerie Plame's brutal public unmasking, and the subsequent White House lead smear campaign, Fair Game is as much an illuminating look back to the beginnings of the Iraq War as it is a chronicle of a marriage under fire. Plame's titular memoir as well as her husband Joseph Wilson book The Politics of Truth, provide the provocative source material, and both are brought to compelling life by Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. An impressively taut opening introduces us to Valerie the agent: personable, professional and perfectly in charge of her blonde, diminutive stature. We watch as she uses this to her advantage before turning into a cool, commanding operator. With faint echoes of Mr & Mrs Smith, Valerie then returns home to juggle her supremely demanding work in the counter-proliferation department with a warmly affectionate home life with ex-US ambassador Joe and their two kids. This hard won equilibrium is shattered when the CIA-commissioned report Joe has written regarding the possibility of Niger selling enriched uranium to Iraq becomes the vehicle for Valerie's downfall. Fair Game treads similar ground as the other Bourne director, Paul Greengrass', recent treatise on Iraq: Green Zone. Both concern themselves with the manifest lies told to shore up the US invasion, but where Green Zone unravels into a rather disappointing cat and mouse chase, Liman manages a much more satisfying intellectual rigour. This is helped along by the riveting chemistry between Watts and Penn, which is most certainly derived from their previous pairing in 21 Grams and from having already played a husband and wife in strife in Niels Mueller's The Assassination of Richard Nixon. Entirely believable and deeply affecting, their onscreen partnership wrings every drop of conviction out of Jez and John-Henry Butterworth's slightly overwritten screenplay. "Democracy only works if you do your part," Joe preaches in a line one could easily imagine hearing from diehard advocate Penn himself. But the most striking aspect of this film is that it proves that the same must be said for marriage. So while the politics of what constitutes 'fair game' is undoubtedly fascinating, the private sphere proves to be a whole different ballgame. https://youtube.com/watch?v=eU30DFbjirw
A Taiwanese filmmaker might've made your favourite movie, although you mightn't realise that. A fan of Brokeback Mountain? Loved Life of Pi? Still in awe at Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's action scenes? Thank Ang Lee — but he's just one of many talented directors from Taiwan. To dive into the depths of the rest of Taiwan's filmmaking prowess, Sydney is now home to its first ever Taiwan Film Festival. Between Friday, July 27 and Sunday, July 29, the fest will showcase nine features and four shorts that highlight the stories, styles and stars of Taiwanese cinema — films that, outside of occasional berths at Australia's major fests, don't often make it to our shores. It all kicks off with the emotional Sen Sen, about a boy overcoming loss and a grandmother determined not to let illness hold her back, before serving up everything from award-winning queer dramas and popular horror sequels to murder mysteries and big-screen soap operas. Films to look out for include documentary Black Bear Forest, as set in the mountain ranges around Yu-Shan National Park; Take Me to the Moon, a time-travel rom-com; and closing night's Father to Son, which was produced by iconic Taiwanese director Hsiao-Hsien Hou (The Assassin).
The American South is an enthralling place. It's where cotton grows high, gentlemen drink whiskey, women wear crisp white gingham dresses and you're as likely to come across a gun-toting lunatic as to be serenaded by a lonesome trucker of a night time. And it's from a place like this that Lambchop hails. A loose collective centred around the vocalist and and creative centre-point, Kurt Wagner - the kind of man who wears a trucker cap in an entirely non-ironic way - Lambchop have been creating music for well over twenty years. While they started off being associated with the alt-country scene, Lambchop's range is wide and just as easily covers genres as diverse as soul, post-rock, jazz and the odd cocktail-bar croon. With lyrics both ambiguous and haunting, the band has developed a cult following over the years, making them a highly welcome addition to this year's Sydney Festival line-up. And not only is Wagner appearing on-stage with Lambchop, but he will also be performing a solo show as well as part of the old-school country duo, Kort, alongside Cortney Tidwell Lambchop's performance at City Recital Hall will be a collection of songs collected from the deep vault of their back-catalogue as well as new material from their up-coming album, Mr M.
In Cabinet, the lovely people from Underbelly Arts, best known for their biennial Arts Lab and Festival, bring you things to treat your eyes, ears, and dancing shoes. A night of music, art, and performance from a collection of Sydney's emerging creative folk, Cabinet is incredible value for money at just $10 on the door. This instalment will kick off at 4pm with a possibly world-first session of Drone Yoga, with drone coming courtesy of members of Collarbones and the Paper Scissors. Once you've limbered up, there'll be Snake the Planet!, a large-scale version of the game that once enraptured us on Nokias; Harry Crawford Is Uncertain, the latest work from Penguin Plays Rough's Pip Smith; experimental electronic artist James Domeyko's take on Orpheus and Eurydice; and Adriano Cappelletta's take on the self-help seminar.
Last September, John Malkovich took time off from being John Malkovich to be Everyone Else for a change. Shot by Sandro Miller in Los Angeles, the highly publicised series of photographs dubbed Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich recreated some of the most iconic portraits in recent history — from John and Yoko to Che Guevara, Dorothea Lange's Migrant Woman to Andres Serrano's Piss Christ. And now the series is coming to Sydney as part of this year's Head On Photo Festival (running May 1 - 31), showing at Darlinghurst's Black Eye Gallery from April 28 - May 5. According to the exhibition statement, Miller decided to undertake the project in 2013, wanting to honour the photographers whose work had inspired him and shaped his career. After selecting thirty five images to recreate, Miller got in touch with his ol' mate Malkovich — who apparently immediately agreed. "John is the most brilliant, prolific person I know," says Miller. "His genius is unparalleled. I can suggest a mood or an idea and within moments, he literally morphs into the character right in front of my eyes." All at once creepy and genius with Malkovich rocking an excellent Marilyn and a spot-on Dali, the series is actually less about Malkovich than it is an homage to the photographers responsible for the portraits themselves: Dianne Arbus, Annie Leibovitz, Art Shay, Dorothea Lange, Alberto Korda. That being said, it's supremely satisfying to see Malkovich in dress-up like this — his Jack Nicholson and Albert Einstein are top notch. Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich is part of the Head On Photo Festival. For the whole program, head to the festival website.
